Episode 18
Upon returning, the Mollett mansion was bustling with preparations for the banquet.
As she entered the mansion, Monica was amazed by the decorations and lanterns that filled the garden. She knew that the Mollet family was incredibly wealthy, but she had not realized it was to this extent.
“Ah! Miss Monica!”
Hans, the gardener, was delighted to see Monica. He said that he had received Monica’s luggage and had stacked it in the back of his area.
“People were busy, so I couldn’t bring it up to your room.”
“Not at all. I appreciate you taking care of it.”
“And I’m really sorry about last time.”
Ah. Monica opened her mouth slightly and then smiled awkwardly.
Hans had been waiting for an opportunity to apologize to Monica after he had treated her so badly the day she was injured.
“I fell on my own. You don’t have to apologize.”
“I waited for you that day, but…”
“Oh my, you have a lot of luggage!”
As Hans was about to say something, Monica quickly lifted the boxes that Hans had piled up. It was obvious why the gardener, who wanted to talk to her with red cheeks, was acting this way, but Monica didn’t want to deal with him.
To be exact, she didn’t want to give him any room for it. But the next moment, Monica stumbled.
“Oh.”
“Oh, I’ll take that!!”
She thought it was only four sets of clothes, but why was the box so heavy? Luis lifted it lightly and she let her guard down, but it wasn’t light. Hans quickly picked it up, but he also stumbled a little.
“What is this…?”
“I’ll take it, it’s okay!”
“No, I’ll bring it to you!”
After much strife, Hans finally came forward with both arms outstretched, and Monica followed him, carrying a box containing a small gray one-piece dress.
However, she managed to prevent Hans from following her into her room. Hans looked extremely disappointed, but he didn’t make a fuss when Monica shook her head.
“You are going to the banquet tomorrow because of Young Master, right?”
“Yes, why are you asking?”
Hans put down the box and scratched the back of his head, feeling awkward.
“That’s because the servants decided to have a drink after the banquet.”
“Ah…”
“If it’s okay with you, Miss Monica…”
Monica quickly declined.
“I’m sorry. I don’t know when you might get sick, so it might be difficult.”
The servants’ work doesn’t end even after the banquet. So, they say everyone has a drink at dawn, but Monica didn’t want to spend time with the servants she wasn’t even close with until then.
Of course, if Maria or another maid had invited her, she might have accepted. But who would accept an invitation when the man in front of her clearly had feelings for her?
Hans hesitated, then left, telling her to think about it. Monica sighed and finally opened the door. The day felt strangely long.
As Monica was moving boxes into the room, she noticed something she had never seen before. When she got closer, she saw a couple of sets of clothes lying on her bed.
Only then did Monica remember that she had planned to go to Riella’s room. It seemed that Madame Orange had brought them for her, as Riella was leaving earlier than expected.
Monica picked up the clothes on the bed. They were said to be last year’s fashion, but in Monica’s eyes, they were exquisite. A perfectly trimmed white dress and a modest sky blue dress.
Both dresses were suitable for a young woman in her prime, but Monica hesitated and put them both down. Then she opened the box that Luis had given her.
The clothes that Luis had chosen were there. At first glance, they were not bad compared to Riella’s two sets of clothes.
“Because she is such a playboy.”
As she said that, a faint smile appeared on Monica’s lips. Although she had refused to buy them for Louis because it was burdensome, she felt better now that she thought of them as clothes just for her.
“It might be a bit much to receive them from someone I’ll never see again…”
Monica thought of Luis as she tied up her hair that had become disheveled from going out.
It seemed like he was telling his story in a concise manner, but if she thought about it, he hadn’t revealed anything about where he lived or what he did.
Because of her involvement with Garcia, he treated her kindly and even gave her four sets of clothes as a gift, but the line he drew was clear.
‘I’ve been talking a lot about myself.’
Of course, she didn’t regret it. Luis was someone she felt really comfortable with. But it was also true that the way he drew the line while saying “my love” and such seemed cruel. And…
‘Who are you avoiding?’
Luis hid himself in the shadow of the building as he saw a group of noble ladies coming out of the dressing room. The way he looked in that direction, forgetting that Monica was there, seemed extremely suspicious.
—
“Isn’t it a scammer?”
Mekel asked back indifferently. Monica frowned.
“A scammer?”
“There are a lot of strange people in La Spezia.”
