TELRO 31🔐

– Chapter  

4.

It’s already been a month and a half since I entered the Duke’s mansion.

In that time, I received three letters from Daisy, went into town with the Duke and Lady Bell, embroidered a handkerchief as a gift for the Duke, helped prune the plum tree with Marquis Fenian, and even sent the portrait Lady Bell drew of me to Daisy.

Looking back, I’ve done quite a few little things. But the most important thing, I haven’t managed to do yet.

“I didn’t think it would take this long to receive the envelope of money…”

I even used bride training as an excuse to get in here, but I haven’t even started anything like that.

“Now I know for sure. She’s pretending to be ill to avoid meeting me.”

Otherwise, there’s no way she’d look so healthy standing in front of the plum tree and still keep claiming she’s too unwell to meet me.

“What if the Grand Madam continues refusing to meet me?”

I can’t just keep pretending to be the Duke’s fiancée and loiter around the Iris Hall forever.

“Haa… What should I do?”

“That’s what I’m saying, right? Even for the future Duchess, this is way too much.”

I had sighed without thinking, but the voice next to me brought me back to my senses and I turned my head.

Alicia, arms crossed, was looking down at the table and letting out a deep sigh.

“What are we going to do with all these cookies? Just how many people were you planning to gift them to?”

“Well… I really only meant to bake a few at first…”

Today was the day we were supposed to visit the second young lady who was ill.

Actually, the original visit date had been ten days ago, but it kept getting postponed because her condition suddenly worsened.

“I’m not sure if cookies are an appropriate gift for someone bedridden…”

But homemade cookies were Lady Bell’s suggestion.

Apparently, she remembered me saying I knew how to bake cookies during a past conversation. So when I asked what gift would be good for a hospital visit, she immediately recommended homemade cookies.

‘Since you’re baking anyway, make enough for me too. Got it? Promise!’

Just from that, I could tell.

She didn’t suggest cookies because they were ideal for a patient—she just wanted to eat them herself.

She even kept emphasizing how much she liked jam cookies.

Even if the second young lady couldn’t eat them, she could always share them with others, so I figured cookies would be fine.

However…

“I’ve never really added much when baking cookies before, you see.”

Even plain cookies were a luxury that required the ranch where I used to work to provide butter and milk.

Especially after Grandma fell ill.

“But this kitchen has so many things—jams, fruits, nuts, chocolate, you name it!”

I lost my mind a little, to be honest.

I admit it. I went completely overboard.

And the result was the mountain of cookies piled before us.

Even after giving generous portions to the kitchen staff who helped and to the other servants at Iris Hall, there were still this many left.

“Wouldn’t it be rude to give too much as a gift?”

“Veronica might like it, but… oh, that reminds me.”

After checking the time, Alicia continued.

“Right about now, that scoundrel should be out training with the knights. Why don’t you take some cookies to him and share the rest with the knights too?”

“Huh? To the Duke? That feels kind of embarrassing…”

“Hold up. Embarrassing? Why? You weren’t seriously planning to give cookies to everyone except him, right?”

Alicia crossed her arms in an X.

“I warned you. That scoundrel holds a grudge for a long time. Later, he’ll totally say, ‘Ah, so that’s why I was the only one who didn’t get cookies.’”

“There’s no way the Duke would be so petty.”

“Wow. He must’ve really fooled you with his charming act.”

Alicia clicked her tongue and continued.

“I guarantee it. If you skip him, every time I see him for the next three years, he’ll be like, ‘Were Airi’s cookies tasty? I bet they were, since you ate them alone.’”

She shuddered dramatically.

“I don’t want to deal with that, so grab the cookies and head to the training ground now!”

She even fetched a basket and started stuffing it with cookies.

Since she thought the Duke and I truly liked each other, she probably wanted to help us spend time together under the guise of a cookie delivery.

Her thoughtfulness made me so grateful that I decided to suppress my embarrassment and headed to the training ground with the cookies.

* * *

At the training ground, knights were sparring in pairs with real swords. Among them was the Duke.

“Ah, he saw me.”

The Duke slightly squinted his eyes at me in greeting and mouthed, “Wait just a moment.”

“Looks like they’ll be done soon. Shall we sit over there and wait?”

“Yes, let’s do that.”

We took seats on the stairs at the edge of the training ground, arranged like spectator stands.

As we watched the knights sparring, Alicia gave me some info about the knights.

“The head of the Rudian Knights is that bearded guy sparring with the Duke. That’s Count Bolani. You’ve heard of him, right?”

“Yes. One of the Duke’s closest retainers, isn’t he?”

The man, with both short hair and a bushy beard gleaming silvery-white, looked incredibly robust for someone in his sixties.

‘Then again, so did Marquis Fenian…’

As one of the four pillars supporting House Rudian, Count Bolani probably didn’t like my presence much either.

“Maybe he’s someone I can get the envelope from.”

Now that the Grand Madam refuses to see me, my only hope lies with the Duke’s trusted retainers.

Maybe thinking I was just really interested in the knights, Alicia continued eagerly.

“See Mark over there? The guy he’s sparring with is Young Count Bolani, the Count’s son. They’re both deputy captains.”

“Let me see… oh, that one?”

If he’s the Young Count Bolani, his name should be Adrian.

“The Duke said he learned swordsmanship from him as a child…”

“He doesn’t look much like the Count, right? That’s because he takes after the Countess. Ugh, if he weren’t taken, I’d totally go for him.”

His silver hair shimmered, showing it wasn’t from age—just like the Count’s. His long hair, cascading down to his waist, flowed like a silver river as he moved. No wonder Alicia was so smitten.

“Still… I think the Duke is better-looking.”

“You’re thinking the Duke’s more handsome, huh?”

“Huh? Me? Was it that obvious?”

As I flusteredly touched my cheek, a voice I definitely wasn’t expecting whispered in my ear.

“That’s a relief. Otherwise, some poor innocent guy might’ve ended up exiled to the edge of the territory.”

“D-Duke?! When did you get here?!”

“Just a moment ago. Ah, I might smell like sweat.”

He backed away a little, and I quickly shook my head. He smiled in relief and scooted back closer.

“You’ve worked hard. You must be thirsty, right?”

I handed him a drink and towel I had prepared in advance. He smiled gratefully.

“All right, break time!”

“Break time! Thank you, sir!”

At Count Bolani’s command, the knights finished sparring and collapsed on the ground, catching their breath.

Squires, who had been waiting nearby, brought over drinks, towels—and the cookies I had pre-divided.

“Today, our future Duchess has brought us some special cookies she baked herself. Be grateful and enjoy!”

“Thank you! We’ll enjoy them!”

They were certainly loud, as expected of knights.

I waved awkwardly back at them as they bowed their heads toward me, then nervously turned to the Duke and asked:

“Um… do they taste okay? …Hmm?”

I blinked in surprise.

The Duke, clutching the large basket, was nibbling away at the edge of a cookie with his front teeth—bit by bit.