Chapter 5 – One Step Closer (Part 7)

“No.”

Louise shook her head firmly.

Just as Marianna, who had flared up, was about to jump to her feet, the server entered with a trolley full of food. After quickly setting the table, he smiled faintly.

“Enjoy your meal.”

After the server left the room, Lorraine looked at the table full of food with distant eyes.

Even after removing a few items, it was still like this. Lorraine picked up her fork with a determined heart. Louise roughly stirred the salad with balsamic sauce and spoke.

“Just ask for money instead.”

“I don’t have a sister to accept it, so what can I do?”

Marianna seemed to have been contemplating for a long time, looking troubled.

After all, her family, the Adler family, was famous for having only sons for generations. Marianna was the first daughter born in exactly 150 years, so it was understandable.

“I even considered dressing Helix in a skirt and having him stand in.”

Helix was the son of Marianna’s eldest brother, Emilion, a thirteen-year-old boy in his prime.

“If Helix and Andrew wore dresses and stood as bridesmaids, it would look very pretty and desirable, right?”

It was an openly sarcastic tone.

Lorraine suddenly imagined the scene in her head.

Helix and Andrew were taller than average for thirteen-year-olds. Moreover, they were steadily growing to resemble their bear-like father’s thick build.

‘If those two were bridesmaids, it would be quite a sight….’

Then Louise, seemingly having the same thought, muttered with a fork in her mouth.

“It would be a sight….”

“Hey!”

Marianna, flaring up, frowned and shouted.

Lorraine rubbed her throbbing temples. She could see clearly that they would torment her until she agreed. In that case, it was better to choose the lesser evil from the given options.

After swallowing a small piece of salmon steak, Lorraine preemptively informed them.

“…I’ll be a bridesmaid.”

“……”

“But I don’t want the bouquet.”

Naturally, Marianna’s pitiful gaze turned to Louise.

‘Traitor.’

Louise’s red eyes, filled with resentment, turned to Lorraine. They seemed to ask if it was fair to preemptively make a decision.

‘What can I do?’

Lorraine shrugged with a sly smile.

Louise looked at Marianna’s earnest, almost desperate face with a troubled expression.

Even so, Louise had no intention of giving in easily.

“…Let’s just be bridesmaids.”

“Bouquet….”

Marianna muttered in a tone full of lingering attachment.

“You have to compromise on something too.”

Even so, Louise had no intention of giving in easily.

“There’s no one to catch the bouquet.”

However, Marianna also seemed unwilling to give in easily.

“There are women among the knights, aren’t there?”

Only at times like this does she think quickly.

Marianna muttered with a sullen face.

“What?”

When Louise tried to argue, Marianna quickly changed the subject to at least secure the bridesmaid.

“Okay, then just bridesmaids. As for the bouquet, we’ll find someone in the knights.”

Feeling relieved, she even ate the cold garlic baguette as if it were a delicacy.

“And when are you free?”

“…Why do you ask?”

“Well, Kendrick wants to have a meal… together.”

“…Don’t you think the atmosphere of that gathering wouldn’t be great?”

At Louise’s question, Marianna, who was putting food in her mouth with a reluctant face, nodded.

Lorraine, who was wetting her lips with port wine, muttered indifferently.

“Do they even remember all the fights they’ve had?”

Louise, who particularly disliked Kendrick, nervously stabbed a pickle and said.

“I told you, his brain is all muscle.”

“…That’s a bit….”

“Try saying it’s not.”

Louise’s red eyes were full of amusement.

“Consider the meal done. Tell him to behave. If he says one more ridiculous thing to you, tell him I’ll file a lawsuit.”

“Oh.”

Though they fought often, Louise was the only one who took care of Marianna. The emotion was short-lived, as Marianna, who was eating salmon with tartar sauce, suddenly spoke as if she had just remembered.

“Oh, are you free this weekend?”

“Suddenly?”

“My brothers and Kendrick are having a sparring match that day.”

Marianna’s tone was similar to when she talked about the house cat having kittens.

“…Do you really have to?”

Are they committing suicide?

Lorraine swallowed the rest of her words with the fluffy texture of the soufflé.

“It’s a family tradition.”

Marianna said in a calm voice.

Louise, who was tapping the top of the crème brûlée with a teaspoon, looked at her with an incredulous expression.

“You talk about your family tradition like it’s someone else’s.”

“I just heard about it last week.”

Now that she looked at it, Marianna wasn’t calm but rather enlightened.

Lorraine expressed deep condolences to the man who was passionate about everything like his carrot-colored hair.

***

There were many tasks for a secretary. Especially, the amount of work that Duke Edwin Duncan’s secretary had to handle was even more. Among them, the task that took the most time and was the least noticeable was-.

