“So, was the prince’s treatment completed safely?”
Duke Lenever asked as he poked at his salad with a sparkling silver fork.
Letier paused mid-air with her utensils and fell into thought for a moment.
“Hmm… I think so.”
“What do you mean, you think so?”
Confusion appeared in eyes the same shade of violet as Letier’s.
Unsure how much she should explain, Letier decided to go with the easier route.
“No, I mean, yes. The treatment was completed safely.”
“So it wasn’t an incurable disease, then?”
“No. After using a cream mixed with the right anti-inflammatory, the condition improved well.”
“That’s great! Our Letier is so clever.”
The duke nodded with a proud smile spreading across his face.
“Then that means you won’t be leaving your father’s side for a while, right?”
“Huh?”
Letier looked up.
For a brief moment, she thought of the prince in the carriage and barely managed to hold back a cough.
“You’re going to focus on the cosmetics business in the Lenever estate for the time being, right?”
“Uh…”
“Not being able to see a child I love so much—it’s made every day so full of worry. I kept wondering, is she starving somewhere? Is she sick? Is she hurt…”
“…But I just went to the imperial palace, not somewhere dangerous.”
Letier responded as calmly as she could.
Seeing the worried face of her father, she couldn’t bring herself to say she might leave again.
“Even if it was the imperial palace, how could it compare to your own castle? Really… These past few weeks, I’ve just been anxiously waiting for your letters.”
“I told you, I was doing fine…”
“Hahaha, Your Grace. If the young lady ever gets married, I’m afraid you won’t be able to sleep a wink every night.”
At that moment, Gilbert, the butler who had been moving dishes from the kitchen to the table, chimed in on the father-daughter conversation.
He smiled warmly at Letier.
“Married? Our Letier… married?”
Hearing Gilbert’s words, a shadow suddenly fell over the duke’s face.
Letier met her father’s stunned expression with a look of awkward surprise.
“She’s certainly old enough to marry.”
Gilbert answered matter-of-factly as he set down the plates.
“Letier… but isn’t our Letier still young?”
“I’m not a kid anymore, Father.”
Letier quickly added.
She still felt that she was far from things like engagements or marriage, but seeing her father treat her like a child, she felt she had to say it.
Her father was overprotective to an extreme.
“Our Letier… has grown up so much already…”
The duke muttered.
“She’s grown up long ago! Haven’t marriage proposals been arriving one after another these past few days?”
Unaware of the duke’s inner turmoil, Gilbert spoke cheerfully.
He turned to Letier and began listing the families that had sent proposals.
“Young Lady Letier, over the past few days, the Ruber family, the Heirick family, and even the son of Count Gribitch have sent proposals directly. And also…”
As he gloomily listened to Gilbert’s words, the duke suddenly turned his head toward Letier.
“By any chance, was there a man in the capital who showed interest in you, Letier?”
“What?”
Why is the conversation heading this way all of a sudden?
Letier blinked in confusion.
Meanwhile, the duke, now lost in his own imagination, asked in a serious tone.
“I’m asking if there were any scoundrels who flirted with you, saying they liked you.”
“Hmm…”
Letier began thinking seriously.
Men, huh…
Before returning to the estate, there were people who approached her, sent notes or little gifts.
She ignored most of them since she didn’t know who they were…
“Well, I turned them down myself.”
“What? So there were some?!”
The duke asked, looking shocked.
He picked up a knife from the table, his hand starting to tremble.
“You’d best start mentally preparing yourself, Your Grace.”
Still oblivious to the duke’s inner storm, Gilbert added kindly with a gentle smile.
“Letier… is that really what you want too? Do you want to get married?”
To her father’s question, Letier shook her head before she could even think.
“No! I just want to stay by your side and run my business.”
“Really?”
With that one word from her, the duke’s face filled with relief.
His expression visibly brightened.
“Then that’s all I need to hear! Let’s stop with that dreadful topic, and instead talk about what happened at the palace. Tell me all about it. What were the Emperor and Empress like? What about the Prince…? And has the palace changed a lot? Things like that.”
Her father returned to his usual self and smiled at her.
“Okay! Hmm, where should I start…”
Letier slowly began to speak, thinking about where to begin.
****
After returning from the welcome banquet, Letier leaned back into the sofa in her room, almost lying down.
