Chapter 96 : Lavender’s Gathering

“Haha, really? brother Johan must have had a hard time.”

I talked to Johannes on the communication channel that night.

I laughed as I heard the story of his returning to Bastier last weekend. And he was in trouble because of Louise’s overflowing youthfulness.

[My mother is struggling more than I am. She regretted that you were going. She said when you were there every day. Louise was always listening to you.]

“I want to see auntie.”

[Come over next time. We’re always welcome.]

Since today was a weekday, Johannes was at the Academy. The view of the dormitory room was reflected behind him at first glance. The room was clean and tidy as if it showed the owner’s personality. His room was completely different from the Cabel’s messy room, which I often saw through the communication channels.

[Hey, you’ve been caught! ] Who told you to get in touch with my sister!]

But just then, a loud voice penetrated my ear, and I saw Cabel appear in the contact ball. Well, they said that if you said their name, the tiger would come. And it seemed he had just been washed up as there was a towel on his wet head.

But why did he come to Johannes’s room? Usually, he clenched his teeth just by hearing his name. But Johannes also asked the same question, narrowing his eyebrows.

[Why are you in my room? ]

[Humph, I had a feeling that you will do something suspicious today!]

[I’ve never allowed you to enter my room.]

[I don’t need your permission!]

I heard a roar for a moment. I kicked my tongue, and I said to Cabel as if I was sad to him, ” Brother Cabel, are you not going to say hello to me?”

Then Cabel left Johannes aside and came close to me.

[Not this kid, make a call to me! I’m totally! There’s the time! Time just flies! Just stay back!]

It seemed that Cabel had put his face too close to the communication channel because I could see his pores! I leaned back to my seat, staring at his face.

“It’s almost time. Brother, I’ll call you tomorrow.”

[Okay, I will be at the dormitory!]

Once again, there was a bickering sound in the communication channel. After a moment, whether or not he managed to push Cabel out, this time, Johannes’neat’s face appeared in front of my eyes.

[I’m sorry, Hari. There’s a little bit of noise.]

[What?! What are you talking about?]

[Oh, it’s already quite late. Now you need to rest.]

“Yes, I’ve got to go out tomorrow, too, so I’m going to bed early.”

[Oh, get out of my way!] You’re going out? I want to go too!]

“When you can, come and see me.”

Hey, Cabel, you weren’t meant to be kidding, didn’t he have to take lessons at the Academy? I left the whining Cabel behind and said goodbye to Johannes before turning off the contact zone.

“Oh, I’m tired.”

After that, as I laid down on the bed, my body, soaked in fatigue, became exhausted. But a conversation with Johannes always made me feel at ease. I could forget all the worries and anxieties that I had until now.

I was lying in bed, staring at the ceiling. My heavy eyelids were half-closed. Yet, oddly enough, my mind was clear, and I couldn’t sleep.

Suddenly, the last memory came to my mind. Eugene, who took me away from him as if he were pushing me away. But after that, his attitude was the same as usual.

Was it just my feeling…..?

But strangely enough, it still lingered in my heart. Then, after recalling it for a long time, I fell asleep.

---

“Miss Hari, welcome!”

I attended a tea party on Friday afternoon, which I was invited to the other day.

Today’s tea party was a place for women to meet and talk. But Lavender Cordis ran to see me as soon as she saw me.

“Hello, Miss Cordis.”

“Oh, I want you to call me Lavender,” she said.

Oh my, she still didn’t stop pretending to be close to me. Now, I gave up, trying to understand her thoughts. Really, Lavender Cordis was so kind to me that I couldn’t deny her that way. However, to be frank, it was difficult to deal with a person who had shown a total animosity to me in the past.

Of course, it was just a memory of the past, and now she didn’t do anything to me. Still, my worries were not disappeared.

Even Lavender really liked me now, but I wasn’t trying to build a friendship with her. I could tell by looking at her unusual glare and behavior towards me. She seemed to hide it in her own way, but I couldn’t be fooled by her attitude.

“Welcome, Miss Ernst.”

“Thank you for inviting me today, Miss Pomerian.”

I sighed once, looking around. Ever since I saw Lavender Cordis, I always wondered, but I didn’t see Rosabella Velontia here again.

No one in this country who didn’t know that she eagerly loved for Duke Ernst. She grinned her teeth at Rosabella Velontia because she against their marriage. Of course, as a noble and confident woman, Rosabella didn’t even care and ignored her. And that fact seemed more resentful to Lavender.

So whenever there was a gathering in which she could exert her influence, Lavender used the outcast of Rosabella to express her hostility.

But Rosabella responded as if she was a kid and unaffected by Lavender’s childish behavior.

And on the other hand, actually, it was Rosabella Velontia who had more influence in the social world. If she were to take Lavender seriously, Lavender would have no choice but to resign.

