CHAPTER 2: SPRING COMES TO EVERYONE (XXII)
Part 039
We dated after work almost every day, visiting Midoc’s famous restaurants. After eating, we usually took a walk or spent time together at a dessert cafe. She didn’t have the ingenuity to reject him when invited to a dessert shop of her taste so she went home late several times and heard Rootvan’s nagging.
She expected his behavior to be the same because he spoke neatly, but Adrian was surprisingly free in skinship. Yesterday, he suddenly put on a pod and looked at her in surprise. She didn’t know if he didn’t know, or if he was pretending not to know. He kissed the back of her hand every time he could. A few days ago, he even licked her hand lightly in the carriage on the way home. Frightened, she pulled out her hand, then he lowered the corners of his eyes and asked if she didn’t like it. It was not a question of liking it or not. When she told him not to do that from now on because he would just squeeze it, he smiled brightly and replied that it was sweet.
He was a man who could never be caught. He was also cute, so it’s a big deal.
There was no progress in the work. The former Marquis of Talus was found as a body, and the investigation into arms trafficking with the tail cut off was also said to have made no progress. An intelligence group run by Adrian found signs that the weapon was of foreign origin and was now investigating. Homer still had not been contacted. So she was frustrated. Adrian said with a pretty smile that if he didn’t show up in the fall, he’d drag him by the collar.
Now in summer, it had become quite chilly in the morning and evening. The tedious and boring period of education at the Ministry of Home Affairs had come to an end. Next week, training for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs began, her father would leave for the manor, and soon, fall would come.
* * *
Adrian sent her a letter saying that there was something to be done today. So she returned home thinking that she was going home alone after a long absence. Franz also went on vacation to the Duke of Bigor yesterday for the first time in a while, so when he returned quietly without speaking to him, Jenny, who always greeted her in front of the mansion, was nowhere to be seen.
“Ruby, what about Jenny?”
“Ah, me. Jenny is…”
Ruby was speechless and glanced at the wide open front door, when she made a thump and Jenny appeared. Franz’s collar was held in one hand.
She knew he had been doing well lately, but they had become very close. Jenny punched Franz right in front of her. Franz did two rounds of forward rolls and then stopped in a prone position in front of her.
“Why are you doing this?”
When she asked Jenny, Jenny slid the back of Franz’s head and said.
“Tell the lady as it is.”
“Miss, our lord doesn’t know about it.”
Franz only turned his head to look at Jenny. He protested in an unfair voice, but Jenny’s eyes didn’t relax.
“Sir Franz, what is it?”
“Well, that. This morning… To my lord at the galleon, that. From the Duke, a marriage proposal came in.”
What?
“My lord refused right away. Everyone in the society of Midock knew that he was dating the lady, but Ethan said that he was making a deal today saying that this was nonsense!”
Of course it should. Of course, yes, of course Adrian would refuse. She knew, she knew, wow, this didn’t feel right? To put in a marriage proposal when they clearly know that he had a dating partner? Duke of Galleon was mad or what? Or was her family that funny? Was this as disrespectful to Adrian as well as to her?
As she stood still without saying anything, cold sweat formed on Franz’s forehead.
“Hey, young lady. Our lord is not the kind of person who would think otherwise of a young lady.”
“I know.”
“It’s true. The Duke of Galleon will be angry with a single refusal!”
“I know. I think so.”
She agreed twice, but Franz’s forehead didn’t dry. And she didn’t feel any better either.
* * *
Adrian grinned as he recalled the conversation he had with Damian yesterday as he was getting ready for work.
“Ethan, talk to me comfortably.”
“Yes?”
“Please speak comfortably.”
Ethan stared blankly, wondering why his lord, who had been on a series of travels lately, was like this again. Yesterday, Damian encouraged Adrian to relax, to not to be too strict with respect. And several answers popped into his mind.
‘Can I still do that?’ – except
‘I’ll do that.’-except
Excluding ‘yes’
‘I will accept.’ -except
After excluding each and every answer that came to mind, there was nothing left. He went on to say that he liked things the way they were, but Adrian, who wanted to give Damian anything she wanted, had the intention of finding an answer from Ethan. As Adrian stared at Ethan with a urging face, Ethan cleared his throat and opened his mouth.
“Is that okay? Then, do you speak first? It’s much more comfortable and nice, this one.”
“Not good.”
“Yes, lord.”
Ethan’s answer was also dismissed.
“Don’t say anything strange and take a look at this. It’s from the Galleon family, so I brought it because I thought you should check it.”
Ethan handed out an embarrassingly colorful envelope. He opened the envelope sealed with the seal of the Duke of Galleon, and a marriage proposal popped out. A curse came out of Ethan’s mouth as he pulled his neck all the way and spied for the content.
“Is this crazy?”
Tearing the paper with a bloody face, Adrian ordered.
“The Duke has gone senile at a young age. Send an official letter of protest. Make a seat for the evening. I’ll make sure there’s no nonsense again.”
Adrian went to work with a murderous face, and Ethan sent a letter to Galleon. That afternoon after a long day, the Duke of Galleon and Adrian sat facing each other in a private room in a high-end bar arranged by Ethan. The Duke of Galleon, who came first, greeted Adrian with a smirk, but Adrian didn’t respond and sat down in his chair.
