Ch 4.7
This man, unlike his sister, was quite perceptive.
‘Or perhaps I acted too transparently?’
“After thinking it over carefully since the banquet, I decided that, as you said, there is no reason for me to avoid you.”
“That is correct. There is no reason for the Lady to do so.”
Surprised by the way he seemed to take my side, I looked up at him.
He still gazed at me with gentle eyes, a faint smile playing on his lips.
“Because the person who did wrong is someone else.”
What is this?
As unexpected words that seemed unlikely to come from his mouth hit me in succession, I looked at Eden in a state of slight bewilderment.
It was to find what kind of meaning was hidden within his words.
However, the expression Eden wore as he spoke was candid rather than as if he were hiding something.
‘It seems he has heard something about the relationship between the three of us.’
“By any chance.”
Suddenly, his expression and voice became quite serious.
I felt tense, not knowing what words might come out of his mouth next.
“Yes?”
“Do you still hold Duke Maxius in your heart, Lady?”
Is he testing me?
Because he’s worried that I still have feelings for Kane and that Adela might get hurt because of me?
Whatever it was, I could answer that question with certainty.
“No. I do not hold Duke Kane Maxius in my heart.”
So, don’t even think about killing me.
I barely managed to suppress the urge to say those words to him as well.
“I see.”
The expression that had been stiff until a moment ago vanished instantly, and Eden replied with a pleasant smile.
‘Is he relieved because he judged that I won’t be a threat to Adela?’
If he thought that way, it was a great relief for me.
‘Still, I must be careful.’
Moreover, if I stayed on good terms with Adela and continued to keep Kane at a distance as I am now, it seemed I wouldn’t have to worry about this problem in the future, and my heart felt light.
Then, I remembered the task I had temporarily forgotten.
To be honest, I didn’t really want to meet him, but to observe noble etiquette, I looked at Eden, who was walking beside me, and spoke.
“Um, I would like to pay my respects to Duke Bayon first.”
“The Duke is not at the residence right now.”
“Ah, is that so?”
It was a relief not to have to see a face I didn’t want to see.
“Yes. My sister’s room is on the second floor. This way, please.”
But…
Eden called his own father “the Duke,” didn’t he?
Was he intentionally being formal in front of others?
Thinking that it could be possible, I dismissed it as trivial and continued up the stairs.
“It is here.”
We went up to the second floor and stood
before a door decorated with beautifully blooming flowers of various colors and leaves among the many doors.
Seeing how a subtle floral fragrance wafted through the air, they seemed to be fresh flowers.
“They are fresh flowers. Do you decorate the door like this every day?”
I asked Eden out of pure curiosity.
“Yes. My sister loves flowers. She tends to like things that are colorful, vivid, and alive.”
“Ah, really? Then I should have prepared a gift of flowers.”
As a gift for the visit, I had prepared a lily-shaped hair ornament that seemed to suit Adela well.
When I saw her at the banquet hall, Adela was wearing an excessive amount of hair ornaments.
So, I had prepared it as a gift, thinking that Adela liked hair ornaments.
Still, although they weren’t fresh flowers, I
felt glad that I had prepared a flower-shaped hair ornament.
“Whatever gift the Lady has prepared, my sister will like it.”
“That is a relief, then.”
“Shall we go in?”
I nodded my head slightly.
“It is Eden. I am coming in.”
The servant guarding the door opened it.
Immediately, a fragrance much stronger than the floral scent I had smelled at the door pierced my nose.
As I followed Eden into the room, it was filled with vases everywhere.
‘She really does love flowers.’
“Lady Hates!”
Adela, who was lying in bed, tried to get down from the bed upon seeing me.
Her voice calling me was full of joy.
“Sister, please stay still. The Lady and I will come to you.”
Eden and I walked quickly toward the bed where Adela was lying.
With the help of a maid nearby, Adela sat up with her back against the headboard.
“Lady Hates, you truly came.”
“How are you feeling?”
“As you can see, I’ve gotten much better.
My father and Eden are just overprotecting me for no reason.”
She said she was fine, but in my eyes, the signs of illness were still heavy on her face.
“Sister, Lady Hates said she brought a gift for you.”
“Oh my, really?”
“Ah, yes. Here it is.”
I held out the small box I was holding in my hand to Adela.
“Wow! A gift! Thank you, Lady!”
“It isn’t anything grand; I prepared it because it isn’t polite to come empty-handed.”
