Chapter 119: Moving In
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 119: Moving In
“It’s only been once, but still, if I want to erase it from my mind completely…”
It would definitely be better to see her more often.
“What are you talking about?”
Loik, who had been muttering incomprehensible words to himself, tenderly took my hand.
“Doesn’t it take several minutes just to walk down the hallway from my room to yours?”
It’s been like that from the start, so why bring it up now…?
“I’ve been worried because you seem to go through so much trouble every morning. Let’s take this opportunity to move your room.”
Loik spoke with a bright, hopeful expression.
Is he planning to move into the room next to mine?
But that room was small—hardly suitable for the master of the castle. Besides, the second floor was where the maids stayed until late, so his movements would be quite restricted.
However, seeing Loik’s excited face, I couldn’t bring myself to rain on his parade.
I guess I’m weaker against this face than I thought.
It wasn’t until the next day that I truly understood Loik’s plan.
Early that morning, I was preparing to go to his room to tie his cravat, as was our routine. I stifled a hollow laugh when I heard a knock on the terrace door—a sound that had become more familiar to me than the knock on my actual bedroom door.
Should I open it, or not?
In the end, I opened the door, and Loik stepped inside with a broad grin. He was already fully dressed in the shirt and vest I had tailored for him.
I was about to give him a piece of my mind, but Loik beat me to the punch.
“I didn’t climb over the terrace railing.”
He didn’t climb over it? He came in from outside, so where else could he have come from?
At my bewildered look, Loik pointed a finger upward.
“I just came down from above.”
“…What does that mean?”
“I moved rooms. To the one directly above this one.”
“But the room upstairs is… far away, isn’t it?”
My room was the terrace room at the far end of the east wing. The distance from here to the central staircase was considerable, and to get to the far end of the third floor’s east wing, he’d have to walk just as far.
Loik tilted his head.
“I only have to hop down to the terrace, though?”
Does he have no intention of using the stairs at all?
Seeing my horrified expression, Loik added an excuse.
“It’s not dangerous at all, so it’s fine.”
He was so confident that I was left speechless, but still…
“It’s not ‘close’ for me at all.”
For some reason, my lips pouted slightly. It might not matter to him since he was a Sword Master or whatever and could jump off terraces with ease, but still.
At my words, Loik’s eyes widened.
“Annette, you don’t need to move an inch. I can just come to you from now on, can’t I?”
“What about when I need you?”
“Just call for me from the terrace, and I’ll come down immediately.”
“…I have to tie your cravat, too.”
“I brought everything with me.”
Loik fumbled in his pocket and pulled out several pieces of cravat silk.
“You brought these with you?”
“I picked out a few that I thought you’d like.”
“Hmm… I think the navy one would look better with this outfit than that one.”
“Wait just a moment. I’ll go get it.”
“Forget it. How can you keep going back and forth like that? It’s exhausting.”
“It’s not exhausting at all.”
Loik vanished onto the terrace and returned almost instantly with a thin navy cravat.
Honestly, is he a monkey or something?
The whole situation was incredibly bizarre, but he looked utterly satisfied with himself.
“Is this the one?”
“You did… well.”
Faced with eyes that seemed to be begging for praise, I lost my words and simply tied the cravat for him.
“There, finished.”
As soon as I answered, Loik looked at me with an expectant expression.
“Can I kiss you now?”
His attitude was so natural that I found myself nodding, once again lost for words.
Loik pulled me into a gentle embrace, tilted his head, and softly pressed his lips against mine. We shared each other’s breath for a long time in the morning light, only pulling apart when we were both breathless.
Loik lingered, giving me several small, regretful kisses.
He seems to be in a particularly good mood today.
When I looked up, Loik was smiling with his eyes.
“I think this is good,” he said softly.
“Being able to come see Annette whenever I want.”
I suppose so. I could go find Loik whenever I needed him, but he couldn’t do the same. Thinking about it, it must have been quite inconvenient from his perspective.
I want to tell him it’s undignified to use the terrace as a hallway, but…
Seeing him so happy made the words die in my throat. Whatever. He’s a Sword Master; he said he won’t get caught.
He’s happy because he can come see me.
Who else but my Grand Duke would think of me like that?
I leaned in and gave Loik one more quick peck on the lips just as he was about to pull away. Thanks to that, we were delayed another ten minutes before heading down to breakfast.
*
The delegation departed with a much more respectful attitude than when they had arrived.
