CH 216

‘…… Today is the day I promised to tell him my wish.’

But then the sound of horseshoes approaching from afar was heard.

“…… ?”

Some nobleman came to the royal palace banquet on horseback, not carriage, so I looked back.

But the person riding on the horse had a very familiar face.

Yes, it was none other than Cedric!

He wasn’t even dressed in a robe.

He looked like a knight, as if he ran straight away without time to change clothes after sweeping the beasts.

“…… !”

I was so surprised at the amazing timing that I could speak nothing.

I watched Cedric tie his horse and run from afar.

“Oh, isn’t that Sir Cedric? I thought he wouldn’t come.”

“Well. He did come.”

But unlike me, Alice and Jake, who were standing next to me, muttered in voices that seemed to be filled with regret.

In the blink of an eye, Cedric came right in front of me.

“…… Whoa, luckily I’m not too late.”

As he had run in a hurry, he was taking this breath.

Cedric grinned and pulled something from behind.

It was a bunch of pink roses, a common gift to debutants in the Empire.

However, if there was one thing that caught my eye, there were black bloodstains on a flower.

‘It’s the beast’s blood.’

I tried to look away, pretending not to see the blood.

It seems that Cedric is dressed in the same outfit, so the half-dried blood of the beast is already smeared on it.

Perhaps Cedric had discovered the bloodstain only late, pretending not to know, he took the flower out of the bunch and put it in his pocket.

“Well, congratulations on your first social debut. Emir.”

Then he handed me the bouquet right away.

I decided to overlook Cedric’s actions and smiled broadly.

“Thank you, Sir Cedric. I was waiting for the flower gift.”

“Yes. I thought you were waiting, so I set aside everything and came here. I’m so proud.”

Cedric grinned with satisfaction.

Perhaps his only purpose was to hand me the gift and he had no intention of going inside the banquet hall.

‘Well, even if he enters in that outfit in the first place, everyone will avoid him.’

Of course, nevertheless, the news that Cedric had arrived in front of the banquet hall spread quickly, and there were a lot of people who came out on the second floor terrace and snooped around.

“Then, shall I clean up and come back again?”

Cedric mumbled, worried about his outfit and ran back to his horse.

“We will now go to Count Leona’s residence. Come along!”

“Alright, I see.”

Cedric nodded his head and left.

Before long, the three of us arrived in front of the Count’s residence.

‘Every time I come here, I feel new. I think the mysterious atmosphere is different from an ordinary mansion.’

I looked up at the mansion and admired it.

Obviously, it was a smaller and simpler mansion than Duke Rose’s residence, where Alice had lived before.

However, unlike Duke Rose’s residence, who was only splendid and dreary at the same time, Count Leona’s residence exuded a sense of living.

‘Only those who knew will realize, but most of the plants planted in this garden were also airlifted from Fairy Island.’

It was also the only mansion in the Empire where you could see a garden decorated like a fairy island.

“Well, you can wait in the parlor. I’ll tell them to bring tea.”

Alice smiled and led me and Jake to the parlor.

The number of employees working inside the Count’s residence was rather small.

However, they all had a warm and friendly personality just like the owner of the house, Alice.

“Lady Emir and Duke Jake have visited us. The Master said to bring the best tea.”

A maid appeared and poured us tea.

Indeed, the scent of the flower tea was very good.

I was drinking the tea, but somehow Jake’s expression wasn’t very good.

He had a frown, as if he had been drinking tea filled with vinegar.

‘It’s strange, why?’

But the tea the two of us drank was exactly the same.

There must not have been a separate device to mess with Jake alone, so it was strange.

It must have been that the tea didn’t suit his taste.

“You waited a long time, Emir? Now, here, a gift for you.”

Just then, Alice entered the parlor with a small box.

‘What kind of gift?’

Just looking at the box, it seems like an extremely precious item, but not knowing the contents made my heart pound even more.

Then Alice spoke as if she was recalling the past in a calm voice.

“…… I’ve said that to Emir before. When I become a great adult later, I will definitely give you a wonderful necklace.”

Oh, that necklace?

I had an idea.