Translator and Editor: Maru and Aki

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Chapter 11

Perhaps Tidwell’s appearance left quite an impression, the butler sincerely prepared the tea party for the two young masters. Ravia’s favorite tea from the Laphirel store, her favorite snacks, and even her favorite roses.

As a result, Tidwell simply prepared himself for the tea party and easily found out most of Ravia’s favorite things.

But what’s the use of preparing it so perfectly like this? She’s not even here.

‘Does wanting to get along mean that she just wants to avoid conflict?’

Tidwell was heartbroken. On the surface, he sat in a relaxed manner as usual, so no one, including himself, noticed how heartbroken he was. Without him realizing it, he was looking forward to this tea party.

In a scene that looked like it came out of a fairy tale, his sister, who was more beautiful than any princess, sat down with a smile carved on her face and a teacup on her hand. And he was there watching the beautiful scenery.

The peace at 3 PM was slowly wearing off.

Now it is already 3:55 PM.

Tidwell, sitting in Orangerie without Ravia, was hit by the morbid reality that perhaps he shouldn’t have any expectations at all.

That’s right, this is the reality. I’m not living in a fairy tale. Only children would be happy to hear the story of a beautiful noble lady, who cherishes her adopted brother like her real brother, even if he took away her spot.

‘What the hell was I expecting?’

Tidwell eventually got up from his seat along with a self-deprecating laugh.

I was carried away by useless emotions and did foolish things. It was a waste of decorations, so I’ll just leave and let Ravia enjoy the party all by herself.

With that in thought, Tidwell walked out of Orangerie, but it was then.

“Yo-Young master!”

A maid ran across the rose garden. After running with all her might, the maid’s dark hair had become a little messy and her hairband had moved past the top of her head. The maid stopped in front of Tidwell and handed him a letter she had in her hand.

“My lady asked me to give it to the young master.”

“My sister?”

The maid nodded hastily at her master’s question. A drop of sweat fell on her temple, but she couldn’t even think of looking straight at him. It had only been three months since she came to the residence.

She was tasked to clean the annex that was used as a library and only learned of her new master from other servants, so this was her first time seeing him from up close.

‘Everyone said our new master is gentle and cool.’

Was this person considered gentle? I don’t know why, but I’m a little scared. The maid thought as she glanced at Tidwell, who was reading the letter.

Because of the strong sunlight, his light-colored silver hair was especially striking. Including his long fingers, chiseled face, and even his tall stature. As a result, the maid was gradually lost in thought.

‘Now that I had a closer look at him, I can see that my lady and young master are a bit alike.’

It was not their outward appearances that were similar, rather, it was their presence. Their mysterious chilliness and presence alone that naturally attracted people’s attention.

Then, the maid recalled the lady who just handed her a letter a little while ago.

-If you go to Orangerie, you’ll see Tidwell. Can you deliver this for me?

Such a gentle command. The lady, imbued with the library’s subtle light, looked beautiful even in the vague memory the maid had of her. It would have been nice if she could take a closer look at her, but she couldn’t because of her next words.

-Knowing his personality, I don’t think he’ll wait that long for me. So if you don’t want to make a fruitless trip, you better run.

The Orangerie and the library were located at both ends of the residence. The maid ran at full speed, thinking that she wouldn’t make it if she took her time, especially during this hot weather. Thanks to that, she was able to meet Tidwell and complete her mission.

“May I return now?”

As the maid tried to open her mouth carefully, Tidwell, who was quickly reading the letter, was brimming with joy.

Tidwell made a sudden burst of smile just like a popping flower bud. For that reason, the maid was stunned.

My goodness, so you actually know how to smile like that? Is that why everyone praises you for your gentleness?

But she couldn’t hear a clear answer. Because Tidwell, who immediately erased his smile, spoke to the maid.

“Where did you come from?”

“Pardon? I came from the library.”

“Library.”

Tidwell lowered the letter and brooded over the word as if he just understood something. Because of that, the maid could slightly see the content of the letter.

[On a sunny day, the Orangerie is hot. A cooler place would be better for a tea party.]

