CH 73

Tak. When Noel closed the door of the wagon and sat down, Elusiana tapped the window where the coachman sat and signaled the departure. Then the wagon began to move slowly.

After a while, Noel, who couldn’t stand this frustrating situation, brought it up first. “Lucy, tell me the truth. You were going to leave me behind, weren’t you?”

“No.”

“Really?”

“Yes.” Elusiana, who was working hard to write something while looking at the ledger, answered briefly.

Noel paused for a moment, perhaps not expecting that she would keep to short answers. But he soon said with a sly smile, “Well, that’s fine. If it’s Lusi, I’ll believe it. But do you know that we haven’t greeted each other yet? Don’t just look at the ledger. Look at my face.”

“…”

“Lusi.”

Noel called her again, but Elusiana didn’t answer with her lips closed tightly. It was when he was about to call her name once again. Elusiana, who covered the ledger, stared at him.

“Lord.”

“W-why are you staring at me so intently like that? …It makes my heart flutter.”

“Flutter… Huu, is that so? My heart flutters too.”

“Ah, really?”

“Yes. And I’m looking forward to it a lot.”

“What, are you… looking forward to?”

Noel’s earlobes turned slightly red at her blatant reply. Until yesterday, she was like a cold wind, but did she lose her anger in the meantime? He didn’t know what she was looking forward to, but his heart skipped a beat.

“You can do well today, right?”

“W-what do you mean to do well?”

“It’s a day job. Can you do well without making mistakes?”

“Day… job?”

Confused, Noel asked back like a fool. Elusiana’s forehead wrinkled slightly.

What? What’s with this sour reaction? He asked me to take him last night. When did he change his mind? Her mouth opened slightly, amazed by the absurdity. Then she suddenly became calm as if she had learned some realization.

This is better. After all, Noel is a surplus manpower with no useful contribution.

Elusiana spoke with a lighter face. “Tell me if you want to go back now, Noel.”

“No. I can do a good job today.”

Deep wrinkles formed between her eyebrows, which had been finely straightened by Noel’s answer.

“Today, we are going to Count Eragost. You know Count Eragost, right?”

“Yes.”

“There shouldn’t be any mistakes. Even if you meet a lady you know at the banquet hall, you can’t grab my flowers as quickly as you did last time.”

“When was that? You still bring that up?”

“This is very important to me, Noel. So if you’re not confident, please go back now.”

Noel scratched his head with shame. “Don’t worry. I’ll do well. Without mistake.”

“Alright, Lord. No… El. I’ll trust you one more time?”

“Huh? What is it? Did you just call me by my nickname?”

Noe smiled brightly, visibly delighted. She called him by his nickname because she thought calling  by his real name would be difficult, but she couldn’t believe he liked it so much. For a moment, Elusiana wondered if she should take back her words even now.

He’s a man who will not let it go. He’ll be asking me to stick to calling him like that somehow. If she took back her words, then something else might happen.

Okay, let’s move on safely just for today.

Elusiana hurled something black on the chair at him.

“Don’t be mistaken, and just wear that.”

“Are you giving me a present too? Wow— What day is it today? Huh? What is this? Clothes?”

Elusiana replied with a straight face to Noel’s attitude, as if he was about to jump up from his seat.

“It’s work clothes. You can’t go around bragging that you’re the eldest son of Marquis Klaus. The place to work today is none other than a noble family, so you have to cover your face as much as possible.”

“…Haha. I see.”

“Don’t be late. Just try it on quickly to see if it fits.”

Noel smiled awkwardly as he unfolded the black robe she threw.

“Haha. Just look at this robe. Don’t you think it’s too big?”

“It’s not big. It’s just the right size. You need to cover that much to hide your handsome face.”

“…!”

Noel frowned as he fidgeted with the robe’s hood, which looked bigger than his face.

* * *

Elusiana, who arrived at Count Eragost’s mansion with four wagons, was guided by the servant to the inside.

