Looking for My Fiancé's Lover

Lockherd, who threw off his riding hat, felt rather calm, unlike five years ago.

“Hey, Kate. Tell me what’s on your mind. Which family’s young lord do you have in mind?”

It seemed that Nezar had said something, seeing how he mentioned this out of the blue. In fact, he had always been like that. Looking down, as the light of the setting sun poured over my boots, I replied without thinking.

“What a nice way to bring that up. But since you asked, I do need a man that I can hold dear to my heart, can you introduce me to just one nice guy around you?”

Dust rising in the crimson sunset slowly settled on the boots.

“I swear, even if you search everywhere, you won’t be able to find someone better than Nezar.”

“I know. But there must be at least one person who can be compared to him.”

“Do you think it’s easy to find a man like that? You keep forgetting, Ezelot is one of the most famous households in the Caval Empire. Your will aside, do you think father would send you to the heir of some mediocre family? At least they must be on par compared to Ezelot.”

A man with a position and honour worthy of Ezelot. There was one person who immediately came to mind.

“What about the young duke, Pancion?”

Lockherd’s expression subtly hardened again. If earlier he had the expression of swallowing unripe potatoes, now he had the expression of swallowing unripe bell pepper.

“Ditching Nezar and going after Entera? You would completely destroy the crown prince’s honour and pride. I’d rather you fell in love with an Ezelot’s average knight. In that case, the reason for the breakup could be hidden.”

The picture I had been imagining alone took on a plausible form after talking with Lockherd. The more I thought about it, the more his words made the most sense. I bought his words simply because I did not wish to go through any more hardships.

Haah…There will be no one in the world as miserable as me. To be in a position to find a lover for the person you like, at the age of only 20!

Feeling depressed, I opened the letter I had crumpled in my pocket. When I carefully read the part I skimmed through previously, half of the page was filled with names of unfamiliar women.

Lily Amasra, Caroline Aktor…

The thought of having to find Nezar’s taste among these girls made my heart ache again.

“Lockherd, do you know what Nezar’s ideal type is?”

Well, having something was still better than nothing, and it was at this point that even Lockherd’s useless advice was desperately needed. After staring into my eyes wordlessly for a while, he answered.

“Hmm, that’s a pretty tough question.”

Lockherd narrowed his eyes and meticulously observed my face. From the eyes’ corners, the forehead, the lips, to the cheeks, everything was examined very closely, each and every small detail. My pouty expression was clearly visible in his pupils.

“It sure seems like a bit of a peculiar taste…How should I put it? A troublemaker? A walking disaster?”

In the old days, I would have accepted it wholeheartedly, but there was no way that such a wordplay would work for me now.

“Who told you to describe me? What I asked is Nezar’s ideal type.”

“Geez, you are fussy even when you talk.”

Pensive, Lockherd gently stroked his chin. Soon, a familiar yet distant name came from his lips.

“Lily Amasra.”

I frowned at the name and went through Caron’s letter again.

If I remember correctly, there must have been a similar name among the women Caron mentioned.

“If I have to choose someone else, the second daughter of the Amasra family would fit the bill.”

❇❇❇ (Starting from this point, they’re already onto another day)

Lily Amasra. She was the precious child of Count Amasra. She graduated from the Imperial Academy with the highest degree in Physics two years ago. It was a given that a lady from a prestigious aristocratic family would enroll in the academy. However, that only included literature, history, philosophy, and, to a greater extent, art.

Even I, who knew very little, was aware there was an unwritten rule that women were not allowed to set foot in physics, astronomy, and architecture. In the Caval Empire, no, in this world, mathematics and physics were exclusively for men. Perhaps because of that, even aristocratic women who claimed to have accumulated quite an amount of knowledge could barely do division.

Yet, Lily Amasra graduated top of the Department of Physics? Moreover, at the Imperial Academy?

“Is even that possible?”

At my question, Lockherd turned his weary eyes to me.

“Usually impossible. There are a lot of old-fashioned academics like that in the field, so it’s like picking a star in the sky to find a gap to enter. For that, lady Amasra’s becoming a Physics valedictorian was one of the top controversies that year. I heard that even the most conservative professors were convinced and became fond of her, thus, offered her an admission to graduate school (similar to college).”

Just hearing his words made it clear that she was not an ordinary woman. To think that such a great talent was close to Nezar’s ideal type…I really didn’t stand a chance at all.

“Kate, why did you drag me out here?”

Lockherd’s voice as he said that wasn’t filled with much energy. I took my eyes off the Ezelot tour brochure I was skimming through and made eye contact with him. The noise of the carriage rattling became calmer as we entered the paved road. I skipped breakfast and lunch because I overslept, and now I felt sick because of the combination of hunger and dullness in my body.

“Since mother never let me go out alone, I told her you would accompany me. Just drop me off at a suitable place and then go.”

As if saying my words were absurd, Lockherd’s expression distorted in an unsightly way.

“Even mother can’t leave you alone, what makes you think I can do that?”

“Then follow me around as a porter. I didn’t even bring a servant with me, so that would be just great! I’m planning on walking around for the next 3 hours. I’ll give you a minute’s break in the middle, so please take good care of me.”

“..So where can I drop you off?”

He’s just all talks, he was going to give in anyway.

“Finwolf 4th Avenue, the capital.”

Lockherd nodded, and about two more hours passed before I reached the capital.

Finwolf 4th Avenue was the alley behind the Finwolf Hotel, the capital’s finest hotel. In that deserted back alley, there was an antique store with a relatively clean appearance, run by the family’s former butler, Peltz. The store was my first destination today.

Soon the carriage stopped moving. Have we arrived?

“I can’t trust you with this. At any rate, this won’t do. I’ll bring a knight of the Imperial Guards that is on vacation, you go along with that knight-…”

Lockherd pretended to let me go on my own, but in the end, he didn’t forget to nag.

“What kind of nonsense is that? It’s fine, so go! I can ask to hire someone from the hotel.”

I closed the carriage door with a ‘bang’ and got down to the ground. He still did not give up and started nagging again, so I urged the coachman to leave and quickly went into Peltz’s shop.

(Ring).

“Welcome, come on i-…oh? Who is this? I almost didn’t recognise you.”

“Don’t joke around, Peltz. I also came around this time last year.”

The interior smelled of old, antique wood and wax. Although the window was covered with blackout curtains, a rather damp atmosphere lingered inside.But even that was familiar and comfortable to me.

Ugh. It’s comfortable, but it doesn’t heal a sick stomach.

At a place that was always full of people and liveliness, this antique shop was the only space that gave me relief. Even though it had only been one year, Peltz, who was going through the bookshelves relying solely on the lighting behind the old counter, seemed to have double the wrinkles. I first walked to the front of it and sat down on a wooden chair.

“I heard that Master Lockherd has returned home. How is he doing?”

“He’s doing so well that it troubles me. Though it did not give me joy seeing it, he’s very energetic these days. It’s even more upsetting because Eden’s left the castle!”

“Haha. He has endured on the battlefield for 5 years, so how comfortable do you think he would feel once back home? Milady, please be a little understanding.”

Having said that, Peltz put the kettle on the fire. I just pouted my lips and watched silently as he moved his old body. Soon, small madeleines with lemon flavour and hot white coffee were served to the table. Maybe because I was hungry, but it looked more appetising than any other food in the world.

“This is all I can offer you. I always prepare this and that just in case, but today I ran out of refreshments again.”

“Don’t say that. This madeleine is enough for me. Peltz knows my taste, thanks to that I don’t have to pick up some tasteless piece of bread.”

The old man laughed out loud and quietly drank his coffee.