Come to think of it, it’s definitely been a while since I’ve been down to the territory.
‘Three years? About four years?’
I counted the number of years. The last time I went was when my parents were alive, so at least three years have passed.
‘Time flies.’
When did that happen?
The territory felt like a vacation estate, where we visited occasionally.
It was as crowded and complicated as a resort island, but anyway, there was a sense of ownership and distance together.
If there was a flower bed in my head right now, I would have liked to go far away to catch my breath as Bessie said.
‘Whoa.’
Would you like some flowers on your head? Although, it might not help realistically.
The carriage ran a long way southwest.
The territory owned by the family was closer than other territories, but it was still quite far as we had to ride a carriage all day to reach there.
The endless flow of greenery was fresh at first but gradually became as dull and boring.
I suddenly turned around to see Ash.
Ash was sitting in the carriage and looking at the papers.
It was not a new sight. Come to think of it, Ash has always been busy that way in my memory for some days.
It was understandable that he was so busy because he took over the family and had a lot of business with it.
I stared at Ash quietly.
Now, this was certainly the result of one of Bessie’s outrageous misunderstandings, it certainly was, but really one in a million.
If I simply wanted to go to the territory in a situation where I could be purely concerned about Ash as a family.
‘………I wouldn’t have said it.’
What Bessie said is right. No matter how much I wanted to go to the territory, I wouldn’t have said I want to go first.
Like this, I didn’t want to be a burden to Ash, who was so busy that he had to look at the papers from the carriage.
“Noonim.”
Then the eyes suddenly met.
I was surprised not to know why I was surprised.
“Huh?”
“Are you bored?”
I blinked for a moment at Ash’s words. ……Did I say that out loud? Well, I yawned a little while ago, instead of looking out the window.
I thought he was only looking at the documents, but I don’t know when he saw me. I opened my mouth slightly awkwardly.
“Just a little?”
“Do you want to sleep?”
I tried to nod my head. Even so, there was nothing better to spend time than sleeping on a long road in a carriage like now.
Then suddenly Ash moved to my side from the opposite side. Then he made me lean on his shoulder before I could say anything.
“……..”
“I’ll wake you up when the carriage is resting.”
I leaned on Ash like that while he finished reading the document with his other free hand.
There was silence.
I had a slightly strange feeling at this time.
It would be natural for anyone to sleep by leaning on others rather than sleep in a straight posture. Moreover, if the opponent has a sense of stability when he or she is much taller than me and has broad shoulders, it will be even more possible.
It was an unknown act. I couldn’t sleep. It felt like I was running away from sleepiness again.
The sound of horses’ hooves and the rattling of the wheels made by the running carriage rang out more clearly than usual.
I had to try to pretend I was asleep with my eyes closed.
***
The Raydick Territory that drives out of the center of the capital to the southwest for a long time is a bustling place.
Originally, the land was fertile and well-positioned, so many people lived in the land. The first Duke of Widgreen was granted the land with the title and reigned, and from then on, he developed it in earnest.
The first duke was a man of good ability. He knew how to efficiently manage the land where productivity and location are advantages, and the land developed rapidly not only in industry but also in commerce and trade.
The territory is wide and has a large population, abundant supplies, and active exchanges with the surrounding territory.
By now, only gold mines have exploded in such radical. It was regarded as a good place to live, a rich place to live, a golden land to be recognized by all-natural beings.
And inside the site of such territory.
There is a quiet location, somewhat distant from the noisy, vibrant central busy street.
There was a nearly castle-like mansion.
“The Duke, no, Your Excellency! Princess! How long has it been?”
A middle-aged man greeted us at the mansion.
“Long time no see, Viscount.”
I gave him a gentle but rather weary smile.
Lucas Biffren, acting as acting manager of the territory, was a distant relative of my mother’s side.
However, he is a relative, but he was a mere stranger to his in-laws, but he has been in charge of the land for 15 years until this year, and more than that he has been good at it regardless of his relationship.
