A large garden filled with mixed red and white roses, each exuding its own fragrance. It really was vast, almost to the point where the end of the flowerbed was hard to see, which is what you’d expect from a duke’s estate. I leaned back on a bench under the warm sun.
I felt a bit guilty saying this, but it was a hundred times better than Count Este’s tiny garden. After all, the only gardener there was Uncle Hans, who lounged around in a drunken stupor all the time.
“Isn’t it beautiful?”
“Oh, you are…”
At first glance, she appeared plain, with brown hair and black eyes. But the calluses on her hands and the deep scars told me she was no ordinary person.
If I had to describe her, she reminded me of a strict mother.
Laura. If my memory serves me right, she was the head maid of the House of Hardenberg. Wasn’t she the one who followed Master Lily around, calling her ‘Master’?
Her grooming skills had improved a lot since coming to the duke’s house, indicating that she was doing a great job as her mentor.
“Laura Esfeld. You can just call me Laura.”
Laura said with a smile.
“Ah… Laura. It’s been a while.”
It had been ages since I’d last seen her after she helped me get ready for the engagement ceremony. Since Lily took care of almost everything that a maid would normally do, I hardly ever had the chance to meet her.
Besides, I was so busy preparing for the engagement that I couldn’t even have a proper conversation when we first met.
“It seems you like the garden.”
“Yes, the roses are truly beautiful.”
“It’s the flowerbed managed by the former duchess.”
The former duchess. So that would mean she was Abel’s mother.
…Even just thinking about it made it hard to imagine. I wondered if Abel ever called her ‘mother.’ And I even questioned if a mother figure truly existed in his life at all, just based on the merciless image I had seen of him before. Or maybe it was the cold nobility I had witnessed before.
“She passed away before the young master turned four. It’s a pity.”
Laura said this with a deep sigh, wearing a worried expression. I felt a little tense, wondering if she had read my impolite thoughts from just a moment ago. Even though I knew that there was no such thing as mind-reading magic in this world.
“Did you know? This garden originally only had white roses blooming here.”
“What about the red roses?”
“Those were personally planted by young master Abel, or rather, the duke himself.”
No wonder the roses were so close together they seemed to grow into a tangled mess. Still, why would he plant red roses in a white rose garden? Was it some kind of dreadful taste?
Or maybe I just felt that way because I viewed him through the tinted glasses of a villain.
“The duchess loved the color red. Even while managing the white rose garden, she often expressed her regrets.”
Well, at this scale, it was unlikely that the former duchess had personally planted every single flower. It was probably a garden that had been inherited over generations.
Did Abel plant those red roses in honor of his mother? It struck me as unexpected, contrasting sharply with the usual image I had of him.
“Please don’t hate the duke too much.”
“..Huh?”
As I turned my head, I caught a glimpse of a slightly sad expression on Laura’s face. The strict aura she had emitted when I first met her had long since softened.
“Even if he seems cold, he’s quite inexperienced.”
I was a bit surprised.
He appeared utterly indifferent to his servants, but it seemed that wasn’t the case. Come to think of it, not a single servant at the mansion had spoken ill of Abel. In fact, they might have said good things about him.
Of course, Evan, the guard, had praised the duke so much that it was starting to grate on my nerves.
“Maybe I overstepped my bounds a little.”
“..No, it’s fine.”
In reality, I still didn’t understand that well.
Abel Hardenberg.
What kind of person was he, really? Until I faced him directly, he had been an undeniably unpleasant villain. When we first met, he was a merciless individual driven by self-interest, and during our contract marriage, he acted playful.
Which of these is his mask, and which is his true self?
‘..I really don’t know.’
For the first time, I found myself curious about the person named Abel Hardenberg.
§
Etiquette, pride, customs as a noble…
My days spent in seemingly endless lessons under the guise of ‘bride training’—which was basically noble education—showed no signs of ending. I thought it would be enough to learn a dance or two as a fiancée, but I ended up having to learn practically everything.
