“That being said, I’m far from done tidying up. For today—”
“Next is this. I might call this a present, rather than a housewarming gift.” Raven took the bag with the earrings inside out of his jacket pocket. To prevent the gift from seeming too ostentatious, he had asked for them to be wrapped plainly. He was aware that he had gotten slightly carried away in this offensive move.
Octavia took the gift as prompted and looked inside. As expected, rather than simply looking delighted, she opened her eyes wide in astonishment. “Y-You... This... Jewelry?”
“They’re only small diamonds.”
“Even if they are small, the c-cut,” she stammered, “is expensive, I’ve heard.”
That kerchief was indeed an Imperial Heirloom. It was saying things like, “These are bloody expensive.” Of course, Raven pretended not to hear it. After all, it went on to say, “You should sell them.”
“Say, didn’t you lose an earring in all that commotion on the train over? I’ve been worrying about it this whole time.” Raven began delivering the excuse he had prepared.
Octavia went stiff as a post. “Hmm?!”
“I was, after all, the one who dealt the first blow in that conflict. I feel a sense of responsibility, in my own way.”
“N-No, no! That’s not something you need to take responsibility for. Besides, that earring was only made of crystal.”
“I thought you might have lost it in all that commotion, so I inquired at the company that operates the railway, but they weren’t able to find it.” He was lying about the inquiry. Still, his words had an immediate effect. Octavia closed her mouth. “Take them. Put my mind at ease.” After that, he had only to remain modest and keep on looking troubled, and everything would be perfect.
That was putting aside the fact that the kerchief on her head was saying, over and over, “Take them, sell them, and put the money towards your living expenses.”
“A-All right. Yeah, I’ll accept it. Gladly...”
Rather than being delighted to receive such an expensive accessory, she only gingerly accepted the earrings. This wasn’t outside of Raven’s expectations, but perhaps it was that she wasn’t particularly fond of accessories at all. He had a feeling there also may have been a problem with how he had given them to her. He thought, I wonder if I bungled that somewhat. He told himself that, in the future, he would take greater care with any kind of accessory he wanted to give her as a present.
“They’ll probably go well with that dress, too, I think,” Raven added.
At this, Octavia blinked—and then her face broke into a smile. “Oh, I see. You chose them to match that dress. I’m pleased,” she said. Then, after a pause, she added, “Thank you.”
Raven was glad that he hadn’t lied, after all. Now, he was able to look upon an honest smile from Octavia. After this, she surely wouldn’t just sell the earrings to cover her living expenses. Of course, he wouldn’t have minded if she did. All the same,if he could help it, he’d rather not leave her with anything to feel anxious about.
“Sorry about this. You’ve shown me so much consideration, and I can’t repay you with any hospitality. For today—”
“Next,” he interrupted, “I have these.”
“There’s more?”
With Octavia frowning on, Raven showed her the paper bag. Before he’d even told her what was inside, Octavia’s face lit up.
“This...is from that bakery!” Apparently, she knew of the shop. Starkly contrasting her demeanor up until now, she extended her hand to take the bag.
“I thought we could have tea together. How about it?” he asked.
“Yes, that would be fine. I’ve finished cleaning the kitchen! Ah, but we still can’t use the drawing room...”
At Octavia’s reply, all-knowing, all-powerful Hat pointed out, “With that excuse alone, we’ll still end up having tea!”
“Ah,” said Octavia, noticing her own slip of the tongue, but Raven would not miss this opportunity. Octavia, who had somehow managed to hold Raven off up until this point, had finally let down her guard.
“The kitchen table will be fine. I can brew the tea, if you like.”
“No, that really wouldn’t be...”
“Let’s eat quickly. There are freshly-baked scones in here. They recommend spreading honey on them before eating. Ah, yes—I had them spread the honey for us, so it’s already on them. How about you take a break?”
“I-Is that right? Freshly-baked,” she sighed. “Then we’d better eat them quickly.” Perhaps because she wanted to hide her delight, she suppressed her smile. But she couldn’t hide the restless shuffling of her feet.
I see. So baked goods were the way to go. Raven, having received the answer he had sought, wound his arm casually around Octavia’s waist and pointed her in the direction of the room that looked to be the kitchen.
After he’d taken his tea, he would, of course, help Octavia with her moving. If she really wouldn’t have him in the house, he’d invite her out shopping with him. He had no intention of being sent home so easily.
This is fun. Raven’s curiosity was perverse in the extreme; he always lost interest the moment he uncovered the subject of his analysis. In the end, I wonder just how much she will surprise me. How much will she entertain me?
“Ah, Raven, wait. I put a cabinet here for the time being, so it’s in the way.”
“Eh? Ah. Shall we push it aside, then?”
Sure enough, just where the door to the kitchen opened up, a piece of furniture was wedged as if enshrined. It was a walnut cabinet in an amber color. Its ring-shaped brass handles were embossed with a feather motif. From the shade of the timber that had been used, to the polished finish of the handles, and—most of all—the feather motif, it was made in a style that had been popular fifty years earlier. In another two or three years, it would fetch a good price.
More than anything, the antique demonstrated the good taste of its previous owner. Just as Raven was thinking that the late Earl of Reine really had been fond of Octavia, she turned back to look at him.
“Hold these.” Octavia thrust all Raven’s gifts back into his arms. As he stared blankly into space, Octavia rolled up her sleeves and, with a heave-ho, lifted the cabinet—which was at least half her height—all by herself. With a few brisk steps, she carried it over to the wall.
“Sorry for the wait. After you.”
Raven was utterly silent.
“Raven?” There hadn’t even been time for him to roll up his sleeves, let alone take his jacket off.
I do tend to think of this sort of thing being a man’s job, he thought, though it would be insensitive to say so.
Octavia clapped her hands together to brush the dust off of them. From the look of her, she was the type to pull her own weight.
“You’re formidable.”
“In what way?”
“No, of course—you possess magical powers. I was just surprised.”
Having had this careless display of her powers pointed out to her, Octavia looked flustered. “Oh, that’s right,” she said.
Atop head, the kerchief groaned, “You good-for-nothing.”
Octavia was still full of mysteries. This was still fun. Unbidden, Raven felt his face break into a smile. Like solving a puzzle, he would fit the pieces of her together, one by one.
I mean, I am a phantom thief, after all. “Well then, I’ll make the tea, shall I?” Now, does she prefer her tea black, with lemon, or with milk? That is yet another of the pieces to her puzzle.