CH 32

As the maids explained what they were doing, Kellerhan raised one eyebrow.

“For your information, Yuta is already ready and waiting for Isabella’s dress to be decided.”

Kellerhan said as he jumped across the piles of boxes of shoes and hats on her floor.

“One more thing to remind you all of, the tea party is tomorrow.”

At those words, the maids sighed as a group.

There was no one here who didn’t know that the tea party was tomorrow.

“But, Duke. Everything suits her so well, we can’t even choose!”

Kellerhan stared at the maid who uttered the words with her bewildered eyes, then he let out a long breath.

“Everyone, get out of the way.”

At Kellerhan’s words, the maids got up and stood up against the wall.

He looked down at me, three hats and two gloves on me, also different shoes on each of my feet, with a stern look. 

“Why the hell did you make her do this?”

He took my hat and gloves off and made me take off my shoes too.

I felt comfortable after a few hours, and I sat down on the stall while thanking Kellerhan.

He stared at me and turned to look at the dresses and decorations piled up in the room.

“This, this, this, and this.”

Kellerhan identified the hat, gloves, shoes, and dress with a nod.

What he chose was a hat with fresh flowers, silk gloves, a light green dress, and cute shoes that I could wear comfortably to run around.

“Try it on her.”

Kellerhan ordered the maids.

The maids who were attached to the wall looked at each other, then sprang out again and started adorning me with the dress and accessories that Kellerhan had chosen.

And when the redecoration was finally finished, we were all amazed.

“P-Perfect!”

One of the maids exclaimed.

The maids looked at me, and I stared in the mirror.

The dress and accessories that Kellerhan chose were more perfect than any combination that the maids had been searching for 4 days and 4 nights.

I looked at Kellerhan with anew eyes.

I was really surprised that he had such a good sense.

“Aall of this is the Duke’s choice?”

The two maids who came to the dressing room late after going to get a hat looked at me and widened their eyes.

“I can’t believe it!”

The two maids chatted for a while, just like the other.

Meanwhile, a brown-haired maid muttered as if she had suddenly remembered.

“Actually, the Duke often chose dresses for the late Madam…”

“Hey!”

The other maids hurriedly shut the brown-haired maid’s mouth.

An awkward silence passed for a moment.

“H-Haha. At this tea party, Miss Isabella will surely shine the most!”

“Obviously. Won’t everyone be surprised?”

Then, the maids suddenly changed the subject.

And they began to act as if the brown-haired maid had never made a mistake.

The people in the mansion call me ‘Miss’ and the knights call me ‘Young Madam’, that’s why the ‘Madam’ the brown-haired maid refers to isn’t me.

Except for me, who else could be called ‘Madam’ in Barmuth?

I was curious, but soon I brushed off my doubts about ‘Madam’.

Let’s not be too curious.

If the people of Barmuth hide something from me, it must be for a good reason.

I didn’t want to break their peace or be hated after asking for nothing.

“How is it, do you somehow like it?”

When the maids stopped making a fuss, Kellerhan asked.

“I like it a lot.” I replied with a broad smile.

After all the uproar was over, I had an early dinner and went to bed early.

“Tomorrow, you have to go to the Imperial Palace and stay outdoors for a long time, that’s why you need to stock up on your stamina.”

Because Magda said so.

The next morning, when I woke up, the excited maids were waiting for me with the dress and accessories that had been chosen yesterday.

Tea parties were usually scheduled for the afternoon, when the nobles enjoyed a cup of tea, so I spent the whole morning doing a final check.

After having lunch, the full-scale dress-up began.

In the end, there wasn’t anything grand since it was for children, but.

The moment I finished dressing up, I went down alone and saw Kellerhan and Yuta waiting for me.

Kellerhan was as usual, yet Yuta was a little weird.

No way, is he… Is he stiff because he’s nervous?

As I approached him, I heard Yuta inhaling quietly.

I tilted my head.

“Why are you so nervous, Young Lord?”

It was because I had no idea why he was nervous.

Yuta hesitated for a long time with his bright red face, and then finally opened his mouth.

“Today… We’re going to a tea party hosted by His Imperial Majesty.”

“But the Young Lord is familiar with parties like this, right?”

Although Yuta was still young at the age of nine, he would have had many opportunities to meet the Emperor as he was the son of Kellerhan, a close associate of the Emperor.

Thus, I thought a tea party would be okay for him.

Yuta’s face grew even redder.

“Today is different from the tea parties I went to before.”

He covered his mouth with his sleeve, avoiding my eyes and muttering.

I couldn’t understand his words, so I was even more puzzled.

How is today’s tea party different from the tea parties he went to in the past?

Yuta, who noticed my question, whispered, still avoiding my eyes.

“Today is the first time, we…”

The first time?

“The first time we stand in front of people as a bride and groom.”

With those words, Yuta turned his head away as if he was running away.

Now I could barely see his reddened earlobes.

