The Duke, who had been staring at her quietly, stood up. He paid the money to the employee and went out.
“Where are you going again?”
“Is there a place you want to go?”
“I want to walk around more. Because it’s been a long time coming.”
“Okay, then.”
While walking around the streets with him, they came across a luxury-looking jewelry store. She was about to head to the store to buy something good, but a thought occurred to her and she held out her hand to him.
“Oh, I forgot and didn’t bring any money. So, can you give me some money?”
“…You were like that last time, and you’re still like that now.”
“You can’t do anything with something you didn’t bring with you. After all, the Duke has a lot of money.”
‘Anyway, you know that you have enough to spare even if you use it for the rest of your life, so give a little to me.’
She looked at him with sparkling eyes.
“Is this what it feels like to be robbed with your eyes open?”
He let out a small sigh and handed her the money bag. she looked inside and smiled with satisfaction. Just seeing it filled with gold coins made her feel rich. She entered the jewelry store holding the money bag tightly. All the items on display were elaborate and luxurious items. While she was slowly looking around to see if there was anything worth buying, she came across a single item sitting in a corner of the store. Why did they leave it alone? When she walked over there and looked, she saw a necklace in the form of a pendant on display.
“Do you like that item?”
She turned her head when she heard a voice from behind. A woman who appeared to be the store owner was standing in front of her. She felt a little strange because there had been no sign of her until just now.
“Oh, are you the store owner?”
“Yes, I am.”
“Are you selling this product too?”
“It’s an item that hasn’t been sold for a long time, so I put it aside with the intention of disposing of it soon.”
Her eyes fell on the pendant necklace again. No matter how you looked at it, it looked ordinary… For some reason, she had a secret urge to have it. She thought for a moment and then opened her mouth.
“Can I buy this necklace?”
“…You want to buy this?”
“Yes.”
As she nodded, the woman’s eyes narrowed subtly and then returned. Did she see it wrong? Looking at the woman with her subtle feelings, she nodded her head.
“Okay, I’ll wrap it up nicely. Is there anything else you want to buy?”
“Then let me look around a little more.”
“Yes. Please do so.”
She turned around and looked around the store in more detail. Then, a bracelet with silver and dark red gems caught her eye. The colors were similar. She stood near the entrance of the store and looked at the Duke looking around half-heartedly.
“…hmm.”
When she lifted up the bracelet, it looked quite expensive as it was studded with small jewels. Should she buy this too? After thinking for a moment, she carefully held the bracelet in her hand. Since it came out like this, she was looking to see if there was anything she could give the child as a gift to commemorate their outing. Then she saw a necklace elaborately decorated with jewels the color of the night sky. She decided to buy it because she thought it would look good on the child’s white and thin neck.
“Can you wrap this and this too?”
“You have good eyes. Please wait.”
The owner took the necklace and bracelet inside, wrapped them, and came out.
“Total is 39 gold.”
“Here you are. I’ll just go.”
“Yes, then come back later.”
She left the store owner’s greeting behind and walked towards the Duke standing at the entrance.
“Now that we’ve bought everything, let’s go back to the mansion. Lian will be waiting for you.”
“Okay.”
They got into the carriage that followed us and sat comfortably in the back chair. As she looked through the window without thinking, she saw a face reflected on the glass.
“…Oh my god.”
There was a little bit of cream around my mouth, and it was a shock to realize that now.
“Have I been going around like this?”
In an instant, embarrassment came over her. So, did the store owner look at her strangely? She quickly reached into her pocket and took out a handkerchief. It was a handkerchief that Richard had given her, and she had been using it since he told her to keep it. As she wiped her mouth with a handkerchief, she felt eyes on her.
“If there was cream on the corner of my mouth, you should have told me. Do you know how embarrassing it is to find out now?”
She felt a little resentful because he probably must have seen it but didn’t tell her about it. As she put down her handkerchief with a small grunt, she heard a voice like frost.
“That handkerchief… I guess you keep carrying it with you?”
“Oh, this one? Richard gave it to me and I’m just using it.”
“You’re just using it… Are you telling me to believe it?”
I was just embarrassed by the Duke’s suddenly cold attitude.
“Why are you doing this all of a sudden?”
“What?”
“You’re in a bad mood.”
“Me? You must be mistaken.”
The Duke turned his head as if he did not want to talk anymore. She blinked, wondering why he was doing that, and then slowly lowered her head. The handkerchief in his hand filled his field of vision. Surely, again…? What kind of big deal was it that she used the handkerchief that Richard gave her? Why on earth was he pouting about something like this?
She sighed inwardly and decided to calm him down, wanting to be the first to lose.
‘Okay, let’s pay as much attention as possible for now. Didn’t he intentionally go on an outing to the capital because of me?’
“Duke, you know.”
When she asked quietly, dark red eyes focused on her.
“I guess my eating is worse than I thought. “I think it would be good to have another handkerchief since I see it getting buried often. What do you think?”
She caught his eyebrows faintly raising.
“…I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“So, if you have a handkerchief, I’m asking you to give it to me.”
“…Want what’s mine?”
She slowly nodded in response to the question.
“I don’t necessarily mean to ask for something from the Duke.”
After licking his lips for a moment, he took something out of his inner pocket and held it out. It was a handkerchief embroidered with gorgeous gold thread on a black background.
“Take it.”
“Is this what the Duke used?”
“Do you want a new one?”
“No. This is enough, thank you.”
She held in her hand a black handkerchief embroidered with gold thread. After putting it in her pocket, she reached for the packaging box she bought earlier. Among them, he presented the box containing the bracelet to the Duke.
