Erdene glanced at Countess Medley.
Countess Medley looked older than Marquis Fiddler.
Her hair, which had become very gray with almost no black left, was neatly tied up and had several pearl ornaments in it, and her face had little makeup on, showing freckles under her eyes that looked slightly hazy.
Her wrinkled face looked stubborn, but Erdene didn’t feel any slyness or fatal stubbornness.
“You talk as if you’ve experienced it.”
At Erdene’s words, the Countess looked up for a moment and looked at her.
Her thin lips trembled convulsively, then soon formed a faint smile.
The Countess shook her head slightly as if she had nothing to say, but her hands that were embroidering didn’t stop for a moment.
“I’m sixty-nine this year, Your Majesty. At this age, it’s hard to say that I haven’t experienced anything.”
“Have you ever regretted that it was too late?”
The Countess sighed, pursed her lips as if exclaiming, “Oh,” and then smiled brightly.
“Yes, there were. There were many when I was young.”
More handed her the threaded needle again.
Erdene accepted it and gave the Countess a look as if telling her to continue.
The Countess moved her hands faster and spoke slowly as if she had no intention of telling anyone else.
“When I was young, I was raised by my aunt. My father passed away early, and since I had no siblings, my uncle took care of the household and took care of the house. My mother sent me and my sister to my aunt’s house, and she often stayed alone with my uncle in the empty mansion.”
Erdene, who was pretending to embroider, frowned slightly and looked at the Countess.
More and Countess Evan seemed to already know this story, so they lowered their gazes slightly and moved the needle without much reaction.
The Countess of Medley continued.
“One day my aunt came and said, ‘Marinor, she’s my sister and Julis, I have something to tell you. Your mother is ill. But it’s not fatal. She’ll get better soon. Will you go to her? Or will you stay here? I think it would be better for you both to stay here.’ My sister and I said we would go to my mother, and my aunt said that if we went to her now, we wouldn’t be able to come back. I thought she was joking. She said that when she looked like she was going to cry, she was just upset...”
Erdene’s eyes blinked.
“We soon found out when we got home that my mother wasn’t sick. She was pregnant. My sister said that we had to go back to my aunt at once. My sister was thirteen at the time and I was ten. My sister was precocious and understood what was going on. But how could we get back to my aunt on our own? I tried to go back, but my mother and that man, who was once my uncle, desperately tried to stop me. In the end, my sister and I had no choice but to stay at home until my mother gave birth. It was a boy. When her son was born, my mother became completely absorbed in him and devoted all her maternal affection to him.”
Erdene tried to say something, but then closed her mouth and stared blankly at the Countess.
She had already finished one large leaf and was starting to embroider the next leaf.
“My sister and I left home in the middle of the night and somehow made it to my aunt’s house. It was quite a distance, and I can barely remember how we got there safely. But my aunt had already passed away. Not long after sending my sister and me off, I... That was the first time I realized what it meant to feel ‘too late.’ It was the same even after I got married. I raised my children strictly. Since they were my children, I believed that they would know how much I loved them without me having to say anything. I thought that when they were all grown up, I could be honest with them... But that time never came. My eldest daughter died of pneumonia at the age of seventeen, and my two younger sons died at the ages of twelve and twenty-two, respectively. My husband was the same. My husband and I had a good relationship, but it was after his coffin was buried that I dared to confess my true feelings to him.”
The Countess sighed, her cheeks trembling slightly.
Erdene was momentarily overcome by the urge to comfort her, but she suppressed the impulse by silently moving her needle and stitching a clumsy stitch.
Countess Medley put the frame down on her lap for a moment and looked at Erdene.
“Since then, I have decided not to hesitate to put my resolutions into action. Whether it be learning something or confessing my true feelings to someone... Either way. Wouldn’t it be better than regretting it later?”
Erdene met the gaze of Countess Medley, who was looking straight at her, and let out a short, hollow laugh as if it were a sigh.
“It’s a heavy story to tell, even though you expect me to embroider quietly.”
“I’m telling you this because I think Your Majesty might have regretted it, saying, ‘It’s too late.’ Personally, I didn’t think it was that heavy because it was something I had already let go of, but did you feel burdened?”
Regret, ‘It’s too late.’
Erdene wondered if there was a word that didn’t fit her life as much.
It was like that at one time. At least, before she went to war with Binotin.
She had felt a strange sense of unease several times while going through the strangely sluggish war, but she had persisted in staying there because of her stubbornness.
She thought that leaving a battlefield without any results would be the same as defeat and that she didn’t want to disappoint her father...
And then, didn’t everything end up being too late?
Everything.
"There’s no such thing as too late."
Erdene silently smiled and moved the needle as she recalled Countess Medley’s words in her head.
“Not at all. I’m grateful that you trusted me and told me such a story.”
“It’s an honor. By the way, Your Majesty.”
“Hmm?”
“The leaves are crooked.”
When Erdene frowned at the crooked thread, the three ladies simultaneously let out a small laugh.
