Chapter 8
In truth, it wasn’t such a bad deal. The jewels she had worn that day were now officially part of her property.
Still, the fact remained that Bruf had caused her trouble.
She turned her disapproving gaze from Pell to Bruf. His elegant demeanor as he avoided her eyes and sipped his tea was infuriating.
“So, why are you here?”
“Well, since it’s my fault that bad rumors spread, I came with a gift to apologize.”
“A gift? What is it?”
Bruf pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to her.
When she unfolded it, she saw a list of about a dozen names and their affiliations.
“I investigated people working in the palace who might need counseling.”
“My goodness, Bruf!”
“Sir Bruf!”
Pell, who had quickly come closer, was equally moved.
Under their intense gazes, Bruf gave a sheepish smile.
“Only one person has agreed to counseling so far, though. I’m trying to persuade the others, but I’m not sure yet.”
“That’s fine, that’s fine. We haven’t had a single result in two years, so this is amazing progress.”
She continued to praise him for both his thoughtful gesture and his initiative in persuading others.
The rumors about his competence were clearly no exaggeration.
“You golden pumpkin of a person.”
“I’m not sure if that’s a compliment… Anyway, while I’m at it, I’d like to receive counseling too.”
“Alright. I’m not the best at counseling, but I’ll do my best to listen. But are you okay doing it here?”
They looked around the modest counseling office.
Though Bruf had been here before and knew the situation, it was still absurd that the “counseling office” lacked an actual counseling room.
Bruf nodded, saying he didn’t mind.
“Alright then. Let’s hear it.”
She straightened her posture and asked seriously, prompting Bruf to smile faintly.
“Ahem. Well, as I mentioned before, there’s someone I have feelings for. She’s a maid working in the Crown Prince’s palace.”
A maid—a commoner, in other words.
She immediately understood the nature of his dilemma.
Although the Kentri Empire didn’t prohibit marriages between nobles and commoners, such unions were extremely rare.
It was uncommon even among lower-ranking nobles, and virtually unheard of for high-ranking nobility to marry commoners.
Moreover, Bruf’s parents, the Earl and Countess Robberalter, were notorious for their pride. If they found out their son was involved with a commoner, they would undoubtedly raise a storm.
“That’s certainly a dilemma. But how did you meet someone working in the Crown Prince’s palace?”
“About a year ago, when the delegation from the Ancarsy Empire visited, I was tasked with escorting them to the Crown Prince’s palace. However, another staff member made a mistake and delivered a dish containing ingredients that shouldn’t have been served to the delegation.”
Bruf muttered about how even thinking back to that moment made his heart drop.
“Fortunately, the mistake was caught before the dish was served, so it didn’t cause a major issue. But the kitchen was in chaos because they had to prepare a new dish. At that moment…”
“At that moment?”
“At that moment, she stepped in. I’ve never seen someone with such a beautiful smile.”
A blush appeared on Bruf’s face.
His expression, filled with happiness even at the memory, was that of a young man deeply in love.
From there, Bruf’s praises for the woman continued.
“She’s incredibly kind and takes great pride in her work. She seems delicate, but she has a surprisingly strong will.”
But something about his perspective seemed off.
It felt less like he interacted with her directly and more like he had been watching her from a distance.
“How far have things progressed?”
At this, Bruf hesitated. He glanced around nervously before stammering.
“We exchange greetings.”
“…That’s all? So, not colleagues… but given your statuses, it’s more like a superior and subordinate relationship?”
“Well, she sometimes laughs at my jokes!”
She was dumbfounded.
“You mean, like… ‘Mr. Robberalter, do you know what kind of book is a book you can’t read? It’s a ‘foolish’ book. Puhaha!’ And then you laugh back like, ‘Oh my, Commander Etched! Your humor has made my belly button run away! Hahaha!’ How is that any different?”
“I don’t make jokes like that.”
Startled, she looked up to see Eched, who had entered unnoticed.
“Good day, Knight Commander.”
Bruf quickly stood and greeted him. She, however, remained slouched, glaring at him with dissatisfaction.
“Couldn’t you make some noise when you enter?”
“Perhaps you simply didn’t hear. Pell, is the performance report for the knights ready yet?”
His disregard for her comment was seamless.
Pell held up the documents he had been working on in response to Eched’s question.
“I was just about to finalize the overall report. Once it’s complete, I’ll deliver it to your office.”
“Will it take long?”
“It should be done soon.”
“In that case, I’ll wait here.”
With that, Eched claimed the prime seat on the sofa and sat down.
“…”
She was too stunned to speak.
Pell quickly prepared tea and served it.
Eched sipped his tea leisurely, as though he were entirely at home in the counseling office.
“Is the knights’ performance report related to deploying them to the Kulnensi Marquisate?”
Bruf, who had discreetly sat back down after Eched, asked conversationally.
“Yes.”
“I heard the number of monsters in the Haltonea Forest has been increasing lately. That’s troubling. Will you be going yourself, Commander?”
“I’ll have to.”
‘Huh?’
She suddenly became curious about their conversation.
“You’re going personally, Commander?”
“It’s faster to assess the situation directly.”
Was this in the original story?
She couldn’t recall any mention of Eched going on an expedition or an increase in the number of monsters in the forest.
Now that I thought about it, hadn’t monsters attacked nearby villages two years ago as well?
‘Well, I suppose this must have happened before the story begins.’
She dismissed it lightly, assuming it was an event that occurred before the main plot.
“But why are the two of you together? And you seem quite friendly.”
It was a perfectly reasonable question.
However, she and Bruf flinched as if they had been caught red-handed.
