Ch#108
Evi, Arsel, and Duchess Kailun entered the dining room.
Sitting at the end of a long table similar to the one Evi had seen at Irene's house was Duke Kailun.
The middle-aged man with deep black hair and blue eyes had been watching them intently with shining eyes from the moment they opened the door.
As they approached him, Duchess Kailun first introduced Evi.
"Dear, this is Evi Alden, the friend from the Genius Academy that Arsel has been talking about."
"Yes, Arsel talked a lot about you. Hello, Evi. I'm Edgar Kailun."
Despite being a duke, he stood up from his seat and slightly bowed his waist to meet Evi's eyes at her level.
Then, just as he would with anyone else being introduced, he extended his hand to Evi.
Evi took Duke Kailun's hand with a somewhat dazed feeling.
There were many people who treated her kindly, but also many who disliked her.
Even though he was Arsel's father, she had thought a high noble like him would keep some distance...
"Hello, I'm Evi Alden. And... I'm at the Genius Academy now, but before that, I was at the Poorhouse in Elam City."
Evi unwittingly brought up the Poorhouse first.
Arsel might not have mentioned that part yet out of consideration for her.
So, it seemed better to say it upfront rather than have him find out later, get surprised, and dislike her.
That way, if he did end up disliking her, she could distance herself early and it wouldn't hurt as much.
At her words, the duke stared intently at Evi while still holding her hand. Evi quietly looked back at him as well.
Anyone could tell he was Arsel's father; they resembled each other so much.
Of course, a few white hairs were starting to appear among his deep black hair, and unlike young Arsel, his face carried the weight of experience.
But even so, it didn't hide his refined handsome features.
He too had been the one to capture the hearts of high society women from a young age.
It was only natural for a beautiful boy to become a beautiful young man, and then a beautiful middle-aged man.
As Evi looked at him, she thought, Arsel will become like this when he grows up.
'He's the prettiest now, but he'll become incredibly handsome later.'
But still, in Evi's eyes, the emperor was the most handsome.
"Dear?"
At that moment, Duchess Kailun called out to him because he was still staring at Evi without letting go of her hand, which seemed odd.
But the duke's gaze was still sharply scanning Evi.
"...?"
Evi grew puzzled as well.
The duke wasn't displeased with her. If he were, he would have already shaken off the hand he was holding.
He seemed to be searching for something in her, examining her closely.
"Father."
Finally, even Arsel stepped in, unable to watch any longer. Only then did the duke seem to realize what he was doing, looking embarrassed as he let go of her hand.
"Sorry, you just resemble someone I know."
At the duke's words, Arsel looked at him in surprise. He had a feeling he knew who his father was referring to.
At that moment, the maids brought out the first course, and the people who had been standing naturally returned to their seats.
Evi's seat was next to the duke at the end of the table, facing Duchess Kailun. And Arsel sat on the other side next to Evi.
Unfamiliar with the multiple spoons, knives, and forks laid out—unlike at the Genius Academy—Evi panicked.
She had read about table manners in books, but the arrangement and number on this table were different.
While Evi was flustered, Arsel reached under the table, tapped her side, and picked up a nearby spoon first.
Evi immediately followed suit.
As Evi poked and chewed on a vegetable she'd never seen before, the duke asked her,
"Evi, have you lived in Elam City since birth?"
"No. I lived there from when I was five."
"Where were you before that?"
"I lived at an inn..."
Evi grew anxious again at the duke's persistent questions about her past.
Why does he keep asking?
Did I do something wrong?
"Where was that inn? So, did you live there from birth? Was there anyone who was with you even briefly when you were little?"
"...Dear."
At that point, Duchess Kailun smiled and grabbed her husband's arm.
Though Evi couldn't see it, she pinched his arm firmly with her fingernail.
"Evi took a long carriage ride today and played with me and Arsel, so she must be tired. How about we talk slowly tomorrow?"
Seeing his wife's beaming smile, the duke realized.
If he kept asking here, he'd face a long grudge once they returned to their room.
"You're right. Sorry, it was the first time Arsel brought a friend home since Ruska, so I got excited without realizing."
With that, the duke suggested they eat.
* * *
"Arsel, I'm full..."
Evi poked her plump belly.
She had eaten like this every day at Irene's house, but she hadn't expected the same at Arsel's house.
Arsel walked beside her with a proud face.
He had worried that since Irene prepared all sorts of food saying, 'Southern! I'll show you the true taste of the south!' Evi might only like those, but throughout the meal, Evi marveled at each dish and ate heartily.
Seeing her eat everything without leaving any, not only Arsel but also the duke and duchess got excited and kept offering more.
