CH 9

After the brief incident with Brian, the meal was made amicably.

Brian seemed very proud of the situation, and Elliott was still confused by the sudden addition of training today.

Archduke Crichton and her mother smiled at the two of them and then started talking to each other.

It was mainly about asking my mother about what had happened, so I continued to eat quietly without interfering.

In fact, I liked it better when all the focus was on my mom, not on me.

It was because she had been a mercenary for nearly ten years and was used to being alone all the time.

In the meantime, the only people who showed interest in me were clients or targets.

No, that wasn’t all.

There were often funny people who looked at her as a woman and approached her with ridicule. Many mercenaries treated the job of being a mercenary as insignificant and quarreled with them, and some nobles beat the mercenaries and asked them to be their daughter’s escorts. And other people wanted to recruit me into the mercenary army. Like a mercenary king…

“I…”

I opened my mouth cautiously at the thought that came to my mind.

Then all eyes in the dining hall turned to me.

Even though everyone was concentrating on my mother’s story, they seemed to catch my small voice right away.

“Do you have anything to say?”

“You can say anything, my niece.”

“Is the meal not to your liking? Should I ask them to cook something new?”

I hesitated for a moment, wondering if I had brought up the words for no reason at the gaze that followed me to the point of being burdensome.

I’m indeed my mother’s daughter, but can I ask you to do something like this?

They were all nice to me and willing to give me anything I wanted, so maybe asking for it wouldn’t be a problem.

But I still had a hard time with people here.

They seemed to immediately accept that I was part of their family, but I wasn’t.

It was because of the long past of resentment alone for a long time.

The truth still seemed to be a lie, even after entering the grand duke’s family.

I couldn’t believe that Grand Duke Crichton and Duke Brian were always listening to me.

Then my mother raised her hand and stroked my hair lightly.

I looked up and looked at my mother, who smiled softly at me.

She seemed to know that I was embarrassed to say anything.

“It’s okay. You can talk comfortably.”

Hearing that voice, I was able to open my mouth in peace only then.

“Your Excellency, I have a favor to ask of you.”

When I finished my rhyme, Grand Duke Crichton smiled kindly.

“Yes, tell me. I’ll listen to whatever it is.”

Grand Duke Crichton nodded his head as if he were willing to listen to whatever I asked.

“I met a child on my way here. There seems to be a wanted man hanging on him. Couldn’t His Excellency please solve that?”

The story I brought up was about Jeffrey Coleman, a future mercenary king, but now just a boy.

As far as I know, Jeffrey should have been able to overcome the wanted situation on his own somehow, even without my help.

But just because I knew the future would be like that, I couldn’t calmly pretend I didn’t know him.

It was because the image of him starving because he couldn’t eat properly had not disappeared from my mind.

If I hadn’t been riding in that wagon, he would have had no choice but to starve or take the risk of stealing food from the upper ranks.

If he’s lucky he could get something to eat, but if he’s not, the guild members beat him up and dump him on the road.

I knew better than anyone how miserable and distressing such a life was.

I went through that life myself until I was able to register as a mercenary.

So, I couldn’t see Jeffrey suffering like that.

He is at an age where it is difficult to live alone. It’s hard to get a job with that small body.

That’s why I was trying to give Jeffrey a little help.

Well, if Grand Duke Crichton doesn’t listen to my request, I can’t help it.

“What’s his name? Do you have any information?”

“Jeffrey Coleman from Chern. He’s a boy, two years older than me, with silver hair and blue eyes.”

“Baby, if he were two years older than you, he would be eleven years old, why did such a child become wanted…?”

Grand Duke Crichton shook his head as if he could not understand.

I did not explain why. The Grand Duke will know the moment he starts investigating the wanted situation.

“Can you?”

“Nothing is impossible. I will check what happened and if there is no problem, I will release him from being wanted.”

“Thank you!”

Fortunately, Grand Duke Crichton accepted my request positively.

That was enough.

If Jeffrey had not lied to me, he would be free without any complications.

As I breathed a sigh of relief, Grand Duke Crichton smiled. I felt tickled for a moment at the sight of affection.

“Tell me if you need anything at any time.”

