Chapter 22: Yours and Mine, A Certain Precious Day II

“But, since we first have to go to the Royal Capital to gain permission for the marriage, it’s not going to happen any time soon.”

As expected, the King would not be bothered with the marriage of all the commoners and nobles, but it was different for feudal lords and the nobles who hold great power. He has to even out the balance of power so that no one house or territory would hold too much.

In this case, since I was just a girl with no backing unlike before, there was no worry of Laius’s power increasing with this marriage.

But, Laius was originally too powerful.

The Laius who, in the past, was able to prosper as much as the Royal Capital, was now managed by the hero. From the point of view of the King, who wanted to dismantle the overpowered Laius because it was too large, the current situation of Laius being ruled by Kaid was nothing but a threat.

Even if the marriage partner was me who would weaken Kaid’s power, it would never hurt to be vigilant. If he wanted to insert a spy, he could just assign a subordinate to become Kaid’s marriage partner, thereby making it hard to refuse for fear of worsening the relationship.

So, the marriage was still a thing that had yet to be done, let alone the honeymoon, but the proposals for our travel destination kept coming. It was fine if it was from people who had no understanding of territory management, but what was it with the feudal lords who should have the utmost understanding of the rules to all having already sent out invitations.

I understood that the preparations could not be completed in just a day or two since it was the lord that was leaving. Preparations had to be completed in advance to make sure that everything was perfect, but even so, it felt like they were being hasty.

“That’s nice… The Royal Capital. I’ve never been there. Shirley, have you been there before?”

“Um…”

It could be said that I have been there but also not. No matter how I answer it would be a lie yet also a truth. As I was worrying over how to answer, Caron threw out a helping hand.

“Do not worry. You are all going.”

“Eh!?”

Both Jasmine and Samua jumped a little and let out sounds of shock.

“Head Maid, I, I’m able to go to the Royal Capital!?”

“Of course. If My Lady and the Lord gets married, then they will often go to the Royal Capital. If you young ones aren’t able to remember the way then I would be troubled.”

“Yay!!”

“But! Remember that we’re not going for fun!”

“Yes! I love the Head Maid~!”

“…The only good thing about that sentence is that it’s just like what Adele says.”

“I’ll be buying lots of souvenirs, so please give me a special allowance!”

“…That kind of shrewdness is much more than Adele’s…”

Caron let out a deep sigh as she shook her head and straightened her back as if trying to shake off a headache.

Jasmine swayed her body in a good mood as she looked at the items on the cart that Caron was pushing.

“I wonder if the Lord would be happy!”

“Since they are all from the Lady, he will definitely be happy.”

“What about ours!?”

“Who knows…”

“Head Maid!?”

Hearing Jasmine’s sorrowful cry, Samua also took a fleeting glance at the tray on the cart.

While moving, a lid covered the tray, so the insides could not be seen, but he stared at a certain point and muttered.

“At the very least, if I were to receive it, I would seriously run away with all my might and cry.”

The words that were uttered with a serious face managed to quickly change the topic. While I could understand Samua’s feelings, because the feelings held towards the object that he was pointing at were just feelings, if he wanted me to have the same opinion, then it was hard to neither agree nor disagree.

“Ca-Caron. Is Kaid already resting?”

“Yes. He finally did just a while ago. Seriously, he crammed his morning full of work to the point of having no time to drink tea or even have lunch. It’s like he’s not aware of his recent return from death. Even if a month has passed, after considering what happened, it’s only been a month. Besides, it’s different from before now. I keep telling him that from now on he’ll only grow weaker as he gets older, so he should stop being so irresponsible regarding his own body’s conditions, but that person just never listens!”

“You’re like the Lord’s mother, Head Maid!”

“Ah?”

From Caron’s mouth came a sound like a dead man crawling out from the grave. The two of them jumped in fright while giving a shriek. They shivered like two newborn fawns and ran in front of me, before turning me around so I was looking at Caron. Making me act like a shield.

I was giving Caron an unfocused look. The two of them behind me were still shaking in fear.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“Umm…”

“Say, My Lady.”

“Yes?”

Caron slightly lowered her shoulders, and stood with her feet parallel to each other. It was an action that I had not seen recently. Her slightly charming jawline along with her upturned eyes looked somewhat similar to the past.

“I… Am I completely different from the past me? Am I old now?”

