WBWB | Chapter 34

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

“Um, are there any subjects I should focus on more with the 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 incredibly dull and uninteresting letters.

‘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. As I waited for his answer, he reached for his glass and drank the strong alcohol like 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 here.”

“Yes.”

“Aren’t you bored?”

“Pardon?”

‘Was my report boring?’

I hadn’t been bored at all; I had been talking non-stop.

‘But I prepared so diligently for this…’

As I tried to decipher his incomprehensible words, 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, and I didn’t have any entertaining stories.

“Um…”

His words left me feeling like I was standing in an 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 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 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 didn’t know the names of many jewels. 

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 fromYoung Master Mael before I was exiled.”

“You mean the Young Master 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 there’s lavender 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 about 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 first encountered 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?”

“Liking everything is the same as liking nothing. 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 eat at home?”

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

Thankfully, he moved on to the next question when I hesitated.

“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. The dinner felt unusually long. Should I have had the strong alcohol after all? At least the words would have flowed more smoothly, even if they were nonsense.

‘What have I said?’

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