110. Will I ever fall in love?
When the familiar carriage arrived in front of the yard, Kalia had some premonition.
A letter from Emilia, who had suddenly left to meet Her Majesty the Queen and returned a day later.
The letter that Mitch read read:
The fact that I have met Her Majesty is an absolute secret. You must not tell anyone except my mother and Charlotte. It is a matter of life and death.
And then, in just two days, the young master appeared like that.
“Hello, Young Master.”
“Hello, Mrs. Bern.”
The master's characteristically calm gaze and tone of speech actually made her heart feel even more uneasy.
“How did you come...? Emilia isn’t home.”
“I know. We already met at the Riccardi Palace.”
As expected.
Kalia put her hand on her pounding heart and tried to calm herself.
“Would you like to come in and have a cup of tea?”
Unlike usual, Hardius did not refuse. The two walked slowly into the house.
As she boiled the water and took out the teacups, Kalia's hands were shaking slightly. She could feel him looking around behind her.
“Where are Emilia’s siblings?”
“Mitch went to the barn, and Charlotte went to Hethel with Beppy. About Hethel... did you hear the story from Emilia?”
“Yes, I heard.”
Memories of dawn seeped into Hardius's head like water as he answered.
Under the pale blue light of dawn, Emilia gave her small body to him and told him stories.
From managing Latang's ledger to renting a house, to his impressions of Reinsbuch, to Mitch's school, to the big and small arguments between family members.
Hardius was half asleep and listened intently to her story.
Every time Emilia spoke, an endless stream of pleasant vibrations would form along the area where she was in contact.
It was a strange feeling that Hardius had never known existed. Whatever it was, he was sad that it was a feeling that disappeared too quickly. He wished that feeling would last forever.
“Would you like some?”
In the meantime, Kalia handed him some tea as the water had boiled.
“Hethel’s house is old and worn out, but it’s very nice. It’s more than enough for someone like me. It’s all thanks to the care you’ve taken for us all this time.”
“No. I don’t know about anything else, but Emilia acquired that house on her own.”
Kalia looked at Hardius for a moment, then lowered her gaze back to her teacup.
“...Emilia... is a jewel to me. I thought she would just stop washing dishes, but somehow she ended up doing something so great as accounting... It’s amazing... and sad at the same time. Emilia... is too much for someone like me.”
Kalia quickly brought the teacup to her lips, fearing that her eyes would become redder and redder.
“Emilia has been that kind of child since she was little. She’s smart, smart, and finds her way no matter what the situation. But, Master,”
Hardius glanced up, sensing a faint tremor at the end of the words.
“That kid isn’t that smart emotionally. She doesn’t know anything about relationships between men and women, feelings of love, or anything like that. She lives in hiding, without interacting with the townspeople... and she’s never had a normal relationship like other girls her age, like Hailey.”
“...”
“Of course, it’s all my fault. As a mother, I should have understood her feelings and taught her first...”
Kalia barely managed to continue speaking, clutching her teacup tightly with her trembling hands.
“So, Master, if... Master... has any feelings for my daughter...”
Hardius put down his teacup and straightened up.
“Yes, that’s right.”
Kalia raised her head without realizing it and was met with a look of frightening calmness.
“I have something to tell you.”
What was meant to happen has come.
Kalia placed a trembling hand on her sinking heart.
“I wanted to tell you all, including Emilia’s younger siblings, but I had no choice.”
He got straight to the point, as if he wasn't giving me time to think.
“Emilia is pregnant with my child.”
“...!”
A breathtaking silence. Then, a beat later, a storm blew in.
Kalia felt dizzy and barely managed to hold on to her teacup, which kept slipping away.
An even more shocking truth poured out from the mouth of the man across from her.
“I am the one who forced myself to have Emilia, who did not want to. I hope you do not blame or scold Emilia for her behavior.”
The tremors that started in her hands spread uncontrollably throughout her body.
