Chapter 32
“I heard you sit next to the Duke and drink tea together?”
“I’ve sat next to him, but I don’t think it was a close call.”
“Some say he was very friendly.”
“I don’t think he was very friendly.”
“The Duke’s hand was on your shoulder…”
“Is young master Edwin in the garden now? Did Chase take him there?”
“Yes.”
“Then I will bring this.”
“Chase will bring it!”
I quickly left the place to avoid Marvin who was urgently trying to grab me.
These days, there is no place that makes me more tired than Edwin’s bedroom. That’s how persistent Marvin was.
It could be said that the moment I was away from Marvin was the most comfortable moment of the day.
Still, there was at least one thing that was comfortable thanks to Marvin.
The point was that I was able to ignore the harsh gaze of the servants without any problem.
I was grateful to have someone like Marvin to hold on to and not let go.
“What do you mean by rising status? In fact, it’s clear that it’s more difficult than before.”
I felt a little better after letting out the grumble I’d never let out to anyone..
“Renee!”
When Edwin saw me from afar, he waved his hand vigorously.
“I just need to give it water and that’s it.”
“Take your time.”
“Yes!”
Edwin just looked excited even though he was carrying a fairly heavy bucket of water. As he smiled happily, he saw Chase walking closer.
“You’re famous these days.”
“Ah…”
“What, do you know?”
“Yeah. I can hear it in my ears.”
Chase paused for a moment and looked at me, as if my reaction was different from what he expected.
“Why?”
“So is it real?”
“Hmm…”
I had no idea that Roman’s simple yet effective instructions were actually this difficult.
It was quite embarrassing to be asked so many questions and not be able to answer them properly.
As I trailed off, Chase narrowed his eyes. That doesn’t mean you can see my answer.
Fortunately, his observations were completed in a fairly short period of time.
“You don’t seem that ambitious.”
“I know.”
“I guess there’s a reason. You’re having a hard time too.”
Chase quickly lost interest and returned to Edwin’s side.
“It would be great if everyone was like Chase.”
Your indifference is making a person breathe!
I wanted to run around shouting this out loud.
Needless to say, the interest in me didn’t diminish after that. Rather, It had been raised.
I wasn’t ignoring Raynan’s words about how people would see me. That was the most important part.
I realized the next day that Raynan and Roman hadn’t even gotten started yet.
*****
“It’s a rose garden today.”
“It’s a less conspicuous place than other times.”
Thanks to this, I didn’t have to worry about my surroundings during today’s tea time.
I’ve always felt like I was being watched, like I was sitting on a thorny seat, but today I felt much more comfortable.
Of course, that didn’t mean I could sit far away from Raynan.
As Marvin said, Raynan was sitting next to me, right next to me.
“It’s a place less visible to people, so wouldn’t it be okay to be a little further away?”
“It’s not a place that no one can see, so you’d better not let your guard down.”
“… Yes.”
“Are you very tired?”
“I don’t know, it’s not easy being bothered by people.”
“If it’s too difficult, let’s proceed a little slower.”
“No, you don’t need to…”
“If my beloved woman had such a haggard face, people wouldn’t believe it.”
He said, gently stroking my face. Although I see him often these days, I never got used to the friendly Raynan.
“I think it will be okay because there is still more interest in the relationship with the Duke than in my face.”
“Okay, then. Instead, if you are having a hard time, please talk to me or Roman at any time.”
“Yes. Since the word has started to circulate to this extent, won’t young master Edwin find out soon?”
“He may have already heard some of it.”
“How should I explain it?”
“You don’t have to worry about that. I’ve already talked about it roughly.”
“Is that so?”
“And Edwin will be more than happy to hear that you will be my fiancée.”
“… I guess so too, right?”
“Yeah. Because he’ll feel closer to you.”
Raynan’s words brought back a feeling of guilt I had forgotten.
“Don’t worry. It’s not something to worry about in advance, and it’s not something Renee should worry about.”
“… Yes.”
“Is this enough for today? You look tired, so it might be better to go back and rest.”
“All right.”
It was a nice words to hear. I stood up from my seat lightly, then stiffened.
This was because it was unusual to see Roman’s hand coming closer to Raynan’s gesture.
“Take it with you on your way out. It looks beautiful and smells even better.”
“… Thank you.”
The scent of roses all around me came into my arms. It was a bouquet of flowers that was quite heavy and large in size.
This is why we spent time in an inconspicuous place.
I can’t believe I have to bring this back. It was obvious that people would notice more because of this.
Thinking about how I would have to suffer in new ways on the way back and even afterwards, I felt like my body was tingling again.
The bouquet that Raynan gave me showed me that what had happened so far was a natural foundation for painting the picture he wanted.
It was only for a moment that my heart became heavy.
First of all, it’s a year. Let’s just hold on for a year.
Since it has to be done anyway, let’s make it clear and finish it in a year and nip the possibility of renewing the contract in the bud.
As I made up my mind, I began to walk more confidently than before.
I received a bouquet of flowers from Raynan, so I guess I’ll have to do this.
“Renee.”
