Chapter 73
Chapter 73
Translator: True Detective
Chapter 73
It’s so strange that Izmel has been suffering from a ‘I don’t like’ neurosis these days. It was because of Eleanor.
‘I miss her.’
Eleanor’s ‘dislike’ that started at the banquet continued even after reconciliation.
[Do you want to take a walk together?]
[No. I want to get some rest today.]
[Let’s have some tea.]
[Thank you, but I’m a bit busy these days. Next time.]
The answer was kind, yet in short, it was a rejection.
Izmel belatedly realized that his greatest romantic enemy wasn’t Kaidel or Adrian, but ‘business’. There was Demian between Kaidel and Eleanor, and there was also business between Adrian and Eleanor.
Izmel glanced at Lucas.
‘Why is he so enthusiastic all of a sudden?’
Lucas, who occasionally caused trouble and summoned Eleanor to the Imperial Palace, suddenly began to burn a passion for learning that was no less than that of Sienna. He should have liked it, but strangely, he felt a little disappointed.
As he ate his share of refreshments in Izmel, the chatter disappeared. Although most of the stories were trivial, they surprisingly contained a lot of useful information.
A bee landed on Eleanor’s head, Adrian brought both hands full of delicious food, and after martial arts class, Kaidel avoided Eleanor, saying he would smell like sweat…
“I’ve done my homework! I’ll be going, yeah?”
“Goodbye, Luke.”
Lucas waved his arms wildly and left the office with light steps. Izmel sighed deeply as he buried his face in his hands.
How did he end up like this?
He was once called everyone’s lover. He has never had difficulty dealing with anyone. He thought the easiest thing in the world was to be liked, yet he couldn’t even write a letter because he was afraid of being rejected.
At that time, someone knocked on the office door.
“This is Dwight Everett.”
“Come in.”
Dwight bowed lightly and placed a neat stack of documents in front of Izmel.
“Please make a decision, Your Highness.”
Dwight, who smiled politely as usual, was about to leave the office. Izmel suddenly grabbed his wrist. It was an impulsive action.
“Why are you doing so?”
I know. Why did I do that?
Izmel blinked for a moment and quickly offered him a chair.
“Sit down for a moment.”
“Yes.”
“I hear you often work overtime these days, right? If the workload is heavy, we can supplement manpower.”
“No. That’s because I’m still in the learning stage. I thought I needed to put in more effort to do my job more perfectly.”
“Take it easy. You’re still doing well enough.”
Izmel encouraged, nodding her head lightly. He swallowed a sip of water and continued speaking.
“I know everyone works hard for me. I’m always grateful.”
“It’s an honour.”
“So that’s it. I’d like to provide a little more welfare for you.”
Dwight’s eyes widened at Izmel’s unexpected words. His green eyes, the same light as Eleanor’s, were filled with Izmel’s.
“You mean welfare?”
“For example, invite your family and have a good time together…”
Izmel glanced at Dwight’s gaze and raised a topic.
Dwight immediately understood his superior’s intentions. It was an excuse he made up to meet Eleanor.
‘The Crown Prince, who is always handsome and elegant, is no different when it comes to love.’
Dwight smiled faintly as she let out a deep breath. He answered curiously.
“I think my parents would be very happy if they found out.”
“Parents…?”
Not Eleanor?
Izmel’s eyes widened as he was caught off guard. Dwight smiled as he looked at Izmel.
“They have been curious about the environment in which I work for some time, and if such benefits become available, I would like to invite the two.”
“Yes, that’s right. When will it be a good time to see the Count and Countess…”
Izmel nodded his head. With a bewildered look on his face, he hurriedly checked the calendar belatedly.
Dwight carefully opened his lips.
“Your Highness, may I speak frankly at the risk of being rude for a moment?”
Izmel nodded, putting down the calendar. Dwight advised in a soft voice.
“When it comes to love, I think straight forward is always the best.”
Izmel blushed as her subordinates clearly understood her true intentions.
He was right. Even if he was nervous and scared, he had to express it himself, even if it was a bit uncool and hurt his image.
Izmel asked, clearing his throat loudly.
“Was it obvious like that?”
“They say love is as hard to hide as a cough.”
Dwight naturally brought up work-related topics with Izmel so as not to embarrass him. After a brief public conversation, Dwight stood up.
Izmel suddenly asked. It’s childish, but it was something he was curious about the whole time.
“Are you on my side?”
Not Kaidel or Adrian.
Dwight, who looked at Izmel’s bright eyes for a moment, answered.