Anyway, Lavender Cordis was feeling refreshed, not having to see Rosabella at today’s gathering.

“When will Miss Hari be engaged to Bastier ‘s successor? The two of you were so sweet and lovely to see.”

I puzzled at Lavender Cordis’s words. Since last year, when I was with Johannes, she kept a close eye on us. Then now she said as if my engagement with him was a fixed fact.

Of course, we were close to getting married in my previous life. We didn’t communicate at the time, and it was more of a political marriage. So I didn’t know what was going to happen in the near future, but for now, there was no talk about engagement between Bastier and Ernst.

“What are you talking about? Miss Ernst has Majesty Dice.”

“That’s right. Will, His Majesty let Ms. Ernst be engaged to another family’s heir?”

But even before I could answer, one of the Lady refuted first. But why did she bring up Dice? The rumor wasn’t real! It wasn’t me, the one he loved, but Rosabella. However, I couldn’t tell them about it in detail.

“His Majesty Dice doesn’t see me that way. I’m afraid I’m going to be put on his name in a slight misunderstanding. And it’s the same with Bastier’s successor.”

The Lady seemed to have something else to tell, but my determined attitude couldn’t make her come up with more stories about me.

“Miss Hari, why don’t we go boating together next time? We’ve just cleaned up our villa, and the surrounding scenery is really nice.”

At that time, Lavender Cordis again pretended to be close to me and worked on it. And then, she continued with her sentence…..

“It’s not going to be fun if it’s just us. So why don’t you ask your brothers, too?”

Well, I was able to see her mind. So I hurriedly turned her invitation down. “Well, my brothers are so busy, so I don’t know if they have time or not.”

“If Miss Hari tells them, I’m sure they will definitely go with you.” It seemed that Lavender would not give up easily.

“Yeah, there’s a lot of rumors about Duke Ernst and his brothers who really care about you greatly.”

Huh? Where did that gossip come from? Of course, it was true that my three brothers cared a lot and took good care of me, but if it was until ‘greatly’…..?

“That’s right, I heard that they will do everything you want. Especially the second son said that he’d take the liver and the gallbladder out just for you.”

“But the Duke was the most surprising. Didn’t he come to pick you up at the last banquet? After His Majesty Dice caught you and refused to let you go, the Duke removed him very coldly.”

“What about the third son? I’ve heard that he only wanted to offer his hand to you as he hates touching anyone because he’s vertiginous.”

“And literally, all three of them can’t be approached easily. They’re a little scary…..”

The more I listened to them, the more I felt strange. Somehow it seemed like they added their own fantasies to the story I just heard right now.

Did they misunderstand them? Because I didn’t think my three brothers were hard to approach even though they weren’t so friendly to other people.

“But only Miss Ernst get special treatment in many ways.”

“To be honest with you, when I look at their appearance. I can’t believe their attitude towards you.”

“Well, maybe it’s because she’s their sister.”

“They’re not her real brother, but…”

The ladies who spoke like that among themselves soon lost their words. Their faces and voices were mixed with envy and jealousy. They didn’t neglect or condemn me like they used to, but I always felt that was the case. Yet I smiled and said as if I didn’t sense it.

“It’s because everyone doesn’t know. My brothers are always mistaken because they’re shy and introverted. Yet, they’re really more polite and kind-hearted than everyone else. It’s just that they’re quieter than most people.” I said it with a big smile. It was refreshing to give back the same words that Eugene had said when he helped me in front of Dice.

“Pffttt”

“Cough, cough!”

I couldn’t even imagine what I was saying, and I could hear the sound of young girls spouting their tea everywhere. Some of them seemed wasn’t able to breathe. It was embarrassing because I said that my brothers were shy without hesitation while they weren’t. Especially if they saw Cabel’s behavior on the last banquet.

“Sh- shy, ····.”

“Well, they’re very shy during the day?”

“They’re shy? Who the hell is that?”

Those ladies seemed to doubt their ears. To those girls, I said with a deep sigh, with a heartfelt look. “My brothers have been so misunderstood. It’s unfortunate. They don’t know how shy they are.”

They were stunned by my amazing choice of words. Playing innocently with a smile on your face was the way to deal with them. Apart from that, it was also my specialty since my previous life.

The Lady burst into disbelief as if she couldn’t believe me, but she couldn’t say anything anymore. I still looked at them as if I was really sad because my brothers were misunderstood.

“It was fun today, Miss Pomerian.”

“Thank you very much for coming.”

Time passed, and it was time to close the gathering. I greeted the host of today’s tea party and left my seat leisurely.

“Miss Hari, think about it again. I really want to go with you, okay?”

“Thank you, Miss Cordis. I’ll go back and think about it today.”

Of course, I didn’t want to go on a trip with Lavender, but rejected her with a single stroke was too harsh, so I had to answer it like this.

I hurriedly went to the carriage, smiling at Lavender Cordis, who clung beside me.