Hermina talked to her mother, servants, etc. and steadily made preparations for the event.
She tried making a surprise party for her husband, but whether it would succeed would be a mystery. He was a surprisingly perceptive person, so she had to be extremely careful.
First, she decided to purchase a gift.
Leaving her daughter in the care of the nanny, she headed to the city’s shopping district, accompanied by her maid.
As they rode the carriage, Hermina asked a question to one of the maidservants who has been with her for a long time.
“What kind of gifts do you think my husband will appreciate?”
“I’m sure your husband would appreciate anything you gave.”
“No, it’s not like that. I just want to give him something he’ll really like.”
“Now, to be clear—“
Hermina stared at the maiden’s face and waited for her next words. However, the gift her husband would be pleased to receive was an outrageous one.
“I thought you are his wife.”
“What?”
“I’m sure, as his wife, he would be sincerely pleased if you said, ‘It’s your birthday, so please treat me as you would like me to be treated.’”
“What the?!”
(TLNote: seriously… Why is this sentence misleading… WHY!!! GENDER CLARITY PLEASE! Edn: What?)
Hermina’s cheeks burned red with a cackle. What a trivial thing to say, she complained.
She dismissed the idea of the maid.
For now, she decided to head to a specialty store that carried men’s clothing and sundries.
As soon as they entered the store, a male clerk came over and asked us what kind of items we were looking for.
“I’m looking for a gift for my husband’s birthday.”
“Then, how about a spring coat?”
“Well then, let me see.”
He showed her some coats that were perfect for the chilly weather, but it wasn’t that thick.
They were all nice, but none of the coats seemed to match her husband’s beautiful golden hair.
After that, he showed her various items.
Shoes and hats, watches and ties, bags and cufflinks, tie pins…. None of them seemed to fit her husband at all.
The clerk was unfazed and kept introducing the items one after another.
While she was looking for the next item, her maid called out to her.
”Ma’am, I’ve got some great items…!”
The maid was holding a large dog collar and walking strap.
Why? Hermina wondered why her maid thought of that as a birthday gift for her husband. But she remembered her husband mentioned that he wanted to be a dog. As Hermina recalled, the maid was in the room with them when he first said it.
“I’m sure your husband would be delighted.”
“Rejected.”
(TLNote: Lady maid… you sure are going high wire with that suggestion. Please control yourself.)
The maid went to return the collar and walking strap to where it came from with a blank expression.
Hermina wondered why there was a dog collar in the men’s store, but it seemed to be for sale along with a matching belt and other items. She was taken aback by the unexpected item.
But still, it was hard to find something suitable for her husband.
Choosing a gift was very difficult.
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
In the end, Hermina couldn’t decide on a gift.
She felt bad about leaving without buying anything, so she bought a belt and a handkerchief for her butler, who had been in the service for twenty years, and had them wrapped as a gift for his labor.
She let the maidservant take the items and was about to leave the shop when the door suddenly opened.
There was a customer who entered.
Standing in front of her was a well-dressed young man.
In this case, it was polite for the man to avoid her. But the other side didn’t try avoiding her at all.
If someone did something offensive, he would try to talk to the said person.
“Hey, aren’t you Hermina von Rothlingen?”
“…I’m afraid you got the wrong person.”
“Are you kidding me?”
She wasn’t telling a lie.
She got married, so her name became Hermina von Belh.
(TLNote: It was mentioned before that Erich’s surname was Belh so I don’t really understand where Veimar came from so I’ll just use Belh. If someone has any clue please do comment down below.)
“No. With a flamboyant woman like you, how could I possibly mistake you for someone else?”
He said this and tried to reach for her arm, so Hermina knocked it off with her folded fan.
“You’re still as violent as ever, aren’t you?”
“I don’t care. Will you step back?”
A young man with brown hair and brown eyes.
Hermina searched her memory to see if she knew him, but she had no idea.
“Who are you? Wouldn’t it be rude to talk to me without identifying yourself?”
“It’s rude to forget their name when you know them, isn’t it?”
Do I know him? She stared at the man’s face.
It was as if she had met him before, or maybe not.
The man was the first to go stiff. In his case, he didn’t like to say his name.
“My name is Ignatz von Saine.
“!”
…I remember now.
The fifth son of the Marquis of Saine, the idiot who bullied her as a child!
The event was horrible that the existence of this man must have been erased from her memories.
The Saine family was the groom’s family of sister Dorothea, so it wasn’t correct to speak ill of them. But this man had done so many things to Hermina since she was a child that she really couldn’t do anything about it.
It was when she was twelve years old that she finally got even with him.
She was able to send out a letter of apology, and succeeded in thoroughly beating this man up.
”I see you’ve figured it out.”
“…Let’s get out of here. I don’t want to disturb the store.”
He still seemed to be poking at her, so she took the guy to a coffee shop.
She was going to buy him a cup of coffee and make a mess of what she had forgotten.
“–and?”
“What?”
“Nothing. What do you want?”
“You’re the one who brought me in, aren’t you?”
Touch a hunch!
As much as Hermina wanted to be angry, she couldn’t be rude to someone who was also her sister’s brother-in-law. That brother-in-law was such a gentleman and kind person, but you would be surprised at how different they were, even if they were the same brother.
Irritated by the grinning man, Hermina bit down on her teeth gingerly and tried to put a smile.
”Well then, shall we make a toast to our reunion?”
“Changing shops?”
“No. Right here. I’d like to make a coffee toast.”
“I’ve never heard of that.”
Gradually, Hermina was getting tired of being polite. The other person’s broken language made it even more ridiculous.
She decided to get this over with quickly.
”As for forgetting your name, I apologize for that…I’m sorry.”
Oh no, I don’t know what to do. I just read the apology part out loud.
She was sad to see that she wouldn’t be able to lie.
The other person seemed to have noticed this and was wrinkling his brow as he stared at her.
“My daughter is waiting for me and my husband is coming home, so I have to hurry up and be back home.”
Without waiting for the other party’s reply, Hermina stood up.
She ordered the maidservant behind her to finish paying the bill.
“… You really have married Erich von Belh, haven’t you?”
“Yes, thanks to you.”
“What a curious thing to marry such a frivolous man.”
She heard things that made her husband look like an idiot, and it made her frown.
But if she rebelled and explained the situation, it would mean the end of her husband’s hard work. So, Hermina gingerly held back.
“What? You’ve changed your face. Are you unilaterally in love with him?”
“!”
She stared at the rude ten-thousand man, wondering what he was going to say.
“Bingo.”
“No.You’re wro-!”
“Then, it wouldn’t be a problem to tell your husband about your old life, would it?”
“W-what?”
“I mean, you were a whiny little crybaby when you were a kid.”
“!”
She remembered being teased by this man as a child, going home in tears many times.
She was so angry, but at the same time she didn’t want her husband to know.
“I’m going to be your husband’s assistant. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to reminisce while saying hello.”
“Stop right there!”
Hermina let out a loud voice and then huffed.
It was a good thing that there was no one around, but it was unladylike to be distraught like this.
It would be a disgrace to the Countess’ name. She felt she had to be careful.
“….Hey, Hermina…”
“Don’t call me by my name!”
“Alright? We’re old friends, we’re related.”
“Call me Madame Belh.”
“Well, I don’t care what you are called. Come back here in the evening after tomorrow.”
“Ha?!”
“We need to talk.”
“I don’t want to hear it, and I’m busy!”
“If you don’t come, I’ll tell your husband about your past?”
“!”
She thought he was a terrible man to threaten her.
…But she didn’t want her husband to know about her childhood.