Noel, who she thought would follow along, said he would stay in the carriage for some reason. He looked a little ridiculous wearing a big robe, but it was better than selling his face.

“Are you Lusi, the branch owner?”

“Yes, I’m Lusi, the branch owner of Fragrant Garden.”

The servant stared at Elusiana in the face and nodded. “There are changes for the order.”

“…Changes? It’s a bit difficult to change the contract details on the day of delivery.”

The servant snorted and replied. “My lady asked you to decorate the hall. She will pay you twice as much, so please.”

…Ha! Elusiana frowned slightly between her brows. It was a request that wasn’t difficult as she was concerned. It wasn’t just a day or two she dealt with the whim of nobles. Just in case, she brought a lot of things to use for decorations. This was within the realm of her prediction. However, she didn’t like what the servant said.

Do you think I’m an idiot? Do you think I will do everything you ask?

Elusiana said with a distraught expression on her face. “I’m sorry. That request will be difficult whether you give me double or triple.”

“…”

“In the contract, even the delivery of goods was the condition of this contract.”

The servant, who was momentarily taken aback, spoke without losing her relaxed expression. “May I take it as a refusal of my lady’s request?”

“It’s not a refusal. It’s a contract—”

“Alright. I will tell the lady so.”

“No, hey!”

When the servant, whom she thought she could persuade somehow, just turned around, Elusiana intuitively thought something was wrong. Argh! This isn’t it. What? Could it be they’re going to shake me from the first place? Her blood pressure soared instantly.

According to the contract alone, there was nothing wrong even if she returned like this. Because the contract was already completed and there were no flaws. But she was also well aware that the contract was just a minimal safeguard for cause.

Did the commoner’s florist ignore the polite request of the noble family? What if the nobles joined forces later to boycott?

It’s going to be the end of your career.

It was difficult to build a reputation, but it was easy to damage it. If the noble family had intentionally tried to bring down the reputation, it was a clear thing that would create a backlash. And the damage would be borne by her and the owner, Trisha.

Elusiana hurriedly called the servant. “Hey!”

“What? Do you have something else to say?”

“I’ll do it. That request. The decoration will be taken care of by our Fragrant Garden.”

“Then, so be it.”

“…?”

Elusiana looked confused as she stretched out her hand toward the servant. Didn’t the servant quickly change their attitude… just like a heartless person?

Then the servant smiled wickedly and handed out the contract. At that moment, Elusiana realized the servant had tricked her. I rolled my head too much. She swallowed her laugh with a devastated face.

* * *

“This is it.”

When the servant stopped walking as they reached the banquet hall, Elusiana, who was following her, also stopped.

The central hall of the Eragost Mansion, Louver. The hall, which was frequently used for banquets, was different in size as this family valued personal connections.

“Ummm. Can I look around?”

“Yes, please.”

Leaving behind the feisty servant’s answer, Elusiana carefully examined the hall’s interior. White marble columns and floors carved in antique style. The ceiling was arched, making it look wider and grander than it actually was.

Fortunately, it’s white, so it won’t be difficult to match the color. Elusiana, who roughly checked the time, tapped her chin gently with her finger.

The banquet usually begins in the early evening at sunset and ends around midnight. However, Lady Eragost set the banquet time to start at midday this time.

This table is set by default.

Seeing as there were no maids in sight, it seemed like it was wrong to expect their help in the first place.

“It’s wider than I thought. Hey— Should I decorate the second-floor terrace with flowers?”

The second-floor terrace of Count Eragost’s mansion was oddly protruding in a semicircular shape, so it looked good to attract attention.

Is she going to say greetings over there? It was unlikely that Lady Eragost would make an exception for this good spot if she wanted to attract attention.

The servant nodded and said “My lady has instructed me to put more effort into that place.”

“I see. Does she have any other concerns?”

“No, she doesn’t.”

Elusiana awkwardly raised the corners of her mouth and swallowed a frustrated sigh.