“You’re here. Please sit comfortably.”
The Duke’s husband greeted the guests very warmly.
Franz, Luce, and Rev took turns sitting on the opposite side of the Duke’s husband.
Luce looked at the table where the upper seat was empty and let out a sigh.
She thought—it’s fortunate that Franz is sitting in the seat closest to the top seat.
“Ah, Sir Franz. How about swapping seats with Miss Lucette?”
‘Oh my.’
Please say no!
But Franz stood up coolly, as if he hadn’t seen Luce’s serious eyes or pretended he hadn’t.
“Yes, it would be better for the main character of the banquet to sit opposite the host. My thoughts were short.”
Luce, who was forced to sit across the Duke’s husband, quickly managed her expression.
‘I have to act like an innocent idiot. Moderately stiff and unfamiliar to such things, extremely clumsy.’
With the Duke’s husband right in front of her, the acting came out naturally without much effort.
Luce, who looked awkward and uncomfortable, pretended to glance at the banquet hall.
Apparently, this wasn’t the main banquet hall.
Considering the size of the mansion, the size of the banquet hall was smaller than expected, and there weren’t many ornaments.
‘But according to the concept.’
Nevertheless, she heard a laugh as she tried to look at it with sparkling eyes as if it were amazing.
The Duke’s husband spoke in a very soft voice.
“Thank you for coming even though I invited you out of the blue.”
“No, thank you for inviting me.”
“Wasn’t it hard on the way here?”
“Yes, thanks to the carriage, we were able to come quickly. I heard it would take three days, but it was amazing that we arrived in only half a day.”
She could feel Rev’s gaze on her.
Of course. Because she wasn’t just fascinated by a fast carriage. It’s closer to the side that took pity on the horse.
But Luce ignored his gaze.
“It is the work of skillful magic engineers. Are there many things different from the Rodante estate you used to live in?”
“Yes.”
‘Usually, I’d make comments like a social life, saying that some things were great and some were cool, but I can’t do that now.’
Franz stepped up instead of Luche, who stopped talking.
“I visited the dukedom a long time ago, and it has changed beyond comparison. It’s amazing to see such a dazzling achievement in just a few years, and I thought that the Rodante estate, where my father is located, should also follow the example of Ximel’s estate and develop.”
“What, Rodante has his own charm. What about Baron Felice? He must have wanted to come along.”
“Since he’s old…”
It’s a relief. The atmosphere was well settled by Franz.
Food was served while the two gave each other empty praise and encouragement, which wasn’t very healthy.
Honey-baked ham, glazed roast turkey, and a slightly spicy pie baked with seafood were some very stylish dishes.
Although it was a little annoying that each corner was cut off.
‘Who wants to try it first? Like the court woman responsible for first tasting the food.’
However, she had no appetite, which is rare for Luce.
It was full of nice things, but the only food he could think of was Chelsea’s mushroom soup or Rev’s cocoa.
But she had to show that she liked the banquet.
The question returned to Luce, who was filling her plate with a few slices of ham, salad, and pie crumbs.
“Why didn’t you take the present, Miss Lucette?”
“Aha…I think it’s too much to receive in return. What I did wasn’t that great.”
From now on, this is the main point.
Luce smiled as if she really thought so.
“Not too much, if Miss Lucette hadn’t noticed in the first place, there could have been a big accident.”
“I just happened to witness the situation.”
“You are humble. I hope you will know that what Miss Lucete has done was a very brave act.”
“Thank you for saying that. But the culprit… it was Sir Franz who caught it.”
She was sick of talking about such an uncomfortable story. Moreover, the menus on the table full of red meat naturally reminded her of the blood that flowed from the page turner.
Luce, who had closed her eyes for a while due to the bloody afterimage passing in front of her, tried to attribute everything to Franz’s credit.
“Sir Franz caught the culprit, but it was Miss Lucette who alerted him to the danger. Although, the incident of the day is confidential and I decided not to investigate it, but I can’t help but have personal curiosity. That’s why… Why don’t you tell me what the situation was like as Miss Lucete witnessed it?”
It was a kind and friendly tone.
“Of course, if you feel uncomfortable, you don’t have to say anything. I fully understand. What happened that day must have been quite shocking, and even for me, that moment remains very painful. However, I hope that you will understand my position, which I cannot just ignore because it is unpleasant because it involves a family child.”
But in the end, it was to state the circumstances of the day.
It would have been better to push. Rather than spinning the wheel.
