EVHE 37

Chapter 37

After a long back-and-forth with the Duke, I finally raised both hands in surrender.

‘He’s got such stamina for someone his age…’

In the end, I resigned myself to the situation and accepted the Duke’s lead without protest.

Of course, I hadn’t prepared any dresses in advance, but once he called in a designer, my wardrobe filled up like a mountain.

And the jewels that were already abundant in the mansion? They tripled.

Catalogs, I don’t know where he got them from, were stacked all over the house in heaps.

Apparently, he knew I didn’t know how to dance, so he hired two dance instructors. The endless lessons that followed made me shudder at the very word “dance.”

“Miss… Are you really okay?”

“Y-Yeah. I think so.”

Ally looked at me worriedly as I wore a haggard expression.

It was natural for me to be clumsy since I was learning to dance for the first time, but the instructors didn’t seem to think so. As a result, I had to give up all my time to the lessons.

“Who knew I’d one day flee to the temple…”

Even the carriage, which jolted so much that my hips hurt, and the temple path I had seen so many times that it bored me—both felt strangely comforting now. In my current state, I could probably even enjoy doing hard labor.

“Ally, on the way, can you take this to the library?”

“Yes. Be careful today, too!”

Ally took the letter with a spirited reply. Inside it, I had written that I needed to postpone my magic lesson until next week.

After volunteer work, I’d be right back to dance lessons, so there was just no time.

I straightened my back and shoulders as best I could and walked along the small path beside the temple. Every part of me ached, but I didn’t want to show it in front of Lake.

“Huh?”

But in front of the orphanage wall, there was no one.

“…Why isn’t he here?”

Lake always waited for me there on volunteer days. Only once I arrived would we head to the office together, get instructions, and then go to work.

But today, he wasn’t there.

Since he had never missed a day until now, I didn’t think much of it. I just figured he must be caught up with something important.

However, even after I got briefed by a priest in the office and changed clothes, he still hadn’t shown up.

Technically, noblewomen weren’t allowed to wander around the temple without an escort. So I wondered whether I should go back and ask for another knight to accompany me.

‘I’ll wait a little longer.’

Until now, Lake had always waited for me, so this time I’d wait for him.

I went outside the wall and stood in front of the gate, idly letting time pass. I watched the birds fly by, counted how many flowers had bloomed… and just as I was starting to get bored—

“Lady.”

At the familiar gentle voice, I turned my head with a smile. Lake was walking toward me, dressed in silver armor.

“Apologies. The meeting ran longer than expected.”

“No worries. I only just got here, too.”

He looked obviously exhausted, even at a glance.

“Something serious happened?”

“Hmm…”

“Oh, if it’s confidential, you don’t have to tell me.”

I quickly cut in when I saw him hesitate.

“It’s not that.”

But he shook his head firmly.

“It’s because the incident in Ponz hasn’t been resolved yet. Because of that, the High Priest called together the Holy Knights…”

He stopped himself, seeming to realize he might have said too much, and clamped his mouth shut. It looked like he was trying to keep himself from complaining too much.

“You’ve been through a lot, haven’t you?”

Even without details, I got the gist.

There was a big incident, but no progress had been made, so the imperial palace applied pressure, which trickled down to the Holy Knights.

“I bet someone said, ‘If it’s not that difficult, why can’t the Holy Knights handle it?’ or ‘If this is the best you can do, maybe it’s time to quit.’”

Lake neither agreed nor denied my words.

“If it’s so easy, they should do it themselves!”

I purposely raised my voice, half-joking.

“They just take it out on the ones below, right?”

I looked back at him and said with mock seriousness. At that, he gave his first real smile of the day.

“Thank you for the encouragement.”

“It’s nothing, really… Anyway, it’s not your fault, so you shouldn’t have to suffer.”

It felt a bit awkward, since my attempt at comforting him was pretty clumsy.

Still, it seemed to help, as Lake’s mood visibly lightened.

Since I had already picked up the assigned work, we headed straight to the job site.

