Chapter 07
“Lady Ries, you can fix a butterfly’s wing?”
Instead of the frozen duchess, Darius asked, and I nodded.
The appendix of Frank Luden’s Butterfly Guide included how to repair torn butterfly wings and how to make specimens.
It was a part with process drawings, so I read it quite interestingly.
“Though I’ve never done it myself, I know the method.”
I looked up at the duchess and told her seriously. It meant I would leave the judgment to her.
“Ries.”
From beside me, Simon placed a hand on my shoulder. It probably meant I shouldn’t act too boldly.
“Leaving it like that won’t give it any chance, so there’s no harm in trying.”
After a short moment of thought, the duchess allowed the butterfly surgery with a determined tone.
“Please prepare paper knife, glue, tweezers, thin wire, scissors, and thick paper. Blue would be best if possible.”
The duchess immediately relayed my list to a servant, and the items were quickly brought.
While Darius, Simon, and the duchess watched silently, I rolled up my sleeves.
I gently placed the patient on a handkerchief and bent the thin wire to fix the patient’s body.
The twitching antennae and legs were quite creepy, but I forced myself to endure and didn’t show it. It was really fortunate that I was wearing gloves.
After waiting until the struggling butterfly became quiet, I declared solemnly.
“Then I will begin the operation.”
About ten minutes of struggle later, the surgery was finished.
It sounded grand, but I just cut blue paper into the same shape as the tip of the opposite wing and attached it to the broken wing.
The book said butterflies might fly normally again if done this way. But would it really work?
Since I was not sure either, I looked at the duchess once, then removed the wire that had fixed the butterfly.
After several attempts, the butterfly flew up.
It was somewhat awkward, as if uncomfortable, but it did not fall and reached the flower petals.
“Wow!”
It was fortunate that I was good with my hands. I exhaled in relief, touching my chest.
Following the path of the vigorously dancing morpho butterfly, the duchess soon approached me.
“Lady Ries, thank you sincerely. How did you know how to fix a butterfly wing?”
“Oh! It’s in the appendix of Frank Luden’s Butterfly Guide. Haven’t you seen it?”
“…Actually, I don’t have that guidebook.”
Huh? I thought a butterfly lover would naturally have it!
“A long time ago it went out of print. Even if I searched all second-hand bookstores in Pellen, I couldn’t find it. And it wasn’t a book that was printed in large quantity in the first place.”
Her calm tone carried a faint regret.
Great! Time for the sleeve-insertion chance!
“I’ll give you mine.”
As if she had been waiting, I offered my butterfly guidebook to the duchess.
“That would not be proper. How can I receive such a priceless book?”
It would be precious only to her. In our manor library, it was just gathering dust.
“It’s okay. I’ve already memorized everything.”
“Still….”
“Instead, can I visit the glass greenhouse again? To see the butterflies.”
I quickly added “to see butterflies” so as not to cause misunderstanding.
Originally I planned to slowly get close by sharing hobbies, but since it turned out this way, I would ask directly.
The duchess blinked and shook her head.
“Lady Ries, since you have the kindness of fixing the wing of my most precious butterfly, you may come anytime you wish. You don’t have to give me the book.”
“Really?!”
“Of course. I heard Brante Count manor is nearby. Come and play often.”
“Thank you!”
I obtained a free entry pass to see my favorite character anytime.
I glanced at Darius and smiled wickedly. Darius, who didn’t know it was a selfish smile, looked back with a question mark floating in the air and smiled. So cute!
I turned again toward the duchess.
“Still, I want to give you the book. The book should go to a master who loves butterflies more than I do. Then the book will be happier.”
“Since Lady Ries says so much… let’s compromise and just borrow it for now. Until now, guests who visited this greenhouse only said the scenery was beautiful. This is the first time I met someone who truly likes butterflies.”
The duchess’s face, which had only worn a perfectly neat smile before, now carried a soft, genuine smile.
Mission of flattering the duchess completed.
After talking a little more about butterflies, it was about time to leave.
“We will take our leave now. Thank you deeply for your generous hospitality.”
“I had a very pleasant time. Thank you.”
Following Simon, I bowed politely.
“Both of you should visit the duke’s mansion freely from now on. And get along well with our son, Darius.”
The duchess responded with a clearly more friendly attitude than at the beginning.