“Caron has always been cute, plus I envy that you have become so mature now. I also want to become a splendid adult like you. I am going hurry up and become one so I can walk beside you with pride, so watch me over me, Caron.”

“I love you, My Lady!”

“I also love Caron a lot.”

In this life, I had often seen adults who were walking side by side together, which made me wonder if they were friends. But, if I were to walk beside the Caron who had already became an adult, there would be no one who would think that. I had to become an amazing adult in order to not be mismatched when I stood beside another amazing adult.

I stared at my friend in front of me.

Even in a hard situation where she felt shaken, she was still walking in a dignified way. But one could still perceive the overflowing charm and cuteness. As expected of Caron. She had really became an amazing woman. I wonder if I could become someone like that. I was a little anxious, but it was a good thing to have a goal in front of me, so I became excited.

“I, I love Shirley too! Right, Samua!”

“Why did you bring me into this!”

“Eh? But you love her too, right?”

“No, that’s… Of course! But only as a friend, a coworker, someone who lives in the same house, and as a person! ……You. I’m going to hate you for the rest of my life if you’re trying to get me fired!?”

A familiar face popped up from the corner behind Samua, who was on the verge of tears. At the same time, Caron raised her eyebrows with a tremendous vigor.

“After all, I’m not someone who is that rotten to convict you of a crime if you’re just showing good will without any ulterior motives. It’s okay, Samua. I understand so you don’t need to make that kind of crying face… What’s wrong, Carolina?”

Kaid, who was holding onto two books and a bunch of documents, voiced his concern for Caron who was staring with her eyes wide open, and walked with a smaller stride than usual.

“…I told you I would prepare tea, so why did you leave the room?”

“Aah, at first I was just going through the papers, but then I remembered that they had to buy replacement parts for the knights’ equipment so I wanted to check the status of that. Then I thought I could also go to the barn to check up on the condition of the horse that was unwell at the same time. After that…”

“You’re seriously…! And here I thought you would have remembered to use people! How many years have you been a lord! Are you saying that it wasn’t enough making Samua cry before! Chores are meant to be done by your subordinates! Do not take your subordinates’ jobs! Repeat after me!”

I was fascinated by Caron’s intensity which seemed to have doubled when she was angry, but there was a phrase that caught my attention. It was not good to interrupt others’ conversations, but because it seemed like a topic that would be evaded if I did not grasp my chance, I slipped into the conversation.

“Wait, what was that about Samua crying? If you don’t mind, could you tell me about it?”

“Of course not!”

“I mind it a lot!”

“Please listen, My Lady!”

“Please wait, My Lady!”

Caron, who had passed us and was approaching Kaid, turned around with such force that the bangs of Kard and the three of us facing him fluttered upwards with the wind, scaring Samua and Jasmine. And thus, Caron naturally ignored Kaid’s request.

“It was from when Samua was still a lower ranked servant. When he first was assigned to the lord, the lord ended up doing everything himself, leaving Samua with nothing to do but to just stand there. I was curious about the situation so the Head Butler and I went to peek, and we saw him jumping and crying, “The lord took my work!” Compared to those days, I thought that the lord had became a little better, but it turns out you’re doing it again!”

“Heeeh, I didn’t know.”

“All right! I was wrong! That’s why, stop talking about the past in front of My Lady!”

“Rather, this topic seems to be taking a stab at me! I’m so embarrassed that it hurts! It’s so painfully embarrassing!”

Many stories came out one after another from Caron. Kaid’s various past ‘misdeeds’. Caron’s piled up frustrations which was being unleashed, the cries which were almost like shrieks from Kaid who was trying to control the situation, the lamentations of Samua who suffered three blows and was the victim in the situation, reverberated throughout the warm corridors lit by the early afternoon sun. No one interrupted us, but rather, everyone who passed us were wearing warm smiles.

While Caron and the others were interacting, I was watching the passers-by with a calm face. At that time, Jasmine lightly pulled on my hem.

“Hey, Shirley.”

“…What?”

“I heard that the mistress of the house needs to have the ability to handle disputes within the household well. That’s why, somehow, good luck! I love you, Shirley!”

Honestly, I thought that it was too much of a responsibility for me to bear, but I had just promised Caron that I would become a splendid adult. I could not pretend that I did not see it, and I could not just run away from it. There was no option to surrender. There was none at all.

“…I love you too, Jasmine.”

The voice that answered, if I had to say so myself, was lacking in spirit. I wonder why was I so powerless.