“I am going to ask Your Majesty to formally promote the marriage of Violetta and the Duke soon.”
“… I beg your pardon?”
At Duke Everett’s words, Leverticia was momentarily perplexed, but then strongly refuted.
“Your Majesty will grant such a request—” “I bet you will listen.”
“….”
“I beg you to do it, I will.”
He emphasized the word ‘please’. It was a tone that even a three-year-old would understand that it didn’t mean a real favor.
“You also know your Majesty’s disposition, don’t you? He has a strong will to survive. Even though you are already in the highest place, you are pitiful. Unless there is another alternative right now, he will not refuse even a weak request from a servant.”
The peacock showed a sly smile. Leverticia fought back without losing.
“You are a true believer. As I recall, Duke Everett had a different prince, not the current emperor, until a few years ago, right? Ah, I am no longer the prince. I was tragically beheaded, indeed.”
“Dare you do that in front of me now….”
The atmosphere of Duke Everett became cold and ferocious. Leverticia similarly gritted her teeth and glared at him.
Both of them made eye contact and sparked without a step back.
The voice wasn’t very loud, but the ugly chill that surrounded the two of them spread around them.
“I’m sorry, Kaiers-no, Duke Valtail. I was too presumptuous. If it’s okay with you, feel free to call me Violetta….”
“Move.”
“yes?”
Ignoring Violetta, Kaiers moved quickly. His gaze was already fixed on Leverticia.
“I am very excited to have been promoted to the position of commander of the knights. Does this look like the battlefield you flew from?”
“I didn’t fry the blood, but I think it’s similar.”
“It’s Your Majesty’s greatest sword, so why are you acting like this? Are you so fond of it? where to see Even if I punish you, will your Majesty protect you like that?”
“For what crime are you going to be punished? The crime of offending the Duke?”
“cheeky…!” clink—
Just as Duke Everett’s voice was about to grow louder, there was a loud sound of glass breaking nearby.
Everyone’s attention was focused on him for a moment.
At that sharp sound, the quarrel between Duke Everett and Leverticia stopped for a moment and turned around.
“Stop accidentally dropping a cup.”
Kaiers said as he wiped the drink off his clothes. A piece of broken glass fell under his seat.
Kaiers raised his head and looked at Leverticia.
“My clothes are dirty, so I have to go to the break room. Come with me.” “… me?”
“Then, who else is there but you? No one but Sir.”
Should an escort do something like that? Leverticia followed him with a bewildered look.
It felt like the Duke Everett’s gaze was persistently chasing Kaius, but fortunately he left the banquet hall, ignoring the Duke’s gaze until the end.
*
“… ha ha.”
As soon as he returned to the break room, Kaius let out a long sigh.
Then he closed his eyes with his palms and let out more tense breaths over and over again. The two small shoulders are now starting to tremble.
‘You were patient.’
Leverticia looked at him with sad eyes.
The fear for the Duke of Everett had not yet completely gone away.
Even Duke Everett fell for her provocation, and the tea was unusually boiling. He completely ignored his gaze.
It was a small but surprising change. “Are you trying to help me?”
“what?”
“You broke the glass.”
“… Because you helped me like that.”
Kaius’ cheeks were hot, sneaking away from Leverticia’s eyes. Leverticia smiled, reaching out and stroking his hair, then paused.
‘I’m going to ask your Majesty to formally promote the marriage of Violetta and the Duke soon.’
Because she remembered what the Duke Everett had said to her just before.
Even though she was right next to her to help, she was still such a terrified child.
If, as Duke Everett intended, the daughter and Kaius were really married…. “….”
The moment they get married and become a family with him, she is the one who should not be meddling.
Leverticia bit her lip quietly.
‘Unless there is another alternative right now, he will not refuse even a weak request from a servant.’
That was also correct.
Unfortunately, the emperor’s power is still unstable, and he is someone who will drink poison tea from his enemies in order to survive.
Paradoxically, that was the most appropriate explanation for the current emperor.
No matter how important Baltail’s existence was, if Duke Everett, who was in power immediately, grabbed his lifeline and waved it, he could not help but hand it over.
… If there is no other alternative. ‘Another alternative.’
