By the time they returned home, night had fallen deep.
The Hanazono estate was quiet and luminous.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ0JXRAHsFn
Warm lights spilled softly across the corridor and floor-to-ceiling windows,340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV0XfqgT1o8
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.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKD2HNF6TpY
Head bowed, he seemed unsure—340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfUp62P12bA
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.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8k67lq2Z1j
He stepped forward and spoke with a kind voice that held quiet authority.
"This way, young master."
The boy remained silent, his eyes wary,340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHHRDvZvOqm
but he nodded slightly and slowly followed.
Suzuran stayed where she was, watching the frail figure disappear around the stairwell.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcyEZhIiaQt
Her brows furrowed slightly.
"Papa..." she couldn’t help but speak,340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4AoJEe0QRm
"Has he really always been alone?"
Masaharu paused at the entrance of his study,340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCkPgbAbkJt
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.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd1Fi6aRprq
Her debts piled up. The debt collectors cornered her.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaxv0D8KrCq
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.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyGh4OjPTqj
He was passed around…340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt1xzoYv3W7
and eventually, he ended up on the black market.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnFjT1btLh5
Labeled as a ‘product.’340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpmXYeeDVNA
Put on an auction block. Waiting for someone to bid."
Her lips parted, but no words came out.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRWI5j5Ml9H
Her mind flashed back to that moment in the car—340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPI9BsPi5UL
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.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL9n7Uigoqc
And he will never be treated like merchandise."
His words were few, but each one sounded like a promise—340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj9vbmf60S4
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.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡusWaqCaqW7
Legally, he doesn’t exist."
"‘Shima (嶋),’ for the island he came from—Shadowtrace Alley on the Rother Peninsula.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3CVfRwpUqs
‘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,340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw9FdzZE2Ey
lined with rows of white orchid trees.
Each morning, mist draped over the veranda like silk,340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxjKDdOBs4U
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,340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG9jgoqVwHm
and trained under the most rigorous standards of butlery.
He never married. Had no children.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5WrwM4k1MU
Steady and self-disciplined, he was one of the Hanazono family’s most silent, dependable pillars.
He never openly spoke of the boy,340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcsAm0whiBs
but those who knew him understood—340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP6u8IKb5n9
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,340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnk8L4wnRES
from mastering walking rhythm to controlling facial expressions—340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY8jeHU0CBU
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.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡma05tRSYkP
A reshaping of spirit.
Kouichi let down his guard around Suzuran much faster than anyone expected.
They grew up together.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNudY53lPgP
Different as night and day, yet inseparable.
She was lively, warm, a little clumsy.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkEOJhXX979
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,340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2ccaWVGNda
or sneak roses from the bushes before they bloomed, giggling behind the gardener’s back.
One was innocence.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXMnDtGAoBj
The other, silent protection of that innocence.
He would gently remind her before her emotions exploded.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyNKnjFIzG8
He would hand her a spare hairclip before she realized the first one was missing.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrY44rpuqmc
And when she cried in silence—340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA1ztIm9YRk
he would offer her a cup of hazelnut cocoa, warm and ready.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVw25lt3lEO
340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡum1TOUIdj1
These things were never asked of him.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCWjOTmb5Qm
Never instructed.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYkqRy8hVso
And never done for thanks.
Until one day, at the age of twelve,340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjhLKmA10Nk
Kimijima Kouichi stood in a crisp uniform he had pressed himself,340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFcdbLIkvOY
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.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡymr2Sqez4g
Nor a plea.
It was a vow.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnwSWNDIUrI
340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnyBzTrvNVf
And behind the door, Suzuran had been eavesdropping.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg8NPizJAVz
Her eyes were already red with tears.
She burst into the parlor, flung her arms around her father’s arm,340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS9at3L38eu
and cried out:
"Papa, please! Let Kouichi stay!340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdGAW9wQKNR
He’s really good to me—I don’t want anyone else!"
Masaharu silently looked at the two before him:
One kneeling, iron-willed.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4lUWTQi4hr
One begging, fiery and unyielding.
He let out a long sigh—340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhZvxMwMb8U
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.340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh3BEgXisR5
340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtUZ0krFMpd
You made it this far—you're seriously the sweetest! 🥹💗340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGYn2PdkST2
If you liked it, don’t forget to like 👍, bookmark ⭐, and drop a little comment 📝~340Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu1vkzLij2z
Your support keeps me going—and keeps the characters falling deeper in love 💞💭
and then Add to home screen.