The city was completely different from what Hestia was used to, such as her rural hometown or the Carlton Estate.
Hestia walked slowly, alone, through the busy streets. Her outing wasn’t planned, but she was glad for the distraction.
Her ankle was still a little sore, but that was much better than getting a headache from staying at the shop. She soon stopped in front of a building.
“Welcome, Miss. What can I help you with?”
As she climbed the stairs, an employee opened the bank door for her and asked politely.
“I’m dropping off some jewelry.”
“Please come this way.”
The employee led Hestia to one of the teller windows. She sat down in a chair and waited, soon it was her turn.
“Welcome, ma’am. How can I help you?”
The banker guessed that she was a live-in governess at a nobleman’s mansion after seeing her attire as she sat on the chair.
Her clothes were too plain to be a noblewoman, but her ingrained behavior, such as her gait and gaze, was that of the upper class, not a commoner.
There were numerous mansions belonging to high-ranking nobles in the capital, which meant a large number of citizens from the area were employed by them.
The employee assumed she’d come to deposit a small amount of her salary to save, however, what came out of her bag was not an old wallet, but a large diamond-lined brooch.
“I want to store this piece of jewelry in the bank for a year.”
“Storage of such large jewels is expensive. Are you sure you don’t mind?”
The employee asked cautiously, worried she might’ve stolen a piece of her madam’s jewelry. To dispel his worries, she presented the authenticity and ownership certificates, explaining clearly.
“According to the certificate, this brooch is worth about 800 gold. Is the storage fee more expensive than this?”
The employee looked at the stipulations and quickly calculated.
“No. It’ll cost about 400 gold to store it for a year.”
“Then I’ll leave it to you. Instead, since I don’t have any extra money right now, I will hand over the brooch’s certificates to the bank and collect only 400 gold when I come back to collect it in a year.”
“Ma’am, it may be presumptuous of me to say this, but it seems like you are on the losing side of this deal. If you need money urgently to store your jewelry, how about taking out a small loan?”
The employee had worked at various banks for nearly 20 years, but this was the first time he’d encountered someone who would make such an absurd transaction. He calmly explained the bank’s regulations to the young woman, who seemed to have no clue as to how the world worked.
“Furthermore, because it’s jewelry and not money, once you leave it here, you can only retrieve it after the stated time period is over.”
That was exactly why Hestia came to this bank. If she exchanged her jewelry for money, her mother would be able to take the money from her account as her guardian.
However, valuable items such as jewels were stored in a safe by a magician working at the bank with an anti-theft spell. No matter how much the guardian or the person themselves wanted to, they would never see the item until the stated period of time had passed.
And Hestia would have the right to report her own movement routes after one year.
“That’s fine, I’ll sign the contract.”
“If you leave this jewel, which is currently worth 800 gold, you can only take 400 gold with you when you return in a year.”
The employee explained again slowly, as if explaining to a child.
“I understood correctly. That’s fine.”
It didn’t matter to her even if it was 40 gold instead of 400 gold. The employee eventually gave up on persuading Hestia under her stern gaze.
“Hehe, alright. It’s not like the bank is losing any money. Please sign the contract here.”
* * *
After signing the contract, Hestia was walking down the bank stairs when she saw an unexpected figure and stopped in her tracks. Coming up the stairs was none other than Adrian Kingston.
Unlike the flashy uniform he wore on the day of the banquet, he was dressed lightly in a frock coat, white shirt, and gentleman’s hat, but anyone could clearly see that he was a nobleman.
The nobility that radiated from his handsome face and easy smile was not something that could be faked.
Unlike the ladies who blushed at the sight of him, Hestia froze in place.
‘Fear isn’t a big deal when you actually face it.’
‘Father, are those words true this time? I’m not sure if I’m okay or not right now.’
“Hello, Hestia.”
Adrian smiled brightly and greeted her. He was standing on a lower staircase than her, but due to their height difference, they were at a similar eye level.
“Are you out enjoying the weather today?”
“Why did you come here?”
“I have business at the bank.”
“I have to get back to work.”
Hestia quickly tried to flee the scene. Unfortunately, she felt severe pain in her ankle and stumbled down the stairs. Adrian quickly grabbed her arms and helped steady her so she didn’t fall.
“Hestia, are you okay? Does your ankle still hurt?”
