Chapter 54
She alternated looking at Hannah’s back and the letter she had just written.
“Hannah.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Hannah turned around to face Rose, politely placing her hands together. She attentively waited to see if there was something else she could do.
Rose walked over to Hannah with the letter that was on her desk a moment ago. Rose suddenly had a good idea, so she decided to change her plans.
“Give this to secretary Jansen, please.”
Hannah looked at the letter with her eyes wide open.
“Pa-pardon? B-but letters should go to F-Freddie the butl–”
Rose smiled and cut her off.
“I know. But Jansen is the last to stay in the office. If you go now, he will probably still be there. Will you tell him to put it on Freddie’s desk?”
“Ah. Ah… Yes.”
Hearing the Queen’s words, Hannah quickly took the letter into her hands. Rose lowered her voice and emphasized it as if she was requesting something important.
“It’s very important, so don’t ever lose it, and by all means, you must give it to secretary Jansen.
“Yes. I-I’ll keep that in mind.”
Hannah bowed deeply and left the room. Rose looked at Hannah’s back and smiled with satisfaction. A mischievous light flashed in her purple eyes.
Meanwhile, Hannah’s heart felt pressured. Since it was the Queen’s command, she couldn’t delay it for even a moment.
“The Queen a-asked you to p-put this letter o-on Fr-Freddie’s desk… Pu-put it on Fr- Freddie’s… on Fr-Freddie’s d-d-desk…”
Mumbling what she had to say as soon as she met Jansen, Hannah headed to the office.
* * *
As he opened the door after he heard someone knowing, Jansen took a step back in surprise.
“Secretary Jansen, pl-please put in on! On Fr-Freddie’s desk! Th-the letter! Her M-Majesty the Queen.”
As soon as the door opened, Hannah held out the letter. The words she tried to memorize before came out rushed and all messed up, but Jansen managed to understand.
“The Queen seems to have written a letter to her parents.”
Hannah nodded hastily.
“I’ll hand this over to Freddie when he comes tomorrow morning. Will that be okay?”
Hannah bowed her head deeply.
“Th-then I-I’ll get going.”
“Hannah!”
“Yes! Yes?”
“I just wanted to say something. Can you come in for a second?”
Hannah swallowed her saliva and entered his office.
“Come this way.”
He politely pulled out a chair.
‘He’s not someone you can covet! You will only be miserable. Hannah, come to your senses!’
‘Wake up, wake up!’
The words she repeated like a spell seemed to have an effect on her. Hannah didn’t feel as nervous as before. Jansen sat across the desk and looked at Hannah sitting in front of him
“It’s… I apologize for what happened in the hallway last time. I think I surprised you a lot…”
“Pardon?”
‘I was at fault, but why is secretary Jansen apologizing to me?’
“It-it’s not that at all. I-I was at fault. Because I did something useless the secretary al-almost got hu-hurt. Be-because of me…”
Upon hearing Hannah’s words, Jansen’s eyes softened and he chuckled.
“I feel grateful from the bottom of my heart. To think there’s a person in this Castle who cares about me.”
Hannah’s cheeks reddened.
“Did you know that His Majesty and the Queen are going to Solstern?”
He returned to his business-like voice.
“Yes. I-I heard.”
“It will take a while to get there and then come back.”
Hannah wondered what the secretary was trying to say.
“I found out that it seems like you go out of the castle every now and then to visit your grandmother. Aren’t your parents there?”
“Yes. Uh, m-my mother died giving birth to me, and um, my father also died last year… due to pneumonia…”
Jansen nodded slightly without saying anything.
“Let’s make sure to send someone to your home while you are away so you won’t have to worry about food or firewood.”
Hearing Jansen’s words, Hannah shook her head.
“My-my grandmother is still healthy! E-even if I don’t do that, she, she’ll be okay.”
“Are you sure it’ll really be okay?”
“Of-of course.”
As if understanding Hannah’s words, Jansen looked at her and smiled. Her head dropped down.
“Anyway, I’ll be going to Solstern too, so I’ll ask Freddie to check on your grandmother.”
Hannah raised her head again.
“Th-the secretary too?”
As if startled by her sudden loud voice, Hannah covered her mouth with both hands.
“Then, let’s say our talk ended well.”
Jansen tapped lightly on the desk and rose from his seat. At this, Hannah jumped up from her chair.
“Th-then I’ll get going.”
Janssen just nodded without a word.
Hannah’s face, as she quietly closed the office door and ran out of the hallway, was flushed red. An uncontrollable laugh leaked out.
‘I can’t believe I’ll be going to Solstern with the Queen and secretary Jansen!’
She couldn’t believe it.
* * *
The sun shone through the white lace curtains. The Count and Countess of Etoile were enjoying a leisurely afternoon tea time as usual.
