CH 29

Callie didn’t know Olivia would ask her to go with her first. She thought it would be much more exciting to watch it with Lisa as the two of them shouted loudly and cheered.

“I’m not going to go see it right now. I’m going out of town and doing some errands before I go.”

“Going out of town… Is it for the party arrangements?”

“Yes. I want to check the flowers I ordered before they arrive tomorrow.”

“Then I should go with you even more because I know very well which flowers are suitable for a party.”

“…In that case, please.” 

Callie had no choice but to leave the villa with Olivia and head downtown. Olivia went to the garden with her and, as she said, helped pick out the flowers.

“Baroness Jordin likes lilies of the valley. Viscountess Laura likes daisies. Well, Mrs. Catherine and her two daughters go well with hydrangeas. Young ladies love roses and lavender, too.”

Callie followed Olivia’s advice and decided on a flower.

“I took out the flowers that don’t look suitable, so I think this is enough.”

“Thank you, Olivia. I thought it would be fine to just bring pretty flowers, but it’s still best to consider the guests’ preferences.”

“It’s no problem. Since we’re done checking the flowers, shall we go to the lake now? The rowing race will begin soon.”

“Let’s.”

Callie must be cheering for those who are rowing with their thick forearms and screaming loudly by now, right? What’s so exciting about watching people rowing in a boat? I wonder if she went to see them yesterday and today.

Since women were like that, men would go to competitions and use all the muscles they’d built up for a year. 

Callie and Lisa were already gone when Brandon came out of the study. 

The bond ledger he was holding was no longer interesting. Brandon closed the ledger with a thud, then took the hat off the hanger and left the study. 

When he left the villa, he thought he should take a walk before coming back, but his feet led him to the lake shore where the rowing competition was held. 

How did I end up coming here after saying I wouldn’t come? 

It was absurd when he thought about it, but he didn’t hate these feelings.

“My wife, where would she be watching?”

It was because of Callie that Brandon came here in the first place, so he looked around for her first. At that time, Lisa, who had discovered that he was there, urgently approached him. 

Her expression didn’t look good. Brandon knew instinctively that something had happened to Callie. 

“What’s the matter? Where’s Callie?” 

“We came to watch a rowing match with Mrs. Olivia, but Mrs. Olivia asked me to buy a drink, so I left and now I can’t see the two.”

“What are you talking about? Callie went with you to the rowing event.”

Lisa’s face lost more and more color at Brandon’s accusatory tone. When Brandon urged her to tell him what had happened, Lisa began to explain the situation. “On our way out, we ran into Mrs. Olivia. She said she was on her way to the rowing match and asked Madam to go with her, so she accompanied her.”

“Olivia asked her to go with her?”

“Yes. Before coming here, they stopped by the flower shop to check the flowers for the party. Then they headed here.”

“When you returned from running errands, did you mean the two disappeared?”

“Yes. No matter how much I looked around, I couldn’t find either of them,” Lisa said, looking like she would burst into tears.

Brandon was upset, even though he knew that Lisa was in a situation where she couldn’t help it either. 

“Whose maid are you? Callie didn’t even order you to run the errand, but you left your master behind?!” He didn’t raise his voice very much, but his cool eyes were fierce enough to intimidate people. 

Concerned by Brandon’s bloody expression, Lisa burst into tears and bowed her head. “I’m sorry, milord.” 

The servant’s apology wasn’t important. Callie, where the hell are you?

Where would Olivia have gone if she had taken Callie with her? He couldn’t figure out Olivia’s intentions. Still, waiting for the two to appear made him feel uneasy.

“I’ll go where the boats are docked and look for them. Try to look again to ensure they’re not in the crowd of onlookers.”

“Yes, milord.” 

After giving instructions, Brandon hurried to the docked boats. 

Two hours ago.

Olivia, who came with Callie to the lake, led Callie to where the Gonette family’s boat was docked. 

“Callie, you said you wanted to compete in rowing, right?”

“I just said I thought it would be fun to try it, but I didn’t necessarily want to participate.”

