Heyman’s dilemma remained unresolved throughout the day.
He had taken off his shoes.
He was holding a fountain pen in his right hand.
However, putting this fountain pen between his toes was a completely different matter.
How much he had suffered from the unstable magic coursing through his body after being adopted into a noble family.
Even after that, he was never properly recognized outside this mansion because he was an adopted child of unknown origin.
Whenever other nobles openly made dismissive remarks, Heyman feared that the Duke and Duchess who adopted him would be ashamed and cast him out.
To go back to that street, trapped in a laboratory, enduring each day without knowing what tomorrow would bring.
Hoping for life because he was alive, only to despair again because he survived.
Not wanting to live like that again, Heyman desperately tried to remain in the Duke’s family.
Fortunately, until the day he was recognized as a wizard upon reaching adulthood, Duke Diego and the late Duchess never spoke harshly to him.
To repay that kindness, he tried to become a perfect noble, at least on the outside…
And now, to put a fountain pen between his toes?
Ridiculous.
It makes no sense.
I can’t do that.
It’s something a noble shouldn’t do.
Glancing out the window, he saw Solea deliberately removing the workers’ shoes and shaking her head as she inspected each foot.
Unable to hear well due to the distance, Heyman quietly opened the window and used magic to amplify the sound waves.
Now, Solea’s voice sounded as if she were speaking right next to him.
“No, this isn’t the foot. Next… Nope, this isn’t the foot either.”
“My Lady, why the sudden interest in feet?”
“I’m looking for the perfect foot. A foot that will satisfy my aesthetic sense, complete and perfect.”
It was as if she was deliberately speaking for Heyman to hear.
Heyman lowered his head to look at his feet.
“…Did they really gain weight?”
He cautiously curled his toes inward and then slowly relaxed them.
His toes moved well enough, so what was the problem?
“Does she mean I need to move my feet freely enough to write? Does she have a foot fetish that can’t be satisfied otherwise?”
It was a bizarre taste, but still.
If I’m the only one in this world with perfect feet, it can’t be helped.
With a confident smile, Heyman placed the fountain pen he was holding in his right hand between his toes.
Then he placed a piece of paper on the floor and began practicing writing.
‘Heyman von Bergo.’
“It’s all crooked and messy. No wonder Solea wasn’t satisfied.”
Focusing all his attention on his toes, Heyman continued to write various words.
‘Diego von Bergo.’
The respected Duke.
‘Eileen Ildon von Bergo.’
The kind Duchess who embraced him warmly.
‘Tion von Bergo.’
The taciturn brother.
‘Gray von Bergo.’
The foolish idiot.
‘Solea von Bergo.’
The crazy person.
With each family member’s name he wrote, the writing seemed to improve.
Heyman continued to practice writing, changing the paper several times.
A maid knocked on Solea’s door, her arms full of trash.
“My Lady, it’s me.”
“Come in.”
As soon as Anne entered Solea’s room, she quickly closed the door and swiftly placed the trash on the table.
“Why did you ask me to gather the trash from Master Heyman’s room?”
“I have something to check.”
Solea smiled brightly and handed Anne a small ring.
“You don’t have to give me this! I was just doing what you asked.”
“Still. It’s because I’m grateful.”
Nothing in this world is free. Even if you say it’s okay, when you need to get someone to do something, money is the best.
And if I give you something like this, you’ll come running to me first if anything happens later. I’ve lived quite a harsh life myself.
After refusing several times, Anne finally accepted the ring and turned away from Solea. Although she looked embarrassed, she seemed secretly pleased.
Handling the ring carefully as if afraid of scratching it, Anne hid it deep in her petticoat pocket before turning back.
Solea seemed preoccupied with examining the papers brought from Heyman’s room.
“Not bad. At least it’s legible.”
Anne noticed a strange sentence among the papers Solea had put down.
“My Lady, it says ‘Solea pervert’ here?!”
Solea laughed involuntarily, crumpled up the stack of papers, and threw them into the wall fireplace.
“Ah, why are you burning them? Are you angry because Master Heyman called you a pervert?”
“No, that’s not it.”
“Did Master Heyman catch you reading obscene literature?”
“…It’s not like that. Anne, you don’t need to bring me those books anymore either.”
There was already a stash of erotic novels hidden under the bed by Anne.
She didn’t need to bring any more.
Anne would secretly procure books every week and hide them under the bed, worried that Solea might get bored.
“Since I mainly clean the room anyway, don’t worry and enjoy them comfortably, My Lady.”
“No. I’m fine without enjoying them, so you can go now.”
“Yes, My Lady!”
After the loyal but slightly oblivious Anne nodded and left the room, Solea stared blankly at the burning fireplace.
“He should be used to writing with his feet by now, so I just need to test it.”
Whether it was really possible to write in a diary.
If she asked him to write what she wanted right away and he failed, it would only raise suspicion.
Solea fiddled with the small silver necklace around her neck.
The necklace, secretly purchased through Anne, could hold a small photo in its pendant.
Of course, instead of a photo, it contained the winning lottery ticket.
I must always keep it with me. I don’t know when I’ll be able to return home.
Solea deliberately waited.
To make Heyman anxious.
And just in case, she exercised with Gray every day in the meantime.
“Don’t bend your waist! Tighten your abs!”
