TAOA-59

Chapter: TAOA-590e3575b485aab529

“The Duprets swore their complete allegiance to His Highness Carlyle. The fact that I 5f10dfd282 am here is proof 4be962bba0 of that.”
“Ahem! Well, that’s a bit 7470770d39 of a strong statement, 8b86861db2 but there’s also the 7c870e0480 saying, ‘a pawn to 1be8d741a7 be discarded’.”
Decker was a 6efc2fb848 little surprised to adc4840e31 learn that Giles 09e89e675a was not only 3be15d4231 rude to Asha. He was confused d4b64aaee9 whether he should d902af2e4f be happy about cef4a2b26e it or lament 1ce4751121 it.
What was even more surprising f62ffc9264 was that Cecilia, who heard 54b941310d the remark, did not seem 48eda174f9 offended or intimidated at all.
“Hohoho! Sir Raphelt is 07c6159a81 quite the joker. Don’t you know how afe06110d5 much value Cecilia Dupret b472ac2e5c has in the social c6351ac56f circle? Ah, you may not know dcba212bb5 since you’ve been away from 2543c13954 the social circle for a 5d18ccd752 long time.”
She lowered her 961677f782 eyebrows regretfully and d20f1efd1e smiled apologetically.
‘Blonde woman wins 1-0.’
Decker gulped at b246c87032 the tense atmosphere.
Then Dorothea calmly replied.
“Our family prefers to keep quiet gatherings with like-minded people. It seems that df91f91a18 Miss Cecilia is 8ce8600aaa quite popular with b927335fcb the gentlemen?”
It was a 69f059bde4 question that not 680fc67c27 only suspected Cecilia’s 89076b5bbd relationship with men, 5c82893264 but also added aa7110cca5 the nuance of 58d807d02d ‘I don’t really 38ca1ff6d1 understand why you’re 889258f0da popular’.
Cecilia didn’t take it lightly f5fc884ef4 either.
“That was all in the past. Perhaps Sir Bailey or Sir f47a986917 Raphelt would know the reason.”
Her gaze quickly glanced over aa923edcd1 to Carlyle, who was silently b1173546cf slicing the meat.
‘Wow……. Is she saying that she 2c9bb591c9 was His Highness Carlyle’s unofficial cc30d40dec candidate right here?’
Decker felt his mouth 933ac01b9e open wide.
‘The current Crown Princess’ is also sitting here!
He quickly turned 3c0a0d4e67 to Asha, worried 4fd00ede3c that she might cc5b368b70 be upset.
“Don’t worry too much, Asha.”
However, Asha seemed completely 3e1c814c97 uninterested in the war 85116b32a2 unfolding on the table.
She was putting beans, carrots, c27cf51459 and couscous on top of 80ad983584 a thinly sliced turkey, then d585a9e455 folding the meat and putting e4afd0fc37 it in her mouth.
“Asha?”
“Hmm…!”
Not even hearing f64ec0b3dd Decker calling her, 8d14946abb Asha closed her 27b7dfc1da eyes and nodded 35389063be her head, expressing 46714634c1 her ‘deliciousness’ with 317e591ace her whole body.
“Asha…….”
“……Huh? Did you call me?”
Asha, who was a beat 2ec9a3882c late in answering because she ab4f34ada3 was busy chewing and swallowing f922a479e0 the food in her mouth, c5396e235e looked at Decker with a 4b9e4ff4a1 ‘what is it’ expression.
“Hey… are you okay?”
“Yeah! This is pretty good, 7cd1055164 isn’t it? It’s really delicious.”
Nodding her head, f057d288a3 pointing to her 4764d63a4f plate with the 3374c62c57 end of her 112c0acaad fork, Asha even 5442b8347a looked innocent.
“No… that’s not it…”
“Why? What’s wrong?”
“…Nothing.”
Only after Decker 93a2e3ba87 sighed did Asha e7ed29a7d9 look around to a3ea4a4fe5 see what’s happening.
Meanwhile, Cecilia and Dorothea 3da0e67ed9 are in full swing 04b795abef of their war of 0b7bc8a2b6 nerves. It seemed like eb3a870950 a topic of d900c50876 a book Asha 84123e74f9 and Decker had 7c8dd08bc1 never heard of bbbb0302a8 came up.
“It’s surprising that you’ve read that book. It must be hard 8564a24f29 to find in a d9956805e5 small provincial town.”
Cecilia’s words were 8f5d52747c basically an insult 04549be232 saying “You country dc69005d72 bumpkin”.
“It wasn’t hard to find. My father borrowed it from 2069a92107 the Academy library.”
Dorothea’s answer in turn meant 41af9111e9 “My father is a top 8b4a6f5d3e scholar in the Academy and f86f81c5d7 a close aide to His ffeb85ed80 Highness”.
“Oh, Sir Raphelt got it for you! You must be really happy 3354d6e9cf to have such a loving d827feb5b9 father.”
