Chapter 217
* * *
lody changed her clothes with the help of a maid and pondered who this unexpected visitor could be.
‘There seems to be no one who would co all the way here to see .’
She finished getting ready with that question in mind and imdiately headed to the reception room.
As the antique door opened, she saw a woman standing alone, looking out the window.
After Wendel Benton set down the tea and withdrew, lody stared blankly at the sowhat familiar person’s back.
Neatly tied up brown hair, casual travel clothes.
lody didn’t recognize her at first glance.
But when the woman turned around and started with “Miss Higgins,” lody was very surprised and brought both hands to her mouth.
“Re-Records Keeper!”
It was the very Records Keeper who had retired last fall in exchange for not recording lody’s
shoes.
“It’s been a while.”
“H-how did you get here? No, I… It’s been a long ti.”
As if amused by lody’s inability to hide her flustered state, the woman laughed out loud.
“It’s awkward to call a retired person the Records Keeper. I’m Sherry Clens.”
“Mrs. Clens.”
“I’d prefer Sherry. Also, I don’t really like the title of Mrs.”
lody imdiately reflected her preference and corrected how she addressed her.
“I didn’t expect to et you here, Miss Sherry.”
“Of course, actually, neither did I.”
“How have you been… No, we shouldn’t talk standing. Would you like to sit here?”
lody hurriedly offered her a comfortable seat. She was so surprised that she had forgotten she should serve the guest.
“Thank you. But let’s talk like this. It would be a sha to miss such a magnificent sunset.”
She turned back around and gazed at the red sky spread beyond the large window.
lody soon joined her gaze.
“I read the newspaper.”
Soon Sherry, not the Records Keeper, quietly brought up the topic.
“…Yes.”
lody answered carefully, imagining her thoughts.
Perhaps she doesn’t regret retiring. Even if she records such things now, nothing particularly alarming will happen.
“I have no regrets.”
Surprised by the sudden answer, lody turned to look at her.
“I an it.”
“But…”
“Anyway, I neglected my given duty. Even if the situation changes, that fact doesn’t disappear.”
lody felt a little ashad at her uprightness for a mont.
How could she arbitrarily guess that such a person would regret her past decision?
“However, you are different, Miss Higgins.”
“Different…?”
“My telling you to hide yourself was just a temporary asure for the sake of peace.”
lody nodded slightly.
“Now that His Majesty the Emperor has also awakened from his long nightmare, you don’t need to be bound by that promise anymore.”
“…That.”
“You can aim to be a Records Keeper again. It’s unfortunate that you’ll have to take the exam twice though.”
“I can’t do that! Because you, Miss Sherry…!”
“It’s not like Miss Higgins particularly asked
to do that, right? It was solely my decision to omit the records.”
lody couldn’t dare argue further against her firm answer.
“I don’t know how to thank you for all this.”
“It’s only natural.”
“No, it’s not. You bestowed such grace upon
when we barely knew each other, and now you’re being considerate so I can live freely. You’re really… kind.”
“I just happened to want to do that. It’s not a big deal. Anyone has a basic desire to be a kind person.”
“Kindness is a ‘basic desire’?”
“When you give it, you feel a sense of fulfillnt, so wouldn’t it be okay to call it that?”
lody really liked what she said.
If it was a world where kindness led to basic desires, everyone would live in gentleness and affection.
“…I should also work hard to feel such joy often.”
“You’ll do well, Miss Higgins.”
“Oh, and there’s sothing I want to ask.”
lody brushed back her loose hair and took a step closer to her.
“I’m curious how you knew I was here.”
“Hm?”
One of Sherry’s eyebrows rose slightly. She seed to not have expected lody to ask such a question.
“S-sorry, did you happen to send
a letter?”
“No, that’s not it.”
She seed to ponder for a mont but soon grinned.
“It seems I’ll get to satisfy my basic desire again.”
“Pardon?”
“Claude Baldwin found .”
“The, the Young Master did?”
“Yes. I thought I was perfectly hidden, but perhaps he knew from the beginning that I was staying in the duchy.”
“You were… in the duchy?”
“Yes, all along.”
Naturally, lody was reminded of when Claude ca and suggested a place to stay.