When I stood with Loik in front of the main castle to see them off, Count Pacio personally offered me a polite and grateful farewell, saying he had been well-treated thanks to my hospitality.
He used the Imperial style of greeting, not the Rondoris style.
When I first met him, he seemed to look down on me as a mere young lady. Seeing the Count’s changed attitude made me feel like I had finally been properly recognized as the Grand Duchess, which wasn’t a bad feeling at all.
Perel said the outcome of the negotiations was much better than expected, so that’s a relief.
Now that things were going well, it would be best to move forward quickly with the second shopping district by the lakeside. Of course, before that, I had to send the lady in front of me back home.
The Marchioness and I were drinking tea in the garden in front of the annex. Watching her set down her teacup, I brought up the main point.
“The delegation has left, so shouldn’t you be getting ready to head back to the capital, Mother?”
The Marchioness shot me a look.
“Raphael will be so disappointed, dear. How can you be so cold?”
“I already heard from Raphael that his vacation is almost over.”
At that, the Marchioness grumbled for a moment before asking with a coy expression, “What if I just stay here?”
“Why are you saying such scary things all of a sudden? I’m sorry, I take it back.”
“I’m very sensitive to the heat, you know.”
The Marchioness prattled on about how the North was much cooler and more pleasant than the capital.
“And the knights here are so handsome, it’s a real feast for the eyes. How are they all so tall and well-built?”
“…Is that the reason?”
“It’s not just that…”
Her usually sharp eyes softened slightly.
“Here, I don’t have to walk on eggshells around the Marquis or Ferdin, and I don’t have to deal with Ladriel’s ridicule. I feel at peace.”
I cut off the Marchioness’s attempt to gain sympathy with a sharp remark.
“You love balls and parties. We don’t have those here.”
“If there aren’t any, we can just make them. You’re the Grand Duchess, aren’t you?”
The Marchioness spoke with an excited voice, as if the mere thought thrilled her.
“Then, as the mother of the Grand Duchess, I shall be reborn as the godmother of Northern society.”
“You have big dreams, Mother.”
I let out a short laugh at her unexpected and immense ambition.
“Unfortunately, Blenheim is currently in a position where even inviting a single theater troupe is a struggle.”
“A troupe? What troupe?”
I hadn’t intended to bring it up, but the Marchioness pestered me so much that I had no choice but to tell her.
Ever since I invested in Alcent, the magazine publisher, I had been receiving regular reports from him. Initially, Alcent wanted to start a business in Rondoris, the holy land of opera, but he was currently trying to develop the opera scene in Blenheim at my request and suggestion.
The problem was that Blenheim was such an unpopular city for the arts that troupes refused to come even if offered extra pay.
I was going to try and invite a troupe to coincide with the delegation’s visit, but I failed in the end.
The territory is so wealthy and the people are itching to spend their money—it’s a shame everyone is missing out on this golden market. It was enough to make me feel frustrated.
“Cariso?”
“Yes. Have you heard of them? I heard they’re a very successful troupe.”
“Of course! Don’t tell me you don’t know the Cariso Troupe?”
The Marchioness looked at me with a horrified expression, as if rebuking me for being so uncultured.
“I know the basics.”
I knew they were a troupe that had been thriving for the past three years, thanks to the famous opera singer Cochibiel. Alcent had requested a special performance in Blenheim while they were on their way to Rondoris, but it seemed he had already been rejected twice by the leader, Samuel, who cited scheduling conflicts.
Maybe I should look into a different troupe.
“Oh my, I’m actually quite close with Mr. Samuel!”
“You are, Mother?”
“We were introduced once at the opera house.”
Her voice was filled with excitement.
“Shall I write a letter of introduction to Mr. Samuel for you?”
“I thought you said you only met him once.”
The Marchioness raised her chin haughtily.
“That one time happened to be when I was with Her Majesty the Empress. He won’t be able to ignore me, especially considering my backing.”
“Why are you suddenly so willing to help?”
“In exchange, you have to take me to the performance.”
It wasn’t exactly a reliable lead, but I had nothing to lose.
“Is that all?”
“And get me some new dresses. Five of them!”
“…Two.”
“If you don’t give me five, I won’t write the letter.”
“One.”
“What! How can the number keep going down?”
“Well, if you don’t even want one…”
“Fine! One!”
In the end, my attempt to send the Marchioness away resulted in me striking a deal with her instead.