The sentences were written in perfect and straight lines. When the maid tried to peek at the remaining three lines, Tidwell folded the letter.

“Tell the butler to clean up the Orangerie. Tell them to move everything to the library.”

He left her there with only those words and crossed the rose garden without giving the maid a chance to understand his command.

***

What Ravia wrote was just an ordinary letter. Not too long or too short. There were no useless idioms unlike the usual aristocratic letters, but to sum it up, its content was roughly like this:

‘I’m not refusing the tea party. But I don’t think I can do it your way.’

No matter how much she wanted to befriend Tidwell, it was not worthy of Ravia’s pride to let herself be dragged around.

I can’t refuse the tea party, but I can at least choose the place I want, right?

Ravia was sitting in the lounge on the first floor of the library with a relaxed smile. She was waiting for Tidwell.

‘I’ll be here until sunset.’

Ravia moved the tea party venue to the library not only because she didn’t want to bend her pride to Tidwell. If it was only for that reason, there were many tea rooms or extra rooms that she could use in the mansion. Nevertheless, she still chose this place.

‘It’s easy to escape from here. Therefore, I’ll look around after sunset.’

It was because there were only a few people near the library. It’s located on the west side of the residence, and since it was a secluded building, the servants only came here for maintenance. In other words, it was the best place I could use to escape to avoid being suspected.

‘There’s still a week to go before the appointment, but I’ve got to figure out an escape route.’

Which side has loose security, I wonder….. Ravia, who was lying on the table with her arm lifted high, closed her eyes as she imagined the map structure of the residence.

Thud-! She felt somebody’s presence. Even this person’s walking sound was very loud. Ravia didn’t open her eyes because she knew exactly who it was. So she just opened her lips softly.

“You should knock, Tidwell.”

“Isn’t it the privilege of the invitee to come in without knocking?”

His voice seemed close, so Ravia opened her eyes. She could see a clear smile in front of her nose. Tidwell was leaning his upper body in front of her.

When did he get so close? I’m sure I didn’t hear him come closer. I didn’t even notice the shadow on top of me because it was dark in the library.

At his actions, Ravia only blinked. Tidwell, who saw her reaction, asked gently.

“Did I interrupt your rest?”

“Well, no…”

Ravia kept blinking as she looked at Tidwell in a daze. Tidwell seemed to be in a good mood for some reason. He had a gentle smile the whole time.

It was clearly different from the past when he said he didn’t believe in me. I thought he would be a little upset because I changed the location abruptly, but should I be happy about this?

‘Tidwell is just an excuse anyway.’

Her purpose was to go outside. The Velocio Theater, Primadonna Laricia, and Herod. Tidwell was just an excuse so that she would seem less suspicious when she went outside.

But in this situation, it was quite fortunate that Tidwell was not in a bad mood. So Ravia smiled and closed her eyes again.

“It looks like the maid wasn’t too late, was she?”

“She ran so fast.”

“I had to order a quick kid to do it since I’m a little slow at writing.”

The maid’s name was Clovia. She was from the countryside. Three months after she entered the residence, she was only a clumsy maid who took care of the library, but Ravia knew that Clovia’s running skills were extraordinary.

The servants kept saying that no one could beat Clovia when they played a game called ‘fox chaser’, which was similar to the game hide-and-seek, because she ran so fast.

She was able to remember it not because of her good memory, but because she was particularly interested in what happened in the residence. But Tidwell didn’t miss it.

“You remember that much about those servants. It seems like you have a lot of interest in this family.”

“It’s an occupational disease. I was the successor until you came after all.”

Ravia raised her upper body and tried to appease Tidwell, whom she thought was raising his guard against her. Her gaze that looked at the view outside the window was rather contemplative.

“If you’re going to doubt me again, you’d better stop, Tidwell.”

“Do you think my tea party appointment is simply because I was wary of you, sister?”

“Is that not it?”

Slowly, she closed her eyes and turned her head towards Tidwell. Her eyelashes turned downward as she purposely didn’t open her eyes. Thick double eyelids shaded her eyes.

When the sun was shining into the dark library and Ravia’s indifferent gaze was directed at Tidwell,

He found peace at 3 PM.

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