NOVEL NEXT Chapter 35 - 12. Personally (3)
I thought my family was already rich…
Fanora tried not to shrink as she walked along the path decorated with carpet.
It is always true that there is still another sky above the sky. Even though both of us are nobles, our lifestyle itself is different.
Then they passed the high ceiling as if a dome had been raised. The paths sparkled no matter where she looked, and the hallway was full of artworks. The decorations that were not easily found in the Kasius Kingdom were also noticeable.
Carved artworks from turquoise gems? What beast is this? It looks cute even though it has a fat body.
Duke Jalier seemed to be enjoying the artworks from foreign kingdoms quite a lot.
“This is the room where my father is waiting for. Go in for a while and say greetings to him. When you come out, the maid will guide you to your room.”
“Can you give me an empty room for the maid I brought?”
“As you wish.”
Coming up the second floor, Fanora had to face Duke Jalier.
“Duke, this is Fanora from the Celsius family.”
“Come in.”
Click.
When the servant turned the doorknob, the sight in front of her was like this. Bricks with dark and heavy colors. The warm light of the burning fireplace. Duke Jalier, leaning on a large chair and looking this way… After not seeing him for a long time, he recovered his health quite a bit and gained some weight.
“Greetings, Duke.”
Fanora took a few steps into the room and greeted him with the best etiquette she could do. With the carefully raised right hand until her chest and the other hand holding her skirt, she bent her knees to greet him.
“Sit this way.” Then, Duke Jalier smiled softly. At the same time, he pointed to a chair of the same shape next to him.
“…”
The old man’s voice rang out again as Fanora sat down on the chair. “You probably haven’t even made your debut yet, but the manner of your greeting is excellent. I can’t believe an upright child will be paired with Aloken…”
“I’m flattered.”
“Hohoho. Since we are going to become a family, you don’t need to be polite. It’s not like this is political engagement.” He spoke with a rosy face.
“As soon as I woke up, I was surprised to hear that my son had found the one he loved. We’re even on the verge of talking about engagement with another family. Still, I didn’t expect him to want to be engaged with Lady Celsius immediately.”
Did that man really convince his father with such a simple lie?
“But what could I do? No parent doesn’t want their child to be happy.”
Aloken’s father seemed to think positively of the engagement. Fanora didn’t know if it was just the way he was behaving as noble or not. But he smiled and treated her well since before.
“Come to think of it… I’ve heard that you’ve been sick because of the epidemic. Are you okay now?”
“Yes? Ah, that’s…”
“I’m asking this because I’m worried about you being sick to the point you can’t even help prepare for the engagement ceremony.”
During the conversation in a relaxed atmosphere, she answered in a gentle voice when a question about her health was being asked. “Actually, the spring cold I suffered this year was very severe, and I still suffer from the aftereffects. But, since Aloken-nim actively asked me to marry him, I accepted it even though the schedule was too much for me.”
All of it was a lie. She was busy planning for her revenge, so she didn’t have time to do the engagement preparation.
“Oh dear, don’t bear your pain. I’ll tell the doctor to prepare some medicine to help you get better, so take them with you when you go back.”
“I-I am getting better now. I don’t know if I can receive such precious things…”
Fanora’s face was entirely darkened due to insomnia. So the excuse of her poor health worked well.
It should be the time to send back the sick patient. Still, for some reason, Aloken’s father was agonizing for a while before talking again. “By the way… There’s one thing I wanted to ask.”
“What is it?”
“Did my son tell you that he really loves you?”
It was an unexpected question. Fanora didn’t expect that the Duke wanted to hear a love story of his son.
My heart feels complicated when I think of the two of them as a parent-child relationship. For me, this engagement is just a deal I made because it’s worth it.
It seemed that Aloken had already persuaded his father that it was true love. So it would be dangerous to tell the truth and break the act, right?
Fanora recited the words that she had prepared beforehand. “Lord Aloken passionately confessed that he loves me. He also said that he loved me from first sight. I also like that… It wasn’t hard to fall for someone who’s caring as a person like Lord Aloken.”
“Caring…”
Even though the Duke wasn’t that old yet, he had been ill for a long time. After brushing his beard, he said, “Lady Celsius, I never thought Aloken could love anyone. He was born with that kind of character and closed his heart for a while.”
“That kind of character?”
“I thought I already knew him because he is a little bit special, but maybe my son is also a human being after all, or is he tricking you…” The Duke had said something meaningful.
Honestly, Fanora was dumbfounded because she hadn’t been interested in Aloken’s behavior.
“I don’t really want you to understand me now. But, please understand why I willingly allowed this unequal engagement.”
“…”
“I’ve been waiting for my son to have someone he loves. That feeling will definitely change Aloken for the better.”
“Duke wants me… to change something about Aloken?”
Duke Jalier seemed worried about his son.
It is Aloken, not the youngest son, who is the apple of the Duke’s eyes?
It was interesting but not a topic for her to delve into deeply. Therefore, Fanora put on an act. “I don’t know what to change from him because I love how he’s now.”
As she said that straightforwardly, Duke Jalier widened his eyes and smiled faintly. “…The more I know about you, the more I like you as my daughter-in-law. But there’s a little favor I want you to do. It’s not a big thing to do. Just with you standing by my son’s side is enough.”