“Your Majesty, I brought back the tea.”
“Oh, put it down.”
Sophia, who had just appeared, seemed like a savior to Erdene.
The other ladies also put down their embroidery frames and decided to rest their eyes and hands and drink tea.
While Erdene was only halfway done with one crooked leaf—which Erdene thought looked like green vomit from a cat—More and the two Countesses had already finished the fish, the abundant peonies, and the violets.
Erdene took a sip of tea and looked at the peonies that Countess Evan had embroidered.
“That flower...”
The Countess looked at her own embroidery and muttered,
“Ah, it’s a peony, Your Majesty. Have you seen it?”
Erdene answered,
“I saw it embroidered on Her Majesty’s mantle when I first came here. And I saw one made of glass.”
I broke it. The two Countesses opened their eyes wide in surprise at Erdene’s small addition.
Only Viscountess Wickes More giggled like a child, recalling the situation at the time.
Countess Medley said,
“Are you talking about Her late Majesty’s glass peony? Did it break?”
“I squeezed it gently. Just gently! And it broke.”
“My goodness. His Majesty must have been very upset.”
At the moment, Erdene didn’t want to care whether Arkan was upset or not, but Erdene glanced at the Countess’ face over her teacup and asked,
“He didn’t say much, but I guess so?”
At that moment, Viscountess Wickes More interjected.
“But if it were anyone else, he would have already been mad. I wonder if His Majesty was in love with you from the beginning and didn’t say anything.”
Countess Medley looked older than Marquis Fiddler.
Her hair, which had become very gray with almost no black left, was neatly tied up and had several pearl ornaments in it, and her face had little makeup on, showing freckles under her eyes that looked slightly hazy.
Her wrinkled face looked stubborn, but Erdene didn’t feel any slyness or fatal stubbornness.
“You talk as if you’ve experienced it.”
At Erdene’s words, the Countess looked up for a moment and looked at her.
Her thin lips trembled convulsively, then soon formed a faint smile.
The Countess shook her head slightly as if she had nothing to say, but her hands that were embroidering didn’t stop for a moment.
“I’m sixty-nine this year, Your Majesty. At this age, it’s hard to say that I haven’t experienced anything.”
“Have you ever regretted that it was too late?”
The Countess sighed, pursed her lips as if exclaiming, “Oh,” and then smiled brightly.
“Yes, there were. There were many when I was young.”
More handed her the threaded needle again.
Erdene accepted it and gave the Countess a look as if telling her to continue.
The Countess moved her hands faster and spoke slowly as if she had no intention of telling anyone else.
“When I was young, I was raised by my aunt. My father passed away early, and since I had no siblings, my uncle took care of the household and took care of the house. My mother sent me and my sister to my aunt’s house, and she often stayed alone with my uncle in the empty mansion.”
Erdene, who was pretending to embroider, frowned slightly and looked at the Countess.
More and Countess Evan seemed to already know this story, so they lowered their gazes slightly and moved the needle without much reaction.
The Countess of Medley continued.
“One day my aunt came and said, ‘Marinor, she’s my sister and Julis, I have something to tell you. Your mother is ill. But it’s not fatal. She’ll get better soon. Will you go to her? Or will you stay here? I think it would be better for you both to stay here.’ My sister and I said we would go to my mother, and my aunt said that if we went to her now, we wouldn’t be able to come back. I thought she was joking. She said that when she looked like she was going to cry, she was just upset...”
Erdene’s eyes blinked.
“We soon found out when we got home that my mother wasn’t sick. She was pregnant. My sister said that we had to go back to my aunt at once. My sister was thirteen at the time and I was ten. My sister was precocious and understood what was going on. But how could we get back to my aunt on our own? I tried to go back, but my mother and that man, who was once my uncle, desperately tried to stop me. In the end, my sister and I had no choice but to stay at home until my mother gave birth. It was a boy. When her son was born, my mother became completely absorbed in him and devoted all her maternal affection to him.”
Erdene tried to say something, but then closed her mouth and stared blankly at the Countess.
She had already finished one large leaf and was starting to embroider the next leaf.
“My sister and I left home in the middle of the night and somehow made it to my aunt’s house. It was quite a distance, and I can barely remember how we got there safely. But my aunt had already passed away. Not long after sending my sister and me off, I... That was the first time I realized what it meant to feel ‘too late.’ It was the same even after I got married. I raised my children strictly. Since they were my children, I believed that they would know how much I loved them without me having to say anything. I thought that when they were all grown up, I could be honest with them... But that time never came. My eldest daughter died of pneumonia at the age of seventeen, and my two younger sons died at the ages of twelve and twenty-two, respectively. My husband was the same. My husband and I had a good relationship, but it was after his coffin was buried that I dared to confess my true feelings to him.”
The Countess sighed, her cheeks trembling slightly.
Erdene was momentarily overcome by the urge to comfort her, but she suppressed the impulse by silently moving her needle and stitching a clumsy stitch.