She felt like she’d eaten so much that the food was sitting all the way up to her throat.
“Ugh, I’m so full…”
On top of that, her father had so much to say…
Thinking about how lonely he must have been while she was gone, Letier hadn’t been able to excuse herself easily. So she did her best to respond with enthusiasm—and ended up listening to him talk for over three hours straight.
“If I’d stayed any longer, I swear my ears would’ve started bleeding…”
Letier muttered blankly.
From across the room, Lucy looked at her sympathetically and spoke up.
“His Grace must’ve really had a lot to say.”
“At first, he just wanted to hear about my time at the palace, but somehow I ended up losing control of the conversation…”
Letier spoke while rubbing her full stomach.
She couldn’t even tell where it had gone wrong.
Maybe it was the part where she said she missed the Lenever estate…?
“Lucy, really, I only made it back to my room because of you. If you hadn’t shown up, I’d probably still be with my father…”
Having returned late to the castle after checking on the local store in the Lenever estate, Lucy was the hero who’d rescued Letier from being trapped with the talkative duke all that time.
“I was honestly shocked! I left when you two had just started eating, and even after I finished everything and came back, you were still deep in conversation.”
“…”
“You’re usually pretty quiet, my lady, but the duke doesn’t seem to be like that at all.”
“Father probably wore himself out too. Anyway, did everything go okay with that issue?”
Letier turned her head to look at her.
Lucy casually shrugged and answered like it was no big deal.
“Yes! It was something I could handle on my own, so I took care of it quickly.”
“What kind of problem happened with the inventory?”
“The scheduled shipment didn’t arrive! The factory we work with couldn’t get the quantity ready on time.”
“Really? So what did you do?”
“I gave them a good warning! Told them if they didn’t handle it properly, we’d cut ties with them immediately. I almost let loose and yelled at them, but I held it in!”
“…That’s your version of handling it?”
“Yep! I gave them a very stern and scary talking-to. They’ve been a problem for a while now! Always asking for deadline extensions every chance they get…”
At her words, Letier straightened up and sat properly.
“Which factory is it?”
“The one on the east side of the estate.”
“The east side…? That’s the factory we built early on. The machinery there is probably overdue for an overhaul. In the beginning, we couldn’t design the production line ourselves and had to cobble together whatever was available.”
“Oh, really?”
Letier nodded.
“The manufacturing process and equipment system probably don’t match well, which is why these small issues keep happening. Don’t be too hard on them. I’ll send someone later to look into replacing the equipment.”
“Yes, understood, my lady!”
Lucy pulled a notebook from her pocket and began jotting things down.
After saying that much, Letier felt too drained to continue.
She let her whole body relax and slowly slid back down into the sofa, closing her eyes.
“You must be really tired. I’ll help you change into something comfortable, so head over to your bed and get some good rest.”
“Mm… thanks…”
Barely able to keep her eyes open, Letier let Lucy help her over to the bed and change into something soft.
Lying straight on the mattress, Letier was tucked in under a blanket by Lucy, who then said brightly:
“My lady, you know, the new product line’s sales are doing even better than expected! I think we should ride this momentum and start planning the next one!”
“Really?”
Letier slightly opened her closed eyes and asked.
Her lips curved naturally into a smile.
Hearing the cosmetics business was doing well—nothing made her happier.
“Yes! The noble ladies who’ve bought our products are giving great reviews. What do you think about releasing another one with a similar concept?”
“I actually have something I’ve been planning… Let’s schedule a meeting soon!”
“Yes! You can focus fully on the business now. No more trips for a while, right?”
“…”
To Lucy’s question, Letier didn’t respond—just rolled her eyes around awkwardly.
She still hadn’t told Lucy about the prince’s proposal.
Well… who knows?
“Then, please get some good sleep tonight!”
With that, Lucy dimmed the lights in Letier’s room and gently closed the door behind her.
In the darkness, Letier blinked her eyes, unable to sleep.
The Kingdom of Eustian…
She’d really meant to return right away after finishing the prince’s treatment, but now that she was back in the estate, she couldn’t understand why her thoughts kept drifting elsewhere.
Complicated feelings she couldn’t easily sort out swirled through her mind.
Letier shook her head vigorously to drive the thoughts away, then let out a long breath and tried to fall asleep.
For now, it was time to rest.
