Chapter 185
* * *
“Didn’t I tell you?”
He leaned back against the backrest and smiled leisurely.
“What’s important to Miss lody is important to
as well. You don’t need to waste ti dating so boring man on such a day.”
“Boring… Since when did you start having such a modest self-evaluation?”
In lody’s eyes, he was always soone who lived with his own greatness.
Just a while ago, didn’t he act coy, saying “Look at my handso face?”
There would be few people in this world who could live with such confidence.
“Not long ago. Actually, Father always emphasized ‘patience’ as a human virtue. And I was quite proud of my patience.”
But thanks to lody, who was letting her guard down around him more and more each day, he ended up realizing his patience wasn’t that great after all.
“Well, anyway, Loretta had been saying she wants to hold a family banquet soon. It will be a good learning experience for her.”
He pulled over a blank piece of paper nearby and quickly jotted down a mo.
A ssage asking Loretta to hold a banquet.
He folded the paper he finished writing in half and held it out to lody.
“If it’s alright, could you pass this on to Loretta? She’ll definitely be delighted.”
lody accepted the paper he offered.
“I will.”
“And if it’s not too uncomfortable, may I accompany you on the day you hear the results?”
“About that.”
lody answered with a bit of difficulty.
“…We probably can’t enter the palace together.”
“Of course, I’m not hoping for that much. I’m just asking if it’s alright to escort you from the mansion to the south gate.”
“Uh, um… Is that perhaps.”
“Of course, I can wait for you quietly, Miss lody.”
Does that an Claude will stand by at the south gate until her schedule ends?
lody hurriedly shook her head. No matter how she thought about it, that was too strange.
“T-that’s ridiculous! For you, a Baldwin and the heir, to just!”
She was startled by the word “just” that ca out without her knowing and quickly covered her mouth.
“Just?”
Of course, Claude also narrowed his eyes for a mont and deliberately pointed out that word.
“I’m sorry, it was a mistake. Anyway, there are too many eyes there. What if soone sees and misunderstands?”
“Misunderstand what?”
“That’s…!”
lody thought of the strange rumors that could spread in such a situation. But there was nothing she could say with her mouth.
Claude, who had been watching her, got up from his seat and circled around her.
“For example, that I’ve beco a fool who doesn’t know about saving face or self-esteem because I’ve fallen head over heels for you?”
“…”
“Or that I’m waiting obediently in front of the castle gate like your puppy, as if I’ve beco your dog?”
“Young Master!”
“Why, it’s all true, isn’t it?”
“N-no, not at all! I don’t treat you like a puppy, Young Master!”
“Then do it quickly.”
He stopped walking and stood in front of lody, sticking his head out. As if commanding her to adore him right away.
“…You’re really strange, Young Master.”
lody said that, but she actually thought she was the strangest one.
In the end, she ended up stroking his face and hair as if she were enchanted.
“Then is it alright if I follow you?”
When he asked earnestly, lody ended up nodding.
“Good, I’m already looking forward to waiting for Miss lody.”
Because the smile he made while saying that was so beautiful, lody thought this man was definitely a demon who had co to captivate her.
* * *
It was that evening when lody passed on Claude’s note to Loretta.
Actually, she had gone to deliver it right after leaving his room, but Loretta had already gone to the imperial palace with her father.
‘There probably isn’t much fun to do at the palace during such a busy ti these days.’
lody thought so, but Loretta, who had returned from the palace, only looked very happy.
“Welco back, Loretta. It seems like sothing fun happened at the imperial palace.”
But at her words, Loretta shook her head vigorously.
“Nope, no. I just had a snack and took a walk.”
“Alone?”
“Uh… Yeah! You see, everyone was busy.”
Loretta, who answered in a sowhat awkward tone, fidgeted with her hands for a mont, then ran into her room, saying “Ah, I didn’t do my howork!”
“It would have been nice if you had taken your howork to the imperial palace.”
Anyway, lody was relieved that Loretta seed to have had a fun day today as well.
* * *
A week later, she woke up to the sound of rain in the morning.
At the regular sound of the ground getting wet, lody sighed with worry.
‘Today is the day the Duke leaves for Kristonson, of all days.’
She was startled by her own negative thoughts and quickly shook her head.
It was important to think positively before an important event.
Besides, co to think of it, a rainy day was the best for moving while avoiding the eyes of others.
‘So it’s a very lucky day.’
When she got up, finished a simple grooming, and went to the entrance, a carriage loaded with luggage was already waiting in front.
