Chapter 39
***
lody intuitively sensed that his ‘worry’ was connected to his early morning visit to the Duke’s residence.
Without saying anything else, she stood in front of him, waiting for what he would say next.
“Umm, I wanted to deliver this to Miss lody.”
He handed her a bouquet so large that lody had to embrace it with both arms. Its sweet fragrance tickled her nose.
“This isn’t a delivery I was asked to make.”
He quickly explained, perhaps fearing that lody might misunderstand the flowers as being sent from soone else.
“It’s from . That… over there.”
The postal worker belatedly took off his hat and placed it near his heart.
“I’ve been bothered about it. Since yesterday…”
His hand gripping the hat tightened slightly.
“I was worried that I might have hurt you.”
He did not explicitly ntion what his mistake was, but both of them naturally thought of the sa mont.
“Because you can deliver on any day.”
“That’s why I wanted to apologize.”
He slightly bowed.
“I’m sorry, Miss lody.”
“Ah, I’m okay!”
lody’s words ca out reflexively without much thought. It was unusual for her to receive such an apology from an adult.
“It’s the truth! What you said wasn’t wrong.”
All these years, around the ti when the yellow spring flowers blood, lody had aged one more year.
She didn’t want to be newly troubled or hurt by sothing that had been the case for over a decade.
“Even if it’s true, there are things we prefer not to rember.”
When he apologized again, lody nodded to reassure him that she was okay and to express her gratitude.
It was an issue that could have been overlooked, but she appreciated that he made a formal apology.
“Actually, I have a niece about your age. Maybe that’s why I felt more concerned.”
He brought up the topic of his niece without being asked, flashing a broad smile.
Even without further explanation, it was clear. He was probably the famous doting uncle in his family.
“And I might be overstepping by saying this.”
He wiped the playful smile off his face and looked at lody seriously.
“It would be better to set a birthday you like. Just for the joy of having a aningful day.”
“…..”
“Associating your na with a beautiful date and exchanging celebratory letters would bring joy. You can trust the words of a postal worker who has seen many such people.”
The postal worker’s carriage, glimpsed briefly, was filled with a large quantity of gifts and letters even today.
lody briefly imagined how the unknown recipients of those cute envelopes and ribbon-adorned gifts might feel.
“Everyone has the right to enjoy special happiness on their birthdays, especially children.”
“I’ll… think about it.”
The postal worker, suggesting that lody should let him know once she finds a ‘beautiful date,’ climbed back onto his carriage. It seed it was ti for him to start his work.
After the carriage departed, lody, tightly embracing the large bouquet, returned to her room.
She placed the flowers on the desk and checked the bowl where she had kept the pine cones. The pine cones, soaked with water, were glistening.
While wiping off the moisture from their surface, she recalled the postal worker’s story shared monts ago.
He spoke of very ordinary pleasures.
Pleasures that, until now, lody had never experienced.
Perhaps she never would.
“…I could just pick any day and make it my birthday.”
Thud.
Why? Without realizing it, lody had let the pine cone fall to the floor.
It seed sothing was making her uncomfortable.
***
“I need to find out sothing from my mother.”
Eventually, lody went to the Duke and said so. It wasn’t about ‘eting’ her mother, but about sothing she ‘needed to know.’
Though both implied eting her mother, the difference in wording was significant for lody.
The Duke didn’t ask what she wanted to know, nor did he confirm her intentions.
He just looked at lody’s firmly closed lips and gave a short response, “I’ll prepare for it.”
And again, the day lody went to the central prison ca.
“But why are you accompanying
young master? The Duke is well now.”
Claude insisted on accompanying lody, as he did before.
“I forgot that father has many ears in the mansion.”
“Huh?”
“It’s nothing.”
He brushed off the conversation and opened the carriage door.
“Let’s go.”
lody followed his suggestion and got into the carriage, looking out of the window for a mont.
She saw Ronny and Loretta picking chestnuts under the chestnut tree.
“We’ll pick lots and eat together when lody returns!”
lody rembered the conversation from the morning and smiled faintly as the carriage started moving.
***
The journey to the central prison didn’t take long, and they quickly passed through the main gate.
