CH 54.2

“Oh, I’ll show you later. It’s the fabric for the new lady’s clothes.”

Anit said with an awkward smile in a slightly different voice than usual.

“If it’s only a cloth, why did you add a few more layers than the previous one…”

“Ah… it’s because this isn’t an easily available fabric in the market. Come on, what are you doing? Hurry up and finish it before the sun goes down! Move quickly.”

Eun-woo felt a strange sense of alienation from Anit’s attitude, which was different from usual. But her loyal maid looked like she would do no harm to her. 

At Anit’s instructions, the maids hurriedly grabbed the needles and fabrics they had been letting go of and started to focus on their labor again.

“…Anyway, lady, when you go out to the square, you must watch the parade procession of the Imperial Palace soldiers! It would be so cool!”

“The clock tower in the square is also worth seeing.”

“Tell him that you would like to see the exterior of the black church. It will be crowded with people around, but it is a building worth seeing at least once in your life.”

“Ey, the Flora festival is street food after all. Lady, you must try the honey apple!”

It was after each of the maids mentioned essential tourist attractions of the Flora Festival and started chatting with each other while laughing enthusiastically.

Eun-woo also felt her heart pounding like cotton candy with anticipation for the ever-inflating festival.

She had never thought that she would want to go first to such a crowded place. But she seemed to be fine if she’s with Tashian.

She, above all else, goes her way with him, who will dare harm her?

At that time, she noticed that the maids, who had been giggling amongst themselves, and who had never stopped talking, suddenly shut their mouths like a hawk.

When she lifted her head, feeling something strange about her, she had already discovered that a large figure was standing at the entrance to the terrace where Johannes had disappeared a while ago.

Eun-woo recognized Tashian’s tousled black hair and felt her heart start thumping out of control.

He wasn’t fully dressed to go out somewhere in relation to the work of the Knights Templar, but he was wearing light armor which somehow looked quite heavy.

As soon as he appeared, an illusion arose as if the air inside the terrace had subsided heavily.

She found him at the entrance, and he approached her directly with his heavy and long footsteps. The silver-gray armor that was draped over his black attire gave off a harsh iron sound whenever he moved.

Even though he had an expressionless expression on his face that seemed to be the same as usual, he seemed infinitely cool and capable, perhaps because she had heard his past earlier from Johannes.

Eun-woo was a little embarrassed by the sudden sense of distance from him in her mind. But at the same time, she couldn’t take her eyes off the man who was approaching her without uttering anything.

“What were you doing?”

In front of her maids and Selena, he asked her gently, who didn’t give her any second to cope in the situation as he stretched his hand towards the chair she was sitting on. At the sudden action, Eun-woo’s body stiffened without realizing it herself.

She couldn’t remember from what moment he started coming so close to her, not paying attention to the maids and Selena’s eyes.

“Didn’t you hear from Johannes? I’m going to change the interior of the Duke’s Castle a bit. I was embroidering on the curtains.”

“Embroidery? You yourself?”

He raised his eyebrows together, flicking one. She saw his eyes peeking through the needles in her hands and secretly and slowly covered the embroidered cloth under her palms.

Tashian once again asked her, subtly frowning.

“It’s obvious. Johannes ordered you to do it, right? I’m telling you; you don’t have to do that.”

He leaned his head towards her. Eun-woo was startled by this and grabbed the embroidery that had been covered with the palms of her hands. She didn’t want to show him her messed up embroidery.

But Tashian’s attention was not on the embroidery in her hands, but on her fingers.

“Look… you’ve got your fingertips red.”

He grabbed her hand tightly, and kicked his tongue.

Eun-woo felt goosebumps on her back at the touch of his blunt and hard hand touching her soft palm. His rough, callused hand with no soft part at all was rubbing her fingertips very softly.

Eun-woo looked at Selena and her maids in embarrassment, but she couldn’t get her hand out of his grasp.

“It’s, it’s okay. It doesn’t hurt at all. I haven’t done much.”

Selena and the maids were the ones who worked hard to sew from early morning. Eun-woo stamped her feet in his heart hoping that he would not see her ugly embroidery, which was only an acorn that she had made hard for half a day.

“Omg, look at my mind. I forgot to prepare the bath water. Guys, why aren’t you standing up?”

At that moment, Anit jumped up, screaming as if she had suddenly remembered something important. Following her, the rest of her maids stood up in a row and began to tidy up her seat, taking her bustle of her sewing supplies out of her reach.

Eun-woo was embarrassed by the sudden closing of the sewing meeting and gave an unspoken gaze not to go to Anit, but the experienced nanny did not blink an eye.

Eventually, the maids bowed to the duke and disappeared in a dash. Of course, Selena gracefully left the place with a plastered kind smile on her face.

“Eleanor, I’m a little tired too, so I guess I’ll have to go to rest for a bit. See you later in the class. Then, Your Grace, the Duke, I shall take my leave…”

Instantly, there were only two of them left on the terrace. It happened without any fuss, and she couldn’t contain her composed self.

Eun-woo froze on her spot, dyeing her ears red. On the other hand, Tashian had a wide smile on his face with his pleasant expression, watching how Selena and the maids fled away.

“I, I usually get bath water only after dinner, so why today……”

Eun-woo stumbled in embarrassment, unable to make eye contact with him. Then he grabbed her hand, which he was still holding on to, and grabbed her with the other.

“I guess I lifted your hand too early.”

He looked down on her with a casual look, but it seemed like he was a bit mad.

Even though she knew everything, Eun-woo was speechless and stared at him.

But soon after, she turned her blushing face to one side, and he bowed his head toward her and made eye contact with her.

“Why are you like that? Are you mad?”