Now that she thought about it, after the commotion over the weekend, them being together did seem odd.
Their exchanged glances were filled with unease.
“So, it was all an act.”
“No, it wasn’t!”
She was so startled that she instinctively denied it.
Eched’s lips curled into a smirk as he gazed at her steadily, almost mockingly.
‘Is he laughing?’
Damn it.
This is why she disliked sharp-witted people.
“Well, so what? Is there a problem?”
“There’s no problem. But it seems you speak informally when flustered, Lady.”
At Eched’s observation, she pursed her lips.
Even she had to admit that she had gotten a bit worked up. Taking a deep breath, she tried to calm her racing heart.
Once she had collected herself, she spoke with shameless composure, as if nothing had happened.
“Why would there be any issue? We’re here for counseling, after all.”
“Then don’t mind me and carry on.”
Was he planning to sit there and listen to someone else’s counseling?
How was I supposed to ignore that…?
She was about to protest, her face scrunched up in frustration, but Bruf intervened.
“I don’t mind, Chief. The counseling report will end up on the Knight Commander’s desk anyway. Besides, I doubt the Commander is truly interested in my story.”
“Well, if the person in question doesn’t mind…”
She reluctantly sank back into the sofa.
“So? Are you satisfied with the current state of your relationship?”
“No, I’m not.”
“Then why have you been content to just watch from a distance? Are you too shy?”
“I just…”
“Are you worried about what others might think? Do you hold onto the rigid belief that nobles and commoners can’t be together?”
“No! Status doesn’t matter to me at all. Even if my family disapproves, I have no intention of giving up.”
“Then why?”
“I’m just worried… that she might feel uncomfortable around me.”
“Have you asked her? Whether she’d feel uncomfortable meeting you?”
“Well, no, but…”
“Stop making pointless assumptions and go ask her. How else will you know? You’re not her, so how could you possibly know what she’s thinking?”
“You’re right… I should’ve asked her first.”
Bruf’s troubled expression gradually gave way to a look of determination as if he had made up his mind.
“You’re absolutely right, Chief.”
“Good. But there’s something important you need to address before your mindset.”
“What’s that?”
“If you suddenly confess your feelings when you’ve only exchanged greetings, you’ll definitely get rejected. Focus on becoming closer to her first.”
Bruf nodded earnestly.
“You’re right. That makes sense.”
“And one more thing…”
Bruf looked at her, puzzled, as she continued.
“She might dislike you not because you’re a noble, but simply because she doesn’t like you. If you get rejected, don’t blame it on your status.”
Thud!
Pell slammed the documents he had been organizing onto the table with irritation.
Then, he glared at her with fierce eyes.
“You’re not helping by giving him mixed messages.”
He even clicked his tongue in disapproval.
…What’s his problem?
“Commander, the documents are ready.”
“Hmm.”
Eched set down his teacup and quickly reviewed the documents. Finding no issues, he handed them to Terry and said,
“Sign it.”
His attitude was insufferable.
She wanted to throw the papers at him, but knowing she couldn’t, she reluctantly examined them.
“You’re really not suited for counseling, Chief.”
Bruf’s blunt assessment stung a little.
She felt she had done her best to counsel him…
She had even offered advice not to be overly pessimistic if things didn’t work out.
Feeling slightly dejected, she replied,
“That’s why I said from the start that I’m not good at counseling.”
“Well, it’s still better than brooding alone. Thank you.”
Though his critique was harsh, Bruf was polite enough to express his gratitude.
“Alright. Just spread the word that the counseling was… decent. Don’t go into specifics.”
She didn’t want the truth to scare off potential clients.
After signing the documents, she handed them back to Eched.
“Here you go.”
“Then, I’ll focus on building a closer relationship with her first.”
“Good. Let’s go.”
She abruptly stood up, ready to leave.
Bruf looked at her in confusion.
“Huh? Where?”
“To the Crown Prince’s palace, where the maid works.”
“Right now?”
“Yes, right now. Strike while the iron is hot. Since we’ve brought it up, we should act on it.”
She urged Bruf, who hesitantly got up from his seat.
“Well… I suppose you’d understand a woman’s heart better than I would, Chief.”
“That’s not true.”
“That’s definitely not true.”
Both she and Pell denied it in unison.
“That’s certainly not the case.”
Even Eched chimed in belatedly.
Ignoring the stares directed at him, Eched set down his teacup and stood.
“Well, shall we? I was planning to head to the training grounds anyway.”
The training grounds were on the way to the Crown Prince’s palace from this annex.
Having received the performance report, Eched seemed intent on selecting knights for deployment.
Although she wasn’t thrilled about traveling with him, it wasn’t the worst idea.
“Fine… It’s probably better for the three of us to go together. If it’s just the two of us, His Majesty might notice.”
Still, the idea of the three of them traveling together felt a bit odd.
‘It’s like I’m dragging both my ex and current boyfriend around.’
“Actually, it might be better if I go ahead. You two can follow at your own pace.”
Perhaps thinking the same, Bruf bowed and quickly left the counseling office.
“Then I’ll head to the 2nd Order.”
Pell followed shortly after.
“Wait, Pell?!”
She called out, but the door had already closed behind her.
Left alone, she awkwardly sat back down on the sofa.
The atmosphere in the now-empty counseling office was unbearably awkward.
Eched seemed unfazed, but she found it hard to breathe and swallowed nervously.
Tick, tock. Tick, tock.
The ticking of the wall clock filled the room.
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Bee589
Haha, she is stuck together with Eched again. She didn’t seem too bad at counseling. She probably should have made him come back after his confession to counsel him about not taking it out on his status though. Thank you for the translation.