Chapter 73

Paul intended to sell Rowena’s gifts when they came in to cover the shortfall, but neither an engagement gift nor a wedding gift came. This is because the crown prince took Rowena away early.

The engagement gift is late, but I want to give her a wedding present too.

When was the last time he gave Rowena a present? When he was young, he would sometimes pick flowers from outside and take them for his sister. Rowena was pleased with that alone.

When he got older, he didn’t do that often. Sometimes when he went to the festival in the capital alone, he gave her accessories like bracelets.

Don’t be that crude.

He didn’t do anything like a birthday present properly. When he was young, he wrote a letter and gave it to her, but when he grew up, they grew apart and he didn’t send anything like that.

Louis sighed when he realized it had been years since he had given Rowena a present. Rowena still gave Louis a present regularly on his birthday.

They were handkerchiefs and belts embroidered by her.

Rowena’s skills were not as good as those sold in the market because she was ordinary, but when he returned to his room on the evening of his birthday, it was placed on the bed in a finely wrapped state.

When he was very young, it was a doll. It changed to something else as he grew over time.

Louis was glad that the two brothers or his father didn’t see it. If Matthias had seen it, he would have laughed at it as trash and torn it apart.

So Matthias had never seen anything. Theo only knew a little.

Theo had an expressionless face. That was his reaction. They seemed to know they didn’t deserve Rowena’s favor.

Before Louis was born, Rowena had also shown affection for Theo. But Theo eventually turned away from her and Rowena moved away from him.

She was busy protecting herself. Louis was the only person Rowena cared about besides some of the employees.

Lyria Wenson was an outsider, so let’s make an exception.

I think it’d be nice to give you a hairpin as a gift.

To buy a hairpin to match the crown princess, he had to go from the streets of their homes to the commercial district rather far away.

It was too far to walk. Louis didn’t have a chance as three people rode off day after day.

Louis, who was sitting on the bed shaking his legs, jumped off when he heard the sound of the carriage earlier than expected. Looking out the window, he could see the carriage that Paul and Mathias had taken.

In any case, unless one of the two rode out immediately, the carriage could be used.

Louis left the room with joy.

Thinking there’s nothing dangerous about being with his father.

* * *

The expressions of the two entering the mansion were strange. While Matthias smiled as if something had happened to him, Paul looked puzzled. Louis, who looked at them from the top of the stairs, judged that it was foolish to talk about lending him the carriage right away.

“…You’re here?”

Paul nodded when he saw Louis nodding. Matthias glared at Louis as if he wanted to say something but held his tongue when he met Paul’s eyes and went upstairs.

Paul saw Matthias go up and turned to the butler.

“Theo isn’t at home?”

“The second young master hasn’t returned yet.”

“Really? Tell him to come to my room as soon as he gets here.”

Louis became nervous when he saw Paul heading to the room with an unusually tired face. As if wary, Matthias looked in the direction he went up and headed to the kitchen.

Rowena took some people with her the other day. She seemed to have made friends with them and fed them, but Louis didn’t have to. If there was anything he wanted to eat, he could ask them.

“My father must be tired, so make some tea and snacks that he might like.”

“Yes, My lord,”

The cook began to make food with a blank face. Louis put his hips on a chair on one side of the kitchen and watched it.

He didn’t want to run into Matthias while wandering outside the kitchen or in the hall for no reason.

After Rowena left the count, housekeeping was temporarily divided between Theo and the butler. Theo was in charge of the important payments, and the butler gave instructions for the minor things.

There seemed to be no problem so far, but Theo’s discontented voice was beginning to be heard. It was not easy to take care of a count with a small cost of living like Rowena.

Paul was also getting nervous because he spent a lot of money these days. Many people said they would invest, but even they didn’t open their wallets right away.