5. Nobility
“Lady Loren, what are your impressions of your few days in Auzeciras? I hear you're heading soon to your estate on Poenneu Street in Eliyum.”
The Baroness Belpharos asked this of Evril with a radiant smile just as the main course had ended. Evril had returned to the drawing room shortly before dinner time, where the baroness had been chatting with Shaylin. She invited them both to the evening meal, and Evril and Shaylin gladly accepted.
“It was humble and peaceful—I quite liked it. I'll stay a few more days at my grandfather's estate here before moving to Poenneu to continue my time there, then return to Leysha.”
Evril replied with an elegant smile, her lips curving just so. The baroness nodded slightly, as if understanding her feelings perfectly.
“The Siras region certainly must feel dull to young people like you. Poenneu—what a splendid choice. I've visited there several times myself; it's full of noble estates from the Templton aristocracy. Some of Leon's friends do business traveling back and forth across the western continent. Whenever I visit Poenneu Street, I'm always astonished by its splendor, as if they've transplanted the heart of the western continent right there.”
The Baroness Belpharos spoke of Poenneu Street with a dreamy expression.
Poenneu Street was the epicenter of Eliyum's high society, lined with imposing, grandiose noble mansions. Every night, lavish parties spilled out from their grand ballrooms, dripping with ostentatious displays of unimaginable wealth. Aside from those nobles forced to stay briefly due to unavoidable circumstances or the impoverished ones, all the rich and renowned had established their bases there. The Loren earldom of the Ashton Empire was no exception; in addition to their distant estate beside the Scren Mine in Auzeciras, they maintained a magnificent mansion on Poenneu Street, just like the others. Last summer, when the Loren heirs and Ilroy had stayed in Eliyum, it was at that very mansion.
“I hear Count Mercier's estate is on Poenneu Street as well. It's on the opposite end from ours, so I haven't seen it myself, but they say it's enormous and splendid.”
Evril said this while gazing down at the cran-berry cheesecake served as the final course, dessert.
The baroness nodded and lifted her wine glass from the table to wet her throat.
“Oh, yes. Count Mercier, like all nobles, needs to gather information from Eliyum's social circles. Compared to the majestic estates crowding Poenneu Street, this place is little better than a kitchen. And he's such a busy man. When he visits the Scren Mine, he always stays only briefly in the VIP quarters.”
Evril smiled softly at the baroness. The baroness pointed to the dessert before her and said,
“You can see how much care the head chef put into this cran-berry cake decoration. Give it a try. If he were to rank the few dishes he's truly proud of, this would be in the top three without a doubt.”
At the baroness's urging, Evril eyed the plump, sugar-glazed red cran-berry atop the white cheese mousse. The steak from the main course had already filled her up, so she meant to decline politely. Glancing around, she saw everyone else focused on their own desserts—everyone except the one person directly across from her.
Evril's eyes met Olens's.
Just to be sure, she flicked her gaze toward the baroness at the head of the table. A maid was refilling the baroness's empty wine glass, and the two were whispering intently. Evril turned back to Olens with a discreet glance.
Olens smiled softly at her and, with the tines of the fork in his right hand, speared a single red cran-berry on his cake and brought it to his mouth. The plump, reddened, sugar-glazed berry glistened, half-coated in the white cheese mousse beneath it.
Fixing his gaze on Evril, Olens extended his tongue just a little and slowly licked the white mousse from the fruit on his fork. He drew the white cream up onto his pink tongue and swallowed. Then, with his pearly teeth, he gently nipped the red cran-berry, teasing it lightly with the tip of his tongue.
In the depths of Olens's narrowed, smoldering gaze, Evril recalled their secret rendezvous in the study before dinner. His tongue's prodding, as if teasing her below, made heat flare between her legs, her face flushing hot.
She hastily lowered her head to her own dessert. Never before had the red cran-berry on the white mousse looked so lascivious.
“Was dinner to your satisfaction?”
The Baroness Belpharos, having finished speaking with the maid, set down her wine glass, nudged her dessert plate aside, and asked Evril.
Evril quickly composed her dazed expression and replied,
“I'm so full I can barely touch the dessert. It was an incredibly lavish feast. If you hadn't invited me, I'd have regretted it forever.”
“I'm so glad. I was worried it might not suit the refined tastes of someone from Leysha.”
At the baroness's words from the head of the table, Shaylin—who had sat beside Evril, chatting with Olivier throughout the meal—spoke up politely in praise.
“It was splendid. It could stand with dinners at Bellins Square or Side Park without shame—a truly wonderful time.”
The baroness flushed with pleasure at Shaylin's praise, invoking the most luxurious spots in Ashton's capital, Leysha. Evril smiled demurely in agreement beside her, but her eyes met Olens's once more across the table. As their subtle glances intertwined and the hunger in his eyes made heat pool wetly between her thighs, an impulsive suggestion slipped from Evril's lips.
“Seeing Olivier after so long today made me realize anew how much I've missed our friendship. Kindly, she stayed with me at my grandparents' home in Auzeciras after last summer's party, keeping my loneliness at bay. So, for this stay in Eliyum, I'd love to invite Olivier along.”
Shaylin's eyes widened slightly at the unexpected proposal, and the baroness paused in thought. Setting aside the baroness herself—a viscountess's daughter with wide social connections in the Templton Empire—Olivier, daughter of a mere rural mine overseer, rarely had chances to reside in a grand Poenneu Street mansion and mingle in elite noble circles. Evril's invitation was quite bold.
“Lady Loren, I'm truly grateful for your kindness in my husband's absence on business—and I feel the same. Olivier's been bored in this monotonous place; she'll be thrilled. Isn't that right, Olivier?”
At the baroness's question, Olivier answered with a joyful face.
“Yes. Every time we visit Eliyum, I get excited just looking at Poenneu Street. Thank you so much for the invitation.”
Evril, beaming, added,
“But I feel uneasy with just us ladies. For my brother and our safety, I'd be grateful if Baron Belpharos accompanied us as well. It should be Killian oppa's duty to protect Lady Pratt and me, so asking you in his stead weighs on me.”
The baroness glanced at Olens as if seeking his thoughts. He replied with a gentle smile and courteous tone.
“To safeguard such beautiful ladies would be an honor. If my humble abilities satisfy, I'll gladly accompany you.”
Evril returned a subtle smile laced with feigned gratitude, and Olens answered with a bright smile masking his burning gaze.
Shaylin, seated beside her, finally caught the exchange in their eyes and realized something, a sly smile curving her lips.
After the satisfying dinner, Evril and Shaylin hurriedly departed the overseer's residence, citing the need to return before too late.
Outside, a cool wind blew. Olens had arrived at the carriage first, his soft brown hair tousled by the western continent's rippling winter breeze. Through the fluttering strands, his pale brown eyes met Evril's.
Seeing him, Evril smiled with fluttering excitement. Escaping the prying eyes of Leysha's nobles fixed on the future Kingston duchess, she had come to this western continent outpost with little expectation—yet Olens's unexpected presence made her heart race.
It wouldn't be long now. Once they slipped away from prying eyes to stay together at the Poenneu estate, they could indulge the pleasures left unfinished tonight to their hearts' content.
Climbing into the carriage, she waved farewell through the window. Among the well-wishers, Olens sent her a gaze thick with promise. Evril pressed her palm to her pounding heart and turned her eyes inside.
“Come on, spill it. What's going on between you two?”
Shaylin asked from the opposite seat, her face alight with curiosity.
Throughout the carriage ride back to Auzeciras, Evril said nothing on the subject, offering only a mischievous smile.