EPISODE 7
“I know……. Cancer, I know.”
That’s what I’d come to do.
But it wasn’t easy to keep his mouth shut.
He knew that if he said anything about this family, they could lose their jobs in an instant.
“You purposely came at this hour, away from the prying eyes of others.”
At Mrs. Nora’s words, which seemed to encourage him to be brave, Gordon finally looked determined. He lifted his hand to knock.
Boom, the door opened without warning.
“What is it?”
April, who had her arms wrapped around my slender frame, raised one eyebrow as she looked up into their faces.
“Joe, good morning, ma’am.”
“Did you have a restful night?”
April’s blonde hair was wet, and a little darker in color than it should be.
She was feeling chilled, perhaps because she’d washed her hair in cold water.
She didn’t answer the butler’s and maid’s morning greetings but turned the question sourly.
“What are you doing standing there looking like a fool?”
“What?”
“Have you forgotten that yesterday, I said that I would be greeting all the users this morning, or is it that the greeting place is now in front of my room, a private place?”
“Oh, no.”
The two hurriedly bowed their heads.
April looked at the top of their heads frowningly and spoke again.
“We’ll have breakfast after we’ve greeted everyone.”
“Very well, my lady and we will be ready.”
“I hope I won’t keep you waiting long.”
“Of course.”
A few moments later, April made her way down to the first floor, where she found the users waiting for her, all neatly dressed and poised.
“Meet the new mistress.”
Everyone greeted April with nervousness in their voices.
Taking the seat offered to her, April crossed one leg and nodded slightly.
Understanding the cue to begin, the butler opened his mouth.
“Allow me to introduce myself in order of rank, then. I am Gordon, butler to the Earl of Falcon.”
“I’m Nora, the maid.”
April listened to their introductions with a frown.
In all honesty, she could count on one hand the number of people she could recognize if she were to hear all of their names right now.
After what seemed like forever, the introductions were over, and April stood up with a grunt.
“I introduced myself yesterday, so I’ll skip it.”
She didn’t even bother to say thank you.
“I think everyone knows what I’m dealing with.”
It was so quiet around me that I didn’t hear a single ant scurry past.
A tense atmosphere filled the large room, like a taut thread being pulled.
Only one person could speak up in this situation-April.
“I’ve never had a good personality, and this damn special situation has made it even worse.”
“…….”
“I’m saying that whatever happens, I don’t want to put up with it, and there’s no reason to put up with it.”
It was a warning to stay out of trouble and to leave everyone to their own devices.
After a long, cold stare that surveyed the users, April looked away without hesitation, as if her job was done.
“I’m hungry. I assume you have food ready?”
“I’ll take you to the dining room.”
Gordon was the first to come to his senses and escorted April to the dining room.
He walked in with her and stood behind where she sat, intending to serve himself.
Soon, a trolley, obviously sent from the kitchen, rolled into the dining room.
There were three plates on it, all covered with a white porcelain dome cover.
The butler was staring impatiently at the dishes. April, tired of waiting, spoke up.
“What are you doing, do you want me to open it?”
“No, ma’am,” I said, “I’m going to…… the meal.”
He was about to lift the lid.
The door to the dining room opened with a knock, and a footman stepped inside, looking up.
“Me, butler.”
He whispered to Gordon in Moorish, and the butler’s face colored with embarrassment.
He stopped all movement and turned to face April.
“My lady. You have a visitor.”
“A visitor? This morning?”
“Well, it’s…… I’m afraid you’ll have to go out and see him yourself, as he’s too good for me to refuse.”
The butler’s face showed his difficulty.
“Really. Bother.”
April let out a long sigh, pushed back her chair with a scowl, and stood up.
“Show him to the parlor.”
***.
“Huh?”
The moment we entered the parlor, she raised her voice.
The only good thing was that she didn’t point rudely.
April’s eyes widened.
The Earl’s visitor was, indeed, the man.
The man she had glimpsed in the temple during the soul marriage ceremony.
