125 - I Got Engaged to the Blind Duke
"It's fine. If you get a stomachache, you can get medicine from the attending physician. For now, the flower tea is our secret."
Yuria nodded as if there was nothing she could do and glanced subtly at Elmis standing against one wall.
Following her gaze and discovering Elmis, Marin was startled.
Elmis was standing so quietly that she had forgotten about her presence.
"I didn't hear anything," Elmis said in an indifferent tone upon receiving their gazes.
After that, whenever Marin spotted Mandelesong during their travels, she would pick it and lay it out to dry on the roof of the Diamond Carriage.
Since one could see in all directions from inside the Diamond Carriage, Dia looked up at the roof and tilted her head.
"Are you decorating the carriage with flowers?"
"Yes!"
With Dia providing a perfect excuse without needing any separate explanation, Marin quickly nodded.
"Teacher Marin, you seem to really like those flowers. There are many other flowers too."
"Well, it's a beneficial flower."
Dia smiled softly, alternating her gaze between the flowers and Marin.
"They're not as flashy as roses, but they're cute and pretty, resembling you, Teacher Marin. The way they bloom well anywhere is also like you, who remained spirited even in difficult situations."
"I've never thought of it that way. You have such a lovely way with words, Dia. Thank you."
Did Dia know that Marin, returning the compliment with a compliment, had an even lovelier way with words?
Dia grinned while looking at Marin.
* * *
The sunlight was good, so the Mandelesong dried out thoroughly.
Looking down at the pale yellow tea with Mandelesong floating in it, Marin swallowed her fear with a gulp. In her hand, she also had the stomachache medicine she had prepared in advance.
"Are you really going to drink it?" Yuria asked cautiously, as if confirming.
"Yes!"
Marin nodded with a resolute expression and downed the already cooled tea in one go.
Perhaps because it was drunk as flower tea, the grassy taste was less pronounced.
After quietly setting down the teacup, Marin waited with a reverent expression.
"Are you okay?" Yuria examined Marin's complexion.
"Yes, I'm fi..."
Grrrumble. Thunder and lightning struck inside her stomach.
At the sound, worry clouded the faces of Yuria and Elmis, who were startled.
"...Not fine."
With a pale face, Marin hurriedly rushed to the bathroom. It seemed drinking it dried made the reaction more immediate.
* * *
"Yuria, this time, could you try steaming the Mandelesong?"
At Marin's words, Yuria's eyes widened.
After drinking the tea and suffering so much, now she wanted to try consuming Mandelesong in a different way.
With so much food available, why did she want to steam and eat flowers?
"Do you really want to eat it?"
"Yes!"
Marin's face was even somewhat determined.
"Yes..."
With a sullen expression, Yuria took the Mandelesong, went out, and steamed the flowers.
When she brought them back on a plate, the flowers still moist, Marin closed her eyes tightly and ate them.
And time passed.
"Yuria! This time, I'm fi..."
Grrrumble.
Marin quietly got up and headed to the bathroom, while Yuria, her eyes drooping at the corners, prepared the medicine.
* * *
"Yuria, this time, could you go to the kitchen and try frying the flowers?"
Marin spoke with a pale, drained face, devoid of energy.
Yuria no longer tried to dissuade her and silently carried out Marin's orders.
She decided to stop overthinking, assuming her master must have some reason for wanting this.
Elmis quietly placed the stomachache medicine on the table and stepped back.
Soon, Yuria brought the fried flowers on a white plate.
Marin looked down at the slightly browned flowers with a determined gaze, then put them in her mouth and chewed.
The three people in the room inwardly hoped the thunder and lightning wouldn't strike.
Grrrumble. Their hopes were mercilessly shattered.
"...This doesn't seem to be it either."
With a pallid face, Marin rose from her seat and headed straight for the bathroom.
Yuria watched with a pitying expression, wishing for her master's safety.
* * *
Gerald, watching Marin's weak face as she boarded the carriage from a distance, asked Olive, who was standing behind him.
"Doesn't Marin seem thinner lately?"
Olive made a face as if to ask how he knew that, then nodded, thinking her master knew everything.
"Yes. It seems a bit so."
"Why?"
"They say she's conducting some kind of research."
"Research? What research?"
"That, I'm not sure. The maids are tight-lipped."
"Call El."
"Yes."
Gerald closed his eyes, crossed his arms, and waited for Elmis.
"El."
"Yes."
Elmis bowed deeply before the Duke.
"I hear Marin has been up to something lately. Report."
However, Elmis stiffened her expression and remained quietly still.
The corner of Gerald's mouth twitched upward.
"Have you forgotten who your master is?"
"It is you, The Duke."
"And yet?"
"For now, though temporary, Miss Marin is my master. I cannot report every detail of Miss Marin's private life. I apologize."
Elmis spoke in an even-toned voice.
If the Duke had asked about something related to Marin's safety, she would have answered immediately.
But this matter was absolutely unspeakable.
Marin was a noble young lady.
A noble young lady frequently running to the bathroom? It was peculiar behavior for her, but for any other young lady, it would be so embarrassing they'd throw a fit, saying they'd rather die.
And to report such a thing to her fiancé?
It was a matter concerning a lady's honor and life.
And her duty was to protect Marin.
Even with a knife to her throat, she couldn't report the young lady's recent "research" to the Duke.
Gerald, who had slightly opened his eyes, looked down coldly at the bowing Elmis.
Hah. Should he discipline the Shadow for forgetting her original master, or praise her for protecting her new master well?
"Understood. Then I'll ask just one thing."
"Yes."
"I hear Marin is researching something. Is it related to flowers?"
Elmis's shoulders trembled slightly. That was answer enough.
"Dismissed."
"Yes."
Elmis quietly withdrew.
Gerald gritted his teeth and slowly boarded the carriage.
If the reason she was trying to do something with Mandelesong again was to make his eyes see, it would absolutely not turn out as she wished.
* * *
On the way back to the Duke's Castle, they stopped again at the Nylon territory.
The old lord welcomed them gladly.
"Welcome. The Duke, Schwentz Young Lady, Adria Young Lady."
When the Duke gave a slight nod without a word, the lord's wife hurriedly spoke.
"We've prepared for you to rest right away, as you must be tired."
"Thank you. Have you been well?"
Marin, happy to see the lord and his wife again, greeted them.
"What major events could happen to old folks like us? Since the place that nearly became a derelict mine is under development, there's a lot of coming and going, so there have been some incidents. Just recently, a certain young lady met with a mishap-"
"Madam."
When the lord cautioned his talkative wife, the lord's wife bowed her head with an embarrassed expression.
"I spoke unnecessarily. Please go in and rest."
"Thank you."
She was worried that incidents were occurring due to the Opal Mine, but she was tired and wanted to rest first.
After dining with the lord and his wife and returning to her room, Marin looked down at the trolley Yuria handed her.
On the trolley, a fairy tale book and a tea set were prepared.
"Young Lady."
"Yes?"
"I prepared it as you requested, but why do you need the tea set?"
"In case I get thirsty while reading the fairy tale book."
"If you call me, I'll bring it quickly."
"I want to drink it myself."
Yuria nodded as if she understood.
Marin pushed the trolley and headed toward the lord's office. Currently, the Duke was staying there.
"Come in."
The Duke's voice came even before she could knock.
Opening the door and entering, the lord's office was simply furnished with just a desk and bookshelves.
"I'll read you a book."
As the Duke gave a slight nod, Marin took a deep breath and then watched his reaction.
The Duke, as always, had his eyes closed.
Marin took the dried Mandelesong hidden in her dress pocket and dropped it into the teapot filled with hot water.
Steep well.
