“Isn’t the food really delicious?”
Despite his tall stature and very masculine appearance giving a somewhat intimidating first impression, his voice as he spoke to us was incredibly soft and gentlemanly. You could almost picture him as a gentleman from the early 20th century.
Noticing the Duke’s gaze directed at the biscuit in his hand, Mia Crowfield’s face flushed red. As she noticed this, a warm smile spread across Lindbergh Duke’s face. His mustache, which was already curled at the sides, seemed to rise further with the movement of his upper lip.
“You need not worry too much. All the food here is prepared by top chefs who have come over from the mainland. We certainly can’t serve our guests dishes made by colonists.”
“Is, is that so?”
Mia Crowfield replied absentmindedly. The Duke offered her another gentle smile before alternating his gaze between her and me.
“It is a different environment than the mainland in many ways, but I hope your health is fine?”
“I’m okay.”
“Ah, yes, me too… Thank you for your concern?”
Mia Crowfield still seemed puzzled by why the Duke was speaking to us.
If I suddenly found out that my friend’s parents invited us to a party out of curiosity to see if there was a suitable girl for their son, I’d be baffled too. It might not be so strange in this world, though.
Indeed, from the edges of my line of sight, I saw a few girls trying to talk to Jake. They were all daughters from prestigious families. It seemed that Roti, who was beside Jake, was paying no attention to them at all.
“I hear you both are in the same class as Jake.”
“That’s right.”
I replied politely while studying the Duke’s expression closely. He looked genuinely curious about what kind of people his child’s friends were.
The Duke’s gaze shifted from Mia Crowfield to me.
“I wonder how close you are with my child. Is Jake behaving appropriately?”
“At least he hasn’t been rude.”
“Is that so?”
The Duke appeared pleased with my words.
He then turned his attention to Jake.
Jake was skillfully maneuvering away from the girls trying to engage him. It didn’t look like he was outright escaping; he was just slowly redirecting the conversation.
The Duke, seemingly not having expectations for Jake’s behavior, turned his focus back to us.
“I’ve seen the Countess Crowfield a few times already. Though it was many years ago when she was still quite young, you may not remember.”
Mia Crowfield shook her head. The Duke seemed unconcerned.
“Now that we’ve met in the same place, we should remember each other from here on. If you happen to encounter any troubles within my territory, please feel free to come to me. I will do my utmost to help you with anything.”
Did he interpret Mia Crowfield’s timid nature as being proper? It seemed he rather liked her.
After all, from a noble’s perspective, she likely looked better compared to Roti in every way. Most importantly, Mia Crowfield had no siblings or father. Perhaps Jake might inherit the Count’s territory after all.
“The Crown Princess is, of course, the same. Due to the vast sea in between, the Empire’s influence may be somewhat difficult to navigate. My Ducal House will serve as loyal vassals to the Emperor.”
“Thank you for saying that.”
…And it seemed the Duke also liked me. After all, I’m the child of royalty. Although it was known that there was no flowing bloodline, still…
I wonder how Lindbergh Duke will react when he learns that Claire has the Emperor’s blood running through her. Will he be pleased that she showed up without an invitation?
Well, maybe he wouldn’t even need to know; he’d likely be pleased anyway. After all, it would mean that Jake brought a “woman not invited.” She may be a Baroness, but she’s from a noble family within the Imperial Capital, so receiving information from the Capital would certainly be beneficial. The Duke would see her as a much better choice compared to Roti.
“Oh dear, I hope this old man hasn’t interrupted the ladies’ conversation. Please, enjoy the remaining time.”
As he slightly bowed his head to us, Mia Crowfield and I each grasped the ends of our skirts and curtsied.
“What was he trying to say…?”
Mia Crowfield murmured while watching the Duke’s retreating figure. I’m just glad we had something to talk about now. Otherwise, it would have just been awkward silence.
The Duke leisurely walked towards Alice, Charlotte, and Sophia.
“Jake is at the age where he should probably have a fiancée.”
“Excuse me?”
Mia Crowfield blurted out in surprise. She almost dropped the biscuit she was holding.
“But, Jake… he has Roti, right?”
Hmm.
Roti, huh.
That was truly a Mia Crowfield-like way to refer to her. Come to think of it, I hadn’t witnessed the two of them talking. They weren’t the type to initiate conversation.
“That is—”
“Hey!”
Before I could explain anything, someone shouted loudly.
It seemed a maid had made some kind of blunder. The maid, looking somewhat local with her dark skin, was bowing her waist repeatedly in apology.
The shouting man was sporting purple-stained clothing. Has he spilled wine or something?
Judging by the broken glass on the floor, it looked like a collision had taken place.
…In the original story, it was the man who bumped into someone.
“Do you have any idea how much this outfit costs?”
“I’m really sorry…”
The maid apologized while bowing. The maid who was lowering herself was quite a beauty. She was clearly older than us, but she certainly didn’t look old.
“I—”
“Are you going to pay for it? Hmm? Do you even have the funds for that?”
Probably not, of course. That outfit must cost a fortune.
The man with black hair was a minor character in the governor’s office. I don’t think he had a name.
And as for the maid—
“I’m really sorry.”
Just as the man was about to shout again, someone else stepped in.
“Oh, young master.”
“This maid works for our family. A maid’s mistake is the master’s mistake, after all. If it comes to financial compensation, I will handle it.”
Jake’s words instantly changed the man’s expression to one of politeness.
“Ah, no, that’s not necessary. She made a mistake, after all. There’s really no need for you to say that.”
“But, as I said, this maid also works for our family.”
“Young master…”
The maid looked flustered, trying to dissuade Jake, but he waved his hand slightly, as if to tell her to step back.
And in the midst of that, another person intervened.
The girl approached silently with an expressionless face, kneeling down to start picking up the scattered glass shards from the floor.
“….”
The flustered maid quickly knelt beside her to help clean up as well.
The murmuring noise grew louder.
The girl picking up the shards was wearing a school uniform too.
“Roti…?”
I heard someone beside me whisper that.
“Roti.”
Jake tried to state casually, but Roti continued her meticulous work without bothering to raise her head.
Most of the students were whispering amongst themselves about Roti, considering her just another face in the crowd, but—
The kids who knew Jake over the past semester, like Alice, Charlotte, Claire, Leo, and Mia Crowfield, all wore puzzled expressions.
Mia Crowfield glanced back and forth between the maid and Roti, then uttered,
“…Huh?”
As if realizing something, she spoke up.
It seemed that others were having similar thoughts as well.
The maid’s face closely resembled Roti’s.
And taking the age difference into account…
It wasn’t out of the question to assume they were mother and daughter. Roti appeared youthful for her age, and the maid seemed mature.
But at the same time, there was a peculiar atmosphere that would also imply “sisters with a significant age gap.”
In reality, the age gap between them wasn’t even that large, just twenty years apart.
More accurately, it was seventeen years.
While the actual relationship was the former, not the latter.
“Could it be…?”
I refrained from answering Mia Crowfield’s murmured speculation.
Even without answering, she could accurately grasp the reason why Jake and Roti could not marry.
Blue blood and common blood.
In the eyes of society, that was the relationship between them.
You may also like Mesugaki Tank Enters The Academy
