“His father, a former prime minister, his mother, a splendid lady in her own right…” Lady Ladia murmured in admiration. “Also, just from what you’ve said so far, I can see how good of a relationship he and Lord Viol have…”
Lady Ladia’s eyes sparkled. But then her face suddenly fell, and she looked down.
“What’s wrong, Lady Ladia?”
“On second thought… Yes. Please, act like you never heard what I said today.”
“But why?”
“The truth is… I know it’s impossible,” Lady Ladia muttered quietly. “It’s because… Because of his political neutrality. He won’t support any one faction. No matter what I do… It’s hopeless from the start.”
It’s true that Lady Ladia’s family is extremely conservative. And as Lady Ladia said, Lord Borden doesn’t side with any faction and remains neutral. Because, as prime minister, he places great importance on maintaining a stable country.
In that sense, what Lady Ladia said was quite correct. That realization must have come to Lady Ladia many times before, forcing her to suppress her feelings.
But a part of her still couldn’t give up. Wasn’t that why she’d come to me today?
“But, Lady Ladia, you’re not going to give up that easily, are you?” I spoke softly, and Lady Ladia blinked in surprise and looked at me. I slowly smiled at her as she gazed at me with uncertain eyes. “Even though there seemed to be almost no chance of you becoming a civil official, you continued to study in secret and eventually seized the opportunity when it came along. And now, you came here today looking for a way to somehow still get the chance for what your heart desires.”
“Oh, Lady Seren…”
Impossible.
And yet…
Yes, impossible…
But also impossible to give up on.
No doubt she’d gone back and forth over it… Many times.
But it wasn’t like Lady Ladia to give up.
“I mean, to begin with, you’ve been losing your image of being a complete conservative lately, right? Yes, your family is conservative, but volunteering to work in the shipping industry, which is known as a hotbed of reformists, takes quite a lot of determination, doesn’t it?” I pointed out.
“That’s because I wanted to teach my wily old father and my empty-headed brother a lesson. They never could believe that a female civil official could work comfortably in an industry so populated by conservatives!”
“But wouldn’t that actually be more reassuring to Lord Borden?”
“Reassuring? How so?”
“I mean, if he was to marry you, Lady Ladia, and you yourself took a neutral stance… Then there would be no conflict of interest with either side, would there?”
“Surely…”
“Although even if Lord Borden did marry into an earl’s family, I don’t think he’s the kind of person who would let that color his judgment.”
Nor do I think he’s the type to waver from the path he believes is right.
Lord Viol is the type to blithely move forward with his own convictions. But Lord Borden is more the type to smoothly convince those around him to get on his side.
“That’s true.” Lady Ladia smiled very gently. “I really like that about Lord Borden.” Then she smiled so dreamily that I blushed just seeing her. “He’s still young, but he has the heavy responsibility of being prime minister… And he has to deal with so many tough individuals like my wily old stoat of a father. Yet he always treats people with such calm understanding… While never yielding on his position, you know?”
I nodded emphatically. I was in total agreement.
Lord Borden’s polite to the elders, but he isn’t the type to just do whatever he’s told. And when it comes to dealing with young people like us, he’s kind and polite to those who do their jobs properly but like some kind of terrifying demon towards those who slack off or have the wrong approach towards work. In my opinion, he’s a balanced individual.
“He listens carefully to both sides and makes shrewd decisions that capitalize on both to get the best possible results… He’s flexible and fair, and I respect him a lot, but his hard-working nature also tickles my maternal instinct.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at Lady Ladia’s choice of words.
“Hehehe, Lady Ladia, you really have spent a lot of time studying Lord Borden, haven’t you?”
“Of course. I can’t tell anyone else, so you’re the only one I’ll tell this to, Lady Seren, but I’m attracted to people who look very ordinary but are actually very smart.”
“That’s just like Lord Borden.”
“Right?”
We laughed together as we continued to chat about Lord Borden. Lady Ladia was so cute with her big crush on him. I so wanted to support her in her romantic endeavor. But I just had one question.
“Umm, Lady Ladia, I wonder, would it be okay if I told Lord Viol about this? I’m not sure how else I can subtly ask him about Lord Borden’s interests.”
“I suppose if there’s no other way to get his assistance… As long as Lord Viol promises not to say anything weird to Lord Borden!”
“I can guarantee that it will be fine. Lord Viol’s someone who can keep a secret.”
He’s straightforward and doesn’t like to lie, but he kept my secret until the very end. If I tell him he absolutely mustn’t say anything about it, then I know he won’t.
“You’ve reassured me, Lady Seren. But please, don’t tell anyone else! If people found out about this, I wouldn’t be able to look Lord Borden in the eye ever again…”
When she said that, with her face all red, looking like she was about to cry, I had no choice but to promise. Seeing how adorable Lady Ladia was, I couldn’t help but hope that their relationship would go well.
“Oh, by the way…”