It was good that I conquered her, but I was bothered that Kyle’s name was not mentioned at all today.
The duchess came out to the front of the greenhouse to see us off, and Darius walked with us toward the gate.
As the gate gradually got closer, I hesitated a little and lightly grabbed the sleeve of Darius’s clothes beside me.
“Um, before going back, can I say hello to Kyle?”
I asked shyly.
Simon, who was walking in front, suddenly turned around. He couldn’t speak badly about his younger brother in front of Darius, but he glared at me for ignoring his warning.
Well, it’s my own choice. Want to glare with your eyes?
“I’ll just see his face for a short moment.”
When I asked Darius for permission, he looked pleased instead.
“Of course.”
Simon sighed quietly, showing his displeasure.
“I don’t have to go with you, right?”
“Yes.”
Please get lost.
“You can go first. Lady Ries, I will take you back to our house with my carriage.”
Darius, nice assist!
Simon waved his hand casually as if saying okay and walked away.
It wasn’t necessary to see Kyle today, but seeing that he was excluded even from the family tea time made me feel concerned.
“Kyle is probably training alone at the outdoor training ground right now.”
Entering the exit of the maze garden where I had gotten lost before, Darius explained.
“Thank you earlier, Lady Ries.”
Amidst the sound of stepping on grass, Darius’s beautiful voice expressed gratitude.
“What for?”
“For fixing the butterfly wing. It’s been a long time since I saw Mother so purely happy.”
“Oh, it was nothing. I just did what I wanted.”
It was a trick to visit you often.
“Was the food okay? You didn’t have to sneak into the kitchen this time, right?”
“That…!”
“I know. That time was for Kyle, right? And today, you came to see Kyle too… Ah, did you come to today’s tea party because of him?”
His smiling eyes carried a meaning.
“No way!”
“Ahaha. I was just testing. To me, you are a very cute little sister.”
“Cute…? You know what that word means, right?”
I asked in shock, and Darius laughed out loud.
Although I planned to become friends with Kyle, I didn’t want to be misunderstood as liking him romantically.
The laughter disappeared from Darius’s eyes.
“……Please get along well with Kyle even when I’m not around, Lady Ries.”
“Yes, I will.”
Just like before and today, Darius really had some affection for Kyle!
In the original story, there was a description that Darius bullied his half-brother when they were young. Then he gradually matured and changed.
Maybe he had left the stormy teenage age. The sixteen-year-old Darius now seemed to feel sorry toward Kyle.
If I can coax Kyle well and make the relationship between them not bad, then the worst ending won’t happen!
By the way, one word caught my attention. “When I’m not around.”
“Brother Darius, are you going somewhere?”
“In two weeks, school starts.”
“Why…?”
“Randest Royal Military Academy is a boarding school. I live in the dormitory.”
What?!
Boarding school? What kind of sudden thunderbolt is this! Just when I was happy about getting a free pass to the duke mansion!
I only knew that Darius and Simon graduated from the Royal Military Academy before the story began, but I didn’t know the details.
“You mean you can’t come home until summer vacation?”
“If I get permission to go out, I can come home on weekends.”
“I see…”
Then, can you come here every weekend?
Fortunately, I swallowed the voice of desire in my mouth.
While I was drowning in disappointment knowing I wouldn’t be able to see Darius for a while, we reached the exit of the maze garden. A dull sound of something lightly hitting echoed in the air, then again spread through the void.
Turning the corner of the boxwood hedge, irregular striking sounds came from nearby.
A small open space surrounded by hedges appeared, and in the center stood a black-haired boy holding a long bow almost as big as his body.
Around a clean target without a single scratch, stray arrows were stuck here and there.
“Kyle! Your friend is here!”
When Darius called, the boy turned his head toward us. When our eyes met, I gently waved my hand, but Kyle’s brow immediately narrowed.
That kid also has the skill of insulting people with his eyes. Is that a common ability for rude kids?
“Then I’ll wait near the garden, Lady Ries.”
After Darius’s figure disappeared, I approached Kyle, who was blatantly ignoring me.
“Hi, Kyle. Did you live well?”
“……”
“Why did you leave that day without waiting for me? I brought lots of food.”
Then Kyle suddenly turned around, opened his mouth wide as if he wanted to argue.
