By the time they returned home, night had fallen deep.
The Hanazono estate was quiet and luminous.104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaloB4UO9EM
Warm lights spilled softly across the corridor and floor-to-ceiling windows,104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM7CKYs4eqn
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.104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGpd1dNe9Bl
Head bowed, he seemed unsure—104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW1NfrHVPPn
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.104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6meO4zvdEe
He stepped forward and spoke with a kind voice that held quiet authority.
"This way, young master."
The boy remained silent, his eyes wary,104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWTPMS5vcO8
but he nodded slightly and slowly followed.
Suzuran stayed where she was, watching the frail figure disappear around the stairwell.104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFNqltX4NCI
Her brows furrowed slightly.
"Papa..." she couldn’t help but speak,104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp9uOWmdRUO
"Has he really always been alone?"
Masaharu paused at the entrance of his study,104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMYus3tQC7Q
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.104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9AzOYSkYRk
Her debts piled up. The debt collectors cornered her.104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkgRMzxLj6u
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.104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNQM9or8UzH
He was passed around…104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNBMzIObmY6
and eventually, he ended up on the black market.104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0zEGbGeYbm
Labeled as a ‘product.’104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYiX8rkRnNu
Put on an auction block. Waiting for someone to bid."
Her lips parted, but no words came out.104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqHTtd1ManN
Her mind flashed back to that moment in the car—104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP0R9SgEMFn
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.104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCOFyUPwvbv
And he will never be treated like merchandise."
His words were few, but each one sounded like a promise—104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR3lLRlOkyF
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.104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ5G9fhvkCq
Legally, he doesn’t exist."
"‘Shima (嶋),’ for the island he came from—Shadowtrace Alley on the Rother Peninsula.104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeYXK2roRu7
‘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,104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNk0iizv8zz
lined with rows of white orchid trees.
Each morning, mist draped over the veranda like silk,104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjdFDH3Rl0i
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,104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkPEfW8E5DT
and trained under the most rigorous standards of butlery.
He never married. Had no children.104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡueiXYDUXgY
Steady and self-disciplined, he was one of the Hanazono family’s most silent, dependable pillars.
He never openly spoke of the boy,104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrZWoozDhm0
but those who knew him understood—104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiHiq3mfj3p
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,104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1tufzMq07P
from mastering walking rhythm to controlling facial expressions—104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXiyjv3iIIG
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.104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfZG9dbOLXx
A reshaping of spirit.
Kouichi let down his guard around Suzuran much faster than anyone expected.
They grew up together.104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJEc3uf1M3A
Different as night and day, yet inseparable.
She was lively, warm, a little clumsy.104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡikV8apKdMT
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,104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDDXRRfvYJK
or sneak roses from the bushes before they bloomed, giggling behind the gardener’s back.
One was innocence.104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUmiFfD1P8T
The other, silent protection of that innocence.
He would gently remind her before her emotions exploded.104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMOZjlPmSEH
He would hand her a spare hairclip before she realized the first one was missing.104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSJqIB9PZ3n
And when she cried in silence—104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs4SG39vjAL
he would offer her a cup of hazelnut cocoa, warm and ready.104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsh9OYAxFUI
104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiAV6NV51D1
These things were never asked of him.104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsEbrEpIDul
Never instructed.104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2iOngbQrSs
And never done for thanks.
Until one day, at the age of twelve,104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoIKjDz5dei
Kimijima Kouichi stood in a crisp uniform he had pressed himself,104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZrqiRJlOOw
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.104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs0d83hDrAw
Nor a plea.
It was a vow.104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtZjrDFA7ty
104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbNvK2B2EXv
And behind the door, Suzuran had been eavesdropping.104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡASdm47l9iq
Her eyes were already red with tears.
She burst into the parlor, flung her arms around her father’s arm,104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡodWAUl6lZv
and cried out:
"Papa, please! Let Kouichi stay!104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdnfH0hI2fZ
He’s really good to me—I don’t want anyone else!"
Masaharu silently looked at the two before him:
One kneeling, iron-willed.104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvUFZDHZm8v
One begging, fiery and unyielding.
He let out a long sigh—104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2oFrSjBor1
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.104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh0an5PESLF
104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW7Ee4t0EQB
You made it this far—you're seriously the sweetest! 🥹💗104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6B9ywdzWmq
If you liked it, don’t forget to like 👍, bookmark ⭐, and drop a little comment 📝~104Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNrEWDD8fst
Your support keeps me going—and keeps the characters falling deeper in love 💞💭
and then Add to home screen.