Chapter 11 Dear Friend
Just as Chloe was enjoying a light appetizer, the main dish was served. The smell of roasted meat wafted in from breakfast.
In front of Chloe was a beautifully cooked lamb steak with a lightly browned exterior.
“I know you like lamb, so I got a fresh lamb, and it’s juicy and delicious.”
Callis winked at her, as if to say he’d prepared it especially for her.
He straightened up and began slicing the steak. After taking a bite, he praised the flavor of the dish with all manner of platitudes.
Chloe picked up a small piece of steak and set it down. One after another, the fork in her hand came crashing down onto the plate.
The sound that accompanied the collision drew everyone’s attention to her plate, and then, naturally, to Chloe.
“Your Highness.”
His gaze held a coldness that belied his graceful face.
Her voice, too, was chilly, with no change in pitch.
“With all due respect, I am not a fan of lamb.”
“However, the last time the chef asked you what your favorite food was…”
At this next excuse, Chloe let go of the knife she was holding in her other hand. The utensil clattered loudly against the plate.
“That.”
There was a hint of laughter in Chloe’s voice as she opened her mouth.
“His Highness is fond of lamb, and I wanted the meal to be as close to his taste as possible.”
The reply that followed threw a chill into the air, and Callis, unnerved by the unexpected answer, sipped his wine.
“Shall we continue?”
I was getting tired of his demanding compliments, but the silence seemed to save me.
He purposely chose garnishes. He was such a good cook, even the vegetarian food wasn’t too bad.
“Me…”
The meal was coming to a close. A thin voice broke the silence.
“Princess…”
The voice with the unfamiliar title was surprisingly Helena’s.
Large eyes stared at Chloe. Fluttering lashes enhanced her doll-like features.
Pity the woman who wasted such a beautiful face on hypocrisy.
“Speak.”
“Well, what were you doing at the palace?”
“Why do you want to know that?”
“I was wondering what Princesses do in general…”
Helena blushed with embarrassment. It wasn’t a color of shyness, but of embarrassment.
The woman’s persistence in the face of embarrassment is admirable.
“I don’t think I’m anything special, just a family.”
The word “family” is emphasized.
Soon, two pairs of eyes darted back and forth. Helena, who had never been taught table manners, was shaking with nervousness.
‘Should I tell the truth or…’
Disgust boiled over. These were the ‘rats’ Kuhn had spoken of, Chloe thought.
Should she really bend to their every whim, no matter how uncomfortable it might be?
Or should she accept them, even if it was a false favor?
Chloe chose the latter.
It wasn’t that she was hungry for their favors.
Having been denied a divorce and abandoned, Chloe was left with no other options. She would do anything to buy time.
“I told him of my troubles while I was away.”
Troubles.
This time he emphasized the other word, and their shoulders tensed.
“The family members who listened gave me heartfelt advice afterward.”
It’s cruel to glorify a bitter memory.
But even more cruel is the reality of Chloe’s stay.
“So, Princess, what is troubling you?”
“I don’t know.”
“…”
“Have we ever known each other well enough to discuss such intimate matters?”
Helena’s mouth clamped shut, afraid to let the bitter half-question fall.
Helena’s mouth dropped open a few more times before she crumpled her food into her mouth.
The rest of the meal came to a quick end in the aftermath of the awkward conversation.
Unlike Callis’s plate, which had been emptied, Chloe’s was almost brand new.
The look on Callis’s face when she saw the barely touched steak was hilarious. Chloe wanted to save that look if she could, to pull it out whenever she was feeling down.
For dessert, a tart with figs was served.
Once struck, Callis was speechless.
The world had helped. The fig tart was also something Chloe had often asked him to make to cater to her tastes.
At this point, he turned the circuit. He was going to score points in a different way.
He poured tea into Chloe’s empty teacup, or handed her a napkin. He even gave her a rose folded in a napkin.
Each time, Chloe repays Helena by mimicking Callis’s behavior: she pours her tea, gives her a napkin, and presents her with the paper flowers that Callis has given her.
Helena’s increasingly contorted expression was a sight to behold.
