episode_0008

In front of the square with a grand clock tower, the carriage began to slow down gradually.

Albris took out a silver pocket watch from his pocket to check the time.

Manuella opened the square leather trunk on the floor and picked up the cosmetics she had brought along.

Meanwhile, Eleanor was still deeply engrossed in the new scenery outside the window.

It was fascinating.

Knights in well-polished armor passing by among the crowd were fascinating. Women walking diligently in uncomfortable-looking dresses and shoes caught her attention.

Boys wearing black robes with white scarves resembling priests caught Eleanor’s gaze. She also took an interest in girls carrying baskets filled with nameless flowers, offering them to passersby.

The appearance of people so different from those in her original world captivated Eleanor’s eyes and ears.

Yes, this is how fantasy should be!

It felt like she had been confined to a luxurious nursing home all this time.

The platinum-haired lady who had been leaning slightly towards the window suddenly straightened up, leaning against the window frame, gazing beyond it.

Manuella gently tapped the somewhat disoriented lady’s shoulder and moved her lips.

“Lady, please check your makeup before getting off the carriage.”

Manuella’s voice brought Eleanor back to reality once again.

Eleanor turned her head abruptly.

Astonishment was evident on her petite face.

“Makeup? But I did it over an hour ago before coming!”

At the mere mention of that dreadful word, Eleanor shuddered.

Makeup was like hell to Eleanor.

She couldn’t blink too much, move her eyes too widely, or speak incomprehensible words among themselves.

Following Manuella’s instructions, the maids had spent over an hour applying makeup to Eleanor’s face.

…Of course, the result was good afterwards.

Despite the lady’s deeply furrowed expression, Manuella firmly held out a mirror without batting an eye.

“Look. Your lipstick has smudged a lot. The color has faded significantly.”

Even though Eleanor couldn’t understand what difference it made.

She let out a deep sigh and met the lady in the mirror’s eyes.

Certainly, with makeup, her beauty seemed to double.

The rosy cheeks accentuated her fair skin, and the reddened lips filled Eleanor with a vitality she lacked.

It seemed so even to the eyes of an unknowing man.

But beauty was just beauty.

Eleanor scanned the lady’s face in the mirror from top to bottom.

Yet, Eleanor couldn’t figure out what had changed from before their departure.

Well, if Manuella said so, then it must be true.

Eleanor obediently extended her face.

If Manuella said to put on makeup, then it was her fate to do so.

Though she was Eleanor, Manuella stood a level above her. At least in the Beaurne Townhouse, that was the case.

Soon, a soft brush tickled Eleanor’s cheek lightly.

Furrowing her eyebrows, it wasn’t because of Manuella’s touch. The laughter of the old man from across was bothering Eleanor.

“Why are you laughing?”

Raising her narrowed eyes cautiously, Eleanor glared at Albris.

“Just reminiscing about the past a bit.”

Albris, meeting his sister’s sharp gaze, looked at her half-opened face lost in memories.

“Thinking about the old days?”

“Yeah. When you first came up to the capital. Even then, you were staring out the window the whole time until we arrived at the mansion. Remember?”

“That’s right. I told you that sitting like that would make you nauseous, but you didn’t listen. Eventually, you arrived at the townhouse and stayed in bed for two days.”

Manuella responded to Albrice with a faint smile, as if missing those times.

Eleanor shifted her gaze and looked at herself in the mirror.

Yes, Eleanor. I thought you would be different from me, being the precious youngest daughter of a noble family. But we still have similarities.

The lady in the mirror gently lifted the corners of her mouth in agreement with Eleanor’s words.

Putting away the brush that tickled her cheek into the trunk and taking out a jar of ointment for her lips, Manuella looked at Albrice with a firm expression.

“But, young master. No matter how close you are as family, it is not polite to stare so intently at a lady’s makeup.”

“Yes, yes. Well done, scold him more, Manuella!”

“You look ridiculous, Albrice!”

In response to Manuella’s teasing, Albrice smiled charmingly, and Eleanor stuck out her tongue towards him.

#

Women walking along the main street soon stopped in their tracks and gathered at both ends of the road, whispering to each other while staring at the man walking down the center of the street.

Under his silver hair burned red eyes.

His smooth skin was cleaner and more transparent than most women’s.

His broad chest, spread wide enough to embrace those looking at him, stood out under his angular shoulders.

As the silver-haired man passed by the women, the muffled sighs of the women spread through the main street like a contagious wave.

However, the silver-haired gentleman seemed uninterested in the women’s gazes.

Despite the sighs and occasional voices calling out to him, the man simply walked proudly with his head held high, continuing on his way.

Walking beside him, a man with sandy brown hair eagerly collected the sighs sent by the women captivated by the silver-haired man.

