HFMD - Chapter 33 < The Beginning Is Difficult >

Sylvia stayed out of bed for several days after the Debutante Ball. Half of it was voluntary, and half of it was due to the strike of her weak body.

'Well, considering all the moves I've made so far, it's strange that I still don't feel any chills.'

The fact that she didn't fall ill and only had mild body aches was probably thanks to the nutritious food Randall fed her.

'I just want to rest like this... '

Sylvia sighed because the rest she had felt for the first time in a long time was so sweet. For her to have eternal rest, she must continue to live a restless life. There was no other contradiction like this. She clicked her tongue, thinking she couldn't do it twice. Sylvia, who had been asleep for several days, barely regained her senses at the sight of her servants.

'What?'

Over the past few days, the employees had been trying to make as little noise as possible so as not to wake Sylvia, who was sleeping, tidying up the room, and then disappearing. But today, the atmosphere among the employees was very chaotic. 

Sylvia raised her upper body and asked in a sleepy voice.

“Why is everyone so excited?”

The employees were startled by those words and turned around. When they saw that Sylvia had opened her eyes, they hurried to the bedside.

“Oh, Ma’am! Are you awake? We were too loud, I’m sorry.”

"Sorry!"

"No, it's okay. What is it about?”

"That is..."

Most of the maids who cleaned Sylvia's room today were young. The women exchanged glances, wondering if it would be okay to tell this nonsense to their Madam, and the woman's mouth must have been itching, so she finally let out all the words she had been holding back.

“Countess Glever and Lord Auston are in love! Gosh!”

“...What? Who?"

“In this magazine!”

The maids, seeing that Sylvia did not show any sign of displeasure, handed her a piece of paper, squealing with excitement. As soon as she took the piece of paper, which was probably a street gossip paper, the large words written on the front caught their eye. "Countess Rubia Glever and Auston Dosler danced fifteen songs without changing partners once..." 　

“Hmm.”

Sylvia let out a faint sigh as Rubes and Auston's love story was written on a piece of paper. The writing was so long-winded and provocative that it seemed as if Rubia and Auston had already promised to get married and had spent the night together.

'The last time Rubia stayed at the castle, I don't think she showed any signs of that.'

Sylvia returned the paper to the maid with an ambiguous smile, not forgetting to add a little advice.

“Don’t believe too much what you read in magazines like this.”

“Of course. But it’s true that the two exchange intense glances whenever they meet! I’ve seen it a few times!”

"That's right."

But the maids in their prime still had blushing cheeks and dreamy eyes. Seeing their trusting looks, Sylvia also had a moment of doubt.

'...Rubia with Auston?'

For some reason, she can't imagine it.

"Haha."

"Hoho."

As soon as she pictured the two people looking at each other with warm smiles, goosebumps appeared all over her body. Even if she thinks about it again, it seems like a rumor. 

Sylvia got up, thinking that she should erase her useless thoughts and soak herself in hot water. Then she was asked by one of the maids.

“Oh, right. By the way, I heard you’re going out with the Master today?”

“...Ah."

Was that today? Sylvia had been out of her mind and sleeping for several days, so her sense of time was also hazy.

"Please give me one day, so you can... touch me for five minutes later."

But when she remembered the promise, her sleepiness suddenly disappeared and reality came rushing in. He said he would let her touch him. How dare he come up with such a bold idea. 

Sylvia clicked her tongue inwardly and nodded her head to indicate that it was the day of the outing. Then, the eyes of the maids, who had been half-asleep until just a moment ago, all lit up.

“Please just leave it to me. We must! I will help you relax your legs!”

"Cheer up!"

“I’ll tell Thelma that you’re awake and get you some water!”

The maids quickly divided up the roles and led Sylvia. Sylvia had been asleep for several days, so she thought she would be able to endure the dressing up more leisurely than before, so she followed them. Of course, she was mistaken. Sylvia endured the long dressing-up time and experienced her legs wobbling.

'These kids..."

They've gotten stronger... The servants of the Belfort Castle were growth types. 

***

After what felt like an eon, Sylvia emerged from the room, her legs trembling like a newborn deer. Of course, thanks to the passion and affection of the servants, she was especially beautiful. A simple, yet luxurious, evening dress for easy movement. A hat with a ribbon tied under the chin. Although it wasn’t as fancy as a ball, it was the perfect look for a ‘lady going out with her lover, with a fluttering heart.’

'It's hard...'

Of course, just because something is perfect on the outside doesn’t mean it will be fine on the inside. Sylvia crossed the hallway, intending to wait for Randall at the front door to get some fresh air. At that time, she noticed a young man walking shakily from the other side of the hallway. Sylvia saw his face and greeted him in surprise.

"Good... I don’t think it’s morning, Auston.”

“...Ah, it’s nice to meet you, Madam.”

Austin bowed in greeting. After greeting, he straightened up and narrowed his brows in puzzlement.

“For someone who has been resting well for several days, your complexion looks...?”

“...Would you like to introduce yourself now?”

Sylvia also lost a little energy due to being harassed by the maids, but that wasn't something Auston would say. Auston had a stern look on his face, with his eyes bloodshot. The shadows under his eyes were dark, and he looked less energetic than when he was improving his barrier magic earlier. Sylvia looked at Auston's face and sighed.

“I guess you had a lot of fun at the Debutante Ball? Even though it’s been a few days, even the eyes are painted like this.”

“Cough.”

