CHAPTER 4: EACH TRUTH AND EACH HAPPINESS (XIII)
Part 079
Today’s day started with telling Laurel, Senior Tina, and Dorode what she discussed with Homer yesterday. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs seemed to be busy with the Cologne mission issue, and Tina, who had not come home from work yesterday, had already prepared a list of items to purchase. When she started trading with a designated merchant, it happened to be her job to meet with the merchant’s owner and give final approval. The Home Office decided to rent a large warehouse on the Lorraine River docks and begin renovating it to store and sell grain. Lady Dorote left the main palace with a very motivated face. And she spent the day making promotional materials throughout Midok announcing that grain would be sold at half the market price under the auspices of the royal family. When the renovated warehouse is completed next week, it will be my job to inspect it and give permission for sales to begin. Homer said to abuse one’s power to one’s heart’s content, but the second-class class was much more powerful than expected. What about abuse? If I make a mistake in signing my name, the country will suffer losses, so you can say such scary things. How big of a liver do those who use their positions to do bad things have? Her eyes were watering as she read and signed the same document five times, fearing there might be something wrong. Although there were not many people left, the administrative departments that had been paralyzed began to gradually find their jobs. And in the military department, large-scale military movements began today. The entire command team will be dispatched on Sunday, the day after tomorrow, but it is said that over 10,000 infantry units departed this morning.
She couldn’t see them in person because they had gathered outside the outer castle and then left, but Adrian was there so we couldn’t have lunch together. She didn’t see the map until she met Homer and finished her report. He said he would be late again today, but if she didn’t leave work like this, the whole day would pass without her seeing him. As she was morosely organizing my documents, Homer, who had changed from a shining first-class administrator to a kind person again, asked her with a smile.
“The Duke of Bigor has been busy all day.”
“Since he is the commander, there is nothing we can do.”
Homer laughed out loud at my sullen answer. He asks with a playful face.
“What makes the Duke so good?”
“Hmm… pretty face?”
In response to her answer, Homer furrowed his forehead and made a strange expression. He didn’t say anything, but she thought she could hear him saying that wasn’t right, so she laughed this time.
“Lady Damian’s eyesight is very questionable. Any way you look at it, she has a manly face. If the Duke has a pretty face, then isn’t mine prettier?”
He asked, making an overly friendly smile. ‘Oh, you sure have a pretty face.’ She was surprised from the first time they met last winter. She thought some kind of idol had appeared. His hair color and eye color were light and bright, giving him an overall sparkling face.
“Homer is pretty, too. But what should I do when Adrian is prettier in my eyes?”
“Even the bean pods are problematic to that extent, my lady. Duke Bigor is not as kind to you as he appears to be.”
“Isn’t that the same for Homer?”
When Homer responded with a smile, his face looked caught off guard for a moment, and he let out a low haha sound and laughed vaguely. It wasn’t his usual friendly smile, but I thought that’s what Homer would look like if he smiled sincerely.
“I know that Adrian is actually a cold and hard person. But I think the kindness he shows in front of me is also Adrian. It is better for me to smile nicely only in front of myself than to smile in front of other people and show a mean face to me. It’s good.”
“Okay.”
“You’re greedy, aren’t you?”
“Haha, if that’s the case, would you mind clearing your mind?”
“No way. I’ll be holding it so tightly that it won’t go anywhere.”
“I’m jealous of the Duke.”
They looked at each other and smiled and spoke, but she couldn’t respond to the last words he spoke as his face became very lonely. Homer quickly hid his expression and put on a friendly smile again, but he still couldn’t answer anything. She didn’t know what kind of affection he showed towards her. She figured that if he had the kind of heart that couldn’t be answered, he had better not pretend to know. Homer didn’t say anything more, and we parted ways with a smile.
* * *
When she returned to the Duke’s residence, she found a reply to the letter she had sent to Ailene. Fortunately, he was recovering well, so he wrote a letter saying he was going to visit on Sunday and came downstairs. She made a quick dinner and went to the kitchen to make sandwiches for the Knights of Bigor. They told her to prepare plenty since she was going to make a meat sandwich filled with roasted beef and went to work. Then, there was a mountain of meat piled up in the kitchen that looked like a whole cow sliced up. She couldn’t participate in the cooking process because the food that was edible once I touched it ended up requiring separate recycling. Instead, she diligently cut the bread while watching the maids who were fidgeting. After completing the meat sandwiches for 100 people, it was almost time to get hungry, so with a slightly pounding heart, I took the sandwiches and went to the knights’ dormitory beyond Huwon. Franz was now like family, and had seen Sir Hegel and Sir Thierry once, but he had never visited the knights’ quarters, not even at the Etihart estate. Although she had not yet officially become a member of the duke family, she was worried that she might be treated coldly, but she came to know the feelings of an idol who went to a military base to perform a consolation performance.
A hundred pairs of eyes were looking at her, even if she raised her hand a little, ooh-ooh, even if she said she was happy to meet him, and when she smiled because it was awkward, they were ‘ooh-oh-oh-oh.’ Oh, it’s scary. Sir Thierry, the commander of the knights, said something even worse to the knights who were just staring at my face even though she offered to share sandwiches with them.
