Chapter 57  

“Ah.”

He soon regained his mind.

“That’s what it was. Then you wouldn’t have needed help at all from the beginning.”

Gabriel, who had been engrossed, said, avoiding Aria’s gaze in amazement.

“I’m sorry that I went out for nothing and only caused you trouble.”

He scratched his cheek in embarrassment. And after putting the apology in his mouth, he quickly added.

“Of course, thank you for saving my life.”

Aria shook her head and held out her card.

[The path you’re walking on, don’t doubt it. That choice was never useless.]

Then, reading the card, Gabriel’s eyes widened.

‘This…… ’

It was similar to what he heard from the saint.

‘Is it a coincidence?’

Aria surprisingly knew the most special words of the person most dear to him.

‘I think the two of you feel alike.’

Their appearance was completely different, and their personality seemed to be completely on the opposite, but the atmosphere they exuded was comparable.

Gabriel felt uncomfortable yet strangely comfortable with Aria, who said the same thing as Veronica.

***

Shortly after the wedding, representatives of each department came to visit in turn.

“It was supposed to be like this from the beginning.”

Dana was relieved, saying that now everything is in its place.

Dana, the chief handmaiden of the family department.

Betty, the chief maid in the housekeeper’s department.

William, the chief butler of the butler department.

Baker, the chief chef in the cooking department.

The gardener, the hunting ground keeper and stable keeper of the outdoor department greeted her.

‘Even though I made an acquaintance with everyone.’

Still, she was happy to be officially introduced again. Although everyone was all strangely favorable to Aria.

‘But why are they so excited?’

Aria was fiddling with the bag, which she was habitually carrying.

Then they stared intently at the bag with twinkling eyes.

[Thank you as always.]

Aria took out her usual card to express her gratitude.

Then the hungry eyes followed the scrap of paper she took out. It was as if they were waiting for a compliment sticker.

“…..”

At first glance, it looked like madness.

‘How many compliments do you want to hear?’

Is the Valentine family obsessed with compliments? So she immediately picked up her quill and wrote something new.

[Please take care of me. Thanks to you, I feel reassured.]

“Young Madam…”

The stable keeper was deeply moved when she handed her card. Then the hunting ground keeper, who was next to him, glared at him with a gleam in his eyes.

“I’m really envious, hey.”If he envied the stable keeper twice, it looked like there was a force that would even murder him. With a wrinkled body and a face full of scars, he sprayed murderous energy on the stable keeper.

‘Don’t fight….’

Aria wrote down one more of the cards and handed it to the hunting ground keeper.

Then he inflated his chest with surprise, and politely accepted the card with both hands. The card suddenly looked cutely small.

“Do, do you like rabbits?”

Of course. Aria nodded her head.

“If you come to play anytime, I’ll show you!”

The hunting ground keeper slammed his chest with his big fists and shouted.

‘I have no reason to refuse.’

Aria, feeling better at the consideration, smiled broadly and nodded her head. Then the stable keeper, who was secretly glaring at the hunting ground keeper, grumbled.

“Can a carnivorous rabbit be called a rabbit? It’s a monster.”

“What? Did you just say monster now?”

“Who knows? When you’re not there, they’ll dash to get two-legged meat.”

“My child doesn’t eat human-like things! It’s just the appearance, but it’s meek and gentle!”

Carnivorous rabbit? What kind of rabbit is it?

‘I believed that no other animal in this castle would surprise me more than the wolf and the jaguar.’

Surprisingly, there seemed to be.

The stable keeper shouted loudly against the big hunting ground keeper who was twice as much as himself.

“You don’t even need to see the monster. Instead, just stop by the stable. There’s a cute, pure white pony.”

Pony? She had never seen it before.

Because ponies were a luxury item, unlike ordinary horses. The Emperor would bring it in as a gift to the princess.

‘But, if it’s a pony of the Grand Duchy, isn’t it a little different from a normal pony?’

There might be something more surprising than a carnivorous rabbit. As Aria stared at him silently, the stable keeper waved his hand.

“No, that’s a real pony. It’s a gift for the Young Madam with a high price that was offered only to the imperial family.”

He added that His Grace gave special permission to bring it in.action

‘Wow, that must have been very courageous.’

Aria was so proud of his heart for making a direct request to the Grand Duke.

[Yes, thank you. I will definitely go.]

