Project Necro is an official initiative by Re:Library.

Flora had stayed up talking far later than intended, so Mina, at Ekaterina’s request, escorted her back. Flora tried to decline—“It’s just within the same dormitory”—but Ekaterina refused to yield, knowing that even within the dorm, malice could lurk.

After seeing Flora safely to her room, Mina made her way back to the special suite.
That was when—

“Yo, Mina.”

A voice called out to her.

Unsurprised, Mina looked out the window. There stood Yvan, Aleksei’s valet, on her sight line.

“The girls’ dorm’s off-limits to men, you know.”
“I’m not inside the building, so it’s fine, right?”

Yvan replied with a grin.

But that wasn’t the problem. The real problem was—she was on the third floor.

Outside the window grew a tall zelkova tree, its branches reaching that high—and Yvan was standing casually on one of them. The branch didn’t even bend under his weight. His expression was perfectly calm.
Yvan was as tall as Aleksei. Normally, that branch would’ve snapped and sent him crashing to the ground. How he managed to stand there was anyone’s guess, but Mina didn’t even seem curious.

“Thanks for bringing the young lady over. His Grace is back to his old self now.”
“I didn’t bring her. The young lady decided on her own that she’d go see His Grace. She’d been thinking ever since she got home today, before suddenly saying; ‘I’ll go see Onii-sama’ and made her move.”
“I see. Folks say she’s sheltered, but she’s got her head on straight. I thought she came to persuade him, but she flat-out said she was there to apologize. I bet that made it easier for him to soften up.”
“The young lady’s smart, kind, and strong-willed. But if you say she’s naive about the world, well, that’s true too. She’s missing some common sense, and she’s peculiar in her own ways. That’s why I worry she might get hurt someday. I think His Grace worries about that too.”
“Heh.”

Yvan smirked.

“So His Grace is head over heels for her. That’s obvious enough, being his only family and all, after what happened with their mother—but you too, huh? You’re smitten as well? The young lady’s something else.”
“My job is to protect her. Making sure her feelings don’t get hurt is part of that. And you—you came all the way here to ask me to help patch things up between them, even though that’s got nothing to do with His Grace’s safety.”
“Well, I mean, I’d never seen him so wilted before. Like a boiled leaf with the salt drained out. It was honestly kinda funny.”

Yvan said, laughing.

“He was staring at his paperwork like, ‘Sorry, none of this is sinking in,’ and then just slumped face-first onto it. But after the young lady came and left, he glanced at the same documents and said, ‘Pass this to Daniil and have him verify the statutes,’ and went back to working briskly like usual.”

Then, out of nowhere, Aleksei had said:

*“As for Ekaterina—I’ve decided I’m not marrying her off anywhere.”*

“Lord Novak blurted out, ‘Please get a hold of yourself, Young Lord.’ I honestly deserve praise for not falling over right there.”
“…He didn’t mean that literally, right?”
“Maybe not literally—but it sure sounded honest. Like something a doting dad would say about his daughter. I mean, the young lady even patted his head. Maybe she’s trying to fill in for their mother. Maybe they’re both trying to be the parent the other lost. Isn’t that kind of adorable? I actually thought it was nice. If she stayed by his side forever, His Grace would be happy, don’t you think? But yeah, he came back to his senses right after that.”

Then Aleksei had said:

*“I was just saying that. …What’s wrong with that?”*

“He was half embarrassed and half sulky when he said it, honestly, it was like witnessing a miracle. His Grace, sulking! I almost died trying not to laugh.”

The other three in the room had been in the same state—*the Office of “Absolutely No Laughing Allowed.”*

“So, Yvan, what did you come here for anyway?”
“It was just too funny. I had to tell someone. But honestly, I kinda hope the young lady stays around. Don’t you?”

At his words, Mina snorted.

“Even if she gets married someday, I’ll follow her and serve her forever.”
“Ugh, selfish. I’m telling you, she’d be happier staying with us. You don’t see many men who’d cherish her as much as His Grace does.”
“She can’t exactly marry His Grace , can she? And besides, that’s not for us to decide. You’re really taken with him yourself, huh?”
“He’s easy to serve, that’s all. Not openly kind like the young lady, but he’d never be unfair.”

A faintly bitter smile crossed Yvan’s face.

“He doesn’t treat us like a monster.”

Mina’s expression didn’t change.

“Anyone who does would have to be a real fool.”
“Well, I’ve run into my share of real fools.”

Yvan said with a wry laugh.

“And I’ve seen His Grace at his most pitiful. When his mother passed, he didn’t sleep for five days—handling the funeral arrangements and working nonstop. Sure, he was busy, but mostly he just couldn’t sleep. On the carriage back to the academy, he finally dozed off—but really, he just collapsed. At that moment, I couldn’t help thinking how tragic he was. All I could do was drape a blanket over him. I just wished there would be someone out there who’d be kind to him. If his relationship with the young lady back then had been what it is now, that would’ve been wonderful.”

Mina frowned faintly.

“…If the young lady knew that, she’d be heartbroken.”
“I won’t tell her. His Grace wouldn’t want her to know anyway.”

The loyal maid and the loyal valet exchanged a nod of agreement.

“You’d better hurry back and make him some tea or something.”
“Yeah, I’d better. Guess I’ll head back.”

With that, Yvan kicked off the slender branch and leapt backward, landing gracefully on another branch like a bird—without even rustling a leaf.

He waved his hands lightly and vanished into the night. Mina didn’t bother watching him go. She returned to the special suit, as if nothing had happened.