episode_0188

Around the time when the spring flowers were beginning to show their faces one by one, Nadezhda’s practice was over, and the time to part ways with the prairie elves was approaching.

Unlike Stefan, who seemed a bit oblivious, Nadezhda got along well with other staff and Katerina, so I briefly thought ‘maybe?’, but that was out of the question.

It’s hard to suddenly abandon one’s livelihood and relationships and come looking for someone.

Still, it wasn’t bad.

Now that we’ve established this connection, who knows if someone from the prairie might become interested in us because of it.

“It was a short period, but thank you for everything.”

“That’s right, if we weren’t so self-conscious, we’d want to come again.”

“I don’t even know if it’s possible to repay all of this.”

A little early before sunrise.

Starting with Nadezhda’s greeting, who was riding a reindeer and couldn’t hide a slightly tired look, as she looked at me and the Head Butler, the elves added a word each, expressing their gratitude for the consideration they had received for about two weeks.

“What do you mean by ‘owing us’ for a few nights… It wasn’t much of a burden, so don’t worry about it.”

“Haha!”

I didn’t feel like I had done anything that warranted being called a favor, so I chuckled and offered a little modesty, but the elves glanced at the few bundles the size of human torsos tied to the reindeer and burst into hearty laughter, as if they had heard a funny joke.

“You let us sleep at your house for a few days and took care of us in many ways, how can we not worry about it?”

“It’s really a trivial thing for me, but I don’t know what to do with myself that you think of it that way.”

The bundles were only big, but they were all necessities, so even combined, they weren’t worth 1 gold.

Even if it was 1 gold, there was no need to spend money living there, so it felt like giving pocket money to a nephew on Chuseok, not even scratching the surface.

“Ha! This is why you have to be friends with rich guys!”

Stefan smiled brightly, so much that his pupils couldn’t be seen, as I told him it was nothing with a smile.

“If you have time, stop by the imperial capital and I’ll give you leather as a gift, I heard reindeer leather is used for decoration here?”

“That’s right, personally, I prefer deer or horse leather, but if you insist on giving it as a gift, I will gladly accept it.”

“Deer and horse… okay, that shouldn’t be too difficult.”

Stefan muttered as if engraving it in his head, then nodded lightly.

And as the eastern sky began to turn purple with the approaching dawn, he glanced at it and turned the reindeer’s head slightly to the side.

“We should get going soon too, we’ll be too conspicuous when it gets light.”

“Yes, travel safely.”

“Master William, take care too, life is short, you should at least show us a pretty wife and child before you go.”

“That’s right, at least so the baby doesn’t starve…”

“Stop with the useless talk and let’s really get going now.”

Hastily cutting off the elves who were still clinging to the story I made up, I stepped aside slightly, creating an atmosphere that told them to return to the prairie as soon as possible.

“Wife…?”

The Head Butler, who had been listening quietly, stared at me as if asking what the hell I was talking about, but I gritted my teeth and ignored him, waving lightly at the elves.

“You’re too shy, a man must be brave to be popular, Master William.”

“Just go quickly!”

“Ahahaha! Then I’ll really go now! Goodbye! Hyah!”

As I reddened and shouted as if about to kick the reindeer, the elves laughed as if they were about to die and spurred the reindeer’s flanks.

“Haa…”

I sighed, watching the backs of the elves and reindeer moving away with soft steps.

How am I supposed to deal with the Head Butler who is giving me such a stinging gaze, left behind by those damn elves…

I’m tired.

_

Like a butterfly’s wings causing a typhoon.

My small lie, made up to avoid a moment of annoyance, grew into a typhoon and came back to me.

Explaining this fact to the Head Butler was not a difficult problem, just annoying, so I explained the whole story in great detail, making it clear that it was a misunderstanding.

The Head Butler was confused at first, but in the end, he understood everything and nodded.

The problem was that this story didn’t just spread to the Head Butler.

“Young Master, is it true that Emily claims to be your wife?”

It started with the Butler cautiously coming to me and asking anxiously as if making a secret deal.

“What nonsense are you talking about?”

“I heard the story from another butler, but it was so strange that I told you just in case.”

“Emily would never do such a thing, so tell them to stop making strange noises.”

“Is that so? I knew that sweet Emily wouldn’t do such a crazy thing.”

Instead of saying ‘I was misunderstood,’ they said ‘Emily claimed to be,’ which was a terrible story that could have Emily kicked out of the family if things went wrong, so I was able to end the butlers’ misunderstanding by sternly correcting them.