It is from the time when the Widgreen family started to establish a representative for the management of the territory. Since then, he has stepped into the business and moved his residence to the capital, which is the same as it is now, so Ash has entrusted Lugas with the overall work of the territory and only receives regular reports about it.
After a long time, Lucas smiled with a long, thick gray mustache.
“If you had given me the early notice, I would have had more time to prepare.”
“It was a bit of a sudden.”
“You’re welcome anyway. Everyone will be happy that the owner visited. First, have dinner at the dining room, then we’ll have a welcome party…….”
“No, it’s okay!”
I stopped him in a fit of rage. I rode a carriage for half a day to get here. The carriage stopped on the way and took a short break, but it was still a tough journey.
Moreover, I couldn’t sleep a wink while riding the carriage.
‘I feel like my body’s going to break.”
It’s a relief that I couldn’t sleep, but I felt like my body wasn’t my body because I was nervous in the middle.
A welcome party? If they do that, I’ll die.
“I’d like to postpone dinner. I’d like to have a simple dinner tonight.”
I didn’t want to overdo my stomach when I was tired.
After speaking, I glanced up at Ash just in case. Ash nodded briefly as if he agreed with my opinion.
Phew. Lucas didn’t hide his regret.
“But it’s been so long since you’ve been here. Why don’t you give the employees here a chance to show off their skills?”
“Next time.”
Not now, anyway.
“Then you promised me later.”
Soon after, Lucas followed up with an employee and guided Ash and other people to their rooms.
Ash’s place of residence had long been fixed. Formerly used by our father, the space dedicated to the lord was now the place where Ash would stay.
After unpacking and changing into a casual outfit, I was guided to a dining room for dinner.
“The chef has changed. I’m sure you’ll like the dish better than before since he had been specially chosen. We also picked a new dealer and brought in fresher ingredients.”
And surprisingly, it wasn’t just a saying.
The meal was so delicious that I felt sorry that I shed one ear while listening.
‘What is this? Did he kidnap a cooker from the palace?’
He is so talented that there was a subtle doubt about the chef’s background.
After the meal, I went back to my room.
I forced Bessie back to her living quarters, telling her not to come all the way here and wait on me there.
I also said to Sir Davery that it would be safe here, so I told him to leave and take a break.
Then I came to my room, and some maid, I’m not even asking her to, came to me to help me take a bath.
“My, My lady.”
A little maid with dark brown hair and freckles on the back of her nose crouched down on me.
“I’ve got a bath. Which bath bomb would you like?”
“Well……anything?”
“Then I’ll release you with a rose bath bomb. Because it suits you.”
Mm-hmm?
‘She looks young.”
The young-looking maid, as if she had not been over fifteen or sixteen at most, this is the first time I’ve seen her.
It wasn’t new. Naturally, there are more faces that I don’t know than I know when I come to the territory once every few years.
There was no resemblance, but she reminded me of Ari, perhaps because she looked young. As I was getting ready to go into the bathtub, I asked implicitly.
“What’s your name?”
“Yes? You mean me?”
“Yes.”
“Angela……I’m Angela, my lady.”
The voice, which wasn’t loud from the beginning, crawled further as it reached the end. I purposely refined my words more softly because I was wondering if I made her nervous.
“I see. Thanks for the bath, Angela. Please take good care of me while I’m here.”
“Yes. Yes, My lady.”
Angela, who shook her head with a shy face, soon searched the shelf near the bathroom door.
“This, this is a fragrance essence. When you come out of the bath…….”
Then the small brown bottle in Angela’s hand slipped. Fortunately, the bottle that fell on the soft carpet did not break.
“Sorry, I’m sorry. My hand slipping.”’
“No.”
Instead, a bottle of essence flowed out of the half-open lid and made a stain on the carpet.
I looked at Angela with a slight glare in my eyes. It wasn’t because she made a simple mistake.
‘Didn’t you just shake your hand?’
I saw Angela’s hand trembling as I walked through the shelf and picked up the perfume bottle.
The degree of trembling was so great to say that it was fine. Looking at that, I might have thought Angela was in the late stage of her life.\n