Knock, knock. The butler came in with a letter on a silver tray.
“I don’t want to interrupt the time between the two of you, but I feel like I need to pass this to you immediately.”
Count Jared beckoned him to enter and the butler approached the couple.
‘What kind of letter is it?’
Madam Audrey, holding the teacup, looked nervously at her husband, wondering what was going on. Count Jared confirmed the sender of the letter and looked at his wife with both his eyebrows raised.
“It’s from Rose.”
As soon as she heard her daughter’s name, the Countess jumped off her seat.
“Honey!”
She put her hand on her heart and hurried to her husband.
“Wife, calm down. Take care of your heart.”
Count Jared, who held his trembling wife’s hand, quickly opened the letter. The two read the contents as if being sucked into the letter.
“Rose…”
“Honey, our Rose is coming, right? She’s coming to see us, right?”
For Countess Audrey, none of the contents before and after were important. She just focused on the one line saying her daughter was coming.
“We will really see her. Our Rose… Honey, she said she couldn’t remember our faces… Our Rose…”
When Madam Audrey sniffled, Count Jared hugged her and patted her on the back.
“That’s right, that’s right, we will be able to see our Rose, darling.”
In fact, when he saw the letter, he was troubled by various situations, but he decided to just discard all the complicated thoughts. His daughter Rose was coming and his wife was happy. He was determined that he could face anything as long as he could see his daughter once more.
While the Count held his wife in his arms tenderly, a voice was heard.
“Ummm, did I come in at the wrong time without noticing?”
His son Hans entered with an embarrassed smile.
“Hans! You came at the right time. Rose is attending the wedding.”
Count Jared held out the letter and waved it at Hans.
“I see.”
As he had already expected such a situation, Hans was not as surprised as his parents. He just nodded and sat down on the sofa with his long legs stretched out. He put his hand in one pocket and with the other, he read the letter and placed it again on the table.
“Things are going to be amusing.”
Hans’s mind wandered. When he left Helevant, he remembered the promises he made to his younger sister. He was already working step by step, but he was impatient, thinking he should hurry before his sister came.
“…Then.”
Countess Audrey, who had been weeping until recently, straightened her back and asked with a stern look.
“What should we do now?”
She got up from the sofa and started walking slowly around the room. As if planning a new party, she had a serious but slightly excited expression.
“Honey, you don’t have to be so anxious already. Be careful not to strain your heart.”
“Don’t worry. I’m calmer and healthier than ever. I feel so refreshed as if all the headaches I carried have been washed away.”
Countess Audrey replied with her usual graceful tone from before Rose’s departure.
“Ha. That’s a relief.”
As if proving that her spirit as a woman was weak but her spirit as a mother was not, Countess Audrey’s eyes blazed with clear determination after hearing that Rose was coming.
“Since those two are coming, we have to prepare thoroughly. Don’t you think, Honey?”
The answer was already set so he had to say it. It was that kind of question. Count Jared coughed awkwardly.
“Ehem… well, if you think so, that’s it.”
Looking at his mother smiling satisfactorily after hearing his father’s answer, a smile emerged from Hans as well. Countess Audrey looked more excited and energized than ever.
Ever since her daughter left for the North, she was lethargic and lacked energy like a sick chicken. Now, a surprising amount of positive energy emanated from her body.
“First of all, we will need a place for the two of them to stay. How many knights and attendants will there be? Is it too late to send the letter now? Honey.”
“Right! Honey, I’ll have them stay in our empty mansion to the west of the Imperial Palace. I’d like to invite them to come here, but I’m sure the northern King would be uncomfortable.”
Audrey had already made up her mind and decided by herself.
“It’s not a small mansion, so it won’t be inconvenient to stay there. There are forty guest rooms alone, so I’m sure it won’t be inconvenient. Now, the days are getting colder so before that, I have to fully prepare for the guests.”
She murmured what she had to prepare while fluttering her long, elegant eyelashes.
“Hey, what kind of food does the northern King like? We have to send the best chef in our family. We need to hire more people so that they won’t feel uncomfortable during their stay.”
Count Jared and Hans looked at each other, speechless. Not wanting to sabotage the pleasure of seeing Countess Audrey beaming beautifully after a long time, they continued to nod their heads. She called Maxim Lancert ‘the northern King’ as if he was a stranger, but acted like a mother-in-law trying to take care of her son-in-law during their first meeting.
“How long until the wedding? They should arrive before the wedding. Goodness, I’m running out of time.”
She nervously calculated the date and raised her voice, “Adrian! Monica!”
An elegant and modest voice called out to the employees. After a long time, the clear and graceful voice of the Countess resounded throughout the Etoile mansion.
