[If you want, I can arrange a meeting.]
[No, it’s alright.]
It would be very easy to resolve this by apologizing through the Duke, but then the apology would be meaningless.
‘Since the Duke trusts me enough to keep me close, I think I should trust him and tell him everything.’
[Do I really have to…apologize?]
[Of course.]
Before getting in the carriage, I had already finished talking with the Duke. I was a bit concerned about the Duke’s disgruntled-looking face though.
“Excuse me, Mrs. Wells! Would it be alright if we could have a private conversation for a moment?”
At Carol’s call, Mrs. Wells turned around. When their eyes met, Carol reflexively smiled. But Mrs. Wells just stared blankly at Carol and replied with an expressionless face.
“I’m afraid I’m very busy right now. Would you mind postponing it to another time?”
“…Yes.”
Carol couldn’t ask twice after Mrs. Wells’ response.
Not giving up, Carol decided to change her target to someone else.
“Norman.”
Carol turned her head quickly and looked up at Norman.
Despite their size difference, Norman flinched as if he was scared.
“…Ah.”
“How have you been?”
“Well, you know. So-so.”
Norman awkwardly returned the greeting, but like Mrs. Wells, he clearly showed signs of discomfort.
“Is Norman busy right now too?”
At Carol’s question, Norman exaggeratedly straightened his shoulders in a way anyone could see and said in a loud voice.
It was obvious to anyone that he was conscious of Mrs. Wells who had gone ahead.
“We have a guest, you know!”
Norman rolled up his sleeves as if to emphasize that it was true.
But when Carol just stared at him silently, Norman awkwardly curled up the corners of his mouth and excused himself, saying he would go prepare something delicious.
‘Has it been too long?’
Carol put her hand to her forehead and let out a faint sigh.
She knew they wouldn’t just welcome her with open arms, but now she realized it might be more difficult than she had anticipated.
Glancing at her companions beside her, she saw that Noah also seemed bewildered, not knowing what was going on, while Bianca and Benjamin looked puzzled as they didn’t know about what had happened at the Duke’s Mansion at all.
“…Um… Teacher? Should we go in?”
“That’s right. Carol, should I say something?”
Noah asked with a worried face. Carol shook her head to answer Noah and then apologized to Bianca.
“I’m sorry. I’ve ruined the mood.”
Sensing the strange atmosphere mixed with the apology, Bianca spoke to ease Carol’s worry.
“It’s alright. By the way, this is really a magnificent castle.”
Bianca seemed to be conscious of Carol’s apologetic mood and responded with even more enthusiasm.
“It really is.”
Carol looked back at Bianca and forced a smile.
“It’s really cold.”
Since Benjamin had come along at Noah’s invitation, Carol didn’t want to make the atmosphere any more awkward here.
“I’m sorry. I made you stand outside for too long.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
Benjamin’s nose was red as he spoke maturely. Carol bent down and pulled his scarf up to his chin.
“You’re not used to the weather yet, are you?”
“No.”
“Let’s go inside and ask for hot chocolate melted in warm milk.”
When Carol said this and Noah added, “It’s really delicious,” Benjamin’s face brightened.
But Carol’s face still hadn’t relaxed.
****
Noah, who had briefly separated from the group under the pretext of changing clothes, immediately went to find Mrs. Wells.
Having been with the group the whole time, Noah was still unaware of everything.
“Noah?”
All Noah knew was that before leaving for the capital, the Duke had gathered the three of them and explained exactly what had happened. And he had made it clear.
[I intend to meet the teacher again no matter what. It has to be her.]
No one objected to the Duke’s words.
Even knowing her low status, the Duke had decided to accept her. The Duke’s statement that it had to be her was no exaggeration. Mrs. Wells and Norman had painfully realized this fact over the years.
The two were the Duke’s people, not the family’s, so they supported the Duke.
Noah knew this well too. On the way back to the North, he realized that Carol cared about Mrs. Wells and Norman much more than he thought, so he called for a carriage as soon as they arrived in the North.
He knew that Mrs. Wells and Norman missed Carol too.
He wanted to let them meet as soon as possible.
But Mrs. Wells was cold to Carol, far from welcoming her.
