Chapter 17.2

Chapter 17, Part 2

“Oh, I thought you were out, but you’re back.”

‘Is today my unlucky day?’

Mary came home from the café, entered through the servant’s entrance, and as she stepped into the hallway, she ran into Sid.

“Where have you been?”

“..Huh…well…to meet someone I used to know when I was here…”

When she said that, Sid’s face instantly turned grim for some reason.

“Is it a guy?”

‘What?’

Mary was dumbfounded to hear this, but within her mind, she felt that she didn’t need to answer and tried to slip past Sid. Just then, she spotted the Margrave’s large frame approaching from the other side of the hallway and took advantage of the opportunity to rush over to him.

“I’d like to have a word with you, Margrave if you have a moment…”

“Hmm.”

During their stay in the royal capital, Clarisse had visibly changed, and so had Jean. As the relationship between the two grew closer, Jean’s facial expressions softened and became easier to read, and although this might be just in Mary’s mind, but he seemed a little more approachable than before.

“All right, let’s take a moment now and listen to what you have to say… Sid, you too.”

Jean went into the nearest guest room, leaned against the wall, and invited Mary to sit in a chair, which the maid firmly refused, naturally. 

On the other hand, Sid, who was always cheerful and flirty, was now pouting, which made Jean raise his eyebrows in surprise, but he didn’t comment on it and urged Mary to talk.

Mary told the Margrave what she had heard today from the fellow maid at the Farenheit household, being sure to speak in as much detail as possible. 

Mary met with that maid for Clarisse’s sake, and when Sid heard that the person she was meeting with was a fellow maid, a woman, in particular, his expression instantly brightened, while Jean looked at him from the side and folded his arms leisurely.

After Mary finished speaking, Jean took a moment to collect his thoughts and then nodded to her.

“Thank you, Mary; this story proves that we are on the right track. It has helped a lot. You may go to attend Clarisse now. “

Mary’s expression relaxed a little, as if relieved, and she bowed before quietly leaving the room. As soon as the door closed, Jean thought to himself.

‘The pieces are in place… all that remains now is to wait and see how Clarisse wishes for the matter to be handled.’

❁❁❁

Mary knocked on the door of Clarisse’s room and entered. Clarisse was sitting on the sofa, lost in thought, but when she noticed Mary, she smiled.

“Did Betty look well?”

“Yes, she looked fine. She was very interested in your fiancé, so I told her to look forward to tomorrow. Besides, we should surprise everyone by showing them how beautiful you are, my lady. You should wear that beautiful dress that the Margrave had bought for you. I will show you all the skills I polished to do your makeup and hair.”

Mary continued speaking, trying to sound as normal as possible, and Clarisse giggled.

“I’m looking forward to meeting everyone…”

‘Everyone… I assume that doesn’t include her family members.’

Mary’s heart ached.

“I’m sure they’re all excited to see you, and I’m sure the head chef is going to bake so many of your favourite baked goods that you won’t be able to finish them all. It would be nice if we could bring some back with us.”

Mary continued to talk to Clarisse, hoping to make her master feel a little better.

Even when they were having dinner together later that night, Jean did not say anything to rush her.

He was just there for her. 

Which up until now, there had been no one like that for Clarisse.

‘I’m not alone, Jean-sama is there for me, and no matter what answer I give him, he will accept it.’

Before she fell asleep at night, her final thought was no longer about her family but instead filled with Jean.

And when she woke up early the following day, Clarisse’s mind had calmed down, and she had finally come to a decision.