Aria smiled brightly and nodded her head. Then this time, the hunting ground keeper became uncomfortable.

“Hng, such a weak creature will soon be eaten by monstrous horses.”

“Are you insulting our Grand Duke and the Duchy’s noble horse?”

“Eh? I only said it was like a monster? I don’t know why you are talking about that. Do you think I’ll feel guilty?”

“What, what?”

How far will their quarrel go? At first she thought they were fighting, but surprisingly, they seem to get along well.

After watching with interest, Dana, impatient, intervened.

“If you want to fight, go out and fight! What kind of safety are these…”

The two were kicked out of the room after being slapped on the back.

“Oh, it hurts!”

“Hit me gently!”

It was funny to see a person with one head bigger than Dana making a fuss. It seems that the strongest was Dana.

“Good job, Young Madam!”

Marronnier who was holding up a tray and weighing when to intervene, then rushed over as if it was time to do so.

She served a fluffy caramel pudding topped with catalin cream.

“This is the chef’s special pudding!”

Aria scooped a spoonful and put it in her mouth, and a strong eggy taste spread through her mouth.

The combination of light eggs and sweet caramel was exquisite.

‘Hmm?’

Aria, who had been savoring the taste of the dessert with a happy face for a moment, stopped.

Marronnier is staring at the pudding, ready to drool.‘Do you want to eat?’

Aria scooped the pudding and put it in her mouth.

“Heuk!”

Marronnier was startled, but she made an expression that seemed to melt in no time. It was cute to chew on the pudding while puffing her cheeks like a squirrel, so she poked them with her fingers.

Then Marronnier said a word mixed with a sigh.

“To be loved by a cute person. It’s a really strange feeling.”

Yes?

“I think the rabbit looks at me and says I’m cute.”

She can’t believe the squirrel looked at her and said she’s cute.

It’s definitely a really strange feeling.

Aria and Marronnier looked at each other strangely.

***

The last person to visit her was the leader of the Black Falcon Knights.

“My name is Dustin.”

And to her surprise, Cloud was standing next to him.

What’s even more surprising is that Cloud’s face was blown up in a mess. It was bloated and swollen.

‘Did you fight any fierce battles?’

In her mind several ‘???’ were floating.

Dustin said, pointing to Cloud.

“This guy will be Young Madam’s escort.”

Oh, he got permission.

She thought it would be good to keep Cloud by her side to fight Vincent, so she came up with it impulsively. Lloyd didn’t like it, so she gave up because she thought it wouldn’t come through.

“Originally, I was going to be escorting the Young Madam.”

They didn’t have to attach Dustin.

“Even though he is young, his skills are comparable to mine, so you can trust him.”

Aria thought that Cloud would be the best. But, she can’t believe that it was comparable to the leader of the Black Falcon Knights.

‘It was beyond my imagination.’

Well, they have to have that level of skill to become an escort knight for Lloyd. Aria quickly understood.

[Then Sir Cloud is a sword master?]

“I am approaching that point.”

Cloud answered, and Dustin added, placing a hand on the boy’s shoulder.

“This guy hasn’t been on track, but that’s already enough. If he becomes a sword master, he’ll definitely outperform me. He’s an undisputed genius!”

Dustin burst into laughter as he spoke as if he was proud of his child. He seemed very happy when he said that a boy much younger than him might outperform him.

‘Even though he must have dedicated his life to the sword himself.’

Geniuses have always been targets of envy and jealousy. Aria could only remember Count Cortez, which she had completely forgotten.

‘Actually, it is not normal to be jealous and abusive to children.’

A somewhat self-pitying smile leaked out.

“He’s the youngest sword master. The youngest. I’m sure he will soon become the best sword of the Empire…..

Dustin explained as if they were outsiders.

‘Surely.’

Thinking of the future Lloyd or the present Grand Duke, they were almost like a living, breathing weapon of murder.

Even Aria, who was not familiar with swordsmanship, knew. That no matter how talented you are, and no matter how hard you try, it’s something you can’t reach.

‘It’s probably because of the devil’s malice.”

She picked up a new card to refresh the atmosphere and clear up her curiosity.

[But what’s wrong with his face?]

Who had messed up the face of such a genius?

“Ah, this.”

Then Cloud answered.

“I was beaten by the group for monopolizing the Young Madam by myself…”

“It’s a wound of glory!”

Dustin intercepted Cloud’s words in the middle.