“I think Miss Lucete knows how I feel because you must have a father, too, right?”
I don’t have a father.
She was about to laugh.
Why doesn’t he pretend to be considerate?
However, Luce knew that if she refused at this moment, this situation would be repeated in some way.
Like sending an invitation when a gift is rejected.
There’s no way they’ll send her back without finding out anything.
So she opened her mouth with a slightly hesitant expression.
It’s something she has to do only once anyway.
“I went to the festival to participate in the academic festival. After I came out to get some fresh air, the door was closed and I was wandering around. His Excellency the Baron told me to look forward to an evening of music. Since he is a musician, I wanted to hear him play at least once, so I went to the music night venue.”
She glanced at Franz, and he nodded eagerly.
“There were already a lot of visitors. There is no place to sit, so I am standing at the entrance and listening to music. How can I know such orchestral music well? I quickly lost interest. Still, I didn’t have anywhere to go, so I wanted to go see people, but the person handing over The Baron’s sheet music was a bit strange.”
“How strange was that?”
Up to this point, there seemed to be no doubts.
‘I left out everything that would sound really weird in the first place.’
Who would believe her if she told them that she had to go to Felice Hall because of someone’s unknown words.
Believe it or not, she couldn’t explain it properly.
‘When I think about him, my head hurts.’
The man in Luce’s memory was wearing a long black robe, and his fingers were long and thin like tree branches.
But that was all she remembered. The more she thought about the man, the more she got a headache.
She even tried to think of the man’s other descriptions and the words he heard from him, but he couldn’t. It seemed as if a whitish curtain was covering the entire moment.
She asked Mrs. Plum roundly, and she said casually, ‘When you’re in a big shock, there are times when you can’t remember the moment. It was a self-defense mechanism.’
She could understand it, but if she wanted to forget, she should forget the moment the page turner died.
But apart from the headache, she couldn’t explain about the man. If she tells them she went to Felice Hall because of a man she can’t even remember, they won’t believe her, and she’ll have to tell even more lies.
Luce rubbed her temples and continued.
“The person handing over the sheet music should of course be looking at the sheet music, right? Or watching His Excellency the Baron play. But he kept looking at the audience as if he was looking for someone.”
“Couldn’t he have been looking for someone because there was a guest who had been invited by him?”
“If he had only seen it, I might have thought so too.
But there was something sparkling in the man’s arms. Too big and too long to be considered a tie pin or a button.”
Luce, who frowned, continued.
“It was scary to see that even his eyes were looking for someone he knew. The man’s eyes, rolling around as if he had found someone, stopped in the front row. I was so scared for a moment, but I just didn’t know what to do.”
“Ordinary people would have called the guards or screamed. That’s normal behavior. But didn’t Miss Lucette do that?”
“…Mmm. Can I be honest with you?”
“Of course. Please be honest like before.”
Even as he closed his eyes and smiled, the Duke’s husband’s eyes were sharp.
Luce tightened her neck and held her breath.
“That’s…”
She changed her expression to make it look like she was embarrassed and ashamed.
“Unfortunately, I was so embarrassed at that moment that I couldn’t think of any reasonable ways.”
The Duke’s husband, who had asked back elegantly, looked dumbfounded for a moment.
Luce didn’t miss that moment.
She held her breath, lowered her head, and spoke quickly with a tear in her eye.
“What can I say, but… Sir Franz was in the front row. Since Sir Franz is a knight, he must know how to fight well, right? So, I should tell Sir Franz that there is a strange person. That’s all I can think of.”
“…So?”
“I was on my way to Franz by bending down. As you know, there was a sudden blackout. I was so surprised that the light suddenly went out…”
Luce muttered in a crawling voice.
“I just grabbed the person next to me.”
She pretended to be wiggling her hands, and opened the clutch.
“That was… the man who came with Your Highness.”
“….”
“That’s why I told you that what I did was nothing, and that Sir Franz did it all.”
It was when everyone’s eyes were on Luce’s face.
Luce took the medicine out of the bottle and put the powder on her hand, then asked in a quiet voice that didn’t match her quick movements.
“Perhaps, are you angry…?”
The Duke’s husband, who was doubtful at first, smiled slowly as if in slow motion.
Enough! It seems he believes it!
It was when Luce cheered inwardly.
“You were here?”
The banquet hall door burst open.
At the same time as she saw the person who entered, the comment she had seen before passed before her eyes.
