Hearing my silence, a faint sigh of embarrassment escaped from the Duchess mouth. I realized that and quickly changed the topic.1
“Please tell your maid to sweeten the scent of dandelion in your water bath. It can make your skin look much better and softer.” (Lise)
“…Really?” (Duchess)
“I give you some proper skin consultation that doesn’t affect your head and stomach. I am sure you haven’t have any time to take care of your skin.” (Lise)
“…” (Duchess)
“But madam, if a person looks in a mirror everyday, the person will feel much better. They will feel motivated to start their day which will be good for their mental health.” (Lise)
Ferelmen is an indifferent and cold person. It was a bit obvious that he was not paying enough attention towards the young Duchess’ beauty.
The Duchess nodded her head and said she would try to pay attention next time. She sipped her tea and smiled very lightly.
“I heard that you have been taking good care of Erhan lately. You are managing his daily routine and keeping them as habits.” (Duchess)
“Yes, that is true.” (Lise)
I nodded my head.
“Working out and sleeping are important for immunity, so you have to make these good habits from an early age.” (Lise)
In the meantime, I slowly trained him to do some exercise for his physical strength so he could develop muscles.
“Thank you very much. I’m so grateful to you for the last snake incident…” (Duchess)
The Duchess sighed.
“He doesn’t listen to me very well. In fact, Erhan was still young. I was too busy and my child was sick so often that I didn’t have a chance to form an attachment with him.” (Duchess)
“Ah.” (Lise)
“In the meantime, I… I wanted to be strong, so I kept saying that I shouldn’t be weak, but now I don’t know how to get close with him.” (Duchess)
“I can help you, madam.” (Lise)
I said calmly, picking up a decent colored macaron.
“I have nothing to do outside the Duchy, so I’ll take good care of him.” (Lise)
“I’m the same age as Erhan, but I don’t know why he relies so much towards me.” (Lise)
The Duchess clicked her tongue as she looked at my dress while drinking tea.
“Are all those clothes bought by Ferelman? It’s luxurious, but it’s a little different from the trend these days.” (Duchess)
I shrugged my shoulders and answered in Ferelmen behalf.
“No, the dresses were for his daughter. He dumped it on me.” (Lise)
“What?” (Duchess)
The Duchess’s expression hardened and strangely went cold.
“That is what a very inconsiderate person always does.” (Duchess)
Her voice was strangely sharp and cold.
Wait a minute… Weren’t the two not close, but did they get along pretty well, acknowledging each other’s inside this territory?
“Leave your time open tomorrow afternoon.” (Duchess)
“What?” (Lise)
“No. I’ll send all the boutiques’ representatives in the capital with the season’s catalog to Jenny’s, so pick your favorite. I’ll call you right away.” (Duchess)1
***
“Do you have a pleasant time during your meal, miss?” (Jenny)
“Yes.” (Lise)
It’s been a long time since I came to the Cerceus manor.
I answered Jenny’s careful question with a hint insincereness.
“It’s all delicious. It’s very nutritious, and the kitchen listens to all my requests.” (Lise)
“What about your clothes?” (Jenn
“It’s all good, I guess. Honestly, it’s not comparable to what I wore at the nursery.” (Lise)
“But the duchess sent the catalog…” (Jenny)
“I think I will just follow yours and the lord’s taste of fashion.” (Lise)
I had whirled through a mountain of catalogs and had chosen a tailor who could make the most comfortable clothes that will help me to move freely.
This doesn’t seem to be important, but I didn’t know why Jenny was so restless.
“Do you need anything else?” (Jenny)
“No, everything is fine.” (Lise)
Both clothes and meals were not comparable to nursery, and the problem was that I had not yet properly identified Erhan’s chronic disease.
So far, nothing was noticeable even though I carefully looked at medical journals and post-prescription responses.
Even though I was with Erhan quite often, I couldn’t find the cause.
He was healthy only in point of view rather than being healthy completely.
If all the hard work was invested in him, everyone would be looking at Erhan with much anticipation.
‘I have to make you like me better until Wederick came to visit next month.’
Wederick and Baron Ishid would always visit the Duchy once a month.
Since then, the Baron asked the Duchess to make Wederick as Erhan’s playmate. Seeing that her son was lonely and frail, she agreed with his proposal.
‘Maybe they were planning for people to be a spy inside the Duchy.’
I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Also, the paternity test proposal was handed over to Ferelman, so I didn’t have time to pay more attention.
I was waiting for him to allow me to use his laboratory as a reward.
So I couldn’t really hear Jenny’s useless questions.
To be honest, Ferelman knew he would give her the key to the lab so that she can thoroughly experiment the new method of paternity test.
However, I thought I did enough in the report, but nothing has been notified yet.
Even when he met me, he only stared at me with his grey eyes and a complicated expression. Then, he ended up sharing some medical journals before leaving me.
“Well, miss.”
“Yes.”
