Chapter 46
My body moved faster than I thought. I turned my head quickly and belatedly felt like I had avoided things too blatantly.
I took a moment to catch my breath and cautiously looked out the window again. But Raynan was just staring straight ahead with an expressionless face.
Oddly enough, Raynan seemed a little nervous today. Maybe it was because I had never seen his side like this before.
“It’s not good to look outside for too long.”
Amelia’s voice was heard, and then a white cloth covered Raynan’s face.
She carefully pulled the curtains over the window, then smiled and said:
“It’s better to be as careful as possible.”
Although her tone was casual, something suddenly occurred to me as she spoke.
It was a carriage accident that killed Raynan’s brother and sister-in-law. Now that I knew a little more about the circumstances, it seemed a little different.
“Maybe it wasn’t an accident, but…”
“Yes?”
I guess I blurted out my thoughts without realizing it.
“Oh, what did I say?”
“I don’t know, I thought it was because your mouth was moving.”
Behind a bewildered Amelia, I could see Edwin’s figure. He was excited to see what was outside.
Amelia quickly moved to his side.
“You too.”
“Yes.”
Fortunately, Edwin kindly pulled the curtains with his own hands. Even though he couldn’t see outside, Edwin still had a smiling face.
The fast-moving carriage was inevitably shaky, and it was frustrating to not be able to see out. But I seemed to be the only one who felt that way.
“I was worried you might get frustrated, but I was wrong.”
Amelia was also concerned about Edwin’s first trip.
“Yeah. That’s good.”
My relief was brief, because a few moments into the conversation, I realized that I wasn’t the one who was relieved.
“Renee, are you okay? Your face doesn’t look so good.”
“I’m not… okay.”
I knew that even if I said it was okay, it wouldn’t seem that way at all, so I immediately changed my words.
I had forgotten that I suffer from severe motion sickness. Well, I didn’t experience any motion sickness here.
“Renee, you look really sick.”
My face must have looked so horrible that even Edwin could see it.
“Just lie down for a bit.”
I didn’t have time to worry about my pride or Edwin. If things continued like this, I might as well jump out of the moving carriage.
As Amelia said, lying down didn’t make a difference. Rather, it felt like the vibrations were being transmitted throughout my entire body.
“It might be better off sleeping.”
She covered me with a blanket and said, I didn’t think I would be able to sleep, but I closed my eyes. I thought it would be better to sleep like I was dead.
I thought I wouldn’t be able to sleep, but as soon as I closed my eyes, sleep came over me.
“Renee, Renee. We’ve arrived.”
I opened my eyes with difficulty at Amelia’s call. The shaking carriage had stopped, and outside there was a bustling sound of movement.
Edwin was nowhere to be seen as he had gotten off as soon as we arrived.
“You were sleeping really well. Have you been having trouble sleeping lately?”
“That’s not it….”
I felt awkward for no reason and scratched my face awkwardly.
“It’s late, but it’s still nice, Renee, come on down and take a look.”
Amelia tugged on my hand and I followed her out of the carriage.
“Wow.”
“It is, isn’t it?”
“Yeah. It really is.”
The mansion was nestled in the woods. The moon was high in the sky, casting a soft moonlight on the mansion.
The mansion’s classical appearance was illuminated by the moonlight, giving it a mysterious air.
It had a very different feel from the Loerian. It was small in size, but it seemed that a lot of effort had been put into it.
“It’s a comfortable yet mysterious atmosphere, isn’t it?”
Before I knew it, Raynan had come near me. His tense face had disappeared without a trace, and he looked at the mansion with a much more relaxed expression.
I remembered what Amelia had said.
“The Duke was quite cute when he was at Edwin age. He also had many childish aspects. Just like Edwin now.”
Was this outing as exciting for him as it was for Edwin?
“Renee?”
“Oh, yes. It’s a really nice place.”
“Let’s go. I’ll show you your room.”
Raynan started walking ahead, guided by the Duke.
I followed him, my arms and legs moving stiffly for no reason, feeling nervous.
We entered the mansion, passing people who were busy unloading luggage and doing various maintenance.
He moved without hesitation, as if he was familiar with this place. Looking at the neat and comfortable interior, I began to look forward to the days I would spend here.
“But where is this place?”
“The Emperor’s villa?”
“What?”
The unexpected answer froze her in place. Raynan stopped immediately as if he had expected that and looked back at me.
“I decided to come here because it’s close to the capital.”
“Well, it’s only a day’s ride.”
“Besides, His Majesty hardly ever uses it, so it’s not well known, making it the perfect place to spend a vacation.”
“But is it okay for me to come in like this?”
“You’re welcome to spend as much as you like, this is the first time I’ve come here after hearing that story.”
Feeling relieved by those words, I started walking again. Before I knew it, the man who had been walking ahead of me was walking next to me.
“This is the room. If anything happens, shout loudly. My room is right next door.”
“What’? could it be someone trying to kill me again?”
I grabbed his arm in surprise and asked him a question urgently. Raynan looked at me and smiled in vain.
“Why do you always have such extreme thoughts?”
I said that because it was possible. I was so surprised that my heart sank, but Raynan had a calm expression on his face.
When I see that expression…
“Isn’t it?”
“You don’t have to worry about that, since this is His Majesty the Emperor’s villa. Besides, our knights won’t be playing around.”