Maybe she has an alternative. But that- “Why aren’t you petting me?”
Kaiers asked as she stood still with her hands near his head. Leverticia asked, blinking her eyes.
“… Were you waiting for me to stroke you?” “Oh, no? It’s not like that.”
I was surprised that the words were spit out by accident, and I turned my head away.
However, it was after the red was already burning to the ears that were already visible from the side. Leverticia smiled and ruffled his hair.
Kaiers let out a groan and annoyance, but did not avoid her touch.
Soon he crouched, pulled something out and handed it to her. It was a nice, well-packaged little box.
“Is this my gift?”
“My, I am not giving it to you. My housemates are so obsessed with asking for a gift…!”
That’s a lie.
Of course, there were many users who were sad when Leverticia stopped visiting the duke’s family, but they didn’t show anything and only regretted it.
No one insisted on giving her a present. Leverticia grinned and accepted his gift. “thank you. I’ll take it well.”
“Because I’m not giving it to you. Come and say hello later. by the way… Will you come again?”
The mission to deliver the relics was now over, and there was no reason for her to visit the Dukes of Valtale, unless otherwise ordered.
“When do you tell me not to come?”
“Even if you tell me not to come, when will you come to me persistently?” “Do you miss me because I’m not going?”
“No way. quiet and good But no matter how much I think about it, I am annoyed that you used me for your bet, so you should be a little more bothered.”
“Gosh. That’s a terrifying threat-”
Leverticia, who opened the box while creaking, stopped. “….”
Inside the box was a handkerchief carefully embroidered with embroidery. For a moment, she couldn’t take her eyes off the embroidery like a man who had stopped breathing.
There was no response for a long time even after the conversation was interrupted, so Kaius asked first.
“what’s the matter? Don’t you like it?” “this… Where am I from?”
“Where did you come from? What store did you buy it from?”
“this… Oh, this flower pattern! Did you commission this embroidery? Or was it original? Did someone else tell me to give it to you?”
Leverticia spat at him as if pouring a bunch of questions. The gentle relaxation that I had usually felt was gone.
It was the first time he had seen her showing such intense emotions, so Kaius looked at Leverticia as if it was quite surprising.
“I ordered it from Baron Bellast and his wife’s Ethel clothing store.” He told her right away without delay.
In particular, the baroness told me about the anecdote related to this little flower pattern.
While listening to him, Leverticia’s expression looked like someone had gone crazy.
He seemed to be reminiscing about the past buried in a very distant, deep memory.
When his story was over, Leverticia slowly pulled out a handkerchief and fiddled with the embroidery part.
She opened her mouth with a faintly self-helpful smile.
“… It’s natural that you don’t know what kind of flower it is modeled after or what the name of the flower is.”
“why?”
“Because it is not a flower that exists in the world.” how do you know that
I tried to ask, but somehow my throat was choked and I couldn’t come out.
Her eyes, looking at the embroidery, had no tears, but they had eyes that hurt the heart of the person who saw them more than that.
“These are fake flowers that the nicest and warmest parents in the world have made for their little daughter.”
Libertia.
It was the name of this little pretty flower.
*
The smell of all kinds of alcohol and incense vibrated in the colorful gambling room.
The huge chandelier gave off a faint light for its size, so the inside of the gambling hall gave off a subtly dim atmosphere.
At one table in the middle, cards went back and forth with a loud laughter. “All in.”
A man patted his beard and exclaimed leisurely.
The chips piled up like a tower next to him gathered in the middle of the table like they were collapsing.
Everyone who was seated in a circle around the table made a ‘knuckle’ sound.
“Fold.”
“I’m a fold too.”
“Then again, this is Baron Wilfred’s victory.” “Haha, hey, hey. I am sorry.”
Another thick smoke came from the cigarette in Baron Wilfred’s mouth.
It was when he leaned back on his chair with a smirk, drunk on something he didn’t know if it was alcohol or something.
“Gagging!”
“You must have been lucky today. You have earned a lot, uncle.”
A white hand approached quickly in the blink of an eye, strangling his neck like a cold chain.
“Yes, this guy. Rebertisha…ぅ!”
“What if? From now on, I will overthrow the board.”
