Chapter 76.1

Intermission: Brielle's day

(Brielle POV)

"Have you finished with the washing yet?"

While I was spacing out, a voice came from my side.

"M-Ma'am?"

I was so distracted that I almost cut myself with the knife I was eating an apple with. Since I was on break, I decided to come to the backyard to observe the horizon. Plus, it was peaceful where I sat. Now I knew why Clyde always came to sit near that tree. I was too relaxed to even want to go back to work.

"I-I haven't gotten to that yet."

"Hmmm~? And yet you're sitting here enjoying the afternoon sun?"

Miss Eleanor's gaze sharpened as she looked at me.

"I-I'm sorry. I'll get started on it after I'm done."

"No. Instead, come with me. I have to go do some shopping in Hurge city. Diane will be coming any moment now."

"Shopping? For what purpose?"

"Since Clyde's 15th birthday is on the way, I want to order a cake for him. I want you to help me pick something for him. I don't even know what kind of suit to get him either."

Birthday cakes are very expensive because of how much sugar costs. The cheapest ranged from ten gold. Not only are they expensive, the waiting lists were also extremely long. You need influence and good connections to be able to receive an exception.

'I see. So this is why the young lady is coming along.'

"Ah, I know what to get him but... Shouldn't we wait until he comes back?"

Miss Eleanor shook her head.

"My boy is very busy at the moment. Besides, he shouldn't know of what I'm buying him. Also, Brielle..."

"Yes?"

Miss Eleanor's sudden tone of voice startled me. She had a dark look on her face.

"He said that he had to take care of something before he can come visit the village again...You know what that means, right?"

"...."

I frowned.

'He's really going through with it?'

We had a conversation back then in his room.

I'm going to the Minerva household. I'm going to show Zelda what I felt after losing something precious to my life.

I couldn't believe my ears. The words he uttered and the expression on his face. It...wasn't like him at all. I felt scared.

Brielle, don't stop me.

I couldn't forget that look on his face as he clenched his fists as if he was going to hit someone. His expression and his tone of voice was all I needed to see to know how he must've felt.

Pain and absolute anger.

"..."

"—Brie?"

"Eh?"

"Why are you dazing off while I'm speaking? Did you hear what I said?"

"Ah..."

"Geez, Brie. Go change into casual clothes. As you can see, I'm already done."

She was wearing a flower print sundress instead of her usual clothes. This was the first time in a while that I'd seen her wearing clothes like that.

"Ah, yes. I'll be right back." I stopped when I was about to go inside. "By the way, ma'am..."

"Hm? Is something wrong?"

"Have you managed to contact Annette yet?"

Eleanor frowned at my question.

"Well..." she smiled wryly. "I sent a letter to the orphanage to deliver it to her but..."

"She hasn't replied back yet?"

She nodded.

"What did I expect, honestly... They're no more than strangers even if they are siblings."

'It seems that Annette won't come to Clyde's age of coming.'

To a child, their age of coming ceremony is one of the biggest moments in their lives. They become real adults when they reach that age. I could understand that miss Arielle wouldn't be able to come but it was a shame that Annette wasn't interested. She could at least make up for not spending time with them when they grew up.

"I'll try and send another letter. Maybe the orphanage didn't get the letter I sent last time."

"Ma'am..."

I could see that she was acting strong. Her quivering lips and twitching eyes told me that she wanted to cry.

I already heard about the fact that they had to abandon their child at an orphanage in their home nation, the Holy Kingdom. The two were still naïve kids that didn't know how the world worked so I could understand their choice.

A couple of children couldn't be parents to a child. They didn't have stable income or a suitable place to live. As far as I remember from what she told me, Earl Mason was the one who took them in after his son saw George's skills on the battlefield. He was able to protect his lover while crossing such a dangerous place.

"...I'll be with you in a bit, ma'am."

I couldn't look at her face anymore. It pained me every time I see her hurtful expression.

"Okay..."

◇◆

"Come now, children!"

When we boarded the carriage, two little girls of seven years of age ran towards us.

"We'll buy your big brother the best cake he could ask for, okay?"

