She couldn't believe what she had just done. Sothing she might do right after clearing a dungeon had popped out of her sound mind.
She quietly lowered the hand that had been wrapped around Cider's head. Her heart, racing from embarrassnt, was pounding throughout her body. Cider let out a quiet laugh.
"Is this a complint?"
"Be quiet."
"Ah. Did I do sothing wrong? You're the one who suddenly hugged ."
"...I said be quiet."
Esperanza pushed Cider away with a thud. He slowly straightened his body as if to show off.
What on earth had she done? Even if it was impulsive, it was an absurd act.
'Even if I'm the only person in the world who calls this person by his na, so what?'
Cider looked at the flustered Esperanza with narrowed eyes, then took off the hat and placed it on Esperanza's hands. Gentle hands tucked the protruding stray hair behind her ear. Esperanza couldn't bring herself to look at Cider directly and fixed her gaze only on the hat.
It was a pretty hat. It maintained a good balance between flashy and decorative yet light decorations that girls would like and dignified decorations that noble ladies would wear. The monster byproducts on the soft satin fit so well in their place like jewels that if she hadn't known, even Esperanza wouldn't have thought it was magical equipnt.
"Did you choose it yourself?"
"I chose it myself. It seems like it would go well with the outing dress you had fitted recently. The one with the sky-blue ribbon."
When had he rembered all that? There were ten sumr dresses fitted that day, and four of them were for outings. Even if it was just because he had a good mory.
"To properly wear the hat, we'd have to go on a picnic or sothing."
"Do we even have ti for that? Didn't you just co back from getting scolded by the Pri Minister?"
Cider didn't look like soone who had been scolded at all.
"What would scolding
accomplish? I finished what they wanted
to do—accepting graduate students—with three special lectures."
Ah, this person was a professor. Though he definitely seed to be slacking off. She got the impression that the Pri Minister was trying his best to use Cider efficiently sohow. Was Raymond Tempton still the Pri Minister thirteen years ago?
If he was soone who could extract sothing from that Cider Claiborne, he could maintain the Pri Minister position for 20 years. Though she thought he had taken a 5-year break in between.
Even Hunters who thought little of knowing NPCs had to bow down to Raymond Tempton. Even the arrogant Hunter Association only agreed to negotiations in front of the royal family when Pri Minister Tempton stepped forward.
To be called by such an iron-blooded Pri Minister and scolded yet not even blink an eye. Wasn't he scared?
"Are you keeping your House of Lords seat?"
"Unfortunately."
What's unfortunate about it? Esperanza giggled and followed Cider up to the study. The maids were coming out carrying trays. The green tea set that Esperanza particularly liked, scones that filled the study with butter scent, and rose jam scooped into a pretty glass bowl.
"You know I made this?"
"Really?"
"Strictly speaking, I didn't make it myself, I just helped pick the petals a bit."
"Usually people don't say they made sothing just for that."
"Do you know what's usual?"
Cider slowly propped his chin and retorted.
"I don't know. I've never lived normally."
"Ah. Right."
"So why did you suddenly help the servants with their work?"
"To take so rose jam."
When the sand in the hourglass ran out, Cider first poured tea into Esperanza's cup. When she lifted the teacup, the sunset-colored reflection on her cheek made her cheek appear red.
"Aren't you pouring yours?"
"...Ah."
Cider, who had been quietly propping his chin and watching Esperanza drink tea, belatedly filled his own teacup with tea.
"What are you going to use the rose jam for?"
"I was actually planning to go out in a bit, to bring it to Jack. But if I take what the mansion people made, I feel sorry. So I'm helping with work and taking it as fair compensation."
"Esperanza."
Esperanza, who had been counting the patterns inside her teacup, looked up. Cider was smiling with eyes that seed to see through pretenses.
"Isn't it ridiculous to talk about compensation just for taking so rose jam?"
"...Why?"
"The only people in this house who eat such things are you and , so what's wrong with giving the leftovers as a gift to soone else?"
"No, in my position of living here as a dependent."
"It's also ridiculous to express it as 'living as a dependent' at this point."
Had she acted like such an owner? While Esperanza was confused, Cider put down his teacup and changed the subject.
"That aside. You've beco quite interested in that kid lately."
When she looked at him reproachfully at the cold-sounding tone, Cider lightly waved his hand in explanation.
"You weren't interested originally."
It was a remark that seed to carelessly dig into her heart. Esperanza creakily put down her teacup.
I wasn't uninterested. I was just busy then. All sorts of excuses clumped together in her head. Esperanza exhaled deeply, put down her cup, and hugged a cushion tightly. Her pronunciation was muffled because of her cheek pressed against the cushion.