“Since you didn’t apply, it’s difficult to participate in the competition officially, but you can still ride a boat. Would you like to try it? The Gonette family has a couple of boats.”

“I wouldn’t want to impose.”

“Not at all. There’s no one on board anyway, so you can use it. Thanks to you, I also want to ride it after a long time.”

Callie hesitated, unable to respond to Olivia’s persuasion.

Olivia suggested one more time to Callie. “You don’t want to impose? Or is it you don’t trust me?”

“I didn’t think you liked me, but you lent me a boat I didn’t ask for…”*

“As expected, you don’t trust me. I’m sad. I thought maybe we could be good friends. That’s why I’m happy to help with the party preparations.”

“Thank you for helping me prepare for the party. If it weren’t for you, I probably wouldn’t even have a list of people to send invitations.”

“Look at that. If I’m helpful, then I won’t do anything bad.* If you really don’t trust me, let’s ride together.”

“You’ll ride, too?”

“Yes. However, since the boat is for two people, a servant can’t ride with us, so you’ll have to row the oars yourself.” 

“It doesn’t matter. I wanted to give it a try.”

“You do, but I don’t want to row. That’s what men and servants do. It’s not something a lady from an aristocratic family would do.”

“I do. I don’t care because I didn’t grow up as nicely as other girls from aristocratic families. I don’t think there is anything only men can do in this world.”

“I knew you’d think that way. Instead, I’ll have one of my servants follow us, just in case you run out of strength and find it harder to stir. Lake Centio is so large. Going around that lake in a boat is quite difficult, even for strong men.”

“If you do that, I’m grateful that I can ride with confidence.”

“Then let’s go. The boat is over there.”

“Alright.”

Olivia liked Brandon, but Callie thought they might have been good friends had they known each other without him.

Callie was even grateful to Olivia for doing what her husband refused to do.

Full of anticipation, Callie eventually climbed aboard with the help of a servant. A Gonette family servant taught her how to row a boat in simple terms.

Callie was very excited as she sat across Olivia in the two-person boat. The feeling of floating on a small boat was so thrilling.

“O-Olivia, this is what it feels like to be on a boat.”

“Callie, is this your first time on one?”

“Yes.”

“On a fine day, floating on the lake feels really good, but it’s a pity you haven’t experienced it before.”

“It’s alright. I’ll experience it to the fullest today. Well then, let’s go. Hold on tight, Olivia.”

“Callie, even a small boat can’t go that fast no matter how hard you paddle it.”

“Hmm, you underestimate me too much.”

“Maybe soon you’ll admit that I’m not wrong.”

Callie paddled vigorously as she listened to Olivia. Although small, she had more strength and stamina than she looked, and Callie had better athleticism than the other women. 

So she underestimated how difficult it would be just to row a little, but she realized right away as she rowed herself. 

She knew it was a full-body workout that required a lot of stamina. So, even though there was no provision in the rules of rowing competitions that women couldn’t participate, women didn’t participate.

Still, I didn’t want to show a weak side because I said I wanted to do it first.

Callie rowed hard in front of Olivia, who was leisurely enjoying the breeze. 

Since Callie was doing this, she felt as if she had become an attendant serving a noble lady, but she decided not to care because it was what she wanted.

“Carly, it’s much more beautiful to go to the middle of the lake than to go around it. Can you row all the way there?”

“It’s a bit difficult, but I’ll try since I’ve come this far.”

“Good idea. Lake Centio, seen in the middle, is really beautiful.”

Callie should have said she’d only ride for a second and get off. The more she rowed toward the middle of the lake, the more she regretted bluffing that she could do it. Her rowing was getting slower and slower.

As if a bag of rice was hung from one arm, rowing became more and more difficult. Beads of sweat had long since formed on her forehead.

She had done all sorts of labor while helping the poor Loris family, but rowing to the middle of the lake was not an easy task. 

They weren’t even halfway there, but she was out of breath. Finally, with no more strength in her arms, Callie stopped rowing.

It was then. She gasped for breath as she stopped rowing, when Olivia, sitting in front of her, shouted, “Oh no, what should I do!”