Chapter 77

Chapter 77

“It’s been a while, Lady Highen.”

“Oh—yes, it’s been a while.”

I straightened my posture to its most respectful and offered them a greeting. The Marchioness responded with a soft smile in my direction.

“Were you on your way somewhere?”

“I was just heading back to my room.”

“And have you eaten?”

“No, not yet. I was planning to rest a bit first…”

“Oh my, oh my! That won’t do at all!”

Her eyes went wide at my words, as though I’d announced a calamity. I couldn’t help but reply with a stupid-sounding ‘Excuse me?’

“Skipping a meal! Young people always treat eating on time so lightly, but it’ll ruin your health!”

She folded her arms and pressed me, sounding just like the nagging Mom or Ren would give me. I felt embarrassingly small, like a child caught misbehaving. I bit my lip and hesitated before adding an excuse.

“Ah… I’m just a little tired…”

“Oh dear… the journey from the capital must have worn you out! Then at least eat something before you go. We were on our way to the dining hall ourselves. Come along!”

“Uh… but won’t I be intruding on a married couple’s meal…”

“Don’t worry about that. Come, come—let’s hurry.”

The Marchioness’s eyes crinkled warmly as she urged me on. Her overwhelming kindness left me no room to refuse. In the end, I nodded and gave my assent.

“Very well, I’ll accept your kind invitation.”

And so the two of them and I headed to the dining hall together. Fortunately, it wasn’t far. We entered through a door a servant held open for us, and inside, I could already see many people enjoying a lavish feast.

The Marchioness guided me to a round table and seated me. Strangely, though, the couple took the spots on either side of me instead of sitting together. That left me wedged between them like a piece of meat in a sandwich. A jolt of awkwardness hit me, but I couldn’t just bolt after having come this far. So I stiffened my whole body, fixed my eyes on the plates the servants set down, and kept them there.

“Miss Heien. Have you seen our son? He entered the tournament too, you know.”

The Marchioness passed me a chunk of well-roasted meat as she asked. I pulled the image of the young marquis from my memory — the one I’d seen outside the castle gate.

“Ah, yes. I ran into him just a bit ago, by the gate.”

I answered her in a voice that stumbled over itself for no good reason. A small knot of guilt twisted in my chest as I recalled how he’d kept watching my expression because of my foolish talk. Shame crept in, too — for fleeing without even a proper greeting. Now I worried what I’d say to him if we met again.

“Our son comes here every year for the hunt festival.”

“Actually, he wouldn’t usually come just to watch the contest. This time he brought his wife along to see the south.”

Then the marquis and his wife began pouring out whatever came to mind.

“And that’s how we got to meet Miss Heien too.”

“That’s right. I was so glad to see your face again… Here, have some more of this.”

Their voices buzzed in my ears. Not knowing which of them to answer first, I just stared straight ahead and tossed out little nods — “Yes,” “I see.” Then I sliced the meat in front of me and shoveled it into my mouth.

“If we’d had a daughter, I think she’d have turned out just like Miss Heien.”

“I know. I do regret only having the one child. We tried for more, plenty of times…”

“Hrk—”

The meat stuck in my throat mid-swallow. I coughed and pounded my chest. The Marchioness quickly pushed a glass of water toward me.

“Are you all right? Did I say something wrong?”

“No, not at all. It’s just nice to see a couple so close.”

I grabbed the water and drank, answering as I did. But my mind was churning.

Aren’t they being a little too familiar with me…?

This was only the second time we’d ever laid eyes on each other. I hadn’t even recognized them right away at first. Yet the marquis and his wife seemed to treat me with startling warmth. I didn’t mind it, but I couldn’t help feeling a little strange.

“Hehe, I’ll stop with that talk, so eat up.”

Whether she caught the thought on my face, the marchioness added another remark. I nodded hastily and shoved another bite of food into my mouth.

We carried on eating through the meal. All the while, the married couple kept throwing bits of conversation my way. Honestly, it unsettled me at first. But as the minutes passed, each of their exchanges drew me in further. Especially the stories about high society—scandal and gossip—I found myself hanging on every last word.

Take this one, for instance…

“Gasp—so that young lady actually poisoned her friend’s glass?!”

“That’s right. Fortunately, it was only mild enough to cause an upset stomach, but the culprit still had to face punishment.”