“I’m on my sister’s side, Your Highness.”
Once again, that was correct.
***
“Luke, why are you working so hard these days? Hm?”
A big smile appeared on Eleanor’s face as she graded Lucas’ vocabulary test.
Unlike before, when his performance was at best half-baked, Lucas’s grades these days weren’t much lower than those of the other two children. Although his math was a bit weak, his growth in other subjects was frightening.
“It’s so special that I think I should give you a prize, you know?”
Eleanor said, giving Lucas a small hug. Lucas shook his head as if he was embarrassed by the compliment.
“I know. You did really well, you.”
Sienna took a peek at Lucas’ test paper and gave him thumbs up. Then Lucas’s cheeks turned a little red.
‘Cute guys…’
Eleanor looked at Lucas and Sienna alternately with a happy face. One of Eleanor’s greatest pleasures these days was watching Lucas’s love affair.
“Alright, it’s time for everyone to go home. You did well today.”
After assigning homework and carefully packing the children’s bags, Eleanor went into the drawing room.
Kaidel and Demian were sitting side by side in the living room. As if the awkwardness hadn’t completely disappeared, there was enough space between the two for one person to sit down.
“Say bye to Demi too.”
Lucas waved his hand at Eleanor’s words.
“Bye!”
Sienna also greeted.
“See you next week, Demi. Greetings to you too, Duke. No, goodbye.”
Kaidel felt a bit of ferocity in Sienna’s eyes and nodded her head. Sienna cast a questioning glare at Kaidel until the drawing room was out of sight.
She likes Kaidel a lot too, but she can’t let her teacher get taken away from her.
“You’ve been waiting a long time, right?”
Eleanor, who had finished teaching Sienna and Lucas to the representatives of the houses, entered the drawing room and said.
“No, not really.”
“It’s fine.”
When Eleanor appeared, Valentine brothers’ eyes began to sparkle. They looked like a large dog and a small puppy sitting there.
“So, you’re curious about how the two of you can get closer and become more comfortable?”
Eleanor asked as she sat down on a single sofa. Kaidel answered, clasping his hands together.
“I know we need to spend time together, but I don’t know where to start.”
“Great. Then, from now on, do everything I ask you to do.”
“Sure.”
Eleanor grinned as Kaidel nodded willingly.
“First of all, skinship.”
“Skinship…?”
Embarrassment spread across Kaidel and Demian’s faces. It wasn’t easy from the first hurdle.
“You don’t have to find it difficult. Let’s start with the two of you sitting together.”
“…”
“Starting now!”
Eleanor tapped her knee as if urging them to do so. Kaidel and Demian suddenly moved closer to each other and sat down.
They were just sitting next to each other within arm’s reach, yet the two looked really awkward.
“Originally I was going to ask you to hold hands…”
Kaidel’s eyes widened.
“I tried to make you make eye contact too.”
This time Demian’s eyes widened.
“But this is just the beginning, so that’s it for today.”
Kaidel and Demian simultaneously sighed at Eleanor’s words. Relief clearly appeared on his handsome face.
‘There’s still a long way to go. It would be difficult to ask for much from the beginning.’
Eleanor sighed and clenched her hands. Her motivation was on fire.
No matter how long it takes, She will definitely, definitely, make these two people become friends.
Kaidel asked, straightening his posture.
“What is the second one?”
“The second is sharing your daily lives together. You don’t necessarily have to do something special together. It’s important that you take the time to pay attention to each other, so even if it’s something small, it’s okay.”
Kaidel and Demian nodded their heads slowly.
“One way would be to eat together every day. You can wake him up every morning and say hello.”
“Wake him up in the morning.”
I can do that much. Kaidel muttered.
At that time, Kaidel’s wake-up time suddenly appeared in Eleanor’s mind. He was a man who opened his eyes at 5 a.m. at dawn.
Eleanor shook her head violently. She couldn’t deprive Demian of his precious morning sleep.
“No! Never wake him up!”
Kaidel, taken aback by the sudden change in reaction, slightly frowned. There was a lot of curiosity in his eyes.
“Why? Until just now, you clearly…”
“Our Demi needs to sleep as much as he wants. It’s a growth period. You can’t wake him up early in the morning.”
“Ah.”
“Demi is so kind that if you wake him up, he will wake up without showing any signs of displeasure.”
Demian smiled bitterly at Eleanor’s words. He seemed relieved that he didn’t have to wake up at five in the morning.
“Please put him to sleep at night instead. Directly!”