What does she mean by courtship?
Clarisse, as well as Noah and Valentine, were very surprised and tried to deny Madam’s words.
“Oh my, it’s been so long. I didn’t know that even these days, there are young ladies who keep the custom of seeking wisdom from old women. I miss…”
Clarisse cautiously glanced at Valentine. Since he is the prince of this land, she thought he would know a lot about ‘customs’.
But he quickly shook his head, as if he had no idea.
She looked back at Noah just in case, but he too just shook his head.
“It was a lot of fun back then. When a young lady brought a courting gentleman, the ladies would use their own secrets to determine who was the best man.”
She can’t believe there was such a custom.
Clarisse was amazed and liked the Madam’s happy expression, so she smiled and asked a question.
“Does the Marchioness have any secrets for selecting good gentlemen?”
“Of course. You just need to ask three questions. Actually…”
She hugged the bouquet with a sad face.
“One day… I only imagined that when my daughter brought gentlemen to me, she would ask that. Ah… It’s funny, right?”
“That’s not true.”
Clarisse was so sad that her hands tightened as she held them close to her heart.
The madam must have been very sad as she thought about the questions she would ask the men while picturing her daughter, whom she hadn’t seen in a long time.
“But seeing as this opportunity has come, it seems like the time I spent alone pondering questions wasn’t in vain.”
“Yes?”
“Oh my, this is not the time. I almost had my guests standing up forever. I’m sorry.”
Without giving herself a chance to clear up her misunderstanding, she led the three people into the living room.
The interior of the old-fashioned mansion was not much different.
After passing through a hall with no decorations or paintings, it led to an old hallway. Every time she took a step, there was a little squeak.
Clarisse was sure that the madam had not repaired this floor on purpose.
Because even now, on the wall leading to the living room, there were traces of a child measuring her height.
Most of the letters CC and dates were written next to the few squiggly lines.
Because they said the name of her lost daughter was Cecilia. Cecilia Curno, or CC.
And there was a name written as ‘Max’.
His line was relatively higher, so he must have been a few years older than CC.
So this floor is…
It was a place where Cecilia ran around and measured her height with her friends.
The Madam wouldn’t have dared to repair this old floor, in case even a small trace of Cecilia remained somewhere.
“Hey, what are you going to do?”
Valentine whispered an urgent question to her while she was deep in thought.
“What do you mean by what should I do?”
Clarisse looked back at him standing on her left and glanced at the back of madam who was a few steps ahead of her.
“The madam is misunderstood!”
Soon Noah, who was standing behind her on the right, blamed Valentine.
“The madam was so happy that Clarisse just couldn’t find the time to say no.”
“…Well.”
Valentine sighed.
“She seemed to like it a lot.”
“When I saw her at the chapel, I didn’t know she was such a bright person.”
“That’s right, she always had a gloomy expression on her face.”
“That’s why I also found it difficult to speak the truth carelessly.”
For the first time in a long time, a bright light bloomed on the woman’s face, which was as dark as this house. How can they extinguish it on their own?
“I can’t help it.”
Valentine concluded and placed his hand on Clarisse’s shoulder.
“For now, let’s just say we’re roughly courting.”
Noah then agreed, putting his hand on Clarisse’s shoulder.
“I guess I’m in the process of courting her too.”
Clarisse paused for a minute, glancing back and forth between the man who courted her roughly and the man who courted her moderately.
She wasn’t particularly opposed to their intention to tell a small lie to the madam.
But isn’t there a slightly deeper problem than that?
“Is an operation… like this possible? Noah, do you know anything about courtship?”
“I know a history of successful tarantula mating.”
He said it with great pride.
Valentine looked at Noah with longing eyes for a moment, and it seemed clear that he wanted to run straight to his room to meet the handsome spider and offer him a love poem.
…Wouldn’t this be the only way to embarrass the Marchioness even more?
Clarisse’s anxiety deepened.
* * *
The madam led the three people to a simple drawing room.