As soon as he heard the words 'Debutante Ball', Auston's shoulders jumped up. He kept gasping for breath, perhaps because he was flustered, and then he asked with a pale face.

“...Have you seen it?”

“What?”

“If you don’t know, that’s okay...”

“I heard that Countess Glever also stayed at the castle until late. Maybe she should have given up an empty room.”

“No, that’s not true.”

When Sylvia pretended not to know and mentioned Rubia, Auston got angry and denied it. But Sylvia narrowed her eyes and glanced at him as if she was suspicious of his excessive reaction.

'Oh...'

Surprisingly, the contents of that gossip magazine may be somewhat credible. Sylvia began to observe Auston with interest. Auston, who felt a sense of crisis, hurriedly changed his stance.

“Rather than that, I heard you were going on an outing?”

“Did you know that too?”

“I asked you because, for the past few days, Master has been running around like a madman, killing monsters, and staying in your office from the crack of dawn.”

'I couldn't see it for some reason.'

Sylvia let out a slightly complicated sigh, wondering if he would want to go that far to date her... The result wouldn’t have changed anyway.

'Still, you never know, so it's better to be prepared.'

Sylvia knew well the failures that came from carelessness. For example, the betrayal of her colleagues who had dropped her to Kelvetia. So, no matter how young and innocent Randall was, it would be safer not to underestimate him too much. After all, she was also concerned about him, and she had been shaken by him several times. 

Sylvia took a breath, vowing not to fall for Randall, no matter how enjoyable today’s date was. Meanwhile, Auston glanced outside the brightly lit window and took a step aside, as if he thought she would be late for their meeting.

“Please come back.”

“Yes. You too, get some rest, and if you meet Countess Gleber, tell her she can stay another day.”

“I told you, that’s not it!”

When Sylvia pretended not to notice and put Rubia in her mouth again, Auston started to get angry. She finally let out a small laugh. Honestly, aside from curiosity, she found Auston’s reaction to jumping around whenever she touched him amusing. Of course, Randall’s reaction was the funniest. Whenever she touched him occasionally, his ears and the back of his neck would turn red...

“I guess I’ll just go. You can go in too.”

Sylvia shook her head and walked away, erasing the thoughts of Randall who had followed her out of habit. Sylvia waited for Randall at the front gate with her escort, Jeffrey. Not long after she came out, Randall was seen coming out of the castle, adjusting his cravat with nervous movements of his hands. He lifted his hand to fix the hair that covered his forehead but then stiffened when he saw Sylvia.

“...!”

Randall staggered briefly as if his legs had lost their strength for a moment, and then he hurriedly approached Sylvia.

“Sylvia.”

His voice was a little shaky. He blinked at her as if he was seeing something dazzling.

‘...If someone saw me, they would think I was a God.’

That gaze was really ticklish. Sylvia smiled faintly and greeted him to break the strange atmosphere.

“It seems like it’s been a while.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I was trying to free up some time...”

“I didn’t ask you to apologize, so don’t worry.”

After refreshingly blocking Randall's apology, she turned around and asked.

“So, where do you plan to spend my day?”

“Oh, first of all, I found a restaurant.”

Randall responded with a solemn look on his face.

'I have to do well.'

He had pulled in a few days’ worth of work for today and had also planned out the perfect date. He couldn’t waste an opportunity that might not come again. Randall, feeling determined, headed to a restaurant he had found out about with Sylvia in advance. Knowing that Sylvia was a picky eater, he had checked to see if it was a restaurant famous for the kind of food she liked. Since it was a restaurant that didn’t take reservations, he had also checked in advance to make sure there weren’t any people waiting. However, the moment they arrived at the restaurant, Randall sighed with a bewildered face.

"Unbelievable...”

“Oh my.”

Sylvia agreed with him in a voice that was not at all pitiful. The entrance to the restaurant that Randall knew was tightly closed. Above the closed wooden door was a sign that read, ‘Due to deteriorating health, I will be taking a break from today.’ Randall was taken aback when his first plan went awry. Because of this promise, the two left the castle without taking any meals. Randall, who was confused, first made Sylvia sit at the fountain in the square.

“Please wait here for a moment.”

He left Sylvia and Jeffrey behind and quickly headed to a nearby alley. He wanted to find a sandwich stand where he often enjoyed eating with the knights when he was out and about. Fortunately, the sandwich stand was operating normally. Randall returned with a sandwich full of meat and a sandwich with lettuce and fruit jam in his hands.

“Sylvia, let’s fill our stomachs with this first. It’ll taste good.”

It was the moment when Randall handed Sylvia a fruit jam sandwich, considering her appetite. 

Caw-! 

A crow sitting on a tree near the fountain swooped down and snatched the fruit jam sandwich away. It happened in an instant.

"...”

“...”

Sylvia and Randall were silent for a moment. As silence fell, the wind whistled past them as if mocking them. Soon, he placed one hand on his forehead and sighed as if in pain.

“...Jeffrey.”

“Yes, my lord.”

“Hold that.”

"Yes!"

Jeffrey quickly disappeared like a puppy being told to fetch a ball. It was also because he had absolutely no desire to be involved in the awkward situation between his master and his wife.

“...”

Randall, who was left behind, took a moment to reflect on his life and covered his face with both hands. Sylvia patted his arm affectionately with a soft smile.

“It’s okay, it was funny.”

“...I shouldn’t laugh...”

“It was cute.”

“...”

He ended up crying a little.

Previous                Next

Support Novellate!