“Yes, Your Excellency.”

Grand Duke Crichton, who heard my answer, smiled sheepishly and turned his head to look at my mother.

“Come to think of it, Cornelia, a letter arrived late last night from His Majesty the Emperor. How did he get the news that we had found you? He’s asking you to come to visit at once.”

“If it’s the Emperor… James?”

“Yeah. What are you going to do?”

Mom shut her mouth in perplexity.

I noticed my mother cut the ham well and put it in her mouth.

If it is His Majesty the current Emperor, he must be the ex-fiancé of my mother. He was the most affected when my mom fell in love with my father. I understand if my mom feels uncomfortable meeting him.

Grand Duke Crichton opened his mouth carefully to see as if he understood my mother’s mind.

“Cornelia, if you say you don’t want to go, I won’t force you. No, if you say you will not meet His Majesty, I will take steps to prevent him from meeting you no matter what happens.”

“That’s what I was thinking too, Cornelia, but wouldn’t it be nice to apologize properly for what happened then?… profusely for Mirabel’s future?”

Brian advised my mother after Grand Duke Crichton’s words.

“When you left, we compensated them, but it’s probably not enough, and above all Mirabel will one day enter the social world, so if you have a bad relationship with the Emperor, wouldn’t it be a problem? So, it would be better to apologize in person once.”

“… yeah. I better do that.”

Mom nodded at Brian’s advice.

“You must have suffered humiliation because of me. It’d be right for me to apologize in person. Father, I will visit His Majesty today.”

“Is there a need to do it so hastily? Wouldn’t it be nice to have a little more time to relax?”

“No. I’m back again. His Majesty the Emperor knew that, so I think it would be better to talk about this matter without delay.”

“Okay, then talk to him.”

“Yes. And… I’m so sorry father, you must have suffered a lot because of me. And I’m sorry, brother. “

Mom bowed her head in regret. I could clearly see the pain and distraughtness on her face. 

“No. Just you coming back safely is enough. There’s nothing more important than you…”

“Yeah. It happened because we pushed you and didn’t try to understand how you felt. Rather, we are sorry.”

“If you’re going to see the Emperor, I’ll accompany you.”

“No, thank you, it’s okay. If I go with my brother, His majesty will be uncomfortable. This is mine and his majesty’s problem.”

Fortunately, mom laughed brightly.

I was relieved and took a bite of the egg tart that came out as a dessert.

The savory tart crust and sweet and soft custard cream go well together.

The egg tart was a dessert that I enjoyed quite enough to stop by a café or hotel even when I was a mercenary.

But the egg tart that I eat here at Grand Duke Crichton is much softer and tastier than I’ve ever eaten before.

“… delicious.”

I took another bite and enjoyed it.

In particular, the taste, which was not overly sweet, was very attractive.

After all, the people who make these kinds of dishes are very high-level, right?

“Delicious?”

“Huh? uhm.”

When I raised my head to my mother’s voice, others were looking at me sheepishly.

At that moment, I was embarrassed to think that everyone had seen me burst out of admiration.

“Eat this, too.”

Mother tried to give me her share of egg tarts. I was so embarrassed that I waved my hands and refused it.

“No, I’m already done eating. It was just because it was delicious.”

“Mom is already full, so you can have this.” 

But mom didn’t bend her opinion. Maybe she thought I wanted to eat more, but was just shy to say.

“You don’t have to do that, Cornelia. Eat your share. There’s a lot more.”

Seeing that my mother was trying to yield her egg tart to me, Grand Duke Crichton soon called the maid. Then he asked for more egg tarts.

Shortly after, the maid led a trolley into the dining room.

The maid approached me familiarly with a tray, she put more egg tarts on my plate.

“Yeah, Mirabel. Eat as much as you want. If it’s not enough, just said so, I’ll tell them to make more.” 

I was embarrassed by myself, so I nodded my head slightly with my face down.

“Eat it.”

I hope they don’t pay attention to me like this. I awkwardly extended my hand toward the egg tart as they continued to gaze at me.

Then I picked one up and took a small bite. Then people began to laugh as if they were satisfied. 

Even amid embarrassment, the sweetness of Egg tart hovered in my mouth.