Chapter 17 Don’t cross the line
Chapter 17 Don’t cross the line
We went to several stores to pick out the best gifts within our budget.
Still, thanks to my hard work, I was able to choose a present for my mother and Cyril.
A ring with a small blue sapphire for my mother.
For Cyril, she tried to give her a dress that’s currently in fashion at Delerson, but gave up because her price starts at least 60 gold.
She bought her own necklace with tiny pearl eggs instead.
She went around with Flora and she picked it because she remembered that Cyril used to like to have jewelry with pearls.
Maybe it was because I went around looking at various products.
Flora said her legs hurt, so we sat down on a bench in the square to rest.
Because of that, I haven’t been able to buy Emma’s present yet.
Anyway, what time is it now?
I took my pocket watch out of my pocket and checked it, and it was time for lunch.
“The daughter of the Marquis of Simonion.”
“Now you can call me by my first name.”
Even if I told her to speak comfortably, it wasn’t easy.
Even if we had to face each other in the office every day, that period was only less than two months.
In addition to that, there is a huge difference in status between Flora and I.
I don’t know if you’ve known each other for more than 10 years, like me and Emma.
No matter how much she allowed it, I wouldn’t cross that line first.
“No. No matter how I think about it, that doesn’t seem polite.”
“Huh? I’m really fine.”
“I think we should eat lunch sooner rather than later. Aren’t the marquis’s daughter hungry?”
There’s nothing better than changing the topic at times like this.
Flora’s face had a look of regret for a moment. But soon, with a smile on her face,
“I was just about to talk about having lunch.”
Agree with my opinion.
“There is a restaurant that I often go to. Let’s go together!”
“It must be a great place for the Marquis Lady to go.”
“Ah, not to that extent. It’s quite cheap, so it’s a good place to eat comfortably.”
Flora stretched her body and jumped up from her bench.
“Follow me.”
“I look forward to escorting you, Marquis Lady.”
The restaurant Flora recommended was located not too far from the plaza. But the moment I saw the restaurant building, I stopped involuntarily.
“Hey, the marquis’s daughter?”
“Yes?”
“Didn’t you just say that? It’s a pretty cheap place…….”
“Isn’t this on the cheap side?”
Flora just tilted her head as if she didn’t understand.
No, the signboard and the entrance are already giving off an expensive vibe…….
‘It’s probably because she’s a marquis, Young Ae.’
Your sense of money is completely different from that of the second son of a peasant baron like me.
But she was a bit sorry to have come this far and refused. The waiter at the door was also waiting for us to come in.
In the end, I chose to follow Flora into the restaurant.
“Where you used to sit.”
Upon hearing Flora’s request, the waiter responded ok with her polite demeanor. We were guided to a table by the window on the second floor, followed by a waiter.
“It’s nice because it’s sunny here. It can be said that it heals the heart.”
Flora savored the sunlight with her eyes closed.
I don’t know if savoring is the right expression, but that’s how it looked to me anyway.
Well, I understand.
On weekdays, I have to work all day in the emperor’s office.
“Oh, I have to order first.”
“I was about to tell you anyway.”
I left the selection of the menu to Flora.
She showed me her menu and explained her food. Thanks to that, the waiter had to stand still by our table, doing nothing.
“Um… …. I’ll just take the same one the Marquise’s daughter ordered.”
“Okay. Waiter.”
Flora beckoned the waiter to her door, and she ordered grilled venison, herring, and red wine.
“You must be drunk?”
“Just having a light drink. To make you feel like going out.”
After a while, the waiter came with a wine bottle and poured us wine into our glasses.
Come to think of it, she hasn’t had a drink since she entered the palace.
It was partly because Cecilia ordered those in charge of important jobs to stop drinking, but partly because she was adjusting to her work and didn’t even think about drinking.
That doesn’t mean Cecilia ordered a ban on drinking until the weekend.
Even though he’s a tyrant, it’s fortunate that he doesn’t peck people that hard.
“Shall we toast, Mr. Luke?”
“Do you have a toast?”
“Hmm. Shall we say that I hope you find a gift that suits your childhood friend well?”
“Not bad.”
We lightly bumped our glasses.
As I took a sip of the wine, a subtle bittersweet aroma spread in my mouth. How long have you been tasting this?
“Mr. Luke. That fact is something that keeps bothering me.”
Flora set her glass down and leaned her upper body slightly toward her with her arms crossed. Her emerald eyes were somehow serious.
“Please be honest. Do you hate Mulia?”
“Wow. You speak very directly.”
Certainly, Flora shows a lot of different aspects of her than ordinary noble ladies.
Ordinary women like to use roundabout speeches, but Flora tended to throw her fastball well.
Thanks to her, she was rather easy to talk to.
“That’s why I want to hear an honest answer.”
“It’s not that I hate it.”
“… ….”
Flora gently looked at her face. It seems that additional explanation is needed.
“Hmm. More specifically, since Lady Count Fordward is a little uncomfortable with me, I can say that I am a little uncomfortable too.”
“I see.”
She nodded her head and then she let out a short sigh of her own.
“Still, I’m glad. I was worried about what would happen if Mr. Luke replied that he hated Mullia.”
