Chapter 29

Pavel skillfully cleared away the broken pen and handed a new one to Altair. When Altair looked at him with a bewildered expression at his natural, fluid actions, Pavel shrugged and lightly tapped the documents on the desk with his fingers.

"We need to finish these documents quickly so you can attend the lady's tea party, right?"

"Tea party? I've never been invited to such an event."

"There's no need to be invited. If the lord of Eilsford, who is hosting the party, decides to attend, who can stop him?"

Altair frowned slightly, as if he had never considered such a notion, and Pavel sighed deeply, shaking his head.

"Didn't I tell you? The lord should also take an interest in and study social culture..."

"Enough."

Sensing that Pavel's nagging was about to continue, Altair raised his hand to stop him and began to quickly work with the pen. As the review of the documents finally picked up speed, Pavel also looked satisfied and closed his mouth. When the documents rapidly dwindled down to the last page, Pavel, who had been quietly assisting Altair, spoke cautiously.

"Milord."

"Speak."

"I didn't think it was my place to speak, but I believe it's best to tell you. It's about the lady."

At the mention of the lady, Altair put down his pen and looked at Pavel.

"A while ago, I had a conversation with the lady and heard something a bit strange. Mari said she was the only maid who didn't mistreat her after her parents passed away. It's been bothering me."

"..."

"Her reaction when the topic of the dowry came up was also a bit strange. It seems her position in the marquess's household wasn't very good. Perhaps it went beyond just being bad..."

"Enough. Stop there."

Pavel's eyes widened at Altair's unexpectedly calm response to cutting off his words.

"Perhaps... you already knew?"

"Roughly. I heard about the situation from Nadia."

"Then Blan's recent intelligence activities in the capital..."

Blan left for the capital immediately after receiving a new mission following the resolution of the ring issue. While he had guessed that Blan was diligently gathering information from the messenger birds flying into the lord's room every day, he didn't know it was related to the lady.

"The lady must have made a big decision. It's not something she would easily bring up. It shows how much she trusts you."

"Well... I am her husband..."

Altair cleared his throat, embarrassed, and quickly changed the subject.

"You, too, have crossed the line. You, who know the duties of a servant better than anyone."

Pavel, hit by the comeback, closed his mouth tightly. The duties of a servant are simple: never speak out of turn about the master's affairs and never question orders. This is the line between servant and master. Although Pavel often nagged at Altair, he had never offered his opinion on the lord's important decisions or family matters. Yet, this time, he took the initiative.

"Because the lady crossed the line first."

"Nadia?"

"Yes. The lady treated us Eilsford people like family, which gave me the courage to cross the line."

In this vast empire, it would be impossible to find a lady who would jump into the water to help a servant.

'But our lady did.'

Pavel momentarily recalled Nadia's image. When Altair got married and a new lady of the house was to be established, he thought it would be difficult to please the lady from the capital and assist in the internal affairs. He even considered the possibility that she might ignore him and push him out of the internal affairs. After all, a long-serving butler is the biggest rival to a lady from outside the family.

'So I was mentally prepared...'

But the person who appeared before Pavel was Nadia. She didn't seem to have any intention of taking control of Eilsford's household or asserting her authority over Pavel. Instead, she consulted with him on even minor issues and sought his opinions.

'Furthermore...'

She was melting the cold lord's lonely heart, which had been locked away in his own castle. How could there be a more wonderful lady? For her, he could temporarily set aside his principles.

"She is a really good person."

"That... I know too."

Altair replied somewhat gruffly, quickly finished reviewing the last document, and stood up.

"I need to prepare some flowers. I can't go to the lady's tea time empty-handed."

"Good idea."

"And keep Nadia's issues confidential."

This was a matter of noble pride. If it became known how Nadia was treated in the marquess's household, people would pity her. In noble society, being pitied is not a good thing. It means that one's pride and honor have hit rock bottom, making it difficult to hold one's head high in the future.

'So the timing for this to be revealed...'

Is when the perfect revenge can be taken. Until then, they must keep a low profile and keep the secret.

"Of course."

Pavel, understanding Altair's meaning, bowed without further questions.

"And what about the flowers for the lady? How about tulips?"

"...Pink tulips."

"To match the lady's hair color."

Pavel narrowed his eyes and let out a 'hmm' with a hint of mischief.

"It seems the lord is more bashful than I thought..."

"Pavel, you're starting to resemble Blan more and more."

"We are brothers, after all."

"I meant you should take after his good qualities. Why do you only pick up his bad habits?"

"Bad habits are easier to catch."

"...You've always been the same, never backing down."

