I Won’t Pick Up The T*ash I Threw Away Again - Chapter 14

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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#14

While Fillen’s interest and behavior toward Sisly bothered me, what made me saddest was my position of having to care about him even in this situation.

Was this how Countess Tebesa felt when she saw Count Tebesa caring for my pregnant mother?

‘Probably so.’

That’s why she hated me so much, mistreated me, and poured out such harsh words.

I found myself understanding Countess Tebesa’s position anew.

That didn’t mean I didn’t dislike her though. I still felt my teeth clench when I thought of Countess Tebesa.

I smiled bitterly as I examined Fillen’s outfit that was matched as a pair with mine.

As befitting the designer who had exclusively handled the Williot Duchy’s clothing for generations, the outfit was perfect. Not a single stitch was out of place.

I was also checking the handkerchief that served as the accent piece when Sara, who had been examining the accessories, spoke up cautiously.

“Um, Miss, aren’t you going to embroider the handkerchief?”

“Embroidery?”

“Yes. I heard this gathering is His Grace the Duke’s first social debut. It’s customary for men to carry handkerchiefs embroidered by family or their fiancée as pocket squares for their first social debut, isn’t it?”

Right. Come to think of it, there was such a custom.

It had been so long since I’d done embroidery that I’d completely forgotten.

“Did you forget?”

“Yes. I haven’t had occasion to embroider in so long.”

“That’s true, His Grace has been on the battlefield continuously, and you’ve been busy, Miss. You wouldn’t have had time for embroidery as a hobby.”

“Even if I’d had time, I wouldn’t have embroidered.”

“Why not?”

“…Come to think of it, Sara, you’ve never seen my embroidery work.”

The last time I’d done embroidery was right before Fillen left for the battlefield.

Sara, who came to the manor after Fillen went to war, wouldn’t have seen it.

Originally, I hadn’t wanted to do it even then.

But because of the superstition that if someone you love carries a handkerchief you embroidered into battle, they’ll return safely, I had no choice but to embroider.

What had Fillen said when he saw the handkerchief I embroidered back then?

He’d laughed so hard, asking if that was really our family crest.

When I got angry and told him not to take it, he quickly tucked it into his chest and kissed the back of my hand, promising he’d definitely return safely.

It was a wistful memory. At any other time, I would have laughed happily while reminiscing about the past, but I couldn’t do that anymore.

Just thinking about it made my mouth taste as bitter as chewing very bitter herbs.

I stared down at the colorful handkerchiefs.

No matter how much I resented and disliked him, Fillen was my fiancé. I was his fiancée.

And I couldn’t let Fillen be criticized by others at his first social debut.

Especially since it would reflect poorly on me too.

“Sara, prepare the embroidery supplies.”

There were only 3 days left until the Emperor’s coronation banquet.

Since the day of and the day before would be busy with other matters, there was really only one day left.

I had to complete the embroidery within that time, so I set aside everything else and focused only on embroidery.

“Ugh.”

Blood beaded on my finger where the needle had pricked it.

Sara, who had been sitting across from me doing embroidery, hurriedly brought tissues and wiped the blood from my finger.

“That makes 22 times you’ve been pricked so far.”

“…I’ve been pricked that many times?”

“Yes. Thanks to that, your finger looks like a complete honeycomb.”

That much? I couldn’t really tell.

After wiping away the blood, Sara applied ointment on top.

“At least your index finger with the thimble is fine. I think you should wear thimbles on your entire left hand, Miss.”

“…Don’t tease me.”

“I’m not teasing, I’m saying it out of concern.”

Sara put the ointment back in the box and let out another deep sigh.

“I never imagined you’d be this bad at embroidery. It’s surprising. You do everything else so well that I thought you’d be good at embroidery too.”

“That can’t be true. There are many things I can’t do. I can’t cook and I can’t dance either.”

“I suppose you wouldn’t have tried cooking, but you can’t dance either?”

“No. I’m clumsy. And I have no sense of rhythm.”

Thanks to my desperate efforts, I could perform waltz movements somewhat naturally, but the problem was that I couldn’t keep time.

I could barely follow along only by concentrating hard and watching my partner’s movements.

At least Fillen wasn’t tone-deaf, which was fortunate—otherwise we both would have looked ridiculous.

“Wow, how interesting. So there are things you can’t do, Miss.”

I smiled faintly at Sara’s exclamation and replied.

“Of course there are. I’m human too.”

“That’s true. Oh, there’s blood on the handkerchief. Blood needs to be washed out quickly or it won’t come off, so I’ll go wash it right away.”

“Sorry for the trouble.”

“What are you saying? It’s naturally my job to do this. I’ll be right back.”

