“Welcome, Seirin.”

Emelia welcomed Seirin into the castle.

“Long time no see, Emelia.”

Seirin smiled and delivered the gift to a maid close to Emelia.

When they arrived at the terrace, Emelia apologized with her hands together.

“Sorry for the late invitation. I heard you were here, but I’ve been so distracted lately….”

Emilia murmured her words and glanced at Seirin.

Fortunately, there was no sign of disappointment on her face.

Seirin responded with a soft smile on her face.

It was a tone mixed with concern for the other person.

“No, I heard that your brother is sick. How is he now?”

“The fever doesn’t go away. At least Uji mushrooms are effective… …” 

“I see.”

“Ha, I’m out of my mind. My mother was lying in bed at the same time, so the atmosphere in the castle was chaotic.“

Emelia replied with a bitter smile.

There was no vitality in her expression as if she was suffering. 

Seirin gently held Emilia’s hand. 

“Emelia, you must be having a hard time.”

“No, thankfully, the fever went down and I was relieved.”

“That’s a relief. Ah! There’s a fever-relieving herb in the gift I just brought. I hope it helps.”

“Thank you, Seirin.”

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Emelia shook her hands with an emotional expression.

After a while, various refreshments were served on the table.

The conversation between Seirin and Emelia was also about to ripen.

Just in time, the maid poured Julie’s tea, and Seirin muttered involuntarily. 

“Oh, Julie’s tea.”

Emelia responded when a dry voice spat out.

“Oh, it’s my favorite tea these days. Why? You don’t like this?”

“Tiarozety also said she liked it.”

“Really? Then we should send some tea leaves to Tiarozety.”

Emelia whispered to the maid with those words.

Seirin felt unfamiliar with Emelia, who naturally called Tiarozety’s name.

She watched the scene silently and opened her mouth.

“You must be close to Miss Tiarozety.”

“Oh, we’ve gotten closer lately. Actually, I’ve often received letters of regard since she found out about Hegel. That’s why we keep in touch every once in a while.”

“Really?”

“Yes, I’m grateful. It’s not easy to send a letter every time.”

Emelia replied, with a soft smile.

She couldn’t tell if there were a lot of new things she hadn’t seen, or if it was limited to Tiarozety.

Seirin was a little uncomfortable about it but refused to show it.

However, at Emelia’s next words, she couldn’t control her expression. 

“And she may soon become a duchess.”

“What?”

Seirin was startled and put the teacup down loudly. 

Thanks to that, the tea water leaked out of the teacup.

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“I’ll come back.”

The lady-in-waiting changed the cup.

Seirin’s eyes widened, stiff in that position. 

“Duchess? Who?”

This was unexpected.

Seirin tried to control her emotions while biting her lower lip, but it didn’t work out.

At that time, Emelia put her index finger to her mouth, as if she was in a hurry.

“Oh, please keep this a secret. It hasn’t been officially announced yet.”

‘Am I excited to meet a friend after a long time?’

Emelia was perplexed at herself as she recounted even unnecessary information.

Seirin finally calmed down and asked a question.

“Duchess. You don’t mean the Duchess of Sparrow do you?”

“There’s no other duke other than the Duke of Sparrow in Bael.“

“…….”

Seirin couldn’t react, only her lips twitched.

The information came from Marquis Brandt, the chairman of the Presbyterian House of the Sparrow.

It can’t be a lie.

“It doesn’t make sense.”

“At first, I thought it was nonsense. But when I saw the two of them together, I realized it was true.”

Emelia smiled with her chin on her hands.

She didn’t seem to notice that Seirin’s expression hardened.

Until now, fatigue has accumulated due to Hegel’s medical care, so she has not been able to carefully observe other people’s emotions. 

Seirin grabbed the hem of her dress. 

At the same time, she asked as if nothing had happened.

“Why? Where were the two of them like?”

“The Duke seemed to cherish Tiarozety very much. What’s more…”

Emelia, who was about to tell her that Lexion had already been dumped once, stopped for a moment. 

It was too private, so she thought she should not say any more. 

“No. This seems like a lot of gossip. It might be a bit odd to talk in a place where the party involved is not here.” 

“What’s wrong?”

“Mmmm, nothing. By the way, you’re having a party?”

Emelia shifted the subject in a subtle way.

It meant that she was not going to discuss this topic any further. 

Seirin was more curious about Lexion and Tiarozety than about parties, but she couldn’t show it. 

Because that wasn’t elegant at all. 

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‘I can’t believe Tiarozety as the Duchess. What’s wrong with this……is Lexion finally going crazy?’ 

Seirin could not understand Lexion. 

It wasn’t like him at all.

*** 

Perhaps because the weather was sunny, there was less bitter wind than usual around the Tier River.

