Looking for My Fiancé's Lover

“Your face looks troubled.”

In response, I hastily swallowed the crumpled madeleine into my mouth.

“I received a very valuable gift from His Highness. I promised to repay this time, but I don’t know what’s appropriate. I was exhausted from all the worries, so I just came out to see you today.”

“Has the young lady never given birthday presents to your brothers?”

“Um, yea. So I had no idea what to give to a man.”

“How about asking the young masters? In particular, Master Lockherd, since he is a very old friend of His Highness Nezar.”

At Peltz’s words, I shook my head firmly.

“Asking Lockherd is the last, last, last resort. For that, I never want to come to it.”

If he were to ask why this was the last resort, there were a variety of reasons. But it wasn’t Lockherd that I wanted to talk about, so I paused and took a teaspoon and crushed another madeleine in two.

What gift would Nezar be happy with? He had the highest honour and wealth in the empire, not to mention a huge territory, and loyal servants who would sacrifice their lives piled up like a mountain around him…What could I really do for him?

I had been thinking about it for days, but the conclusion had always been one. There were many things that could be done, but none of them were really necessary for Nezar. He was the most perfect human being I had ever known. There seemed to be no flaws in Nezar’s character, that was yet to include his status and background.

As expected, it would be best to present a brooch or fountain pen. It’s something that could be used at least once.

“The fact that the young lady is worrying like this will be a pleasure to convey.”

“That doesn’t mean anything. I thought about it as much just in hope for a decent result to come out.”

It was then…

(Jingle).

The door, which had been firmly closed since I entered, opened again with the sound of the bell ringing.

“Mr. Peltz, are you there? It’s not time yet, but Grandpa Jed got impatient-…”

The visitor was a young boy, whom Peltz seemed to be acquainted with. The boy, who made eye contact with me while scanning the room, jumped and lowered his head.

“I-, I apologise. I didn’t know you had guests…”

I took my eyes off the boy and turned to Peltz. He was still as gentle as ever.

“Did you have an appointment? Why didn’t you tell me? I shouldn’t have held onto you.”

“I can delay the time a little. Though I can’t dwell on the promise with the old people I see all the time, it’s been a long time since I last saw the young lady.”

“It’s okay. Peltz should treat those closest to you the most.”

I put on the hat and scarf I had taken off. Since it had come to this, it seemed that I should first go to the hotel and rent a carriage. I regretted not thinking of bringing Daisy with me as I planned this.

“Thank you for listening to me today, Peltz. I feel more relieved from the worries now. I’ll come again next time.”

“Wait, miss!”

Peltz caught me as I was about to grab the doorknob, then hurried up to the second floor. When he came back down, he had a small square glass jar in his hand.

“Are you sleeping well these days? This is the lavender that I and my wife have dried ourselves. Although it may not be comparable to the tea leaves handled by the Ezelot family, it has a rich and mild fragrance, so I am keeping it for the lady.”

The glass jar was filled with dried light purple petals. It had already been a while since the time I couldn’t fall asleep and tossed and turned at night. As I recalled the old days when I regularly drank lavender tea, a smile naturally crept upon my lips.

“I am sleeping much better than before now. Do you still remember that? Thank you for your concern.”

As always, when I received an unexpected gift, not only my steps but also my complicated mind became lighter. It would be nice if Nezar could feel this happiness too. As I thought, it would be better to think a little more about what kind of present to give him.

I left Peltz’s antique shop with the glass jar that was not antique, but neatly decorated. In the meantime, the red sunset was dyeing the sky pink.

Contrary to my thoughts, the victory celebration was still going on in this group of the capital. The downtown area was overflowing with people full of excitement, street performances, and carriages running back and forth. While watching the lively scene from a dark corner, dizziness and nausea suddenly arose.

Aishh, damn it. Here it goes again.

From the day I skipped meals to prepare for the party, my cycle of anemia became very short. As expected, I didn’t suffer only from the corset alone. So this was what ‘you reap what you sow’ was all about.

Even the dizziness was strangely long, probably because I had eaten the madeleine too quickly. It was difficult to tell whether it was anemia or a normal headache. I tried to go back to the hotel to get some rest, but the site of the hotel itself was so large that it would take more than five minutes to return.

“Come, come, a chicken skewer only costs 20 shillings!”

“Come and buy victory commemorative coins now!”

Will it get better if I use my brain? (it means, she wondered if she get that little head of hers to start working and become active on thinking about a problem would it somehow lessen the pain.

I recalled how I felt when I received lavender tea leaves as a gift from Peltz. The reason why the gift made me happy was not that big of a deal. It was because Peltz’s care and concern for me were clearly conveyed.

Then the gift for Nezar…

“30 minutes from now! 30 minutes later, there will be a Victory Celebration Puppet Show at the Fountain Square! Please come watch us!”

“Mom, I want juice! Juice!”

“Huh? Didn’t you just drink it earlier? It won’t be healthy to keep eating only sweet food.”

For Nezar…

What was I thinking about again? The sound of my heart thumping filled my head. The faster the heartbeat, the more the anxiety amplified, and my palms against the wall slowly relaxed. I should have listened to Lockherd. Or at least I should have stopped at a hotel first and hired someone to act as my escort.

“My lady.”

I felt dizzy. And I did not how far I was from the hotel either.

“Lady Katrina.”

I’m not going to collapse here, am I?

I could not afford for that to happen. If I collapsed, I wouldn’t be allowed to go out anymore, and if couldn’t go out, I would have to live in that stuffy castle with three annoying brothers! It was the worst I could ever imagine.

“Lady Katrina!”

In an instant, a strong grab on my shoulder forced me to get a hold of my breathing and raise my head. The first thing I saw was a face stiffened with tension, followed by a clear, low voice.

“Forgive me for touching you without permission. Are you okay? You are breaking out in cold sweat…”

I felt the dizziness slowly subside from embarrassment. The man was none other than Pancion Entera.

He wiped my forehead with the back of his hand as he said those words. It wasn’t until the cold touch got into contact with my skin that I realised my hand was tightly gripping his sleeve.

“I don’t think this will do. I’ll have to get you out of this busy street for now. Do you mind if I helped out?”

I nodded willingly, as refusal didn’t seem to be an option. At my permission, Pancion immediately grabbed my arm and straightened my half-bent back. Then he lifted me up and carried me in his arms as he ran through the streets bustling with people. As all the anxiety and embarrassment were long forgotten, I raised my head.

“Th-this sure helps…”

“Pardon?”

“It helps….”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t hear you well because the surroundings are noisy. Please speak a little louder”

I said you are definitely of help!

I didn’t have the energy to say anything more to Pancion, who met my eyes with a questionable expression. Feeling like I was going insane with shame, I held up the glass bottle and covered my face. Needless to say, it felt as if the time was passing so slowly, mentally it seemed like ten minutes had already passed, but we were only passing the square’s fountain.