Kalia looked at the man across from her with difficulty.
She thought that maybe something like that happened while she wasn't paying attention.
Lord Meyer was a very spirited man, and Emilia didn't seem to be uninterested in him.
But she's pregnant!
My daughter... was forced to have a child!
Charlotte is right.
'You know what? My sister and I really love Mom and Mitch, but sometimes I feel like our feelings are one-sided.'
A few days later, Charlotte burst into tears, apologizing, but there was nothing wrong with what she said.
In the end, it's all Kalia's fault.
She was so foolish and helpless that she completely neglected her, only calling Emilia her daughter.
Kalia, who had been listening to her own heartbeat for a long time while looking pale and exhausted, finally came to her senses and was able to open her mouth.
“Well, then... Now what about Emilia...?”
“Emilia will be my wife, and the child will inherit the name Meyer.”
Perhaps that was more shocking than her daughter's pregnancy.
Kalia, whose eyes had turned white, ended up dropping the teacup from her hands. It didn’t break, but hot water splashed everywhere with a loud crashing sound.
“I have always considered myself married since I was betrothed by His Majesty the King. At least that was the case for me.”
Kalia steeled herself.
No matter what anyone says, Charlotte and Emilia are her daughters.
She couldn't just stand by and watch Emilia's life go on like before.
For the first time in her life, Kalia felt a surge of courage she didn't know she had.
“First of all, I would like to say that I am glad that you, Master, did not ignore me and took responsibility for me. For people like us... There is nothing we can do, even if we are abandoned. However...”
Kalia swallowed hard and continued.
“What about Emilia? Does she want that child, too? No, that question is pointless. Now that she has the child... What choice does Emilia have? To that poor child...”
“Emilia and her child will never be called illegitimate or illegitimate children.”
Hardius tried to reassure Kalia with firm words, but Kalia could not suppress the fire burning deep inside her heart.
“But what is on Emilia’s mind... I need to know. Does that child... love you?”
Even at the moment when he said, 'I had it by force,' the man's eyes, which had been calm, wavered for the first time.
“...If someone heard that, they would think I was crazy, but... if the child doesn’t love you, I have no intention of forcing her to marry someone she doesn’t want to. I... I will do my best for my daughter and the child that will be born from now on. Even though I am sick, it’s not to the point where I can’t raise the child.”
A look of confusion appeared on Hardius's face.
“I’m not talking about unrealistic love stories. It’s not easy to raise a child alone while being called a widow, but Emilia and I worked together and did well. I think that might be better.”
“...”
“I’m telling you this because I’m worried that marriage will bring her even greater misfortune. Being forced into marriage while pregnant against her will... What will happen to Emilia and the child... to the people of her world...”
Hardius remained silent, and Kalia grew more determined.
“Please send Emilia home. I need to talk to the child myself.”
After leaving the cabin, Hardius headed straight for Hilden Farm. An indescribable, strange fatigue was weighing on his body.
He expected her family to be furious. Charlotte would be disappointed, and he even thought that the madman might get so angry that he might even swing his fist.
But he never dreamed that Kalia Bern, whom he had thought was the easiest of all the family members, would react like that.
Does that child love you, Master?
It was a strange thing.
Until now, he has never wanted something called 'love'.
Emilia's feelings didn't matter at all. He thought he could just take it like the statue she gave me as a birthday present...
Hardius leaned against the back of the carriage and squeezed his eyes shut.
After a while, the carriage stopped. It had arrived in front of the farm.
Hilden was a small, ordinary farm filled with the smell of livestock, but the basement of the building was like an armory filled with various weapons, ammunition, and reconnaissance supplies.
"Master!"
Captain Maesen, who recognized him, ran out. He had already received the message and was ready to go.
“Let’s go.”
Maesen, who had given the order to the coachman, sat down opposite his master. The carriage headed straight for the restaurant in Rheinsbuch.