He had seemed like a light when she had seen him briefly in the darkened temple, but now, in the daylight, he was different.
All the pigment that made up his skin was thin as if it could vanish at any moment.
The only thing that stood out about this man of seemingly insignificant beauty was his violet eyes, which shone with a deep light.
He wore the same untucked shirt and jacket I’d seen him in the temple, but he was not dressed formally, not even in the least.
“Who are you?”
The answer came not from the man’s mouth, but from Gordon, the butler.
“This is Duke Raike, the High Master and Duke of Fitzren of the Veska Empire.”
“Matriarch? Duke?”
April narrowed her eyes even more.
Hearing the title didn’t make it any easier to understand her visitor’s purpose.
“What brings such a gentleman to this shabby place?”
The man named Raike stepped closer to April, stooped slightly, and held out his palm toward her.
Feeling a little nervous, April placed her hand over his.
Rike took it, lightly kissed the back of her hand, and pulled it away.
“……mm?”
At that moment, April blinked rapidly.
Her vision went white for a moment as if dust had settled in front of her eyes.
Afterward, she felt like something was shimmering and glowing in front of her eyes.
I closed and opened my eyelids several times to try to focus on what it was and get a closer look.
But the dust had disappeared, as if I had looked in the wrong place.
She shook her head briefly a few times, wondering if it might be an inscription or something.
Meanwhile, Raike answered her question. His voice was low, soft, and sweet.
“I stopped by to mourn the death of my friend, and to congratulate him on his late marriage.”
By conventional standards, this was a bizarre statement.
But it was also the perfect description of April’s current situation.
April stared defiantly into Raike’s face.
When she saw that it held no hint of mockery, she relaxed her gaze.
Then her eyes narrowed and she smiled.
“Your Grace knows exactly what to do.”
Unlike the Archbishop, she liked that he didn’t gloss over Count Falcon’s death.
Still, April was wary. There were still questions that lingered.
“Please, have a seat.”
“Thank you for your consideration, ma’am.”
She offered Reike a seat on the couch, and I sat down.
“By the way, Duke.”
“Yes, my lady.”
“Now, did you say that you and the Duke are close friends?”
“Yes, sir.”
April narrowed her eyes at Raike’s answer.
“That is a strange thing to say.”
“What do you mean?”
“As I understand it, my late husband would have been forty-four this year.”
“That is correct. The Count was about that old.”
“But…….”
April narrowed her eyes slightly, her brow furrowed, and she studied Raike’s face carefully.
“No matter how I look at it, the Duke doesn’t seem to be my husband’s age.”
“Isn’t there a saying that one can be friends with anyone as long as they are of the same age?”
“That sounds like you’re implying that the Duke is over sixty.”
Laike laughed.
“You never know, I may have crossed a taboo and used some kind of magic that holds back aging.”
He turned his palm upward and smiled with a twinkle in his eye.
Then a blue flame burst forth from his palm and vanished, leaving only a skull-shaped puff of smoke in its wake.
April gasped, and Raike quickly curled his fist into a ball, extinguishing the blue flame.
“Well, that was just a joke.”
April gave him a polite, stiff smile. She understood in her head that she was possessed by a romance fantasy novel, but she hadn’t expected to see magic in action, so it was a little disconcerting.
“You do use magic.”
She inhaled lightly before speaking.
“So? I didn’t quite understand what the Duke meant when he said that you and my husband are friends.”
“Well, that’s simple.”
Raike shrugged, then continued.
“In the Veska Empire, the difference in rank is more important than the age difference, isn’t it?”
In other words, he could call me a friend because my rank is much higher.
“She’s got a temper, huh?
April thought to herself, clamping down on the corner of her mouth that was threatening to unravel.
“You’re a pleasant man.”
“I’ll take the compliment with a grateful heart.”
“So, how long do you intend to stay here?”
“With your permission, I will stay for three or four days, and then I will look for some of the things that I left with my departed friend.”
“Your things, you mean?”
