CH 3.1

CHAPTER 3: YOU ARE QUALIFIED TO BE THERE (I)

Part 040

It was the first day of autumn. The hot sun was a little weak, and a pleasant breeze began to blow even in the middle of the day. She got used to the education at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to some extent. Unlike the Ministry of Home Affairs, where she almost died of boredom, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs gave reasonable jobs. It was also interesting to learn about the international situation over their shoulders. Laurentian was sandwiched between the Heimdall Empire in the north and the Sardonian Empire in the south, and they were taking the lead in maintaining peace on the continent by playing tug-of-war with the neighboring countries.

She was just proud of Laurel’s father, the Count of Madeira, because the foreign ministry administrators had so much confidence in him. About 10 days had passed since her father went down to the manor. In his mansion were twelve knights and five maids. There were eight attendants left, and many servants and maids hired temporarily, but somehow it felt like one. Maybe it’s because Anna, who was exchanging jokes with Jenny, left, or maybe Ruby was suffering from something similar to depression. She should tell Anna to get the lady-in-waiting training soon and come back to the mansion.

At the beginning of the season Adrian was busy with a lot of big training in the military. Today, when he visited for lunch or at the temple, he showed a drooping face and said he was sorry that he couldn’t take her there. Administrators of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs must have rarely seen the commander of the capital, and the response was the best ever among the military, home and foreign ministries they have been through. Adrian, who was waiting for her at the entrance of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was openly surrounded by people watching.

He stood there like a picture, and when he spotted her, he put a big smile on his face and cheered the onlookers up. She almost patted him on the butt because he was so cute waving his hand. Work was fun, love was more exciting. It was a nice fall, a day that made me wonder if this was happiness. When she went down to the mansion after work, Jenny came out to meet her and gave her good news.

“Ailene?”

“Yes, she arrived a little while ago and is waiting for you. I took her to the reception room on the 3rd floor without permission.”

“Nice job, Jenny.”

Ailene appeared after two seasons. She ran upstairs to the parlor on the third floor. As soon as she saw Ailene sitting like a picture on the sofa, she shouted with delight.

“Ailene!”

She lifted her head and looked at Damian. She appeared as a miserable beauty who was like a lovely fairy. Ailene, who lost a little weight in two seasons and her atmosphere changed a lot, greeted her.

“It’s been a while, Damian.”

She quickly went and sat across from her. Jenny put down the teacup just in time and left the drawing room. After two seasons, a friend who escaped for love appeared, so there were so many questions.

“It’s been a while. How are you? Are you back now?”

“Yeah, I’m going to be in Midok now. How have you been? You look like you’re doing well.”

“I’ve been well too. I’ve been taking exams and getting education, and I’m dating these days. How have you been?”

When she said this with a bright smile, Aileen and four smiled at each other. It was a full smile with her lips raised, but perhaps because she was thin, it was a twisted smile somewhere.

“Is that so? I’m married to Lord Dozern. It took me a while because there was no temple accepting me.”

“Married? Are you married? Whoa. Congratulations. Where? But is it okay to get married right away without the approval of the Duke of Nodoban or His Majesty the King?”

When she asked in bewilderment, Aileen erased her smile and looked at her with a cold look. It would have been a party for 3 nights and 4 days, if not for the marriage of the prince and his princess, but it seemed that she was upset about the way she had married.

“Hah. I’m sick of it.”

In Laurentian, an aristocratic marriage was difficult to be recognized even if it was performed by both parties. Not only did the temple not give permission for marriage, but the marriage vows had to be signed by the heads of the two families.

Damian was curious and worried, but after listening to her speak as if chewing it out, she turned her back. She must have suffered a lot. She wasn’t the kid standing around like that.

“Since you’re back, I’ll see you more often.”

“Well? I’m going into the palace. Will I be able to see you often? Did you just become an administrator? It must be hard work. It’s hard work to come all the way there.”

“It’s hard, but it’s fun. I got a job here that I couldn’t do there. I’m still in training, so I need to stay a little longer to get a job. Are you going straight to the palace?”

She smiled and asked but Ailene stared at her without answering her question. Damian looked at her with puzzled eyes, but for a while she looked at her face and all over her as if thinking about something. Then she stood up and leaned toward Damian, lowering her voice and asking cautiously.

“Damian, by any chance, did you develop something that wasn’t there in the past year?”

Huh? This was the second time she had been asked this question lately.

“Something that wasn’t there? Do you mean on the body? No, there was no such thing?”

“Maybe it’s an inconspicuous place. Really?”

The captain asked the same thing. It’s summer, what was this surging feeling of shame? In response to his low voice, she made a somewhat nervous face and persistently asked, so she replied seriously.

“Yeah, there’s nothing new about it.”

Ailene’s face after hearing my answer strangely changed. The momentum had also changed dramatically. With her eyebrows drooping and her lips curled up long, she leaned back against the backrest with a face that did not know whether she sympathized with or ridiculed the pity. She leaned her head against the sofa and looked down at her with a satisfied expression. It’s a face she didn’t like.