On the way, Maesen reported on what had happened.
“The Bern family was very quiet and hidden. With the boy dropping out of school and the stepmother leaving the factory, the family of four is practically trapped. I also heard through Beppy Dilson that they will be moving soon.”
His unit worked in three shifts, scouted a wide area with a 1,000-yard radius around the cabin.
For them, who had been on battlefields all over the continent, guarding a small cabin in a remote forest was a piece of cake.
The biggest challenge is simply not getting caught.
“Was there any suspicious activity?”
Suddenly, Maesen's mind was filled with the thought of a strange man he had discovered during a reconnaissance a few days ago.
“There were a few lost people and vagrants, but we were able to quietly kick them out without causing any major trouble.”
Hardius nodded and thought for a moment.
“Are there a total of 10 soldiers?”
“There are eleven people, including me.”
Maesen asked cautiously, as it was an excessive number, no matter how he thought about it.
“I may be presumptuous, but wouldn’t it be okay for some of them to withdraw now?”
“No, absolutely not.”
Hardius answered firmly and handed over the map of the new home he had received from Kalia.
“Let’s re-plan the security operation here.”
Maesen was so surprised that he couldn't close his mouth.
“But, my lord, as far as I know, Rheinsbuch is a fairly large city. I would like to tell you that it is completely different from this small forest. I wonder if it would be possible to escort the Bern family in such a place without being detected...”
“Just hold on for a few more months. Try harder.”
Maesen was left speechless by the sharp answer.
An hour later, the carriage arrived in the center of Rheinsbuch. After passing the busy square and turning the corner, he came upon the restaurant where Emilia worked.
When the man appeared at the entrance, Ingrid was momentarily dumbfounded.
Rheinsbuch is a place full of commoners who live well enough to be envious of the nobles.
There are wealthy mansions, luxurious shops, and soon even department stores. However, if you look at the lineage, most of them are not even as good as the average Count's family.
Ingrid was no different. Thanks to her wealthy father, she was often invited to social gatherings and events, but she had never met anyone from the real upper class, from aristocratic families with centuries-old traditions, like royalty or Dukes.
But now, for the first time in her life, she was seeing such a person in front of her.
The man walking slowly with his attendant in front must be a 'true nobleman of long standing' living in an unimaginably high place.
"Excuse me."
A man who appeared to be a performer greeted her. Ingrid barely managed to turn her gaze from the man to face him.
“I came to you about a problem with a woman named Elaine Mob who worked at your home.”
"Ah..."
Even though he hadn't said anything yet, Ingrid was already shocked as she looked over the attendant's shoulder at the cold, chilling nobleman.
It was well past noon when Hardius left the restaurant.
As he watched the long shadows stretching across the street covered with falling leaves, he wondered what else he had to do.
He should stop by Kramwitz to find out what's going on with her and see how things are going in Kunt. He should also visit the Leichnen family sometime this week, because they're probably throwing a ridiculous party called a 'birthday party'.
Since he couldn't attend the graduation ceremony, he had to at least attend to avoid unnecessary suspicion. However, Hardius found himself feeling unmotivated about anything.
'Does that child love you, Master?'
Kalia Bern's sharp voice pierced his heart once again.
Emilia has said something similar.
'I loved it so much that I couldn't even speak, so much that I could barely breathe.'
What's the difference between liking and loving?
'I don't know exactly what my feelings are towards you, Master... but I have absolutely no intention of meeting another man.'
'I can wait. Until you are free. I can hide as long as I want.'
Hardius had thought that was enough, that her feelings didn't matter at all, but he felt a strange thirst, as if his mouth was parched.
Love?
Shiny leather shoes crunched roughly against the fallen leaves.
He doesn't know what it is, but he's a little curious.
How would it feel to receive it?
How would it feel if you loved me?
Will you love me someday, too?
Hardius couldn't stand it.
It was a strange desire, as if he had to do anything to hear the answer yes.
