Rachel glanced at Mike, who was sitting in front of her.
“….”
She remembered running into him several times in her previous life. He was so kind to the servants, and he always greeted her quietly even though she was a maid.
He certainly seemed like a good person, but Rachel soon bowed her head, and put the cut meat in her mouth because she was uncomfortable with the current situation.
Of course, Mike seemed to be uncomfortable with the current situation as well. Ian was the only one who looked comfortable in the dining room.
“Uhmm.”
Mike couldn’t stand this awkward silence, so he cleared his throat.
“Your Majesty.”
Ian slowly raised his head, and looked at him.
“I heard from the butler that you come to the mansion everyday, correct?”
Ian nodded his head slightly.
“Then why is there such an awkward atmosphere here? Did the two of you fight?”
At Mike’s question, Ian shrugged his shoulders as he looked at Rachel.
“If not, then I think this atmosphere is caused by me, so I think it’s time for me to leave.”
“Okay.”
Ian seemed like he wasn’t going to stop Mike from standing up, even though he hadn’t finished his meal.
Rather, he nodded in agreement with him, as if he thought it was a good idea.
“Of course. Rachel, eat comfortably.”
“Oh, I…”
Mike left the dining room after a friendly word to Rachel.
It may have been an act of consideration for Rachel, but Mike was firmly mistaken.
Rachel wasn’t uncomfortable because of Mike.
Well, it was awkward to eat with a stranger she hadn’t had a lot of contact with, but the biggest reason Rachel was uncomfortable was because of Ian.
“…Are you angry?”
Mike had left, and Ian carefully spoke to her.
For some reason, Rachel had greeted him, then hid behind Mike. He couldn’t even say hello to her.
Rachel blinked at Ian, and looked at his expression.
“No.”
Rachel gave a small shake of her head.
As expected, he was a person she couldn’t understand.
He selfishly did everything on his own, and now he was worried about how she felt?
“If you have something to say to me, don’t hold it in.”
“Well, then I want to ask you one thing. Was it the status of a Ducal family that Your Majesty wanted to give me? Your Majesty knew from the beginning, right?”
Ian contemplated for a while, then nodded.
“That’s right.”
He wanted to give her things she could rely on. Whether it was money, or power.
Now that Rachel was a member of the Oates family, they would step up and help her if she was ever having a hard time. Because they were people of good character.
Of course, it was possible that Rachel might not need all of this.
These were all things that Ian could give Rachel. However, the last reason was because it would allow Rachel to stay next to him.
“You should’ve told me earlier. I was surprised.”
“…I’m sorry.”
Rachel wondered why Ian made her a noble. What would Ian gain if she became a noble woman?
She also wanted to ask why, among all of the nobles, he chose the Oates.
She also wanted to ask the Duke of Oates, and the Young Master Mike, why they gave her the Oates surname.
However, she couldn’t ask why, so she just turned her head away.
“You’re apologizing to me a lot. You know you don’t have to do that.”
Ian sighed softly.
“I don’t want to be hated by you.”
She was speechless at what he said, but he had no choice but to do this.
He wanted Rachel by his side, so he pretended not to know her mind and acted selfishly. In the meantime, he didn’t want to be hated again, so he spit out a polite apology.
“Oh, no. I didn’t. I don’t hate Your Majesty, or anything.”
She frowned, as if she was flustered by Ian saying he didn’t want to be hated. Words he’d spoken quickly, unlike his usual manner of speaking. Rachel hastily discovered that a lie had been exposed.
“Your Majesty must hate me for what I did.”
“…What?”
“I, without conscience or shame, abandoned Your Majesty and ran away. I’m sorry.”
Rachel’s apology caused Ian’s face to go cold.
“Did you enjoy your trip to Ravenna?”
“Yes, thanks to His Majesty.”
Ian had dropped his gaze, and hastily changed the subject. Rachel nodded quickly, as if she too liked this proposed choice.
“Thanks to Your Majesty, I was able to help them. Winter is a difficult season because business is poor during that time. Is it alright if I send them letters from time to time?”
Ian nodded while he continued to avoid looking at Rachel.
“Yeah, you can have them visit you here if you want.”
“Really?”
“If it’s not too often, you can go see them whenever you want.”
“Can I really do that?”
“You can find a house for them to stay in while they’re here if you want. You can’t do it alone though, bring a knight. You can also go to the capital whenever you’re bored.”
He didn’t want to lock Rachel up here.
“You can join any party you want to go to.”
As a result of his actions, it was true that she’d been locked up so far.
Rachel nodded slowly at Ian’s words, but she didn’t seem particularly interested in parties.