“My abs…! Ugh, I have no strength in my abs! Why doesn’t Solea have a single muscle in her body!”
Even a simple movement of standing straight, stretching the shoulders, spreading the arms in a Y-shape, then bending the elbows and pulling down hurt.
Latissimus dorsi, shoulder blades, waist, thighs, even the soles of her feet.
“That’s because Solea was always lying down. That’s why Gray is teaching you to exercise now.”
“Gray, you bastard. It’s too hard.”
“Speak more politely to your brother.”
“Gray. How many more do I have to do?”
“Just five more.”
“Ugh.”
How long will it take to build muscle this way?
Less than a week after building muscles with tears in her eyes, Heyman knocked on Solea’s door first.
“Solea. It’s me.”
“Okay. Come in.”
Solea, who had just returned to her room exhausted after another day of exercise, stood up abruptly.
Heyman entered the room with a solemn expression.
“I heard you’ve been exercising.”
“Yes. To get healthy.”
“…I heard you’re still looking for pretty feet.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Have you found the feet you want?”
“No, not yet.”
Answering as if nothing was wrong, Solea looked at Heyman.
He had a confident expression.
“Did you write this?”
Duke Diego would occasionally send simple notes through a maid on days when he couldn’t have breakfast together, even after sending letters to Solea for a week.
Solea would sometimes reply as well.
Looking at Solea’s letter on the table, Heyman asked and then began to boast without being prompted, smiling gently.
“The handwriting looks like that of a child who just learned to write. I could write better than this with my feet.”
How annoying.
But if you really can write better, I’ll forgive you.
What wouldn’t I forgive?
Solea tilted her head without showing her thoughts.
“You can write better than this with your feet? That must be difficult.”
Heyman smirked and took out a fountain pen from his jacket’s inner pocket.
“Of course, it’s difficult if the fine motor skills aren’t properly developed.”
As he took off his shoes, a fragrant flower scent wafted out, as if he had thoroughly washed his feet.
What kind of treatment did he get?
Solea bit her lip to keep from laughing.
“…Your feet do look prettier than before.”
“I thought so. It might look a bit unsightly, but since this is your taste, well, I’ll have to endure it.”
Heyman placed one of the papers on the table onto the floor, inserted the fountain pen between his toes, and began to write.
‘Crazy bastard. He really writes better with his feet than with his hands?’
Solea’s lips parted naturally without needing to act.
‘Heyman von Bergo.’
Heyman’s handwriting, scrawled in elegant cursive, was so neat without a single stray stroke that it could be used as a signature on any contract.
Emboldened by Solea’s surprised face, Heyman wrote several more sentences below his name.
‘This level of skill is necessary to claim perfect feet.’
‘Though scarred, these feet are equally talented.’
‘Now I understand why you were full of praise, calling them pretty.’
Solea reacted to each of Heyman’s writings.
“Really! Heyman’s feet are the most perfect I’ve ever seen!”
“How can even the handwriting be so beautiful? You’re truly a person without a single flaw from head to toe!”
“So pretty! Our rich farmer prince! Oh, so pretty!”
Just as the corners of Heyman’s mouth were curling up, Solea brought out a book from the drawer with a bright face.
It was a thick book wrapped in an old leather cover.
“What book is that?”
“Ah. It’s old paper. It’s difficult to control the pressure when writing on old paper with an old pen. I wonder if you can do it well.”
After finishing her words, Solea took out an old fountain pen from between the pages of the book, as if she had prepared it in advance.
“It’s simple. I can even count the number of downy hairs with my toes now.”
“Then show me.”
Solea’s eyes flashed for a moment as she asked to see.
Heyman flinched involuntarily for a moment, but he thought it must be because his sister was a pervert with a foot fetish.
“Solea. Make me one promise.”
“What is it?”
“If I satisfy your foot fetish, promise you won’t go around making other people take off their shoes anymore.”
“Someone might misunderstand if they heard that. Alright. I won’t make people take off their shoes. If our prince succeeds in writing here, what wouldn’t I do for him? I’ll even put you in the ‘Biographies of Eccentric People.’”
Although he didn’t know what the ‘Biographies of Eccentric People’ was, Heyman was confident.
The old paper required delicate control of strength, but he had put in so much effort over the past few days.
As Solea said, it seemed to use the muscles of the lower body evenly, which was difficult at first, but now he could control it freely.
Heyman nodded solemnly and inserted the old fountain pen Solea handed him between his toes.
Wait, this scene seems familiar?
Well, all old fountain pens look like this.
Solea flipped through the pages of the book, skimming quickly, and opened it to a blank page, placing it on the floor.
Heyman took a breath, careful not to let Solea notice, exhaled very slowly, and then placed his foot over it.
“…Hm?”
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s hard to control the pressure sitting down. I’ll try standing up.”
Heyman stood up, balanced himself, and then placed his foot on the paper again.
Solea had already sat down in front of the book, staring only at the paper.
To an onlooker, it might have looked like she was about to kiss his instep.
But neither of them had time to worry about such things.
For Heyman, his pride was at stake, and for Solea, her life was on the line.
“You can do it! Come on, try harder!”
“W-why is this happening?”
But despite Solea’s enthusiastic cheering, Heyman couldn’t make a single mark on the paper.
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