“Yeah, is that so? Yes. It can’t be, then.”

“Why are you asking such a thing all of a sudden?”

At her words, Ailene lowered her eyes and gently raised her right hand.

“Ah- that’s what happens. It’s not something I can tell you. I have to apologize to you anyway.”

A friend who came after two seasons smiled with a full face, so why was she in a bad mood? Damian asked with a straight face at the words that were spinning around.

“I wish you could tell me what you’re talking about. What does that apology mean?”

“I can’t tell you the details. I’m talking about things that have nothing to do with you. I’m sorry, Damian. You became like that because of me.”

“So? What happened to me?”

“It’s just that, this and that, everything. You came here for no reason, studying, working, working hard, everything like that?”

Wow, what was she apologizing for exactly? Damian didn’t know what she was talking about. And her life, which she was living diligently, somehow became a pointless hardship.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but you don’t have to worry about my life. I’m doing well enough, I’m happy enough.”

“Happiness?”

Why was she putting a face as if saying ‘I can’t believe it’?

“Yes. I am happy. Can I confidently say that I am happier than anyone else in the world?”

Ailene laughed at her answer.

“You? Are you happier than me?”

The sarcasm hurted.

“Why? Can’t I be happier than you?”

“But you anyway”

Ailene was about to say something, but she hung up and waved her hand. What did she mean? What was she anyway? She was a supporting character anyway, so Aileen was saying she shouldn’t be happier than her? Damian was in a bad mood, so she just watched without replying, and Eilene said triumphantly.

“I’m pregnant.”

Whatever. Did she scratch someone like that and ask them to congratulate her? When Damian didn’t say anything, she started talking in a more confident voice.

“It’s Lord Dorzern’s child. We are married, and he will be the king. I will be the queen.”

She thought she would continue to brag if left alone, so Damian cut Ailene off and replied.

“Congratulations on your pregnancy. I’ll congratulate you when you become queen.”

“After becoming? Are you envious now? Are you jealous because I’m becoming queen? Then say yes. Because I understand. You’ve been like that since before. I had better grades than you, I was prettier, and I had a better family. You’ve been rude to me for no reason because of your pride.”

Wow, no way. What did she eat wrong to act like that? Until last winter, she was the only one who had a friend. What should she do?

“We’ll have to stop today. I don’t think we can talk anymore.”

When she got up, Ailene opened her eyes and said. It was an exasperated voice, almost screaming.

“I’m happy!”

“Who said what? I’m happy too.”

“More me than you! Because I was chosen!”

“What are you talking about? Who chose you?

“Don’t be too resentful if you find out later. I was going to apologize for not being you.”

“Should I call someone or will you go out?”

Ailene, who was glaring at her, kicked off her seat and left her room. She was dumbfounded, so she watched it, and then Jenny, who was standing outside her door, came in with her cold face, and she said,

“Should I give her a cool slap on the back of the head?

“No, Jenny, don’t let her in from now on.”

“Of course, ma’am. I’m sorry. Had I known this, I would have told her to go.”

“I didn’t know she would come out like that. Never mind.”

She soothed the apologetic Jenny and went into the room alone and sat down. She was angry beyond being ridiculous. What have Aileen been doing for two seasons to change like that? No, had she changed? Was she thinking that way from the start? With that in mind, did she ever call Damian a friend? What was she acting like? The only thing she endured alone was the Great Wall, where she cried and cried when she threw herself into a room, mobilized everyone around her and made a fuss, and thought they were no match.

‘Wow, the more I think about it, the more I get angry like a habit.’

She fiddled with the necklace she received from Adrian. Pushing aside Ailene’s venomous face, Adrian’s brightly smiling face comes to mind. Her heart softened a little that way. No matter what anyone could say, she was happy now. She was happy, why should she claim to be someone else?

“Whoa~”

She let out a long sigh, and let out the tantrum that welled up. As she was touching the necklace, she brought out something that bothered her.

‘Has there been any marks on your body since last fall?’

Homer came to ask during military training. And today, Ailene asked the same thing. On the day Homer asked the question, he even checked with Jenny while he was taking a bath after returning home. Since last fall, nothing has changed in my body. There were definitely no marks or dots. She asked the inspector who used the medicine the other day at the cafe, but Homer hasn’t appeared yet. He was also ignoring Adrian’s continued calls.

She sent an official letter of appeal to the royal family a few days ago, so she thought they would see each other sooner or later. Would it be a leap to guess that what they wanted to confirm that day was the mark of Aileen’s anger that appeared on her body after last fall? The day we fell into the water together, Aileen had a sign, so she was asked if it appeared on herself. Judging from Aileen’s reaction today, it seemed that the mark that she had and Damian didn’t have had to do with their entering this world. If that’s the case, since they died at the same time, the conclusion that even she was caught up in Eileen’s fate and possession there, but she was not a gift of some kind.