“If there’s anything you want, let the butler know.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Rachel nodded her head slightly.
Ian seemed to have something more he wanted to say, but soon he closed his mouth firmly.
“The victory banquet. Are you going?”
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As he finished eating, he asked this, as he put his utensils down.
When Rachel gave a small nod, he nodded at her response.
“Okay. Got it.”
Ian replied briefly, and got up from his seat.
“Then I’ll be leaving. You don’t have to see me out.”
After saying that, Ian left the dining room. Even though it had been a long time since they’d met, he’d left earlier than Rachel expected.
***
“Rachel.”
She’d been about to go up to her room after she was done eating, but stopped walking when Mike called out to her.
“Should we go get the dress you’re going to wear for the banquet?”
Victory banquet.
The banquet would be held in four days, and Rachel knew she had to go.
“A dress…”
Rachel hesitated for a while, then opened her mouth. Dresses were already overflowing from her closet.
“I already have enough.”
“Really?”
After Mike seemed to agree with her, she bowed her head quietly and tried to be on her way, but had to stop walking once again.
“Let’s go anyway.”
Mike said with a slight smile.
“You can take the opportunity to get a new dress, and get a gift from your brother. Does that bother you?”
“…No.”
Rachel shook her head at Mike, who seemed to want to spend time with her.
“When should I prepare to go out?”
“I can wait. We can go after your class with the Countess. Take your time getting ready, then come down.”
Mike smiled once again, and told Rachel about the schedule.
She nodded at his beautifully folded eyes, and friendly tone.
His kindness felt awkward, but not too bad. She didn’t know how much more time she would be spending with Mike in this mansion, but she felt fortunate that he didn’t show any hostility towards her.
Around 3pm, after her class.
‘How long will it take to fit the dress?’
Rachel recalled the day the designer visited her last time, and looked back on the time that took. This time, she only had to get fitted for one dress, so it seemed likely that she would be back by at least 6:00 or so.
***
Ringing
As the door opened, a cheerful bell rang.
A famous boutique in the capital city.
Rachel wasn’t familiar with these kinds of places, so she looked around slowly. On the other hand, she quickly gathered others’ gazes, which she suspected was because she looked funny as she glanced around.
“Oh, Master Oates!”
The designer looked at Mike, opened her eyes wide in surprise, and welcomed him.
“How long has it been? It’s been a while!”
“It has been a while. I couldn’t come here because of the war.”
“Thanks to the diligent efforts of Master Oates and the Imperial army, our store has been well protected. Hmm?”
As she was happily greeting Mike, her gaze finally reached Rachel.
“This person is…”
Mike looked at Rachel, as if she had to say it herself.
“It’s Rachel.”
“That’s not it, Rachel.”
“…I’m Rachel Oates.”
Only then did Mike nod, as if she’d done well.
“Oh my! This person is…”
The designer opened her eyes even wider than when she had seen Mike come in the door, then she took a quick look at Rachel.
“Oh, I was staring at you too much. I’m sorry, My Lady.”
She then immediately apologized softly, perhaps realizing that it was hardly appropriate.
“So, this was the rumored Lady Oates. I’m going to be one of the first people to see the elusive noblewoman. This is truly an honor. It seems that you’ve come here today to be fitted for the dress you’ll be wearing to the victory banquet.”
Mike nodded.
“No matter how much I admire Master Oates, this time it is just too much.”
The designer gave Mike a teasing glare.
“I can’t believe you came to be fitted for your outfits when there are only four days left.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Both of you need to get something, right?”
“If you really can’t, then please don’t worry about me, and just make Rachel’s dress.”
“You know that I can’t do that. It’s a historic day when the young lady makes her debut in society, so trust me.”
The designer gave a small shrug as she pulled Rachel with Mike in tow.
“Then I will measure you first, Master Oates. Will you be browsing the dresses to see if there’s one you like?”
The designer pointed to the dresses on display, and explained the process to Rachel.
Rachel gave a small nod, and looked at the dresses under the colorful lights.
However, no matter how many she looked at, there was nothing that Rachel liked very much.
Although, every single one of them was pretty and gorgeous.
“….”
She didn’t think it would go that well for her.
“Rachel, is there anything that you like?”
“I’m not sure. Could you please help me choose one?”
Rachel shook her head lightly when Mike approached her after his measurements were taken.
“Well, I think you’ll look good in anything.”
Mike looked through the dresses for a moment.
“You should try them on, then pick the one you like.”
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Mike was really relaxed, as if he was fine with waiting until Rachel chose one dress out of the many that were there.
***