WBWB | Chapter 34

“Well, there’s no harm in learning anything. I’ll look for a dance instructor. Anything else?”

“Um, are there any specific subjects I should focus on more with the young lady?”

“What do you mean?”

“Like a particular foreign language, or the history of a specific country or dynasty… anything I should pay special attention to…”

The Duke wasn’t going to reveal Lady Ana’s potential betrothed to a mere tutor. If such information leaked, other noble families with daughters of similar age might try to sabotage the engagement or steal the prospective groom.

I remembered the Duke scrutinizing my letters, wary of me leaking information. He had diligently read my letters, even though they must have been incredibly dull and uninteresting.

‘But wouldn’t it be enough for just me to know?’

Still, I was curious about who Lady Ana would marry. Even if I knew, I wouldn’t know if he was a good person, but I was curious nonetheless.

“…”

But the Duke remained silent for a long time. I waited for him to speak, but instead, he reached for his glass and drank the strong alcohol as if it were water, without a change in his expression.

“Well…”

“…”

“I’m satisfied with your lessons. You’re doing well enough, so continue as you are.”

“Yes…”

I was slightly disappointed by his noncommittal answer. But perhaps it meant that Lady Ana’s marriage was still far off, so there was no need to rush her education.

‘I see.’

A flicker of hope rekindled within me.

“…Let’s end our discussion about Ana for now.”

“Yes.”

“So, aren’t you bored?”

“Pardon?”

‘Was my report boring?’

I had been talking nonstop, so I hadn’t had time to be bored.

‘But I prepared so diligently for this…’

As I tried to decipher his incomprehensible words, unsure of his meaning, the Duke spoke again.

“Shall we talk about you now?”

“Pardon?”

I thought I had misheard him.

“Me, Your Grace?”

“Is there anyone else dining with me here?”

“…”

No, there wasn’t. 

But being suddenly asked to talk about myself… I wasn’t a court jester, so I couldn’t possibly have anything interesting to say.

“Um…”

His words made me feel like I had been thrown into a vast, empty field.

“I… I’m not very good with words, Your Grace. I don’t know any interesting stories.”

“I didn’t ask for an interesting story.”

He cut me off sharply.

“I asked you to talk about yourself.”

“About myself…”

I suddenly felt like crying, completely at a loss for what he wanted.

“…”

“Anything is fine.”

“Anything… you say?”

“Hmm.”

‘Anything? Anything?’

I didn’t know. I doubted he would be entertained by anything I said about myself.

‘All I do here is eat, teach, and sleep… I don’t think there’s anything interesting about my life. Should I talk about the court? About the scandals that happened there?’

I could feel cold sweat trickling down my back, soaking my dress. My silence stretched, and the Duke finally asked,

“Um, do you have any favorite… jewels?”

What was this about?

‘Jewels? Jewels?’

The question struck me like a bolt from the blue.

“Pardon? Jewels? Jewels… you mean jewels? I don’t have much knowledge about jewels, so it’s difficult to say, but they are beautiful, of course. And they can be used as currency in times of need.”

“I asked what your favorite jewel is.”

“Yes, my favorite jewel is…”

What was it? I wasn’t completely ignorant of jewel names, but my knowledge was limited.

I racked my brain, trying to recall any that had captivated me among the dazzling jewels I had seen at court. But all those beautiful, sparkling things could never be mine, so I had always avoided looking at them too closely. Wanting them would only bring me pain.

“I don’t know.”

I finally answered honestly.

“I haven’t seen any jewels that I’ve found particularly beautiful yet.”

“Didn’t you wear a peridot necklace and earrings before?”

“Peridot? Ah, those were gifts from Young Master Mael before I was exiled.”

“You mean Prince Mael?”

“Yes, Your Grace. He must have been worried about me going into exile.”

“…”

A moment of silence followed.

“Then what about flowers? Do you have any favorites?”

“Pardon?”

“Have you never found flowers beautiful?”

“Flowers, flowers… I like irises. And violets. And lavender. I don’t know if lavender grows here, but there used to be a lavender-covered hill on my family’s estate. In summer, the lavender would bloom, and its fragrance would fill the air. The flowers themselves weren’t particularly beautiful, but the sight of them in full bloom was magnificent. I loved walking there.”

“You like purple flowers. Do you like the color purple?”

“Me? Purple?”

“Don’t you?”

“Yes, yes, now that you mention it, I suppose I do. They’re all purple flowers.”

Come to think of it, they were all shades of purple.

‘I like purple flowers?’

It was a new discovery, even to myself.

“Then what about food? What are your favorite dishes?”

“Pardon?”

“What food do you like?”

“…”

“Do you prefer fish or meat?”

“Well, I grew up inland, so I’ve only tried fish dishes here…”

“And?”

“I think fish dishes are more delicious.”

“Think?”

“But meat dishes are also delicious… I like everything.”

“That’s not true.”

“Pardon?”

“Saying you like everything is the same as saying you don’t like anything. Think carefully. What do you prefer?”

It was a thought-provoking statement, but was this really necessary for a question about food preferences?

“Um… I think I prefer meat dishes.”

“I see. If you prefer meat, what kind of meat do you like best?”

“Well, I haven’t thought about it that deeply. Since I started working after coming of age, most of my meals were provided by my employers…”

“What did you usually eat at home?”

After our family’s financial decline, we never went hungry, but we rarely had good quality meat. We mostly ate stews and vegetables from our garden.

Seeing my hesitation, he thankfully moved on to the next question.

“Do you have any favorite animals?”

“Animals? Horses. I like horses the most these days. I used to be afraid of them, but I’ve grown fond of them thanks to Brulee.”

“I’m glad. I like horses too. My steed’s name is Sleipnir, the fastest and most agile horse in Skadi folklore.”

“I see!”

“What about dogs? Do you like dogs?”

“Yes! I do!”

“Have you ever had one?”

“A long time ago…”

I answered his barrage of questions without understanding his intentions. Perhaps it was just my imagination, but the dinner seemed to drag on forever. Should I have had the strong alcohol after all? At least the words would have flowed more smoothly, even if they were nonsense.

‘What did I even say?’

Back in my room, I collapsed onto the bed, face down. I had talked so much that I couldn’t even remember what I had said. But I was certain it had been a disaster.

‘How can I be so terrible with words?’

The latter half of the conversation had been excruciatingly awkward. The Duke must have regretted asking me to talk about myself.

* * *

Lying in bed, Duke Baldr de Skadi considered the dinner a success.

He had learned a lot about her. 

That there had been a lavender field on Jeanne de Toulouse’s estate, that she liked the scent of lavender, that she also liked other purple flowers; violets, irises, lilacs… 

Come to think of it, purple suited her. Though, what color wouldn’t?

If she liked purple flowers, she would probably like purple jewels as well. Skadi had the largest amethyst mine on the continent. And many other mines as well, be it gold, silver, iron…