Chapter 30

Several days later, Jean and Clarisse departed for the lake on the outskirts of the remote region.

Jean told Marius about the situation and instructed him to find out about Mary’s family and Cedric. Clarisse also decided not to take Mary on this trip, as Jean had suggested. Clarisse was fine with it either way because she had already planned to give Mary some time off.

Mary only had dresses for Clarisse that she could put on and take off herself; thus, Clarisse, who could basically do everything by herself, would be fine without her. Her only concern was how Clarisse would arrange her hair. Still, she won’t be meeting any other nobles on the trip, so she doesn’t need to worry about doing complicated hairstyles; as long as Clarisse can tie it up without difficulty, she’ll be fine. 

Jean, who was sitting next to Clarisse in the carriage, took her left hand and began twirling her ring around and around.

“I’ve been thinking about something; when I asked you about it before, you said we didn’t need a wedding ceremony… but it just doesn’t sit right with me… we don’t need a grand ceremony in the royal capital, but why don’t we do it here in the borders? Sid, Marius, and the servants can celebrate with us.”

“Here, on the borders?”

“Yes, here. Well, at any rate, the winter has already started… how about we hold it in the spring when the flowers start to bloom? The king has already given his blessing for the marriage, so if we just were to inform him of the date and time in advance, it should go off without a hitch.”

“Is it really okay?”

Clarisse asked Jean, her violet eyes glowing with joy, and he was confident that he was right to ask this question.

“Of course. I want to see you in your bridal dress.”

“I am so happy! Jean-sama … Actually, at the time, I thought you wanted my sister and not me…I just couldn’t say anything.”

“Ah, I see.”

Both Jean and Clarisse have come a long way to reach this point, just because of the selfish lies sown by her father.

“I’d like to see you dressed as a bridegroom, too, Jean-sama. I’m sure you’ll look very splendid…”

Clarisse’s rosy cheeks and smile were so cute that Jean couldn’t help but steal her lips into a kiss. With their tongues entwined, they indulged in the sweet kiss for a while before Jean reluctantly pulled away. Jean was in the most flirtatious mood he had ever been in, so if she were to give him a chance, he might just go the way while in the carriage.

“I can’t… We’ve waited all this time…”

As soon as she was released from the kiss, Clarisse leaned her head on his shoulder. Jean initially mistook Clarisse for shy and reserved, but she actually preferred to be spoiled more than he expected, and the fact that he was the only one who knew her in this way satisfied his possessive desires and brought him enormous joy.

“Let’s contact that dressmaker in the royal capital to have the wedding dress made; they have a rough idea of the size, so it would be easy to make without us going there personally.”

Jean said, and just as he thought, Clarisse refrained.

“That….I don’t want anything too extravagant, Jean-sama.”

“Just…you’ll only wear a wedding gown once in your life, and I want to see you, the most beautiful of all, in a beautiful gown; let me spoil my wife.”

Jean is the one who spoils her so much, so when he puts it like that, she can’t say no, and it appears that he is looking forward to seeing her in her wedding dress. She smiled and nodded slightly as she leaned back against him.

❁❁❁

‘I’ve got four days off…what should I do?’

On the other hand, Mary was in her room at the Margrave’s mansion, enjoying her first vacation in a while but worrying about what in the world she was going to do. Since joining the Farenheit household, she had almost never taken a day off because she had never wanted to leave Clarisse with Matilda, who was constantly being mean to her.

‘Let’s go to town today …’

The Margrave told her that if she needed to go to town, she could request that the butler prepare the carriage, which she gratefully agreed to use. A short while later, the butler called her to get into the carriage, which was waiting at the mansion’s entrance…

‘What the ..? ‘ 

When she went to get into the carriage, she found Sid, whom she had not seen for three weeks, standing there.

“Mary, long time no see. Have you been well?”

“Y-Yes.”

“Do you have someplace you want to go to?”

“No, well…”

‘What does this mean? Does the Margrave also know about this? Of course he does’

Mary was perplexed, but she reminded herself that, while she was embarrassed to meet him, she already knew what he was like, so there was no need to be nervous now. It’s not that she is particularly uncomfortable being with him. Unlike aristocratic daughters, who are considered indecent to walk around with a nobleman, she, as a servant, has no reputation to worry about. She considers this quick turnaround to be one of her strengths.

“I’ve never been to the town, so I’d like to go there.”

Sid, who probably did not expect a serious reply, blinked his eyes and then smiled.

‘His smile though~~ it’s simply beautiful..’

“Well then, I’ll show you around the town today…although it’s not as grand as the royal capital.”

“No, I’m sorry to inconvenience you, but I’d appreciate it if you would accompany me around.”

Of course, Sid is familiar with the town, so she decided to be honest and ask him for a tour. And with that, the two of them got into the carriage and headed towards the town.