“… I see”
Raynan opened the door as if to tell me to stop talking nonsense.
“You must be tired, so get some rest.”
“Yes. Good night.”
I answered his words before closing the door. It was just a greeting, but Raynan blinked for a moment as if he was surprised.
Then he grabbed the door that was about to close with one hand.
This time, in the blink of an eye, one of Raynan’s feet was placed inside the room.
As Raynan slowly leaned his upper body, our faces came closer. As the distance between us grew closer, the corners of his lips slowly rose, and I opened my mouth without realizing it.
It was because I was distracted by Raynan’s wonderful smile, which seemed happier than ever.
Raynan lowered his head to my ear and opened his mouth. His breath reached my ear before his voice, and then moved away again.
Raynan took his foot out, still smiling.
Soon the door closed, and only after his face disappeared did I hear Raynan’s whispered words belatedly.
“Good night.”
No, what kind of greeting is this…
My face was hot. I tried to cool it down by fanning myself with my hand, but it wasn’t easy.
“It’s because of the moon and the moonlight.”
Yes. That was to be expected. Since ancient times, it has been said that the moon has mystical powers…
“No, what are you saying?”
I couldn’t figure out why I was so flustered. The only good thing was that I was the only one left in the room.
“Ugh…”
Even though I slept soundly the whole way here, I was quickly overcome by fatigue.
The distance to my bed felt as far as the distance from the Duke mansion to here.
I took some difficult steps and finally laid down on the bed. It only took a moment for me to fall back into sleep.
***
“Renee! Renee! Wake up!”
Edwin’s voice, full of excitement, lingered in my ears. As if just calling wasn’t enough, my body began to shake slightly.
“Young master Edwin, it is very rude of you to enter a woman’s room without permission, and especially so early in the morning.”
Amelia’s voice was heard whispering behind Edwin.
“Is that so?”
“Of course. Women have a lot to prepare from the morning.”
“Shall we go out?”
I woke up to Edwin shaking me, and was sitting up in bed. I stared blankly at the two people who were talking to each other without paying any attention to me.
“I think it’s already too late.”
“Oh, Renee!”
It wasn’t that he ignored me, but rather that he didn’t seem to notice. Edwin found me sitting there and quickly grabbed my hand and said,
“I’m sorry! I really didn’t know!”
“No, Edwin is always welcome.”
“Really?”
“Yes. Did you sleep well last night?”
“Yes.”
“Really?”
“Um… Actually, no. I was so nervous that I couldn’t sleep.”
Edwin, who said he had slept well, looked a little tired and excited like yesterday on his face, so I asked him again and he answered honestly.
“But Renee, how did you sleep so well last night?”
“Haha. That’s right.”
“I brought you some food because you didn’t eat properly yesterday, but you were sleeping so soundly that I didn’t wake you up. Young master Edwin came with me too.”
At Amelia’s words, Edwin shrugged his shoulders as if he was hoping for praise.
“Oh, thank you.”
“So let’s go have breakfast!”
I wonder if he wanted to say this, not because he wanted to be praised.
Come to think of it, Edwin was properly dressed even at this early hour.
No, it seemed like he had put more effort into it than usual. Could it really be that good?
I was about to compliment his clothes with a small smile, but Amelia must have noticed my thoughts and spoke first.
“The Duke said he would like to have breakfast with you two.”
“The Duke?”
So that’s why Edwin is so excited. When I looked at Edwin, he nodded vigorously.
“Let’s go quickly, Edwin.”
I could guess how happy Edwin would be, so I quickly kicked off the bed and sat up.
“Renee, you’re not planning on going out like that, are you?”
I thought so. I thought Edwin’s clothes were cool, but I never really thought about my own clothes.
Amelia smiled and grabbed Edwin’s hand, as if the thought of “Oh no” was written on her face.
“Shall we go out and wait, young master Edwin?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll get ready quickly!”
Perhaps because I was moving around in a hurry, it actually took longer than usual. When I diligently went to the dining room, Raynan had already arrived and was waiting for me.
Raynan looked like the perfect person for a vacation.
He came out in casual attire and greeted Edwin. Rather, it was Edwin who was the most formal.
Edwin became quieter as he approached the dining room, and finally he could no longer hide his nervousness. The strength I felt in my hand seemed to match the size of his nervousness.
I slightly tightened my grip on his hand and let go to cheer him on, but he didn’t seem to notice.
Fortunately, the meal continued in a quiet and peaceful atmosphere.
The occasional natural conversation was not much different from what we had seen during the tea time we had been having regularly.
Edwin seemed to feel the same way. By the end of the meal, he had forgotten all his tension and was back to his usual self.
“Let’s take a short break and then meet again.”
After finishing the meal, Raynan left first. As soon as he disappeared, Edwin approached with the excited expression on his face.
“Did you enjoy the meal?”
“Yeah. It was the best thing I’ve ever eaten.”
“Thank god.”
Edwin looked around for a moment, then took a step closer and whispered to me.
“I… Today is the first time I’ve had a meal with father.”
“That must have been the most delicious meal ever.”
“Yes.”
Soon Edwin and Chase excitedly left the room.
“Should Renee go get ready now?”
“Get ready?”
I asked Amelia, but instead of answering she just smiled meaningfully.
