Needless to say, top-of-the-line furniture came with a hefty price tag. I wouldn’t have been able to afford the set myself since I’d invested all my finances into the hospital facilities. I wasn’t sure who’d selected the items—perhaps it was my father, who had a propensity for authentic items, or my mother, who had good taste in interior design—but I had received obscenely high-quality furnishings.
I had intended to use this set for business negotiations and meetings in the near future—who would have thought its debut would be gorgeously decorated with a tea stand, a teapot, and even a vase of flowers? Such thoughts flew through my head as I watched my maids assiduously prepare our beverages.
“What would you like to drink?”
“Milk, please.”
“Understood.”
I had a craving for black tea, but I was avoiding caffeine while pregnant. Maybe I should ask Lord Julius to find a noncaffeinated tea.
“Rose, there’s a letter for you.”
“A letter?”
Sir Leonhart handed me an envelope that our butler had brought in. My pregnancy hadn’t been formally announced yet. It was only known to me, Sir Leonhart, our respective families, friends, and those still left in the Prelier domain.
It can’t be a congratulatory letter from family. But it’s far too soon to receive anything from the people we’ve notified. I only just recently sent out correspondence. Perhaps it’s an invitation to a tea party or a soiree.
“Who’s it from?” I asked.
There were two letters sitting on top of the tray. The first was in a plain envelope sealed with green wax. It was stamped with a leaf motif that I’d designed for the Khuer tribe.
“This one’s from Wolf. The other is from...Miss Irene?”
The other envelope was pure white and sealed with silver-colored wax. It had an intricate stamp that looked like a magic circle, which, if memory served, was the seal of the Head Sorceress, Miss Irene. I broke the seal of both letters with a paper knife.
“What do they say?” Sir Leonhart asked.
“Both are to inform us of their upcoming visits.”
They weren’t coming on official business—they wanted to visit purely for personal purposes. Besides the standard salutations and apology for the short notice, both letters were along the lines of “I’m swinging by, but once I’m done with my business I’ll be off, so don’t mind me.”
Although I was close to them, they were usually courteous people who would make an appointment with multiple days of advance notice for any visitations. This means they must be in quite a hurry. Considering the timing, it’s possible it’s related to my pregnancy. I wonder what they’re here to do.
I tilted my head to the side as I savored the subtly sweet milk.
Wolf’s carriage arrived in the afternoon two days after I received his letter. The knights of the second division, led by Captain Gunther von Kolbe, secured the perimeter. The carriage stopped in front of the entrance, and its door swung open. Stepping out was Wolf—actually, not Wolf...
“Lily?”
“Lady Mary!” She practically jogged over when she spotted me. “How is your health? Any nausea? Are you in any pain? Oh, I heard you’re prone to anemia. Is it safe for you to remain standing?”
Her rapid-fire questions flustered me. I’ve never seen Lily speak this quickly before.
“Wait, Lily. Settle down.” I hadn’t noticed him walk up, but Wolf now stood behind Lily, trying to calm her with an exasperated look. He lightly tapped the back of her head.
She gasped, snapping back to her senses. “I’m sorry.” Her cheeks reddened with embarrassment, and she hung her head.
This may be rude to think of a woman who’s older than me, but she looks very cute when crestfallen.
Wolf smiled dryly at Lily and then faced me. His gaze met mine before swiveling to Sir Leonhart next to me.
“I have a lot I’d like to say, but first, congratulations,” he said.
“Yes, congratulations!” Lily chimed in.
“Thank you,” I said. Being congratulated certainly makes me giddy, and it has double the effect coming from friends and family.
I bit back happy tears. Sir Leonhart gently held my hand. We gazed at each other and smiled.
“My, my, my! Showing off now, are we?”
My head snapped up at Wolf. He grinned at me.
“This is the last thing I want to see as a bachelor,” he said with a sigh. Contrary to his words, his expression was teasing.
Feeling abashed, I tried to let go of Sir Leonhart’s hand, but he intertwined his fingers with mine.
“L-Leon...”
“You’ll let us off the hook if we get carried away just for today. Right?” He wore a benign smile, but there was a force behind it that left no room for protest.
