By the time they returned home, night had fallen deep.
The Hanazono estate was quiet and luminous.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXg6WVZF5IQ
Warm lights spilled softly across the corridor and floor-to-ceiling windows,81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEgtmjTK9cz
drawing a cruel contrast to the damp, decaying gloom of Shadowtrace Alley.
The boy stood in the foyer, still dressed in that thin, dust-covered coat that smelled of mold.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWG78Me903f
Head bowed, he seemed unsure—81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWg6aG6ALh2
Unsure if he was allowed to step onto such a clean carpet.
Masaharu cast a sidelong glance at the butler standing beside him, his voice calm but unquestionable.
"Please take him to bath and change into clean clothes."
"Yes, sir."
Joseph, the head butler, gave a slight bow.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTQUev87fNy
He stepped forward and spoke with a kind voice that held quiet authority.
"This way, young master."
The boy remained silent, his eyes wary,81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxANoaogINr
but he nodded slightly and slowly followed.
Suzuran stayed where she was, watching the frail figure disappear around the stairwell.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA6ufTx22Rz
Her brows furrowed slightly.
"Papa..." she couldn’t help but speak,81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE7kHqaOod4
"Has he really always been alone?"
Masaharu paused at the entrance of his study,81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8PnYYelvLQ
then finally replied in a low voice:
"I had someone look into his background."
He paused again, as if searching for the right words to share a heavy truth.
"His mother worked at a bar on the peninsula—a hostess."
"She’d been ill for months, too poor to see a doctor.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnGxfnhc6Az
Her debts piled up. The debt collectors cornered her.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl4Hf5GeYhc
In the end, she died alone in a rented room."
Suzuran stared at her father, eyes wide with shock and disbelief.
"No one wanted to adopt her child.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFGC46QE51E
He was passed around…81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwrFcvZOiy6
and eventually, he ended up on the black market.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT1MbAOESSs
Labeled as a ‘product.’81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMBfivV1TNl
Put on an auction block. Waiting for someone to bid."
Her lips parted, but no words came out.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ890aMDNxWG
Her mind flashed back to that moment in the car—81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ34Popjedju
that boy, sharing a sandwich, eating with such desperate urgency.
Was it because… he truly hadn’t eaten for so long?
"So… he’ll live here now?" she asked softly.
Masaharu looked at her, voice not raised, but firm as steel.
"Since you asked for him yourself, I’ll make proper arrangements."
"He will never return to that kind of place again.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVSXHeGGMbI
And he will never be treated like merchandise."
His words were few, but each one sounded like a promise—81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUJLYOdmDLU
the kind that carried the quiet weight of the Hanazono name.
"From today onward, he is Kimijima Kouichi."
Suzuran lifted her gaze, asking gently:
"Papa, why give him the name ‘Kimijima’?"
Masaharu stared off into the distance, his voice low:
"He has no surname, no legal identity.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoIbYmXYtEs
Legally, he doesn’t exist."
"‘Shima (嶋),’ for the island he came from—Shadowtrace Alley on the Rother Peninsula.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk3NJHv7qKh
‘Kimi (君),’ a word of respect."
"I want him to live like a real person, with dignity."
He paused, the weight of his words subtle but firm:
"This name is his beginning. Not charity—but recognition."
Suzuran nodded quietly. Her voice was soft as a breeze, yet clear as a bell:
"…I’ll remember it well. Kimijima Kouichi."
Kimijima Kouichi would live with the Hanazono family’s head butler—Mr. Joseph—in the detached residence, far from the main house.
It was a quiet estate nestled deep within the garden,81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLz1nHZqS2c
lined with rows of white orchid trees.
Each morning, mist draped over the veranda like silk,81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAqxfLuPu7K
and the air always carried the scent of rain-washed wood.
This place raised him, silently and gently.
Mr. Joseph was about forty, born into an old noble house,81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWVOC09rvth
and trained under the most rigorous standards of butlery.
He never married. Had no children.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt14HTb8ctv
Steady and self-disciplined, he was one of the Hanazono family’s most silent, dependable pillars.
He never openly spoke of the boy,81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGnOv4EVHeK
but those who knew him understood—81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7EMXeOaSce
he treated Kimijima Kouichi as his own.
Under Joseph’s personal instruction, Kouichi mastered every aspect of formal butler training:
From ironing garments to polishing silver,81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPuchbWhYUz
from mastering walking rhythm to controlling facial expressions—81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk5lfEA6fHa
even the precise sequence of pouring morning tea was performed like ritual.
But it was more than just occupational training.
It was a rebuilding of identity.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwle38v6wlZ
A reshaping of spirit.
Kouichi let down his guard around Suzuran much faster than anyone expected.
They grew up together.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtsMCDxQjA3
Different as night and day, yet inseparable.
She was lively, warm, a little clumsy.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeTTA5mjN2u
He was calm, quiet, always one step ahead to contain the chaos.
They would chase butterflies in the garden until their collars soaked with sweat,81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuxvFgMuFpJ
or sneak roses from the bushes before they bloomed, giggling behind the gardener’s back.
One was innocence.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBh3pr4VknQ
The other, silent protection of that innocence.
He would gently remind her before her emotions exploded.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjAH6khiP9X
He would hand her a spare hairclip before she realized the first one was missing.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3zboLbIzH3
And when she cried in silence—81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVYI02a17tK
he would offer her a cup of hazelnut cocoa, warm and ready.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3HKXv8JKZO
81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx4ygz7A9i8
These things were never asked of him.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFBcyFrWpgG
Never instructed.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvQj48gO7AV
And never done for thanks.
Until one day, at the age of twelve,81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3VvUjVnQ89
Kimijima Kouichi stood in a crisp uniform he had pressed himself,81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfoFNItvb31
knelt on one knee, and made his request directly to Hanazono Masaharu.
"I wish to stay in the main house to serve the young lady—until the day she no longer needs me."
It was not a command.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK3XbeN0zdF
Nor a plea.
It was a vow.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW8ZK33rx94
81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPN2GgSryqc
And behind the door, Suzuran had been eavesdropping.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr0ZbX9zKZT
Her eyes were already red with tears.
She burst into the parlor, flung her arms around her father’s arm,81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡObre9rN6X3
and cried out:
"Papa, please! Let Kouichi stay!81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpFgF6LZHk4
He’s really good to me—I don’t want anyone else!"
Masaharu silently looked at the two before him:
One kneeling, iron-willed.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPGaKYaDCHS
One begging, fiery and unyielding.
He let out a long sigh—81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqbzVevJHzx
and nodded.
From that moment on, Kimijima Kouichi was no longer “a rescued child.”
He became—Hanazono Suzuran’s personal butler.
He came from nowhere, but chose to live for the smile that once chose him.81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH16q296Xqx
81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0QauaInhKx
You made it this far—you're seriously the sweetest! 🥹💗81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVs79GUlKnl
If you liked it, don’t forget to like 👍, bookmark ⭐, and drop a little comment 📝~81Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Lic9JmcI1
Your support keeps me going—and keeps the characters falling deeper in love 💞💭
