Episode 14
‘That’s the sound ice makes when it touches water!
Soon Reike removed his hand, and April could see the ice cubes in my coffee cup.
“I hope you can drink it now.”
“Oh, my God, thank you!”
April clasped her hands together and brought them to her mouth.
Her sarcasm was gone, and she glanced back and forth between the coffee mug and the Reike with a twinkle in her eye.
“I didn’t ask for it, but what a windfall!
She was genuinely excited.
With a graceful gesture, Reike pointed to her mug.
“Here you go.”
“I’ll drink it.”
April lifted her cup with glee.
Her lips curled upward at the chill she felt from her fingertips.
“Yum!
A thrill raced down her spine, and then to the top of her head.
Feeling the strength return to her lethargic body, April revitalized.
“Mmm, hmm.”
She hummed to herself and continued to sip the cold coffee.
Seeing her reaction right in front of him, Reike smirked and sipped his cup of tea.
“So, what’s going on? I thought it was still a little while before dinner time.”
April, who had downed half of her coffee in one go, took the cup away from her mouth.
“Oops. I was too distracted by the iced coffee.
She coughed embarrassedly and quickly composed herself.
“Are you in a hurry?”
“Of course not.”
A friendly smile tugged at his lips, and he returned his gaze to April.
“You’re even more handsome when you smile. You’re gonna get a girl.
But that was it. April was still unimpressed.
“He doesn’t seem interested in me.
She didn’t want to get involved with him, not that she had any desire to anyway.
Steeling herself, she hardened her expression.
Reike felt a little sorry for her as her face hardened.
She opened her mouth with great caution.
“I beg your pardon, sir, but I felt that I had to take back some of the things I said to the Duke, and I wanted to see you in person.”
“Is it a long story?”
“It will be short if you understand, and a little long if you don’t.”
“Let’s hear it first.”
Reike crossed his long legs. Then, in a noble gesture, he placed his clasped hands on his knees.
April bit her lip once, then forced the words out.
“I’d like to take back my permission for the Duke to stay here, and my invitation to dine with him this evening.”
“Um.”
Reike frowned, his words coming out short.
“That’s rather abrupt.”
“I apologize for that. I realize the embarrassment you must feel, Duke, and I share it.”
April placed a hand on her chest in apology and lowered her gaze slightly.
“I think it’s a great shame, personally.”
Reike lowered his eyes as if this was something he’d been looking forward to.
“If you don’t mind me asking, why?”
April nodded.
If she had been a member of this family, she would have been speechless with embarrassment, but she wasn’t.
“What do I care about this family, disgraced or not?
If she had a friend of her own, she would have grabbed him or her and gossiped with him or her, but right now she was holding in her frustrations.
“Things aren’t going so well in this mansion.”
April smiled sheepishly and swept a stray strand of hair behind her ear.
“I guess I’m just new to the family, so I didn’t realize the state of the house. In the midst of all that, the Duke came to visit and……. Anyway, I apologize.”
April apologized again.
“We will do everything in our power to make the Duke’s return as hassle-free as possible.”
“I understand the situation.”
Reike nodded, his face expressionless.
His face and demeanor were languid, but somehow he seemed to exude an air of tension.
He clicked his tongue briefly, then spoke.
“Quinn, your friend was a troublemaker in life, and now he’s bothering his wife after he’s gone.”
April laughed as if that was the right answer.
“Ah, the art of the spin.
What a way to cut to the chase and say what you feel.
I was glad I could feel vicarious satisfaction.
April looked at Rike with deep regret in her eyes.
“Farewell, my shame maker.
It wasn’t a rational emotion, but one that came from treating him like an ice machine.
“I will tell the butler, then, to prepare for the Duke’s return.”
It was time for April to excuse herself, to clear the air.
“No, Mrs. Falcon. Could you wait a moment?”
When April looked at her, wondering what was wrong, Reike smiled.
“I think I can help you with one of the problems you mentioned.”
