episode_0107

“Guest! Dmitri is my family!”

The clattering voice of a woman enveloped the courtyard of the mansion. Not only the butler who directly faced her anger in front of him, but also her family members, Dmitri by her side, and even Yevgeny who had just alighted from the carriage behind them.

Yevgeny, who had just set foot on the land of his hometown after a difficult journey from the capital to the western Beaurun, quickly furrowed his brow at the resounding voice.

Already finding it strange how Elly treated her lover so differently, Yevgeny, who had been unsure of the nature of the emotions he harbored until recently, found the sweet scenes between the two lovers shown on the train completely out of place.

Perhaps…

Elly’s claim that nothing happened that night except for a kiss, was it not a lie?

His unsettling thoughts were soon scattered by the rough voice of a man.

“W-What are you saying! E-Elly. You can’t be serious?”

As pale as his demeanor, Benedict’s face was now flushed as if it might burst. He was worried that he might collapse not due to his character but because of the embarrassment.

However, Eleanor did not flinch even under her father’s gaze.

“Father, what are you talking about right now?”

Looking at her father with piercing eyes, Eleanor retorted. Despite raising his voice, Hubert turned his gaze away as if fleeing, unable to bring himself to speak in front of his cute, delicate, and lovely daughter.

Unable to utter those words in front of such an adorable and fragile daughter, Hubert avoided eye contact.

With his blue eyes full of defeat, Etienne raised his hand to his forehead and bowed his head. Glaring fiercely at his eldest son, or rather husband, he then turned around to look at Eleanor, the cause of this chaos, with a troubled expression.

“Ha… First of all, everyone calm down. Eleanor, let’s go to your room with this lady. There are many things we need to ask. Weseni, you come along too.”

“Ah, understood. Madam.”

In response to the voice calling her, Weseni, who had been watching from afar in the chaos, took a step back and approached Eleanor in one breath.

Eleanor still had a stern face. It seemed like she was not pleased about something, puffing out her cheeks and making a sullen expression. Perhaps she was still upset, but her feelings towards Dmitri remained unchanged.

However, she did not stop Weseni from approaching. Instead, she extended her white arm under the half-sleeve dress to Weseni first.

Etie sighed at her daughter’s appearance. She looked at her small son, the only one she could trust among them, and spoke softly.

“Ha… Etelos.”

“Yes, Mother.”

“Guide His Grace to the third floor, to the room your brother used. Since His Grace must be tired from the long journey, you should personally escort him courteously.”

“Understood, Mother.”

Etelos nodded at his mother’s words.

His blue eyes seemed to have calmed considerably from Eleanor’s earlier remarks, but when Dmitri met his gaze, he could sense that there was still an undercurrent of unease within him.

‘Should I have praised him a bit more?’

Cutting through his thoughts, Etelos’ voice politely reached him.

“Your Grace, please proceed.”

“Oh, um. Thank you.”

“It’s a room that no one has used since going up the stairs to the second floor, so feel free to use it comfortably.”

“I-is that so?”

However, despite his gaze not matching such a look, Dmitri stumbled over his words at Etelos’ unexpectedly gentle approach.

#.

Etie walking ahead and the mansion’s courtyard.

Following behind were Eleanor and Weseni, side by side.

Instead of giving up on raising the height, in the corridor of the mansion that extends long from side to side, even though four women are walking, no conversation can be heard. Only the crisp sound of elegant heels resounded beautifully throughout the elaborately decorated, long corridor.

One could say that this atmosphere without any conversation is somewhat suffocating, but looking at Eleanor and Eugenie following behind, one could not find such an indication in their expressions.

Eleanor looked around with a look of wonder.

The townhouse and the Beaurene Mansion looked completely different, like paintings by different artists with different styles. Thanks to that, Eleanor was looking at the vases, paintings, decorations on the walls, and the scenery outside with a curious gaze.

Compared to Eleanor, Eugenie’s eyes held a different emotion, not curiosity but longing.

Using the forbidden art of the heretics to transcend time and come to the present world, Eleanor, whom she had intended to meet, had already left for the capital.

So for Eugenie, being here at the Beaurene Mansion was truly a place of long-lost memories.

Although her family had faithfully served the Beaurene Marquis for generations, a mere viscount’s daughter couldn’t wander around the Marquis’s mansion recklessly.

Since Eleanor, her sister who had crossed time with her, had disappeared somewhere after that.

Therefore, the sight of the mansion that she faced again brought various thoughts to Eugenie’s mind.

Memories of running around the mansion with her only friend, Ellie, would sometimes come to mind, and she would smile quietly.

Sometimes, when passing through spaces intertwined with childhood memories – like watching the knights’ training with high expectations through the windows – a deep sense of longing would occasionally mix with nostalgia.

But right now, Eugenie wasn’t lost in such sentiments. She shook her head and pushed away the sweet memories.

In the end, she had to explain everything to the lady. The words she had said earlier meant that the innocent young lady still didn’t know anything.

So, walking through the corridor, she entered Eleanor’s room.

“Madam, is there anything else you need?”

“Then, please bring a light refreshment for my daughter and me to enjoy.”

“What about tea?”

“Prepare three cups of sweet milk tea.”

The mansion’s maid politely bowed and left the room. As the maid left, Eleanor, who had been watching the stranger cautiously, began to move in earnest.

“Is, is this my room?”

“Yes, Ellie.”

Facing her room, Eleanor’s large eyes, already round and wide, widened even more.

Just like the atmosphere of the mansion, Eleanor’s room was completely different from the capital’s. The townhouse’s Eleanor’s room was a space filled with restrained elegance. The dark-toned wooden furniture and the straight lines of the furniture made the room somewhat heavy.

