Chapter 59
Chapter 59
Translator: True Detective
Chapter 59
The maid, who had been stung by a hot kettle, instinctively withdrew her hand.
In the shock, the teacup fell and lukewarm tea water poured down the width of Eleanor’s skirt.
“Oh my. Are you okay, Eleanor?”
Words of concern came out here and there.
“What should I do. I really apologize, Miss…”
The face of the maid who made a mistake turned pale. She knelt down in front of Eleanor and began hastily wiping the wet skirt with her apron.
“It’s fine. Wake up.”
Eleanor, taken aback, tried to stop her, but the maid frantically wiped away the wetness by squeezing her skirt. At this moment, it seemed like no words could be heard in her ears.
“What are you doing to my guest?”
“I apologize, Miss.”
“How many times has it been? I can’t take it anymore. Pack up and get ready to leave.”
Eleanor was startled and waved her hand.
“Anais, if it’s because of me, I’m really okay. The tea has cooled down so it’s not hot, and since it’s a nice day today, the skirt will dry out quickly.”
“Eleanor, you’re very generous. But my feelings haven’t changed. Having an incompetent maid undermines the dignity of the family.”
Anais smiled beautifully at Eleanor and muttered lowly.
“This is why I tried not to hire older people.”
For useless sympathy is so dangerous.
The fidgeting maid held out her trembling hand towards Anais. Those who were watching all frowned.
“Miss, please give me one more chance…!”
“How dare you touch me!”
As the rough, wrinkled hand touched hers, an expression of contempt appeared on Anais’s face.
Anais shook off the old maid’s hand and pushed her away. The maid flopped onto the tea-soaked grass.
Eleanor was bewildered and made a loud noise.
“Anais!”
Eleanor stood up from her seat and held out her hand to help the maid up. Although she felt eyes on her, Eleanor helped the maid brushing away the messy blades of grass that had clung to her skirt.
Hair graying for her apparent age, slightly tanned skin, hands rough and wrinkled compared to her face, shoulders hunched.
Maybe it’s just a coincidence. Probably so. It’s easy to guess that this action will offend Princess Izent.
However, Eleanor couldn’t bear to ignore the old maid. For she reminded Eleanor of someone from her distant memory.
“Are you saying you don’t agree with me?”
Anais asked, looking at Eleanor. She looked down at her and answered in her calm voice.
“I think you went a bit too far just now. The two of you are similar people…”
“Similar people. What are you talking about, Eleanor?”
Anais cut off Eleanor’s words.
“How can that woman and I be similar people? We aren’t the same.”
Anais wiped the back of her hand with a soft handkerchief. She did it very meticulously, as if something dirty and impure had touched her. The gesture was very noble and elegant.
“It’s unexpected to hear from Eleanor something that only gypsies would talk about. I thought you were a smart person who knew that better than anyone else, but I guess I was mistaken.”
“What is that…”
Eleanor frowned.
“Eleanor. Out of all the requests to become a teacher, you chose only three families. You ere originally close to Young Marquis Blake, but isn’t the reason you took on the other two children ultimately because of their families?”
Anais didn’t even give Eleanor a chance to respond, and she continued her sentence immediately.
“Don’t take what I just said as a criticism. I think it’s a wise thing to do. I just want to say that it’s hypocritical of you to give me that kind of advice.”
It’s hypocritical.
Eleanor looked a little dazed at Anais’ words.
“Eleanor. Even you and I aren’t similar. Don’t forget that.”
Anais got up from her seat and grabbed Eleanor’s shoulder once. She felt a cool chill in her beautiful eyes.
“I guess we’ll have to end today’s gathering here. I’m sorry it ended like this and you ruined your clothes.”
“Anais.”
“Please give my regards to His Highness.”
Anais smiled brightly at Eleanor. Turning to face the duchy, she added in a whisper.
“…And to Kaidel too.”
Eleanor stood there for a long time. The ladies who murmured for a moment exchanged greetings with each other and dispersed, and the sound of a carriage rattling was heard in the distance.
“Eleanor.”
“Dahlia.”
Dahlia tapped Eleanor’s arm. She wanted to greet her before she left. Dahlia, who was just about to turn around, spoke in a harsh voice to Eleanor.
“You just did something stupid. It’s been like that since you came here in the first place.”
“What?”
“There is no way Princess Izent has any good feelings for you. Why did you come here?”
Eleanor slightly tilted her head at Dahlia’s words.
“Not if it’s because of His Highness the Crown Prince. We’re just courtesy partners…”
“I’m not talking about His Highness the Crown Prince either. My goodness. You really don’t know anything?”
Dahlia frowned.
“Anyway, what you did earlier may have been the right thing to do, but it wasn’t the smart thing. In the world, there are rules and common sense. Sometimes you have to follow something even if you don’t like it or it’s wrong.”
