Chapter 22
Facing Each Other
Rachel came without any appointment. Since all I did in the duke’s estate was wander around and enjoy a sort of moving picnic from place to place, her visit wasn’t going to interrupt anything. I led her to the second-floor drawing room.
“Daisy, have you been well?”
“Good morning, Rachel.”
Rachel appeared wearing a hat decorated with extravagant ornaments. She slowly walked around the drawing room. The decorations on her skirt, matching the motifs on her hat, swayed lightly with each step. It wasn’t quite Owen’s usual fashion trend, but it suited her beautifully. Her heeled shoes clicked neatly along with her steps.
As she strolled about, she tapped various decorative items with her index finger. She stopped in front of a small porcelain animal figurine.
It was a strange porcelain ornament whose species was difficult to guess. Rachel gently toppled all three animal figurines with her fingertips and burst into bright laughter. Then she carefully picked them up and rearranged them with thought. Now the three animals sat in a circle, facing each other.
“Isn’t this more artistic than just lining them up?”
“I think so. Now it feels like they have their own story.”
I didn’t know if it was “artistic,” but the three animals facing each other was certainly cuter than when they were in a row.
“See? You understand aesthetics. Cedric, that stone-headed boy, is different.”
“A stone?”
I tilted my head. When I thought of Cedric, the first thing that came to mind was his stoic expression, but lately he smiled rather often.
“He was always a bit dull, but lately he’s gotten even duller. It’s like he doesn’t even notice what’s right in front of him.”
“I suppose that might be true.”
If I substitute “emotionless” for “dull,” her words weren’t wrong, so I nodded. And Cedric really was a bit stone-like when it came to expressing his feelings to her.
Another reason I couldn’t give long answers was because I still felt awkward around her.
I’d felt uneasy after hearing her story at Mary’s tea party and talking to Cedric about it afterwards. I didn’t know whether Rachel knew I knew, which made things even more awkward.
To avoid showing discomfort, I paid extra attention to my expression.
Rachel glanced at me and suddenly burst into laughter.
“Should I help that boy get his emotions back?”
“How?”
“You figure that out as you go! For now, let’s head out together.”
Cedric’s face came to mind.
Acting without any plan didn’t seem like the best way to achieve a goal—but going out together sounded fine. It could be a good opportunity to nudge the affection these two already held for each other.
Rachel confidently walked straight into Cedric’s lounge. Cedric saw her suddenly appear and ask him to go out, and without a word he stood up.
She brought us to a small restaurant with only five tables. She said it wasn’t widely known yet.
To get there, we had to enter an alley off the main street and wind through several turns. With the three of us, two knights from the kingdom, and two escort knights of the imperial princess, seven people squeezed through narrow alleys with some difficulty.
She said it specialized in Lonaise cuisine. According to Rachel, among the places she had tried, this one felt the most authentic.
“In Lonaise, they serve all dishes at once on the table. That’s the main feature of this restaurant—it follows that dining culture.”
Rachel and I sat side by side; Cedric sat across from us.
“Daisy, I heard you went shopping? The capital is buzzing with rumors. That the Princess of Lundra visited several dress shops.”
“It wasn’t exactly several—just two.”
“LaLa Atelier and Shop Mémettir.”
It seemed the rumors even included the exact dress shops I visited.
“I really liked the clothes at the second shop, so I bought something there.”
“Shop Mémettir has a skilled head designer. And the first shop, hmm?”
Rachel chuckled to herself. Then she continued.
“I heard Cedric didn’t join you from the beginning?”
She said it without even looking at Cedric.
I was about to answer when the dishes arrived. They did look distinctly Lonaise—everything was unfamiliar.
A thick soup, denser than the usual kind. A flat type of bread I’d never seen. Thin slices of meat, breaded and fried. Grilled sausages cut into bite-sized pieces with a strange yellow sauce over them.
“I went out saying I would shop alone, but the head maid worried and told the duke to follow me discreetly.”
“Cedric, Daisy’s my precious guest. You should’ve accompanied her from the beginning and looked after her properly.”
Rachel spoke without touching her food. Cedric quietly divided a bit of each dish into our plates.
“Her Highness left without informing me.”
“That’s why you should’ve told the maids in advance to report to you whenever the princess moves.”
Hearing this, I wondered if that wouldn’t be invading my privacy—but I let it pass without pointing it out.
“I cannot monitor Her Highness’s private life.”
“How does that become monitoring? You always make me the bad one. You’re always like that.”
“I don’t want to hear that tone from you.”
“What tone?”
Cedric didn’t answer. He quietly placed the dishes in front of us, then began filling his own plate again.
The unfamiliar Lonaise food made me a bit tense at first—but thankfully it wasn’t too intense. It focused on natural flavors, seasoning lightly with just salt.
Rachel kept talking to Cedric without pause. Cedric responded to most of her comments, his face still expressionless but far more talkative than his usual three-word repertoire of “Yes,” “Is that so,” and “I see,” which he reserved for me.
For example, even something like, “You may live like that, but I don’t”—compared to “Yes,” that was practically colorful.
I simply smiled and listened to their conversation. Watching them sit together and talk, the atmosphere felt not just comfortable but peaceful. Thanks to that, the awkwardness I’d felt toward Rachel naturally faded.
They always looked very close. Cedric seemed a little soft in front of Rachel.
At this point, I wondered if the only thing they hadn’t done was confess their feelings. Or perhaps they’d already had such conversations without me knowing.
It felt like something out of a romance novel: the devoted imperial princess as the heroine, and the duke who seemed indifferent to everyone but listened to her every word as the hero. The palace maids in Lundra used to tell me stories like this all the time.
I lowered my gaze.
It had been a pleasant meal. It was one of the first times I’d chatted and eaten so comfortably with people other than my family. Yet, strangely, I found it difficult to laugh aloud.
“Daisy, wait outside for a bit? I’ll pay and come out.”
After we finished eating, Rachel said she would handle the bill. Outside the restaurant, Sir Matis and Sir Diego stood in light attire.
“Are you not hungry?”
“We ate well before leaving.”
Sir Matis answered.
“You nobles came from Lundra, did you?”
Just as I was thinking it would’ve been better if they’d eaten again at the right time, a voice came from behind. Since he mentioned the Kingdom of Lundra, it must’ve been directed at us.
I turned around and saw two people who looked like commoners. I recalled that in Owen, commoners often spoke first to those who appeared to be nobles.
“Yes, that’s right. How did you know?”
I stopped Sir Diego from intervening by raising my arm. Neither of the men held anything dangerous, and even if one of them rushed at me, there were two kingdom knights present.
“You can tell by that round accent of yours.”
One of the two answered—the one who seemed to have spoken to me. The other stood slightly behind, hands in his pockets, posture slanted. The staff at LaLa Atelier had said something similar: that my accent was round.
“Imperial folks don’t speak with that shong-shong sound, you see.”
Shong-shong?
Long ago, the languages of the three founding kingdoms were the same. As time passed, the pronunciations gradually changed across borders. You could say the Lundra accent sounds rounder.
“That’s a funny expression! ‘Shong-shong.’”
I clapped my hands lightly and smiled.
“Funny accent, isn’t it? Hahaha!”
Since I laughed, the two men laughed as well. Then they began imitating my accent. Their impersonation sounded rather exaggerated.
At first, I found it amusing, but as they kept doing it, something felt strange.