The sofa that sank down when she sat down also seemed to be an item that had been in this position for a long time.
It wasn’t that difficult to predict that this was also where Cecilia spent her time.
Noah and Valentine have now introduced themselves to the madam.
Because Noah wore robes, he had to make it clear that he was a wizard.
Valentine didn’t say that he was a prince, though. He just said that he and Clarisse were both learning at a monastery.
The Marchioness, who had been away from the royal household for so long, didn’t seem to recognize Valentine’s identity.
Also, he handed her a rose flower that he had prepared for her.
“I brought it because I wanted to give it to you, Madam.”
“Oh my… Actually, didn’t you want to give it to Miss Clarisse?”
At this moment, Valentine’s true feelings came out.
“I was crazy if I gave flower to the strong-willed…”
He said this.
He soon made up for his mistake with an elegant smile.
“O, Of course, if I get chosen by madam, that… I will have the right to give flowers to Clarisse too. Please grant me that qualification.”
He suddenly turned his head and looked at Clarisse. For some reason, his face seemed to be boasting, saying, ‘I did really well, didn’t I?’
But Clarisse didn’t think so at all, so she just shook her head.
Just then, the butler brought out tea, and Valentine returned to his seat and sat down.
“Then, let me ask you a question.”
The madam adjusted her posture and made eye contact with the two men sitting on either side of Clarisse.
“What is particularly pretty about Miss Clarisse?”
At the first question, Noah and Valentine looked at each other.
In Clarisse’s eyes, they seemed to be having the following conversation with their eyes.
‘Do you know the answer?’
‘What is the answer?’
She sighed. She knew it would be like this.
There’s no way they could say what’s especially pretty about Clarisse.
Because they wouldn’t even think she was pretty in the first place.
“Oh my, there are so many that you can’t seem to choose. Right?”
But the madam, who didn’t understand, seemed to think there was another reason they weren’t answering right away.
Clarisse thought it might be better to tell the madam the truth.
What should they do with the other two problems now that they’re stuck on the first one?
“I.”
The moment Clarisse opens her mouth.
Answers poured in from both sides as if they had promised.
“She has a great palm.”
“A straight line between the eyebrows?”
“….”
Clarisse pointed her palms at the brow. She felt hot, as if she were stressed, and even her wrinkles seemed to deepen.
‘No, there is the usual answer, like fingers or forehead!’
Who in the world refers to the wrinkles between the palms and eyebrows as the attractive points of the opponent.
It’s clear that the madam will be suspicious like this…
“Oh my, I guess times have changed a lot. It’s a novel answer that we couldn’t even imagine back in our day! Young people these days are so unique. I need to learn too.”
No, no, madam. Don’t learn it!
Above all, she shouldn’t make such a false accusation against young people these days!
Clarisse swallowed down the overflowing cries in her heart and barely held on to this position.
“Then let me ask you the second question. This is also the story I want to hear. What made you like Miss Clarice?”
This time it was not a short answer question.
Clarisse didn’t really expect Noah and Valentine to come up with a good story.
She just thought it would be nice if they didn’t give an absurd answer, like saying that they liked it after being hit in the back.
“This time, I want to hear Noah’s answer first.”
Noah was surprised when Madam pointed him out, and he quickly fiddled with his mask.
It was clear that he hadn’t made up the whole story yet.
‘He must be groaning a lot inside.’
Clarisse looked back at Noah with a worried face.
And when their eyes meet.
‘Huh…?’
She was a little surprised.
Because Noah seemed to be thinking quite seriously.
A seriousness that wasn’t at all suitable for this almost comical situation was flowing out from behind the mask.
The Marchioness must have sensed this too, to the point where she didn’t urge Noah, who kept his silence.
‘So this is…’
Clarisse was still staring at Noah and thinking.
‘You’re pretending to think seriously on purpose… right?’
It was definitely like that.
She felt like she should praise Noah’s acting when she got out of here. It seemed like it was real.
Noah finally opened his mouth.
