CHAPTER 83………………………………………………………..
While lost in thought, the sounds around me gradually faded.
“It’s so crowded that I can’t think straight! So, Ella, which room do you want to use?”
Berua, having finally quieted the knights’ commotion, turned her head toward Laseil.
“I don’t really mind.”
After all, any room in the duke’s mansion would be fine. The housekeeper was obsessively meticulous about cleanliness.
“Then the room you always use would be best, right? Anyone you need to greet?”
“I just want to stop by my knight sister for a bit.”
Now that Laseil had arrived, she would show herself soon. After briefly asking for understanding, Laseil stood up.
“I haven’t been writing letters much these days.”
“You should write to us just as often!”
Berua muttered teasingly. Even though she always complained when letters came too often.
“Well… she’s saying it because she cares.”
Berua had always worried excessively. She worried if letters weren’t sent frequently enough, and worried about wasting paper if too many were sent. She even worried if letters arrived on a regular schedule, that the schedule was “too regular.” Always like this.
“See you tonight.”
“Yeah, don’t come too late!”
The chef would put all their skills to use at dinner. Whenever someone returned from afar, dinner was always prepared extravagantly. Laseil walked slowly, thinking about the evening menu.
“Where could she be?”
She seemed to have checked all the secluded spots on the first floor, but still no sign of her. Only after going up to an empty, dark room on the second floor did she finally find the person she wanted.
“Laseil!”
A familiar face embraced Laseil. Though the warmth of the already-deceased was absent, the joy was palpable.
“Well, look who it is. Isn’t this Laseil Jaen, who only hung out with the housekeeper after going down to the territory?”
“How do you know that?”
“I have ways of knowing everything.”
Of course, Loren had even sent gifts. She must have also stayed in touch with the housekeeper in some way.
“How have you been all this time?”
Loren, pretending to embrace Laseil again, asked.
“There’s nothing to do in that countryside!”
“Far too much, actually.”
It wasn’t boredom; she was just too busy. Loren seemed unable to accept this straightforwardly.
“Not too many weird people, right?”
“The locals don’t see it that way…”
“And why is the housekeeper so interested in romance? It’s still too early for you.”
“……”
Laseil was the only one Loren would say such things to. Most people assumed Laseil would inevitably end up with someone—usually Irenes.
“He’s not a bad guy… but he needs courage to confess.”
“Who are you talking about now?”
“Don’t worry about it. You don’t need to know.”
It wasn’t the right time to bring it up, but Laseil just nodded instead of arguing. She had never won a verbal fight with Loren.
“Anyway, welcome back.”
Hearing that from Loren felt strange. The mansion, compared to the manor or the lord’s castle, was unfamiliar. Yet just that one sentence made it feel like returning to a place long missed.
‘Maybe it’s because it’s something my knight sister says.’
Laseil nodded slightly.
“Go to bed early, you must be tired.”
“Yeah.”
Though she answered, sleeping didn’t come easily. She had been swept up in the noisy atmosphere of the duke’s mansion. Eventually, she woke in the middle of the night and joined the knights’ chatter. In the end, she fell asleep only in the early hours of dawn.
‘My head hurts…’
Naturally, that was her first thought upon waking. She was already sleep-deprived, and had even drunk last night. She thought she’d be fine, but apparently drinking after such a long time was the problem. This was why she shouldn’t have gotten swept up in the knights’ mood.
‘I need to eat something.’
There seemed to be a place nearby that served decent stew. Today, she particularly wanted that spicy broth.
‘Once I fill my stomach, I’ll feel better…’
Laseil, staggering to stand, finally finished preparing to go out. Washing with cold water brought some clarity. Her reflection in the mirror looked reasonably human again.
“I’m just stepping out for a bit!”
“Busy from the morning, huh.”
After a brief greeting, Laseil stepped outside the mansion.
“I have a question.”
A tea house near the duke’s mansion.
Azen muttered, unable to shake bitterness even with three sugar cubes in his tea. He hadn’t confessed, but this was already the monumental thirtieth rejection. Berua, sitting across from him, seemed utterly uninterested in what he said.
“Why does everyone think Laseil likes Sir Sieren?”
“What did you say?”
But Azen couldn’t help asking after hearing Berua’s continued questions. He didn’t expect there to still be someone in the knights who didn’t know this fact.
“You’re really asking because you don’t know?”
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t secretly want Laseil’s romance to fail just because your own did?”
“No matter how upset I am, I wouldn’t do that to our captain…”
Azen, practically lying across the table, sighed.
“I really don’t know, that’s all.”
“Such an obvious question… Oh, is that Laseil outside?”
Berua turned her head to the window. Laseil looked a bit pale compared to yesterday.
‘She drank a lot yesterday.’
Still, she seemed much better than just before going to sleep.
“She’s probably going out to eat.”
“She liked the stew from nearby restaurants, right? …What’s up with that person?”
A man was lingering near Laseil, clearly waiting for a chance to speak.
“Perfect timing. Let’s go outside.”
“Huh?”
“Better to see it for yourself than explain.”
Berua stepped outside the tea house and hid behind a nearby pillar. It was a spot where Laseil couldn’t see her, but she could observe.
“Does this really have any meaning?”
Laseil had probably already sensed someone nearby. Berua shamelessly responded to Azen, who pointed this out.
“Of course it does! She wouldn’t even notice otherwise.”
“So what exactly are we supposed to see?”
Azen turned toward Laseil. The man who had been lingering nearby was now approaching her.
“E-Excuse me.”
“Yes.”
Laseil responded curtly, clearly uninterested in conversation. The man seemed taken aback, and a brief silence followed. Laseil tried to walk away.
“I- I know it’s rude, but—!”
“You know it’s rude.”
The conversation ended again. Laseil looked increasingly annoyed, but the man was surprisingly persistent.
“If you have time…”
“I don’t.”
“Seems like you’re heading to eat…”
“I’m not.”
“Even just tea…”
“I won’t.”
Finally, Laseil ignored him and continued walking. Berua, who had waited for the conversation to end, asked:
“Do you think Sir Sieren would have reacted the same way?”
“Of course not.”
First, Laseil would have been glad. Then, naturally, she would have said she had time. She might even have gone to eat together. Laseil usually didn’t refuse Irenes’ requests.
“Still, do you think Laseil has no feelings for him?”
“But just now… that man was a bit rude.”
He had grabbed her on the street to set up a meeting—quite inappropriate for noble etiquette. When Azen pointed this out, Berua shook her head slowly, as if to say, “You still don’t understand.”
“You’d make all these assumptions based on just that?”
“Then what?”
“When Laseil did her debut dance, someone requested to be her partner. How did she react?”
Azen remembered that well. It was a time when all the knights were paying close attention.
“She threw down her glove.”