When the familiar carriage arrived in front of the yard, Kalia had some premonition.
A letter from Emilia, who had suddenly left to meet Her Majesty the Queen and returned a day later.
The letter that Mitch read read:
The fact that I have met Her Majesty is an absolute secret. You must not tell anyone except my mother and Charlotte. It is a matter of life and death.
And then, in just two days, the young master appeared like that.
“Hello, Young Master.”
“Hello, Mrs. Bern.”
The master's characteristically calm gaze and tone of speech actually made her heart feel even more uneasy.
“How did you come...? Emilia isn’t home.”
“I know. We already met at the Riccardi Palace.”
As expected.
Kalia put her hand on her pounding heart and tried to calm herself.
“Would you like to come in and have a cup of tea?”
Unlike usual, Hardius did not refuse. The two walked slowly into the house.
As she boiled the water and took out the teacups, Kalia's hands were shaking slightly. She could feel him looking around behind her.
“Where are Emilia’s siblings?”
“Mitch went to the barn, and Charlotte went to Hethel with Beppy. About Hethel... did you hear the story from Emilia?”
“Yes, I heard.”
Memories of dawn seeped into Hardius's head like water as he answered.
Under the pale blue light of dawn, Emilia gave her small body to him and told him stories.
From managing Latang's ledger to renting a house, to his impressions of Reinsbuch, to Mitch's school, to the big and small arguments between family members.
Hardius was half asleep and listened intently to her story.
Every time Emilia spoke, an endless stream of pleasant vibrations would form along the area where she was in contact.
It was a strange feeling that Hardius had never known existed. Whatever it was, he was sad that it was a feeling that disappeared too quickly. He wished that feeling would last forever.
“Would you like some?”
In the meantime, Kalia handed him some tea as the water had boiled.
“Hethel’s house is old and worn out, but it’s very nice. It’s more than enough for someone like me. It’s all thanks to the care you’ve taken for us all this time.”
“No. I don’t know about anything else, but Emilia acquired that house on her own.”
Kalia looked at Hardius for a moment, then lowered her gaze back to her teacup.
“...Emilia... is a jewel to me. I thought she would just stop washing dishes, but somehow she ended up doing something so great as accounting... It’s amazing... and sad at the same time. Emilia... is too much for someone like me.”
Kalia quickly brought the teacup to her lips, fearing that her eyes would become redder and redder.
“Emilia has been that kind of child since she was little. She’s smart, smart, and finds her way no matter what the situation. But, Master,”
Hardius glanced up, sensing a faint tremor at the end of the words.
“That kid isn’t that smart emotionally. She doesn’t know anything about relationships between men and women, feelings of love, or anything like that. She lives in hiding, without interacting with the townspeople... and she’s never had a normal relationship like other girls her age, like Hailey.”
“...”
“Of course, it’s all my fault. As a mother, I should have understood her feelings and taught her first...”
Kalia barely managed to continue speaking, clutching her teacup tightly with her trembling hands.
“So, Master, if... Master... has any feelings for my daughter...”
Hardius put down his teacup and straightened up.
“Yes, that’s right.”
Kalia raised her head without realizing it and was met with a look of frightening calmness.
“I have something to tell you.”
What was meant to happen has come.
Kalia placed a trembling hand on her sinking heart.
“I wanted to tell you all, including Emilia’s younger siblings, but I had no choice.”
He got straight to the point, as if he wasn't giving me time to think.
“Emilia is pregnant with my child.”
“...!”
A breathtaking silence. Then, a beat later, a storm blew in.
Kalia felt dizzy and barely managed to hold on to her teacup, which kept slipping away.
An even more shocking truth poured out from the mouth of the man across from her.
“I am the one who forced myself to have Emilia, who did not want to. I hope you do not blame or scold Emilia for her behavior.”
The tremors that started in her hands spread uncontrollably throughout her body.