What does she mean by courtship?
Clarisse, as well as Noah and Valentine, were very surprised and tried to deny Madam’s words.
“Oh my, it’s been so long. I didn’t know that even these days, there are young ladies who keep the custom of seeking wisdom from old women. I miss…”
Clarisse cautiously glanced at Valentine. Since he is the prince of this land, she thought he would know a lot about ‘customs’.
But he quickly shook his head, as if he had no idea.
She looked back at Noah just in case, but he too just shook his head.
“It was a lot of fun back then. When a young lady brought a courting gentleman, the ladies would use their own secrets to determine who was the best man.”
She can’t believe there was such a custom.
Clarisse was amazed and liked the Madam’s happy expression, so she smiled and asked a question.
“Does the Marchioness have any secrets for selecting good gentlemen?”
“Of course. You just need to ask three questions. Actually…”
She hugged the bouquet with a sad face.
“One day… I only imagined that when my daughter brought gentlemen to me, she would ask that. Ah… It’s funny, right?”
“That’s not true.”
Clarisse was so sad that her hands tightened as she held them close to her heart.
The madam must have been very sad as she thought about the questions she would ask the men while picturing her daughter, whom she hadn’t seen in a long time.
“But seeing as this opportunity has come, it seems like the time I spent alone pondering questions wasn’t in vain.”
“Yes?”
“Oh my, this is not the time. I almost had my guests standing up forever. I’m sorry.”
Without giving herself a chance to clear up her misunderstanding, she led the three people into the living room.
The interior of the old-fashioned mansion was not much different.
After passing through a hall with no decorations or paintings, it led to an old hallway. Every time she took a step, there was a little squeak.
Clarisse was sure that the madam had not repaired this floor on purpose.
Because even now, on the wall leading to the living room, there were traces of a child measuring her height.
Most of the letters CC and dates were written next to the few squiggly lines.
Because they said the name of her lost daughter was Cecilia. Cecilia Curno, or CC.
And there was a name written as ‘Max’.
His line was relatively higher, so he must have been a few years older than CC.
So this floor is…
It was a place where Cecilia ran around and measured her height with her friends.
The Madam wouldn’t have dared to repair this old floor, in case even a small trace of Cecilia remained somewhere.
“Hey, what are you going to do?”
Valentine whispered an urgent question to her while she was deep in thought.
“What do you mean by what should I do?”
Clarisse looked back at him standing on her left and glanced at the back of madam who was a few steps ahead of her.
“The madam is misunderstood!”
Soon Noah, who was standing behind her on the right, blamed Valentine.
“The madam was so happy that Clarisse just couldn’t find the time to say no.”
“…Well.”
Valentine sighed.
“She seemed to like it a lot.”
“When I saw her at the chapel, I didn’t know she was such a bright person.”
“That’s right, she always had a gloomy expression on her face.”
“That’s why I also found it difficult to speak the truth carelessly.”
For the first time in a long time, a bright light bloomed on the woman’s face, which was as dark as this house. How can they extinguish it on their own?
“I can’t help it.”
Valentine concluded and placed his hand on Clarisse’s shoulder.
“For now, let’s just say we’re roughly courting.”
Noah then agreed, putting his hand on Clarisse’s shoulder.
“I guess I’m in the process of courting her too.”
Clarisse paused for a minute, glancing back and forth between the man who courted her roughly and the man who courted her moderately.
She wasn’t particularly opposed to their intention to tell a small lie to the madam.
But isn’t there a slightly deeper problem than that?
“Is an operation… like this possible? Noah, do you know anything about courtship?”
“I know a history of successful tarantula mating.”
He said it with great pride.
Valentine looked at Noah with longing eyes for a moment, and it seemed clear that he wanted to run straight to his room to meet the handsome spider and offer him a love poem.
…Wouldn’t this be the only way to embarrass the Marchioness even more?
Clarisse’s anxiety deepened.
* * *
The madam led the three people to a simple drawing room.