“The lady prepared it for us. Thank you all!”
Then, everyone’s already bright eyes became brighter and they shouted loudly together.
“Thank you!”
Receiving the gratitude of 100 strong young people shouting out loudly right in front of me was scarier than ‘ooooh’. When she stood in front of the tray to hand out sandwiches, a long line formed in front of me even though she and the three maids were standing separately. Franz looked around and went in front of Jenny, and the rest of the knights stood in a long line in front of me, sticking their heads out and looking at me. When she took out the sandwich to give to Lord Hegel, who was standing in front, she smiled again. What on earth was this situation? Lord Hegel, who accepted the sandwich from her with a grateful expression, smiled and said thank you, then turned around and spoke to the waiting knights.
“If you all share, my daughter’s arms will fall off. Everyone behind me, go to another line!”
There was a lot of booing and commotion all over the place, and a small knight who was standing behind Lord Hegel came forward and took the sandwich that was in my hand. He wore an eyepatch over one eye and smiled with a human-looking face as he escorted me to the back of the tray.
“My name is George, my lady. Please stop lifting heavy things in his precious hands and leave. I will take this with gratitude.”
“Oh, no, it’s not heavy…”
She could hear the dark jeers coming from behind, but the driver named George paid no attention and led me towards the mansion.
“Hey! George, you bastard! Lady! Thank you! See you later!!”
Lord Hegel’s voice was also heard. George escorted her until she entered the back yard and bowed deeply.
“I couldn’t say anything because everyone was quiet, but I sincerely welcome you. Thank you for accepting my lord’s heart.”
All of them were large, and I remembered the gentle faces that looked at me with rolling eyes. Not only George, who had lost an eye, but all of them, covered in white dust, were training, and even though they were holding ugly weapons, they looked at me with goodwill.
She felt proud and received the greeting with a smile.
“Thank you for welcoming me. Please tell me that I hope to see you again in good health next time.”
George bowed his head again with a moved face and returned.
* * *
Back in the room, she spent some time looking at the papers, but Adrian didn’t come back until after midnight. Looks like he was busy until late today too. In the end, she guessed she wouldn’t be able to see his face today. She turned off the lights and lay down to sleep, but woke up distraught. When she went out to the terrace, the moon was bright. The white, round moon was so damn pretty that it made me cry even more. It’s past midnight, so it’s Saturday now. Tomorrow, Adrian would go to the battlefield.
Adrian was strong, so of course he would defeat the enemy and come back safely, but even though she believed that, she couldn’t help but feel anxious. He would have to send off with a smile, but would he be able to do well? As she was staring blankly at the moonlit garden, she heard the sound of his horse’s hooves and saw Adrian riding his horse into his mansion. He was still, but somehow he found me and stopped talking under the terrace of her room.
“Why are you here instead of sleeping?”
Even with the grayish moonlight at his back, his smiling face was bright.
“I was waiting to see when Adrian would come.”
She smiled back and Adrian jumped off his horse. And then he walked down to the terrace where she was standing. He looked up at her and smiled, then changed his posture at some point, and this time he tipped, and swooped. How could a person reach the floor of the second floor terrace by jumping up? No, as long as you could reach it. It looks like your jumping ability was very good. But how could you place one hand on the floor and the next moment your body rises up?
Last time, she stood there without thinking and gasped in surprise, but this time, she opened her eyes wide and watched what was happening, but she was also gasped in surprise.
“Adrian, there are a lot of doors and stairs in the Duke’s house.”
She blurted out something to Adrian, who was sitting down on the railing, but he said something else while sitting on the railing. “I’m home.”
“Welcome. You worked hard until late today as well.”
She was dumbfounded and greeted him with a smile, and then he got down from the railing and walked towards me with one big step. Adrian cupped her cheeks with both hands. Guided by his hand, he raised his head slightly, and his lips fell. She was startled when lips, slightly cooler than mine, touched her without warning. She grabbed Adrian’s collar and closed his eyes, and he rubbed his lips and turned his head to the side. This was not a feeling you could get used to just by trying it once. Without realizing it, she took a step back, but Adrian put one hand down and wrapped his arms around her waist.
The limit was that he could barely keep his mind on the slight movement of Adrian’s lips as he held him immobilized with only one arm. While she was shouting
“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah”, Adrian’s lips, which were moving subtly, bit the lip of her lower lip!
She trembled and tightened the hand that was holding her collar. At the same time, she took a breath and slightly opened my mouth. And then something warm was pushed into her mouth. After that, she didn’t think anything of it. It tickles somewhere, but I don’t know where. Was it somewhere in the chest, or rather the stomach? There was a tingling sensation somewhere, and then a ringing sound. She had no strength in her whole body. She was swayed by a strange sensation that hit me so hard that I didn’t even know if she was breathing, and it was only when Adrian parted his lips that she finally came to her senses.
—————————————————————
Translator Note:
Hello there! This is RJR. I hope you liked it <3
If you like my work please support me with Ko-fi or Patreon. Next post will be released on November, 29.
Want to read more?
