n

n

nChapter 94

n—

nAnyway, this conversation is boring. Ellenia pretended to tilt her glass and glanced back toward the dinner table.

nA place where Duke Omerta, Duke Vishelier of Rembrandt, and Cardinal Valentino sat together.

nNo one would disagree that it was a truly bizarre combination.

nIt was a picture that managed to be buried because everyone was excited and distracted by the heat of today’s game.

n

n

nAt other times, regardless of whether it was a foreigner or a native, they would have been mesmerized to watch those three with their mouth open all the way until the dinner was over.

nNevertheless, the element that had been attracting Ellenia’s nerves since earlier was not a picture of that unrealistic combination itself.

nThe reason why she kept paying attention was because of Rudbeckia sitting next to the Cardinal Valentino.

nMore like, what she was doing.

n“Have you ever visited Dorias?”

n“No, I’m shy. I’ve never been out of Elendale yet.”

nNow, Rudbeckia was eating lemon tarts piled up on a large plate after quickly finishing Shepherd’s pie.

nAside from if she thought it was very delicious, there was no time to empty my mouth for a moment.

nNo matter how Ellenia looked at it, something was strange. Even when they’d been eating together, she’d been…… Should she say that she eat well? Ruby never seemed to have a strong appetite.

nAs expected, was it because her brother’s presence made her feel comfortable?

nNo matter that, it would be quite inconvenient for her later.

n“My lady, you were here.”

n“Ivan.”

nIt was nice to hear the cheerful voice that suddenly intervened.

nWhile Ellenia was looking back at Ivan, who was approaching with long strides, she felt everything slow down.

n“Why did you leave alone?”

n“I’m sorry. Here, I was….”

n“Oh, this person…? Let me see. Aren’t you Dorias’ ambassador?”

nEllenia didn’t know how the ambassador felt when Ivan smiled and threatened him silently with his girl-like beautiful face.

nWhatever it was, he coughed a little and stepped down, asking for understanding.

n“Did I just intrude without realizing it?”

n“No, I’m rather grateful. I was so bored.”

nMumbling softly, Ellenia directed her gaze that way.

nRudbeckia was still silently focusing on finishing all the dishes on the table.

nAfter eating several tarts in a row, she was now eating chocolate souffle and strawberry pudding.

n“It’s a little weird.”

nIvan whispered in a low sinking tone.

nHe seemed to be looking at the same place as Ellenia.

nShe didn’t know if the weird thing was about the combination of those three men or about Rudbeckia.

n“It’s very weird… she’s enjoying it. Did she always have a good appetite?”

nAs expected, Ivan also felt something strange about Rudbeckia.

nIn the mood of unexpected gossip, Ellenia whispered slowly.

n“It suddenly feels like she’s overdoing it.”

n“Why do you think so?””

n“I don’t know. I just felt like that throughout the whole day.”

nThere was a moment of silence.

nEllenia, who was staring at Rudbeckia, wondering what this intrusive anxiety was, soon raised her head.

nThen she realized that Ivan was staring at her face.

nWhen he made eye contact with her, he suddenly smiled.

n“Why are you smiling all of a sudden?”

n“No, I just thought that the princess was a sweet person.”

n“It’s not like that.”

nJust then, Rudbeckia drank a whole glass and seemed to get up from her seat.

nWas she going to throw up? Ellenia suddenly felt her heart throbbing.

nAs expected, was it the opposite, and not the comfort of mind?

nShe thought she should follow her for a moment, but soon realized that it was a silly idea.

nSo, what should she do?

n“Princess? Are you okay?”

n“Yes, of course.”

nShe hoped this festival would end soon.

nSwallowing the feeling that even she could not understand, Ellenia returned to her friends’ table with Ivan.

nDrinking games were in full swing at the table where several young people led by Freya were gathered.

n“Welcome, Ellen. Why did you take so long?”

nAs soon as Ellenia sat down, Freya suddenly crossed her arms and asked.

nShe was a little tipsy.

n“Because I ran into an ambassador from Dorias in the middle. Didn’t you drink too much?”

n“I didn’t drink much. Loren drank a lot, unfortunately.”

nIndeed, the trainee, whose face was red on one side, looked pitiful.

