“Then, shall I be able to meet you at the Baron’s inauguration ceremony?”
“That day I may be too busy to set aside separate time. Instead, a guest seat will be prepared, so if you sit there, I will be able to see you.”
“I see.”
Yellodia’s voice turned a little sullen. Edward hurriedly added,
“I will try my best to make time. Even if I am busy, I should be able to greet you at least.”
“Yes. Then I shall look forward to it.”
Yellodia answered with a face full of expectation.
Outside the mansion, a drizzle was falling. The cold air, heavy with moisture, appropriately cooled Yellodia’s flushed cheeks and forehead.
While the lobby entrance had a roof, the mansion’s servants stood ready with umbrellas held high, lest the two of them be caught in the rain.
Yellodia looked at the carriage drawing up to the entrance with regretful eyes. She had wanted to talk with Edward a little longer…….
She had been looking forward to the formal dinner for days, yet when the time came, the conversation had revolved around her elder brothers. It was not that she disliked it, but from moment to moment, her desire to know her betrothed more calmly welled up fiercely.
Edward spoke as though he had peered into her heart.
“Since I spoke of myself today, next time, would you tell me your story, my lady?”
“……My story?”
“Yes. While speaking of my childhood, I grew curious about yours, my lady.”
“There is nothing special about me.”
“Please tell me anyway.”
Color quickly rushed into Yellodia’s cheeks. She nodded her head broadly, then soon smiled shyly, her lips pressed together.
“Next time, I shall be sure to tell you.”
Edward’s gaze touched her lips and cheeks before finally moving to her eyes. It was a gaze that stirred a strange feeling.
Yellodia opened her mouth with a puzzled expression.
“Baron……?”
“Then please go inside. The night air is still quite cold.”
“Yes. Please be careful on your way.”
Edward bowed politely and then slipped into the carriage whose door a servant had opened.
Yellodia stood rooted in place until the carriage door closed and the faint silhouette of the carriage vanished into the dark-blue night.
* * *
“How did the invitation to the ducal estate go?”
“It ended safely.”
Edward answered indifferently as he removed his jacket. Baihern quickly took the jacket from him and hung it on a coat stand. Then he stared fixedly at Edward, but the explanation he had been waiting for from his superior did not come.
‘I knew this would happen. He is so taciturn, after all.’
Baihern asked, his patience worn thin.
“So, did you eat the asparagus with your hands? Or did you cut it with a knife?”
“Ah, had I said something about that?”
At Edward’s nonchalant question, Baihern tapped his own chest in frustration.
“How can you speak so casually? The officers and soldiers were on the verge of losing sleep for days because of it.”
Come to think of it…… when Edward had sought advice on noble dining etiquette, such a controversy seemed to have broken out.
“Some said roasted asparagus is eaten by hand, while some said it is cut with a knife, so we were so curious about the correct answer that we could not sleep. You did not truly eat it with your hands, did you?”
The officers had held truly heated debates over how nobles ate asparagus. They had been more passionate than during tactical training.
“If you cut asparagus wrong with a knife, it splatters hideously or rolls away, so you pick it up by hand!”
“Nobles are not blockheads holding a knife for the first time; how could they cut asparagus wrong? Do not talk nonsense!”
Such useless quarrels had continued.
“…….”
Edward quietly tilted his head and recalled last night’s dinner, but he could not even remember whether asparagus had been served at the formal table.
In any case, the noble children of Duke Savie’s mansion would not have cared whether they ate asparagus by hand or with a fork. It did not seem like an important matter now, either.
Edward unfurled some approval documents and answered perfunctorily.
“I think I just ate it.”
“If you say it like that……! That is too much, Your Excellency!”
What exactly was too much……?
Baihern twitched his nostrils as though Edward had committed a great betrayal. He even glared his eyes wide in displeasure.
Edward suppressed a sigh and looked at Baihern.
“Which side did you bet on?”
“……The side that uses a knife.”
“Then go with that. If you win money from your subordinates, buy them a drink.”
Baihern answered with a smile as bright as midsummer sunlight.
“Yes! Please trust me!”
As expected, it seemed a considerable sum had been wagered on the bet.
Baihern smiled broadly throughout his report, saluted Edward, and left the office with brisk steps.
Edward smirked and recalled the previous night.