“Hey, ladies! Are you free today? How about a drink tonight? Huh? Not interested? Then how about you, miss?”

Passing by and throwing compliments at visible women, the man took a step, paused, and repeated the action.

Thanks to him, the two men gradually distanced themselves.

As the gap between them widened, the silver-haired man finally stopped and turned to look at the man with sandy brown hair walking beside him.

“Christian. You’re not planning to scout all the evening schedules of the capital’s ladies, are you?”

At the sound of his stern voice, the man called Christian laughed and briskly ran over to the side of the silver-haired man.

“No, of course not. But still, you know. After returning to the capital after so long, shouldn’t we inform the ladies of our survival? Tell them that Valatier survived the madness of the grand battlefield!”

“You don’t need to make such a survival announcement. I’m going ahead.”

“Wait, just a moment. Julian, wait!”

Arguing back and forth, the two men headed towards a large tavern behind the commercial district.

It was a two-story wooden building in a shabby alley.

In front of the tightly closed iron gate, the two men glanced around for a moment.

Even though the sounds of drunken revelry from early in the day echoed through the alley, except for Julian and Christian, no one else was present inside the shabby alley.

After scanning the surroundings, Christian knocked on the latch.

Three times, three times, and then twice.

At regular intervals, the heavy wooden door revealed a pair of dark amber eyes at its top.

Soon, the door began to creak ominously as it opened towards the two individuals.

“Have you returned?”

With an endlessly cold voice, a man standing in front of the door greeted Yulrian and Christian.

The lean man with sharp features, making onlookers uneasy, nodded respectfully towards Yulrian.

#.

Contrary to its shabby exterior, the interior of the building was lavishly decorated to the owner’s taste.

The vases placed next to the stairs were not cheap clay but intricately crafted ones.

The canvases on the walls displayed sophisticated paintings by up-and-coming commoner artists who were just beginning to make a name for themselves in the capital.

This space felt quite familiar as the ornate carpet woven by Eastern artisans welcomed the three men in front of Yulrian, who confidently opened the firmly closed door.

Yulrian naturally approached the large desk in the center.

As Yulrian sat down, the man with dark amber eyes extended a stack of documents to his master.

“These are the capital’s updates from the past two months.”

In the man’s perpetually low voice, no trace of emotion could be found.

“Oh? Ernst. Anything noteworthy to report separately?”

Glancing through the documents handed to him, Yulrian asked.

“Other than the reports you’re already aware of, there isn’t anything particularly remarkable.”

Upon hearing this, Yulrian casually skimmed through the documents Ernst had presented.

It seemed that the capital had been relatively quiet in the past two months since Yulrian went to suppress the pirates in the east, as Ernst had mentioned.

“However.”

“However?”

The red eyes that moved freely between the small characters momentarily paused.

Yulrian carelessly tossed the documents he had been reading onto the desk.

Leaning back in his chair, he awaited Ernst’s next words.

“The youngest daughter of House Baernga fell seriously ill. She did not die, but rumors suggest she has lost her memory.”

Yulrian’s red eyes sparked with interest.

Seemingly intrigued, Yulrian sat up straight and looked at the lean man with sharp features.

“Oh?”

And it wasn’t just Yulrian showing interest.

Christiane, who had been quietly listening to the conversation about the recent events in the capital, stepped forward, raising her voice at the mention of the woman’s story.

“I knew it. That’s why the missy was so unresponsive! She used to write letters diligently even from the battlefield. Hmm. Yes, our Yulrian wouldn’t reject a lady’s advances.”

In response to the old friend’s banter, Yulrian chuckled softly.

“My lord.”

Unlike Christiane, Ernst’s voice was cold and refined as it echoed in Yulrian’s ear.

Yulrian’s red eyes gleamed.

The title Ernst uttered was clearly one that Yulrian was not yet accustomed to hearing.

However, Yulrian did not show any signs of displeasure. In fact, he subtly smiled.

“House Baernga is a force not to be underestimated in our endeavors. While the Empire may have its unity within, the nobles of the West would turn their backs on the Emperor’s decrees at a word from Baernga Changbaek.”

“Moreover, that old man holds a power we do not possess.”

Yulrian nodded slightly in agreement.

“Oh, don’t worry so much, Ernst. Even if she has lost her memory, she’s just a mere woman. With Yulrian’s charm, she’ll melt like butter at his smile, giving up everything willingly.”

Christian’s naive words did not elicit any particular reaction from Yulian or the composed Ernst.

However, neither Yulian nor the stoic Ernst thought that Christian’s words would be wrong.

“Oh, and I heard that Duke Dmitri has come down to the capital for this social season.”

Ernst casually mentioned something that seemed to occur to him belatedly.

Upon hearing those words, Yulian’s shoulders trembled ever so slightly, a movement so subtle that even Christian beside him wouldn’t have noticed.