Today’s task was washing the children’s clothes in the nearby river. Normally, we’d fetch water and use a large tub to wash clothes, but this time the quantity was simply too much.

With things in disarray at the temple lately, even the orphanage had been affected. It seemed the basic chores like laundry and cooking had been delayed repeatedly.

“Gasp, you’re already done?”

“This much is nothing.”

While I hadn’t even made it halfway, Lake had already finished his share. He didn’t even take a break before picking up mine as well.

Thanks to that, it looked like once I finished what was left in my hands, today’s volunteer work would be done.

This guy—he might be a noble, but he seems like the type to do housework by himself. He probably cooks for himself and takes care of the kids, too.

‘Wait, what am I thinking?!’

Afraid of slipping into silly fantasies, I quickly busied my hands.

My fingers froze from the water, and my arms trembled from scrubbing, but I endured.

“Phew! That ended quicker than I thought!”

Seeing the laundry spread out on the wide clotheslines filled me with a sense of satisfaction.

“If we go back now, they’ll probably give us more work, huh?”

I wasn’t sure if my question was too selfish for a volunteer, so I glanced at him.

“Yes, it would be better to rest.”

Surprisingly, Lake agreed right away.

Where should we rest? I looked around, but there wasn’t a good place to sit.

“There’s a nice spot. Would you like to go with me?”

“Oh, sure. You know all the best places, don’t you?”

“I’ve lived at the temple for a long time, after all.”

I placed my hand on Lake’s arm and followed him.

Although I’d come to the temple often, I had never been this way before.

In the distance, I saw a faint blue smoke rising—it meant we were near the edge of the temple grounds.

But Lake didn’t seem to be planning to go that far. He stopped at a flower field in full bloom, filled with vibrant colors.

“I noticed you seem to like flowers. I really wanted to show you this place.”

He really was a kind person. He must’ve remembered how I’d glanced at flowers while walking.

“I love it!”

As I wandered excitedly around the flower field, Lake spoke up.

“The imperial ball is coming up soon, isn’t it?”

“Ugh, don’t even talk about it. It’s been such a pain.”

At my exasperated reply, Lake looked at me with curiosity.

“I’ve never danced before, so I’ve been cramming lessons.”

I did a light spin while repeating the steps I’d practiced to death. The move came out on its own from repetition.

“What about you?”

Given Lake’s usual image, I expected him to be perfect at dancing too.

“I…”

But he didn’t answer right away. He seemed hesitant, maybe even troubled.

‘Oh, right. Didn’t they say Lake rarely attends parties?’

I remembered what I had heard at Lady Regent’s tea party.

Ah, maybe he’s not good at it after all. Imagining the usually perfect Lake flustered made me smile faintly.

“You’re not much of a party person, are you?”

“Not particularly.”

Even his answer suited him. Serious, not interested in fun, and upright.

“Wouldn’t it be a good idea to practice before the ball?”

Lake suddenly asked an unexpected question.

“Practice?”

“Your instructor is a woman, correct?”

“Right.”

“Then it would help to dance at least once with a man before the actual event.”

He was right. The height and build would make a real difference.

“Hmm… but how would I practice?”

Should I ask the Duke?

Though he was now technically my father, we’d hardly spoken, and I’d been avoiding him, so we barely saw each other.

Plus, after all the meddling he’s done lately, the emotional distance between us was… significant.

Lilith had a brother, but I didn’t even know where he lived.

Should I ask the Duke to assign me a male instructor?

While I struggled with the dilemma, Lake chuckled softly.

“There’s a perfect partner right here, isn’t there?”

Huh? Who?

I stood blankly, not understanding, as he slowly stepped closer.

“To answer your earlier question, too.”

Then he smiled gently at me.

“Shall we?”

Lake gave a slight bow, as if greeting at a formal ball. Then he reached out his hand and said,

“May I have the honor of your first dance?”

His voice was so sincere, it felt as though we were really at a grand ballroom.