“You really never know what goes on in people’s hearts.”

“Indeed. To be honest, those two looked like the best of friends on the surface. Still… unless you’re standing in their shoes, how can you claim to know a single thing about what they truly felt?”

Before I knew it, I found myself slipping into easy conversation with the married couple. That was the spark. What started as talk about the high society’s grand affairs unspooled into one thread after another, each pulling the next along.

“Always wise to be cautious with people.”

“True. Darling, remember? That business associate who acted so close to us, angling for an investment.”

“That was a con. The fact he spent nearly three years cozying up to us just to pull a scam—that took real nerve. We almost fell for it, didn’t we?”

Eventually, the conversation turned toward the house that had tried to swindle the Marquis’s household. I chewed my food slowly, listening in with keen interest.

‘Trying to con the Marquis’s family—bold move.’

Within my field of view, the Marquis and his wife were laughing heartily, their faces warm and easy. They looked remarkably affectionate. If you had to picture the perfect married couple, this was it.

* * *

“Wow, I’m so full… I was going to skip a meal, but I ended up eating too much…”

After finishing the meal and parting ways with the Marquis and his wife, I quickened my pace to return to my room. Then, suddenly, I came face-to-face with the Duke in the middle of the corridor. The moment I saw his face, a surge of delight welled up in me. So I broke into a run, scurrying toward him.

“Your Grace~!”

“Laura.”

“You’re already here? You came so fast!”

“I got lucky—caught a deer the moment I stepped into the forest. I came back right after bagging it. By the way, have you been drinking?”

“Ah, yes! Can you smell it?”

I quickly stepped back, covering my mouth with both hands. At that, the Duke let out a light chuckle and took a step closer to me.

“No, the atmosphere just felt different from usual. More than that—you need to breathe.”

He seized my wrist and pulled me toward him. Feeling a flicker of embarrassment, I lifted my eyes to glance up at him, then drew a quiet breath before speaking slowly.

“Well… on the way to my room, I ran into the marquis and his wife. When I said I’d skip a meal, they fussed over me and made me eat. They even offered me cherry-flavored champagne, so I took a glass.”

“The marquis and his lady haven’t changed a bit. They’ve been that way since I was a child. There’s a sense of excess to it, but they truly enjoy looking after someone.”

“You’re right. That’s how it seemed.”

I nodded in reply. Then, on a whim, I found myself staring at the duke’s face. Truth be told, I hadn’t expected him back this soon. He’d mentioned attending the hunt only as a formality, sure—but the other participants were still nowhere to be heard from, so I couldn’t help feeling a bit puzzled.

“But is it really all right to leave so soon? It’s an event hosted by His Majesty, after all.”

“Benat is at His Majesty’s side, so it’s fine. That lad is probably knee-deep in the hunt by now.”

At my words, the duke shrugged and added a comment. That naturally conjured an image of the young marquis in my mind, and it was almost inevitable that the conversation turned toward him.

“…Is the young marquis doing well?”

“Well… I’d assume so… Probably.”

“Oh, that reminds me—they say giving a handkerchief is a wish for safe return, isn’t it? But I heard the young marquis didn’t receive a single one. He said he was worried he might get hurt. I hope he comes back safely, regardless.”

“What? He said that? Not a single one—there’s no way.”

“Well… right? Honestly, I thought the same—it seemed unlikely. He must have gotten plenty from all over.”

“Exactly. And there’s no way he’ll get hurt. You don’t need to worry. I’ve never seen anyone as skilled at horseback riding and hunting as he is.”

The duke shook his head as if he found it hard to believe. That was the highest praise I’d ever heard him give the young marquis—a first, really. After all, whenever those two met, they were always too busy bickering. I’d never imagined a compliment would come out of his mouth.

“He’s that good at hunting?”

I asked him with a note of curiosity. The duke just looked down at me, silent, as if mulling something over. Then he finally spoke again.

“Well… if you’re curious, do you want to see for yourself?”

“Huh? Can I?”

‘What? What does he mean by that?’

The hunting grounds were off-limits to anyone but participants, supposedly for safety reasons. So there was no way I could watch the young marquis actually hunting.

“Yes, follow me.”

But the duke only urged me on with a tilt of his head. I scrambled after him, and that was how we came to stand atop the detached palace’s wall.