WYDM 29

Watching her cute flushed cheeks, Sehera quickly washed her hands. If she dawdled around like this, that little girl’s heart might burst.

Even for a girl who seemed so lively and fearless, the man she liked was apparently different.

She’d avoided standing before him first as much as possible and would only face him with Sehera in front like a shield.

“If Fredil’s here, we can’t just stand around. Let’s go out quickly.”

“Yes!”

Even at Sehera’s clumsy acting, Sana, her face flushed, stuck close behind her as she tried to leave the kitchen.

Listening pleasantly to the sound of her footsteps following carefully from behind, Sehera left the dining room and headed quickly to the front door.

Just then, she could hear the sound of horses stopping. The voices saying “whoa, whoa” to calm the horses seemed to be a mix of an unfamiliar coachman’s voice and Rabo’s high-pitched tone.

“Lady Sehera! I’m not late, am I!”

Fredil, always high-energy, burst out the moment the carriage stopped, opening the carriage door and stepping down. And once again, his eyes met Sehera’s first.

He seemed to carry a magnet. Even when approaching from that far distance, he’d raised his hand high toward her, and even when they were doing different things, their eyes would meet immediately.

She didn’t quite understand the connection, but Sehera thought of it as something like “Skill #3 of a Capable Lawyer.”

“You’re here… But… what’s that carriage behind you?”

Sehera looked behind him, ready to greet him warmly… and saw another carriage the same size as the one they’d arrived in following them in.

“Hm? Why is there another carriage? Did you bring more people?”

As Sehera glanced at the carriage behind, the door of that rear carriage suddenly opened too.

A woman in a long, fluttering skirt stepped down.

The woman approaching with a still-displeased face was none other than Fredil’s secretary, Nea. And the face gradually revealing itself behind her looked full of complaints.

But to be briefly sorry to her, Sehera had no reaction, like a flower carelessly placed on what she was carrying, rather than to her.

“Congratulations, my lady.”

Sehera was in a good mood and made a joke. Since she hadn’t expected any particular reaction from her, she lowered her gaze slightly from her.

The slender woman was holding something quite large in her arms and hands.

“Um, could you please look at this? Mr. Fredil worked hard to get it, so we were late being careful.”

Nea’s crisp voice sounded, then she walked with large strides to stand somewhere behind Sehera and held out the gifts she was carrying to Rabo, who’d been standing behind her.

He seemed to have been selected as the strongest-looking person closest to her.

Rabo hesitated and glanced at Sehera a bit, then ended up accepting what Nea held out. Nea’s eyes returned to their place unconcernedly, facing forward.

It was fortunate her expression was blank.

“But… what’s this? A cake and a bouquet? Who exactly is this classic approach for?”

“Haha, to think you’d be so clueless. I dressed up quite a bit since there was a party, but if the lady is this unaware, wouldn’t that be too disappointing?”

“Didn’t I tell you, Mr. Fredil? I thought the Count’s daughter wouldn’t remember at all. You said she’d obviously know everything. Yet here she is pretending not to know…”

“Huh? Who’s that pretty lady there talking so rudely to our lady?”

Sana, who’d been standing behind until now, peeked out and glared at Nea, who was standing right next to Fredil sending strange words toward Sehera, in a more firm voice.

With a blank face and lips pressed firmly together, Sana glared at Nea, seemingly having forgotten any shyness in front of Fredil.

“Hehehe. With me in between like this, it’s like three ladies are fighting over me.”

Fredil had the world’s most beautiful face with the world’s sharpest eyes, and knew how to make the world’s most intelligent smile, yet among those he considered close, he was someone who liked to joke around making such silly remarks.

“I don’t know why I’m being dragged into this. If we’re talking about fighting, isn’t it between Sana and that secretary over there?”

And the only person who could leisurely respond to that was Sehera. His eyes sparkled every time he saw Sehera responding to his jokes.

“Why? The person I’d most want to jump into this fight seriously is Lady Sehera.”

Fredil returned the joke, seemingly sincere or not. Then Sehera shook her head.

Knowing the conversation would drag on if she continued responding, Sehera just smiled, and Fredil, who was clear about when to start and stop, ended the joke there too.

“You’re having a party, so I couldn’t come empty-handed, could I? So I brought a cake and bouquet as gifts. After all, having a party deliberately at this time seems to commemorate one year since coming here.”

Sehera clicked her tongue, reflecting on herself for not stating the purpose of the invitation. She could hear Sana, who’d known that fact, making a “wow” sound.

“Not for nothing is he a capable lawyer. Was it that lawyering is a battle of information?”

