Chapter 31

But something else was the problem. Even if he came face to face with Annie, it would be ruined without even talking— just like last time.

Neither does he want to build a consensus nor talk about it at this moment.

He just wanted to greet Annie properly.

Just once.

‘How can I give Annie a proper greeting…’

Anything wrong will interfere with Annie’s work, and the people who come to the waterfall will be terrified.

Ejed wanted to avoid harming anyone because of him.

Ejed, who had been agonizing over this and that, buried his face into the wide pillow. In his mind, if there was a class, he was surely ranked dead-last.

He was worse than cattle. People now avoided Ejed more than the filthy beast. It was the same for the woman he loved for seven years.

Even sharing more than ten words with someone is a luxury.

Thankfully, he was born of a noble lineage and took charge of many things, but he was more lonely than that.

Sorrow slowly sank on his blank face.

‘Do I really deserve to like Annie… or do I not even deserve to say hello….’

His fingers lifted weakly from the bed sheet all the way to his head. He took a heavy breath and closed his eyes tightly.

Then, a familiar voice came to mind.

[Don’t worry.]

One day, she warmly encouraged a person.

[It’s a person-to-person thing. The person you are afraid of is the same person as us.]

Somehow, he remembered something that day, and his nose was sore. The story gave great comfort not only to the person concerned, but also to Ejed.

It was the same today.

‘Right. Annie and I are both hardworking people… Let’s do it. I’ll be able to do it. I can’t give up doing nothing!’

Ejed, with the bed sheet down to his neck, woke up.

He hastily lit a candle in a gold candlestick, and he stood in front of a full-length mirror.

The special mirror made to reflect the tall Ejed was very large.

He opened his mouth with a serious face in front of the golden mirror.

“Hello… No. The first word was too shaky.”

Ejed, who had cleared his throat, looked into the mirror again. But the already decadent face looked more scary.

Relaxing his eyes, he forcibly raised the stiff corners of his mouth. He was awkward even with such a simple greeting because he saved as many words as he could in front of people.

“Hello, my name is Ejed Jean Porcaus. I… no! Not this! Wake up, Ejed!”

He keeps repeating the word ‘I’.

Now, holding his head with both his hands, Ejed shook his head and concentrated again.

Annie, who writes, was more sensitive to words and expressions than the average person. It would take a huge effort to give a nice greeting.

A huge window in the Emperor’s chambers…

The lights fluttering there in uncertainty didn’t go away until the day was completely bright and they braved the emperor’s chambers.

Chirp chirp.

With the sound of birds singing in the morning, the sun glided down over the bed.

Ejed, who had become emaciated after a night, grabbed the mirror with both hands and muttered.

“Hello, I’m Ejed Jean Porcaus…”

It was perfect.

Ejed, who cheered silently, hurried to the desk.

His eyes were dazzled. He frowned his eyes in the bright sunlight and diligently found something.

It was ink, white feathers, and white paper.

Clink.

He hastily opened the lid of the inkwell, and he eagerly wrote something on the paper in plain letters.

“With a smiling face… Greetings…”

Just say hello with a smile!

“Done!”

Ejed, who grabbed the paper with both hands, smiled broadly.

***

The wide-brimmed hat worked well to block out the sun.

The pale pink hat with the Sanel logo looked very pleasing in Annie’s eyes.

‘It’s a great purchase.’

A pretty, inexpensive hat of good quality. She was very happy because she was from the same country as Sanel.

Then, Carla came over and tightened her pink straps.

“Thanks.”

As Annie curved her eyes beautifully, Carla grabbed her left chest that tingled in delight.

“Ugh! My Lady, you’re lovely! Unless a passing man has an injured eye, is married, or has a lover, I think he’ll fall in love with you!”

“… Carla, please be quiet.”

Why was she left with the embarrassment? No, actually, why was the example so specific?

Annie raised her hand and tried to cover Carla’s mouth. Then, Carla quickly ran away.