The dinner hour was drawing to a close. After an awkward silence, Chloe called to Helena.
“Miss Helena, you asked me what was troubling me.”
“Yes? Oh, yes…”
“I’ve been discussing with my family what flowers I would like to decorate my flower garden with, since spring is coming soon.”
“What?”
“I thought it would be kind of boring to have the same flowers as last year.”
Helena shook her head and squeezed her eyes shut. Her eyelids closed and opened several times as she pondered.
Chloe, on the other hand, smiled a classical smile.
“Dessert doesn’t look too appetizing either, so I’ll leave you to it.”
Chloe returned the dessert plates to their new owners.
She said her goodbyes and went upstairs to her room, leaving them behind.
Perhaps Callis would not take Chloe’s words seriously. On the contrary, he’ll think she’s confessed everything to the royal family.
He’s not on good terms with the royal family, so he won’t be able to question them openly. He’ll have to suffer through this alone.
However, as you may have realized at first, this is a temporary solution with a time limit.
He can’t improve the Duke’s situation as long as the royal family turns their backs on her, and at some point, Callis will become suspicious.
Something had to be done until then.
***
A rustling sound reached Chloe’s ears as she slept. The hustle and bustle broke her sleep.
‘… What’s that?’
Gritting her teeth, she sat up and pulled open the curtains to lighten the pitch-black room.
The room was illuminated by the faint light of the descending moon. As she looked around the room, Chloe realized something was amiss.
‘Did I hear wrong?’
Nothing had changed. In fact, everything was suspiciously unchanged.
‘Maybe I was just dreaming.’
Chloe was about to go back to bed.
Beside her bed, on a small side table, was something. In the weak moonlight, it was hard to make out exactly what it was.
Carefully reaching out, she held the object under the moonlight. Gradually, the object became clearer, revealing its identity.
‘A letter?’
A thin paper envelope. Hardened sealing wax. A letter, sideways and backwards.
‘What kind of letter is this…’
As Chloe pondered, a sweet voice spoke in her ear.
‘I’ll write to your house soon, now that we’re on good terms.’
Kuhn, the mysterious man who had claimed to be her friend a few days ago.
Chloe peered closely at the sealing wax. People often engraved their family crests, but there was nothing on this letter.
It could only be Kuhn, of course…
‘But we’ve only been separated for two days.’
After the letter is mailed, it takes three to ten days to reach the recipient.
It’s possible to send it exceptionally fast, but it’s not cheap. So, unless it was very urgent, people would use the regular method.
Kuhn wouldn’t have paid such an exorbitant fee just to correspond with a friend, but he had no other choice.
‘He doesn’t reveal his identity easily, what makes him so great?’
If so, Chloe and Kuhn’s first meeting is contradictory.
Chloe’s barracks was meant to help the poor, not to be visited by the well-to-do.
Or maybe he was a foreigner and didn’t know about the royal support.
‘Whatever…’
Whatever it was, Chloe couldn’t come up with an answer.
She gave up trying to figure it out and tore the letter open. Soon, a fresh lemon scent wafted through the cracks.
An unnecessarily uplifting scent. Chloe found herself smiling weakly.
“To my best friend.”
The first sentence that greeted her. A special title that only one person could call her.
It was a new one, but surprisingly, it was him.
How the letter, which hadn’t arrived until the evening, had gotten to her room was a mystery.
It could not have been kindly left there by the servants, who were almost never in Chloe’s room.
‘Could it be Jane?’
The only other possibility was that Jane had slipped it in while she was away.
‘Thank you. And for taking such care with the letter.’
Chloe vowed to bring Jane a slice of her favorite dessert tomorrow.
Excitement like a hot air balloon urged her to hurry and check the letter. She moved to a better spot in the moonlight and sat down to read it.
It would be easier to read it in the light of day, but that was not to be.
“This is the first time I’ve ever written a letter to my friend, so I’m a little embarrassed, so please forgive my awkwardness.”
The blue lighting made the atmosphere even more ethereal. His elaborate handwriting blended well with the emotional lighting.