The strangest person I’ve ever seen till now is you doctor Mekel… Monica barely managed to swallow those words.
It was the day of the banquet. Martinel, who was excited from the morning, changed his clothes twice. He put on his new shoes and ran around, fell once, and landed on the wrong floor. A large thorn got stuck in his hand. Monica pulled out the thorn with tweezers and disinfected it, but just in case, she called Mekel.
Mekel showed up looking very well-dressed. His face was still somewhat haggard, but he said he was planning to attend the banquet today.
Monica was at a loss as to what to do, but Martinel was rather shameless.
“I think Mr. Mekel would rather not go to the banquet?”
That was exactly what he said. Mekel looked at Martinel’s hand with pleasure. He said that banquets were just a nuisance. Then, when Monica asked why he was dressed up like that, he said that sponsors were also important to doctors.
“If you want to open a private clinic, you need good sponsors. You need to rely on people who have been your primary care physician for a long time, but that’s hard to find in La Spezia.”
Because there were so many new immigrants, there wasn’t enough time to practice medicine for a long time.
“I have the Mollet family, but my sister is trying to kick me out to the banquet hall, saying, ‘How long will I trust the Mollet family?’…”
Whoever Mekel’s sister was, she looked very fierce. Anyway, after examining Martinel’s wounds very carefully, Mekel sent the boy to change his clothes.
Monica, who was sitting across from him, suddenly asked Mekel what he would think if there were a very handsome man who avoided noble ladies as soon as he saw them.
And that was the answer that came back.
“Isn’t this a port city? Because of the war, there were more people here than in the capital. There are so many people here… There are also many scoundrels who try to grab the hearts of the girls who are anxious because of the war and make a profit. Unless they’re scammers, that’s, um.”
Mekel tilted his head and continued speaking.
“A snake? No. It’s like a rattlesnake because it’s a handsome man.”
Drops… Monica almost fell over. Then she added with difficulty.
“I heard he was a medical student…”
He seemed like a flirt, but Monica didn’t think he was really like that… that’s what it meant.
It takes a lot of money to go to medical school, and Luis bought her four expensive suits. But Mekel was surprisingly sharp and right on the mark.
“If you say he was a medical student, doesn’t that mean he is not a student anymore? If he were a doctor, he would have said that.”
“Oh, right…”
“There are quite a few people who drop out of medical school because they don’t have money.”
“Umm…”
“Not me, though.”
Monica frowned slightly at that. Mekel giggled and nudged an ant that had passed by the bench they were sitting on with the tip of his fingernail.
“I was a full scholarship student.”
“Ah… I see…”
“I know you may not think it’s a big deal, but I’ve actually received the top scholarship from Beryl College for six consecutive semesters.”
“Oh, yes…”
Monica, who had been giving vague answers, tilted her head.
“Six semesters?”
“Damn, you noticed that.”
What did she notice? Before Monica could say anything, Mekel clutched his chest and confessed helplessly.
“Whew, I guess I should say something. One semester, some punk stole my top scholarship. But the next semester…”
“Teacher!”
Just then, Martinel appeared. Phew, Master. Master is my savior at this very moment… Monica mentally cleared her mind.
“What do you think? Do I look like a cool sailor?”
Martinel, who turned around, was wearing a very nice navy suit, with a square sailor collar at the nape of his neck, like the uniforms worn by sailors.
But for some reason, the collar that looked so solemn when worn by sailors looked incredibly cute on Martinel. Monica opened her eyes wide and exclaimed in admiration.
“Oh my. You look so sturdy.”
If she said he was cute here, she didn’t know how this young master’s feelings would be hurt. Martinel smiled brightly and grabbed the hem of Monica’s skirt.
“Teacher Monica is really beautiful too! Are those new clothes?”
Monica looked down at herself without realizing it. It was an ivory-colored dress with thin green stripes sewn into it by machine. But it would be enough to wear it to tonight’s banquet. After all, she wasn’t the main character of the banquet. Monica smiled back.
“I received it as a gift.”
“From that rattlesnake?”
Mekel interrupted. Martinel’s eyes widened.
“Snake…?”
Monica grabbed Martinel’s wrist and stood up.
“Shall we go, Young Master? Miss Violet will be here soon!”
Then she glared at Mekel. Mekel smirked and sent the two away.
Only then did Monica realized that Mekel had probably sent them out to spend time in Martinel’s room until the banquet was in full swing.