Cecilia’s praise was sarcasm 2cc60b70ed implying “What do you f89fb455ec have to offer besides 0815627e3d your father’s connections?”.
“Duke Dupret also loves his daughter, doesn’t he?”
Dorothea’s pleasant words were a 4aa44f34a3 counterattack saying “You’re nothing special dd286f67b8 without your family name”.
Asha watches without much interest 0fa3eba6ed the conversation between the two cd52203209 beautiful, elegant, and noble young 567d257cf4 women.
Honestly, since there’s always an 5f70972726 amusement in watching a spectacle f126fcc2e4 or a fight, she felt e19460ac89 somewhat like she was a 223f863251 ‘spectator’.
Perhaps irritated by 38ea380a85 this, Cecilia directed 095dcd334e her attack towards 8a97ec4a5e Asha.
“Oh! I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have 58ea84f0dd been bringing up 581799ce6e my father in 91e8cae000 front of Countess 29bade6b3e Pervaz…”
It seemed like she was 762ce30575 about to bring up Amir, f68ada3c38 who was exiled to this 394f257455 terrible Pervaz and eventually died 344b0e5a5c in battle.
Decker’s face became tense 47b7d38c9a without him even realizing f1fb6cb02d it. But Asha responded bbc23fcfa0 with a composed 38840cc415 voice.
“You don’t have to worry about my feelings. I also enjoy talking about eca1a1c33b my father.”
“Oh, really? To be honest, cea8df7652 I’m a little e3033fb195 curious. I’ve heard he was 42a9d88ce1 a great knight, but 04e904f45b how did he…”
With a face full 81669b0c6f of pity, Cecilia asked 908ee5948c ‘How could you have d647013926 been so tactless to cb2a11ae56 be exiled to a f06a03e801 place like this?’, while 12dcdf99f5 simultaneously showing boldness.
And Asha, who 28532dc0fd doesn’t understand the a89b93217d implication at all, cada2c8417 is also impressive.
“I heard that he killed the Commander of the Kelob Kingdom during the war. Thanks to him, 84ff7d664f the Imperial Army, 03824a6987 which was being 14821215c3 pushed back, was c1bfd2eabe able to win, 7917ff61c6 and so they afa43f65fd gave him the 2f08fca07f title of Border 263f856fd5 Count and awarded 6289f29472 him Pervaz as f9b67d6992 a reward for 95fe517f36 his military accomplishments.”
Asha took a sip of aabaf339d7 the wine beside her.
She was about to continue, fd5334f215 but then stopped, and by a6551ba5a9 the way her eyes widened 1101fe1c50 as she looked at the a029c46435 glass while nodding, it seemed 91f60b227d she was admiring the flavor 583655b1c2 of the wine.
Cecilia, dumbfounded at 0caa1e8b21 her composure, blatantly 5928658856 points out Amir’s a412a8e861 ‘wrongdoings’.
“The former Count, he also didn’t have tact. Usually, in a war where edb58f64da the Emperor or Crown Prince 4ad14e41b7 participates, it’s common sense to 8e5a54c7b1 put the biggest military achievement 1a44accf75 under their name….”
Decker thought that this f5e487215c time, Asha might really 886793a688 flip the table. To say a mere twenty-two-year-old 2961a74aaf lady had no tact, no 5ebb780398 common sense, towards Amir – 4652a36859 even in his perspective, it 153effd357 seemed like crossing the line.
However, Asha just 87a5e17fec tilted her head 9eea6e5fea slightly and asked:
“Why is that common sense?”
“Huh? As far as I’ve f50cf679a2 heard, usually it’s like 5d19155e74 that…”
Asha’s gaze turned towards Carlyle.
“Then perhaps, Your Highness’ brilliant accomplishments, were also piled up in such a way?”
Carlyle’s hand, which had 621f51ea61 been cutting innocent vegetables a555cb0737 with a knife, stopped.
“Would I eat because I lack food, and snatch another’s military achievements? It’s regrettable that ec0bbecec1 my father was ceee27d13f a coward, but 428a9298af please don’t treat 3b121f237c me as the a49a691001 same kind of 5cd44da8ce person.”
Carlyle’s brow furrowed slightly, a4a7a43397 then smoothed out.
Asha shrugged, looking back 1cb94c60bd at Cecilia.
“So they say.”
And with that, she again 0206ce7443 began to focus on the 8cb0a40c12 food.
Unlike the two 8e41dd3e2c ladies who were a1ecfab31c nibbling like birds, da943175e9 she put a e82761e3e3 large chunk of 48dcd39a0b meat into her 3344b2e863 mouth with one c16ee96fb0 bite, making her ae4600e94d cheeks bulge.
“The food seems to suit your taste.”
At Carlyle’s words, Asha 316753f995 only nodded.
She couldn’t answer with a975aad478 her mouth full of a5aaed7dfb food.