Chapter 54
She alternated looking at Hannah’s back and the letter she had just written.
“Hannah.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Hannah turned around to face Rose, politely placing her hands together. She attentively waited to see if there was something else she could do.
Rose walked over to Hannah with the letter that was on her desk a moment ago. Rose suddenly had a good idea, so she decided to change her plans.
“Give this to secretary Jansen, please.”
Hannah looked at the letter with her eyes wide open.
“Pa-pardon? B-but letters should go to F-Freddie the butl–”
Rose smiled and cut her off.
“I know. But Jansen is the last to stay in the office. If you go now, he will probably still be there. Will you tell him to put it on Freddie’s desk?”
“Ah. Ah… Yes.”
Hearing the Queen’s words, Hannah quickly took the letter into her hands. Rose lowered her voice and emphasized it as if she was requesting something important.
“It’s very important, so don’t ever lose it, and by all means, you must give it to secretary Jansen.
“Yes. I-I’ll keep that in mind.”
Hannah bowed deeply and left the room. Rose looked at Hannah’s back and smiled with satisfaction. A mischievous light flashed in her purple eyes.
Meanwhile, Hannah’s heart felt pressured. Since it was the Queen’s command, she couldn’t delay it for even a moment.
“The Queen a-asked you to p-put this letter o-on Fr-Freddie’s desk… Pu-put it on Fr- Freddie’s… on Fr-Freddie’s d-d-desk…”
Mumbling what she had to say as soon as she met Jansen, Hannah headed to the office.
* * *
As he opened the door after he heard someone knowing, Jansen took a step back in surprise.
“Secretary Jansen, pl-please put in on! On Fr-Freddie’s desk! Th-the letter! Her M-Majesty the Queen.”
As soon as the door opened, Hannah held out the letter. The words she tried to memorize before came out rushed and all messed up, but Jansen managed to understand.
“The Queen seems to have written a letter to her parents.”
Hannah nodded hastily.
“I’ll hand this over to Freddie when he comes tomorrow morning. Will that be okay?”
Hannah bowed her head deeply.
“Th-then I-I’ll get going.”
“Hannah!”
“Yes! Yes?”
“I just wanted to say something. Can you come in for a second?”
Hannah swallowed her saliva and entered his office.
“Come this way.”
He politely pulled out a chair.
‘He’s not someone you can covet! You will only be miserable. Hannah, come to your senses!’
‘Wake up, wake up!’
The words she repeated like a spell seemed to have an effect on her. Hannah didn’t feel as nervous as before. Jansen sat across the desk and looked at Hannah sitting in front of him
“It’s… I apologize for what happened in the hallway last time. I think I surprised you a lot…”
“Pardon?”
‘I was at fault, but why is secretary Jansen apologizing to me?’
“It-it’s not that at all. I-I was at fault. Because I did something useless the secretary al-almost got hu-hurt. Be-because of me…”
Upon hearing Hannah’s words, Jansen’s eyes softened and he chuckled.
“I feel grateful from the bottom of my heart. To think there’s a person in this Castle who cares about me.”
Hannah’s cheeks reddened.
“Did you know that His Majesty and the Queen are going to Solstern?”
He returned to his business-like voice.
“Yes. I-I heard.”
“It will take a while to get there and then come back.”
Hannah wondered what the secretary was trying to say.
“I found out that it seems like you go out of the castle every now and then to visit your grandmother. Aren’t your parents there?”
“Yes. Uh, m-my mother died giving birth to me, and um, my father also died last year… due to pneumonia…”
Jansen nodded slightly without saying anything.
“Let’s make sure to send someone to your home while you are away so you won’t have to worry about food or firewood.”
Hearing Jansen’s words, Hannah shook her head.
“My-my grandmother is still healthy! E-even if I don’t do that, she, she’ll be okay.”
“Are you sure it’ll really be okay?”
“Of-of course.”
As if understanding Hannah’s words, Jansen looked at her and smiled. Her head dropped down.
“Anyway, I’ll be going to Solstern too, so I’ll ask Freddie to check on your grandmother.”
Hannah raised her head again.
“Th-the secretary too?”
As if startled by her sudden loud voice, Hannah covered her mouth with both hands.
“Then, let’s say our talk ended well.”
Jansen tapped lightly on the desk and rose from his seat. At this, Hannah jumped up from her chair.
“Th-then I’ll get going.”
Janssen just nodded without a word.
Hannah’s face, as she quietly closed the office door and ran out of the hallway, was flushed red. An uncontrollable laugh leaked out.
‘I can’t believe I’ll be going to Solstern with the Queen and secretary Jansen!’
She couldn’t believe it.
* * *
The sun shone through the white lace curtains. The Count and Countess of Etoile were enjoying a leisurely afternoon tea time as usual.