Wolf squinted in disapproval, a stark contrast to my red-faced and flabbergasted expression. “I doubt you’ll only act like this today, though.”
Gunther nodded emphatically at that. Sir Leonhart glared at him.
“Gunther, you look like you have something to say.”
The captain brought his hand to his chest and bowed deeply. “No, no. Nothing at all. I apologize for the late greeting. Duchess, Lord Commander, congratulations to your growing family. Best wishes from the bottom of my heart.” He replaced the blatant grimace on his face with a vacuous smile.
This man is also quite the oddball. I heard the two of them are old friends who were knighted around the same time. There aren’t many who can banter with Sir Leonhart like this, so Gunther’s quite valuable to have around.
Though I wanted to drink in the rare CG of my fave’s grumpy expression, we couldn’t just stand here chatting in front of the door. I invited everyone inside, and we moved to the parlor. I was about to ask my maids to prepare drinks, but Wolf stopped me.
“Don’t you have more guests coming later? We’ll be on our way as soon as we finish our business, so no need for all the fuss.”
Evidently, they truly intended to leave as soon as they finished their business. I had informed them in my reply that Miss Irene also planned to visit the same day, so they were being considerate.
“Miss Irene is also visiting for private matters. Actually, she asked for you to join us if you didn’t mind,” I said.
“Huh, really?”
“Yes. She said she would like to inquire about the hospital, new medicine developments, and so on.”
When it had still been undecided where the medical facility would be constructed, the Khuer tribe had been temporarily safeguarded in the palace. They’d needed permission to use the greenhouse, so they’d become acquainted with Miss Irene. The head sorceress grew medicinal herbs, so there was no way she wouldn’t have hit it off with a tribe of doctors. I’d witnessed them excitedly having technical conversations in hushed voices.
“We haven’t made any notable progress—nothing that deserves to be reported to the head sorceress. Will that be okay?” Wolf asked.
“Perhaps she can give us useful advice,” Lily said.
Wolf thought for a moment and then nodded. “Good point.”
For some reason, Gunther’s eyes began to twinkle from where he stood guard behind them.
“Oh, but we’ll tire Mary out if we overstay our welcome,” Wolf pointed out.
“We can’t have that. Let’s go home!” Lily said, promptly changing her stance.
Gunther was reeling in shock now. His reactions had been distracting me the entire time, and I struggled to pay attention to the conversation. Sir Leonhart also seemed to have noticed—he was shooting his friend an annoyed look.
Does Sir Leonhart know why Gunther’s behaving so strangely?
“My condition is stable right now, so don’t worry about me,” I assured them. “If anything, I have too much time on my hands. I would be delighted if you’d chat with me.”
“In that case, I suppose we could stay a little longer,” Wolf agreed.
Gunther’s expression brightened again. He beamed at me with eyes full of gratitude. I had a feeling he wanted to see Miss Irene.
I was aware Gunther held a torch for someone. I’d heard she’s an older woman who works in the capital, but I assumed it wasn’t anyone I knew, so I never pressed him for details. But thinking about it now, the description matches. Gunther mentioned that his crush wanted to settle down in Prelier after she left the front lines. And according to what I heard from Lutz and Teo, Miss Irene has been talking about moving to Prelier after she retires.
Could it be?
While conjectures formed in my mind, the butler came to inform us that Miss Irene had arrived. As soon as Gunther heard that, his cheeks flushed, and I knew my deduction was correct. Although I was unrelated to the matter, it felt like spring was in the air, and it gave me the jitters.
My restlessness put a strange look on Sir Leonhart’s face. Even if he asked me what was the matter, I would only be able to deflect with a vague smile.
Not long after, a servant guided Miss Irene to us. Since she was here not as the head sorceress but for private purposes, she was dressed in a fog-blue day dress with a high neck instead of the robes I was used to seeing her in.
Though her attire sported a conservative color and design, it was by no means plain. The blue-tinged gray of her dress contrasted nicely with her black hair—she gave off the atmosphere of a mysterious beauty. It was boorish to be curious about a lady’s age, but I was once again questioning it.