"I used to care about kids a bit because of my nephew."
She thought of newspaper-selling Jack. Esperanza, who had never been close with NPCs, had maintained a close relationship with that child not just because of information. Information could be obtained from the information broker Cyrus had introduced, even if it was troubleso.
A clever and ambitious kid living in the slums.
"This is the first ti I'm hearing about a nephew."
Because it was the first ti she was saying it. She might have done it unconsciously. Not talking about stories outside the ga in this world. She had hardly even thought about them.
"There's quite an age gap between my sister and . Ten years. My nephew is three years old... I couldn't see him often, but I was fond of him."
Though it wasn't a particularly interesting story, Cider listened quietly. Esperanza wedged the cushion between her torso and knees and hugged her knees with both arms while mumbling. Half hoping the other person would listen, half hoping they would pretend not to hear.
"Even though he's only been born for 3 years, he speaks so smartly, and he seems to look a bit like
too. ...Actually, that's all an excuse. I was actually fond of that child from when my sister was pregnant. So kids, sohow, I couldn't help but care. They're weaker than adults, need protection. It's hard to pretend not to know."
"What kind of person is your sister?"
"Just, ordinary. She's an ordinarily good person, though her personality is a bit difficult. She nags a lot too."
Esperanza, who chuckled over the cushion, whispered while tilting her cheek.
"I miss her..."
It was the first ti. The mont she said it out loud, the emotion beca real. She took a breath while hugging the warmthless cushion as if squeezing it. She didn't feel like crying. It was common for busy adult sisters to not see each other for months. It's not like she'd never see her again.
She quickly felt better. There was warm tea, sweet butter scones, and a spacious sofa. Most of all, since there was soone to confide her complicated feelings to, she wasn't lonely or miserable. It was reasonably okay. Esperanza, who had buried her lips in the cushion, added in an even more muffled pronunciation than before.
"And it's also because of you."
"Because of ?"
"You... worried about ."
That mont when the air stopped. The mont when sothing filled with tension and anticipation before battle crossed the line. The sense of reality she had been recognizing with her head ca rushing in. With just one sentence.
When their eyes t, Esperanza smiled embarrassedly, pushing up her cheeks roundly.
"From then on, this place started to feel real to ."
The remaining stray hair from her loosely braided hair swayed in the wind and tickled her cheek. The wind carried the scent of butter. The wind hitting the now lush leaves made the sound of pouring rain.
The rose jam was sweet enough to make her tongue sting. As soon as Esperanza put the scone with rose jam on top into her mouth, she frowned.
"You didn't say you'd make it this sweet..."
Cider burst into laughter a beat late. Esperanza also smiled awkwardly. As if crushing the atmosphere.
"Can I give this to that kid?"
"It won't do in this state. All his teeth might rot."
"If you're really worried about that child, bring him here. He's just one kid, and there must be so use for him sowhere in this household."
Cider spoke more generously than usual, but Esperanza shook her head.
"I don't want to do sothing I can't take responsibility for. It's not like I can look after him until he grows up. I need to hear that child's opinion too, and until I decide for sure what to do..."
A neat knocking sound interrupted her words.
"Count, Miss Esperanza. This is the butler."
"Please co in."
Butler Howard appeared in perfect attire as before, holding a silver tray on his white-gloved hands. His actual noble employer was in very slovenly attire, wearing only a shirt without even a vest.
"I apologize for interrupting teati. While checking letters, this old man wondered if he had seen sothing wrong."
On the outer surface of the envelope was written the address of Avondale Mansion along with "To Miss Esperanza Hunter" in flowing script. The butler checked it again and presented it to Esperanza.
"This is a letter addressed to Miss Esperanza."
When Esperanza received the letter, Cider moved to sit beside Esperanza.
When they turned the letter over almost head-to-head, a red wax seal appeared. It was made in the traditional way, lting wax with a candle and then stamping a seal. Even by the standards of this era that used sealing machines for stamps and typewriters for writing, this was a thod about a hundred years behind.
"What kind of letter is it?"
"I've seen this crest before."
But there was no way Esperanza, who couldn't even morize noble nas, would rember a noble's crest. A firebird drawn in the center of a spinning wheel. The sickle on the spinning wheel was the royal crest, but a firebird?
Esperanza's head gave up providing an answer. It definitely wasn't the royal crest. Fortunately, there was soone in this place who could provide the answer instead of Esperanza. It was clear without any sign of confusion.
"It's Duke Galliston."
"Ah."
"I told you. An opportunity for revenge would co."
Duke Galliston's invitation.
This looks like a trap rather than revenge to anyone, doesn't it?
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