The beautiful children of the Duke possessed a dignity that seemed innate from birth. They also exuded composure.
They did not fuss over formalities, nor did they find meaning in looking down upon those of lower status.
Edward humbly decided to acknowledge that he had been fortunate. Though the Emperor had likely considered all such qualities when pairing Edward with Yellodia.
Just then, someone knocked on the office door.
“Come in.”
As soon as Edward finished speaking, Major Livia opened the door, entered, and saluted.
Since Livia’s expression was a bit stiff, Edward set down the documents in his hand and asked,
“What is it?”
“There is a guest here to see Your Excellency. When I asked her name, she said she is Lady Selina. What should I do?”
Instead of answering, Edward sprang up from his seat. Livia was startled by her superior’s unprecedentedly hurried manner.
“Is she an important guest?”
“Where is she now?”
“I have shown her to the reception room.”
Edward immediately straightened his attire and moved to go. Then he suddenly turned to his aide and said,
“Prepare some light refreshments and tea. She is not someone who particularly enjoys sweets, so keep that in mind.”
“Yes, understood. May I ask what your relationship is with her?”
“She is my aunt.”
The moment Edward finished answering, Livia turned around and dashed out.
Under no circumstances could one treat the Vice Admiral’s family with negligence.
Opening the reception room door, Edward found Lady Selina rising from her seat to greet him.
She was a woman with the appearance of a typical country wife.
A dress that looked to have been washed and worn many times had frayed sleeves, and a hat adorned with a large ribbon was unbearably countrified.
Black hair so dark that it held a bluish tint curled down in willful disarray, and freckles stood out across the bridge of her sunburned nose.
Lady Selina wore an expression both proud and bewildered at her nephew’s sudden rise in the world.
“So you are here now. I wonder if I have taken up your busy time.”
“Not at all. Please sit, Aunt.”
However, Lady Selina seemed to have no intention of sitting back down and immediately broached her business.
“I am sorry. I arrived late because I checked the letter you sent quite late. I heard you are to be promoted to Vice Admiral of the Navy. Ah, now should I call you Baron Adrian?”
“There is no need to call me that. Please call me Edward as before. I was worried whether my letter would reach you.”
At Edward’s answer, Lady Selina let out a long breath as if finally relieved. Watching for his reaction, she had seemingly not known how to act toward her nephew now that he had acquired a noble title.
As dimples formed on her sunburned cheeks from tending the orchard, Edward’s expression softened considerably as well.
“When I served aboard ship, I was always curious about your well-being, Aunt.”
“Every time a letter arrived bearing the Navy’s seal, my heart sank. I feared it might contain news that you had died at sea. On days I received your letters, I could not even sleep in peace.”
“Was that so.”
Edward quietly watched Lady Selina let out a long sigh and pat her chest.
The figure of a man who had died of illness in the middle of the sea three years ago must have been rising in Lady Selina’s mind.
Colonel Rendels—Edward’s father and Lady Selina’s elder brother—had passed away at a fairly young age, the aftereffects of his injuries compounded by fatigue from excessive work. It had been a death no different from a sudden one.
At that time, Edward had been waging war and had not even had the luxury to mourn his father’s death.
Edward asked a question, striving to remain calm.
“Did your husband not come with you?”
“It has been over six years since the divorce; when was he ever an uncle? It is best not to call that scoundrel. If he knew of your success, he would try to use you somehow. If something like this happens again, absolutely do not call him.”
“If that is your wish, Aunt, I shall keep it so.”
At Edward’s answer, Lady Selina nodded in satisfaction and only then sat down.
Just then, Livia entered the reception room carrying a tray with teacups and biscuits.
Though she could have ordered a servant to do it, she had come personally, showing that she wished to observe propriety toward her superior’s family.
“I shall set down the tea.”
Edward decided to appropriately play along with his aide’s thoughtfulness.
“This is one of my aides. She is a capable officer with excellent tactical response abilities.”
“Hello, Madam. I am Major Livia.”
“Hello. Ah, might you be the one who is betrothed to Edward this time……?”
Before Lady Selina’s question could even finish, Livia’s eyes went round and she looked back at Edward. Edward, too, looked at his aide as though he had heard something unexpected, then opened his mouth with an “Ah.”