“You could have thought about it a bit more, but why did you send an answer in such a hurry. Ha ha.”
It’s about the answer to the refusal Ethan sent in the morning. As Adrian glared at him with a severe face, the Duke of Galleon continued his words.
“If the Duke of Galleon and the Duke of Bigor join forces, who will be the opponent?
He asked the king once again, but the king refused to consent to the marriage of Philia and Tirellius. After this year, Philia would be 20 years old. To the Duke of Gallion, who thought he should sell his daughter before the price fell too low, the unmarried Duke of Bigor was the second better option after the Crown Prince, who might or might not become king. In the midst of the power struggle between Tirellius and Docerne, if he used the power of the Duke of Bigor well, he would be able to raise Remina’s son, and even if it doesn’t work for her, the Duke of Bigor was also a bloodline of the royal family.
The Duke of Galleon, obsessed with his ploy, continued to pretend to be generous in order to somehow win Adrian’s heart.
“Of course, I’ve heard rumors too, but it’s a common story that one or two love feelings pass by when you’re young. My daughter doesn’t act that hard. It doesn’t matter what kind of woman the prince embraces. It’s a family marriage, that’s it. Heh heh heh.”
“Duke of Galleon.”
“Tell me, Duke Bigor.”
Adrian’s red eyes flashed in the dark room. The Duke of Galleon, thinking that he couldn’t be pushed back by the momentum of a young man who hadn’t even lived half of his life, was trying to catch that look, but cold sweat was already forming on his back.
“I apologize in advance for not being familiar with the etiquette of aristocratic families because I was a guy who lived on the battlefield. You must have come to listen to my will, right? I’ll say it only once, so listen carefully.”
The Duke of Galleon listened to him, swallowing his dry saliva.
In an instant, Adrian rose from his seat. He drew the sword from its scabbard in a natural motion, like flowing water. The Duke of Galleon instinctively stepped back in his chair. With a stiff face, he wondered if Adrian was swinging his sword, but the thick wooden table that had been split in half exactly split into two sides and collapsed. As expected, with a graceful gesture, Adrian put the sword in and asked.
“How is it, did you understand it well?”
He was surprised and angry at the rudeness he had never experienced before, but his fear was greater. The Duke of Galleon nodded his head while gnashing his teeth.
* * *
Adrian returned to the mansion and was greeted by Ethan with a pale face. Then, he informed them of the message sent by Franz. ‘It seems that my lady found out about today’. Adrian gritted his teeth. He looked at his loyal servant with slightly trembling eyes. Ethan, who was looking anxiously at the seriously agitated lord, held out the box he had prepared.
“Shouldn’t you go and see her first?”
After opening the lid of a box the size of his upper body, Adrian checked all the sweets in the big box and covered it again.
“Is this the best?”
“It’s the best. I’m sorry for not being able to buy more, Lord.”
Adrian let out a moan and went back the way he came in. Ethan cheered inwardly as he looked at Adrian’s back as he left with a box of cookies. The carriage ran quickly and arrived at Ethard mansion, and Adrian, who was escorted to the drawing room, waited for Damian with a tense face.
Damian laughed at the sound of Adrian’s presence. She thought there would be a reaction, but it was faster than she thought. At this hour, he would have come running as soon as he got off work. She hadn’t heard a word yet, but now her mind was all set. No, it wasn’t that she was offended by Adrian. She was offended by the Duke of Galleon for casually ignoring her and her family. It wasn’t her fault, but she felt sorry for her lover who came rushing in, and she didn’t even have any other doubts.
When the parlor door opened, she saw Adrian, who was sitting stiffly in his lap with his hands clenched into fists like a newly enlisted recruit. Thinking of teasing him a little, she suppressed her bursting laughter and sat down on the sofa across from him. When she didn’t make eye contact with him, the corners of his drooping eyes clung tenaciously. Damian ignored it and opened the large box on the table. She almost burst into laughter at the huge amount of carefully packaged sweets, but she barely held it back.
“What is this, Adrian?”
Adrian’s hands were sweaty. He was intimidated by the cold voice he didn’t even look at.
“A gift of apology, Damian.”
“An apology? Did you do anything to apologize to me?”
Their eyes met, but Adrian answered in a desperate voice as if screaming as he looked at Damian without expression.
“No! I didn’t do anything embarrassing to Damian. That’s what I mean.”
Looking at Adrian, who was happily wandering around, Damian couldn’t hold back any longer and burst into laughter. Adrian, who was very nervous, was taken aback by Damian’s sudden burst of laughter, then laughed as he felt relieved.
“I’m sorry, Adrian. I’ve been mean. Why is Adrian apologizing? He said he turned down the marriage proposal.”
“Yes, I declined. They will never bother you again.”
“Good job.”
Damian smiled brightly and praised Adrian, and he also smiled brightly in response. The two skipped dinner and filled their stomachs with snacks, and talked face-to-face until an impatient Rootvan cleared his throat in front of the drawing room. She burst out laughing even at a trivial story, and the face she always saw was surprisingly lovely every moment.
Autumn was coming.
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Translator Note:
Hello there! This is RJR. Thank you very much for reading.
Next chapter will be relased on June, 6 😉
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