“Who sets the rules and common sense? If something is wrong, we should change it, not just follow it.”
Eleanor said as she took a step towards Dahlia.
“My common sense is that you should treat people like people. I believe that there is no rank discrimination in making a living through hard work.”
“Eleanor Everett. That kind of thing is unbecoming of a noble. Why on earth are you so selfish?”
Dahlia said in an annoyed voice, crossing her arms. Her chest felt tight. What kind of book was she reading? She poured out words that would be shocking to anyone who heard them.
“You’re saying running to work on your own or helping someone who has fallen aren’t ‘noble-like’ actions. Actually, I still don’t know what ‘noble’ people are talking about.”
Eleanor locked eyes with Dahlia.
“So I’m just going to live as myself. Even though it’s not noble, it’s human and fun.”
Dahlia bit her lip. Eleanor was still proud and confident. Although she didn’t agree with Eleanor’s thoughts, she envied her attitude to the point of jealousy.
‘How would it feel to live like that?’
Dahlia, who was biting her lip, muttered softly.
“…I’m giving you advice.”
“I know, Dahlia. I’m grateful for your thoughts. You were the only one who was honest with me today.”
Eleanor said, nodding her head.
“And I don’t know about you, but I was glad to see you after so long. I’m serious.”
Dahlia’s carriage stood ready. She didn’t respond and walked past Eleanor.
She must have gone about ten steps. Dahlia turned around.
“Eleanor.”
Eleanor turned her head and made eye contact with Dahlia. After a moment of hesitation, Dahlia opened her mouth.
“Princess Izent’s favorite person is Duke Valentine. Just know that.”
***
Kaidel’s office was usually a bit dark with the curtains half drawn. It was so quiet that the sound of paper being turned could be heard as loud as thunder.
However, today his office was noisy with human voices. This is because his maternal uncle and her companions came to visit.
“It’s been a while since I saw you, Your Grace. Have you been well so far?”
“Thanks to you, I had a good time.”
“Maybe that’s why your face looks nice. It’s literally like a halo shining through.”
His maternal uncle, who came after a long time, smiled and joked. Kaidel didn’t really like that side of him, but he nodded his head without saying anything.
“Thank you for allowing me to stay.”
“Have a nice stay. You’ll be staying in the capital for a while?”
“Yes. I have things to take care of.”
Kaidel was very generous to his maternal uncle. This was because he was very close to his mother, and he remembered him taking special care of him from a young age.
“Why don’t you have dinner with Demian?”
The maternal uncle’s face stiffened at Kaidel’s suggestion.
“Do you eat together?”
“I try to spend time with him as much as possible, even if not every day.”
When Kaidel calmly affirmed, he forcibly raised the corners of his lips.
“I see. I wonder how he grew up. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen him…”
The maternal uncle trailed off his words and left Kaidel’s office. He was heading to the guest room with familiar steps, but stopped when he saw a familiar figure at the end of the hallway.
Demian had grown up quite a bit in the time they hadn’t seen each other.
“It’s been a while.”
“…”
“Tsk. Are you still like an idiot and can’t say a single word properly?”
The maternal uncle looked the frozen Demian up and down and clicked his tongue as if he was disapproving.
“I thought something would have changed… Pathetic. How are you so different from your older brother? I can’t believe we’re brothers.”
Demian flinched his shoulders and clenched his fists to hide his shaking hands. His head dropped.
‘It’s okay. Those words are just…’
His knife-sharp gaze turned to the shaking little fists. The maternal uncle snorted.
“I heard you’re preparing for the Academy exam. You must be studying properly, right? There are a lot of rumors going around about who is your tutor or something.”
As if he suddenly remembered, the maternal uncle brought up Eleanor as a topic. Demian slowly raised his head. Pale purple eyes were staring down at Demian.
“I don’t think she’s a woman with her mind right… I wonder if she’s teaching you properly.”
The maternal uncle tapped his chin with a finger and lifted one corner of his lips. Those words stimulated Demian like a prick. Demian gave strength to his closed fist and gave strength to his neck.
“T-Teacher is a g-good person…”
Contrary to his desire to speak clearly, the voice that came out of Demian’s mouth was shaking badly. As it crawled toward the end of the sentence, one could hardly hear the last. Demian’s eyes filled with tears.
But even that seemed very unexpected to the maternal uncle. Ho, he let out a small laugh.
“Really?”
The maternal uncle slowly took a step towards Demian. Demian hesitated and took a step back. Soon his back touched the cold wall.
“Let’s take a look. How that teacher taught you. I’ll teach you next week.”
The maternal uncle bent down and made eye contact with Demian and smiled. It seemed like a nice smile at first glance, yet it was somehow crooked.
Demian’s eyes widened to the limit. He muttered lowly as he stared into the same purple eyes as my brother’s.
“I hope you don’t mess it up any further.”