Chapter 85

During the day, the sunlight makes one feel the arrival of spring, but the nights are still cold. Perhaps such days will continue for a while, I wish it would warm up soon... After exchanging such trivial conversation for a while,

"Alicia, let's get married when the flowers bloom in the palace garden."

At these words, Alicia's cheeks turned red, and she broke into a delighted smile, throwing herself into the arms of the person she loved.

This happened a few hours ago.

"So! So, Lady Mary! When Lord Patrick said that, he looked so handsome, and his shy expression was so cute!"

"Yes, yes... that's right..."

"Lord Patrick is very busy now... but he said everything will settle down when it gets warmer! And he even said when the flowers bloom in the palace garden... how wonderful, Lord Patrick is wonderful!"

"Yes, yes, that's right... by the way, Alicia, what time is it now..."

Can you see the clock? asked Mary, to which Alicia, who had been talking excitedly—rather, while excited—opened her eyes wide in surprise.

Looking at the bedside table by Mary's bed, a beautifully crafted clock was ticking away. Mary was sitting on the edge of the bed, facing away from the clock, but there was no way she couldn't see the dial. She could have turned around to check without asking.

That's why when Alicia tilted her head and asked, "What's wrong?" Mary narrowed her already squinted eyes and smiled elegantly.

"I can't keep my eyes open. So, what time is it now?"

"Oh, I see. It's... it's three in the morning!"

"Three in the morning... it's not morning at all!"

With a cry, Mary grabbed a pillow and threw it at Alicia, who was sitting in a chair. However, Mary's strength in the morning was limited, and the pillow made a soft thud. It didn't seem to hurt much, and Alicia let out a scream that sounded more playful than anything.

By the way, it was indeed three in the morning, as Alicia said. It was pitch black outside the window, and this was not the time for a noble lady to be awake and swinging a pillow. Especially not the time for a noble lady to be woken up by a princess who had burst into her room.

"You're not just a country bumpkin with a rooster's alarm clock! You should know there are limits to your eccentricities!"

"But I was so happy! I wanted to tell Lady Mary right away!"

"But you shouldn't wake someone up by hitting them! Go back to the palace and come back at a proper time!"

"I sent the carriage back as soon as I arrived, so I can't go back!"

"Don't plan your actions assuming you'll be turned away!"

Mary shouted, swinging the pillow. But Mary, being a noble lady, couldn't match the energy of Alicia, who was known for her liveliness. After a while, Mary, panting heavily, threw the pillow aside.

She glared at Alicia resentfully, but Alicia's response was a sheepish and adorable smile, saying, "Hehe, I'm sorry." This showed no sign of repentance and rather hinted at a future repeat, which Mary had already come to dread.

Still, she had no intention of saying, "Well, there's nothing to be done. Take your time," and after giving Alicia a stern look, she turned away with a huff and got out of bed.

"Addy! Addy, are you there? Please get rid of this country girl for me!"

She called out Addy's name and headed for the door.

In the Albert household, Addy was always called to deal with Alicia's visits.

When Alicia attacked at midnight with, "I want to have a pajama party with Lady Mary!" he would say, "The young lady is already asleep, so come back another time," and gently put her back in the carriage with some cookies.

When she attacked at dawn with, "Lady Mary, let's go for a walk!" he would say, "You'll get scolded if you wake her before the rooster crows, so why don't you play chess with me until then," and subtly guide her to the guest room.

His earnest and skillful efforts to protect Mary's sleep, as both the master and wife, had established him in this important role.

That's why, as Mary called out his name and opened the door, she was surprised to see Addy squatting in his pajamas.

"Addy... what's wrong?"

"Miss, I'm sorry... I rushed here when I heard about Alicia's visit... but I was so embarrassed by the vivid retelling of the story that I let her in without realizing it..."

"Yes, I see..."

Alicia's love story must have been particularly embarrassing, as Addy, blushing, moaned, "I'll keep thinking about it when I see Lord Patrick." Mary nodded in amazement.

Men and women must receive love stories differently. Especially since Addy was close to Patrick, he must have been even more embarrassed, imagining Patrick's face while listening to Alicia's story.

Mary brought the blushing Addy back to her room and turned to Alicia again. Alicia's dreamy expression, thinking about Patrick, was endearing, but considering the cause of this chaos, Mary felt more annoyed.

"So, what do you plan to do by reporting to me? You're not going to wake up the whole house, are you?"

"First, I want to talk to Lady Mary for about four hours."

"No way!"

"Then have breakfast with Lady Mary."

"No way!"

"Then I'll tell Lord Carrel and the Albert family, the maids and servants who have taken care of me, and the teachers at Carelia Academy..."

"No way! Go home!"

"Miss, I understand you're exhausted, but your rejections are too direct. Alicia, do you really plan to go report now?"

"Yes!"

Alicia nodded with a carefree and happy smile, and Mary let out a cry. She grabbed the pillow again, showing that her sleepiness had reached its peak.

Meanwhile, Addy pondered. This flow, this situation... and the memory he had locked away deep in his heart began to resurface. Just as he did, Mary sighed and said,

"Anyway, don't get carried away just because you were proposed to."

At these words, the memory screamed and Addy fled the room. Of course, he didn't forget to say, "Alicia, take your time in the young lady's room!"

Addy fled Mary's room, hurriedly changed in his own room, and instead of getting into the carriage he had prepared, he jumped onto the horse pulling it.

His destination, of course, was the Dice household.

"Excuse me for the early morning... no, late at night... this is a really awkward time!"