He had told her it would be good to go to the duchy.
‘Could it be, for the sake of this eting…?’
Although lody had been staying in the capital for Loretta’s sake, she always kept her promise with the Records Keeper in mind.
“Then, did you co all the way to Kristonson for ?”
“Of course not. I happened to be trying to cross the border. Sumr and fall are good seasons for travel. Of course, I had no intention of eting Miss Higgins before leaving.”
Sherry recalled the young Baldwin who had co to find her.
He, the pride of the Baldwins, willingly bowed to Sherry Clens, who held no position, and earnestly asked her.
To et lody Higgins.
“The world has changed, so she’ll know she can be free now too.”
“…You may know, but lody Higgins values promises.”
Claude bowed to her several tis, making the sa request. Even though it wasn’t sothing he needed to plead for so desperately.
“He was deeply concerned about you. A very kind young man.”
“I see… I didn’t know. The Young Master didn’t say anything…”
No, saying she didn’t know was just an excuse.
If lody had just asked for a reason when he recomnded the duchy, she could have found out right away.
It wasn’t that he didn’t say it. lody just didn’t properly listen to him.
“Anyway, lody Higgins. From now on, please live freely. Nothing will stop you.”
When Sherry offered her hand with that greeting, lody quickly grasped it.
“I hope you have a good trip too, Miss Sherry.”
“Of course, shall I tell the young Baldwin that I have completed my mission?”
“You… will?”
She nodded as if it was obvious.
lody couldn’t bring herself to refuse and barely nodded.
A little later, Wendel Benton ca to the reception room and suggested Sherry have a al before leaving, but she declined, saying she was in a hurry, and left the Briggs mansion.
* * *
“lody Higgins values promises.”
From what Sherry told her, lody realized two things.
One was that Claude cared about her.
She couldn’t be sure if his feelings were the sa as before… But at least it didn’t seem completely different.
And the other was.
That there was also an unfulfilled promise between them.
“I wrote to never look for .”
“Please protect Loretta. You have to make that child the happiest child in this world.”
…Could it be that he still kept that promise in his heart even now?
‘It couldn’t be helped.’
Because they didn’t know the situation would change that much.
He did his best in his position to handle all situations. So even if the promise was a little off, there was no reason for him to bla himself.
‘But the Young Master isn’t the type to simply nod like that…’
lody sat at her desk and sighed deeply.
She had to write him a letter as Sherry had asked, but she had no idea what to write.
As she was just staring at the blank paper, Wendel Benton ca again. Asking if she’d like to have a warm tea before going to sleep.
“I’m fine. Instead, could you prepare so warm herbal tea for Loretta?”
“Of course, I’ve already prepared it for the young lady.”
“Thank you.”
“Well then, I’ll take my leave.”
As Wendel Benton was about to bow and withdraw, lody unknowingly called out to him again.
“Wait!”
“Yes?”
But when he looked at her, asking what the matter was, she had nothing to say.
Wouldn’t it be weird to ask him for advice on how to write a proper letter to improve her relationship with Claude?
“Ah, are you perhaps having difficulty writing a letter?”
Noticing the blank paper on lody’s desk, he grinned and took out a package from his bosom.
“In that case, I definitely recomnd this product!”
What he took out was an item lody was well aware of. Because Loretta had already bought it.
“As you may know, just by placing your palm on it, based on your body temperature and heart rate, a sincere sentence is completed (with a 1% probability)! It’s the ‘Ghostwriter Stationery’! Of course, we provide one sheet for free so you can experience it.”
He placed a sheet of stationery on the desk.
“If you use it yourself, you’ll be surprised by the bluntly honest sentences that appear. It’s a popular item that everyone is dying to buy after seeing its efficacy once.”
He gave a aningful smile and left lody’s room.
“…What nonsense.”
lody grumbled and placed her hand on the paper. She was just going along with it for the sake of it.
“If it was this simple to ghostwrite, no one would have trouble writing letters.”
Soon, black ink lines began to bloom from her palm.
lody slowly removed her hand and checked the sentence completed considering her body temperature and heart rate.
[Please kiss .]
Blushing, lody quickly put away the paper.
“Th-this is just a ridiculous defective product!”
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