Chapter 106

[T/N: That title though? XD]

***

“His Highness the Grand Duke and Her Highness the Grand Duchess just went up to their bedroom in the main building.”

Emily said with an embarrassed look. Peter nodded as it was just as expected.

“I knew it.”

“There was a warning that no one should come close to the 3rd floor for one day. How do we stop the young master, Your Majesty?”

Luci, who was preoccupied with eating sweets and playing with flowers, was looking for his mother just a moment ago. He barely turned his attention to the sweets, but it would be a disaster if he were to run up to the third floor.

“Just leave it for now and I’ll take care of him. If it doesn’t work, we’ll call Joseph back.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

Emily sighed in relief and expressed her sincere gratitude. Recently, the Walten heir has been particularly stubborn and there were times when it was difficult to stop him, even with the help of his nanny.

“You must have been running around all day, sit down and rest.”

Peter said, beckoning to an empty chair nearby.

“No. How dare I…….”

“You’ve been friends with Kathleen for a long time. Isn’t it only right for you to enjoy this wedding too?”

The young emperor smiled brightly without a hint of uneasiness towards the maid. Emily cautiously sat down next to Peter.

“Come to think of it, I wonder. Are you not planning to get married?”

Even if she was a maid from the laundry room, she was still a close aide to the Grand Duchess, therefore she was likely to get a satisfactory marriage. Hence, he wondered why she was still alone.

“It’s not that I don’t want to, but somehow it just became this way.”

“Isn’t there a decent person in the Grand Duke’s residence? Normally, you should be able to find a connection nearby. Oh, if no one has caught your eye, I can introduce you to someone.”

“Oh, in the Grand Duke’s residence… I want to but…….”

Emily smiled shyly. There seemed to be some meaning hidden in that smile, so Peter became interested.

“Why? Is there any reason why you haven’t met someone in the Grand Duke’s?”

“The truth is, Your Majesty.”

“It’s alright, go ahead and tell me. I’m curious.”

Is it okay to tell him? Emily agonized for a moment, then began to tell a story from a long time ago.

***

“It’ll be your birthday in a few days, Kelly. Is there a present you want to receive?”

After a hard day, while lying in their respective beds and talking about various things, Emily, her roommate, asked.

Kathleen replied thoughtlessly, massaging her throbbing shoulders as the chef made her spend the whole day cleaning cast iron pans.

“Well. There’s nothing.”

“Hey. Come on, there must be at least one thing.”

“Not really. I just want it to pass peacefully like today. Make something delicious for dinner and eat it.”

“Nonsense! How could you say that?”

Emily jumped to her feet and sat down as she exclaimed in disbelief.

“You’ll be an adult once you turn 19! How excited was I back then? Are all kids these days like you?”

“Emily. You and I. You realize that our birthdays are only four months apart, right?”

“Still, it’s ridiculous. This is wrong on many levels. I can never let your birthday pass like a normal day.”

She clenched her fists several times, solidifying her will, then slowly laid back down on the bed and closed her eyes. The laundry room was a more arduous place than the kitchen so Emily would often fall asleep while talking like that.

“Really, you.”

Holding back a burst of laughter, Kathleen got up from her seat, pulled the blanket and covered Emily up to her neck, and then returned to her bed and lied down.

Ever since she was born, she has never welcomed her birthday with joy or excitement. Especially if it was her 19th birthday when she turns into an adult, as it could never be a happy moment for her.

Because it was the day that her father, Count Winston, had been eagerly waiting for, as he was about to sell her as a sacrifice for a political marriage.

Kathleen repositioned herself on the hard bed, trying to erase her memories of the past.

‘I am safe.’

Even though he was a margrave, he wouldn’t think to look for her in the Duke of Walten’s residence in Meyer.

As she thought about it, her heart began to ease little by little. Kathleen smiled as she listened to Emily’s sleep talk before drifting to sleep.

When she woke up the next day, her roommate’s bed was already empty.

‘Are you busy?’

Emily slept so much in the mornings that she usually doesn’t get up until Kathleen wakes her. But strangely, today it seemed that she had washed up first and left.

Thinking that she’d meet her for lunch later, Kathleen hastily got ready and went down to the kitchen.

“Good morning, Chef.”

“Oh, yes, Kelly. Have you cleaned all the pans?”

“I’m almost done. I just need to polish them.”

“When you’re done, go to the spice shop and buy some rosemary. My hand suddenly slipped this morning and spilled all that was left.”

“Yes.”

