Chapter 106. How Dare You Say Such Things
Upon returning, Elpengrin truly became frantically busy without a moment to breathe.
From morning until late at night—it was an immense workload reminiscent of the grand spring cleaning done right before the Cheister family returned.
Although she had agreed to the man’s words that she could come when she had time to catch her breath, Deborah had never imagined it would be to this extent.
What greeted Deborah returning to the attic after work was Hanna’s snoring.
After roughly changing clothes and laying her exhausted body on the bed, it became routine for her memories to completely vanish until morning.
To the point where even thunderous snoring sounded like a lullaby.
In such a state, waiting until everyone was asleep and then going downstairs was nearly impossible.
Several days had already passed swiftly since that dreamlike time at the villa without seeing the man’s face.
Deborah painfully realized through this experience that being unable to see the other person unavoidably and being unable to see them even when possible were completely different.
Still, last night she had really pinched her hand and endured for about an hour…….
“Haa…….”
Deborah let out a long sigh and soon moved her steps toward her workplace.
* * *
Under the gorgeous chandelier, golden sunlight gently draped over the long spread white tablecloth.
Various dishes were placed on the dining table.
Freshly baked bread and butter, bacon and baked beans, oatmeal boiled with milk, and fresh fruits, etc.—all composed of menus easy to eat in the morning.
With the placement of steaming coffee cups at each seat as the last step, the morning meal preparation for the Cheister family was finally complete.
A soft smile soon settled on the lips of Eleanor von Cheister, who had been savoring the aroma of the freshly brought coffee.
“Ray, is everything really prepared?”
At the words spoken while setting down the coffee cup, Raymond’s head at the head of the table slowly turned to the right.
“Yes.”
Raymond lightly nodded his head in response.
Tomorrow was finally the day Crown Prince Philip would visit Elpengrin.
It was originally a schedule set before returning to Denver, but it had unavoidably been postponed to now due to a sudden disruption in a royal event.
“Come to think of it, it’s been quite a while since I last saw His Highness. I think the last time was at Lord Seymour’s wedding.”
Don’t you think so, at the question seeking agreement, Cecilia sitting across opened her mouth instead.
“That’s right. Since we saw him then and it’s been a while, it’s exactly a year and a half.”
Oh my—Eleanor’s mouth fell open at the words ‘a year and a half.’
She had been somewhat neglectful due to traveling here and there for nearly a year, but she seemed greatly surprised by the fact that it had been that long.
Well, it was only natural.
Not only was there a bond between the Cheister family and the royal family, but Eleanor personally had a very special connection to the royal family.
That was because her maiden family was the one that produced the current queen.
Her cousin Claire, with whom she had been like siblings, became the queen of Ruvake shortly after, and she herself became the duchess of Cheister, so one could tell without saying how close they were.
In the times when she had to swallow alone the betrayal and loneliness toward her husband who only circled outside with the government, it was Queen Claire who comforted and embraced Eleanor.
Thanks to that, Raymond and Crown Prince Philip naturally became close as well.
With them being the same age, it might have been a natural course for two people with different personalities to become friends.
Unlike the quiet and blunt Raymond, the crown prince had a very hearty and bright personality.
Of course, now he is undeniably called the crown prince of Ruvake, but there was a time when he possessed such an eccentric personality that the royal family looked at him with concern.
Well, that was all old talk now.
“It would have been nice if Her Majesty the Queen had come along this time…….”
Eleanor sighed with a sullen face.
She had wanted to meet Queen Claire more than anyone right after returning to Denver, but unfortunately, since the queen was away with a diplomatic delegation, she could only meet her a month from now.
“You’ll be able to meet her soon.”
At Cecilia’s consoling words, Eleanor soon nodded and smiled.
“By the way, Ray.”
At the voice calling him again, Raymond’s gaze turned that way.
“I heard that the Count and Countess Reister are also coming to this welcome banquet…….”
The list of invitees to the banquet welcoming the crown prince is usually first narrowed down by the aide Robin, but the final approval naturally goes to the duke, Raymond.
Close relatives to the royal family, and a few nobles friendly with the crown prince.
So there was no way Raymond wouldn’t know about the Count and Countess Reister who would be on that list.