Fortunately, the butlers didn’t seem to seriously believe it, so I thought it would end quickly.

“Young Master, Young Master, did you hear the news that Emily is getting married?”

Then the maids came to me and asked with bright smiles about a slightly different rumor than before.

“To whom?”

I wondered if she had found a partner without me knowing, and I was about to go into seclusion, feeling disappointed and depressed that she hadn’t told me she had found a partner.

“To you!”

“To me?”

It turned out that the partner was me.

“Who the hell said that?”

“The elf guests who came before told us, saying ‘Emily’s wife this and that…’! The butlers are also buzzing about Emily and the Young Master, and Emily is too embarrassed to say no, so we came to ask the Young Master.”

Thanks to this, I learned that the damn elves were spreading the rumor that Emily was married with great enthusiasm, and that the rumor was growing into a chimera as it reproduced in various directions.

“That’s all nonsense…”

Still, it was a calmer rumor compared to before, so I calmly explained that it wasn’t true and sent them back, but at this point, I began to fear what variations the rumors created by these three groups of elves, butlers, and maids would cause.

“Son.”

Even my father came to me right after with a serious face, and I thought my heart would drop.

“Emily is a really nice and good child, so I wouldn’t have opposed it even if I didn’t welcome it.”

“That fact is…”

“Yes, it must be a false rumor, if you had caused an accident, you would have already done it, but please be careful so that such rumors don’t spread now, I don’t want to face the Emperor summoning me to the audience hall, asking if I played with his daughter…”

“I’m sorry…”

“It’s the elves’ fault, why are you sorry, just be careful next time.”

“Yes, I will keep that in mind and be careful.”

I realized that it was my father who almost had a heart attack and could only apologize as if I was about to bury my head in the desk.

Still, thanks to my father passing by, I was relieved that there would be no more problems.

If I could resolve things with the butlers, maids, and father, I would have explained everything to everyone.

Brother?

My brother didn’t believe it in the first place.

He shouted, ‘I’ll bet my wrist that that cowardly bastard didn’t touch Emily!’ which helped the rumors subside even faster.

It was a little sad that my whole family thought of me as a coward who couldn’t even touch the food on the table, but it was a clear and obvious fact, so there was nothing I could do.

I just felt sorry for Emily, who was nodding with a look of deep sympathy.

After calming the rumors and spending my days in peace, quietly waiting for the Emperor’s inauguration anniversary.

The real butterfly effect came on a weekday, about two days before His Majesty’s inauguration ceremony.

“William, it’s been a long time.”

That was the day Evelyn Noona, who had left for the Holy Kingdom to become a priest, returned with a benevolent smile after several years.

“Oh, Big Noona? Weren’t you in the Holy Kingdom?”

“I got a vacation after a long time, it took a while to get approval, but…”

“Welcome back, it must have been hard to come all the way here from the Holy Kingdom?”

“What’s so hard about riding a carriage on a well-paved road?”

I was surprised that Noona, who resembled my mother and was said to be more suited to being an Inquisitor, could show benevolence on her face, but I was also very happy to see her after a long time.

“Ooh-hoo-hoo, it’s been a long time, you’ve really grown a lot, it feels like just yesterday you barely came up to my chest, but you’re already taller than me.”

“It’s because of puberty.”

It was a day when memories of Noona stroking my head and comparing her height to mine came back to me.

“But William.”

“Yes?”

But suddenly, the hand stroking my head slowly gained strength.

“I heard a really interesting rumor while I was in the townhouse for a short time, would you like to hear it?”

“What… is it?”

“I heard that you’re tormenting Emily like a prodigal son.”

“… Pardon?”

“You suddenly got caught up in an inquisition at the beginning of the year… and you actually received a fine, right?”

My mother’s face slowly returned to Noona’s face, and she began to look up at me with cold eyes.

“William.”

“Yes, yes…!”

“I think we need a deep conversation after a long time, can you spare some time? With Emily too.”

At that moment, the room of truth opened in the townhouse along with the second inquisition.

“Y-yes, of course, Big Miss.”

“O-of course, Noona, if Noona asks for time, I have to make time, of course.”

“Follow me.”

Rather than explaining on the spot, Emily and I cursed the elves in our hearts for managing to create such a terrible bomb.

We had no choice but to be dragged silently to the room of truth created by Noona, like lambs being led to the slaughterhouse.