The sofa that sank down when she sat down also seemed to be an item that had been in this position for a long time.
It wasn’t that difficult to predict that this was also where Cecilia spent her time.
Noah and Valentine have now introduced themselves to the madam.
Because Noah wore robes, he had to make it clear that he was a wizard.
Valentine didn’t say that he was a prince, though. He just said that he and Clarisse were both learning at a monastery.
The Marchioness, who had been away from the royal household for so long, didn’t seem to recognize Valentine’s identity.
Also, he handed her a rose flower that he had prepared for her.
“I brought it because I wanted to give it to you, Madam.”
“Oh my… Actually, didn’t you want to give it to Miss Clarisse?”
At this moment, Valentine’s true feelings came out.
“I was crazy if I gave flower to the strong-willed…”
He said this.
He soon made up for his mistake with an elegant smile.
“O, Of course, if I get chosen by madam, that… I will have the right to give flowers to Clarisse too. Please grant me that qualification.”
He suddenly turned his head and looked at Clarisse. For some reason, his face seemed to be boasting, saying, ‘I did really well, didn’t I?’
But Clarisse didn’t think so at all, so she just shook her head.
Just then, the butler brought out tea, and Valentine returned to his seat and sat down.
“Then, let me ask you a question.”
The madam adjusted her posture and made eye contact with the two men sitting on either side of Clarisse.
“What is particularly pretty about Miss Clarisse?”
At the first question, Noah and Valentine looked at each other.
In Clarisse’s eyes, they seemed to be having the following conversation with their eyes.
‘Do you know the answer?’
‘What is the answer?’
She sighed. She knew it would be like this.
There’s no way they could say what’s especially pretty about Clarisse.
Because they wouldn’t even think she was pretty in the first place.
“Oh my, there are so many that you can’t seem to choose. Right?”
But the madam, who didn’t understand, seemed to think there was another reason they weren’t answering right away.
Clarisse thought it might be better to tell the madam the truth.
What should they do with the other two problems now that they’re stuck on the first one?
“I.”
The moment Clarisse opens her mouth.
Answers poured in from both sides as if they had promised.
“She has a great palm.”
“A straight line between the eyebrows?”
“….”
Clarisse pointed her palms at the brow. She felt hot, as if she were stressed, and even her wrinkles seemed to deepen.
‘No, there is the usual answer, like fingers or forehead!’
Who in the world refers to the wrinkles between the palms and eyebrows as the attractive points of the opponent.
It’s clear that the madam will be suspicious like this…
“Oh my, I guess times have changed a lot. It’s a novel answer that we couldn’t even imagine back in our day! Young people these days are so unique. I need to learn too.”
No, no, madam. Don’t learn it!
Above all, she shouldn’t make such a false accusation against young people these days!
Clarisse swallowed down the overflowing cries in her heart and barely held on to this position.
“Then let me ask you the second question. This is also the story I want to hear. What made you like Miss Clarice?”
This time it was not a short answer question.
Clarisse didn’t really expect Noah and Valentine to come up with a good story.
She just thought it would be nice if they didn’t give an absurd answer, like saying that they liked it after being hit in the back.
“This time, I want to hear Noah’s answer first.”
Noah was surprised when Madam pointed him out, and he quickly fiddled with his mask.
It was clear that he hadn’t made up the whole story yet.
‘He must be groaning a lot inside.’
Clarisse looked back at Noah with a worried face.
And when their eyes meet.
‘Huh…?’
She was a little surprised.
Because Noah seemed to be thinking quite seriously.
A seriousness that wasn’t at all suitable for this almost comical situation was flowing out from behind the mask.
The Marchioness must have sensed this too, to the point where she didn’t urge Noah, who kept his silence.
‘So this is…’
Clarisse was still staring at Noah and thinking.
‘You’re pretending to think seriously on purpose… right?’
It was definitely like that.
She felt like she should praise Noah’s acting when she got out of here. It seemed like it was real.
Noah finally opened his mouth.