“But it doesn’t look like the situation will get better any time soon. I have no desire to step forward and improve the relationship.”
“Um… …. Should I tell Mulia to apologize properly?”
I stared into her emerald eyes. Then, a question came to mind.
I wonder if that’s really what I have to do.
“Perhaps the Lady of Count Fordward will be reluctant.”
“I guess so, right? There is a place where he is more stubborn than he looks.”
Judging by the reaction, it seemed that she had only said it once.
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“And other than that, there are a couple of other things to worry about. Whether it’s work, whenever there is a meeting of nobles, there are frequent conflicts with the emperor’s aristocracy…….”
Ah, just thinking about it makes my head throb.
Especially the Marquis of Marlborough and the Duke of Montersen are really…… It’s a problem in itself.
As I cupped my forehead, Flora nodded her head in understanding.
“You must have suffered a lot. Mr. Luke or our Cecil…… Your Majesty too. When Mulia and I were together, I sometimes cursed at them…… Oh.”
Flora covered her mouth with her hand.
“Please pretend you didn’t hear that. You know?”
Flora winked at her, her hands clasped together in prayer.
“Actually, I’ve seen Your Majesty do that too. When he leaves a meeting, he always touches his forehead and says something like gossip.”
“Ah… ….”
Looks like he didn’t know that he did that even in front of me.
Then he gave me a pitying look.
“The position of direct secretary is difficult in many ways. Same with His Majesty.”
“I just have to hold on somehow… ….”
My mood suddenly calmed down because I was talking about work.
Flora also let out a small sigh. Then she put the wine glass in her hand again.
“Mr. Luke. Cheers one more time. If you eat with her sinking mood, you’ll pretend.”
“Right. Will there be a toast again this time?”
“Um… ….”
While Flora pondered, she also raised a half-remaining wine glass.
“Let’s do this. Let’s do our best until the day His Majesty and all of us are free from overwork.”
“Is that a possible future?”
“Whoops. If not right now, won’t it happen someday?”
“Yes. It is like that too.”
We lightly toasted and drank the rest of the wine.
Perhaps Cecilia and her two maids will never recover from overwork.
But I have a dream that can come true.
Is that why?
This time, the wine seemed to taste sweet.
As expected, in life, sweetness and bitterness should coexist like this.
* * *
After lunch, we walked around the shopping district again. After a long thought, I was able to decide on a gift for her Emma.
Just a hairpin.
It’s not just a hairpin, it’s a hairpin studded with cubic zirconias, popular in the empire.
I thought it would be rather burdensome to have a jewel embedded in it, so it was the result of a compromise in an appropriate line.
In the carriage back to the imperial palace, I thanked Flora.
“Thanks to the young lady of the Marquis, I was able to choose a good present today. Thank you.”
“What? He needed my help, so I did my best to help him.”
“I’ll definitely repay you next time.”
“You can’t take back those words. Did you know?”
Flora raised the corners of her mouth and laughed, a smile that she felt was somehow sinister.
…… Did you just say thank you?
However, washing your mouth after receiving help is not polite to people. Flora also calculated all the expenses from the restaurant today.
No matter what, you have to reciprocate.
“What do you see me as? Talk about anything.”
As she declared in a confident voice, Flora giggled in amusement.
By the time the carriage arrived at the imperial palace, a red sunset covered the sky.
“Today was fun. Go in and get some rest, Mr. Luke.”
“Yes. And the young lady of the Marquis Simonion.”
She waved her hand at me and then went into my room. After confirming that, I was able to move to my room.
Two letters were neatly placed under the door of my room.
Each envelope had Emma’s name and her father’s name written on it.
Big. I finally got a reply.
I entered the room and decided to open Emma’s letter first.
In Emma’s letter, it was written that the information I wrote about life in the imperial palace was very interesting and mysterious, and that the Nedville estate was still peaceful.
「Everyone is worried about whether our Master Luke is doing well in the imperial palace.
I don’t worry too much because I believe you’ll do just fine.
Still, I was wondering how you were doing. Thanks for the letter.
I want to share letters often from now on.」
“Ah. It’s fuzzy…….”
It feels like you are entering a sanctuary of the mind.
I put the letter to my nose and inhaled.
“… ….”
Absolutely not perverted, just in case the paper smelled like Nedville. Of course, the paper didn’t smell at all.
‘If you leave the empire later, wouldn’t it be a good idea to take your close friends with you… ….’
You’re in deep trouble again.
I’m tired today, so I’ll think about it tomorrow.
After folding Emma’s letter again and putting it in her drawer, she read her father’s letter this time. The scrawled handwriting, so powerful, immediately caught my eye.
「I never thought you would ask such a thing. It seems His Majesty mentioned it, right?
But this father can’t answer that question!
How can I say something that Your Majesty didn’t say?
It’s not a big deal, but you have to protect what you want to protect.」
“Hmm… ….”
Well, the answer is as expected.
I also folded my father’s letter and put it in the drawer. Then he dived onto the bed.
‘What happened between the two of you?’
My father said it wasn’t a big deal, but for some reason I was still concerned.
-Continued