nOf all things, a trainee was a servant, so even if he tried to take an easy way out under the pretext of his age, Paladin seniors who had a bad temper could not have let it go.

nAs expected, everyone giggled as if they had been waiting.

n“I can’t believe he’s so out of it after drinking a bit. What a baby..”

n“God must be angry that a weak person like you becomes our colleague.”

nIt was very childish, but a fun atmosphere in the same way.

nBut what was this feeling that told her that the important people were missing?

nEllenia slowly began to doubt her condition.

nEventually, she thought it was all because of Izek.

nIn other words, why did he offer such a request in the first place to make people feel uncomfortable?

nDidn’t Ruby seem to get along well with Cardinal Valentino?

nOlder brothers are a problem everywhere. He didn’t do anything wrong.

nReflecting on such thoughts, Ellenia looked back at the table where her father was sitting, which she had been closely watching since earlier.

nShe realized that the combination had already been reduced to two.

n* * *

nA sea of praise above me.

nEven though I had suffered for years because of food, I finally got through by having the strawberry pudding. It was a great defense.

nI was so mad to have finished so much food in such an instant.

nHow do I know who’s thinking about what and what’s up to?

nPerhaps all three were simply drunk and joking.

nCesare, I knew he could never do that, but I wasn’t sure about the other two.

nNevertheless, I couldn’t show even a little gap to all of them.

nPhew, I’m dying. Still, if I endure it until tomorrow, this will be all over.

n“Are you okay?”

nIt was the moment I came out pretending to wash my hands with a handkerchief after rinsing my mouth clean, fixing my makeup again.

nAs if I was waiting there, I almost jumped up to the sight of my brother leaning against the wall of the hallway a little away from the entrance.

nI managed to catch my chest, heart pounding like a rabbit in front of the fox.

nIt’s okay, there’s nothing to be afraid of, he doesn’t know anything about my anorexia.….

n“Yes, thank you. I just ate too many sweet things and my mouth became dry.”

n“That’s understandable. By the way, it’s been a long time since I saw this.”

n“What?”

n“You eating this well.”

nAt the moment, I wondered if he was being sarcastic after noticing something, but Cesare, who stared at the floor silently with blue eyes down, didn’t seem to be sarcastic or joke.

n“It was my first time seeing you like this since I was young.”

nThe atmosphere was unfamiliar.

nIt was just my misunderstanding that it sounded strangely bitter, right?

nWas he really drunk?

nIt was said that he was not good at drinking, but monkeys sometimes fall off trees.

nI had already noticed that this psycho pervert sometimes makes a strange look almost unfamiliar when referring to my, that is, Rudbeckia’s childhood.

nI thought he missed those days.

nBut the Rudbeckia at that time wasn’t me.

nI was not the girl who followed a guy like him without knowing anything.

n“I always ate well… I just tried to enjoy the new dishes. According to the trend.”

n“…….”

n“What’s wrong? Did I make another mistake?”

nWhen asked across the boundary between calmness and caution, he shook his head and loosened his arms.

nThen he reached out, grabbed my left hand, and glanced at the ring stuck on my finger.

nThe ring I had worn since I had a marriage in Romagna was ordinary without any characteristics.

n“No… I’m just saying.”

nWhat kind of nonsense was this?

nA short silence passed by.

nMy older brother fiddled with my hand for a long time, and then stood up with a sigh.

nFinally, his face, looking into my eyes, had a grim smile.

n“Can you show me around? There’s a place I want to see in particular.”

n“What do you want to see in particular?”…”

n“The glass garden.”

n“…….”

n“I think it’s quite famous.”

n…That’s right. It was strange from the time he took a break.

nAs tension soared again, my armpits began to become damp.

n“It’s very famous… But you’ll be disappointed if you see it. It’s just mimicking a little bit of Romagna’s garden.”

n“That’s something I’ll know in person. You don’t want to show me?”

nHe said this naturally, but underneath it, there were signs of warning.

n

n

nYou got that right.

nTo be honest, I didn’t want Cesare to step into the garden more than anything else.

nIt was just a garden, but I didn’t know why he wanted to see it.

nHowever, I hurriedly shook my head because I couldn’t show my refusal.

n“No, of course not. Let’s go.”

n