Chapter: 31
“Come to think of it, Lady Ancy, you used to love our head chef’s apple pie, didn’t you?”
“Huh? Ah, yes…”
“I actually asked the kitchen to set one aside as a gift for you. I completely forgot to pick it up!”
Evangeline cried out dramatically before rushing out of the drawing room before anyone could stop her.
“Just wait a moment! I’ll be right back with it!”
As they watched Evangeline disappear into the distance, the exact same thought crossed both Laritte’s and Dietrich’s minds.
Couldn’t she just have a maid bring the apple pie to the front entrance?
An awkward silence settled between them.
“……”
“……”
After clearing his throat quietly, Dietrich turned toward Laritte.
“Lady Ancy, I would like to thank you once again.”
Huh? What is he talking about?
Laritte blinked in surprise and looked up at him.
At the same time, Dietrich smiled gently, meeting her gaze.
“Evangeline has seemed very happy lately.”
A warm smile spread across his face as he spoke.
It was the expression of an older brother who cherished his younger sister more than anything.
“It is all thanks to you, Lady Ancy.”
“……”
For a moment, Laritte found herself speechless.
Why was that?
Was it because she was face-to-face with the breathtakingly handsome man destined to be the male lead of this world?
But after spending so much time around the young duchess, she had already grown accustomed to seeing beauty beyond compare.
“…Lady Ancy?”
Ah.
Snapping back to her senses, Laritte hurriedly replied.
“Hearing you say that makes me very happy as well. But I also…”
Her voice trailed off briefly.
Then Laritte smiled faintly.
“…I’m truly happy to have such a wonderful friend as the young duchess.”
By now, the tips of her ears had turned bright red.
And for some reason, Dietrich found those rosy ears incredibly adorable.
Inside the carriage returning to the Ancy family’s townhouse.
I’m crazy. Absolutely crazy!
I silently screamed to myself as I replayed everything that had happened earlier.
Did I seriously contradict the Duke right to his face?!
The Duke had clearly intended to increase the budget out of kindness toward the young duchess.
And I had gone and poured cold water all over it!
“It’s easy to get used to a larger budget, but much harder to adjust when it has to be reduced.”
…And why did I have to act like such a know-it-all?!
Still, there was at least one small consolation.
B-but still…
I swallowed nervously as I recalled what the Duke had said.
The Duke… he didn’t seem offended by what I said, did he?
Of course, he was such a courteous gentleman that he might simply have hidden any displeasure from his expression.
But when the young duchess had left to fetch the apple pie…
The Duke had definitely…
“Evangeline has seemed very happy lately.”
His blue eyes had sparkled like a sunlit lake, filled with warmth and kindness.
“It is all thanks to you, Lady Ancy.”
…And somehow, even I had lost my voice while looking at that beautiful face.
Honestly…
Without thinking, I gently stroked the pie box resting on my lap.
I was happy… that the Duke said that to me.
It felt as though someone were brushing the depths of my heart with a feather.
The unfamiliar ticklish feeling was strangely pleasant, leaving me unsure what to do with myself.
It was as though I had finally become someone who was truly needed.
Just then, the sweet scent of apples drifted to my nose.
It was the pie the young duchess had personally prepared as a gift for me.
As I breathed in its sweet aroma…
…I couldn’t help but feel incredibly happy.
A week later.
The regular vassals’ meeting of the House of Duke Claudius was held.
Hm?
Dietrich paused as he entered the meeting hall ahead of everyone else while waiting for the other retainers.
Something about the room felt different.
The first thing he noticed was…
The air.
It seemed the room had been thoroughly ventilated beforehand.
Fresh air filled the conference hall.
The heavy curtains that had once blocked the sunlight had also been replaced with lighter ones, making the entire room feel much brighter.
Suddenly, Dietrich recalled the conversation he had had with Evangeline over breakfast that morning.
“Just changing things like the curtains and carpets according to the season can completely change the atmosphere.”
“Who said that?”
At his question, Evangeline, who had barely been paying attention to her meal while reading through a document, gave him an exasperated look.
“Who else? Lady Ancy, obviously.”
The moment he heard that answer, the image of Laritte sitting upright with perfect posture suddenly appeared in his mind.
Ordinarily, Dietrich would have scolded his cheeky little sister for her attitude.
Instead, he quietly kept his mouth shut.
“The wallpaper and flooring are still in good condition, so I left them as they are. And moving furniture around can damage it, so… What’s with you? Why are you so quiet?”
After rambling on for a while, Evangeline pouted.
“I worked so hard, and instead of praising me…”
There was no way he could admit that he had simply been thinking about Laritte.
“You spilled jam on the front of your dress.”
Shrugging, Dietrich smoothly changed the subject.
“What? No! This is my favorite dress!”
Startled, Evangeline hurriedly wiped at her chest with a napkin.
“Oh, honestly!”
Unfortunately, the jam stain had already set in.
Realizing she couldn’t fix it on the spot, Evangeline immediately put down her utensils and stormed out of the dining room in frustration.
Then, halfway out the door, she suddenly turned around.
“Oh, right! Today’s the vassals’ meeting, isn’t it? Just wait until you see the conference room—I made it look amazing!”
With that, she proudly lifted her chin one last time before disappearing.
The current appearance of the meeting hall must have been the result of all that.
“Well now, Your Grace is the first to arrive again today.”
Someone greeted Dietrich just then.
Turning around, he smiled slightly.
“Ah, Sir Warren. You’re here.”
Stephen Warren.
A long-serving retainer of the ducal house and the man responsible for overseeing all of the family’s budget within the capital.
The middle-aged administrator, who had begun putting on a little extra weight over the years, looked around the meeting room with wide eyes.
“So the young duchess really did renovate the meeting hall… It’s certainly changed quite a bit.”
Dietrich narrowed his eyes slightly.
“Did Eva go bragging to you as well?”
“Haha, is that really how you’re going to put it?”
Sir Warren chuckled before continuing.
“To be honest, the young duchess showed me the proposed budget beforehand. She asked if I had any suggestions.”
He shrugged.
“It was so detailed and free of waste that I had nothing to add.”
“Really?”
Dietrich looked genuinely surprised.
Although Sir Warren appeared easygoing on the surface, he was ruthless when it came to budgets.
If there were issues with a proposal, he was the sort of man who would argue fiercely even with Dietrich himself.
And yet this same man was offering such high praise.
“She said she would only replace the curtains, lighting, and chairs. The allocated budget was also quite reasonable.”
“Hm.”
“To be honest, I wondered whether such small changes could really make much of a difference…”
Sir Warren continued in a satisfied tone.
“Even to someone like me, who knows absolutely nothing about interior design, the room feels far fresher than before.”
Dietrich had to agree.
Without drastically changing the room’s layout, Evangeline had reorganized everything with remarkable efficiency.
“It seems you like it.”
“Of course. More than anything, I’m delighted to see the young duchess taking such an active interest in the family’s affairs.”
Sir Warren could hardly hide his pleasure.
“To be honest, when she first said she wanted to take charge of managing the townhouse, I was quite worried.”
With a proud smile, he finished,
“I never imagined she would handle everything this well.”
“Sir Warren.”
“I think my worries were completely unnecessary.”
At those words, Dietrich felt as though something had pierced him deep in the chest.
He had only wanted to spare his precious little sister from difficult and exhausting responsibilities.
…But perhaps, in trying so hard to shelter Evangeline out of concern, he had only ended up making both her and those around her worry even more.
“Do you have any idea how hard I studied?”
Evangeline’s sulky voice echoed vividly in his ears.
