The noble boy blinked.
Clearly, that was not the reaction he expected.
“…What?”
Mike crossed his arms loosely.
“You said I’m a commoner.” His expression stayed flat.
“And?”
The group of children exchanged looks.
Some were amused.
Some are uncomfortable.
Max stood beside Mike silently, posture calm, eyes observant.
Not interfering.
Just there.
The noble boy frowned slightly.
“You don’t seem embarrassed.”
Mike almost rolled his eyes.
“Should I cry for you?”
A few children snorted softly at that.
The boy’s expression darkened.
“You speak rudely.”
“You spoke first.”
Silence.
Max quietly glanced toward Mike once.
Mike noticed immediately.
A warning.
Don’t escalate too fast.
Mike clicked his tongue softly but stayed quiet after that.
One of the noble girls suddenly spoke up.
“You really live in the duchy?”
Mike looked at her.
“Yes.”
“And the Grand Duchess lets you stay beside Lord Max?”
Mike’s eyes sharpened slightly at the wording.
But before he answered—
Max spoke first.
“He stays because she wants him there.”
The garden became quiet.
Max rarely spoke first.
And when he did, his words were usually direct.
The girl blinked in surprise.
Another boy frowned.
“But he isn’t noble.”
Max looked at him calmly.
“That has nothing to do with me.”
Simple.
No emotion.
No anger.
Just the truth.
Mike looked sideways at Max briefly.
Then quickly away again before anyone noticed.
The noble children clearly didn’t know how to react now.
Because Max himself was refusing the separation.
That changed everything.
A taller noble boy suddenly stepped forward with crossed arms.
“My father said the Grand Duchess is strange lately.”
Mike instantly disliked him.
“You look strange too.”
Max quietly closed his eyes for one second.
The noble boy looked offended.
“You—”
“But,” Mike interrupted lazily, “I still had the manners not to announce it first.”
A few children laughed again.
The taller boy’s face reddened immediately.
“You think being protected by the Grand Duchess makes you important?”
Mike’s expression cooled.
“No.”
The boy blinked.
Mike continued calmly,
“I think being obsessed with who’s important makes you annoyed.”
Silence.
Even Max looked slightly surprised now.
Not at the sharpness.
At the restraint.
Old Mike would have exploded already.
But now he was choosing his responses carefully.
Just like Olivia told him.
The taller boy scoffed.
“You act arrogant for someone without status.”
This time, Max stepped forward slightly.
Not aggressive.
Just enough to stand beside Mike equally.
Then, quietly—
“He has status to me.”
The words dropped into the garden heavily.
Mike froze for half a second.
Several children looked stunned.
Because Max almost never expressed things directly. Get faster updates on g.com.
And when he did—
He meant them completely.
The taller boy opened his mouth, then closed it again awkwardly.
Mike looked away quickly.
“…You sound weird.”
Max answered calmly.
“You are still standing beside me.”
Mike muttered under his breath,
“That’s different.”
But he didn’t step away.
Not even slightly.
From the garden entrance, Peter watched silently.
Lucas stood beside him now, arms crossed.
Neither interrupted.
Peter exhaled quietly.
“They’re handling it better than I expected.”
Lucas’ gaze remained on the children.
“No,” he said after a pause.
“They’re handling it exactly how she taught them to.”
Peter glanced at him briefly.
In the garden, the tension slowly shifted.
Not disappearing.
But changing.
The noble children were no longer looking at Mike like an easy target.
Because every attempt to isolate him kept failing.
Max refused to leave his side.
And Mike himself refused to shrink.
A small noble girl suddenly approached carefully.
“…Do you really know swordsmanship?”
Mike blinked.
“…Yeah?”
Her eyes sparkled slightly.
“That’s cool.”
Mike looked caught off guard by the sudden sincerity.
Max quietly watched him.
Mike scratched his cheek awkwardly.
“…It’s not that special.”
“It is,” the girl insisted.
Another child spoke up.
“Lord Max knows swordsmanship too, right?”