“Here it is.”

Sorting through the invitations that came to him.

It was one of her tasks to sort through the invitations that had already been filtered once by Paul, the butler. Looking at the shiny stainless steel tray with a grim expression, Lorraine spoke.

“There are quite a lot.”

Paul replied with a gentle smile.

“It is the season, after all.”

“Oh, right.”

Lorraine’s gaze naturally turned beyond the window. She saw the fully blossomed Chinese fringe tree. It was said to have been planted around the time Owen married Monica, and it bloomed as profusely as its large size.

“It’s a good time. To swear love under a blooming tree.”

His voice was filled with emotion.

There was a saying that people who married when the fringe tree bloomed would live happily ever after.

“Indeed, it’s a dream-like story.”

Life isn’t a fairy tale, though.

Lorraine swallowed her honest feelings and smiled, picking up one of the invitations on top. Her eyes widened as she checked the sender.

“Oh….”

Paul seemed to have seen the sender as well, as a small sigh was heard next to her.

“It’s going to get busy.”

I suppose I’ll have to bring some tea.

Using the excuse of the already cold tea, he left the room.

Looks like I’ll be working late.

Lorraine pressed her already aching eyes gently.

***

Edwin returned long after Lorraine’s working hours were over.

“Welcome, Your Grace.”

“Welcome.”

He got off the carriage looking much the same as he did in the morning. The only noticeable difference was that he seemed a bit tired.

Edwin naturally handed his cane and hat to Paul and was about to move when an unexpected person appeared.

“Wiig?”

Edwin blinked with a slightly dazed expression and checked his watch. The time he had promised her when he hired her had long passed.

Edwin sensed something was up.

“What is it?”

“I’ll explain upstairs.”

Her firm attitude indicated she wouldn’t speak until there were no listening ears. As she stepped aside, Edwin sighed deeply and moved forward.

It didn’t take long for the two of them to reach the study on the second floor.

“It’s this.”

As soon as the study door closed, Lorraine handed over a sealed envelope. It was a glossy, high-quality envelope that even at a glance looked like something a wealthy count or marquis, or perhaps a duke, would use.

Edwin took off his gloves and set them aside, then accepted the envelope Lorraine handed him.

The handwriting of the sender and recipient was neat, reflecting the writer’s personality. The ink was evenly absorbed into the envelope, revealing the education the writer had received.

He could easily guess without opening the envelope.

“Is Juliet Roben getting married?”

“Yes.”

“The partner must be Asiel Dunant.”

“There’s a mention of Grand Duke Curtis among the guests.”

“Of course. They both care about appearances.”

His hand, placing the envelope down, was anything but polite. The tightly tied tie seemed to be choking him.

Edwin roughly loosened his tie and spoke.

“First, secure the guest list….”

“Yes.”

“…And arrange a schedule with Grand Duke Curtis… discreetly.”

“Yes.”

Lorraine noted Edwin’s slow instructions without missing a word. However, his instructions did not continue.

“Your Grace?”

The only response was the sound of even breathing. Lorraine cautiously approached and lowered the arm covering Edwin’s eyes.

Edwin Duncan had fallen asleep in the meantime.

He must be tired.

The negotiation proposal itself was crafted with much bloodshed, but the real issue arose after it was presented. Military-related laws needed to be rewritten, and the personnel involved had to be reorganized.

He was a man who needed five bodies to keep up. Lorraine thought Edwin was a bit pitiable in that regard.

That’s why.

“If you frown even while sleeping, you’ll get wrinkles.”

She touched his face.

What moved her was a very trivial emotion. It was as bothersome as a hangnail but as opaque as a frost-covered window.

She should have been angry at the ambiguity that couldn’t be easily concluded, but she wasn’t.

Instinctively, Lorraine took a step back. Then, by pushing up her glasses, she tidied up her emotions. As soon as Lorraine returned to her seat, Edwin woke from his brief nap.

“Did you sleep? If you’re tired, we can continue the report tomorrow.”

Lorraine decided to speak first.

“…How long did I sleep?”

Edwin’s voice was somewhat embarrassed and awkward. Lorraine checked her watch with a calm face. The minute hand had barely moved past one number.

“Ten minutes.”

But Lorraine mischievously added a little more time.

“Ah…”

This was the first time Edwin had been so flustered since his father suddenly passed on the title.

“I’ll say it again; we can continue the report tomorrow. It’s still a matter with some leeway….”

Despite Lorraine’s dissuasion, Edwin shook his head firmly. He wiped his face with a dry hand and spoke.

“…Where were we?”

“……”