“Sniff, thank you. You’re being so kind to me, even though you don’t know me at all.”
“I am Narnia Zerpienter. What about you?”
“I-I’m Daphne Frill.”
“Nice to meet you, Daphne! May I call you by your first name?”
“Y-You can.”
“Awww, how cute. Where did such a cute young lady come from?”
Narnia comforted Daphne while I watched Mrs. Martha disappeared.
‘I sent her away for now, but this is a headache.’
I couldn’t take her to the Schweiden Mansion like this. So where should I take her?
“I’ll arrange a place where you can stay overnight, so please stay there.”
Of course, there are places other than the employee dormitory on the third floor of Grandma Tabby’s tea house. However, Daphne surprisingly shook her head.
“Oh, no. I can’t trouble you so much. I just cried because I was so afraid of Mrs. Martha.”
“Did that woman hit you?”
“Uhm… yes.”
Daphne, who had been fidgeting with her fingers, dropped her head.
Her nape, revealed through her flowing hair, was red, as if it would bruise at any moment.
I narrowed my eyes and confirmed it, and my tongue clicked in disapproval.
“Then let’s have a meal together nearby. I’ll give you a present, so take it with you. And make sure to tell your father this: ‘I received all these things because the future Archduchess liked me’.”
Daphne’s eyes still held a glint of longing for her father.
It wouldn’t be a good idea to force her out of there.
Then the wisest thing to do here was to protect her with my authority.
“Oh, and… add that Mrs. Martha acted insolently towards me.”
“I can..?”
“You won’t be lying. You will simply state the facts as they are. I’m sure your father would definitely want to hear every detail about what happened today.”
I smiled and stroked Daphne’s hair. Maybe it’s because of her dark chestnut hair, she reminds me of a chocolate poodle. It lacked luster now, but if I applied some oil, it would become beautiful in no time.
“You should add this too! The dresses in this shop are terrible!”
Narnia interjected with a voice full of jealousy. I also patted Narnia’s head and nodded.
“Alright, both of you will receive dresses from my shop as gifts. And you’re going to wear it, okay?”
If she told them those things, it would get the point across, even if I left some things out.
Once they realized that Daphne could become a means of connection with people in power, the abuse would stop immediately. In fact, she would surely be treated completely opposite to how she had been treated so far.
That’s all I could do for her for now.
* * *
After the three of us had dinner and some more unscheduled shopping, the world turned completely dark by the time we finished.
I called the Schweiden’s carriage, dropped Daphne off, and returned home.
I couldn’t sleep, so I decided to flip through a book, then the hands of the clock pointed to midnight before I knew it.
While I wasn’t specifically waiting for Lacius, as the time he said he would come home had long passed, I couldn’t help but get worried.
What could he possibly be doing to not come home until this late?
“You have arrived, my lord.”
“What about Shay?”
“The lady is in her room…”
It was then.
As I was wandering aimlessly on the staircase after coming out of the bedroom, I heard Lacius’ voice.
Theobalt probably assumed I was in the room and informed him, but as someone who had been waiting for him, I couldn’t remain hidden any longer.
“Lacius, did you just arrive?”
“Shay, I thought you were already sleeping.”
“I couldn’t sleep.”
“Has there been an attack?”
I must have seemed quite agitated because Lacius’s expression became incredibly serious.
I quickly shook my head and went closer to him.
“No, there was no attack. Nothing like that happens anymore.”
“… I thought you couldn’t sleep properly because of the assassins.”
“Not at all. I was waiting for you.”
Theobalt received Lacius’s cloak and quietly disappeared.
I headed to the reception room on the second floor with Lacius. Although we lived in the same mansion, the reception room was the only space where an unmarried man and woman could be together.
As we ascended the stairs, I continued to tell Lacius about the various unusual events that had taken place today.
Of course, I left out the part about Daphne.
“Yeah, so that’s what happened. Those young ladies asked for my autograph”
“Autograph?”
“It wasn’t just one or two. And of course, it wasn’t the signature I use for transactions, but something different. A new one I made on the spot.”
I realized that there could be people who would approach me pretending to be fans, get my autograph, and then try to abuse it.
Considering that possibility, I created something other than the signature I use for official documents.
“It was an interesting experience. Anyway, I’ll have to go back to work starting tomorrow.”
I stretched and finished my briefing on what had happened to me today.
He stared at me with a look that seemed to find me incredibly adorable, and then he affectionately spoke up.
“I finished work late today, so I have about half a day free tomorrow. If there is a place you want to go, we can go together.”
“Uh… Did you come home this late just for that?”
“I figured I’d finished a little late anyway, so I just decided to do more. You do not have to worry.”
Lacius gently stroked my hair. Although he didn’t show any signs of fatigue, considering he had been working since morning, it was hard not to worry.
“You’re a workaholic, Lashin.”
“Then how about we go on a picnic tomorrow?”
“Mmm, but I’m kind of busy. I have to look around Evershal. I heard they’ve added water to the lake, but I haven’t seen it myself yet. I’m curious about how it turned out.”
“Okay, let’s go to Evershal then.”
“Okay!”
I shouldn’t call two at once and be labeled as a workaholic. I should be cautious and only call one of them. Just one. I made that resolution as I looked at Lacius.
And the moment he looked back at me, I couldn’t contain my excitement and blurted out in an enthusiastic tone.
“Lashin, would you like to go on a ride with me?”
* * *
Before the grand opening ceremony, the most important thing to do was a safety inspection.
I may have summoned them, but I also need to make sure they are working properly.
If there were any issues, we would have to get rid of it and replace it with something else, so it was a crucial task.
Arriving at Evershal, Lacius first went and stood in front of the merry-go-round.
“This is a merry-go-round, right?”
“That’s right, and if you pull this lever here, it will start moving.”
“Do the wooden horses go around in circles?”
“Yeah! It may not be fun for adults who ride horses, but children will enjoy it.”
In fact, it’s rare to see adults riding merry-go-round.
I exerted some force and pulled the lever.
Then suddenly, the previously motionless merry-go-round lit up.
I couldn’t get it to play music, so that had to be installed separately.
“Oh, it’s moving!”
After waiting for a while, the merry-go-round started slowly spinning in circles.
Up and down, round and round.
I ran in front of the merry-go-round with joy.
“Lacius, let’s each ride one of these!”
If it could withstand the size and weight of a full-grown man over six feet tall, it would not be broken by anything.
I was so sure of that.
I grabbed the white horse that was approaching and rode it.
Lacius was looking at me with a somewhat embarrassed face, as if he wasn’t sure if he should get on this cute little thing.
“Come on!”
At my urging, he finally grabbed the biggest black horse in the bunch and mounted it.
It was about two horses away from my white horse.
“It feels quite amazing.”
“Right?”
“I’m just sitting here, and the horse is moving on its own. It’s quite fascinating.”
If even Lacius, who rarely shows emotions, is amazed, then it’s a guarantee of success.
You’d think he’d find the carousel boring, since he’s used to riding insanely fast warhorses, but he didn’t say anything of the sort.
Even after about three minutes of rotation, he looked at the horses with admiration.
“Little kids who want to be knights will love this.”
“Right? Aristocrats have their own horses, but commoners don’t. Even commoners would want to become knights.”
“That is true.”
He acknowledged it, and I felt a sense of accomplishment. After getting off the merry-go-round, it was finally time to summon the painting.
“Today, I’m summoning the Maze Castle.”
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