“Lord Viscount!”
At the right moment, a familiar voice was heard. It was the voice of Leeve. Although it had been six months since I last heard his voice, I hadn’t forgotten it. As I turned towards the source of the sound, a procession carrying a red flag was rushing towards this place.
“Lord Viscount!”
“My Lord!”
Beside me stood the slightly grizzled butler Mueller, the soft-faced housekeeper Margaret with red hair, and next to her was the large-built knight Kendrick. They all ran towards me in unison.
“Oh, my, Lord Viscount. It’s been so long… ”
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“Lord Louisette. I’ve missed you so much!”
Lastly, Kendrick, even with his imposing stature, was now on the verge of tears as he bid his farewell. Oh, the burden…
I may not know how special Celeste is to them, but as I have no memories with them, their attention and warm welcome only felt burdensome to me.
“Well… are you all… doing well…?”
“My Lord, what formality is that? You are still the same after that injury.”
Margaret wiped her eyes and chuckled heartily. Today, her red hair seemed to shine even brighter.
“But, Lord Viscount, who is this child…?”
Amidst the flurry of greetings, Mueller was the first to show interest in Valerie. It was only natural, as the master suddenly appeared holding a child.
Starting with Mueller’s question, the surrounding gazes gradually shifted towards Valerie.
“Indeed, who is this child…?”
Kendrick smirked. To him, Celeste and a baby were truly an unlikely combination.
“Well, you see. It’s a long story.”
Feeling utterly lost, I scanned the crowd for someone to help, but Karl was nowhere to be found amidst the royal procession.
At that moment, loud noises began from the opposite exit of the train station. Another group had entered the premises.
Puzzled by the presence of more newcomers, Hannah spotted someone in the procession and gasped in surprise.
“Oh, Lord Viscount. That person…”
She glanced in the direction she was pointing. There were people wearing armor similar to the entourage that had come to welcome Karl.
“Who are they? Are those people part of the royal knight order?”
Why are they so surprised? As I thought to myself, the newly arrived procession came straight towards me and stopped in front of me.
No one tried to stop them. They definitely seemed to be members of the royal knight order.
“Boo, Boa.”
Valerie began to whimper. The child, too, seemed excited to see so many people for the first time. Her cheeks were flushed. She was as cute as a ripe peach, but without the mental leisure to enjoy it, I stared at the approaching procession.
“Who are you?”
A knight as tall as Kendrick stood in front of me. Instead of armor, he was dressed in a uniform, with golden epaulets sparkling on his shoulders and chest.
“It’s been a while. Viscount Louisette.”
“So, who are you…”
“It’s been a while, Cele.”
As I heard the awkward greeting from the tall knight, a low voice behind him spoke up.
“I didn’t expect to see you like this.”
The knight took a step to the side. And there stood the owner of the revealed voice…
“You disappeared without a word. For months.”
He seemed a bit of a playboy-type image, but with his blonde hair, he was a very handsome man. Who is this now?
“…Who are you?”
The man silently stared at me without responding to my question.
“Why are you acting like this, Cele. Say something funny.”
He’s calling me Cele. Seems like we were quite close. I quickly blinked at Hannah on the side. It was a plea for help.
Luckily, Hannah was quick to catch on. She whispered to me sotto voce about the man’s identity.
“He is Duke Toskur. His name is Franz.”
Franz?
That Franz? My eyes widened.
“Cele. By the way, who is that baby? Did you secretly have a child somewhere?”
A towering height that could easily reach 190, bright blonde hair, deep blue eyes. The man in front of me seemed to match Franz. The description in the novel is surprisingly accurate. My eyes busily scanned his whole being.
“Franz.”
As Franz approached to say more, a voice that had been momentarily forgotten interjected.
“Step back.”
It was Karl.
An intense atmosphere of confrontation ensued. Franz, with a strange tension in the corner of his mouth due to the constant smile, exuded a subtly unsettling aura, while Karl’s inscrutable poker face seemed to incite tension and intimidation among onlookers despite revealing no expression or overt hostility.
Though neither man displayed facial expressions or outright hostility, the emotions harbored between them were vividly apparent to any observer.
It seemed they harbored more than mere dislike for each other, verging on contempt or even hatred.
Their strained relationship was evident. Just recalling Karl’s evident displeasure upon hearing Franz’s name for the first time, when he didn’t know who he was, spoke volumes…
Two imposing figures, like a wall, stared each other down, with no one daring to intervene. Given their elevated status compared to those gathered here, it was natural that no one dared to interfere in the standoff between Karl and Franz.
“Someone say something already.” The tension was so palpable it felt suffocating, sweat beading in the uncomfortable silence.
The sunlight streamed through the platform’s windows, casting fragmented reflections in various hues. Despite the warm spring day outside, an inexplicable chill permeated the air, brought on by the standoff between the two men.
Then, a gentle spring breeze breezed into the train station, tousling Karl’s hair and causing the sunlight to glisten like jewels in his exposed eyes.
“Wow…”
No special effects were needed for this drama. Just the wind tousling his hair, yet it still elicited a heart-fluttering sensation, as if caught in a spell.
The protagonist’s charm was truly potent. Was there an irresistible allure to the handsome face that garnered universal approval and forgiveness in any situation?
Feeling like I might have misread the atmosphere, I glanced around and saw others with similar expressions to mine.
So, there was tension, what was visible was clear. Opportunities to see two handsome men like them together were rare.
One was like a free-spirited spring breeze, the other a stoic winter, embodying the ultimate handsome men of their respective realms.
Just as I was about to revel in this rare spectacle, Franz spoke first.
“Why is my nephew so angry?”
Seemingly polite at first, but unquestionably a sarcastic tone.
“Without properly greeting your uncle after so long.”
Nephew? Uncle? Was their relationship that of an uncle and his nephew, despite appearing close in age?
Rapidly retracing the contents of the novel in my memory, this specific detail seemed to have slipped by unnoticed. I should have paid closer attention.
“Are there any other uncles besides the small uncle under Melania Jo’s mother?”
The moment the name Melania was mentioned, Franz’s expression stiffened. The subtle smile that had been on his face constantly vanished in an almost laughable manner.
Even without knowing, that must be Franz’s Achilles’ heel. Just one word can make his face turn so fierce.
“…Do you not realize that your words insult the former emperor? You insolent brat.”
Franz’s relaxed demeanor from a moment ago disappeared, replaced by a face filled with disgust. On the other hand, Karl still had an unreadable expression.
They say revealing emotions in a fight means losing. From that perspective, Karl seemed to be the winner of this unvoiced battle.
“Sorry, but I don’t deal with half-hearted people.”
“What? This brat…”
The atmosphere became even more hostile. Franz looked as if he were about to grab Karl by the collar, his face turning red, while Karl silently hid his feelings behind a poker face.
Unless one were a fool, they could easily tell whom Karl’s words targeting ‘half-hearted’ were aimed at. Although unaware of the nature of the relationship between them, some deductions could be made from their short conversation.
Judging by their kinship, Franz appeared to be Karl’s uncle. His grandmother was another matter, more like a stepmother to his grandfather, having a child late in life.
“Scream!”
The tense atmosphere, taut like a pulled string, was shattered by an unexpected sound. Perhaps the sudden appearance of so many people or the discomfort of the child witnessing the quarrel of adults. Valerie’s face turned red as she began to cry loudly.
“Why is the young lady suddenly behaving like this, Ms. Valerie? Shh, shh, it’s okay. Shh.”
Hannah tried to calm Valerie, who was in her arms, but her crying did not stop. Thanks to her, the tug of war between the two men came to an abrupt end.