Countess Medley put the frame down on her lap for a moment and looked at Erdene.
“Since then, I have decided not to hesitate to put my resolutions into action. Whether it be learning something or confessing my true feelings to someone... Either way. Wouldn’t it be better than regretting it later?”
Erdene met the gaze of Countess Medley, who was looking straight at her, and let out a short, hollow laugh as if it were a sigh.
“It’s a heavy story to tell, even though you expect me to embroider quietly.”
“I’m telling you this because I think Your Majesty might have regretted it, saying, ‘It’s too late.’ Personally, I didn’t think it was that heavy because it was something I had already let go of, but did you feel burdened?”
Regret, ‘It’s too late.’
Erdene wondered if there was a word that didn’t fit her life as much.
It was like that at one time. At least, before she went to war with Binotin.
She had felt a strange sense of unease several times while going through the strangely sluggish war, but she had persisted in staying there because of her stubbornness.
She thought that leaving a battlefield without any results would be the same as defeat and that she didn’t want to disappoint her father...
And then, didn’t everything end up being too late?
Everything.
"There’s no such thing as too late."
Erdene silently smiled and moved the needle as she recalled Countess Medley’s words in her head.
“Not at all. I’m grateful that you trusted me and told me such a story.”
“It’s an honor. By the way, Your Majesty.”
“Hmm?”
“The leaves are crooked.”
When Erdene frowned at the crooked thread, the three ladies simultaneously let out a small laugh.
“Your Majesty, I brought back the tea.”
“Oh, put it down.”
Sophia, who had just appeared, seemed like a savior to Erdene.
The other ladies also put down their embroidery frames and decided to rest their eyes and hands and drink tea.
While Erdene was only halfway done with one crooked leaf—which Erdene thought looked like green vomit from a cat—More and the two Countesses had already finished the fish, the abundant peonies, and the violets.
Erdene took a sip of tea and looked at the peonies that Countess Evan had embroidered.
“That flower...”
The Countess looked at her own embroidery and muttered,
“Ah, it’s a peony, Your Majesty. Have you seen it?”
Erdene answered,
“I saw it embroidered on Her Majesty’s mantle when I first came here. And I saw one made of glass.”
I broke it. The two Countesses opened their eyes wide in surprise at Erdene’s small addition.
Only Viscountess Wickes More giggled like a child, recalling the situation at the time.
Countess Medley said,
“Are you talking about Her late Majesty’s glass peony? Did it break?”
“I squeezed it gently. Just gently! And it broke.”
“My goodness. His Majesty must have been very upset.”
At the moment, Erdene didn’t want to care whether Arkan was upset or not, but Erdene glanced at the Countess’ face over her teacup and asked,
“He didn’t say much, but I guess so?”
At that moment, Viscountess Wickes More interjected.
“But if it were anyone else, he would have already been mad. I wonder if His Majesty was in love with you from the beginning and didn’t say anything.”
“I don’t know, but I don’t think that’s right."
More said.
“Oh, I don’t think so. Ask His Majesty when he comes tonight.”
She laughed mischievously.
More than anything else, the moment she heard the word “tonight,” Erdene felt a sudden awakening.
It was because she realized why More had mentioned that part.
“...No, you. How on earth do you know about that?”
More and the two Countesses suddenly exchanged glances and exchanged mischievous and sly smiles.
Erdene, even more embarrassed, looked back and forth between the two Countesses.
“Will someone step forward and explain to me what that smile meant?”
Countess Medley lifted her chin slightly, holding back her laughter in a pretense of gentleness.
“Congratulations on finally having successfully completed your first night, Your Majesty.”
More said,
“Countess Evan said that we should prepare a gift, but I stopped her.”
Erdene glanced at the Countess.
“What gift?”
Countess Evan immediately replied.
“If it were true, it would have been right to prepare at least a bouquet of flowers. After all, Your Majesty is now the true Queen of Vetor.”
“No one said that I was not a Queen just because I did not have a first night?”
“Of course that is true.”
More said.
“Oh, I don’t think so. Ask His Majesty when he comes tonight.”
She laughed mischievously.
More than anything else, the moment she heard the word “tonight,” Erdene felt a sudden awakening.
It was because she realized why More had mentioned that part.
“...No, you. How on earth do you know about that?”
More and the two Countesses suddenly exchanged glances and exchanged mischievous and sly smiles.
Erdene, even more embarrassed, looked back and forth between the two Countesses.
“Will someone step forward and explain to me what that smile meant?”
Countess Medley lifted her chin slightly, holding back her laughter in a pretense of gentleness.
“Congratulations on finally having successfully completed your first night, Your Majesty.”
More said,
“Countess Evan said that we should prepare a gift, but I stopped her.”
Erdene glanced at the Countess.
“What gift?”
Countess Evan immediately replied.
“If it were true, it would have been right to prepare at least a bouquet of flowers. After all, Your Majesty is now the true Queen of Vetor.”
“No one said that I was not a Queen just because I did not have a first night?”
“Of course that is true.”
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