Of course. He was the one who’d sent the potion.
“It’s fine.”
Hestia quickly pushed him away, regaining her footing and standing upright. He looked at her with concern.
“Would you like to sit down nearby and rest for a while? I would like to talk to you as well.”
Luckily, from the day of the banquet until now, no rumors had spread, but there was no guarantee this would continue to be the same in the future.
She didn’t know what was hiding behind Adrian’s smiling face, and that scared her. She wanted to know what was on his mind.
“…Yes, we need to talk.”
Hestia decided to face her fears head on. She was tired of lying in bed all night, thoughts racing through her head. She no longer wanted to hide in fear.
If you had a thorn in your body, you had to pull it out, even if it bleeds profusely. If you leave it alone because it hurts, it will rot your flesh.
* * *
Hestia expected Adrian to take her to a quiet teahouse, but instead the place he brought her to was a high-end restaurant near the bank. When she came to her senses, she was already seated in a private room in a magnificent building that was part of a hotel.
This room, or rather the building itself, was more luxurious than the Carlton Manor in the city and even the Carlton Mansion back on the estate.
It was decorated with luxurious velvet curtains and delicate artwork. A vase filled with fresh flowers was placed on the marble table. There wasn’t an inch of the place that wasn’t eye-catching.
It was her first time, other than the banquet at the Lily Palace, that she’d been to a place decorated like this. Unlike her, he was at home and seemed to be in a very good mood.
“Ma’am, would you like to order?”
The waiter, who approached her politely, was someone she recognized. Colin pretended not to notice Hestia’s gaze and held the menu out to her. Hestia was neither in the mood nor in the position to pretend to be friendly.
“The filet mignon course here is delicious. Do you like sweet wine? With White-”
“No, I would like a cup of black tea, please. I won’t be eating.”
She had no intention of lounging around with him and eating a multi-course meal. What would Colin do? She saw him look at Adrian, his gaze questioning, and Adrian just followed along with Hestia’s decision.
“I’ll have the same.”
“All right.”
Once Colin collected the menu and the door to the private room closed, silence fell. Hestia felt confused.
At the moment, he was showing her favor, but she couldn’t figure out what exactly was being hidden behind his favor.
Adrian cautiously spoke to her as she sat stiffly and silently.
“Hestia, we’re friends of the same age and previously studied together, let’s speak comfortably with each other.”
They ‘studied together.’ The academy strictly separated the men and women’s classes, it was difficult to even consider the place as a single academy.
Also, because they’d studied different subjects, they rarely encountered each other. In fact, even if they’d been of the same sex, it wouldn’t have been any different. He was a part of the nobility, a member of the special class among the high-ranking students.”
“You and I are not friends, only classmates.”
She wanted to set things straight. Hestia corrected him and firmly drew a line. Adrian smiled without a change in his expression, even though her answer was cold enough to be considered rude in a lot of ways.
“Okay, let’s be friends once we get to know each other better and get closer. To do that, we need to meet often, eat together, go to exhibitions, and take walks in the park. Oh, after your ankle heals, of course.”
Unaware of how fast he was moving, he spoke calmly as if it was natural. She was amused.
“My Lord.”
“Yes, Hestia.”
The shame would be unbearable if Adrian brought up that day and mocked her. She didn’t want to look weak and miserable in front of him, so she dropped the bomb that was bound to go off anyway.
“If you feel responsible for what happened, you don’t have to.”
She spoke her first guess.
The words were so abrupt and direct that Adrian was silent for a moment. But then he slowly explained his stance to her.
“It’s not that I don’t feel responsible …, but I’m not here simply because of that responsibility.”
“So, you’ve come to make amends, then? As you can see, I’m living well with the support of the Count’s family and I have savings in the bank, so I don’t need money.”
If the first reason wasn’t good enough, then the second reason was even better.
Having imagined the worst, Hestia lost her composure. Because of this, her words, which were her true feelings, spilled out of her mouth without thinking.
“Make amends? Don’t speak nonsense.”
His face stiffened at her unexpected words.
“If not that, did you come to spread rumors and ridicule me? Fine, mock me all you want for being a dirty, lowly woman.”
In the end, she ended up speaking the words she was most afraid of. Hestia was filled with anxiety about when, how, and in front of whom the incident might happen, so she instinctively sharpened her blade at Adrian.