He shouted as he burst into the Dice household. Given the time, there were few people around, but the Dice household, being a noble family, was not completely empty. A servant who happened to be there greeted Addy in surprise and tilted his head in confusion.

It was indeed an odd time for a visit.

"Addy, what's wrong?"

"Lord Patrick... Lord Patrick is!"

"It's this time of night, he's definitely still sleeping."

"Please wake him up immediately!"

"Hey, what's really going on?"

The servant, sensing something was wrong with Addy, patted his shoulder to calm him down. Having served the noble Dice family for a long time, he was close to Addy, and even after Addy married Mary, he continued to treat him the same. That's why he couldn't understand why Addy wanted to wake Patrick at such an hour, but he didn't turn him away and asked for a reason.

But Addy opened his mouth to speak... and then swallowed his words. Maybe no one else knew that Patrick had proposed to Alicia... he thought.

As a man and someone who had been blackmailed by his wife in the past, Addy made this judgment.

"I can't say why, but I need to tell Lord Patrick something."

"You can't say why...?"

"Please, just deliver the message!"

The servant frowned at the intensity of Addy's rust-colored eyes, but his question, "What message?" showed he wasn't going to dismiss it outright.

Addy stared at him intently and slowly spoke.

"Alicia is attacking from the flower field. There's a risk of spore explosion. If you don't want to be in my shoes, retrieve her immediately."

The servant furrowed his brow at the message. Of course, it was strange.

But he didn't dismiss it outright because he didn't think Addy would joke about something like this. Or if he was joking, there was a noble lady from the Albert household standing behind him.

"What's this, spores in a flower field?"

"Please, just deliver the message. Lord Patrick will understand."

"If you say so..."

The servant nodded and hurried off into the house, and Addy watched him go, urging him on anxiously.

After a while, maybe ten minutes, the house began to stir, and Patrick came running from the back, putting on his jacket in a way uncharacteristic of him, and approached Addy, demanding, "What's going on?"

"C-Could it be Alicia?"

"Lord Patrick..."

Sensing something was wrong from the message, Patrick's face turned pale as he looked at Addy.

His eyes were serious. Addy, looking pained, lowered his head but then said,

"Hurry... it would be nice if the flowers bloom in the palace garden."

At these words, Patrick's already pale face turned even paler and tensed. After all, "When the flowers bloom in the palace garden" were the words Patrick had used to propose to Alicia last night. It was impossible for Addy to know this just a few hours later, unless...

"Prepare the carriage! I'm going to the Albert residence!"

"The carriage is ready!"

They urged each other to hurry and burst out of the Dice household, leaving the servant who had delivered the message and the other maids wondering what was going on.

When Addy brought Patrick back to the Albert household and rushed into Mary's room without greeting...

"That's how Lord Patrick looked at me with those deep blue eyes! He held my hand so gently!"

Alicia, excited, was talking to...

"Yes, yes, mumble mumble... that's, mumble mumble... wonderful."

Mary, hugging a pillow, was responding with incoherent words.

"Then, Lord Patrick, blushing... do you remember what he said?"

"...Yes, yes... that's, mumble mumble... wonderful..."

"That's right! 'Let's get married when the flowers bloom in the palace garden!' What a wonderful thing to say!"

"Ugh..."

Seeing the two having a conversation that barely made sense, Patrick finally called out Alicia's name.

She turned around, looking incredibly happy. Her radiant expression was endearing, and if it weren't for the time and place, it would have warmed Patrick's heart.

"Alicia..."

"Lord Patrick! What are you doing at such an hour?"

"Such an hour... you do realize..."

Mary, in a state between dream and reality, more like in a dream, muttered a complaint.

But ignoring Mary's words, Patrick approached Alicia and gently placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Alicia, it's an important announcement, let's go tell everyone together."

With a soft smile, Patrick asked for her agreement, and Alicia's eyes shone even brighter.

She nodded happily, "Yes!" The matter was settled, and the risk of spore explosion was minimized.

Seeing this, Addy sighed in relief and said,

"Poor Miss, I'll prepare the guest room for you two. Please wait there until the rooster crows."

He stopped the affectionate couple from getting lost in their own world and pushed them out of the room, entrusting them to a passing maid.

Finally, peace returned to Mary's room.

It was still dark outside, and this was a time when such peace should have continued.

"Miss, Alicia and Lord Patrick have left. Would you like to go back to sleep?"

"Weed killer and... all the scissors..."

"Sure, sure. Here, get back into bed."

At Addy's urging, Mary, swaying drowsily, climbed back into bed.

Her un-ladylike appearance was quite comical, and as Addy pulled the covers over her, he couldn't help but mutter, "Back to the nest." Her movements as she burrowed into the bed were so animal-like.

Of course, even if she was acting like an animal, she was still Mary Albert, and as she burrowed in, she kicked Addy with her back foot.

By the way, Mary's insistence on weed killer and scissors was, of course, to cut off all the flower buds in the palace.

Mary, now back in bed, peeked out from under the covers with sleepy eyes and looked up at Addy.

"What a troublesome flower field."

"Yes, really. I'm glad you're happy."

"...The spores have spread."

"Miss?"

Addy, about to ask what was wrong, swallowed his words.

Mary's hand, reaching out from under the covers, was grabbing Addy's shirt. Not only that, she was pulling him in as if inviting him.

"...The spores have spread from that girl's flower field."

Alicia, smiling slightly as if begging, and Addy, understanding her meaning, smiled and said,

"What a coincidence, me too."

He answered and, following her invitation, slipped into the bed.