The reason Eleanor was asking something obvious was likely because of the unpleasant incident from before.
The incident where he molested a low-ranking maid in the middle of the night and caused a commotion.
After a brief silence, Raymond quietly nodded.
“Yes. That’s what I heard.”
“That maid from back then…… How about sending her somewhere for a while. Or making sure she doesn’t leave her quarters that day.”
At those cautiously spoken words, Raymond’s expression faintly turned cold.
Eleanor had no idea what emotion was contained in that cold expression.
No, no one at the table could have dared to guess.
Why Raymond was so displeased right now.
“There’s no need to go that far-.”
The short, cut-off tone contained the meaning that he wanted to end the conversation here.
Eleanor, who knew her son better than anyone, immediately closed her mouth, but the problem was unfortunately Cecilia, who hadn’t noticed the situation at all.
Or perhaps even if she knew, her own words took priority.
“I’ve heard that the Countess Reister is no ordinary person.”
“……Cecilia.”
“Why, Mother heard what Baroness Hailey said too.”
She quietly called while glancing at Raymond, but Cecilia still seemed to think her words were more important.
“Every time Count Reister looks elsewhere, the countess supposedly finds the other party and vents her anger as much as possible.”
That had happened.
A story that came up a while ago while noble ladies were gathered drinking tea.
She couldn’t remember well now who started it, but anyway, the atmosphere became quite lively with the sudden talk about the Count and Countess Reister.
And at the end, someone added such words.
-There are quite a few pretty-faced maids at the duke’s residence, so hopefully nothing happens while His Highness the Crown Prince is present.
It was probably the gossip-loving Baroness Hailey…… The important thing was that upon hearing those words, both Cecilia’s and Eleanor’s expressions darkened at the same time.
The reason was the incident that occurred in Elpengrin a few months ago.
They thought there was no way that matter had reached the countess’s ears, but they couldn’t help feeling what if.
That was why Eleanor had brought it up just now.
“If by chance the countess finds out that Deborah did such a thing-.”
As if imagining what would happen afterward, Cecilia shuddered with a deeply frowning face.
Thus, she failed to notice what kind of gaze Raymond was directing at her.
“So before such an unpleasant incident occurs, as Mother said, send that girl elsewhere-”
“Such a thing, you say.”
“……Yes?”
Cecilia’s expression, which had been pouring out without hesitation, suddenly hardened.
It was because the voice flowing from Raymond’s mouth, who hadn’t said a word until now, sounded extremely chilling.
To the point where a chill ran through her body in an instant.
That expression staring intently at Cecilia, who had become dumbfounded, also carried an somehow ominous atmosphere.
Wondering if she had made some mistake, Cecilia quickly replayed in her mind what she had just said.
But no matter how much she thought, there was nothing wrong.
What was wrong with saying to prepare for any possible contingency in the presence of His Highness the Crown Prince.
Judging that there was no problem with her actions, Cecilia’s expression soon returned to its original prim one.
Of course, it goes without saying that Raymond’s eyes, reading that change, grew even colder.
“Without even knowing the truth of the matter.”
Raymond picked up the napkin on the table and slowly dabbed his mouth.
Both Cecilia and Eleanor watched Raymond’s action while holding their breath.
“How dare you say such things.”
“B-Brother!”
“Ray!”
The two couldn’t hide their shock at the harsh expression falling from his mouth.
Cecilia’s face, trembling, quickly turned pale, but Raymond paid no heed and threw the napkin onto the table as if tossing it.
“I’ve told you repeatedly that slandering an innocent person with nonexistent stories is something only vulgar people do.”
“…….”
“And you still haven’t fixed that bad habit.”
“…….”
Tsk, at the low tongue-clicking sound, Cecilia bit her lip until it bled.
It was humiliating enough to hear scolding now that she had only heard as a child, but above all, she couldn’t understand at all why her brother was cornering her like this over something trivial.
What on earth had she done wrong, that even if she had spoken without knowing, he was scolding her so harshly over a mere lowly maid.
With grievance and anger, tears soon filled Cecilia’s eyes.
Raymond glanced at such Cecilia and then stood up from his seat.
“I’ll excuse myself first.”
After slightly bowing his head, Eleanor became momentarily dazed watching Raymond stride out of the dining room.
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