By the time they returned home, night had fallen deep.
The Hanazono estate was quiet and luminous.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEnbyqhkL7M
Warm lights spilled softly across the corridor and floor-to-ceiling windows,57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmiRbi9Cj1H
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.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMyQU8tWNb6
Head bowed, he seemed unsure—57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpoVCTpR5UY
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.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0pO4R4IRtp
He stepped forward and spoke with a kind voice that held quiet authority.
"This way, young master."
The boy remained silent, his eyes wary,57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4WvSKB4cnb
but he nodded slightly and slowly followed.
Suzuran stayed where she was, watching the frail figure disappear around the stairwell.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLy4P542n67
Her brows furrowed slightly.
"Papa..." she couldn’t help but speak,57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwpPeiTpQp4
"Has he really always been alone?"
Masaharu paused at the entrance of his study,57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNjsUpk40Ab
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.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9R2vnhImMn
Her debts piled up. The debt collectors cornered her.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhaHOG0C5Ae
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.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmKb4RgV5fp
He was passed around…57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwoDqOBISZN
and eventually, he ended up on the black market.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgY3QfwHT5G
Labeled as a ‘product.’57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR6wTdNZTcW
Put on an auction block. Waiting for someone to bid."
Her lips parted, but no words came out.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5mDINFiNZs
Her mind flashed back to that moment in the car—57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFKWMte9ZoZ
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.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN11CcLsQz1
And he will never be treated like merchandise."
His words were few, but each one sounded like a promise—57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUgH4J4xpdC
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.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj7kp162S9f
Legally, he doesn’t exist."
"‘Shima (嶋),’ for the island he came from—Shadowtrace Alley on the Rother Peninsula.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9ZrfTSasbe
‘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,57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE8cx1Ff4a3
lined with rows of white orchid trees.
Each morning, mist draped over the veranda like silk,57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkRag612pKg
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,57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡK2lWn5dhMd
and trained under the most rigorous standards of butlery.
He never married. Had no children.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm7dqgwZSav
Steady and self-disciplined, he was one of the Hanazono family’s most silent, dependable pillars.
He never openly spoke of the boy,57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjcFrv3xAvs
but those who knew him understood—57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRpH1QS7WqL
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,57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡblmLxJaeZT
from mastering walking rhythm to controlling facial expressions—57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE8n7M5OytV
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.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWVX9Wiexot
A reshaping of spirit.
Kouichi let down his guard around Suzuran much faster than anyone expected.
They grew up together.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ28sMdhMzA9
Different as night and day, yet inseparable.
She was lively, warm, a little clumsy.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjXH8aL2fJy
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,57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7gq86qfV1e
or sneak roses from the bushes before they bloomed, giggling behind the gardener’s back.
One was innocence.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ184fJM4mDG
The other, silent protection of that innocence.
He would gently remind her before her emotions exploded.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNQSV1gDr5J
He would hand her a spare hairclip before she realized the first one was missing.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGrw4fm4Kpw
And when she cried in silence—57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbXdmEgZ0sO
he would offer her a cup of hazelnut cocoa, warm and ready.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ579DbGmlvt
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy6rAioDEP2
These things were never asked of him.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdo9sJar4th
Never instructed.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGrsOLNzj10
And never done for thanks.
Until one day, at the age of twelve,57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhNdc61pdcg
Kimijima Kouichi stood in a crisp uniform he had pressed himself,57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNwBs33Q7Ra
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.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUKMBc8Cf8P
Nor a plea.
It was a vow.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNYd38CkGfM
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPKel7PupiP
And behind the door, Suzuran had been eavesdropping.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdGyCdunJyF
Her eyes were already red with tears.
She burst into the parlor, flung her arms around her father’s arm,57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIIkTryyedf
and cried out:
"Papa, please! Let Kouichi stay!57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5rLpiN9zoQ
He’s really good to me—I don’t want anyone else!"
Masaharu silently looked at the two before him:
One kneeling, iron-willed.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbhZpe2pb4I
One begging, fiery and unyielding.
He let out a long sigh—57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5eJiVcOyB7
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.57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz3Q7bcoJr3
57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiHaZs50Kn8
You made it this far—you're seriously the sweetest! 🥹💗57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfgcfm8Td8j
If you liked it, don’t forget to like 👍, bookmark ⭐, and drop a little comment 📝~57Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9sfnT7lKjQ
Your support keeps me going—and keeps the characters falling deeper in love 💞💭
and then Add to home screen.