Uuhhh, so what he means, he’s nervous about going with me, it’s this right?

Yuta’s confession captured me in a strange feeling.

Turns out Yuta is really… He really thinks marriage is important.

I was worried about later, when Saintess Ji-Hee appeared from the Void.

If Yuta turns away from his true love because of his sense of duty to me, I think it would be very heartbreaking.

“There is nothing to be nervous about.”

I tapped his hand, as Yuta often does.

He looked at me in surprise.

That boy was still covering his mouth with his sleeve.

“I’m just your fiancée. It’s different from marriage.”

Yuta’s eyes trembled at my words.

“…What does that mean?”

“Yes? That’s…”

I tilted my head and started explaining.

“It meant we didn’t have to be nervous because we weren’t a real bride and groom yet.”

Yuta bit his lip without answering my words, and took his first steps towards the carriage.

Why is he like that?

Then, next to me, Kellerhan tapped my shoulder.

Turning my head, I saw him with a very strange expression on his face.

“Isabella, did you say that knowing about it?”

“About what?”

“Turns out my son still has a long way to go.”

Kellerhan grabbed his stomach and laughed for a long time although I didn’t know what was funny.

Without a sense of what was going on, I waited for Kellerhan to stop laughing.

“Let’s go too.”

Kellerhan reached out his hand to me.

When we arrived at the front of the carriage, Kellerhan just lifted me up and put me in the carriage.

Normally, Yuta would have talked to me about this and that, but today he just looked out the window with a gloomy expression on his face.

“Leave him alone. Let’s go quietly.”

I was wondering if I should also talk to him, after I started talking on various topics, Kellerhan said that.

At Kellerhan’s orders, we remained silent and waited for the carriage to arrive at the Imperial Palace.

“We’re here.”

When the carriage stopped, Kellerhan stretched out and got down first, holding out his hand.

I was lifted up again, and I got off the carriage by his hand, when I heard the sound of gasping as if people around me were surprised.

And then there was the sound of gossiping at an insanely high speed.

“Isn’t that the Duke of Barmuth’s carriage? And the one in front is Duke Barmuth.”

“If my eyes are right, I think he’s holding a child and dropping her off.”

“Hey, is that possible? How could that ghost-like Duke of Barmuth be kind to a child?”

“No! Look over there!”

“Oh my, it’s true!”

The servants of the Imperial Palace, who were welcoming people at the entrance of the detached palace where the tea party was held, couldn’t hide their surprise when they saw us.

It was almost like our visit to the Rudger’s Mansion, but it seemed to be a shock to the people that Kellerhan was taking care of a little chi;d and it wasn’t his own son.

But I can’t believe they were talking so loud.

The palace attendants also resemble the Emperor, so they’re somewhat sloppy.

I looked at Kellerhan’s complexion to see if he would feel uncomfortable, but it was a useless worry.

Even though people were talking about him, he had an indifferent expression on his face.

He even made sure that Yuta got off the carriage and took the two of us into the detached palace.

The tea party was held in the garden behind the detached palace to enjoy the spring weather, so we had to walk a bit more.

I was choked by the familiar sights around me.

It was because the memory of participating in the same tea party with Heiner in my previous life suddenly came to my mind.

I must have grabbed Kellerhan’s hand unconsciously.

I saw him turning his head and looking down at me.

“Isabella?”

“For today’s tea party… You said that His Imperial Majesty also sent invitations to the Duke of Lodgemund, right?”

At my words, Kellerhan’s expression hardened as well.

“I begged him not to send it, but he didn’t listen. He said that omitting the closest duke family out of the five would make him lose his face.”

Kellerhan let out an annoyed sigh.

Knowing that he was trying so hard for me to even say refusal words to the Emperor, I smiled to mean it was fine.

“The good news is that Duke Lodgemund isn’t participating today.”

Kellerhan said, looking down at my smile with a complicated expression.

“Young Lodgemund… No, what was his name?”

“It’s Heiner.”

“Yeah, don’t worry because only Heiner will come.”

Kellerhan clasped my hands tightly.

“…I will always be right next to Isabella.”

Yuta intervened from beside me.

He had been gloomy the whole time for some unknown reason, but now he’s serious about worrying about me.

“Thank you, everyone.”

Hoping that my sincerity would be conveyed properly, I said, pressing down on my feelings within each syllable.

Kellerhan looked at me without a word, while Yuta came over to me and tapped my hand.

Suddenly surrounded by the rich men of Barmuth, I smiled awkwardly.

It would be very strange to enter like this, though?

As usual, wouldn’t it be better for Kellerhan to take the two of us on both sides?

However, the two men didn’t intend to change positions despite my wishes, and I ended up entering the garden where the tea party was held while being escorted by the two men.

“Gosh.”

“Oh my.”

“That kid is…?”

As soon as I entered, it was only natural that everyone in the garden looked at me in amazement.