Chapter 07
After calling the steward and signing Emil’s employment contract, Luise went out almost every day.
Sometimes she even took Emil along to carry her luggage.
‘I need to get closer to Emil.’
It would be useful in many ways to build a connection with the true heir of Baron Thierry’s family.
Thanks to taking her out often, Emil seemed to have adapted somewhat.
She even played around sometimes and laughed freely.
Luise still didn’t know all of Emil’s story, but she didn’t feel the need to pry.
‘She’ll share it if she wants to.’
You didn’t need to know everything to become close.
It happened then.
“Luise.”
“……Calix?”
Startled by the sudden voice behind her, Luise turned her head.
“What brings you here?”
“Well…” Calix’s expression stiffened for a moment.
“We had a date planned today. You didn’t forget, did you?”
“Oh, no. I just assumed we’d meet at the usual place.”
Lately, Luise had been out so much that she barely had time to see Calix.
‘He’s probably worried because of what happened at the lake.’
Calix always tried to cheer her up whenever she was sick or upset, taking her out and paying extra attention.
She remembered that once she even caught a cold intentionally just to feel his care.
‘I liked it when he was kind to me.’
Of course, that didn’t mean she could win his heart by being sick.
“Shall we go then?”
Calix reached out his hand to Luise.
Recalling past memories, she had to suppress the sudden rush of excitement.
“Have a good trip, Princess.”
Emil’s words made her eyes widen for a moment.
“……Okay, I’ll bring you something tasty when I return.”
She smiled as she was seen off. Maybe this meant they were becoming somewhat close.
Luise forced the smile off her face and got into the carriage, accepting Calix’s escort.
“That’s the one, right?”
“You mean… Emil?”
“……Emil, you said?”
Calix paused, feeling strange. Had Luise already started calling her by a nickname?
Luise, meanwhile, chatted away casually.
“I thought she was struggling doing odd jobs at the restaurant, so I let her work here.”
“Let her work here?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Calix looked genuinely puzzled.
“Why help her?”
“She’s poor. She lost her mother.”
Calix’s mouth twitched.
“She’s not the only one who lost a mother, you know.”
“But Emil is connected to the ring I have.”
Luise said calmly.
“So I decided to take her in. What’s the problem?”
“You said her origin is unclear.”
“We don’t check every servant’s background. And if it was a real problem, the steward wouldn’t have allowed it.”
Not wrong. Even as just a servant, being employed by the Florence Duke’s family required careful screening, especially while the lady of the house was away.
“Still, there’s no need to keep a suspicious person close.”
“Emil’s just a servant.”
Luise was firm, turning her gaze out the window as if to end the discussion.
Calix felt a chill but stayed silent.
‘Fighting over a servant with my fiancée would be foolish.’
Today’s date was at the Westen Duke’s library.
Luise had chosen the location.
“Why the library all of a sudden?”
“Just… I wanted to read some books.”
She made a casual excuse.
To get closer to Emil, she needed to understand medicine and herbs.
‘But reading such books at the Florence house would stand out too much.’
Luise had never been interested in that field before.
‘At Westen’s, it’s okay. I can pretend to read difficult books to look good for Calix.’
After the fakes claiming to be Thierry heirs were caught, the real Emil had contact with Marquis Orlando.
‘I need to check how much medical knowledge she has.’
At the same time, Luise needed to get closer to Emil to figure out what she wanted.
“Wow.”
The library made Luise’s mouth drop in awe.
‘It’s been so long since I saw a library this big.’
Finding the right books wouldn’t be easy.
Luise sat across from Calix, who gave her a puzzled look.
“Why?”
She smiled, teasing slightly:
“I always wanted to sit next to you, but you said no, so I sat across today.”
Calix chuckled, remembering the playful memory.
“It feels a little strange today.”
Her face flushed at the small laughter.
“I won’t do that anymore.”
“Won’t do that?”
“Yes.”
Calix laughed, thinking she was teasing him.
“Quiet now, it’s a library.”
“Oh, sorry. I was rude.”
Calix’s smile softened.
“No one else is coming today.”
“Really?”
“Yes. I told everyone except the librarian not to come.”
“I don’t want anyone disturbing our date.”
“Thanks for caring, Calix.”
She knew it wasn’t love but still appreciated it.
“I’ll pick out books, you can do your work here.”
“I’ll come with you.”
“No, you’re busy.”
After refusing Calix several times, Luise could explore the library alone.
‘I need to check medical and herbal books, not bring him along.’
She planned to discreetly bring books out mixed with usual romance novels.
‘Once Calix focuses on work, he won’t notice what I do.’
She quickly scanned the shelves: books on herbs, plants, torture, and healing.
“So many types.”
The problem was too many choices. She stacked five books to examine.
“What are you doing?”
“……You startled me.”
Calix appeared silently, taking the books from her naturally.
“Let’s go?”
“……Okay.”
Luise took his hand, and they returned to her spot.
Now she needed to learn as much as possible about herbs…
“Why are you looking so hard at that?”
“Just…”
She realized she couldn’t even open the herbal books she had brought. Calix, usually focused on work, was unusually attentive to her today.
“Is that book interesting?”
“Kind of.”
“What’s it about?”
And so on. Luise had trouble examining the books she needed.