“It’s the first gift the Lady is giving me! Whatever it is, it’s precious to me.”
Saying that, Adela carefully received the box and opened the lid with a face full of anticipation.
“Wow!”
And upon seeing the contents inside, Adela let out a deep exclamation.
Held in her hand was a lily-shaped hair ornament, about the size of two fingers joined together.
“It’s so pretty. It’s truly so pretty that I think it’ll be a waste to wear it.”
Seeing her like it so much for a gift I had prepared lightly, I felt momentarily bashful.
“I had it specially made by a craftsman because I thought it would suit Lady Bayon well.”
“Then is it the only hair ornament of its kind in the world?”
“Well, I suppose so.”
“I think I’m truly going to cry. This is the first time in my life I’ve received a gift like this.”
As she said that, tears were truly welling up in Adela’s eyes.
‘She is very emotional.’
I roughly expected it, but it was more than I thought.
“Would you put it on for me?”
“Pardon?”
Adela suddenly held out the hair ornament to me.
“I would love it if the Lady put it on for me, but would that be too much?”
“Uh…”
After a brief moment of debating what to do, I nodded slightly and took the hair ornament.
It was because her expression as she looked up at me seemed so desperate.
I stepped closer to the bed.
“Excuse me.”
Then, I pinned the hair ornament I had gifted into Adela’s hair.
As expected, it suited her pure and clean appearance very well.
“How is it? Do I look pretty?”
“Yes, you are pretty.”
“What about Eden? How do I look?”
“You are beautiful.”
“Eden, could you bring that small mirror over there to me?”
Eden brought the small mirror that was on the table and gave it to Adela.
Adela moved the mirror here and there, examining her appearance thoroughly.
“Thank you, Lady! I will truly treasure this gift for the rest of my life.”
Though her face was slightly haggard from being sick, her beauty was nonetheless unconcealed.
And Adela replied with a smile that was infinitely beautiful.
Watching that, I felt a pang in a corner of my heart, thinking I had only viewed her in a bad light.
She was the core reason for my broken engagement with Kane.
Therefore, if considering the original work, Adela was not a person Belita could speak well of even in passing.
However, setting the original work aside, the woman I faced directly was not so bad.
No, she wasn’t just not bad; she was quite decent.
‘Perhaps…’
I felt that we could truly become okay with each other.
Thinking that, the purpose of my visit today came to mind.
So, I looked up at Eden for a moment, then looked at Adela and spoke.
“I would like to have a conversation with Lady Bayon alone for a moment; would that be alright?”
“Of course! I also wanted to talk with the Lady privately.”
Adela gestured for Eden to leave.
However, Eden acted slightly hesitant.
“Eden.”
When Adela called Eden once more, Eden nodded his head.
“Then, I shall take my leave first.”
Before he closed the door and left, our gazes met for a moment.
Just as when I had seen him before, he was staring at me with a face that made his inner thoughts completely unreadable.
The door closed slowly, and he disappeared.
“Lady?”
As Adela called me, I straightened my head and looked at her.
“The Young Lord takes very good care of the Lady.”
“I suppose it’s because my health hasn’t been good since I was young. But both my father and Eden are too much. Doesn’t it seem that way to you?”
“Well, in the case of Duke Bayon, I haven’t seen him so I don’t know, but in the case of Lord Bayon, it doesn’t seem particularly excessive. I don’t know well since I have no siblings, but if I had a sick sibling, I would have acted like the Young Lord too.”
“As expected, the Lady is a kind and friendly person. I think I would be so happy if I could become friends with such a Lady.”
Adela spoke with a bright smile.
“Ah, I’m sorry. I’ve brought it up again without any tact.”
Then, perhaps remembering what I had said to her before, Adela hurriedly apologized with a woeful face.
“Well, I’ve thought about it.”
Now, with Adela having brought it up first, was the opportunity.
“Pardon?”
“About what I said before, that we couldn’t be friends…”
“Ah, yes. I am fine. I… I mean, I was too thoughtless. I should have considered that you were deeply hurt because of me… I committed a great rudeness to the Lady by only thinking of my own feelings and situation. I am sorry.”
Listening to Adela’s words, it felt as if I was finally seeing her properly.
And just as I thought, she was a fairly decent person.
“At that time, I was distracted and responded too emotionally. I should apologize too.”
“No! For the Lady to apologize to me… you mustn’t do that!”
