Winston hoped she would stay put in this room at least for as long as he was assessing her. Of course, it was also consideration for a sick guest before that.
“And Masha.”
“Yes, Your Highness the Grand Duke.”
“If she looks for it later, tell her I borrowed this.”
Masha realized that the object in Winston’s hand was Olivia’s number one treasure and widened her eyes.
“That, the Young Lady cherishes it very much……!”
Should she snatch it back right now? But that person is the Grand Duke! Masha’s head grew complicated. She glanced at Olivia lying down, then looked at Winston again. As the silence lengthened, Masha, unable to endure Winston’s cold gaze, finally answered that he should do as he wished.
“I-if you say you borrowed it, she’ll probably be rather pleased. Yes, of course. Haha.”
* * *
Several days had already passed since the honored guest was received at the Grand Duke’s residence. Victor had thought it strange from the moment Winston read the worn-out northern travelogue he had stolen from Olivia. Even if she was called an eccentric noble lady, to think she could make Winston joke about the owner of the Grand Duke’s seat changing.
“By the way, what does that young lady find so interesting here that she’s sightseeing like that?”
As they were heading to the office together, Victor asked, looking at Olivia, who was roaming here and there with Marilyn on the landing of the central staircase. From what he could hear from afar, she was showing off historical knowledge of this place that even he did not know.
“If you’re that curious, Victor, why don’t you go and ask her.”
At Winston’s words, Victor widened his eyes and shrugged indifferently.
“Why would I go? You should use this as an excuse to go and have a conversation, Your Highness.”
“Just bringing her into this house is enough to fulfill my duty.”
Victor’s words carried the intention that he should perhaps win the favor of the person who might be the owner of the gold mine, but Winston lightly ignored it. Letting Olivia freely look around the residence was merely an extension of the favor he had offered after seeing her northern travelogue book. Her determination to sightsee even while being supported was also remarkable.
“A young lady whose fantasy about the North hasn’t been shattered won’t be very eager for my attention.”
“……She hasn’t particularly looked for you, but isn’t she waiting for you to come first?”
Victor actually found this situation a bit strange. A noble young lady more interested in Libien itself than in Winston. It was a peculiar thing he had never seen once while staying by Winston’s side.
“And that maid.”
“Masha? She’s very sociable. To the point where she looks like someone who’s already spent a year with the servants of the Grand Duke’s residence.”
Masha, having blended in among the servants without reserve, seemed to have already made close maid friends. Victor praised her affinity and added that he too had become quite friendly with Masha.
“Is she still going around digging for stories about me?”
“Yes. It seems her loyalty to Miss Russell is tremendous.”
Because he had been away for a long time due to the war, the current servants, except for Marilyn and Dale, did not know much about Winston. That was why, despite Masha’s efforts, not much information had been passed on.
Since Masha, being perceptive, had not told Victor such things either, Winston was simply overlooking the obvious scheme. Besides, he too was waiting after having ordered a background check on Olivia, so he had little to say.
“No, really. Look over there. At that level, it’s not sightseeing but a search, a search!”
“Every year around this time, there are people who break into the Grand Duke’s residence. Miss Russell looks similar.”
It was not a matter of a day or two that scholars searching for traces of the old kingdom remaining in Libien sneaked into the Grand Duke’s residence. Because of that, a high wall was built to strengthen the residence’s security, and most of them, after rolling in the snowfield while climbing over it, would get scared and run away.
“That may be so, but isn’t Miss Russell a noble?”
“She is someone who knows how to use that position better than anyone.”
The luxury of entering the Grand Duke’s residence and viewing all sorts of antiques was because she was a noble, and because she might be someone who could be of help to him.
“She said coming to this residence was a long-cherished dream…….”
“Do you believe that ridiculous excuse?”
If he had seen that old book, he could not have dismissed it as a mere excuse, but for some reason Winston did not want to show it to Victor. Victor, taking Winston’s silence as meaning he was at a loss for words, whispered quickly.
“She’s a businesswoman who barged in with a gold mine to conclude a contract very favorable to herself. And an eccentric noble lady who’s been through all sorts of hardships.”
“I didn’t know those two could be compatible words.”
“Ah, please listen seriously.”
“And why is it that you don’t listen to what I say?”
“What do you mean?”
Around that time, Olivia was now tracing the old kingdom’s mythological carvings engraved on the wall beside the first-floor staircase. Recalling Olivia’s records, which seemed to show considerable knowledge of art as well, Winston calmly organized his thoughts about her usefulness.
“I mean that the contract called marriage is not only advantageous to her side.”
“What does that matter? Unlike me, our Grand Duke is a romanticist who wishes for love, so a contract marriage is out of the question.”
At the word choice full of intent, Winston’s brow furrowed. He had said he did not share stories about himself, so he must have heard it from Masha.
“Your sarcasm has reached a high level now, Victor.”
“Do I seem quite like a noble?”
When Winston let out a hollow laugh, Victor let out a deep sigh and muttered.
“Though I’m just a penniless man without a single title.”
“The Marquess would weep if he saw this.”
“Weep? There are older brothers.”
Victor, having no title to inherit anyway, was of the position that he would work by Winston’s side, live moderately, and die. His father might consider it a shame that a piece of goods to put on the marriage market had disappeared, but so what.
Seeing that he did not even think of coming all the way to Libien to drag him back, his father’s regret was exactly that much. While Victor was briefly lost in thought, Winston also withdrew his gaze from Olivia, who had disappeared to the other side.
“Let’s go. I’ve thought of a clause worth putting in the draft contract.”
“Are you really going to marry Miss Russell?”
“Weren’t you the one who urged that?”
“That’s true, but we haven’t even finished confirming whether the gold mine really belongs to Miss Russell.”
“Dale will bring it. He said Richard’s Bakery has finally prepared a dessert for the honored guest.”
It was the welcome news that the item he had commissioned from the informant had finally arrived.
* * *
Having started from the center and looked around the left side of the residence, it was now time to head in the opposite direction. As Olivia and Marilyn passed through the hallway of the servants’ rooms and crossed the central hall, they happened to run right into the butler Dale, who was just entering the residence.
“Young Lady, so you were here.”
“Ah, Dale. It’s been a while.”
“How is your body? Is it alright for you to be out like this already?”
“Of course. Everyone worried so much that I recovered quickly. It was largely my fault for underestimating the northern cold.”
Olivia adjusted the thin shawl draped over her indoor dress and smiled gently.
“As it happens, His Highness the Grand Duke conveyed that he would like to gift you clothes.”
“Clothes?”
“Masha came here and saw that your clothes seemed a bit thin, so she asked me first.”
Marilyn shrugged with a proud look and continued.
“I informed His Highness the Grand Duke right away. I thought it would be difficult to get through the winter with the indoor clothes and outing clothes you brought.”
Olivia’s gaze turned to Marilyn and Dale. She had been thinking she should stop by a dressmaker first once she was able to go out, so this was fortunate.
“If you are alright with it, I will schedule a visit from a designer.”
“Hmm.”
Olivia, after pondering for a moment, thought about using this as an opportunity. While people’s attention was focused on her, showing her face and increasing her presence would not be bad. She was in an awkward position, thinking that in the past few days, forget marriage, her reputation with him must have fallen to the ground.
