Chapter 20
“No! It’s fine. I can just catch a carriage on the main road.”
Ines rejected Cedric’s proposal at once. It was an absolutely nonsensical idea.
“That is out of the question. If the butler and the head maid hear that Miss Ines went back in a public carriage, they will fly into a rage.”
“It’s really fine. Truly. It only takes a moment to get back by carriage.”
“Have you ever even ridden in a public carriage?”
“I… I have.”
“Is that so?”
When Cedric asked again in a tone that showed he didn’t believe her at all, Ines hesitated and glossed over her words. Seeing that, Cedric spoke to her with a serious face.
“Do you know this, Miss Ines?”
“Wh-what do you mean?”
“There are rumors lately that highwaymen have increased among the carriage drivers. Please take my carriage. If by any chance Miss Ines were to be kidnapped, it would become my fault.”
At his ridiculous words, Ines spoke up in a flare of irritation.
“That makes no sense. Highwaymen? The sun hasn’t even set yet…”
However, Cedric did not even bat an eye as he casually crossed his legs and cut her off.
“We cannot say the probability is zero. But if you take the House of Angel’s carriage, there will be nothing to worry about. Please take my carriage, Miss Ines.”
“No. I appreciate the offer, but I am truly fine.”
“Is the House of Angel’s carriage so untrustworthy?”
At Ines’s firm reaction, Cedric let out a hollow laugh. Just why was she insisting on a carriage that only commoners ride? However, Cedric was also quite stubborn, just like her.
Having no intention of giving in, he gave a slight smile as if a good idea had struck him and said, “Ah.”
“Then we can just do this.”
“Do what?”
“Since Miss Ines does not want to ride the House of Angel’s carriage, and I do not want to send Miss Ines alone, we can simply ride a public carriage together.”
“Pardon?”
Ines’s eyes widened. She stammered as she protested.
“But what about the House of Angel’s carriage?”
“I just have to tell them to go back first. A public carriage—it would be a good experience to try using one this time.”
Seeing Cedric smiling and saying that he now had something to write in his diary, Ines’s lips wavered, unable to find words.
“Are you serious?”
To Ines, who barely managed to ask that, an answer returned.
“I am serious.”
That smiling face was familiar. Even during their marriage, whenever Cedric made that expression, she had no choice but to break her stubbornness. In just half a day, Cedric had realized that she was weak in situations where he was being unreasonable.
With a playful smile, Cedric drove the point home.
“I didn’t expect to be riding a public carriage, but the content to write in my diary has increased.”
“…No. Since you put it that way, I will take the House of Angel’s carriage.”
Ultimately, Ines had to withdraw her opinion. To catch a public carriage, they would have to go out to the main road. Although it was the southern city district where there weren’t many nobles, she did not want to be seen with Cedric in a crowded downtown area just in case.
If she had to return with Cedric anyway, it was better to take the Duke’s carriage from near the secluded tearoom.
‘I should have had the groom wait, if I had known it would be like this.’
Belated regret rushed in.
The plan she had made in her own way to part with Cedric as quickly as possible had all come to naught. Cedric apologized to the despondent Ines.
“I am sorry. But it’s because I am truly worried.”
“You don’t have to worry. Really.”
“To be honest, that isn’t the only reason.”
As if feeling awkward, Cedric stroked the back of his neck and gave a low laugh.
“I also just don’t want to send Miss Ines away alone.”
Was Cedric always such an honest person?
What should she say to his straightforward confession, stripped of all roundabout expressions? It was a problem too difficult for Ines.
* * *
“Milady.”
Ines forced her eyes open at the touch shaking her body. Standing there was Marie, with a face full of excitement.
“Marie?”
“Milady, are you still tired?”
Wearing a sly smile, Marie let out a giggle.
“You, who wake up early every morning, are oversleeping like this today. As expected, yesterday’s outing… Tee-hee.”
At Marie’s reaction, Ines’s eyes snapped wide open.
“No. Don’t tease me, Marie.”
To Ines, who gave a slight glare, Marie nodded while smiling broadly.
“Yes, yes, milady. But, you said you would return early, yet you barely returned by the time the sun had fully set. Spending such a long time together at a tearoom means you really liked your partner.”
Marie looked at Ines with a proud face.
As someone who knew her long-standing unrequited love well, Marie couldn’t help but be pleased.
How much had she worried when the young lady suddenly caused a stir, asking to call off the engagement the day after it was decided?
Fortunately, however, it seemed to have been a whim that required no worry.
‘It makes sense. How long has the young lady liked the Duke of Angel?’
Marie spoke to Ines in a bright voice. She was truly certain of her own words.
“It seems certain that the Duke of Angel also likes you, milady. Very much, at that.”
“Nonsense.”