Gregory burst into laughter as I waddled up and approached him, wriggling around in a tight fit.

“Are you cosplaying as a snowman, miss?”

“Daisy is overprotective.”

“What do you mean overprotective, miss?”

Daisy jumped up and denied.

However, anyone would think her remarks were a lie if they saw my appearance.

As Gregory said, I was as white as a snowman.

The hats, gloves, mufflers, and coats were all covered in white.

“Hold my hand, don’t fall into the river for no reason.”

“I don’t need…”

“Oho, you’re so heavy that you can’t even keep your balance….. If you keep rejecting it, I can carry you in my arms, miss.”

Gregory threatened and waved.

After reuniting in Bael, he often spat out comments like that, but it was very uncomfortable. 

‘What the hell is wrong with him?’

I looked at him suspiciously but Daisy agreed with him.

“Yes, ma’am. No matter how nice the weather is, the water in the Tier is very cold. It’s safer to ride hand in hand.”

Indeed, I thought it would be better to hold his hand than to trip and fall into the river for no reason.

I gently grabbed Gregory’s hand and boarded the boat.

When I sat down on the boat, the boat swayed shallowly.

After a while, the boatman rowed slowly .

“Have a safe trip, miss.”

Daisy waved from the shore.

There was only me, Gregory, and the boatman on board.

A magic stone was installed inside the ship to block the cold wind and add warmth. 

I stared quietly at the river.

The River Tier was always clear and clean.

As it was clear to the sky, the boundary between the river and the sky was blurred to form a spectacular view.

‘You’re still pretty, aren’t you?’

After coming to Bael, the weather was so bad that I couldn’t come to the River Tier.

The River Tier, which I saw for the first time in a while, was the same as before.

‘I wanted to come with Lexion … but the book has taken his lead role.’

Somehow I felt disgusted and glared at the book.

The book was active and floating around the ship. 

Then Gregory opened his mouth.

“As you said, it’s like floating in the sky.”

“But don’t jump into the river, Prince.”

“What do you take me for, young lady?”

Gregory narrowed his eyes and expressed dissatisfaction.

I shrugged and smiled bashfully. 

“I see you as the prince.”

“I mean, that’s very disrespectful”

“It’s because you hate it when I treat you respectfully. If you want me to be polite from now on, I will.”

“No, I’ll refuse. I like it now.”

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Gregory grinned and dipped his hand into the river. 

“Oh, it’s cold. It’s really cold. It’s like ice.”

“You said you wouldn’t jump into the river…”

“To be honest, my beauty reflected in the river was so bright that…”

Gregory made sly remarks and kept smiling.

I pulled back my upper body with a frown.

It was then.

The boatman was surprised by the sudden appearance of the fish and turned the boat sharply.

“Uwa!”

Along with that, I stumbled sharply.

Then Gregory grabbed my forearm and held it in place. 

“I think it’s not me who falls into the water, but the young lady.”

“Thank you…”

As expected, we should not let our guard down on the water.

I rolled my eyes with embarrassment.

Then Gregory opened his mouth.

“Actually, I’m afraid of water.” 

Contrary to the words he spat, it was a calm tone.

“What? Really?”

When I asked him back, he laughed.

“Yeah. There was a time when I almost died from drowning. To be honest, I’m still scared, so I keep talking.” 

Gregory’s hand trembled slightly as he said that.

‘If I had known, I would have asked the book to change it to something other than a boating event.’

I looked at him blankly and cautiously suggested.

“Shall we go back?”

I didn’t know you were afraid of water.

In the first place, he was a supporting actor, so the information I knew was very limited.

Gregory shook his head at my question.

“No, since you’re here, you should stay a little longer.”

“You said you were scared.”

“I’m used to always being in scary situations.”

Gregory smiled bitterly and let go of my forearm.

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It made me a little sad, so I grabbed his hand without realizing it.

“…What are you doing?”

“Would it be less scary if you held my hand?”

“…. ….”

It was a bit of a bummer. 

“It may not be very reassuring, but I thought I’d feel a little better if I thought I had someone next to me.”

I murmured in a faltering voice and turned my head away.

My heart was so sympathetic towards him that I acted recklessly 

Because I, too, have been terrified ever since I came to this world. 

And whenever that happened, Lexion held my hand, so I was relieved.

With that thought in mind, I held his hand.

Then Gregory grabbed my hand tightly. 

I looked at him in surprise and he kissed me gently on the back of my hand.

His green eyes stared intently at me. 

“I’ll be in trouble if you keep doing this, miss.”

“What, what are you doing now…”

I was suddenly kissed on my hand, so I widened my eyes and pursed my lips. 

Gregory said with a smirk.

“What should I do? I keep liking you.”

PS. Hegel is Emelia’s younger brother mentioned in ch 52 and 53

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