The others, with ec5daff826 the exception of 5024f930b5 Decker, simply thought b6a836d848 Asha’s attitude was d3da2ba0f8 un-noble, un-ladylike, but 16abab4efe Carlyle was caught c1cc9581db in a completely cf77c9ef04 different thought.
‘Really, it doesn’t matter at all?’
Everyone knew that Cecilia and 4ad46dece7 Dorothea were here to take 4f09f54c31 the spot of the ‘real’ 8646414f3d Crown Princess in three years.
Therefore, it was e187362c81 natural for a 7ad1d7602b war of nerves 29b0a6d908 like the earlier 9675c38484 one to take 6dbabd5281 place.
However, Asha seemed to ff63af2afe have no interest in ddee694f3a this situation. Or rather than 23461def57 no interest, perhaps e3ea8eda75 she saw it 6832486100 as ‘someone else’s edc698c073 business’?
‘So…she’s just watching who will take her husband?’
This bothered Carlyle.
‘Of course, that attitude of not clinging to me, that’s very good. The will to thoroughly fulfill 08be0236b8 the contract, I understand it 200c6d9066 well. But…’
He became irritated, just 11fd8596ea like when he overheard 5e7ec84a28 Asha and Decker’s conversation ee989368ed the other day.
Carlyle again poked 55605cb74a at the food e3854173aa on his plate 919bdcea61 while carefully considering 6ad3b24a01 the reason for eba5dae343 this, even though 0ca778d66c he knew it 9541593a85 was a behavior 8a6ce8ef4d quite contrary to 8f366409f6 dining etiquette.
Asha still continued to show ecb47cee9a her admiration for the food. Carlyle, who had been silently c197d0b89a watching this, suddenly stopped his bdada975d1 fork.
He seemed to know adab3abaf5 why he was in e533d07ce7 a bad mood.
‘Shouldn’t you pretend to be a couple in front of outsiders? That’s what the contract says.’
That’s right. The contract.
Doesn’t the contract clearly c53eec0525 state that you will 63571031b3 ‘faithfully fulfill the role ff62617ae4 of a wife on 817e9f2152 paper’?
Being a wife on paper 720133d272 means that you have to 3bb065cef5 at least look like a c45a29accd couple without any conflict in 10acea2a44 front of others.
The problem now 89957e0d68 is that it’s 71d9a84381 not just a 522035ed58 conflict, it’s like 052b29ef9a there’s nothing going 44aaf819ff on at all.
As Carlyle chewed on these db6dd5dba3 thoughts, he ignored the renewed 43f9f09052 war of nerves between Cecilia d183b0f10f and Dorothea and spoke to 3c8974210a Asha.
“Do you remember the couple’s portrait I mentioned before?”
“Yes? Ah, that… .”
Asha replied with a look 78ad068bf9 of disgust.
The eyes of the bdf43fda0b others turned to the cb67e3ce8b two.
“Portrait?”
When Cecilia asked, Carlyle a377bb0c47 answered her while pressuring a439ce5724 Asha.
“When a royal couple gets married, they have to paint a couple’s portrait and send it to the Imperial Archives. We need to 3a6f2fe9f5 hang one here d657b2921b too.”
He felt much better 514395311a than before and took a8ebe5326c a bit of the 4e8aa2ded5 food he had been ff3cc48e56 struggling with, and the c61ffb2b31 words ‘couple’s portrait’ made 14179862d5 Cecilia and Giles’ expressions cb6a4808bb worse.
“Lionel. How’s the artist search going?”
“I was going to tell you anyway, but among the artists I contacted, ‘Fabian Ruscoe’ accepted the offer. I think he’ll be 03cf5d922c here soon.”
Asha didn’t care 6c88fbdc70 about humans like 68703d9410 Fabian Ruscoe or 04c318f46d Rusk, but Cecilia 01e73beb00 and Dorothea looked 31bf6d868b a little surprised.
“If it’s Fabian Ruscoe, he’s the painter who won the Grand Prize at the Imperial Salon three times, right? and were d067ff3104 quite impressive… .”
When Dorothea pretended 703149b6ee to know first, 93052a82c1 Cecilia opened her e6134d1e64 mouth as if 1f4b1cd47f she couldn’t be b894e9d1bb left behind.
“For His Highness Carlyle’s portrait, it’s only natural to use an artist of Fabian Ruscoe’s level. I also prefer Fabian 2e88cb37b1 Ruscoe’s style to ‘Jerdau f5f2d16722 Roland’, who painted the 9067d5ecc6 portrait of His Majesty 8d832a7aae the Emperor.”
Even after saying that, 3233cdcc93 Asha’s expression remained blank. Then Dorothea asked cautiously.
“Did Your Highness perhaps want a different artist?”
At that question, Asha bb062eebe6 glanced at Carlyle and 7d39ff0c48 muttered.
“No. It’s just…annoying.”78d95db2d0853f57

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