CH 77

“Um, so, I forgot to mention earlier, but I actually met Lieutenant Colonel Caldelara again today.”

Jeremiah’s expression changed to one of displeasure in an instant. I wondered if he would get angry, but I had to report it anyway.

“Well, Lady Astorga was there too, so nothing happened, but his behavior was a bit concerning.”

“Concerning…?”

Yes, when the explosion happened, Emilio said it himself. He said regretfully that he “didn’t make it in time.” In other words, he must be involved in some way with that incident. I tried to convey this to Jeremiah as best as I could.

It may have been difficult to understand due to the mixed situation explanation, but Jeremiah listened carefully.

After finishing my story, I felt calm and thought to myself that I liked this side of him.

“I see, I understand what you’re trying to say. If I have the opportunity, I can tell my acquaintance who is involved with the police. However, since that man belongs to the navy, he may be moving in that direction.”

“Maybe so.”

While nodding in response to Jeremiah’s words, I felt relieved that I was able to say what I needed to say. Because of the incident at the bookstore, I wanted to at least let Emilio know that I had met him.

If I stay silent, I feel somehow guilty. Of course, there is nothing to feel guilty about, but it’s strange.

“I’m glad you told me. You should rest a bit…you must be tired?”

“No, I’m fine.”

Certainly, it was scary, but I didn’t feel tired.

That’s because I wasn’t teased by Paula and the hat shop owner. By the way, Lucia, who was teased, looked a bit tired.

“I’ll change clothes right away. I don’t want to be late for dinner.”

“I see. Then should we stay up a bit tonight? There’s no need to go out tomorrow, so I can be by your side.”

The moment I heard those words, my face involuntarily lit up. We haven’t been together much lately. I was a little dissatisfied because I thought we could talk about various things while looking at his beloved face, but we couldn’t do much. So my face smiled on its own.

“Really? That makes me happy.”

While it may be bad for my heart to be by his side, it was still very happy for me to be close to him.

Then, Jeremiah suddenly turned to the side and put his hand on his mouth. Did I say something strange?

“What’s wrong?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

“You don’t seem like it’s nothing though?”

What should I do? Maybe I should have been more excited. He said he would be with me after all. He must have managed his time for me. But as I was thinking about how to convey my feelings, Jeremiah muttered softly.

“Yeah, I just want to get married soon.”

“…?”

I became even more confused and tilted my head. His usually sharp eyes seemed a little red. When Jeremiah noticed that I was looking at him, he coughed deliberately and said,

“It’s cold talking here. Shall we go back and change?”

“Oh, yeah, that’s a good idea. My room is nearby, so I’ll go there and then come down when I’m done. Please wait for me.”

“Got it.”

I watched Jeremiah’s slightly awkward figure as he returned my smile and then headed towards Dora’s room, swearing to myself that I would be excited next time.

◇

There was still some time until dinner, so after changing clothes, I gathered in the living room with Jeremiah, Paula, and Lucia to talk about the day. Soon after, Duke Astorga arrived, and the butler came to call us to move to the dining room.

No matter how many times I see it, the dining room of this Duke’s mansion is amazing.

Of course, even on informal days like today, various arrangements are made for the meals served. Above all, it’s amazing that different dishes are served every day because ingredients are gathered from all over the capital.

And they’re all delicious.

As we enjoyed our meal today, the Duke began to talk about what happened that day.

“That was quite a disaster. I’m glad everyone is safe.”

“Really. But why can’t they catch the culprit? We’ll be laughed at by other countries if this continues.”

As Paula said this, she took a sip of wine with a dissatisfied expression. She looks good in red, I thought as I was tempted to take a sip too. It’s refreshing and goes well with meat.

“Our country’s police are making efforts, but the opponent is cunning. According to what I heard, the explosives were very sophisticated and beyond our country’s technology.”

“Then there’s a possibility that other countries are involved?”

“No, our country’s technology is quite high in the world. It’s better to consider other possibilities.”

In response to Jeremiah’s question, the Duke answered with a bitter expression.

I thought to myself that perhaps he was a human born in the same era as me and reincarnated here. Of course, it would be impossible for someone like me who has no knowledge or skills, but there may be others who are not like me…

Despite thinking that, I just listened without saying anything since it was just a mere imagination.

Eventually, the Duke and Jeremiah’s conversation gradually shifted towards politics, and it became incomprehensible to me.

“Gentlemen always end up talking about such things. Well, that’s fine. Oh, Lorraine.”

When I was called out, I had food in my mouth and couldn’t answer immediately. I quickly swallowed it, but Paula spoke first.

“Today’s plans were ruined because of that incident, but we decided to invite Miss Marisa here tomorrow. Since tomorrow won’t be a workday anyway and you can’t go out, you’ll have free time, won’t you?”

Although it was in the form of a question, there was no choice in Paula’s words. I could only vaguely nod in response.