"Evi, does it suit your taste? Want to try more of this?"
"How about this one? It'll be delicious."
Realizing he wasn't the only one who wanted to feed her something while watching, Arsel took Evi's hand.
Evi naturally held his hand and hurried along after him.
They walked down the second-floor corridor to the end, turned once, and headed to the room at the end of the hallway, where maids were waiting.
Arsel opened the door and said,
"This is the room you'll stay in. I hope you like it."
It couldn't possibly not be to her liking.
The standing maids thought so inwardly.
And for good reason: the room this young guest was given was one used for important guests in the Duke's Mansion.
Until recently, the duke's cousin, a count from far away, had stayed there with his family.
To give such a room entirely to one child.
It was clear without asking how important this guest was. And moreover...
'A little girl!'
The maids' eyes sparkled.
Seeing the trunk full of clothes the servants unloaded from the carriage, their hearts raced.
"Can we finally dress up a cute young lady like in other houses?"
"Me! Me! I want to do it!"
"No, me! I have a little sister, so I'm great at braiding hair!"
Neither Evi nor even Arsel knew.
That in this duke's household, where all the children had grown up, the maids were eagerly raising their hands to attend to the guest simply because she was a little girl.
"Evi, come here."
Arsel guided Evi around the room.
Like at Irene's house, it was a suite of connected rooms, but unlike the Terins Mansion, it had a more mature and ornate elegance.
In the much more antique mansion that felt the weight of years, Evi admired it as she went to the window where Arsel called her.
"From here, you can see not only the garden but even the distant village at a glance."
As Arsel said, beyond the fields where the sunset was settling, small villages were visible. And people returning home.
"You'll be tired today, so wash up and go to bed. I put some books you might like on the desk; tomorrow, let's go to the library and find more you want to read."
"Okay."
Perhaps because he said she'd be tired, she suddenly felt sleepy and yawned.
Rubbing her eyes, Evi asked Arsel,
"Then after washing up and changing, should I go to your room?"
"Huh...?"
Arsel's eyes widened at Evi's question.
"Aren't we sleeping together?"
"...Did you sleep with Irene?"
"Yeah. Irene always slept next to me and patted me. We talked until bedtime too."
At Evi's response, Arsel rubbed his forehead. He had thought she was giggling 'You can't do it, but I can!' and left excitedly.
'She really did everything fun.'
"We all slept together at the Poorhouse too..."
Arsel swallowed a sigh as he looked at the puzzled Evi.
It seemed it was his duty to explain why they couldn't sleep together.
* * *
The next day, morning. Evi woke up refreshed.
The first thing she did after rubbing her eyes and getting up was to tidy her sleeping spot.
After washing her face in the bathroom and coming out, the maids entered as if waiting and braided her hair and dressed her.
They braided it thinly, fixed it to the side like an ornament, and let the rest flow down the back.
They tucked small red ribbons here and there, making it look like she was wearing hair accessories.
Their hands were so quick, like they'd practiced dozens of times.
After thanking the maids and coming out, Arsel was waiting outside the room.
"Arsel!"
"Sleep well?"
"Yeah."
He had worried she might be tense in an unfamiliar place, but fortunately, Evi's face looked very relaxed even to Arsel.
As the two went to the dining room, the duke and duchess, who were already there, welcomed them.
"Hello, Evi, did you sleep well?"
Evi hurried into Duchess Kailun's open arms.
The duke watched the scene from behind with satisfaction.
As expected, whatever Duchess Kailun had said last night must have worked, because during breakfast, the duke asked nothing about the Poorhouse.
After the short meal ended, Evi and Arsel greeted the ducal couple and headed straight to the music room.
It was because Evi was eager to try it quickly.
Since it was the first day and Duchess Kailun said to take it easy with Arsel there, they finished sorting quickly.
"Alright, that's it for today. If we ask too much on the first day, Evi might get tired."
Duchess Kailun said that and handed Evi a shiny 1-gold coin.
"Thank you for helping, Evi."
In fact, Evi and Arsel had sorted quite a lot of sheet music.
Arsel showed her the order to sort them in, and Evi memorized everything he taught her at once.
"Wow!"
She had never touched such a shiny new coin, let alone received such a large amount.
Evi didn't know what to do, placing it on her palm and unable to take her eyes off it.
Sylvia looked at her a bit pitifully and gently stroked her sparkling blonde hair.
"You did well today. Spend the afternoon freely wandering and having fun with Arsel."
"Yes!"
Evi spun around and puffed out her chest toward Arsel.
"Arsel! Since I helped, I'll buy you candy!"
