"No!"
They both shouted so loudly that I dropped the stone I was holding in my hand to show off.
"Ah....”
When she saw the devastated expression on my face as I saw the stone that had rolled into the doorway, Madame Marcel felt as if she had done something she could not do, so she quickly picked it up and placed it in my hand.
"Why?"
Temnes' faithful servant began to speak for Kaian.
“This is ridiculous! I’m sure the Lord is expecting something.”
"He is... He told me not to feel pressured."
“Of course, it’s a lie.”
Hannah crossed her arms and poured out her words quickly.
“Don’t you remember the early night gift? Of course, there was a misunderstanding because of that bad girl, Antjone. The Lord asked you three times if she liked the gift and why you didn’t wear it.”
"That's right. It was like that.”
“And you knew as soon as Lady Irena wore the dress he gave you as a gift, right?”
“It would have stood out because it was a dress I made.”
Madame Marcel intervened and became quiet upon seeing the excited Hannah.
“Normally, noblemen don’t care and don’t know what their wives wear. But not My Lord. Is that the only dress made for you? Do you think he would want you to pay attention to Irena too?”
“I don’t think so.”
I felt a little unfair.
Isn't it normal to have a lot of conversations if you're interested?
We still didn't talk much.
This is because there were many times when our lips were touching each other.
'I can't tell this to Hannah.'
I sighed inwardly.
“I saw you both at the Market Place together this morning. Of all the things I can buy right now, there’s nothing suitable for him.”
I began to appeal to the stone again.
“The Duke of Vermont said that he was very happy to receive hand-knitted socks from Irena on his birthday.”
Even Irena wasn't very dexterous, so she used the leftover thread from knitting socks the previous year. The next year she repeated the same thing, but the Duke was happy every time he got it.
“When it comes to gifts, it’s all about the heart!”
She waved her hand as if Hannah couldn't hear it.
"Is it so. Let’s say the heart is important. Then the stone has a lot of heart, but it has no sincerity.”
Sincerity.
'I dived to the bottom of the lake and picked it up myself.'
Does the fact that I picked it up go along with saying that it is insincere?
I was discouraged.
A little bit, I wondered if I had wanted Kaian to give me the look of joy that my uncle had shown when Irena presented her gift to the Duke of Vermont.
I always gave the Duke of Vermont more proper gifts than what Irena gave him - I even spent all my savings for a year on birthday presents for his uncle - and he only said 'thank you' or 'good job' to me. Because that was it.
For some reason, Kaian, who took good care of me these days, often blurted out his words, but it seemed like I would be happy even if he gave me something like this.
Madame Marcel, seeing me lost in my thoughts, wrapped her arms around my shoulders as if she knew what was going.
“A gift like this can become a special memory. Great. You can plan to give it as a gift on his birthday next year.”
"Really?"
“This year is his first birthday. Because it's his first time getting married. I have a great idea.”
Madame Marcel had earlier asked her assistant to bring her something, and there was a large box sitting in front of the door.
“What you said also makes sense. The Lord prefers things made just for him. In fact, all the nobles in the capital are like that. So, how about putting the finishing touches on the hat I made?”
When she opened the lid of the box, there was a very stylish and nice dark blue hat inside.
“Wow. This is really cool.”
First, Hannah clapped her hands and gave her a passing grade.
“Is there more to do? It seems like everything is ready.”
When I asked, Madame Marcel opened another box and showed me.
Inside was full of colorful feathers dyed with dye.
'Ah. The man I saw that morning was also wearing a wide-brimmed hat like this.'
I had a vague idea.
Madame Marcel cheered as I took some of the feathers and laid them aside like a memorable hat.
“Madam, you have sense. That's right. You can choose rich decorative feathers for that feeling.”
“Is it better to do it this way?”
“That’s cool too.”
For a while, we played with various things as if we were playing with children's toys, and in the middle, we all burst out laughing when we saw Hannah putting something that looked like a raccoon tail on both sides as if playing with it.
"Hmm. I think it’s done.”
“I’ll fix it like this.”
Madame Marcel pulled the needle with the thread from the needle holder hanging on her wrist, and in an instant, with quick movements of her hands, she began to sew the feather from the inside as if tying it.
As I watched it with Hannah, some time passed.
"It's all done. Madame added her skill to what I made, so it is a one-of-a-kind item in the world.”
"Right. It was good to hear from you and Hannah.”
I was also exhausted after failing to buy a gift, so the hat I prepared with Madame Marcel's help looked quite good, as she said.
“After the birthday banquet, we will prepare a separate event to thank you.”
"You're welcome."
Madame Marcel was proud that the hat she had made would be my first gift, and Hannah was proud because she had prevented me from giving a rock as a gift.
The sun was setting as we placed the hat in a luxurious round box and attached a large ribbon.
“Then I’ll just leave and get a dress for you to wear tomorrow. You have to wake up early in the morning.”
“Thank you.”
"You're welcome."