"Yees~!"

Jessica gave an energetic reply. If I had to describe the two sisters. Chloe was the shy and timid type while Jessica was the cheerful and extrovert type. Even at such a young age, she made many friends with the village children. She was extremely sociable and outgoing. She was also extremely intelligent at such a young age.

As for Chloe, she recently started casting magic on her own. Her mother wanted to let a tutor come teach her magic but she refused. She wanted her big brother to teach her magic. He was apparently far better than an average teacher of a magic school.

She had been showing strange behaviours ever since a while ago. She would always sleep in Clyde's bed and wear his old clothes. We treated it as nothing but a child's habits. She'd grow out of it eventually.

I could see a girl with dark brown hair and a casual dress walking towards us. She was being brought on horseback by a female knight. It was Clyde's future wife.

Diane Fasia Bentinck.

"Hello, mother-in-law."

She bowed when she stood outside the carriage.

"Come in, dear. We're about to head out."

"Yes."

She sat down next to me and greeted me with a nod.

"My father said that since our mansion in the countryside is too small, we have to hold the event in the capital manor."

"Ah...A lot of the villagers were looking forward to coming."

"Do not worry about that. We will allow entry to them as they are family friends. Since many nobles would come along, I fear that they will feel uncomfortable being at the party." Diane looked at our outfits. "Where are we going first?"

"Ah, we'll be going to the bakery to order a large cake first."

"Cake?"

Diane frowned.

"What's wrong? You don't like them?"

She nodded expressionlessly and added on with a monotonous voice.

"I hate sweet things in general."

Eh...

"I-I see. It seems you and Clyde won't get along in a lot of ways. He's a massive sweet tooth after all. Anyway, I wanted to know your opinion on something."

"Please do continue."

Diane said with a small smile and crossed her legs.

Miss Eleanor glanced at Jessica.

"I was wondering if there's a spot open in your clothing store. Like for an assistant. Jessica has been nagging at us that she wants to work in your shop."

"A spot for Jessica?"

Diane tilted her head and hummed.

"We have two posts open. One for a cashier and an accountant. The previous cashier was too unqualified for the job."

"Oh! A cashier is perfect!"

Miss Eleanor clapped her hands with a satisfied expression on her face. Jessica tilted her head as if she didn't understand the conversation.

"Does she have any educational background? She's 8 years old so does she have a tutor?"

"Not really. However, she is very smart at her age and learns things quickly. I'm certain that she'll be able to benefit the store."

"....."

Diane looked at Jessica with a discerning gaze.

"Can you give me the answer of 4560 times 589?"

"…"

Jessica frowned silently. I could see Miss Eleanor looking nervously at Jessica.

"Haa…I'll see if there's something else, mother-in-law–"

"2685840."

Jessica answered a few seconds later.

"Eh? Is that correct?"

Miss Eleanor tried doing it on a piece of paper. She used a type of block formation to lay out the numbers on top. By drawing a line through the block from the right top corner to left down corner, she could write the numbers inside. The calculation numbers were equal to the total blocks that it was written on horizontally and vertically.

After counting the numbers, her eyes widened.

"It's correct…"

"…."

"Hehehehe~!"

Jessica did a double V with a big grin on her face. She looked adorable with that proud look on her face.

"….Amazing. I used a random calculation but she was able to get it right just like that." Diane's expression turned blank again as always. "I will arrange for everything. Just have her ready at the office in two days at noon."

"Wonderful! My little girl is so brilliant!"

Miss Eleanor hugged Jessica. I could see Chloe frown at their exchange. She clenched her small fists.

'I hope she doesn't hate her big brother…'

Clyde had been busy with a lot of things since he was a student at the Royal academy. Not only that but lots of other things had happened during his stay in the capital. The Divide, the attempted royal assassination, losing his core and going to the Elca Kingdom to fix his core.

Even if he was looking for revenge, I still saw him as the cute little boy I raised. That strange boy that seemed to be far more mature than his age suggested.

And the boy I came to love.

'I know you're strong, Clyde but…Please come back safely….'