~Chapter 31~
“Oh right—Lady Ansi, you liked our chef’s apple pie, didn’t you?”
“Huh? Ah, yes…”
“I asked the kitchen to prepare one as a gift for you! I totally forgot to bring it!”
Before Larit could stop her, Evangeline hurriedly darted out of the drawing room.
“Wait just a moment, I’ll bring it right away!”
As her voice faded down the hallway, the same thought crossed both Larit’s and Dietrich’s minds:
“Couldn’t she have just asked a maid to bring it to the front gate?”
Awkward silence.
“……”
“……”
Dietrich cleared his throat and turned to Larit.
“Lady Ansi… I wanted to thank you again.”
Huh? What was this all of a sudden?
Larit looked up at him with wide eyes.
Then Dietrich gave a gentle smile, meeting her gaze.
“Evangeline seems so much happier these days.”
He looked truly pleased—as only a loving older brother could.
“And that’s all thanks to you, Lady Ansi.”
Larit was momentarily speechless.
Why? Was it because she was overwhelmed by his beauty—so great it could make him the male lead of a novel?
But she’d seen more than enough beauty through being around the princess, hadn’t she?
“Lady Ansi?”
Ah.
Larit quickly snapped out of it.
“Hearing that makes me really happy. But I also…”
She trailed off, then smiled faintly.
“…I’m really happy too—because I get to be friends with someone as wonderful as the princess.”
Her ears were already blushing red.
And somehow, Dietrich thought those blushing ears were incredibly charming.
Later, inside the carriage heading back to the Ansi townhouse—
‘I’m insane, seriously!’
Larit silently screamed as she replayed what happened.
‘Did I really oppose the Duke… to his face?!’
He had clearly offered to increase the budget out of kindness toward his sister.
But instead of accepting…
“It’s easy to get used to more money, but hard to tighten spending again.”
Why did I say so much? And act like I knew everything?!
Still, there was one comforting thought:
‘At least… he didn’t seem offended, right?’
Yes, he might’ve just been polite and hid his annoyance well. But still…
When Evangeline ran out to get the apple pie—
Dietrich had said:
“Evangeline seems so much happier these days.”
His blue eyes had sparkled, like a sunlit lake.
“That’s all thanks to you, Lady Ansi.”
…And that was the moment Larit had been left speechless.
‘To be honest…’
She gently touched the box of apple pie on her lap.
‘What the Duke said… made me really happy.’
Like someone had brushed her heart with a feather—it tickled pleasantly deep inside.
That feeling was unfamiliar, but nice.
Like she was truly… needed.
The scent of warm apple pie drifted up.
A pie the princess had thoughtfully prepared just for her.
And somehow, it made her feel deeply happy.
One week later.
The regular retainers’ meeting at House Claudius took place.
As Dietrich walked into the meeting room early, he paused.
‘Hmm? Something feels… different.’
The first thing he noticed was the air.
The room had clearly been aired out for a long time—it was fresh and bright.
The heavy curtains had been replaced with lighter ones, letting in natural sunlight.
He recalled a recent conversation at breakfast with Evangeline:
“Just changing seasonal curtains and carpets can transform the atmosphere, you know.”
“Says who?”
Evangeline, flipping through papers while barely touching her food, looked at him like he was hopeless.
“Who else? Lady Ansi, of course.”
At that answer, an image of Larit sitting upright with perfect posture flashed in Dietrich’s mind.
Normally, he’d scold his cheeky sister. But this time, he said nothing.
“The wallpaper and flooring weren’t too worn, so I left them. But I did worry about damaging the furniture while moving things around… Hey, why are you being so quiet?”
She pouted.
“I worked really hard on this! You could at least compliment me!”
He couldn’t say he’d been thinking about Larit, so instead…
“You got jam on the front of your dress.”
“What?! No way! I love this dress!”
Panicked, Evangeline tried to wipe it with a napkin.
“Ugh, seriously!”
The stain didn’t come out. She set her utensils down and stormed out.
But just before leaving—
“Oh, right! Today’s the retainers’ meeting, huh? Get ready to be impressed! The meeting room looks amazing!”
With a proud tilt of her nose, she disappeared.
Looks like this meeting room is the result of her efforts…
“My, as always, the Duke is the first to arrive.”
Someone greeted Dietrich.
He turned around.
“Ah, Sir Warren. Good to see you.”
Sir Stephan Warren—an old retainer of House Claudius, and the one who managed all of its finances.
The middle-aged administrator glanced around the room in surprise.
“Ah, so the princess did redecorate the meeting room… It’s really different.”
Dietrich narrowed his eyes.
“She came to brag to you too, huh?”
“Now, now—don’t put it like that.”
Warren chuckled, then continued:
“Actually, the princess showed me her budget proposal in advance. She asked if I had any feedback…”
He shrugged.
“But it was so well-prepared and efficient, I had nothing to add.”
“Really?”
Dietrich was surprised.
Warren, despite his mild appearance, was known for being ruthless when it came to budgets.
He’d even clashed with Dietrich himself more than once.
And now, he was praising Evangeline?
“She said she’d only replace the curtains, lights, and chairs. The allocated amount was quite reasonable.”
“Hmm…”
“Honestly, I didn’t expect such a big change from just that… but even I, who knows nothing about interior design, can feel the difference.”
Dietrich agreed.
Evangeline had improved the room without major renovations—just smart adjustments.
“You like it, then?”
“Very much. But more than that—I’m happy to see the princess so passionate about house affairs.”
Warren couldn’t hide his delight.
“To be honest, I was worried when she first said she’d take over managing the townhouse…”
He smiled proudly.
“I never imagined she’d handle it so well.”
“Sir…”
“Seems I was worried for nothing.”
At that, Dietrich felt oddly pierced in the heart.
He had only wanted to protect his beloved sister from trouble.
But maybe all his “protective” actions had only caused unnecessary concern—for her and those around her.
“You don’t know how hard I studied for this!”
Evangeline’s annoyed voice echoed in his ears.