“You’re here. Please sit comfortably.”
The Duke’s husband greeted the guests very warmly.
Franz, Luce, and Rev took turns sitting on the opposite side of the Duke’s husband.
Luce looked at the table where the upper seat was empty and let out a sigh.
She thought—it’s fortunate that Franz is sitting in the seat closest to the top seat.
“Ah, Sir Franz. How about swapping seats with Miss Lucette?”
‘Oh my.’
Please say no!
But Franz stood up coolly, as if he hadn’t seen Luce’s serious eyes or pretended he hadn’t.
“Yes, it would be better for the main character of the banquet to sit opposite the host. My thoughts were short.”
Luce, who was forced to sit across the Duke’s husband, quickly managed her expression.
‘I have to act like an innocent idiot. Moderately stiff and unfamiliar to such things, extremely clumsy.’
With the Duke’s husband right in front of her, the acting came out naturally without much effort.
Luce, who looked awkward and uncomfortable, pretended to glance at the banquet hall.
Apparently, this wasn’t the main banquet hall.
Considering the size of the mansion, the size of the banquet hall was smaller than expected, and there weren’t many ornaments.
‘But according to the concept.’
Nevertheless, she heard a laugh as she tried to look at it with sparkling eyes as if it were amazing.
The Duke’s husband spoke in a very soft voice.
“Thank you for coming even though I invited you out of the blue.”
“No, thank you for inviting me.”
“Wasn’t it hard on the way here?”
“Yes, thanks to the carriage, we were able to come quickly. I heard it would take three days, but it was amazing that we arrived in only half a day.”
She could feel Rev’s gaze on her.
Of course. Because she wasn’t just fascinated by a fast carriage. It’s closer to the side that took pity on the horse.
But Luce ignored his gaze.
“It is the work of skillful magic engineers. Are there many things different from the Rodante estate you used to live in?”
“Yes.”
‘Usually, I’d make comments like a social life, saying that some things were great and some were cool, but I can’t do that now.’
Franz stepped up instead of Luche, who stopped talking.
“I visited the dukedom a long time ago, and it has changed beyond comparison. It’s amazing to see such a dazzling achievement in just a few years, and I thought that the Rodante estate, where my father is located, should also follow the example of Ximel’s estate and develop.”
“What, Rodante has his own charm. What about Baron Felice? He must have wanted to come along.”
“Since he’s old…”
It’s a relief. The atmosphere was well settled by Franz.
Food was served while the two gave each other empty praise and encouragement, which wasn’t very healthy.
Honey-baked ham, glazed roast turkey, and a slightly spicy pie baked with seafood were some very stylish dishes.
Although it was a little annoying that each corner was cut off.
‘Who wants to try it first? Like the court woman responsible for first tasting the food.’
However, she had no appetite, which is rare for Luce.
It was full of nice things, but the only food he could think of was Chelsea’s mushroom soup or Rev’s cocoa.
But she had to show that she liked the banquet.
The question returned to Luce, who was filling her plate with a few slices of ham, salad, and pie crumbs.
“Why didn’t you take the present, Miss Lucette?”
“Aha…I think it’s too much to receive in return. What I did wasn’t that great.”
From now on, this is the main point.
Luce smiled as if she really thought so.
“Not too much, if Miss Lucette hadn’t noticed in the first place, there could have been a big accident.”
“I just happened to witness the situation.”
“You are humble. I hope you will know that what Miss Lucete has done was a very brave act.”
“Thank you for saying that. But the culprit… it was Sir Franz who caught it.”
She was sick of talking about such an uncomfortable story. Moreover, the menus on the table full of red meat naturally reminded her of the blood that flowed from the page turner.
Luce, who had closed her eyes for a while due to the bloody afterimage passing in front of her, tried to attribute everything to Franz’s credit.
“Sir Franz caught the culprit, but it was Miss Lucette who alerted him to the danger. Although, the incident of the day is confidential and I decided not to investigate it, but I can’t help but have personal curiosity. That’s why… Why don’t you tell me what the situation was like as Miss Lucete witnessed it?”
It was a kind and friendly tone.
“Of course, if you feel uncomfortable, you don’t have to say anything. I fully understand. What happened that day must have been quite shocking, and even for me, that moment remains very painful. However, I hope that you will understand my position, which I cannot just ignore because it is unpleasant because it involves a family child.”
But in the end, it was to state the circumstances of the day.
It would have been better to push. Rather than spinning the wheel.