“Eh? My intuition is very sharp, you know? When you hurt your leg, he came to visit you personally, and yesterday you even had a date.”
“It’s just a strategic relationship. The engagement will be broken soon anyway.”
Despite Ines’s firm words, Marie roughly brushed them off as if she weren’t really listening. Something more important than the young lady’s whim, which would soon be resolved, captured Marie’s attention.
“Yes, yes. I’m sure that’s it. Of course? More importantly, please get up quickly.”
Marie’s eyes sparkled.
“You have to try using the gift.”
Ines frowned slightly at Marie’s words.
“Gift?”
“Yes.”
“What gift?”
“Oh, my! I mean the gift the Duke of Angel gave you. The one delivered from the shop yesterday.”
Only then did Ines recall the teacup Cedric had gifted her yesterday.
“You’re going to use it right away, aren’t you?”
She didn’t want to wake her tired lady, but she was so excited by the Duke of Angel’s gift that she simply couldn’t wait. She was just so curious about the gift her lady received from the Duke.
Finding the overly excited Marie cute, Ines let out a short laugh.
“You’re telling me to drink tea as soon as I wake up?”
“Um… Is it too early, after all?”
When she was looking forward to it that much, how could she say no?
“No. Prepare the tea. Since it’s morning, a mint blend would be good.”
“Yes! I’ll have it ready in a moment!”
As soon as Ines gave her permission, Marie answered brightly and ran out. Looking at her retreating figure, Ines soon realized the reason why she was so tired.
It was partly because it was her first outing in a long time, but it was natural for her body to be tired since she had been so tense all day because of Cedric.
Recalling the suffocating atmosphere inside the carriage, Ines felt a tightness in her chest again. To spend time alone with Cedric in a confined space—if such a thing happened once more, her heart might burst.
While Ines composed her troubled mind, Marie came back in excitedly, pushing a trolley.
“Milady! The tea is getting cold. Please come out of bed quickly.”
As soon as Marie finished speaking, a fragrant mint scent began to spread throughout the room. Thanks to Marie, who appeared just as her thoughts were becoming complicated, Ines was able to empty her mind for a moment.
“Marie.”
“Yes, milady.”
“When did you say this hunting festival is?”
“Do you mean the hunting festival?”
Holding the teapot and pouring tea into the teacup, Marie counted the dates for a moment.
“According to the Count, it was in two weeks.”
In two weeks.
Ines’s lips wavered slightly.
By then, the forest would certainly be covered in a soft layer of snow. Winter hunting held in the snowy fields was one of the old customs of aristocratic society.
She had returned to this life. Although small details had changed, the major flow of events likely would not.
“Then, I shall see you at the hunting festival.”
Recalling Cedric’s image as he said goodbye with a slight smile, Ines shook her head vigorously. As if doing so would shake the memories of Cedric away from her.
Two weeks until the hunting festival. There was still time left.
“Good.”
“Pardon? What is? You haven’t even had your tea yet.”
“Oh, no. It’s just a monologue.”
Fortunately, Marie’s attention was entirely captured by the teacup set, so she only half-listened to Ines’s excuse.
“Milady, the teacup is so beautiful. I’ve truly never seen anything like this.”
Only then did Ines turn her gaze to the teacup. Just like in her previous life, the teacup with delicate blue patterns on a white background was as beautiful as ever.
Ines spoke to Marie, who couldn’t take her eyes off it beside her.
“Marie, come here and sit down.”
“Is it really okay?”
“Were you planning not to drink if I said it wasn’t?”
Whenever they had tea, they often sat together like this to enjoy it. At Ines’s question, Marie quickly sat in the opposite seat.
“I just asked just in case. Since it’s an item given by the Duke of Angel.”
Marie asked again, cautiously gauging Ines’s reaction.
“Will you really be alright?”
“Of course, naturally.”
A faint memory came to mind. In her previous life as well, after receiving the teacup as a gift, she had sat together with Marie like this to enjoy refreshments.
Sitting together with Marie like this, facing the teacup, felt as if she had returned to that time.
That time when there was nothing to worry about.
That time when her heart was swelling with happiness ahead of her marriage to Cedric.
“Milady! What’s wrong? Why are you suddenly crying?”
A single tear dropped from Ines’s eye. Startled, Marie took a handkerchief out of her pocket and offered it.
Ines quickly wiped her tears and forced a smile.
“Ah. I… maybe I didn’t get enough sleep? My eyes seem dry.”
“I think I woke you up for nothing. Milady, please drink your tea. Drinking warm tea will relieve some of the fatigue in your eyes.”
At Marie’s kind words, Ines smiled while suppressing the surging sorrow.
“I will.”
The mint tea Marie brewed was warm, fragrant, and tasted of a nostalgic flavor that made her eyes well up.
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