Knock, knock. The butler came in with a letter on a silver tray.
“I don’t want to interrupt the time between the two of you, but I feel like I need to pass this to you immediately.”
Count Jared beckoned him to enter and the butler approached the couple.
‘What kind of letter is it?’
Madam Audrey, holding the teacup, looked nervously at her husband, wondering what was going on. Count Jared confirmed the sender of the letter and looked at his wife with both his eyebrows raised.
“It’s from Rose.”
As soon as she heard her daughter’s name, the Countess jumped off her seat.
“Honey!”
She put her hand on her heart and hurried to her husband.
“Wife, calm down. Take care of your heart.”
Count Jared, who held his trembling wife’s hand, quickly opened the letter. The two read the contents as if being sucked into the letter.
“Rose…”
“Honey, our Rose is coming, right? She’s coming to see us, right?”
For Countess Audrey, none of the contents before and after were important. She just focused on the one line saying her daughter was coming.
“We will really see her. Our Rose… Honey, she said she couldn’t remember our faces… Our Rose…”
When Madam Audrey sniffled, Count Jared hugged her and patted her on the back.
“That’s right, that’s right, we will be able to see our Rose, darling.”
In fact, when he saw the letter, he was troubled by various situations, but he decided to just discard all the complicated thoughts. His daughter Rose was coming and his wife was happy. He was determined that he could face anything as long as he could see his daughter once more.
While the Count held his wife in his arms tenderly, a voice was heard.
“Ummm, did I come in at the wrong time without noticing?”
His son Hans entered with an embarrassed smile.
“Hans! You came at the right time. Rose is attending the wedding.”
Count Jared held out the letter and waved it at Hans.
“I see.”
As he had already expected such a situation, Hans was not as surprised as his parents. He just nodded and sat down on the sofa with his long legs stretched out. He put his hand in one pocket and with the other, he read the letter and placed it again on the table.
“Things are going to be amusing.”
Hans’s mind wandered. When he left Helevant, he remembered the promises he made to his younger sister. He was already working step by step, but he was impatient, thinking he should hurry before his sister came.
“…Then.”
Countess Audrey, who had been weeping until recently, straightened her back and asked with a stern look.
“What should we do now?”
She got up from the sofa and started walking slowly around the room. As if planning a new party, she had a serious but slightly excited expression.
“Honey, you don’t have to be so anxious already. Be careful not to strain your heart.”
“Don’t worry. I’m calmer and healthier than ever. I feel so refreshed as if all the headaches I carried have been washed away.”
Countess Audrey replied with her usual graceful tone from before Rose’s departure.
“Ha. That’s a relief.”
As if proving that her spirit as a woman was weak but her spirit as a mother was not, Countess Audrey’s eyes blazed with clear determination after hearing that Rose was coming.
“Since those two are coming, we have to prepare thoroughly. Don’t you think, Honey?”
The answer was already set so he had to say it. It was that kind of question. Count Jared coughed awkwardly.
“Ehem… well, if you think so, that’s it.”
Looking at his mother smiling satisfactorily after hearing his father’s answer, a smile emerged from Hans as well. Countess Audrey looked more excited and energized than ever.
Ever since her daughter left for the North, she was lethargic and lacked energy like a sick chicken. Now, a surprising amount of positive energy emanated from her body.
“First of all, we will need a place for the two of them to stay. How many knights and attendants will there be? Is it too late to send the letter now? Honey.”
“Right! Honey, I’ll have them stay in our empty mansion to the west of the Imperial Palace. I’d like to invite them to come here, but I’m sure the northern King would be uncomfortable.”
Audrey had already made up her mind and decided by herself.
“It’s not a small mansion, so it won’t be inconvenient to stay there. There are forty guest rooms alone, so I’m sure it won’t be inconvenient. Now, the days are getting colder so before that, I have to fully prepare for the guests.”
She murmured what she had to prepare while fluttering her long, elegant eyelashes.
“Hey, what kind of food does the northern King like? We have to send the best chef in our family. We need to hire more people so that they won’t feel uncomfortable during their stay.”
Count Jared and Hans looked at each other, speechless. Not wanting to sabotage the pleasure of seeing Countess Audrey beaming beautifully after a long time, they continued to nod their heads. She called Maxim Lancert ‘the northern King’ as if he was a stranger, but acted like a mother-in-law trying to take care of her son-in-law during their first meeting.
“How long until the wedding? They should arrive before the wedding. Goodness, I’m running out of time.”
She nervously calculated the date and raised her voice, “Adrian! Monica!”
An elegant and modest voice called out to the employees. After a long time, the clear and graceful voice of the Countess resounded throughout the Etoile mansion.
