Chapter 48
｡･:*:･ﾟ★ Translated by Gon ｡･:*:･ﾟ☆
✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧
About a week passed since then.
In the meantime, I was busy tending to the greenhouse, brewing decoctions, and watching the twins study.
Of course, it wasn’t all quiet, but the reason was…
“Milady!”
I raised my head when I heard a voice calling me.
Sukia was coming this way carrying a tray full of desserts.
“Again?”
I asked tiredly, and Sukia nodded.
After showing the spirit of ordering everything from here to there, Rose Bakery sent out desserts every day.
Even though I wanted them, weren’t they trying to get money from Peregrine by continuing to deliver desserts all the time?
“It’s an apology. He said he didn’t even need money.”
“It’s scary to think about it,” the employee added.
But I couldn’t eat that much.
I tried to tell them to stop bringing it because it was okay, but the employee’s expression was very frightened.
As if they were carrying out a life-threatening command.
‘They’re probably afraid of the aftermath.’
There was no reason to refuse the offer, and I felt sorry for the kind owner.
So where did all the desserts go…?
“Wow, this is my first time eating something this delicious!”
“Are you giving this to me? Really?”
They were all snacks made for the residents of Peregrine.
It wasn’t my intention to give it away at first.
However, in the past, when I gave Sukia bread and asked her to collect information:
“Good job, Sukia. You must have had a hard time.”
“No, Milady. Well, it was actually kind of nice. It’s my first time eating something this delicious.”
“Oh? But the chef’s cooking skills here are also good.”
“That’s true, but the meals we can eat are limited. How can we eat the same food as you?”
It was said that the workers sometimes shared what was left over from preparing a meal, but if they were too territorial, they could not even look at it.
‘Anyway, stagnant water is a problem everywhere.’
It must have already been hard work, but she also had to watch what she ate.
This was something I could not tolerate, as someone who loved food. So I distributed the snacks equally.
Wouldn’t it be a waste to just throw away this delicious and precious thing?
“Milady came in person to give us snacks!”
“Thank you, Milady!”
Was that why? The faces of the employees, who had been busy stiffening their bodies when they saw me, were now filled with smiles.
I was pricked by my conscience because I didn’t buy it with my own money, but anyway, good things were good things.
‘But if you keep eating the same thing, you’ll get sick of it. Should I try to choose some other menu items, even if it means spending some of my money?’
While I was thinking, I saw Sukia swallowing her saliva.
“If you want to eat, you can eat all of it.”
“Yes? Oh, no, that’s not it. ”
Sukia said, her cheeks turning red, as if she were embarrassed.
“I just thought of my younger siblings.
“If it was my younger brothers…”
As she spoke, I thought, ‘Now that I think about it, I heard that Sukia is from the countryside.’
She had an older sister, but she said she didn’t make much money because she was studying while helping her parents.
Moreover, from what I heard at first, she had many younger siblings. That was why she sent more than half of the salary she received from work back home.
It must have been difficult for her because of her young age and hard work, but she seemed to keep thinking about her family as she ate delicious food.
When I didn’t say anything, Sukia waved her hand with an expression of regret.
“I’m sorry, I said something unnecessary…”
“You just thought about your younger siblings?”
“…Yes?”
I glanced at the food on the tray and said to the surprised Sukia.
“You’re a dedicated maid who serves a Lady; if I can’t even satisfy your need for food, it would be an insult to the Peregrine name.”
Sukia was quick-witted and skilled at getting things done.
In addition, since she was from the countryside, she knew a lot of plants that I was not familiar with, which was a great help when mixing herbs.
So, if I helped her in this way, she would work harder in the future. This was beneficial for both sides.
Of course, saying this didn’t sit well with Daphne’s style. So, I frowned and gently waved my fan.
“That won’t work. I need to give it a proper taste. Just wait a few days. I will place other orders and send them to your house at the same time.”
“B-But that would cost too much money…”
“Compared to my pride, it’s cheap, isn’t it?”
If there was one good thing about being Daphne, it was that even if I acted as I pleased, everyone else would do the same.
There were people like this in my past life too. People who treated people kindly when they were in a good mood, but quickly changed when they were in a bad mood,
Daphne was precisely that type.
If I treated her kindly, she would just think, ‘I guess Milady is in a good mood today.’
If I acted viciously, she would think, ‘I guess the Milady is in a bad mood today…’ and continue on like it was nothing.
That was why lines like that fit so well.
‘So, today.’
It was a day when Daphne’s pride was hurt.
Then Sukia looked at me with an emotional face.
“I will continue to work hard in the future! Just leave everything to me!”
Cheeks, full of freckles, turned red. I raised the corners of my mouth innocently and waved my fan.
“Hmph, be prepared to eat until you burst.”
“Yes!”
Sukia answered vigorously.
Good. Covering my mouth with the fan, I smiled contentedly, and Sukia said, “Ah,” and finished her sentence.
“I heard that the meal is ready. Other family members have also gathered in the dining room.”
Recently, we were having dinner together as a family.
It was originally an event prepared to improve the relationship between Lyas and the twins, but for some reason, the number of people increased.
‘But maybe this isn’t bad.’