As Madame Marcel withdrew, Hannah looked at me.
“Should I bring dinner right now?”
"Good. I feel like I can eat a lot.”
“I’ll get ready quickly, Lady."
Feeling relieved after one of my worries was resolved, Hannah cheerfully disappeared out of the room.
When everyone was gone and I was alone, I took out my heart-shaped rock from my pocket again.
“It was pretty when I was in the water.”
Flowers blooming in the field are pretty, but they wither quickly after being picked.
What had been a shiny, jewel-like red when it was fully soaked in water was now a dull, dull grey-brown.
Still, the shape was surprisingly smooth and curved with a symmetry between the left and right sides.
I went to my desk and began writing a letter to future Kaian.
[ Kaian. This is a letter to your future self. I actually wanted to give you this stone for your first birthday, but Madame Marcel and Hannah said no. Madame Marcel says I can give this as a gift next year. Why not next year?
Anyway, I became the dog that lost the fight. I'll give you something different this year. See. Isn’t it amazing? I read in a book that the shape of the heart inside the human body is really similar to this shape.
So I wanted to give it to you. Do you understand what I mean? ]
I thought deeply.
“Do you think he understands that this is because he likes me and wanted to give me this shape?”
But it was too much trouble. Even on next year's birthday, if Madame Marcel and Hannah raise their voices and say absolutely no, this is a stone that cannot be taken to Kaian.
[Happy birthday. From Claudel.]
In the end, there wasn't enough space on the paper to write more details, so I ended the letter like that.
I picked up a few strands of my rich red hair and began to braid them very thinly.
When my hair was braided long, I tied it once at the top and once at the bottom, and the thin braid was tied so tightly that it could not come undone.
I cut off the top with scissors.
Originally, it was a superstitious thing for virgins to cut their braided hair into thin pieces and tie it around a man's wrist, something they would do for a lover going away.
She asks him not to forget her and not to cheat on her.
I had never been in a relationship before marrying Kaian, so I wanted to try everything I had seen and picked up.
Earlier, when Madame Marcel brought a bunch of gift boxes, there was one that was about the size of the palm of my hand, so I quietly picked it up. When I put a letter and a stone in it and wrapped a braided hair on top to make it look like a bracelet, it was the perfect size.
“It’s not going far, though. Because the next year is far away.”
I was happy to myself and put it in my desk drawer.
I hope next year comes quickly.
***
Kaian was so busy that he didn't know how the day went by.
Too bad he couldn't have lunch with Claudel.
On the battlefield, he would simply prepare a meal by putting ingredients on bread. So, even after returning to the estate, sometimes when he was busy with work, he had his butler prepare such food and worked while eating in his office.
That was just a few months ago.
Now, he went all the way to the hostess's room and ate to see his wife's face.
Not to see his wife's face, but to feed her.
To feed her is also just an excuse, to hug a fragrant pretty woman and kiss her.
Either way, Kaian considered it all important.
There was a time when he lost face and asked the butler for advice, but these days, his relationship with his wife was going quite smoothly.
'There were times when I thought I didn't know what the hell to do.'
Sometimes he remembered Claudel's lifeless appearance when she first came to the castle.
At that time, he thought she was unresponsive or indifferent to what he said.
When he thought that it was because she was waiting for the day to die and had no motivation to live, something in his heart tingled.
She was never a helpless and meek woman.
She was quirky and lively, and the more he saw her, the more attractive she became.
She can be passionate sometimes.
When Kaian knocked on her bedroom door late at night, Claudel opened the door.
"You're late."
“I had no choice because I had a lot of work to do. With the banquet suddenly being held, there was a lot to take care of.”
Kaian hugged Claudel and searched for her lips first.
He was irritated earlier when he had to do things that he didn't have to do to prepare for the banquet, but as he held his wife's soft body wearing only her pajamas, he felt like his fatigue was melting away.
"Happy birthday, Kaian.”
"What?"
“It’s past twelve o’clock.”
"Already?"
“I’m glad I could celebrate your birthday.”
Claudel sat him down on the bed, adjusted her height, and lightly kissed his forehead, both cheeks, the tip of his nose, and his lips in turn.
She thought it was a good thing that Kaian was born.
“What about the gift?”
“Now?”
"You're congratulating me, but do you have any gifts?”
Claudel seemed to be muttering, 'I knew it would be like this,' but his attention was completely focused on the large box she was carrying.
“Open it.”
What was in the box was a hat.
'Is this Madame Marcel's work?'
It was a perfectly fashionable men's hat in the capital.
“Is it not that good?”
"No. I like it very much. Where did you get this?”
“Madame Marcel helped me. But I chose the decorations. I worked hard to run well.”
"Directly?"
Claudel nodded his head.
Kaian quickly took a hat out of the box, roughly brushed his hair, and pressed it on slightly.
“I want to see you wearing a hat.”
“Aren’t you watching it now?”
“Only the hat.”
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