Of course, the bedding on the bed, the curtains hanging, and the decorated dolls and trinkets proved that the room’s owner was a lady, and a somewhat young one at that.

Most of the space was taken up by large furniture, giving Eleanor’s room an air of authority and stately elegance rather than the brightness and beauty of a lady.

But here, this room was different.

The room, bathed in sunlight through the sky-blue linen curtains, looked bright with the meeting of the bright-colored walls and floor. Pale pink bedding and pillows were neatly arranged on the white bed, and a white carpet with rose gold accents lay on the floor.

It wasn’t just silk fabric products.

From the headboard of the bed to the dressing table, chair, and table, the furniture in the room was full of soft curves, unlike the vertical lines of the townhouse’s furniture.

And Eleanor’s sky-blue eyes, facing that sight, were constantly wavering.

Eleanor, who had now become quite accustomed to the scent of women’s clothing, cosmetics, and perfume, was still not immune to such girlish sentimentality.

Like a teenage boy entering a high-end boutique, Eleanor looked around nervously. Seeing the girl like that, Etienne calmly lowered her voice and spoke.

“Elli, and Eugenie. Would you like to sit down for a moment?”

At the low voice of her mother, Eleanor, still with a wavering gaze, cautiously approached the white bed and sat down carefully. Eugenie approached her side and gently took Eleanor’s hand, who was uneasy about the unfamiliar surroundings.

As the two sat on the bed, Etienne brought the chair from the dressing table to the front of the bed and faced Eleanor closely.

“Elly. That ring… It doesn’t seem like an easily given ring in this mother’s eyes, no matter how you look at it.”

Etienne’s sky-blue eyes turned towards the sky-blue diamond ring that was slipped onto her delicate finger, resembling the eyes of a mother and daughter.

Eleanor hesitantly spoke, but still gently held the ring between her and Eugene’s intertwined fingers.

“I heard it’s the ring of the Grand Duchess.”

“I see. So Elly, with the Grand Duke… Dimitri, have you promised each other a future?”

“A… future?”

“If you’ve passed on the Grand Duchess’s ring, then that man probably wants to welcome you as his wife.”

Caught up in the sweet love in Etienne’s low voice, Eleanor’s dreamy thoughts came crashing back to reality.

Me… a wife? I’m going to be Dimitri’s wife?

Eleanor lowered the ring on her finger with a shocked expression.

When she received the ring, she was told what it meant. However, Eleanor had never thought of the Grand Duchess’s ring on her finger as anything heavy.

In the world she had lived in, even if a confession was made, it didn’t immediately lead to marriage. Even among couples, exchanging accessories and rings on anniversaries was common.

So when she received the ring from Dimitri, she only thought of it as a symbol of their love.

Of course, she wasn’t completely unaware that she might become Dimitri’s wife. There were more than a few times when Eleanor Berberitz murmured to herself in an empty room with a smile.

However, becoming his wife was a story for the distant future in Eleanor’s mind. Thanks to this, she had always thought lightly of the weight of the ring.

Now, Eleanor’s expression as she realized the meaning of the ring and how heavy it was, was quite a sight to behold.

Seeing Eleanor’s puzzled expression, Eugene bowed her head deeply. Etienne looked at her daughter with an expression that seemed to say she had expected this.

“You haven’t thought deeply about it, have you, our daughter?”

“I… I have. M… mother. Am I going to be a wife? Does that mean I’m going to be the Grand Duchess now?”

At her daughter’s trembling voice, Etienne smiled softly, nodding her head as if not to be surprised.

“Isn’t the ring you received telling you that?”

Etienne rose from her chair where she had been sitting carefully. Eugene quickly stood up and gave way to Etienne, who sat next to Eleanor, holding her daughter’s trembling hand like a delicate cedar tree.

“Elly. Your mother and I were trying to connect you and Dimitri. No matter how hard we looked, we couldn’t find a better match for our precious daughter. We just wanted to see a grandson or granddaughter who resembled you… no, our beautiful daughter, soon.”

At the mention of a grandson or granddaughter, Eleanor flinched, but the warmth and softness of the hand she held made her tremors subside.

“You’re taking it too lightly, my daughter. I’m a bit worried, as I said before. Calling each other family in front of the servants.”

Eleanor realized how thoughtless her words had been and why people had looked at her that way.

Love is truly a scary emotion…

“So, while you’re staying in your hometown, try to calm your mind. Nothing has been decided yet.”

Looking at her daughter with a complicated expression, Etienne embraced her delicate body. For the first time in a long time, she felt the scent and softness of a woman from her daughter.

And so, the affectionate embrace between mother and daughter continued until the servants brought a light snack to Eleanor’s room.

#.

“So, Dimitri and Elly. How far have you two gone?”

As her mother asked, Eleanor placed her teacup on the table and inquired.

“How far have we gone?”

With her round eyes, Eleanor looked back at her mother, who turned her head to look at Eugene. Eugene spoke on behalf of Eleanor about the progress between the two.

“As far as I know, they’ve only shared a kiss.”

“I see. So that man isn’t completely useless.”

In the following conversation, Eleanor glared at the two women with eyes full of discontent.

That stern expression, whether it was because it stole her answer, or because she called him a man who couldn’t use his love, Eleanor couldn’t tell.

Etienne carefully looked at his daughter again, raising the elegant teacup.

“You know, our daughter. Do you know how babies are made?”

“Babies…?”

Taken aback by the sudden change in topic, Eleanor widened her eyes and looked at Etienne. Etienne took a sip of sweet milk tea and then, in a calm voice, began to give her, who was a 21-year-old adult man, a woman’s sexual education.