Chapter 249: Growing Concerns
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 249: Growing Concerns
“I-I’m sorry.”
“You’re mean!”
Annette gave him a playful glare, huffing that she spent every morning meticulously tying his cravat for him, only for him to pull a prank like this.
Unable to hide his true feelings any longer, Loik leaned in and whispered softly into her ear.
“It’s because you’re so beautiful, Annette. People won’t stop staring at you.”
When he grumbled that she really ought to cover up a bit, Annette burst into a fit of giggles.
“That’s ridiculous. They’re staring because you’re so tall, Loik.”
Despite her words, she didn’t seem to mind the compliment.
“Oh, heavens! You look absolutely stunning, My Lady,” the shopkeeper chimed in with exaggerated enthusiasm. “It’s as if this scarf was made specifically for you!”
“It is quite warm.”
Annette stroked the fabric, clearly pleased with it.
When Loik finally purchased the scarf, the shopkeeper pulled out a small decorative pin and wrapped it up as a gift.
“This will be perfect for holding the scarf in place.”
To be honest, Loik wanted to ask why they were offering a trinket without a single gemstone on it, but Annette graciously accepted the pin.
“It’s a bit more expensive than the other shops, but as you wear it, you’ll certainly feel the difference in quality.”
The shopkeeper maintained a vibrant, energetic attitude until the moment Loik and Annette stepped out of the store.
By the time they finished their purchase, the sun had already begun to set.
“I love it so much.”
Annette held Loik’s hand, swinging their joined arms back and forth with delight as they walked.
“It’s incredibly warm. I’ll have to wear it all through the winter.”
She murmured to herself that she must remember to take it back with her when they returned to Blenheim.
“The night air is chilly, so it would be best to pull the scarf up a bit.”
Loik pulled the scarf up as high as it would go without actually choking her.
If it’s like this even in a marketplace…
He felt a sense of dread imagining what would happen if Annette ever made an official debut in capital society.
The path ahead looked bleak. Scoundrels like Prince Lucion and Duke Kyle would surely descend upon her like a pack of hungry wolves.
Feeling his worries deepen, Loik pulled Annette’s scarf just a little bit higher.
* * *
That same day.
Perel headed back to Blenheim alone to handle a mountain of backlogged paperwork.
When he appeared in the conference room by himself, the vassals all wore expressions of confusion.
“Wasn’t His Highness the Grand Duke supposed to attend today as well?”
“Circumstances arose, so unfortunately, I have come in his stead.”
“Circumstances? Has something serious happened?”
Worry clouded the faces of the vassals, who had never seen the Grand Duke neglect his duties in his entire life.
“It isn’t a conflict with the Imperial family, is it?”
“Did something troublesome happen regarding the Gate?”
Unable to bring himself to say that his lord had canceled his schedule for a date, Perel simply mumbled that it was nothing serious.
“His Highness is staying in the capital longer than expected.”
“It isn’t good for him to leave the territory vacant for so long.”
As the vassals voiced their concerns, someone asked a question with an anxious tone.
“Could it be that Her Highness the Consort does not wish to leave the capital?”
At those words, a wave of agitation swept through the room.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Her Highness was originally from the capital, was she not?”
Sensing the chilly atmosphere his words had created, the vassal who spoke up replied sheepishly.
“I only meant that since she’s been enjoying the atmosphere of the capital after so long, she might have lost her desire to return to the North.”
“What nonsense!” someone barked in reprimand. “How can you say something so reckless when Her Highness works so hard for the sake of Blenheim? Are you questioning her sincerity right now?”
“Working hard and having one’s heart in a place are two different things!”
“How can one be so devoted if their heart isn’t in it?”
“Wait, wait! Everyone, please! As I told you, Her Highness has no choice but to remain in the capital for the time being because of the Expo.”
Despite Perel’s hurried protest, the vassals’ glares only grew sharper.
“Her Highness is the mistress who rules over Blenheim. How can they use such a person as a mere laborer for the Imperial family!”
“Is His Highness being too soft on the Imperial family?”
“Perhaps he had to be cautious in the past, but he has a Grand Duchess now! His Highness needs to speak up to the Imperial family!”
“Indeed! He must protect Her Highness properly!”
The meeting dragged on much longer than usual because the vassals were too busy arguing among themselves to listen to a word Perel said.
None of them can say a single word in front of the Grand Duke, yet I’m everyone’s favorite punching bag.