Kathleen quickly looked for a piece of cloth and oil and sat among the mountains of cast iron pans and got to work.

Then the other kitchen maids came in one by one and started their own work. Kathleen wiped the pans diligently, ignoring the grease stains on her face and skirt. She moved her hands without thinking, and finally, it was time for lunch.

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“Kelly, Kelly!”

By the time she entered the servants-only dining area, Emily ran to her with a flushed face.

“Emily, did you have a lot of work today?”

Kathleen became worried when she saw Emily’s appearance, apron strings loosely tied and disheveled hair all over.

“Should I help you?”

“No, no, it’s alright.”

Emily gently shook off Kathleen’s hand that was fixing her hair and said,

“Come here for a second. I have a favor to ask.”

“What is it?”

Emily quickly grabbed Kathleen’s arm and dragged her to a corner and sat her down. She then looked around them and whispered.

“Do you have time later in the afternoon?”

“In the afternoon? Yes. The chef just gave me an errand. If it’s only for a little while, I think I can make time. But why?”

“Fufu. Very good. I prepared something for you.”

“Prepared what? Emily, you don’t have to worry about a present…….”

“It’s done! If I was going to lose to your nagging, I wouldn’t have prepared it in the first place.”

Emily cut her off and refused, giving her a broad smile.

“I’m going to reserve a cake from Sofner Bakery. Do you know it? It’s a new place. Their cakes are very delicious.”

“Of course I know…….”

She had heard the chef rave about it. If the employee of the only duke in the empire was satisfied, then the taste must be reliable enough. But she was told that the prices were outrageous even though it was a bakery with commoners as their main customer base.

“Emily, I’m really fine. I am happy enough that you are with me, even without such an expensive cake.”

“I said the same thing, but you bought me clothes for my birthday.”

Emily said firmly.

“Stop talking and go to Sofner Bakery when you go to the shop later. They usually don’t take sudden reservations, but I guess there are a few extra slots left today.”

“Emily…….”

“I wanted to go too, but I have a lot of work today, so I can’t do it. Instead, I found someone to accompany you. Go with him.”

“I’m going with someone?”

“If you knew how much the cake cost, wouldn’t you have tried to pay it back? I gave the money to him in advance and asked him to pay for it.”

Her roommate knew all of Kathleen’s tendencies. Emily tapped her shoulder with a contented face.

“If you go out on the east side road in an hour or so, he will be there waiting for you. Take off your apron and wear a pretty dress! Understand?”

Then Emily picked up the leftover bread and hurriedly escaped the dining area.

“Why wear a pretty dress when I’m just going to reserve a cake?”

It was absurd, but then she thought that if reserving was as difficult as picking stars in the sky, it might be a place that judges the appearance of the person who orders.

Kathleen quickly finished her lunch and returned to the kitchen. She organized the polished cast iron pans and went back to her room after receiving the money from the chef. And as Emily said, she was going to change into her outdoor clothes and go to the store.

‘But who’s waiting for me?’

She and Emily had no close friends. Since they worked in different places, they didn’t see each other often, and didn’t have a lot of opportunities to talk.

‘He must be someone I know, so I’ll find out when I go.’

Kathleen grabbed a brown basket and hurried to the east side road. She was about to wait under the ivy.

“Miss Kelly?”

Someone tapped her shoulder. She turned around and saw a tall man with a gentle expression and brown curly hair.

He was the gardener’s nephew and had been at the duke’s for some time.

“My name is Brady. I came out at Emily’s request. She asked me to go to the bakery with you.”

He introduced himself while showing his white teeth. Kathleen also hurriedly greeted him.

“Oh, Mr. Brady. Hello. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Haha, it’s not my first time, though.”

“Pardon?”

“I often heard about Miss Kelly from my uncle.”

Did the gardener know her well?

No matter how much she thought about it, she only brought him pies a few times at the chef’s request and got used to chatting with him, but they weren’t personally acquainted.

“I heard you have some business at a shop? Let’s go quickly.”

“Oh yes. Let’s go.”

Either way, she was grateful that he took the time to do Emily’s special request. Kathleen went to the shop with him.

Kathleen arrived at the shop that regularly supplied spices to the duke’s and bought a bottle of rosemary.

“Give it to me, I will carry it.”

“No. It’s fine.”

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“Ei. A man cannot be called a gentleman by letting a weak person lift such a heavy thing.”

Brady took away the basket with the glass bottle and said he would carry it in her stead. Kathleen, burdened by the sudden favor, wriggled her gloved hands.

***