She had been worried that Isaiah, having heard the news, might rush out to confront them at the gate, but fortunately, no such incident occurred.
“l, you’ll keep your promise, right?”
If only she had known, she wouldn’t have made that promise with Isaiah.
lody regretted making that hasty promise.
‘I must apologize when I see him next.’
Impulsive as he is, Isaiah might be angry with lody. Or perhaps, he’s already upset.
The carriage stopped in front of the building. An employee politely greeted lody to guide her.
“Are you okay?”
As lody was about to step down from the carriage, Claude, sitting opposite her, quietly asked her. Judging by his not specifying ‘what’ was okay, he seed to be inquiring about her overall mood or situation.
“I’m fine.”
“You’re brave.”
After genuinely admiring and complinting her, he extended his hand.
“If you need, I can accompany you.”
“Young master?”
“It might be useful.”
lody considered where he might be of use.
He certainly looked the part of a ‘nobleman’s son,’ so anyone in the prison encountering him would likely think twice before mistreating lody.
Maybe even her mother would… behave a bit more modestly than if lody were alone.
However, lody gently shook her head.
“I’m sorry. I won’t use you, young master.”
“I understand. I don’t particularly enjoy sharing my mother’s stories either.”
Claude withdrew his hand.
“Then, I’ll wait in the carriage.”
“You’re not going to the waiting room?”
“The waiting room is too comfortable. Here is quite uncomfortable.”
“…”
“So, Miss lody. Rember that I am waiting in discomfort.”
His words implied: don’t let your mother dominate the conversation. Get what you want swiftly and concisely and return.
“You have a strange way of encouraging people.”
“I realized that tender encouragent and assistance are often forgotten.”
That was a veiled reference to letter writing. Indeed, until now, neither lody nor Loretta had sent him a proper letter.
But unaware of this, lody just tilted her head slightly.
Wondering where he got hurt to be acting out like this.
“Anyway, I’ll be back.”
lody hopped down from the carriage energetically, harboring only a vague feeling that everything would turn out alright.
“Hello.”
Soon, a young woman waiting near the entrance approached lody with a friendly deanor.
She was wearing the sa uniform as Isaiah, making it easy to identify who she was.
“Are you a squire of the knight?”
The woman laughed and confird lody’s guess. Her healthy, tanned face sohow brought Isaiah to mind, which was reassuring.
“Yes. And I’ve been assigned to guide Miss lody. Please, follow .”
The woman started walking ahead, and lody briefly looked back at the carriage.
Claude was still sitting in an uncomfortable position. When their eyes t, he slightly waved his hand.
‘Is he signaling
to go in?’
Not wanting to fall too far behind the guide, lody quickly followed the squire.
She passed under an arched ceiling with its doors open. The knights and squires present courteously made way for lody.
Wasn’t anyone going to check her identity?
“There are three checks in total.”
Noticing lody’s curiosity, the squire leading the way held up three fingers.
“You’ve already passed the first one at the entrance, right?”
lody nodded.
She had gone through the identity verification process there, just like the last ti she reunited with Isaiah. She had worried about what to do if she encountered Isaiah at that spot again… but fortunately, they didn’t cross paths this ti.
“Just two more checks to go. Please, co this way.”
Entering through the door the squire had opened, they found themselves in a small office. There was a desk in the center, surrounded by bookshelves stuffed to the brim with docunts.
Though it seed like a fairly ordinary office, there was one unusual feature: a solid iron-barred window facing the entrance. It appeared that any outsider had to pass through this office to get into the prison.
“Please present your docuntation.”
The man sitting at the desk spoke, prompting lody to hand over a white envelope that the Duke himself had prepared for her.
The man quickly checked the contents and returned the docunts. It almost seed like he hadn’t really read what was written inside.
“Checked. But wasn’t Claude supposed to accompany you as a guardian?”
“The young master is here, but…”
lody was about to say, ‘He’s waiting in the carriage,’ but the employee spoke first, interrupting her.
“He’ll co in a bit, then. Understood.”
That’s not right.
lody wanted to correct him, but she was startled by a ‘clank’ sound and lost her train of thought.
The firmly closed iron bars had opened.
“Please, co this way.”
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