I didn’t think anything of it and got up from the sofa.
Then, I headed to the dining room and opened the door.
“It’s unnie!”
“Sister!”
Suddenly, with the sound of running, something grabbed my waist tightly from both sides.
When I looked down, I saw two round heads with curly hair.
These were the twins, Ermano and Julius, who had become much brighter these days.
“Eh, Emil, Julie. Your sister is having a hard time.”
“Are you here, Daphne?”
My uncle Cyan, who was behind me, stopped the children, and my aunt Livnell smiled and welcomed me.
I greeted them with my eyes, then raised my hand and stroked their heads.
“Emil, Julie. I’m glad to see you too, but it’s hard to move like this.”
“But-!”
“But!”
The cheeks of the children who retorted were flushed.
I wanted to say something, but my mind seemed to come out haphazardly.
Moreover, Cyan and Livnell’s faces were also filled with joy.
What? As I tilted my head, the twins were guiding my arms.
“More than that, sister, look at this.”
“Hurry!”
At the children’s urging, I was confused but obediently followed them.
There was a piece of paper that looked like a newspaper on the table. Looking at the publication date, it seemed like it was breaking news.
“What’s this… ?”
After checking the newspaper, I couldn’t help but widen my eyes.
The newspaper had something like this written down:
“Lady Peregrine didn’t try to die by poisoning herself, but someone tried to murder her.”
And that person turned out to be none other than Flora Salertale, who was called the ‘Angel of the Church’.
This was what I knew up to this point.
However, the reason why this is breaking news comes from the paragraph below:
It was also revealed that the poisoning incident that occurred at the late Empress’s party was not the work of Lady Peregrine, and the real culprit was confirmed to be Russell Muntzricks.
The Imperial Bureau of Investigation stated that the motive for the crime was Russell Muntzricks’ one-sided unrequited love for Lady Lize Caparoel.
The Imperial Palace has decided to send an official letter of apology to Lady Daphne Peregrine.
Ha. I burst out laughing.
‘So this… Does this mean that all the false accusations have been cleared?’
I lifted my gaze from the newspaper with a bewildered expression.
Four different pairs of eyes were fixed on me.
Perhaps they were waiting for me to read the entire article, but they, who had been quiet the entire time, couldn’t hold back and opened their mouths.
“Daphne… .”
“Thank god. Really…!”
Livnell heaved a sigh of relief, and Cyan, who was next to her, sobbed and shed tears of joy.
“Hmph, I knew it would be like this. My sister can’t do that. Right, bro?”
“Mm-hm.”
Julie and Emil, who had called me a witch, were also jumping up and down with joy.
However, I, the subject of the rumor, was still in a daze.
‘In any case, the false accusation of poisoning someone has been cleared…’
I couldn’t believe that the situation was progressing so quickly.
‘If you look at the results alone, it’s fortunate for me…’
Can things be resolved this easily?
‘Unless someone threatened the Imperial family…’
It was then.
As soon as the dining room door opened, Lyas came in with slightly disheveled hair.
“Sorry. I was a little late because there were knights who wanted to have a sword fight… It seems that you’ve read the newspaper.”
As if something urgent had happened, he loosened the cravat around his neck.
“Father!”
Emil and Julie ran towards him.
“Look at this. Sister’s name has been cleared!”
“Here, this!”
The children stood on their toes and held out the newspaper as if asking him to look at it quickly.
Lyas’ eyes darkened strangely as he skimmed the page.
“…Looks like he cut off his tail.”
“What?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
Lyas, who was mumbling something unintelligible, stroked the twins’ heads.
“I guess you’re happy that your sister’s name has been cleared.”
“Yes!”
“So good!”
The twins answered energetically with sparkling eyes.
A small smile appeared on Lyas’ lips as he looked at those children.
“Good. Now, Daphne, you can go out comfortably.”
“Ah… yes. That’s true.”
I nodded without thinking.
Although what he said was true, people would still look at me with eyes filled with assumptions.
For example, ‘It’s really unfortunate that it wasn’t a play’, or ‘Is it really true?’ Their eyes would be filled with suspicion.
And the biggest thing among them all was…
‘Will she cling to her fiancé again?’
They must be looking at me with curiosity.
However, I had no intention of living up to their expectations.
The reason Daphne took the villainous route in the original work was because of Roderick’s declaration to break the engagement due to the poisoning incident.
But the death flag disappeared on its own, and I didn’t want to get engaged to Roderick again. This meant that the possibility of being connected to the original work had completely disappeared.
‘Furthermore…’
I quietly looked at the people sitting with me.
Everyone with the last name of Peregrine had a faint smile on their lips.
Relations with family members, which had been on the verge of collapse, were also restored to some extent.
So, even if I declared that I would not get married, I would be given a grace period.
‘Now all that’s left is to make the salon business a success…’
First, there was something I had to do before that. I secretly watched and then slowly opened my mouth.
“Now that things have been properly resolved, I want to go down to the provincial estate.”
The moment I said that.
“…”
“…”
“…”
For some reason, everyone fell silent, as if they had agreed together.
‘What, why is it so quiet?’
I glanced around in confusion.