Kalia looked at the man across from her with difficulty.
She thought that maybe something like that happened while she wasn't paying attention.
Lord Meyer was a very spirited man, and Emilia didn't seem to be uninterested in him.
But she's pregnant!
My daughter... was forced to have a child!
Charlotte is right.
'You know what? My sister and I really love Mom and Mitch, but sometimes I feel like our feelings are one-sided.'
A few days later, Charlotte burst into tears, apologizing, but there was nothing wrong with what she said.
In the end, it's all Kalia's fault.
She was so foolish and helpless that she completely neglected her, only calling Emilia her daughter.
Kalia, who had been listening to her own heartbeat for a long time while looking pale and exhausted, finally came to her senses and was able to open her mouth.
“Well, then... Now what about Emilia...?”
“Emilia will be my wife, and the child will inherit the name Meyer.”
Perhaps that was more shocking than her daughter's pregnancy.
Kalia, whose eyes had turned white, ended up dropping the teacup from her hands. It didn’t break, but hot water splashed everywhere with a loud crashing sound.
“I have always considered myself married since I was betrothed by His Majesty the King. At least that was the case for me.”
Kalia steeled herself.
No matter what anyone says, Charlotte and Emilia are her daughters.
She couldn't just stand by and watch Emilia's life go on like before.
For the first time in her life, Kalia felt a surge of courage she didn't know she had.
“First of all, I would like to say that I am glad that you, Master, did not ignore me and took responsibility for me. For people like us... There is nothing we can do, even if we are abandoned. However...”
Kalia swallowed hard and continued.
“What about Emilia? Does she want that child, too? No, that question is pointless. Now that she has the child... What choice does Emilia have? To that poor child...”
“Emilia and her child will never be called illegitimate or illegitimate children.”
Hardius tried to reassure Kalia with firm words, but Kalia could not suppress the fire burning deep inside her heart.
“But what is on Emilia’s mind... I need to know. Does that child... love you?”
Even at the moment when he said, 'I had it by force,' the man's eyes, which had been calm, wavered for the first time.
“...If someone heard that, they would think I was crazy, but... if the child doesn’t love you, I have no intention of forcing her to marry someone she doesn’t want to. I... I will do my best for my daughter and the child that will be born from now on. Even though I am sick, it’s not to the point where I can’t raise the child.”
A look of confusion appeared on Hardius's face.
“I’m not talking about unrealistic love stories. It’s not easy to raise a child alone while being called a widow, but Emilia and I worked together and did well. I think that might be better.”
“...”
“I’m telling you this because I’m worried that marriage will bring her even greater misfortune. Being forced into marriage while pregnant against her will... What will happen to Emilia and the child... to the people of her world...”
Hardius remained silent, and Kalia grew more determined.
“Please send Emilia home. I need to talk to the child myself.”
After leaving the cabin, Hardius headed straight for Hilden Farm. An indescribable, strange fatigue was weighing on his body.
He expected her family to be furious. Charlotte would be disappointed, and he even thought that the madman might get so angry that he might even swing his fist.
But he never dreamed that Kalia Bern, whom he had thought was the easiest of all the family members, would react like that.
Does that child love you, Master?
It was a strange thing.
Until now, he has never wanted something called 'love'.
Emilia's feelings didn't matter at all. He thought he could just take it like the statue she gave me as a birthday present...
Hardius leaned against the back of the carriage and squeezed his eyes shut.
After a while, the carriage stopped. It had arrived in front of the farm.
Hilden was a small, ordinary farm filled with the smell of livestock, but the basement of the building was like an armory filled with various weapons, ammunition, and reconnaissance supplies.
"Master!"
Captain Maesen, who recognized him, ran out. He had already received the message and was ready to go.
“Let’s go.”
Maesen, who had given the order to the coachman, sat down opposite his master. The carriage headed straight for the restaurant in Rheinsbuch.
On the way, Maesen reported on what had happened.
