CHAPTER 26………………………………………
Then didn’t that practically mean the pawnshop owner had raised Raseil?
In a way, meeting someone like a mother-in-law… still felt a bit burdensome.
The logic was a bit of a leap, but from Irenes’s point of view, that was how it felt anyway.
“Then… ah, the sun is setting.”
Perhaps they had been walking for quite a while—the sun was disappearing.
Indigo spread rapidly across the crimson-stained sky.
There was no one around; only the rustling of leaves could be heard now and then as the wind blew.
Instinctively, Irenes realized that if it wasn’t now, a better moment would never come.
“Sir Jaen.”
“Yes?”
“If you don’t mind… please enter the ball with me.”
Opening the ring case, Irenes quietly slipped the ring onto Raseil’s finger.
The fourth finger of the right hand—the one usually used when asking someone to be a partner.
The ring, bought by eye, fit perfectly, as if it had been custom-made.
“……”
A brief silence fell.
In that span—whether seconds, minutes, tens of minutes, or hours—his throat felt parched.
Every possible kind of rejection began to play out in his head.
How do I cling without looking pathetic?
No—clinging itself probably counted as pathetic….
Just as Irenes’s thoughts were drifting that way, Raseil took off her glove.
Am I being challenged to a duel?
She might say that asking her to be a partner with nothing but a paltry jewel like this was an insult.
Come to think of it, someone raised in a ducal household wouldn’t be satisfied with jewelry like this.
I was in a hurry back then…!
Would an excuse like “I’ll prepare something properly in the capital before the ball” be enough to smooth things over…?
There were so many questions, but no one to answer them.
With his head in turmoil, Irenes squeezed his eyes shut to brace himself—then opened them again.
No matter how long he waited, he didn’t feel the fabric of a glove flying toward his face.
“If you’re fine with me.”
What was in front of him was Raseil’s bare hand.
It was positioned perfectly for a kiss on the back of the hand.
A gesture commonly seen when accepting a partner request.
Dazed, Irenes lightly took her hand.
Is this real?
Things had gone so well that he kept suspecting it might be a delusion.
But once he held Raseil’s hand, he knew for sure.
It is….
The hand hidden inside the glove was soft, as was common among nobles.
At the same time, he could clearly feel the texture of calluses.
“Please take care of me.”
After greeting her, Irenes lightly kissed the back of her hand.
“…Yes.”
Meanwhile, Raseil felt just as strangely unsettled.
Lately she’d only been working as a bodyguard, so she hadn’t received partner requests.
It felt like ages since she’d last received a hand-kiss.
No, but even then…
It felt a little different from now.
Is it because it’s been so long?
Failing to identify the source of that subtle feeling, Raseil awkwardly cleared her throat.
“Shall we head back in?”
“Ah, yes.”
The evening before the ball was drawing to a close.
“There shouldn’t have been a pizza place there. Anyway, forget it.”
After that, Yujere took some time to decide which of the three new pieces of information to react to first.
- Raseil had gone to a place that didn’t even exist again.
It had happened far too often and was predictable enough to be dismissed.
- The jeweler’s problem had been resolved.
Well, it was Raseil—of course she’d resolved it.
Yujere would still need to spend time separately investigating that jewel.
In any case, this too was predictable and could be skipped.
- She had received a partner request from Irenes.
This, however, could not be brushed aside.
And not because it was absolutely necessary to take Raseil along as a bodyguard.
Is there finally… some progress?
A relationship that had never gone beyond friendship seemed to have finally moved a little.
Watching someone be oblivious to something so obvious to everyone else had been endlessly frustrating.
Every time I try to tell her directly, we get interrupted.
Mostly because of the ghosts that were always around Raseil.
Their reasons for interference were usually things like “she’s still young” or “we don’t know if he’s trustworthy.”
The most absurd one was the claim that getting into a relationship without ever having dated before was too early.
Then when are you supposed to date?
“…So I think we’ll have to entrust the escort duty to Rujea.”
“That’s fine, of course.”
Trying not to look too amused, Yujere continued.
“Who made the partner request?”
“Sir Sieren.”
It seemed she’d finally managed to accomplish something without being obstructed by ghosts.
It might have something to do with the head maid of the mansion subtly supporting Raseil’s love life.
He seemed like a good person.
Recalling the head maid she had met for the first time not long ago, Yujere fell into thought.
She had the typical appearance of a ghost, but…
She didn’t seem particularly malicious.
Like many ghosts, she also showed affection toward Raseil.
I hope it goes well.
Whether as a friend or as a young duke, Irenes was an appropriate partner for Raseil.
He would serve as a shield against those trying to use Raseil to gain connections to the ducal family.
There are just too many lowly ones around.
Perhaps because she had no dating experience at all, quite a few people saw her as an easy mark.
Most of them ended up suffering “regrettable” injuries and “coincidentally” leaving high society.
…At least, that’s what the ghosts told Raseil.
“But why a ball all of a sudden? You’ve never planned one this hastily.”
Rujea complained from the side.
It was obvious she was unhappy about having more work to deal with.
She was even grumbling that she shouldn’t have learned clerical work if it was going to be like this.
“There’s something that needs to be taken care of at the right time.”
Two faces turned toward Yujere at once, both wearing expressions of of course.
They both seemed to have already grasped the intention behind this ball.
Good thing they understand on their own.
Yujere turned her head back toward the stack of papers.
Complaints from the territory’s residents were still piled up.
Most didn’t require force, but some occasionally required going in person to use magic.
…Maybe I really should hire Elian….
She understood that the duke valued hands-on experience, but this was too much.
Yujere soon found herself pondering how to drag her friend into this paperwork hell.
“But are you really okay with it?”
Her hand, flipping through papers, stopped at Rujea’s voice.
“You said you didn’t want to look like you’re in a romantic relationship with Sir Sieren, right?”
“It’s just one time as partners. People do that all the time without getting engaged.”
“Why did you say you didn’t like it again?”
“It’s just that he resembles… no, never mind. That’d be rude to Sir Sieren.”
Still unresolved, huh?
Reading the words in front of her, Yujere quietly sank into thought.
Well, bad memories from childhood wouldn’t disappear that quickly.
Especially if she grew up hearing it all the time.
…Until he got married, Raseil’s father had been a fairly decent person.
Kind to everyone, competent at work, and a trusted retainer of the ducal family.
Then problems arose after he married.
Is that why she keeps emphasizing being kind to everyone?
Raseil’s mother wasn’t a bad person either.
She was simply anxious about the fact that her husband was close with other women.
At that point, “kindness” often turned into skinship that was excessive.
Naturally, there were many fights between the couple, many days of drinking, and then…
…I don’t know what came first anymore….
Raseil’s mother committed suicide.
After that, her father caused all sorts of trouble, was expelled from the ducal household, and returned to his hometown.
At least it was fortunate they came to this village.
Raseil’s treatment bordered on neglect.
It was fortunate she wasn’t beaten, but it couldn’t be said there was no abuse.
After teaching her how to read, he reportedly never even spared her a glance again
