Chapter 17
“Where exactly does it hurt? I’d like to offer some care if I can…”
“She’s not ill in a way that requires nursing. Her strength has simply weakened greatly. I’ll be sure to deliver the goodwill of the future duchess, so please return for today.”
Since the butler of Delphinium Hall insisted so firmly, I couldn’t very well force the closed door open.
In the end, I left Delphinium Hall without any success.
“How rude… I came all this way to greet an elder of the family, and she doesn’t even show her face. That’s just too much.”
“Well, she said she’s sick.”
“Hmph! I’d bet my entire fortune that’s not true. She’s probably standing right at that window looking down at us.”
When I looked up at the third-floor window Alicia gestured toward, the curtain suddenly swished shut.
‘So it really was just an excuse?’
All the better if that’s the case.
No one had ever accused me of being the type to give up easily.
“Then I’ll just keep visiting until she agrees to meet.”
“Are you serious? What if the madam never comes out to see you?”
“That’s fine.”
My goal wasn’t to meet the madam. It was to annoy the madam.
Regardless, I was the future duchess. Not someone the butler could just send away at his discretion.
If I kept coming to Delphinium Hall, the butler would be forced to inform the madam of my visits.
She could pretend to be sick and send me away once or twice, but if I kept showing up, wouldn’t it eventually get on her nerves?
“If I don’t give up and keep visiting, she’ll open the door eventually.”
With an envelope of cash, of course!
“That scoundrel is so lucky…”
“Huh?”
“Oh, just sighing to myself. The world really is unfair sometimes.”
With a deep sigh, Alicia tried to lighten the mood by flashing a bright smile at me.
“Since we’ve come all this way, let’s go check out the southern garden. There’s a lake there—it’s really beautiful.”
“A lake? In the garden?”
“Yep. There’s even a little boat and a small island in the middle. But let’s save the boat ride for when you go there with that scoundrel later.”
“Wow…”
I already knew the duke’s estate was huge, but a lake in the garden?
“Let’s go! I want to see it now!”
“I thought you’d say that. I even packed a picnic mat and lunch.”
Following ever-prepared Alicia, we headed to the lake in the southern garden.
But someone had gotten there before us.
“Oh, it’s Veronica!”
“Veronica?”
The name sounded familiar…
Ah!
“The duke’s younger sister, right?”
“Yep. See the little girl sitting in the middle of that big picnic mat?”
Next to the lake, at the center of the mat Alicia pointed toward, sat a young girl with her elegant skirts spread like flower petals.
Her long blonde hair, tied into twin braids, sparkled in the sun, and her large honey-golden eyes glanced at us with curiosity.
“So cute… She really looks just like the duke!”
“Right? …And she has the same personality, too…”
“Huh?”
“Ahem. Anyway, let’s set up our mat a little further away.”
“A bit away? But I want to go say hello. Can’t we?”
“No, we can’t. Honestly, they should come over to greet us. But look at her—she’s seen the future duchess and hasn’t even budged. I think that little one’s trying to engage in a battle of wills. You absolutely must not lose.”
She was only five years old, so what battle of wills could she possibly be fighting? But Alicia seemed so serious that I quietly sat on the mat the attendants laid out on the lawn.
‘I’d like to talk to her…’
Though I kept sneaking glances, I couldn’t muster the courage to approach. Then suddenly, carried by a gust of wind, something fluttered over to us like a butterfly.
Landing softly on our mat was a sheet of drawing paper with a picture on it.
“Wow, it’s a cute cat drawing! Pretty well done!”
“A cat? That?”
Alicia looked baffled as she pointed at the paper.
I tilted my head, not understanding why she reacted that way.
“Yeah, it’s a cat, right?”
“And what about this looks like a cat? It looks more like melted butter or cheese in the summer heat…”
Just then—
“It is a cat!”
A loud shout startled both Alicia and me, making us turn around.
Veronica had somehow made her way to us and was now standing there, cheeks flushed red, fists clenched tightly.
“How did you know it was a cat?”
Veronica Ludean.
At five years old, her biggest worry was that no one played with her.
‘Adults are full of contradictions.’
They’d stop her from doing things because she was too young, but when they were busy, they left her completely alone.
‘I wanted to see that play, too…!’
Pouring all her frustration and sadness into it, Veronica smeared red paint across the paper.
Watching her spread paint thickly on the canvas, the nanny cautiously spoke up.
“Miss, please cheer up. Madam will definitely keep her promise.”
“What promise?”
“Pardon?”
“‘Cheer up’? I’m not upset at all. But do I look upset to you? Why? Where?”
Startled by Veronica’s sharp tone and questions, the nanny realized her mistake.
“I’m sorry, Miss. I misspoke.”
“What mistake? What are you sorry for?”
“That is… I assumed how you were feeling and—”
“Exactly. Why did you assume that?”
Because you’re basically butchering the paper in red right now…
…is what the nanny couldn’t say. So instead, she just kept apologizing over and over.
But Veronica hadn’t been looking for an apology. She glared at the nanny with a resentful look, then huffed and turned away.
She then pointed at one of the maids, who stood nearby looking nervous.
“You. Come here.”
“Y-yes?”
Here it comes, the maid thought as she nervously approached the seated Veronica.
“What do you think this is a drawing of?”
A paper smeared in thick red paint… and she was asking what it was a drawing of?
The maid’s lips trembled as she tried to think of something—anything—red.
Seeing the girl’s eyes narrowing, the maid blurted out the first thing that came to mind.
“Uh… a rose garden?”
“You think this looks like roses?”
“Ah! My mistake. A maple tree! It must be a maple tree!”
“It’s not!”
Veronica yelled and threw her brush to the ground.
The maid, expecting this, just bowed her head repeatedly, apologizing.
“How could you say rose or maple! Hey, you over there!”
“Y-yes?!”
“What do you think this is?”
Caught in the line of fire, the servant blinked back tears, desperately trying to think of anything red.
But no answer satisfied Veronica. Furious, she crumpled up the paper.
“I can’t believe Mother only puts people who don’t understand art around me!”
As she fumed, the servants around her all thought:
‘It’s not us who don’t understand art…’
But none of them dared say such a thing to the precious youngest daughter so beloved by the madam.
And just as they whispered among themselves about what the red thing could be, some new people appeared.
“Who are they?”
“That would be… the future duchess.”
“The future duchess? The one Brother brought home?”
Though the madam had never mentioned Airi in front of Veronica, the girl already knew.
After all, news that Elkius—who never showed interest in women—had brought home a commoner and declared his intention to marry her was too juicy not to spread.
