The Long-Awaited Next Day
“Madam! Madam!”
As I was basking in the morning sunlight on the balcony, Vivi burst into the bedroom, all flustered. I turned around with a serene smile.
“Vivi, why are you making such a fuss so early in the morning?”
“Oh, I’m sorry. It’s just that I’ve heard something so shocking…”
“Shocking news?”
“The shopping district is in an uproar this morning.”
Hearing exactly what I expected, a smirk tugged at the corners of my mouth.
“Really? The shopping district, you say.”
“Yes! You know how the Marquis of Merry and the Countess of Olsen have been fighting over that mine, right?”
“Yes, I know. Weren’t they saying that the mine was about to fall into the hands of the Marquis of Merry?”
“That’s what I thought too, but the situation has completely changed!”
“What do you mean by ‘the situation has completely changed’?”
Feigning ignorance, I asked, and Vivi widened her eyes, practically dancing with excitement.
“Well, it turns out the Countess didn’t covet the mine for greed!”
“Huh?”
“There’s a large tree near the mine, and apparently, it’s a place filled with memories of the late Count! An anonymous servant from the Count’s household posted a notice about it! The place is packed with people trying to read it.”
“Oh my.”
Feigning surprise, I gasped softly and covered my mouth.
“Well, that’s…”
Just as planned.
I swallowed the urge to burst into laughter and looked at Vivi.
“Did you know anything about this, Madam? You visited the Olsen estate last weekend, didn’t you?”
I maintained my innocent facade.
“No, I had no idea. We didn’t discuss anything like that…”
“Oh my, so you didn’t know either, Madam!”
Vivi couldn’t contain her excitement, overwhelmed by this unexpected twist. If this was her reaction without even reading the notice, I could only imagine the scene in the shopping district right now.
Looking naturally out past the terrace, I smiled softly.
“Vivi, you’ve made me quite curious. I think I’ll go see for myself. Could you help me get ready?”
“Yes! I’ll prepare everything right away!”
It seemed Vivi was just as eager to see the notice’s contents as I was, as she helped me get ready at double her usual speed.
As I was descending the stairs after getting ready, I happened to run into a familiar face once again.
There he was, in the lobby at the bottom of the stairs, on his way to the dining hall, when Ian stopped and looked up at me.
‘Seriously, I never used to see a hair of him, but now he’s everywhere?’
Anyone would think he was hanging around on purpose.
He kept his lips pressed together as he looked between the dining hall and me in my outdoor attire before asking,
“…Are you going out without having breakfast?”
His tone didn’t hide his confusion.
There was a hint of sarcasm in his voice, as if he were saying more than just a simple question.
“Oh, well.”
It finally dawned on me that I scratched my cheek awkwardly.
I had been so excited that I had completely forgotten about having breakfast with Ian.
‘But really, breakfast isn’t the issue here.’
There was no way I could sit still when the shopping district was buzzing because of the notice I’d posted!
After a few moments of awkward silence, I managed a strained smile.
“Um… I’m really sorry, but I’m a bit busy right now.”
“You’ve been busy all weekend, and now today too.”
His reply had a strange edge to it.
Come to think of it, I had been running around non-stop since Saturday.
‘The recluse ghost who never left the house must have caught his attention now that I’m out and about, huh?’
Barely holding back a scoff, I smiled at him.
“Yes, I suppose so. It’s rare to have such a busy day. So, I’m afraid I won’t be able to have breakfast with you, but perhaps we can have lunch instead…”
“Are you heading out right now?”
“Pardon?”
“You seem to be heading towards the shopping district.”
“Oh, yes… as you can see?”
I replied, bewildered, and Ian nodded briefly. Then, he turned away from the dining hall.
“Then I’ll accompany you.”
“W-What?”
I was so startled that my voice cracked. Why on earth was he suddenly insisting on joining me? It wasn’t even the weekend.
Completely baffled, I just stared at him blankly, trying to make sense of his actions, while Ian, with his usual stern expression, checked his watch and tilted his head.
“Since we didn’t have any plans to meet over the weekend, and I don’t have any pressing work today, I have time to accompany you.”
There seemed to be a hint of something pointed in his words.
‘Why is he acting like this all of a sudden? Did he take something?’
They say that when people are too shocked, they can be at a loss for words, and that was exactly how I felt.
Meanwhile, Ian, still looking displeased, checked his watch again and tilted his head.
“It shouldn’t take long to prepare since it’s just a light outing. I’ll wait.”
“….”
“Madam?”
“Oh, yes. Let’s do that…”
“Very well.”
With a crisp reply, Ian turned and disappeared into the dressing room without any hesitation.
I stood there in a daze for a moment, tilting my head in bewilderment.
‘Should I chalk this up to a success in my education efforts?’
❖ ❖ ❖
What was supposed to be a quiet outing with Vivi turned into a grand affair in the blink of an eye. A large carriage bearing the crest of the Grand Duke’s estate appeared, and along with Vivi, three other servants, and even Ian’s close aide accompanied us.
That aide, named Kyle, had a strangely pleased look in his eyes as he observed me and Ian.
I’d heard he was the estate’s mage.
He was supposed to be accompanying us as a precaution, but his demeanor seemed more like that of a spectator than a bodyguard.
After all, Ian is a Swordmaster—what kind of protection does he need?
‘The carriage is spacious, and having extra hands is nice, but… is all this really necessary?’
Regardless of my discomfort, Ian escorted me, and the carriage set off.
As we approached the center of the shopping district, I could feel the crowd’s energy even before stepping out of the carriage.
Voices of chatter filled the air, especially near one of the central squares, where the notice had been posted.
“Wow… there are so many people.”
I had expected it to cause a stir, given that it made the front page of the Aria Gazette, but this response was beyond what I had imagined.
We parked the carriage a bit away from the central area, and I disembarked with Ian’s assistance.
Unlike last time, when simply stepping out of the carriage drew all eyes to me, today the notice had diverted most of the attention.
Instead, everyone was murmuring about the Count and Countess of Olsen.
I pretended to be calm while listening in on their conversations.
“…They say the two first met under that tree 20 years ago.”
“That would mean they were both just a little over ten years old at the time.”
“Oh my… they’ve known each other since they were children.”
“The Countess of Olsen must have treated her servants really well. It can’t be easy to step forward like this for a former employer…”
Sighs of pity arose from various spots. From another direction, I overheard more of their conversations.
“Then, was the Countess of Olsen being stubborn because she wanted to preserve those memories with the Count?”
“Now it makes sense. It always seemed odd that she would hold out, refusing to hand over the mine even while neglecting the ones she already had.”
“I never imagined there’d be such a reason behind it…”
“If this is true, I really feel sorry for the Countess of Olsen.”
“Right? Do you think the Marquis of Merry knew about this? Judging by the notice, the servants at the Count’s estate seemed to know something…”
“Would the Marquis have gone ahead if they had known? I doubt it.”
“Of course not, right? Still, this is quite the predicament…”
As I listened to the murmuring voices, I suppressed a satisfied smile.
‘See, I’ve still got it.’
Go on, keep talking.
♧♧♧
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