CCTnovel Chapter 203: Purple Tulip (10)
Chapter 203: Purple Tulip (10)
Chapter 203: Purple Tulip (10)
At that moment...
“No, your highness!” Eva suddenly shouted. We looked toward the young Duchess.
Unlike Christelle or Sand, who had lost the train of the conversation, the child seemed to have fully understood the contents.
“I have a lot to do and you need to help me, your highness. You cannot go.” She came closer and I could see that her brown eyes were sparkling. It put me in an awkward position. I didn’t know what she needed help with, but I wanted to help her. But I also wanted to go to the orphanage’s opening ceremony.
The croquet match naturally came to a pause. The attendants started whispering. Sir Johann came over and asked in a gentle tone. “Young Duchess-nim, please excuse me for asking this, but is your reason more important than your cousin’s schedule?”
“T, that......”
The child took one step back and warily looked toward the Imperial Crown Prince. She looked as if she realized her mistake. I urgently looked toward the crown prince.
His handsome orange eyes were sparkling with joy of his victory.
‘Hey, I’m thankful that you put it in your schedule, but you can’t be competing like this with a sixteen year old!’
“Eva, what is it?”
“......It’s not much, your highness. It is basically dust compared to his Royal Highness’s precious steps.”
“No. It is just as important to me. I’m sure Christelle feels the same way.”
I looked toward Christelle as I said that. Crack! The firewood crackled quite loudly in the furnace. Christelle started chuckling as she consoled Eva.
“Of course. I’m very curious as well. What could our Eva have planned all by herself? Hmm?”
“It’s nothing amazing, it’s just...... I have decided to take control of that tavern.” The young Duchess spoke quietly while in Christelle’s embrace.
We looked around at each other, wondering what she meant by that. Sand, who had quietly been listening, asked Vice Captain Élisabeth a question.
“Do you think she is talking about that luxurious tavern you mentioned going to last time? The place where you rescued Captain Modeste Bacary......”
“Ah. Are you talking about Blois?”
The young Countess’s grey eyes opened wide. All of us looked toward Eva again. That was the place that had been run by the wealthy juggernaut, Baroness Joan Tillier. The self-proclaimed information center of the central region and Fist Queen was now Empress Frédérique’s prisoner for illegal taxation and violence.
‘I had been curious about what would happen to the place because the owner was in prison, but Eva bought it? Seriously?’
“That’s right. I...... I’ve said that I want power.”
“Yes, you have.”
That was right. Eva had wanted to get to a high position since she was just a young lady, which was the reason she desired the young Duchess position. She was also confident that she would do a great job. She looked so innocent, making me wonder if she even knew what power was. However, the nobles here received their titles at a young age and personally experienced the economy and politics as they grew into leaders. That was why it was fine for Eva to slowly learn as well. I was sure that she would become a great Duchess that a punk like Robert Blanquer could never even dream about becoming. The Eva I had observed until now was a smart girl who was clear about what she wanted.
“My mother told me something last week. She said that using power as you please is violence. She said that power that people accept and approve of is what you would call true power.”
“Oh......”
We all gasped in admiration.
“That is why I started thinking about how I could get true power like that.”
“I see.”
“The friends I have right now are not enough. I need to grow my own force.”
“Excuse me?” I blinked in confusion. Crown prince Cédric tilted his head.
“I’m sure there are a lot of noble children like myself in the Imperial Capital. Maybe their family is weird but they have nowhere to talk about it...... Or they have a lot on their mind because they became the heir at a young age... Anybody with a tired soul?” The child spoke without confidence.
Christelle brushed Eva’s curly red hair as she commented. “So Eva wants to gather people who are in a similar situation to her and create a social club. The Empire’s Beau Monde is the center of power.”
“Mm, it is similar. Yes, something like that.” The young Duchess leaned on Christelle’s shoulder as she mumbled. Vice Captain Élisabeth and the crown prince exchanged glances. “However, I do not like the Beau Monde. I can’t go around with Gerrit. That child cannot drink alcohol and needs to rest early. He’s napping in the next room right now too.”
