CH 19

The first thought that came to her was, ‘Could the Duke…?’

Even though she knows that it will never happen.

Who then?

She had no friends.

Her fellow maids, who knew her as Brielle, thought she worked in distant mines to earn money to treat her sick mother.

Since living as Asela, she has been banned from participating in any social activities in the capital to prevent my identity from being discovered, and she can’t make friends.

So it was rare for a letter like this to come to Brielle.

If it wasn’t for a letter from the Darrington family asking when she would give birth—.

‘I hope it’s not like that.’

Brielle opened her letter with her shoulders drooping.

[It was my fault a while ago. I didn’t mean to blame you. You have the freedom to share your thoughts with anyone.]

Brielle read her letter again. This time she was more like examining the handwriting.

After that, she raised her head and stared at the firmly closed door.

The one connected to Maximilian’s room.

‘The Duke… to me?’

It was a little unbelievable, but both the content and handwriting were unmistakably his.

Brielle immediately ran to her desk and took a piece of paper and a pen.

For some reason, she wanted to write a reply right now.

[It wasn’t a love letter. I don’t even have someone to share my heart with.] 

Would this lessen his misunderstandings at all?

Brielle stood in front of his door, holding a piece of paper that had not dried.

‘How should I deliver it?’

From the moment she gently knocked on the door after thinking about it, Brielle’s heart also began to beat for some reason. 

‘I… can’t breathe well.’

Her hand, which wasn’t holding her paper, caressed the area near her heart for no reason until she realized she had knocked on his door with her dress off.

‘H, how…!’

And, of course, the doorknob turned a little at that moment with the answer, “Yes.”

“Don’t open wide!”

Brielle quickly hid herself behind the door and screamed.

“That’s…” 

Then she stretched out her arm and thrust the letter she had just completed behind her door.

“I, I was just going to give you this.”

Her cheeks were hotter than ever, perhaps because of the presence that came from behind them.

Enough to forget that it’s winter now.

“Ah… Thank you.” 

With the answer in a low voice, the paper slipped out between her fingers.

She heard the paper rustle in his hand as if he was reading it right away.

“I didn’t expect you to reply right away.”

“Because you keep misunderstanding. Duke.”

“…It was a misunderstanding.”

She wondered if the conversation would end like this, but she heard a cautious voice from beyond the door again.

“I thought you were always thinking of someone.”

“…Why?” 

“You look like you’re missing someone… I’m sorry. I haven’t seen you that often, but I just thought of it on my own.”

Brielle took a deep breath for a moment.

The end of the breath trembled softly with a strange emotion.

The fact that he was looking at her very well.

“I…did miss someone.” 

“….” 

“…my mother.” 

Brielle was grateful that he didn’t ask back, ‘You mean the Countess of Darrington?’

He just listened quietly to her story behind her back. Even without looking, she could tell somehow.

“I loved her very much.”

“And you, too.”

He immediately spoke in a low voice.

“She must have loved you very much.” 

Brielle leaned her back against the door. This won’t close because he’s supporting the door.

The door to be cold somehow felt warm, like his arms.

Brielle recalled at will his firm embrace, which had accepted her falling from a high place last night.

“Ah…” 

At that moment, Briel realized a sad fact.

｢Madam like the Duke.｣

That the cute kid was right.

* * *

Clarisse stamped her feet in a hurry while she was drying her hair after taking a bath with Rosalie.

After putting on pajamas and lying on the bed, Rosalie finally left the room.

Clarisse quietly got out of bed and put her hand on the inner wall.

[Clarisse!]

Then, right away, she heard a lively voice calling for her.

[Clarisse is a genius! Oh, my, I’m so thrilled to see the two dating! It’s something that makes your heart flutter!]

“I told you. There’s a method Uncle Quentin told me about.”

[Quentin must be the God of Love. Love letters are so sweet and wonderful.] 

Judging from the inner wall talking like that, it seemed the two had already exchanged love letters.

It’s full of very pretty content.

“That’s a relief. Did I make the two of them happy?”

[Of course! It won’t be long before a child is born between them. All the walls will be happy to hear a child crying in this mansion.]

“The two’s children will also make a lot of snowmen.”

[They’ll draw pretty sunflowers on the wall, too. All walls love the pictures drawn by children. This is all Clarisse’s ball.]

“Eung, thanks for letting me know whatever the inner wall is. I’m glad that I’ve repaid the favor even a little bit.” 

At the end of the story, Clarisse was yawning loudly when the inner wall quickly brought up a proposal.

[Then, would you mind if I tell you more in the future?]

“Eung?” 

[So many worries in the mansion]

“Worries… Is there more?”

[Phew, don’t even talk. This is a very rich sweet potato harvest.]

She didn’t know why it kept talking badly about the delicious sweet potato, but Clarisse nodded.

“I’ll do my best if it’s helpful to the Sheridan Mansion.”

The inner wall gave Clarisse a lot of compliments again.

And at the end.

[Please give me a kiss too. Then, I can gain strength and look inside the mansion more… Oh?! Quentin, are you out of your mind?!]

“…Eung?” 

The inner wall became even more unresponsive with the sudden strange cry.

Clarisse kissed the inner wall and tried talking to it several times but got no answer.

The inner walls seemed to be busy talking to each other.

‘By the way, they called Uncle Quentin. What happened?’

Clarisse went back to bed, wondering.

She was quite sleepy, so even though she was wondering, she fell asleep quickly.

* * *

Returning from dinner, Quentin finally finished packing the old papers into boxes and taking them to the warehouse.

“Phew, I thought I was going to die.”

It was a motivational start to clean up the office before the new year, but it also became useless.

“Why did you bother with this at the busy end of the year…?”

But it wasn’t just regret.

After laughing, Quentin walked lightly to Maximilian’s room.

It was to keep his order, which he had asked to be reported as soon as the arrangement was finished.

And he had something to say. 

While sorting out the papers today, he found something very interesting, a schedule written down by Maximilian’s servant when he was a prince. 

The day of the royal eldest son, whom the king cherished, was harder than ordinary people think.

Studying from morning to evening, attending meetings, and training in swordsmanship.

Quentin found something very interesting in a schedule that couldn’t be thought of as a child’s. 

He wanted to tell the Duke quickly, so he knocked on his door and threw it open without asking permission.

Usually, Maximilian tended to get over the slightest bit of rudeness, so Quentin wasn’t too concerned.

“I found out everything! The Duke’s first love!”

He raised his hands high and shouted in a cheerful voice.

Suddenly, there was a thud from inside the room, but Quentin didn’t hear it.

“It was all in the old papers!”

Quentin ran around the room excitedly without even looking at Maximilian’s complexion.

“You even designated drinks and cookies yourself, saying your fiancee is coming! You never do that to other guests! Phew, to be precocious from the age of six! So the reaction was weird when you said it was the first love….” 

The bizarre dance moves and teasing words stopped at an obscure point because Quentin had finally seen Maximilian’s expression.

“Heuk.” 

Only his face was a little scary, but for some reason, his boss, who never got angry, had shining eyes now. Just… like on a battlefield.

“Hiik.” 

Quentin quickly took five steps back to save his life.

“T, that was a joke.” 

After bowing deeply to him and giving him an urgent apology, Maximilian began approaching slowly.

‘Oh, I should have just pretended not to know.’

Quentin closed his eyes, feeling threatened for his life.

‘Ha, you careless mouth!’

What’s wrong with a six-year-old Maximilian picking his own clothes for his fiancée’s visit, ordering drinks and cookies, and picking some flowers from the garden!