Pavel chuckled softly as he watched Altair grumble and leave the office.

'Indeed, the lord has...'

become a better person to look at.

'If this peace continues, it would be nice.'

However, he was worried about the upcoming meeting. Altair's social activities themselves were rare, but what concerned him was that the person who had drawn Altair into the meeting was Balhail. That sinister man wouldn't have invited Altair to the meeting without a reason, so something was bound to happen.

'Of course, the lord is well aware of this.'

He would be well-prepared.

"So, tulips, then."

Pavel sighed deeply and moved on. * * *

"The tea aroma is really good, my lady!"

"I've never had such delicious tea!"

The knights sitting opposite raised their voices excitedly. Today's guests were three, with Cain naturally leading the conversation.

"You don't even know what good tea tastes like. Don't believe them, my lady. They only know the taste of beer, not tea."

At Cain's tattling, the knights who had been praising the tea awkwardly cleared their throats and avoided my gaze. His words were too true to refute.

'They are kind of cute.'

I couldn't help but smile at the sight of the three large knights awkwardly holding small teacups. While it's not good to take pleasure in others' discomfort, I secretly enjoyed seeing this every time I invited the knights.

'Maybe I have a bit of a bad personality.'

Moreover, this doesn't help me practice at all.

'I wanted to practice leading a conversation naturally like a noble lady before the meeting...'

The knights I invited for tea time would actively speak up and lead the conversation whenever there was a gap, trying to help me avoid any awkwardness. Their kindness, however, resulted in tea times that were far from my original intention.

'Is this okay...?'

While I was worrying in my heart, Cain, who was unaware of the situation, put down his teacup with a good-natured laugh.

"Since the lady has invited us to tea time, next time we will invite the lady to the festival. We'll also properly introduce the taste of beer. By the time you return from the meeting, the festival will be just around the corner."

"Festival?"

"Yes. A big festival will soon be held in the village. It's a prayer to the sky to protect us from the many mages in this area. Such festivals are rare in the capital, right?"

"Yes. There is the Founding Festival, but..."

The nobles all gathered in the royal palace for a ball and enjoyed a grand party. It would be quite different from the festival Cain was talking about.

"It will be very fun. The lord dislikes noisy events and has never attended, but if he says he won't go this time, we will take the lady."

While I found large gatherings burdensome, it was hard to ignore the knights' kindness. After some hesitation, I nodded, and the entrance suddenly became noisy. Before I could turn my head to see what was happening, the knights quickly stood up and bowed.

"Milord."

'Milord?'

Surprised, I stood up and turned around to see Altair standing there. Shocked by the unexpected appearance of an uninvited guest, I watched as Altair walked in and suddenly presented something to me. Before I could identify it, a fragrant aroma filled my nose. It was a large bouquet of pink tulips.

"Take it."

"Ooooh!"

At Altair's words, the knights standing in a row exclaimed in admiration and clapped.

"I thought such things only happened in plays."

"Me too."

When the knights started whispering, Altair glared at them fiercely. Cain, with his usual good-natured smile, grabbed his comrades' collars and dragged them away.

"Uh..."

I was worried about sending the guests away like this, but Altair handed me the bouquet and slightly bowed. When our eyes met, he brushed my hair with his hand and asked.

"What are you looking at? Don't you like this guest? Do you prefer the others?"

"No, it's not that... I invited them, and Altair chased them away..."

"I didn't chase them away. They ran away."

"That's the same thing..."

This way, it would be hard to become a 'charming noble lady who leads conversations' before the meeting.

"Still, thank you."

"For what? Chasing them away?"

'You said you didn't chase them away.'

In the end, you admitted it. I laughed and shook my head.

"No. For the flower gift..."

But before I could express my gratitude, something soft touched my lips. I opened my eyes wide to see Altair's face right in front of me. He had kissed me. Shocked, I opened my eyes wide, and Altair, looking surprised, quickly stepped back. I could see his ears slightly flushed.

"...It's because you were laughing."

Altair covered his mouth with his large hand and turned his head.

"So, you're saying it's my fault?"

Feeling wronged for being kissed without warning, I stepped forward to protest. Altair, in turn, stepped back as I approached.

"It's not your fault, but your laughter made me... without thinking..."

"But you're saying it's my fault."

"I'm not blaming anyone..."

"Ahem."

As we bickered, Mari, whom we had momentarily forgotten, cleared her throat loudly to remind us of her presence.

"Since when..."

Not realizing her presence, Altair stiffened and looked at Mari. Mari, as usual, smiled calmly and said to him.

"I've been here the whole time, milord. Would you like a cup of tea?"