“The side holding even one more piece definitely has the advantage. I don’t know where or how Lady Sehera heard my name, but you made the right choice.”

Fredil shrugged and pretended to straighten his clothes. That showing-off pose also clearly displayed his playfulness.

“Ah, take this to the dining room, please. You’re heading that way anyway, right?”

“Ah… yes…”

Then he suddenly looked to the side, tapped what Nea had been holding, and immediately turned to Rabo.

At Fredil’s words naturally giving Rabo an errand, Nea naturally held out what she’d been carrying to him.

Rabo ended up both answering and accepting the items.

He’d already given directions on where to park the carriage, but originally he’d planned to naturally guide them and then go around to the back yard and head to his own place.

A party—it absolutely wasn’t a place for him to be.

But due to the errand Fredil gave him, he was sent to the dining room, which would be the center of the party he’d been trying to avoid. It would have been better if he’d made some other excuse, but unfortunately, Rabo wasn’t someone with such quick thinking.

Sehera, who’d been watching that whole process, also looked at his back as he trudged toward the dining room carrying the items.

“You solved one task very easily.”

“I didn’t know it was significant enough to be called a ’task.’”

“Try coaxing him well. Who knows? Maybe some of Fredil’s liveliness will rub off on him.”

“I think I’m pretty confident about that? I’ll start today.”

The two began walking down the corridor to the dining room, continuing light conversation naturally like friends who’d known each other a long time.

“Geez… they seem to suit each other well.”

Sana, left behind, watched the backs of the two walking away and tilted her head.

Though he’d never said it outright, Fredil’s fondness for Sehera was quite obvious, so Sana was shaking her head.

“Weren’t you the one who liked Mr. Fredil?”

When Nea spoke in a flat voice, Sana turned to her like it was interesting. Then she shrugged.

“I do like him, a lot. That’s why I hope he stays by Lady Sehera’s side. That way I can see a beautiful person for a long, long time.”

At the answer without a trace of lies or impurity, Nea pressed her lips together firmly.

When Nea and Sana were about to enter the dining room, Sehera had finished guiding Fredil and was coming back out.

Nea entered the dining room as a guest, and Sana immediately turned around and followed behind Sehera. She gathered the people still touring the county estate.

“Everyone gather now! We’ve prepared food, so we need to go to the dining room. Traver!”

“Ye-yes! My lady!”

Traver’s voice could be heard from far away. Ranshu was someone with even light footsteps, so you’d only know when she got close, but Traver and Sana were people who’d answer like this from anywhere if you just heard their voices.

“I’ll go bring Mr. Himoph.”

“Is he busy? He still hasn’t come down.”

“He was absorbed in something earlier.”

Sana, who’d followed Sehera out, spoke to her and began climbing the stairs with thumping sounds.

The hall of the county estate was noisy for a while with people going to find others and people responding to calls from afar.

At the center of that commotion, while waiting for people to gather this way, Sehera’s gaze lingered on the second floor area for a moment. She’d briefly thought of the patient who would be in the room.

Even though it was the innermost room on the second floor… could he rest comfortably with this much noise?

But Sehera didn’t particularly quiet the others now. He wasn’t someone sick from nerves, and his body wouldn’t worsen from a bit of noise.

Rather, wouldn’t he feel relieved knowing there were this many people outside? Being alone in a room… would be too lonely.

She was the one struck by the words that suddenly came to mind.

Though two years had already passed, the sensation of staying at Croft Estate seemed to come alive again. She felt something like an unpleasant chill seemingly creeping up from under her feet.

At Croft Estate, her territory had been the inner second floor. Though his room was in a deeper place nearby, she’d felt completely separate from that territory.

When she was in her room, no one looked for her. Even when she went outside, no one bothered her.

She could hear signs of people, but felt like she was isolated alone…

Feeling and thinking about that sensation again, she worried about him, who would be lying in that room now, unable to even move.

Sehera wasn’t twisted enough to want him to feel what she’d felt, and besides, she’d realized after meeting him again this time—she still couldn’t cleanly erase him from her heart, which bothered her endlessly.

“My lady! Please go in quickly!”

“Haha! Well now. This doesn’t seem like a place I should intrude.”

Looking at Sana and Himoph coming down from the stairs, Sehera quickly composed her expression and smiled.

“Oh! My lady, were you waiting! I’m sorry. Let’s go in quickly.”

She could also see Traver and Ranshu running with quick steps from the far end of the first-floor corridor.

Leading everyone and walking down the corridor to the dining room, Sehera resolved to go to his room once today’s party ended.

“Wow~ What is all this? It’s a perfect feast!”