Soon, the Duke, dressed in simple travel attire, ca down the stairs with Claude.
“Your Grace, good morning?”
lody quickly stepped in front of them.
“It’s a good morning, lody.”
It was very important for the Duke and lody to exchange greetings that weren’t much different from usual.
Because the people of the mansion, including Butler Higgins, thought he was going on a normal business trip about mana stone mining.
They didn’t want to leave an impression of “being different from usual” to them.
“Good morning, Miss lody. Did you wake up early?”
Claude soon joined in with a normal greeting.
“Yes, I wanted to say hello to the Duke.”
“Co to think of it.”
The Duke was about to take the briefcase Higgins offered, but stopped and turned to lody.
“Today is the day you go to hear the results.”
“Yes, that’s right. I’m extrely nervous.”
“You must be. Be careful on your way.”
He pondered for a mont, then soon patted lody’s head.
He seed to have been worried about whether it was okay to do that to a child who had grown up.
Of course, lody really liked that. There was no way she could dislike the hand that had saved her.
“I feel a bit more confident now. Thank you.”
The Duke finally took the bag and exchanged brief requests and greetings with Higgins as well.
Lastly, he tapped Claude’s shoulder.
“Then, I’ll leave everything to you.”
“Yes, Father. Don’t worry.”
“…Alright.”
He turned his body right away without dragging out the ti any longer.
Looking at the Duke’s back, lody considered what he had “left” to Claude.
The Duke was leaving to conspire with soone who had beco the Emperor’s enemy.
Even if it wasn’t for treason or revolution, if this matter reached the Emperor’s ears.
The Baldwin Duchy would not be able to survive.
To resolve this, the heir Claude had to step up and claim everything was the Duke’s arbitrary decision, and prove his loyalty to the Emperor.
‘And that proof is.’
It was nothing but taking the Duke’s life with Claude’s hands and offering his neck.
And the Claude Baldwin that lody knew…
‘He would do it, without a mont’s hesitation.’
To protect not only his younger siblings but also all the vassals and servants of the family.
The Duke and Claude must have already reached a perfect agreent on such things.
‘The Duke wants Loretta not to experience the sa thing as her mother, even if he has to take that risk.’
Wishing for his precious Loretta to not know the pain of being a Physis and to grow up as just an ordinary child.
Soon the prepared carriage began to move little by little.
Of course, Claude and everyone else present at the scene bowed their waists.
The Duke’s carriage departed through the dense rain that fell endlessly.
* * *
The rain continued even in the afternoon.
Claude had really co with lody all the way to the south gate, and now he was probably waiting for her in the carriage.
lody was following a Records Keeper who had co to greet her.
With the rain getting stronger, heavy mud and such stuck to the hem of her dress.
The Records Keeper took her to where the archives were. After passing through several identical archives, he finally stopped.
When the heavy door opened, the female Records Keeper who had supervised her exam was seen.
Like that day, she had her white hair neatly tied back and was looking at lody with a strict gaze.
“You ca.”
“It’s been a while.”
“Yes.”
She answered briefly and signaled to the young Records Keeper with her eyes. Only after he withdrew did she take the lead and head into the storage room.
“Co in.”
lody followed her in and realized one thing.
The arrangent of book spines was familiar.
“This is…”
When lody uttered softly, she answered.
“That’s right. This is where you took the exam.”
She went between the bookshelves and sat in front of the desk.
On the day of the exam, it was the seat where lody had rewritten new records and such.
“Sit.”
She offered lody the chair placed across the desk.
lody slowly sat down with an uneasy feeling. Wondering if there was sothing lacking in her exam.
“I graded your exam.”
At her words that ca out right away, lody quickly straightened her back and fixed her posture.
Her hands clasped together from tension trembled slightly.
“To put it bluntly, it’s not bad. You have a good grasp of the reason for leaving records.”
She nodded to herself and then stared straight at lody.
“No one objected to hiring you.”
“Then…”
Forgetting that it was a ti to keep silent, lody blurted out an impatient remark without knowing.
But she didn’t readily give an answer.
Instead, she just stared at lody for a long ti with narrowed eyes.
“Anyway, that’s the story until I discovered this on my business trip.”
She took out an item from under the desk and held it out in front of lody.
‘lody Higgins.’
The first thing that caught her eye was her na.
…Engraved on the heel of white shoes.
“…”
lody couldn’t give any answer.
Reviews
All reviews (0)