Max nodded once.
Then several children started asking questions at once.
About training.
About horses.
About knights.
The atmosphere loosened slightly after that.
Not friendship yet.
But curiosity instead of hostility.
And from the distance—
Olivia watched silently through the open hall doors.
No smile.
No visible pride.
Just quiet observation.
Checking.
Measuring.
Making sure the boys could stand on their own.
And once she confirmed they could— she calmly turned away and returned to her tea without another glance.
The garden slowly grew louder after that.
Not chaotic.
Just easier.
The children were still cautious around Mike, but the sharp hostility from earlier had weakened.
Questions replaced mockery.
Curiosity replaced distance.
Max remained mostly quiet through all of it, answering only when spoken to directly.
But he never left Mike’s side.
Not once.
And strangely—
That alone changed how the others behaved.
A noble boy suddenly asked Max,
“Why do you stay beside him so much?”
Mike instantly looked annoyed.
“Because he’s obsessed with me.”
Max looked at him calmly.
“You followed me first.”
“I did not.”
“You did.”
“That’s false.”
The noble children stared at them blankly before one girl suddenly laughed.
Then another.
The tension eased further after that.
Mike looked mildly offended by being laughed at.
Max looked exactly the same as always.
But the corner of his sleeve still lightly brushed Mike’s when they stood near each other.
Unintentional.
At the edge of the garden, Peter leaned against a stone pillar quietly watching.
“They really are different,” he muttered.
Lucas stood nearby.
Mike was fired.
Quick reactions.
Sharp defenses.
Constant readiness to protect himself before anyone else could hurt him.
Max was the opposite.
Still water.
Quiet enough that people underestimated how deeply he noticed things.
And Olivia somehow handled both perfectly.
Not by softening them.
But by understanding exactly what each child needed.
Peter’s gaze shifted briefly toward the open hall doors.
Olivia had returned inside already.
Back straight.
Expression calm.
As if she had never been emotionally involved at all.
And yet— everything happening in this garden existed because of her.
Peter frowned faintly.
“She really only cares about those children.”
Lucas did not answer immediately.
Because he knew Peter was right.
The difference was obvious now.
The patience Olivia gave the boys.
The attention.
The quiet certainty.
None of it existed for anyone else.
Not for the nobles.
Not for Peter.
Not for Lucas either.
With adults, Olivia was controlled distance.
With Max and Mike— she became something else entirely.
Back in the garden, one of the older noble boys suddenly stepped forward again.
The same tall boy from earlier.
His expression still looked irritated.
“My father says commoners should know their place.”
The atmosphere tightened instantly.
Several children looked uncomfortable.
Mike’s eyes cooled immediately.
But before he could answer—
Max spoke first.
Quietly.
“Then your father sounds insecure.”
Complete silence.
Mike turned toward Max so fast he almost looked shocked.
The noble boy’s face reddened instantly.
“What did you say?!”
Max looked at him steadily.
“If someone needs another person beneath them to feel important,” Max said softly, “then they probably are not important.”
The garden froze.
Because Max’s words did not sound emotional.
That made them hit harder.
Mike stared at Max like he had just discovered an entirely new species.
“…That was terrifying.”
Max blinked once.
“You told me not to let people insult you.”
Mike immediately looked smug.
“I taught you well.”
“You absolutely did not,” Max replied calmly.
A few children burst into laughter again.
Even the angry noble boy looked thrown off now.
Because somehow—
The boys weren’t breaking apart under pressure.
They were becoming more solid beside each other.
At the hall entrance, Olivia paused briefly after hearing the distant laughter.
A servant quietly asked,
“Should we intervene, Grand Duchess?”
Olivia glanced once toward the garden.
Mike was talking loudly again.
Max stood beside him, silent but steady.
Neither looked cornered anymore.
Olivia turned away.
“No.”
The servant lowered their head immediately.
Olivia continued walking through the hall calmly.
No visible satisfaction.
No emotional reaction.
Just quiet confirmation.
The lesson was working.
And that was enough for her