“......”
Sir Johann looked at Eva with shock. The child put up one finger at a time as she continued.
“Somewhere that people can drink only herbal tea like his highness if they want, a place where people even younger than me could rest without issues, a place where nobody would say anything even with commoners being around nobles...... I would like a place like that. But there is nowhere like that outside of Juliette Palace.” Eva said that last sentence very quietly. Rhea, who had been laying down by my feet, rubbed her cheek against the young Duchess’s dress.
I watched her before opening my mouth to speak. “That is an amazing plan.”
“Really, your highness?”
“No, I don’t plan on leaving the Lord’s Castle for a while. I told my family I will see them at a later time.”
“Yes, my lord.”
He bowed and left without saying anything else. The man let out a deep breath. He was relieved that everything would be finished before his dear Empress’s birthday.
*
Five days later on December 15th. It was very early in the morning when everything was still dark.
– Screeeech!
“Yeah yeah, it’s so cold. This is no joke.” I could see my breath every time I spoke.
I wrapped the three red pandas around my chest and walked out of Juliette Palace. Percy buried himself in the crown prince’s fur coat while Tithé looked excited in Christelle’s arms. It was great that the little guy did not get cold easily, but I was the issue.
“Wow......”
‘I’m seriously going to freeze to death!’
The fact that I had the thickest clothes on out of everybody here was useless. My teeth started clacking and my shoulders shivered. Prince Jesse’s body did exactly as I had expected. After the summer where I had to escape to Yvelines because of the heat, this body couldn’t handle the cold either.
‘How does the temperature instantly feel as cold as it is in Seoul? Wasn’t it fine until last week? Please return the gentle weather of the Imperial Capital setting!’
“Your highness, are you very cold? You struggled with the heat before as well.” Christelle walked over, looking concerned.
I instinctively took a step back. It wasn’t because I didn’t like her. It was because as a water attribute Holy Knight, she gently released coldness. She squinted at me but I moved away toward a pillar that was warm.
Sir Johann looked at us and quietly chuckled.
“......”
I was wondering why when I turned around to see that this was not a pillar. It was the crown prince. He was a human hotpack. Furthermore, he felt like a newly opened hotpack!
“It looks like this trip to the south has been scheduled for the perfect time, your highness. The Bellang Barony should feel like early fall right now.”
“Apparently it feels like summer in the middle of the day, your highness!”
Benjamin and Ganael commented while putting the luggage onto a large carriage. I nodded my head, praying that the weather would be nice there.
Just as we finished the preparations to leave, Eva, who was completely bundled up except her face, grumbled toward me. She was tightly holding Gerrit’s hand.
“You must leave once the opening ceremony finishes, your highness. Okay? You can’t stay an extra day because you are having fun.”
‘Yes, I promise you. See you on the 20th.” I smiled as I responded.
We had a lot of fun the last few days with Eva. We ordered a painting to hang on the shop’s wall from Joanne and ordered a new sign from Frank, the Imperial Palace’s blacksmith. Eva said she picked out the wallpaper with Agnes over the weekend, so we just needed to figure out furniture when we got back.
“We need to look at lights too, your highness.”
“Ah, I almost forgot about that.”
I hugged Gerrit as I quickly added on, “Uncle will bring you back some yummy food. Make sure you listen to big bro Sand and big sis Eva. Make sure to eat your medicine as well. Let auntie Élisabeth know if anything happens. Okay?”
“Your highness, I’ve already told him about that five times.”
“I’ve informed him about it as well.”
Sir Johann and Christelle jokingly chimed in. Gerrit just nodded his chin as he was still sleepy. I made sure that the child’s ears weren’t cold multiple times before getting on the carriage. I felt like we needed to quickly leave for the kids to go back to sleep.
—
Translator’s Comments
I wonder if Liz is thinking about how she ended up as an auntie while Chris is just big sis...
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