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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: A Brother’s Realization
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“Come to think of it, Lady Ansi, you liked our chef's apple pie, didn't you?”
“Pardon? Ah, yes….”
“I asked the kitchen to prepare one as a gift for you. I completely forgot to pick it up!”
Evanjeline exclaimed with a fuss, and before anyone could stop her, she dashed out of the drawing room.
“Wait just a moment, I'll be right back with it!”
Watching Evanjeline's retreating figure, the same thought crossed both Lalitt's and Dietrich's minds.
*Couldn't she just have a maid bring the apple pie to the front gate?*
An awkward silence fell.
“…”
“…”
Dietrich cleared his throat softly and turned to Lalitt.
“Um, Lady Ansi. I wanted to thank you once again.”
*Huh? What is he talking about?*
Lalitt's eyes widened as she looked up at Dietrich.
At the same time, Dietrich's eyes crinkled into a smile as he met her gaze.
“Evanjeline has seemed incredibly happy lately.”
A gentle smile graced Dietrich's face as he spoke.
It was the face of a brother who adored his younger sister.
“And it is all thanks to you, Lady Ansi.”
“…”
For a moment, Lalitt felt at a loss for words.
*Why is that?*
*Is it because I'm unconsciously overwhelmed by the beauty of a man who could be the protagonist of a story?*
*But I've already seen more than my fair share of world-class beauty being around the Duchess….*
“…Lady Ansi?”
*Ah.*
Snapping back to her senses, Lalitt quickly replied.
“To hear you say that makes me very happy. However, I too….”
She trailed off for a moment.
Then, a faint smile touched Lalitt's lips.
“…am truly happy to be with such a good friend as the Duchess.”
The tips of Lalitt's ears had already turned a bright red.
And for some reason, Dietrich found those flushed earlobes utterly charming.
* * *
Inside the carriage returning to the Ansi townhouse.
*I'm crazy, I must be crazy!*
I was replaying what had just happened, screaming internally.
*Did I just openly oppose the Duke's suggestion?!*
The Duke was clearly offering to increase the budget out of kindness for the Duchess.
And I just threw cold water on his offer!
“It's easy to adapt to an increased budget, but tightening it is very difficult.”
…And why did I have to act like such a know-it-all?!
The only saving grace was…
*St-still.*
I swallowed hard, replaying the Duke's words from earlier.
*The Duke... he didn't seem offended by what I said, right?*
Of course, he's such a polite man, he might have just been trying not to show his displeasure in his expression or demeanor.
But back then, when the Duchess left to get the apple pie.
The Duke had definitely…
“Evanjeline has seemed incredibly happy lately.”
His blue eyes, brimming with a smile, had sparkled like a sunlit lake.
“And it is all thanks to you, Lady Ansi.”
…And there was me, strangely speechless, facing that handsome face.
*I… honestly.*
I unconsciously fiddled with the pie box resting on my lap.
*I was happy when the Duke said that.*
A ticklish feeling stirred deep in my chest, like being brushed with a feather.
The sensation was unfamiliar yet pleasant, and it kept making me feel flustered.
It was like… I felt like I was truly a needed person.
Suddenly, the scent of apple pie drifted to my nose.
The pie the Duchess had personally prepared as a gift for me.
As I inhaled its sweet aroma…
…I felt, for some reason, incredibly happy.
* * *
A week later.
The regular vassal meeting of the Duchy of Claudius was held.
*Hm?*
Dietrich, who had entered the meeting hall early to wait for his vassals, paused.
The meeting hall had changed somehow.
The first thing he felt was…
*The air.*
It seemed it had been aired out for a long time beforehand.
The room was filled with fresh air.
Also, perhaps because the heavy curtains that used to block the sunlight had been replaced with a lighter material, the entire room was brighter.
Dietrich suddenly recalled his conversation with Evanjeline at breakfast that morning.
* * *
“She said that just changing small things like curtains and carpets for each season can really change the atmosphere.”
“Who did?”
At his question, Evanjeline, who was barely touching her food while peering at a document, gave him a pathetic look.
“Who do you think? Lady Ansi, of course.”
The moment he heard that answer, an image of Lalitt sitting with her back straight suddenly flickered before his eyes.
Dietrich, who would normally have chided his impertinent sister, simply kept his mouth shut.
“The wallpaper and flooring weren't too worn, so I left them as is. And moving the furniture could damage it, so… what, why are you so quiet?”
Evanjeline, who had been rattling on, pouted and chided him.
“I worked so hard, the least you could do is praise me.”
Unable to admit he was silent because he was thinking of Lalitt,
“You've dropped jam on the front of your dress.”
Dietrich shrugged and changed the subject.
“What? No! This is one of my favorite dresses!”
Horrified, Evanjeline dabbed at her chest with a napkin.
“Ugh, honestly!”
But the jam had already left a stain.
Deciding it couldn't be fixed like this, Evanjeline quickly set down her utensils and ran out in a huff.
Then, in the middle of her exit.
Evanjeline spun around.
“Oh, right, the vassal meeting is today, isn't it? Look forward to it, I decorated the room magnificently!”
With one last haughty lift of her nose, Evanjeline disappeared from the dining hall.
* * *
This meeting hall, it seemed, was the result…
“My, Duke Claudius is the first to arrive again today.”
Just then, someone addressed Dietrich.
Dietrich turned around.
“Ah, Sir Warren. You're here.”
Stephan Warren.
A long-standing vassal of the ducal family, he was the man who oversaw all the budgets the Duchy used in the capital.
The middle-aged administrator, just beginning to grow stout, looked around the meeting hall with wide eyes.
“Ah, so the Duchess said she would be redecorating the meeting hall… It certainly has changed a lot.”
Dietrich narrowed his eyes slightly.
“Did Eva go bragging to you as well?”
“Haha, I wouldn't put it that way.”
Sir Warren let out a short laugh and continued.
“Actually, the Duchess showed me the budget proposal for the meeting hall beforehand. She asked if I had any advice….”
Sir Warren then shrugged.
“It was so specific and free of waste that I had nothing to add.”
“Is that so?”
Dietrich looked surprised.
Although he had an easygoing appearance, Sir Warren was as sharp as a knife when it came to budgets.
On the matter of budgets, it was no exaggeration to say he had the personality to fight tooth and nail even with Dietrich.
For Sir Warren to react so favorably?
“She said she would only be replacing the curtains, lighting, and chairs. The amount allocated was also reasonable.”
“Hmm.”
“However, I honestly didn't think such small changes would make a big difference….”
Sir Warren continued in a satisfied tone.
“Even to my eyes, which know nothing about interior design, it feels much more refreshing than before.”
Dietrich agreed.
Evanjeline had efficiently tidied up the interior without drastically changing the room's structure.
“You seem to like it.”
“Of course. More than anything, I am pleased to see the Duchess moving with such passion for the family's affairs.”
Sir Warren couldn't hide his delight.
“Honestly, when the Duchess first said she would take over the townhouse's domestic affairs, I was more worried than anything….”
Sir Warren concluded with a proud look.
“I never imagined she would handle it so splendidly.”
“Sir.”
“It seems my worries were for nothing.”
At that response, Dietrich felt as if he'd been stabbed in the gut.
He had only wanted his precious sister to avoid hardship.
…But hadn't his actions, meant to be considerate by coddling Evanjeline, ended up worrying not only Evanjeline herself but everyone around her?
“Do you have any idea how hard I've been studying?”
Evanjeline's pouting voice rang clearly in his ears.