“The Bern family was very quiet and hidden. With the boy dropping out of school and the stepmother leaving the factory, the family of four is practically trapped. I also heard through Beppy Dilson that they will be moving soon.”
His unit worked in three shifts, scouted a wide area with a 1,000-yard radius around the cabin.
For them, who had been on battlefields all over the continent, guarding a small cabin in a remote forest was a piece of cake.
The biggest challenge is simply not getting caught.
“Was there any suspicious activity?”
Suddenly, Maesen's mind was filled with the thought of a strange man he had discovered during a reconnaissance a few days ago.
“There were a few lost people and vagrants, but we were able to quietly kick them out without causing any major trouble.”
Hardius nodded and thought for a moment.
“Are there a total of 10 soldiers?”
“There are eleven people, including me.”
Maesen asked cautiously, as it was an excessive number, no matter how he thought about it.
“I may be presumptuous, but wouldn’t it be okay for some of them to withdraw now?”
“No, absolutely not.”
Hardius answered firmly and handed over the map of the new home he had received from Kalia.
“Let’s re-plan the security operation here.”
Maesen was so surprised that he couldn't close his mouth.
“But, my lord, as far as I know, Rheinsbuch is a fairly large city. I would like to tell you that it is completely different from this small forest. I wonder if it would be possible to escort the Bern family in such a place without being detected...”
“Just hold on for a few more months. Try harder.”
Maesen was left speechless by the sharp answer.
An hour later, the carriage arrived in the center of Rheinsbuch. After passing the busy square and turning the corner, he came upon the restaurant where Emilia worked.
When the man appeared at the entrance, Ingrid was momentarily dumbfounded.
Rheinsbuch is a place full of commoners who live well enough to be envious of the nobles.
There are wealthy mansions, luxurious shops, and soon even department stores. However, if you look at the lineage, most of them are not even as good as the average Count's family.
Ingrid was no different. Thanks to her wealthy father, she was often invited to social gatherings and events, but she had never met anyone from the real upper class, from aristocratic families with centuries-old traditions, like royalty or Dukes.
But now, for the first time in her life, she was seeing such a person in front of her.
The man walking slowly with his attendant in front must be a 'true nobleman of long standing' living in an unimaginably high place.
"Excuse me."
A man who appeared to be a performer greeted her. Ingrid barely managed to turn her gaze from the man to face him.
“I came to you about a problem with a woman named Elaine Mob who worked at your home.”
"Ah..."
Even though he hadn't said anything yet, Ingrid was already shocked as she looked over the attendant's shoulder at the cold, chilling nobleman.
It was well past noon when Hardius left the restaurant.
As he watched the long shadows stretching across the street covered with falling leaves, he wondered what else he had to do.
He should stop by Kramwitz to find out what's going on with her and see how things are going in Kunt. He should also visit the Leichnen family sometime this week, because they're probably throwing a ridiculous party called a 'birthday party'.
Since he couldn't attend the graduation ceremony, he had to at least attend to avoid unnecessary suspicion. However, Hardius found himself feeling unmotivated about anything.
'Does that child love you, Master?'
Kalia Bern's sharp voice pierced his heart once again.
Emilia has said something similar.
'I loved it so much that I couldn't even speak, so much that I could barely breathe.'
What's the difference between liking and loving?
'I don't know exactly what my feelings are towards you, Master... but I have absolutely no intention of meeting another man.'
'I can wait. Until you are free. I can hide as long as I want.'
Hardius had thought that was enough, that her feelings didn't matter at all, but he felt a strange thirst, as if his mouth was parched.
Love?
Shiny leather shoes crunched roughly against the fallen leaves.
He doesn't know what it is, but he's a little curious.
How would it feel to receive it?
How would it feel if you loved me?
Will you love me someday, too?
Hardius couldn't stand it.
It was a strange desire, as if he had to do anything to hear the answer yes.
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