He needed to know why. Noah closed the lounge door with a grave face. Whether she knew Noah’s feelings or not, Mrs. Wells scolded him in a stern voice.
“I told you not to run inside the castle, didn’t I?”
“I couldn’t help but run!”
To Mrs. Wells’ puzzled face, Noah immediately questioned back as if he didn’t understand.
“You weren’t that angry, were you?”
“Hm?”
“The Duke explained everything to you, and you said you wanted to see Carol too, didn’t you?”
At Noah’s words, Mrs. Wells opened her eyes wide. She seemed more surprised by his words themselves than by his questioning.
“Oh my. I thought Noah already knew!”
“What?”
“Didn’t you hear anything from the Duke?”
“…Hear what?”
Noah tilted his head, confused by Mrs. Wells’ flustered attitude. What did she think he already knew that made her so surprised?
At Noah’s response, Mrs. Wells put her hand to her forehead, saying, “Oh dear.”
“Come closer.”
Mrs. Wells quickly pulled Noah towards her. As he was led to stand in front of her, she whispered in Noah’s ear.
“We could just welcome her warmly, but wouldn’t it be fun to tease her a little?”
“…What?”
When Noah was startled, Mrs. Wells laughed. This was the Mrs. Wells he knew. Noah realized that what she just said wasn’t a joke, but the truth.
It was a relief that she wasn’t really angry, but it was still surprising.
The reason was much less mature than he had expected.
Seeing Noah’s surprised expression, Mrs. Wells patted his back and explained the reason.
“It might be awkward to just accept her as is.”
“Pardon?”
“Time has passed, and we missed the chance to receive a proper apology. We know the situation, but it’s ambiguous to tell her directly that we know everything and it’s okay.”
“That’s…”
Put that way, there was certainly some truth to it.
“The teacher will probably think that if we accept her immediately without hesitation, there might be some lingering resentment.”
Noah understood what Mrs. Wells meant. But they hadn’t really fought, and there was no need to resolve it this way.
“Couldn’t we just talk it out?”
At Noah’s question, Mrs. Wells’ eyes widened slightly, but soon curved naturally.
“That’s one way, but…”
A mischievous look flashed across the old lady’s face. Even though she trailed off, Noah could guess what she meant.
“But you’d prefer to resolve it this way rather than through conversation.”
“That’s right.”
It was uncharacteristic behavior, but not incomprehensible. She wasn’t someone who entered the Duke’s household through a family-to-family arrangement, but rather as a person-to-person relationship.
That would be the main reason, and the fact that the atmosphere in the Duke’s household had become noticeably brighter than before would also have influenced this current situation.
Noah looked at Mrs. Wells with fresh eyes. She was enjoying this.
He naturally realized that this was all orchestrated under Mrs. Wells’ direction, not Norman’s.
The prejudice that she would be inflexible because she was a stern old lady was easily shattered.
“…Then what should I do?”
It wasn’t a prank that would last long. If that was the case, Noah had no reason to stay out of it.
Noah mentally apologized to Carol, then turned towards Mrs. Wells.
Mrs. Wells smiled at Noah’s attitude of joining in.
“I was thinking of being a bit more mischievous.”
“…More?”
Even though there was no one else in the room, Mrs. Wells lowered her voice and explained the current situation and what to do next to Noah.
Because the Duke was busy with work and had to be absent all day, unable to entertain them personally, the group ended up staying at the Duke’s Mansion until dinner.
‘Should I ask them to stay one more day since we’ll go to the Academy together tomorrow?’
The Duke pondered, putting down his quill pen on the desk.
The reason the Duke left Mrs. Wells’ behavior alone was that he knew it would become more awkward if he intervened.
Although he wasn’t entirely comfortable with it, he thought it couldn’t be helped. He only thought about comforting Carol if she got upset.
But unexpectedly, Mrs. Wells’ prank turned out well for the Duke.
Knock knock.
“Come in.”
The door swung open roughly as soon as he finished speaking.
“Teacher?”
The Duke was momentarily surprised by Carol’s uncharacteristic behavior, but she spoke urgently to him first.
“It looks like I’ll have to stay here for a while… Is that okay?”
Instead of asking for a reason, the Duke immediately replied to Carol’s question.
“You’re always welcome.”
