Chapter 108.1

“Recently, I was walking along Evan Street and discovered that the capital is full of fashion stores. Everything was so new to me, because how much time I had spent in the manor, so I bought this and that without realizing it.”

“Oh, I see. Evan Street has a lot to see, so I buy too many things every time I go.”

“So I’m not the only one? But what a relief. I was a little worried, wondering if I was the only one spending too much.”

From Yurina’s point of view, it wasn’t such a big deal that it was hard to see it as a worry, but Lydia let out a sigh of relief as if she was really seriously thinking about it. She smiled shyly and tried to place the red hairpin she was holding on Yurina’s head.

Surprised by the sudden gesture, Yurina instinctively leaned back. It was a small step, but Lydia raised her eyebrows and looked sullenly into her eyes.

“Ah…”

Lydia’s green eyes twitched.

“You don’t really  like it… …Are you?”

Yurina instantly forgot about the little thing in Lydia’s hands. Her thoughts now focused solely on their closeness.

‘Looking at it again, I have no idea what she is thinking.’

As described in the novel, Lydia had a kind and sweet personality, so she would not hesitate to make friends with everyone and treats her employees kindly like a friend.

Let’s assume that we don’t wear the colored glasses of being a De Flon family, and believe the description from the original work. Still, there was something odd about her behavior.

Being friendly with everyone without hesitation was obviously different from treating strangers as if they were friends you’ve known for a long time.

And if so, perhaps there was something unclean with this hairpin?

“Sorry. I wanted to see if I was suitable for the lady, but wasn’t it too informal?”

Yurina hid her embarrassment, looked at the hair ornament, and held out her right hand.

“May I have a look? I would like to take a closer look first.”

“Oh yeah! Here please.”

Yurina carefully took the hairpin and brought it to the ring, Reynard’s gift. The ring trembled slightly and then glowed white. Contrary to the assumption, everything turned out to be okay with the hairpin.

‘Did she really try to give it as a sinere gift?’

Yurina glanced at Lydia, who was bustling about in front of her, and studied her expression. It gave off a strange feeling, because how much she resembled a puppy waiting for the owner to allow it to eat.

The more Yurina looked at her, the more she felt that Lydia didn’t bear much malice towards her, unlike Marquis De Flon.

‘I still don’t know what to do’.

Yurina handed the hairpin to Betsy, who was waiting behind her. Even if the hairpin is okay, Lydia may still have some cunning plan hidden away.

Lydia anxiously watched Betsy decorate Yurina’s hair and clapped her hands.

“As expected, it suits the young lady well!”

“Oh, is that so?”

“Yes! Maybe it’s because of the color, but I thought of Kai as soon as I saw this hair clip. So I bought it, but it didn’t suit me, with such a dark color. And by the way, Sir Reynard’s eyes are also red, so I was thinking it would look good if the two of you went to the party together later.”

“Kai?”

Yurina grabbed the unfamiliar name from Lydia’s words. If you remember, on the last evening she called Karion by the name ‘Kai’. It was a bit odd that Lydia called Karion by his nickname the same way Yurina calls Reynard as Ray.

She couldn’t remember seeing that nickname in the original novel.

Lydia sat down on the chair again and answered Yurina’s question.

“Ah,” and let out her exclamation. “I mean Karion. Kai is the nickname I gave him.”

She leaned towards Yurina and lowered her voice like she was telling an important secret.

“To be honest, I don’t think the name Karion suits him. He is a quiet and caring kid, but doesn’t ‘Karion’ sound too grandiose and stiff? I’ve heard it means ‘winner’ in the ancient language, but that doesn’t suit him.”

Yurina remembered the face of Karion that she had seen then. Just like Lydia gives a softer impression when compared to Yurina, Karion gives a more calm and gentle impression compared to Reynard, whose eyebrows were slightly raised.

Yurina nodded her head without realizing it, and Lydia caught the gesture.

“Did you think so too? I couldn’t do anything, because this name was given to him by my father. But I really hate that name. That’s how I decided to call him ‘Kai’. Sounds much softer than ‘Karion’. Kai doesn’t say that to me, but he really likes this nickname. But I see everything, even if he doesn’t say it.”

Yurina once again thought about the relationship between Karion and Lydia from the original work. Lydia was kind to him, so much so that Karion had no choice but to give her his whole heart. Just like Reynard gave Yurina everything he had.