“Umm… since you already ate and wore something decent, do you have other things that you like? Oh, you read medical books almost everyday, so do you like books?”
“It’s good to read medical books. But there are already enough here, so I don’t need any more.”
“Do you need a friend of your age? Seeing that you have gotten closer to Master Erhan..”
“No.”
I didn’t need another thirteen year old brat.
I shook my head firmly.
“To be honest, I don’t really interact with people within my age or that kind of stuff. I have a high mental age. If I wanted a friend, the person should be a smart kid with the age of nineteen?” (Lise)
I didn’t need such a friend. I just said roughly because I felt that I should answer Jenny.
After answering insincerely, I cut it off calmly.
“There’s nothing really uncomfortable and nothing I need. So you don’t have to look after me too much.” (Lise)
Jenny’s face almost turned complicated when I turned around and asked her to leave.
Only then did I notice that something was strange and frowned deeply.
“So tell me, what are you up to?” (Lise)
“That’s…” (Jenny)
Jenny sighed and hesitated. But she finally spoke out.
“Sir Ferelman has personally asked me to find things that you like..” (Jenny)
“Why is that?” (Lise)
“I thought he wanted to say sorry for being suspicious of you and thanking you sincerely.” (Jenny)
“Then he can do it himself, right?” (Lise)
“… I mean he’s not the kind of person.” (Jenny)
“That’s true.” (Lise)
I nodded thinking of the blunt face that didn’t even react if you poked him with a needle.
But I needed to convey my answer.
“What I like is my research proposal.” (Lise)
I grinned at Jenny.
“Well I think a laboratory with a lot of different herbs would be great for my research.” (Lise)
‘Please, please, let me use his lab!’
I just hope it will be delivered well.
***
Arga was lost in his thoughts after Jenny explained everything to him.
If he was being honest, he wanted her to study more about the paternity tests and get more definite results.
However, Arga was so embarrassed that he couldn’t speak out. He was the one who refused her coldly at first.
Lise was bitten by a snake instead of Erhan, and he was guilty because he had been suspicious of her.
So he tried to figure out what else that Lise liked…
“She wanted a lab.”
Arga fell into deep inner anguish.
It was obvious that she wanted to do more research on the new paternity method. He was looking forward to it.
‘Of course it’s for that purpose, but I really want to do something for her…’
He was bothered by the Duchess sending a big catalogue and a famous tailor for Lise.
He didn’t know that the formal and rough Duchess would be so nice towards a child.
“Anything else?”
“Well… I heard that she said something else.”
Jenny added but she was not confident with the insincere request.
“She didn’t like any friends within her age and rather had older friends around nineteen.”
“Oh, sure then.”
“Yeah, she’s smart so she will need some knowledgeable acquaintances. Master Erhan had been sick since he was a child so he doesn’t have any proper education.”
“Before I was sick once but I used to be called a genius. Huh.”
Arga said with a proud reaction and turned away from Jenny. Then, he suddenly remembered.
Beside him standing was Diel, a boy that he raised since he was a child.
“You’re eighteen, aren’t you?”
Diel had these ominous thoughts but eventually nodded.
“I’m sure he’s smart…”
“Haha.”
The pink-haired boy smiled awkwardly and answered slowly.
“Thank you?”
“I didn’t compliment you so don’t thank me.”
Arga said coldly and then grinned widely.
“I’m going to Irvia soon. I suppose you have nothing to do, right?”
“I can always make my own task, my lord.”
Diel has a slim and muscular figure for an 18 year old boy. His face is matured for a young boy.
He was a commoner who had worked beside Ferelmen since he was young and was clever enough to be acknowledged by Ferelman.
Also, He is much taller than his age and has a gentle impression.
Of course, the boy feels a bit awry and shivers because Ferelmen keep eyeing on him.
Arga grinned and said,
“If the Duchess sends her a tailor to give her some dresses…”
“Oh come on, Sir!” (He whined)
“I can send Diel and give her a lab.”
Diel’s dream of enjoying his vacation while Ferelmen went to Irvil vanished to dust.
‘I don’t know if I can figure out what he is thinking right now.’
“While I’m leaving for Irvil, I want you to build the best laboratory for Lise, which is colorful, spacious, and equipped with all sorts of experimental equipment.”
“What? You can just give her your laboratory!”
“Lise’s research field should be much more comfortable than my lab.”
“Sir… this is the Duchy of Cerseus. You can’t just build a laboratory room out of the blue.” (Diel)
“Does it matter? Get permission from the Duchess.” (Ferelmen)
“…Yes, Sir.” (Diel)
Diel was sick and tired of the authority to build a laboratory in another castle.
Ferelmen raised his chin and added, looking at Diel with an absurd expression.
“And be a very close friend of Lise while you prepare for the laboratory.” (Ferelmen)
Diel nodded sullenly.1
He had no choice anyway. (tn: aww cutie ilysm!)3
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