“It’s a gift in return for giving me the handkerchief.”
His eyes turned to the box. She felt a little embarrassed as she just stared at him in silence.
“It’s nothing special, I’m just giving it to you in return, so take it. It’s a bracelet.”
Seeing the Duke saying nothing, she hesitated to speak.
“…Actually, I bought it because it was a bracelet with a rain gem and the color of the Duke’s eyes. That’s it.”
She said and held out the box again. The Duke, who was quietly looking down at the box, slowly stretched out his hand. The Duke took the box and put it inside his robe. After a while, there was silence, but it didn’t feel uncomfortable. Rather, she felt relieved at the thought of giving the bracelet to the Duke. She felt like she was proud of something, and somehow, it was strange.
She smiled quietly and waited for them to arrive at the mansion.
* * *
The next morning.
“I’m sure I left it here yesterday…”
The handkerchief that Richard had given her, which she had placed in her front drawer before going to bed yesterday, was nowhere to be found. nly the handkerchief the Duke had given her was neatly placed on the dresser.
‘Wow, that’s strange.’
She tilted her head, got off the bed, and headed to the bathroom. After a light wash, she came out and was drying her hair when she heard the sound of the door opening.
The child was sticking his head out through the middle door.
“You woke up?”
“Hehe, yes.”
The child came into the room. A necklace made of indigo jewels cluttered around his white, slender neck. It was something she gave as a gift to the child the day before yesterday. Of course, the child liked it but didn’t know what to do with it. As proof of this, Sarah even told her that even when he was washing last night, he did not take off the necklace and held on to it carefully.
“What class are you taking today?”
“Today is the day to finally learn swordsmanship theory.”
“Swordsmanship?”
“Yes. My father said that I could start learning swordsmanship now. I plan to start swordsmanship training after learning the theory first.”
He had already grown enough to do that. She looked at the child’s body growing day by day. He has gained quite a bit of weight and his frame has become longer, so his clothes seem to be more alive than before. Now, it seemed like he looked pretty much his age.
Shegently touched the child’s shoulders and legs and looked at them closely.
“Hehehe. It tickles. Elia.”
“Oh, sorry. I was surprised to see how much you had grown in such a short period of time.”
“I’m amazed every time I look in the mirror in the morning. It’s amazing that I’m growing so fast.”
“Let’s drink milk and grow bigger. Understand?”
“Yes.”
While she was lightly patting the smiling child’s head, she heard a knock on the door.
[Can I come in for a moment?]
“Yes. Come in.”
Sarah’s hand, which was inside her, was holding something. She held it out to her.
“What’s this?”
“This is an invitation from the imperial castle.”
Has it finally come? SheI looked down at the envelope with a golden seal and slowly opened it. She took out a piece of luxurious paper studded with gold leaf and looked at the elegant writing written on it. In fact, the content itself was nothing special. Because all it said was an invitation to the imperial castle. However, the problem was that the date of invitation was today. Was it the Emperor’s nasty hobby to embarrass people by delivering news on the same day?
“Elia, what does it say?”
“Your Majesty says he is inviting me to the imperial castle.”
“Your Majesty the Emperor? When?”
“It says today.”
“This suddenly? Why is he calling you?”
The child looked slightly worried.
“It’s just about seeing each other face to face, so there’s nothing to worry about.”
“…still.”
“It’s fine.”
Actually, it wasn’t that good. She suddenly had a feeling that she had to prepare and that she would be tired somehow. She sighed inwardly, comforted the child, and left her room.
She immediately asked Jade about the Duke’s destination.
“Where is the Duke now?”
“He’s in the office.”
“Thank you.”
She headed straight to the office. Just as she arrived at the office, she saw the Duke open the door and come out.
“Duke, His Majesty sent me an invitation. You know that, right?”
“Yes.”
“But since it was so sudden, I’m honestly a little embarrassed.”
“He expressed his intention in advance that he would like you to visit him sometime next week, but h is acting like a frog again.”
“I guess you told Your Majesty in advance that the Duke would go with me?”
“I told him before. I won’t let you go alone. Otherwise, I will somehow bring you to the palace alone, so I took some measures in advance.”
“Your Majesty said he would obediently understand?”
Still, there’s no way that a man like that sly snake would have easily allowed it. It’s a bit strange. The Duke seemed to have sensed her doubts, and added:
“I just briefly mentioned the oath.”
…If it’s an oath, was he talking about that? A promise made between the Duke, the head of the nobility, and the Emperor. According to what she read in the book, a ‘pact’ had been made between the Duke and the Emperor, and a truce was maintained on the surface due to that pact. It was not something that should have been said between the Emperor and his subject, the Duke, but there was nothing that could replace it other than the word truce. If he really puts his mind to it, even though it may not be easy, he will firmly support the imperial family in order to become a Duke worthy of aiming for the throne. She didn’t know the exact details of the oath, but she knew that it had an advantageous effect on the Duke. Even the Emperor, who kept the Duke in check, retreated as soon as he brought up the topic of the oath.
“Anyway, time is running out, so get her ready quickly. Send her maid to her room.”
“Yes, got it.”
When she returned to her room and sent the child to his own room, the maids barged into her carrying her clothes. It was no exaggeration to say that she was completely lost as she frantically prepared to go out. When she was almost finished with her dressing up, the child stuck his head out between the middle doors.
—————————————————————
Translator Note:
Hello there! This is RJR. I hope you liked it <3
If you like my work please support me with Ko-fi or Patreon. Next post will be released on January, 14.
Want to read more?