“…”
“Be a good wife for him.”
A good wife. A good husband. They were all vaguely worded, but the way people set their ideals were similar. But it was something they couldn’t possibly achieve…
“I understand, Duke.”
But she had nothing to promise as all of this is fake. It was only for 3 years. Fanora promised her father-in-law that she would support her husband well, even though she was going to break up with him later and become independent.
The Duke seemed to like this answer, so he smiled deeply that his lips were deeply dented. “It’s getting late, so let’s stop now. Make yourself at home.” With those words, it’s really over now.
Fanora left the room without a hitch. The air outside felt fresh as she left the room, which had been warm due to the fireplace.
* * *
The next morning, Fanora woke up and deeply took a breath before getting up from her bed. But even though she had already gathered her consciousness, she didn’t want to get up, so she crouched on the bed. The soft blanket that touched her cheek had a pleasant scent, and with her body wrapped warmly in it, only her face touched the cold and refreshing air.
There are a lot of eyes to see, so I can’t do physical training. There’s nothing to do even if I get up.
Rustling.
Fanora closed her eyes and wiggled until her fatigue faded away. How long had it been since she had a normal sleep? Actually, she didn’t plan to sleep this long.
“Um…”
Fanora suffered from exhaustion as she hadn’t slept properly for several days. So when she lay down on a soft bed, she overcame her insomnia and fell asleep for a long time. Even though her black curly hair clung to her face, she didn’t care about it.
Then, Fanora opened her eyes forcefully. She rose from her seat, forcing herself to do that. It was her first morning at the Jalier Duchy.
“Ah, I always rang the bell when I got up. Well, would someone bring me water to wash my face?”
The start wasn’t that bad. She saw a bedroom five times larger than her room in the Celsius mansion when she opened her eyes. And by the bedside, there was a handbell left by the maid last night, who would be her maid during her stay in the Duchy. .
Jingle. Jingle.
Fanora rang the bell without much thought. She didn’t know if it would be the same manners or not to announce that she already woke up. And then…
“Did Lady already wake up?”
“Lady, we’re coming in.”
“?!”
How could several servants answer outside the door as soon as the bell rings? As if they were waiting right in front of the door?
“C-Come in.”
The bad things didn’t end there. When Fanora gave permission, there was a rattling sound of a doorknob being opened, and at least five people entered the room.
“Everyone, please help Lady Fanora to change. Lady Fanora, the maid named Cecil said it was time for Lady to get up, so she went to get the wash water. Please wait a little bit.”
“I will roll up the curtains, Lady Fanora.”
“Would Lady mind standing up and raising your arms?”
They were the maids of the Jalier family, whom she saw yesterday. The one who stood upright in the middle and gave orders was a maid who introduced herself as Baroness Nain. The unknown maids carried a folding screen and placed it in the corner of the room. It was to change her clothes.
The bruise on my arms that I had when I killed Shuteri had already disappeared. It’s going to be okay.
Fanora quietly followed their will. Thanks to the skilled maids, the new clothes were on in the blink of an eye, and after blinking again, her hair was already being prepared.
“Oh my! Lady’s hair is really thick… I can’t believe Lady has such pretty hair that it’s hard to hold them all with one hand.”
“Yes?”
“I think I can see why the young Master fell in love with Lady at first sight.”
However, behind Fanora, who was washing her face with the warm washing water Cecil brought, the maids said strange remarks. They complimented her hair, which had only been said to be too gloomy and curly so far.
“…”
The maid, who was working next to Fanora, warned the maid who combed her hair. “Don’t say anything nonsense because it could offend the Lady! I’m sorry, Lady. This kid is really good at her job, but her light mouth can’t be fixed…”
Fanora’s hair. She didn’t want to hear anything bad about it when she was young, so she cut it short, but it became uglier. It was one of those annoying parts of her body that got worse the shorter it got, like charred fur. In particular, this black hair was associated with her most depressing memory. So she couldn’t readily say thank you for the compliment.
I guess it’s true that she’s good at her job.
Fortunately, the light mouth maid shut her mouth and only moved her hand. She was so skillful that Fanora could feel the difference in how Cecil handled her hair. The maid brushed her hair neatly and applied a good fragrance to each of her hair so that her black hair, which was like the mane of a wild horse, shone like silk.
“Fyuu, what does Lady think about it? It’s a masterpiece of my life. How beautiful would it be to tie it up and show Lady’s neckline…”
“Shh, be quiet when you work. Shh!”
Fanora listened to the maid’s chatter and stared blankly with a handful of her hair in her hand.
At Celsius’s mansion, the fragrance wasn’t given to the first daughter. Fanora didn’t care about her appearance, so she didn’t know about it. With great effort, her curly hair, which had been dropping like an ugly dog, waved gracefully.
If only the color were brighter.
Looking at her curly hair that looked better, a short regret passed by.
“Lady Fanora.”
When her long curly hair was being braided and adorned, the maid standing at the end talked. “The breakfast in the mansion will start in an hour. If there’s any food Lady wants to eat, I will tell the chef.”
After Fanora answered that it didn’t matter, all the maids left immediately except for Cecil, who kept close to her even on this estate.