Even as he left the meeting, every person he encountered asked after the Grand Duchess.
“Chief Aide, did Her Highness not return with you?”
“Sir Perel! Did you come back alone? Where is Her Highness?”
By the time he left the East Wing, he felt like he had given the same answer at least ten times.
Everyone is waiting for her.
Perel looked around as he stepped out in front of the main castle to catch his carriage.
Come to think of it, the main castle was incredibly quiet. It was only natural, considering how many people were currently in the capital.
Perhaps because even Nephras in the garden seemed wilted, it felt—to exaggerate slightly—as if the castle had returned to the desolate state of its past.
He hadn’t realized it would be so obvious the moment the mistress of the house was gone.
The townhouse is overflowing with life and energy, though.
He was waiting for his carriage, marveling at the contrast, when someone suddenly appeared before him.
“…Miss Janet?”
Perel looked at the person in surprise. It was the first time he had seen the former lady-in-waiting since she had been sent to work as a laundry maid.
Even though she was performing menial labor, Janet was still technically of noble birth. Perel offered her a polite, professional greeting.
“It has been a long time.”
“Is it true that Her Highness went to the capital?” Janet asked, biting her chapped lip.
“…I am under no obligation to inform you of such matters.”
“You can at least tell me that much!” Janet raised her voice, arguing that everyone in the castle already knew.
“If you already know, then you have even less reason to ask me.”
“How could she go to the capital and leave me behind?”
Janet’s voice rose even higher, thick with resentment.
“I am a noble! No matter how impoverished my father’s barony is, a noble is still a noble! She threw me into the laundry to rot and never looked for me, and now she’s gone to the capital?”
She screamed that after all the years they had spent together, Annette should have summoned her when she went to the capital, considering how much she had suffered.
“Watch your words,” Perel warned with a low sigh. “It is only because of those years together that you are even alive after feeding Her Highness a poisonous herb. There were many who argued you should be executed.”
“I am a lady! How can you say such things? Sir Perel, I thought you were a good person…!”
Janet’s face contorted as if she had been betrayed by a lover.
Just as Perel was about to turn away, deciding that further conversation was pointless, Janet suddenly grabbed his sleeve and clung to him.
“Sir Perel, please. Go to Her Highness and tell her about me. Tell her I’ve reflected enough on my actions, please? I really can’t do this wretched work anymore!”
Her trembling voice grew pathetic and tearful.
“When Her Highness returns, you may ask for her leniency yourself,” Perel said, twisting his arm to slide his sleeve out of her grip.
“What if she never comes back?”
“She will return as soon as her business in the capital is finished.”
“If you were her, would you come back to this backwater?” Janet shrieked, claiming the Grand Duchess would surely seize this opportunity to settle down in the capital. “Don’t you see? Her Highness has abandoned the North!”
Her voice was so loud that the maids passing by stopped in surprise. It was obvious they were all pricking up their ears while pretending not to notice.
What a load of nonsense.
The carriage had arrived in front of Perel.
“Miss Janet.”
Perel looked at her with cold eyes.
“I don’t know why you think otherwise, but I am not on your side. To be honest, I believe you should be locked in a dungeon even now.”
“…”
“Because you show absolutely no sign of remorse.”
“I am remorseful!”
“And this will be the first and last time I listen to you speak like this.”
“…”
“It seems you think I am an easy target, but I, too, am a knight of Blenheim.”
“It’s not that you’re an easy target…!”
“If you ever utter another word insulting Her Highness or Blenheim, I will punish you using my authority as a knight.”
Whether the final threat worked or not, Janet’s mouth clamped shut. Her face, which had been flushed red, was now deathly pale.
“And a word of advice: it would be best not to act like this in front of others.”
If it had been Tiern or Gamon instead of him, they wouldn’t have stopped at a mere warning.
Perel finished coldly and climbed into the carriage.
As the carriage pulled away from the main castle, Perel glanced out the window at the spot where Janet had been standing. She was wiping away tears, seemingly overwhelmed by her own sorrow. He thought he could almost hear the sound of her sobbing.
Phew.
I almost let my guard down and got sucked into her pace.
— “If you’re so scared of ladies, call me next time. I’ll let a scarier lady handle them for you.”
For some reason, he recalled something Cecilia had said to him once.
She should have seen how firmly I shut her down just now.
Thinking that he must brag about this to the lady-in-waiting when he returned, Perel urged the carriage toward the capital.