Chapter 82
“Your Grace, no. Absolutely not!”
Our plan to ride off somewhere had been discovered by Sir Millen Orie, the aide, throwing us into crisis.
“We should have just left.”
Jerelak leaned toward me and whispered.
When I came out after slipping a letter into the book The Tumultuous Leonie, Sir Orie was standing there with his face red and stomping his feet.
He fanned the notebook in his hand and quickly rattled off.
“A journey, you say? And so suddenly at that!”
“I’ve decided to.”
Jerelak replied calmly, but Sir Orie stubbornly refused.
“Tomorrow morning you have the regular council meeting, and around eleven a delegation arrives from Romerun. You know there are issues with our wheat imports, right? On top of that, you need a report on the law code compilation, and at noon you’re scheduled to dine with distinguished economists at Rona Hall of Onette National University. In particular, Count Xavier Kunter was invited with great difficulty. You promised to consult him before carrying out the tax reform, remember? Then at four in the afternoon, you have an interview with Count Isley. You summoned him over wine price collusion, did you not? And there’s also the matter of the stall fees on Jenniton Street right now—”
“Enough, enough.”
I dropped my jaw and turned to Jerelak.
“…Don’t tell me all of that’s scheduled for tomorrow?”
“Yes.”
“Alone?”
Jerelak nodded, then told his aide:
“Cancel everything. I’m going on a journey.”
Oh no, what nonsense is he saying!
I quickly blocked Jerelak’s path and looked up at him.
“Your Grace, you cannot do that.”
Sir Orie stood staring between Jerelak and me, his face on the verge of tears.
“Your Grace, travel later. The destination matters, not when or how you depart.”
The problem wasn’t just that he had a lot to do tomorrow—it was that many people were coming specifically to meet Jerelak.
The delegation was already on its way to Mütten. They would arrive in the morning, practically at the gates, and there was no way to cancel the meeting or commit such rudeness.
And then there was the luncheon with the scholars.
Wait, if it’s Count Isley… that’s Failey’s father. And what’s this about Jenniton Street stall fees?
These were all intriguing matters.
Still, more importantly, I couldn’t let Jerelak act so willfully.
He was, after all, the Grand Duke of Mütten.
But Jerelak’s thoughts seemed to differ from mine.
“Since the topic has come up, I wanted to learn more about you.”
His voice was still dry, yet my heart softened.
I didn’t know he was this busy. Come to think of it, even while traveling, Sir Orie constantly reported his schedule.
The Jerelak in front of me was the same as the one in the other dimension—living each day frantically busy.
And in that chaos, he must also be straining himself to find the me who had vanished.
Oh dear, the poor man’s head must be splitting.
Wait—both The Tumultuous Leonie and The Tumultuous Renata are, in essence, one story, even if oddly different.
And I thought it was the 13th, but here it’s the 17th. If this world is a few days ahead of Leonie’s…
Suddenly, a light sparked in my head.
“Your Grace, then… what if we do this instead?”
“?”
“Travel was originally one of the things you wanted to do with me, wasn’t it?”
Saying something like this out loud was unbearably embarrassing.
“So I’ll stay by your side like Sir Orie does. Then, once your busy matters settle down, we can leave.”
“……”
Sir Orie’s tearful face instantly brightened.
He looked like he wanted to add something but stopped and glanced at Jerelak. It seemed like a habitual gesture formed from long years of service.
“You’ll stay by my side like my aide?”
“Yes.”
But I had my own reason.
I had caught on from the clue that time here flowed a bit slower than where I came from.
If I listen carefully to Jerelak’s affairs here and tell them to the Jerelak inside Leonie, it’ll help him. The delegation’s demands, the scholars’ advice, the decisions made…
That way, my Grand Duke could save time.
I gazed at Jerelak with sparkling eyes, but his expression was unamused.
“You won’t understand a word of what’s discussed. It’ll be boring and tedious. It’s better I quickly handle it and then set a date—”
“No, I’m very interested in economics, politics, and social affairs.”
Jerelak didn’t bother replying, though his face clearly said he thought it nonsense.
Caught out, but I had a trump card.
“Your Grace, dresses… you know? The one I wore before.”
The subject had shifted, so I slipped in a check.
Still blank—he had no recollection.
Even better for me.
“Your Grace, you know women’s dresses require much effort to make. Especially yellow dye—it’s costly since it requires rare imported materials. And purple comes from shellfish, but from ten thousand shells you get barely 1.5 grams of pigment.”
“……”
“Of course, dyes are just one part. Yellow comes from the Cobain flower that only grows in high mountains. Recently, supply has been unstable because of diplomatic issues, right? And the shellfish for purple dye—production has plummeted, so you’ll need a new source.”
Adrian, thank you so much.
You’ve saved me many times over.
I muttered calmly and crossed my arms.
Jerelak narrowed one eye and gave me a curious look.
“Where are you reading this from?”
“I’m not. There’s nothing in front of me.”
Sir Orie, too, widened his eyes and stared as if seeing me for the first time.
“I won’t attend the regular council meeting. But I think it would be fine to be present when the delegation arrives at eleven. What do you think?”
“My goodness, Lady Bernadette, I had no idea you took interest in such matters.”
“Well, this much is basic.”
That’s all I know, so please don’t ask further.
I quickly changed the subject before they could.
“I won’t be replacing anyone at the meetings. Just assisting the aide beside His Grace… or if that’s uneasy, I’ll just sit quietly nearby. Then, whenever there’s a small break, we can share a meal or tea. How about it?”
At that, Jerelak finally parted his lips slowly.
“…You.”
“Yes?”
In truth, I had little interest in economics or society, but for Jerelak’s sake, I could listen to anything.
So please let me sit by your side!
“Really…”
“……”
“You’re a strange one.”
Why did he always say that in front of people?
Though I thought that, I tried to look as sharp as possible.
“If you see me working, you might grow to dislike me.”
At that, I glanced at Sir Orie. He shrugged subtly, his eyes oddly complicated.
“Do you… get into fights during meetings?”
“Tomorrow at eleven. Don’t be late.”
“So you’re allowing me to be beside your chief aide?”
“Yes.”
“Yay!”
“We’ll finish the urgent matters first, then take the trip we couldn’t.”
“Perfect, I love it.”
Jerelak still looked utterly baffled.
Well, of course—he didn’t know my real motives.
Just then, Sir Orie opened the carriage door.
“Then, allow me to escort you both.”
Jerelak glanced regretfully at the horse he’d ridden in on.
“It’s fine. I’ll just ride.”
“No, Your Grace. Please take the carriage—it’s safer and more comfortable.”
“Afraid I’ll ride off and escape?”
“You guessed it.”
As the two argued, stable hands from the castle came to take Jerelak’s horse.
Jerelak then looked back at me and bent down.
“Next time, even if you’re curious, I won’t send you to a bookstore.”
“I’m sorry.”
“No, I am.”
“I’m more—”
“Please, both of you, just get in the carriage already.”
Giggling, I climbed aboard.
We hadn’t gone on the trip, but I felt much closer to him than before.