April’s normally smooth brow creased slightly.
“What? I don’t know what you mean…….”
“I’m saying that I think it would be a good idea for you to join us for dinner tonight.”
April still didn’t understand.
When she frowned, Reike smiled and continued.
“Just give me a place, and I’ll take care of the rest.”
“But…….”
April stammered, hesitant to answer.
Then Reike spoke up again to convince her.
“Don’t you need to eat anyway?”
“……Yes.”
April nodded and pursed her lips.
She needed a moment to think.
“What am I going to do?
There’s nothing to eat in this mansion anyway.
If there was any food left, it would be stored food.
Even the food she had eaten since coming to this mansion had been barely scraped together by its occupants.
‘I don’t want to eat potatoes anymore…….’
To pay off the debt of her ex-boyfriend, who left her with nothing but debt in her first life, she wanted to cut down on her food expenses.
So she bought a whole box of these ugly potatoes and steamed them.
She was bitten, and if she had to choose, she wouldn’t eat potatoes anymore.
“How are you going to prepare the food? You’re a duke, you’re not going to cook it yourself, and you’re going to contact …… Duke Fitzren to get ingredients and a cook?
She glanced at Reike.
She must have seen the doubt in his eyes because he gently crooked his head to reassure her.
“With that smile on your face,” he said, “I’m sure you could make any number of ridiculous demands and I’m sure there’d be plenty of people who’d listen.
But she was different. She wouldn’t be fooled by that. She told herself over and over again.
‘If the Duke gets his way, I’ll be in his debt, and then it’ll be hard to get me out of here…….’
Reike stood back and kept his smile on his face as if to give her plenty of time to consider.
A deep vertical line formed in April’s brow.
“Oh. I hate potatoes.’
I wonder if they have butter in this mansion?
But wouldn’t baking in butter be a luxury at this point?
To others, it was a simple question, but to April, it was a very important one.
Her dislike of potatoes made her more and more inclined to accept Reike’s offer.
“Oh, I don’t think so. It’s so, so bizarre.’
After internally cursing my blessed life, April made up her mind.
“Yeah, well……. We don’t know what lies ahead, so let’s eat well while we can.
We’ve already established that Count Farkon’s financial situation is very poor, so Reike won’t be expecting any hospitality.
She sucked in a short breath and smiled at Rike.
“Thank you for giving me time to think, I’ll take your offer with a grain of salt, Duke, and just prepare the space and tableware as you said?”
“That will be sufficient. I’ll meet you in the dining room, as originally arranged, at six in the evening.”
“Okay, great.”
“I will see you then, Countess Falcon.”
Reike inclined his head toward April with a half-smile, then left.
April, who had managed to keep her smile on her face, hardened her expression once he was completely out of sight.
“What a …… clueless man.”
She muttered as she was left alone in the tea room.
As she dropped her gaze, her coffee cup came into view.
The ice that Reike had made for her was nearly melted.
“Waste.”
April clicked her tongue and reached for it. But thankfully, there was still enough chill in the air to finish it off.
After downing the rest of her iced coffee in one gulp, she set the cup back down and crossed her arms.
Tilting her head to one side, gravity pulled her blonde hair into a cascade.
Her mind flooded with questions about Reike once again.
“He’s a strange man.”
Reike had been kind to her.
He doesn’t boss her around like Deborah or the Archbishop, and he’s unobtrusively polite.
“But there’s something about him that makes me feel like a wall.”
Tapping her lower lip with her index finger, she muttered.
“Reike Fitzren……. That sounds so suspicious.”
April’s blue eyes sharpened.
***]
Shortly after April returned to her room, there was a knock on the door.
“It’s Nora, ma’am.”
“Come in.”
The door opened, revealing Mrs. Nora. But she wasn’t the only one in the room.
Three maids followed nervously behind her.
“What is it?”
“I’ve brought you a selection of children that I think you’ll find suitable to be your valet maids.”
“Oh.”
