In the dining room, which had fallen completely silent, the sounds of clinking dishes and cutlery, along with the noise of the waiter replacing the plates, echoed strangely loudly.
Randall, who continued to eat silently, seemed to be putting food into his mouth merely to sustain himself, making one wonder if he lacked the concept of “enjoying” a meal.
(Oh… this is so uncomfortable.)
Nobles did not dine with their servants. Inevitably, only Randall and Sophia were left alone in the dining room. Of course, there were serving staff around, but they would never dare speak to their master.
Sophia glanced at Johannes, the butler holding a decanter filled with red wine, as if seeking help. When their eyes met, Johannes forced a smile but showed no intention of alleviating the awkward silence.
Sophia sighed quietly and cut the herb-grilled white fish into bite-sized pieces and put them in her mouth.
Randall, who had been staying at the castle, returned to the Voltio Duke’s residence a little over a month ago – precisely around the time the incident involving Gasul, who spoke of Sophia’s father, had been settled.
He would come back in time for dinner at night and eat breakfast before heading to the castle.
To avoid a disastrous ending, Sophia, who aimed to be a “lovey-dovey couple” with Randall, was initially pleased that he had returned to the duke’s residence; however, that excitement didn’t last long.
This was because Randall had no intention of enjoying conversations with Sophia. All he would talk about was…
“What did you do today?”
(Here it comes!)
While thinking “not again” inside her mind, Sophia wiped her mouth with a napkin and opened her mouth.
“I went to the Levord dukedom today. Madame Rosa invited me to come and see the greenhouse.”
Madame Rosa, the Duchess of Levord, was said to have been a close friend of Sophia’s late grandmother Anne and also acted as her mother’s guardian. She fondly regarded Sophia and often invited her for tea.
As soon as Sophia replied, Randall fell silent.
It was always like this. Sophia’s outings usually involved visits to the Levard Duke’s residence, and whenever she answered, he would suddenly stop talking. Did he dislike Sophia going out? However, Sophia had her own social life. She was not doing anything wrong, so she wished he wouldn’t sulk.
Sophia suspected that Randall had begun to put into practice the “surveillance” he had mentioned earlier. He likely suspected her of being a “fake princess” and married her for the sake of monitoring her. Asking her about her day was probably just part of that surveillance.
Since Randall resumed his meal in sulky silence, Sophia silently gripped her knife and fork.
(Sigh… we’re not getting any closer…)
What should she do to become closer to Randall?
Although Randall had started coming back to the duke’s residence, they only saw each other during breakfast and dinner. There was hardly any conversation during breakfast, and during dinner, he would only ask her what she did that day. The road to becoming a lovey-dovey couple still felt endlessly far away.
While Sophia was finishing her meal and enjoying her post-meal tea, she noticed that today, Randall, who usually hurried out of the dining room right after meals, was instead deep in thought at the table, making her tilt her head in confusion.
Could he be troubled by something?
Sophia was curious and was about to ask when Randall suddenly spoke.
“…Going on a trip.”
“Oh, really? Have a nice trip. Be careful.”
“…”
She had wished him a safe trip, yet Randall fell silent again. She thought, given that she said “be careful,” he might at least nod in response. As she sighed in frustration, Johannes, who had been listening behind them, unexpectedly burst out laughing.
“Sir, that won’t get the message across…”
Randall glared at Johannes, clearly annoyed.
“So what should I say?”
“Just say it as it is, my lord.”
“I said it as it is.”
“You left out an important word.”
Randall took a deep breath, then suddenly looked away from Sophia, and mumbled in his mouth.
“I’m going on a trip. You’re going with me.”
“Eh? Me too?”
“Are you unhappy about that?”
“Not really, but…”
Sophia was simply surprised. It was unexpected for Randall, who had been avoiding her, to suddenly say something about a trip. What kind of change of heart could this possibly be? While her mind filled with questions, Johannes sighed heavily, shaking his head.
“Therefore, important words are missing. Ma’am, what your husband is suggesting is that he wants to go on a honeymoon.”
“Honeymoon!?”
Sophia was so surprised that her voice cracked.
(A honeymoon? No way! Randall?)
She couldn’t believe that Randall, who declared that their marriage was for the sake of surveillance, would consider such an event. This must be some sort of mistake.
As Sophia stood there with her mouth open, Randall said with a sulky look on his face.
“Don’t get the wrong idea! His Majesty told me to go.”
Ah, that explained it.
As Sophia nodded in understanding, Johannes pressed his forehead and let out a grand sigh.
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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 August, 21.
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