From how to do cross-stitching as a basic skill to middle school math by modern standards, and all the etiquette required of a duchess. The one silver lining was that I had some familiarity with sewing from my past life.
‘..This is hard.’
I knew I had many shortcomings as a noble, but now I could see just how rude I had been before. Of course, I wasn’t to the extent of attracting assassination attempts, but…
I had undeniably gone out of my way to create problems.
“You seem troubled.”
“Your Grace, I mean, Abel.”
Turning my head, I caught sight of Abel’s slightly smirking face. It appeared somewhat annoying, causing me to sigh.
“You still haven’t become accustomed, it seems. When will you properly address me by name?”
“..Did you come here to tease me?”
“Well, that’s part of it.”
His unabashed reply made me want to sigh again. After not seeing him for a few days, and this is all he has to say upon our reunion.
“Is that allowed for someone of your stature?”
I asked, half-curious, and Abel chuckled.
“I left it to Allen this time, so it’s okay.”
Allen, is he referring to that white-haired old butler? If it’s him overseeing things, I can rest easy. I heard he’s been serving the House of Hardenberg for nearly fifty years, making him practically a hidden power within the household.
It’s rare to find someone who has worked for a family for that long, be they butler or maid.
“I heard you were struggling with noble etiquette. Is that true?”
“Yes, well…”
Even considering the months I’ve lived as Adele von Este, quite possibly close to a year if you include my time before reincarnation, I hadn’t really paid much attention to etiquette. Survival had taken precedence, after all, and there was no way I could afford to focus on learning that.
Eventually, I found myself getting this opportunity to learn noble etiquette as the duke’s housemate, but…
Perhaps due to the twenty-plus years I spent as a modern individual, I found it hard to accept many aspects of nobility, making it difficult to memorize.
“If you want, I could help.”
“..Why?”
I unintentionally responded curtly, but he smiled and replied in a genuinely kind tone.
“It’s because I wouldn’t want to see our Lady Adele embarrassed.”
“Ugh.. it’s not that big of a deal, you know?”
“Oh, wouldn’t it be nice to rehash the etiquette you skipped over in a nervous flurry at the engagement ceremony?”
“Ugh, that…”
I definitely had to endure a two-hour lecture from Allen in a gentle voice after returning to the mansion due to that. Even Lily, who usually protected me fiercely, turned her back on me during that incident.
“Well, there’s no rush. After all, you won’t have to go out for a while.”
“Isn’t the Hunt Festival soon?”
I tilted my head in confusion at Abel’s words, and he shook his head.
“The Hunt Festival has been postponed for a month. They say the snow on Everlasting Snow Mountain hasn’t melted yet.”
The Hunt Festival.
It’s a sort of festival held in the Everlasting Snow Mountain, located north of Ilrie, the capital of the Empire of Arye. Due to the steep mountain terrain and the powerful monsters residing there, it is a dangerous area.
The first emperor of the Empire, Yuc von Shpenheim, exterminated all the monsters in the mountain and reached the summit, leading to the ongoing Hunt Festival that has lasted for over a thousand years.
For inexperienced young nobles, it’s a chance to grow stronger and, for those infatuated with noble maidens, it’s an opportunity to present them with game to win their affections and gauge their own worth through the game they receive.
And the one who brings back the largest or most valuable game earns the Title of King, while the individual who brings back the highest value earns the Title of Queen. It’s a chance for them to shine in different ways.
Of course, given the danger of the area, many of the imperial knight orders participate as well. Thus, while casualties do occur, they are usually confined to one or two each year.
“You seem excited for the Hunt Festival, Adele.”
“Yeah?”
“Are you curious about what game I’ll be bringing back?”
It wouldn’t be true to say I wasn’t curious, but something about his overly confident expression was slightly irritating.
“Not really.”
“Make sure to bring back something beyond your expectations.”
Hearing those words somehow made me anxious. Was he planning to grab both the King and Queen titles at once? Even to hide our contract marriage, that wouldn’t be necessary, right?
…Surely not?
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