Chapter 12

Edith, seated in the chair, found herself at almost the same eye level as Lionel, who had raised his upper body from the bed. Looking closely, she still thought his calm, blue-violet eyes were beautiful. Feeling a slight embarrassment from his close gaze, Edith began to speak.

“I’m at a loss for where to start when I think about retelling my story. I’m not very confident that a marquess like you would find the story of a commoner like me interesting…”

Lionel smiled warmly at Edith’s words.

“I want to know everything about you. You are different from any young lady I have ever met, and in a good way. So, I want to hear about your life as a commoner. …The reason I’m drawn to you isn’t just because of the difference in our backgrounds, but because of your own charm. So, please, tell me anything about yourself without reservation.”

Feeling a blush rise to her cheeks, Edith smiled.

“Then, I’ll start with how I came to be taken in by the Oakridge family.”

Edith briefly recounted how, after losing her parents in an accident, she learned from her grandfather that her father was from a noble family, and how she was taken in by the Oakridge family and became her uncle’s adopted daughter. Lionel listened quietly, nodding as she spoke.

Thinking fondly of her parents, Edith continued.

“When I lived in the countryside with my parents, I never imagined that my father was from a noble family and had run away from his home, the Oakridge family. My father had completely adapted to the life of a commoner. He cherished my mother deeply, and we were a very close family.”

“You were raised in a warm and loving family, which I can naturally feel when I’m with you. I’m sorry you lost your parents. …For your father to choose to run away from his family to be with your mother, he must have loved her very much.”

Edith smiled softly at Lionel’s words.

“My father told me that their meeting was triggered when he fell ill with a high fever during a trip and was helped by my mother. My father, who recovered completely thanks to my mother’s medicine and devoted care, fell in love with her.”

Lionel’s eyes softened as he listened to Edith’s story.

“That’s a wonderful story. …I thought your father, being from the Oakridge family, was knowledgeable about medicine, but your mother was also skilled in it, wasn’t she?”

“Yes. My father was well-versed in the knowledge of medicine, but my mother was more skilled in making it. I learned more from my mother about how to prepare and mix herbs into medicine.”

“Did you use that knowledge to help with the Oakridge family’s medicine business? I remember you mentioned helping with the family business.”

Edith nodded, surprised that Lionel remembered what she had said to her stepmother.

“Yes, to some extent. However, when I helped my parents’ pharmacy, I would tailor the medicine to each patient’s symptoms, which was different from the established types of medicine that the Oakridge family dealt with. …Our pharmacy was small, but many people came because the medicine was effective.”

Edith remembered the small countryside town where she used to live, and how patients who had recovered would bring vegetables, fruits, honey, and cheese from their own homes as a thank you to her parents. Her parents always looked at them with joy.

Lionel smiled at Edith.

“I can imagine. You must have been loved by the people in your community.”

“The herbs we used for making medicine were mostly not rare, but my mother often told me that the key was to listen to the patients’ symptoms and wish for their recovery while preparing the medicine.”

Edith remembered her gentle and always smiling mother. Following her mother’s teachings, Edith always wished for the patients’ recovery when she prepared medicine.

“…I feel that the medicine you made for me is working well because you wished for my recovery.”

“Hehe, that might be true. I put my heart into it, hoping you would get better.”

Lionel and Edith exchanged warm smiles and continued their pleasant conversation for a while. Despite being a high-ranking noble, Lionel was down-to-earth and easy to talk to. Edith, who had been chatting with Lionel, suddenly realized how high the sun had risen through the window and asked him.

“I’m sorry, I’ve been talking so much. …It’s almost noon. Are you tired, Lionel? Are you hungry?”

Lionel, who seemed to have become quite close to Edith, looked at her with bright, happy eyes.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve had such a pleasant time, and I lost track of time. It’s already noon, huh? I don’t feel tired at all. Usually, I don’t have much of an appetite, but today, I feel a bit hungry. I rarely feel this well.”

Seeing Lionel’s lively expression, Edith felt a warm joy in her heart.