After walking a few steps, I heard Raynan’s voice calling me.
“Now that I think about it, I forgot something.”
“Yes?”
“Starting tomorrow, you too will have to learn something new.”
“Learning something new?”
“Yeah. I will send Roman tomorrow.”
“Yes.”
I tilted my head at the unexpected training schedule. Seeing me like that, Raynan let out a small laugh.
“It suits you quite well. I should give flowers as a gift often.”
Raynan left the place first, leaving scary words.
I realized it too late because I was too distracted by his laughter and words. That I forgot to ask what I had to learn.
*****
The next day, without knowing why, I was led by Roman to the stables.
“Roman?”
“Yes?”
“Why are we here…?”
I suppressed my anxiety and asked. Roman looked back with a rather puzzled look on his face at my question.
“Didn’t you hear that you should learn horseback riding starting today? I heard the Duke said it himself?”
“He only said to learn something new.”
“No wonder. You weren’t even dressed properly.”
Roman nodded and looked me up and down.
“Horseback riding. This really isn’t true.”
As I was about to step back, a firm hand touched my back.
“You’re not going to ride a horse from day one. Today, we will just say a simple hello.”
A small but sturdy woman smiled and spoke from behind me.
“Hello, I’m Amelia.”
“Hello, I’m Renee.”
“I know. You are the most famous person in the Duke’s residence these days.”
My face crumpled slightly at the joking, lighthearted comment. Amelia, seeing it, laughed heartily.
“More than that, horseback riding is really… I don’t have any athletic ability and I’m very scared….”
I even have a fear of heights.
The horse at first glance was much larger than I expected. Just the thought of going up there made me dizzy.
“Would you like to say hello first?”
Amelia dragged my hand as if she couldn’t hear what I was saying. Despite her small and delicate body, her strength was enormous.
Even though it didn’t seem like she was putting much effort into it, I was helplessly dragged by her hand and had to approach the horse.
And Roman was watching this with a happy face.
“This child is the most gentle and smartest child here.”
Even to me, who knew nothing, it was a well-maintained horse. Just by looking at the shine of the fur, you could tell that it was not raised with the usual care.
The white and fine fur caught my eye. It wasn’t a lie to say that he was gentle, seeing as he didn’t react much even when I, a stranger, approached him.
“Horses are sensitive and delicate animals, so they feel human emotions. If you are too afraid, the horse will be more afraid.”
Amelia stroked the horse with a loving hand. The horse seemed to enjoy her affection.
“If you’re too scared, you can just watch from this distance today. He told me to teach without risk and as clearly as possible.”
“Roman?”
“No? The Duke requested that.”
Amelia widened her eyes and answered as if she was asking something obvious.
“The Duke?”
“Yes. He told me to be careful not to get you hurt. He was very worried.”
“Worried?”
I can’t believe Raynan deliberately made a request and worried about me.
I wanted to ask her if she was mistaken about something.
But what I questioned didn’t seem to strike Amelia as odd at all.
“He said there’s no need to rush, so let’s start by getting to know each other little by little. If you get on a horse while feeling anxious, it’s dangerous for both the horse and Renee.”
That was a relief. The horses were pretty and handsome up close, but I didn’t dare get on them.
“Then, let’s meet here at this time every day starting tomorrow. Don’t feel too pressured.”
“Yes, see you tomorrow.”
The short first class ended like that. I couldn’t even greet the horse properly, but it felt like all the energy in my body was drained just from facing the horse.
“I’m exhausted. I really want to leave and find freedom.”
“What a scary thing to say.”
I almost screamed at the sound that suddenly came from behind me.
The other person probably didn’t know that I would be so surprised, but his face looked as surprised as I did.
“Roman? Didn’t you go?”
“I waited because I thought it would end soon. I also need to report on how the first class was.”
“Ah….”
“Why are you so surprised? I was surprised too.”
“Because you showed up out of the blue.”
“Really?”
Ignoring my timid protest, Roman touched his chin and studied my face.
“You certainly look exhausted.”
“I’m really tired. Suddenly horseback riding…”
“Oh, that’s the problem?”
“What?”
Both Roman and I had puzzled faces.
Only then did I realize that Roman was thinking of something else as the cause of my exhaustion.
“Horseback riding is unavoidable. You absolutely have to learn.”
“Why do I have to learn horseback riding?”
“It’s one of the things you must learn to become a member of the Loerian family.”
“I might not be here in a year.”
“If you learn how to ride a horse, people will look at you differently. It means that the Duke is thinking about you very seriously.”
“I see.”
“Amelia is good in many ways, so learn from her.”
“… Yes.”
“More than that, the Duke seems to be worried these days.”
“What about young master Edwin?”
“No, you.”
“Me? why?”
“It seems like you’re having a hard time being harassed by people.”
“Ah….”
My face naturally frowned. Just thinking about people staring and whispering made my stomach sick.
“Yeah, I guess it does. Just be patient. Because you’ve done enough.”
“Can we stop now?”
I asked with a smile on my face, and Roman looked at me with pitiful eyes.