“I think Miss Lucete knows how I feel because you must have a father, too, right?”
I don’t have a father.
She was about to laugh.
Why doesn’t he pretend to be considerate?
However, Luce knew that if she refused at this moment, this situation would be repeated in some way.
Like sending an invitation when a gift is rejected.
There’s no way they’ll send her back without finding out anything.
So she opened her mouth with a slightly hesitant expression.
It’s something she has to do only once anyway.
“I went to the festival to participate in the academic festival. After I came out to get some fresh air, the door was closed and I was wandering around. His Excellency the Baron told me to look forward to an evening of music. Since he is a musician, I wanted to hear him play at least once, so I went to the music night venue.”
She glanced at Franz, and he nodded eagerly.
“There were already a lot of visitors. There is no place to sit, so I am standing at the entrance and listening to music. How can I know such orchestral music well? I quickly lost interest. Still, I didn’t have anywhere to go, so I wanted to go see people, but the person handing over The Baron’s sheet music was a bit strange.”
“How strange was that?”
Up to this point, there seemed to be no doubts.
‘I left out everything that would sound really weird in the first place.’
Who would believe her if she told them that she had to go to Felice Hall because of someone’s unknown words.
Believe it or not, she couldn’t explain it properly.
‘When I think about him, my head hurts.’
The man in Luce’s memory was wearing a long black robe, and his fingers were long and thin like tree branches.
But that was all she remembered. The more she thought about the man, the more she got a headache.
She even tried to think of the man’s other descriptions and the words he heard from him, but he couldn’t. It seemed as if a whitish curtain was covering the entire moment.
She asked Mrs. Plum roundly, and she said casually, ‘When you’re in a big shock, there are times when you can’t remember the moment. It was a self-defense mechanism.’
She could understand it, but if she wanted to forget, she should forget the moment the page turner died.
But apart from the headache, she couldn’t explain about the man. If she tells them she went to Felice Hall because of a man she can’t even remember, they won’t believe her, and she’ll have to tell even more lies.
Luce rubbed her temples and continued.
“The person handing over the sheet music should of course be looking at the sheet music, right? Or watching His Excellency the Baron play. But he kept looking at the audience as if he was looking for someone.”
“Couldn’t he have been looking for someone because there was a guest who had been invited by him?”
“If he had only seen it, I might have thought so too.
But there was something sparkling in the man’s arms. Too big and too long to be considered a tie pin or a button.”
Luce, who frowned, continued.
“It was scary to see that even his eyes were looking for someone he knew. The man’s eyes, rolling around as if he had found someone, stopped in the front row. I was so scared for a moment, but I just didn’t know what to do.”
“Ordinary people would have called the guards or screamed. That’s normal behavior. But didn’t Miss Lucette do that?”
“…Mmm. Can I be honest with you?”
“Of course. Please be honest like before.”
Even as he closed his eyes and smiled, the Duke’s husband’s eyes were sharp.
Luce tightened her neck and held her breath.
“That’s…”
She changed her expression to make it look like she was embarrassed and ashamed.
“Unfortunately, I was so embarrassed at that moment that I couldn’t think of any reasonable ways.”
The Duke’s husband, who had asked back elegantly, looked dumbfounded for a moment.
Luce didn’t miss that moment.
She held her breath, lowered her head, and spoke quickly with a tear in her eye.
“What can I say, but… Sir Franz was in the front row. Since Sir Franz is a knight, he must know how to fight well, right? So, I should tell Sir Franz that there is a strange person. That’s all I can think of.”
“…So?”
“I was on my way to Franz by bending down. As you know, there was a sudden blackout. I was so surprised that the light suddenly went out…”
Luce muttered in a crawling voice.
“I just grabbed the person next to me.”
She pretended to be wiggling her hands, and opened the clutch.
“That was… the man who came with Your Highness.”
“….”
“That’s why I told you that what I did was nothing, and that Sir Franz did it all.”
It was when everyone’s eyes were on Luce’s face.
Luce took the medicine out of the bottle and put the powder on her hand, then asked in a quiet voice that didn’t match her quick movements.
“Perhaps, are you angry…?”
The Duke’s husband, who was doubtful at first, smiled slowly as if in slow motion.
Enough! It seems he believes it!
It was when Luce cheered inwardly.
“You were here?”
The banquet hall door burst open.
At the same time as she saw the person who entered, the comment she had seen before passed before her eyes.