Sara disappeared with quick steps.

With a moment to rest, I moved and stretched my stiff shoulders and neck.

Then I looked at my hands from various angles.

“But it really does look like a honeycomb.”

Except for my index finger with the thimble, my entire left hand was dotted with red spots like a honeycomb.

The wounds where I’d pricked the same spot several times had grown quite large and looked unsightly.

I’d have to wear gloves at the banquet. I couldn’t show such unsightly hands to other people.

I was wiping away blood that had flowed from wounds that hadn’t fully healed and organizing the thread scattered messily when Sara returned.

“Ta-da! I got the blood out perfectly!”

“Good, well done.”

“Hehe.”

Sara blushed at my praise and grinned broadly.

I was tired since it was late at night, and sleepiness was overwhelming me, but there was no time to sleep.

I had to complete the embroidery by tomorrow.

I forced myself to fight off the overwhelming sleepiness and focused on embroidery again.

* * *

Thanks to staying up all night, I was able to complete the embroidery successfully.

Although I got pricked 10 more times after that, making my left hand look even worse than a honeycomb, it was fine.

What mattered was that I’d completed the embroidery.

I looked at the embroidery I’d created with a moved heart.

If I’d done it alone, it would have been such a mess that I’d be embarrassed to show it, but thanks to Sara helping me all night, it came out looking quite decent.

Of course, it was infinitely lacking compared to craftsmen’s work, but I was satisfied.

Without a doubt, it was the best work of my life.

“It’s wonderful, Miss!”

Sara, who had stayed up all night with me, was also very happy and clapped her hands.

“Let’s hurry and go show His Grace the Duke, Miss.”

“Now?”

“Of course! If you don’t show him now, it’ll be meaningless!”

“But I look terrible…”

From staying up all night, my skin was dull and I had dark circles under my eyes.

Since I’d always shown Fillen only neat and tidy appearances, I was embarrassed to show him this state.

“That’s exactly why you should go now!”

Sara said, thumping her chest as if frustrated.

“You need to appeal to the master that you worked so hard to do this embroidery! That way it’ll be more effective!”

“Is that so?”

“Of course! So let’s hurry and go!”

“Still, let me at least wash my face first.”

Sara said it was fine, but I wasn’t fine with it.

No matter how I thought about it, I was embarrassed to show Fillen this shabby appearance, so I washed up and tidied myself somewhat properly.

Then I took the box containing the handkerchief and headed to Fillen’s room.

My heart was beating for no reason. I felt like I had returned to being an immature adolescent girl.

Just then, Fillen came out of his room.

Thanks to his tall stature, Fillen stood out even from a distance.

It seemed to be because his deep blonde hair reflected in the sunlight.

He was dressed in neat outdoor clothes, as if he was going somewhere.

“Your Grace the Duke.”

When I called out, Fillen, who had been giving some instructions to the butler, turned to look at me.

“Princess Tebesa?”

His face looked quite puzzled.

Well, it made sense since I hadn’t been the one to seek him out first lately.

I hadn’t expected to come looking for him for something like this either.

“What’s the matter?”

“Well…”

There wasn’t much to say at length. I just needed to show him the handkerchief I had embroidered diligently, then say I had prepared it since it was his social debut. It was very simple.

But why wouldn’t those simple words come out easily?

While I could say other things easily, why couldn’t I say something like this easily?

My pursed lips were completely dry. My hand gripping the box containing the handkerchief tensed slightly.

I couldn’t look at him directly and kept my gaze around his neck area, hesitating, when I gathered courage to open my mouth again.

“Phil.”

A sweet voice mixed with affection was heard. It was Sisly, That Woman.

Sisly, wearing only a thin gown and a blue necklace, held out a handkerchief to Phil without any thought of covering her half-exposed ample chest.

“You left this behind.”

The handkerchief was embroidered with a sword entwined with roses, the crest of the Williot Duchy.

At first glance, it was extremely delicate and beautiful embroidery. It was so excellent that it couldn’t even be compared to the embroidery I had done.

Who could have done that embroidery?

Could it be… That Woman?

At the sudden thought, I bit my lips firmly and stared at Sisly.

“Oh my.”

Sisly, who noticed me belatedly, smiled with her eyes beautifully curved.

“Good morning, Princess Tebesa.”

“…Good morning.”

She greeted me with a kind smile, and I couldn’t ignore her, so I forced a smile and gave a brief reply.

I hoped my conversation with Sisly would end there, but unfortunately, my wish wasn’t granted.

“I actually had something I wanted to ask your understanding about, so this works out well.”

Sisly smoothly curved her plump lips and showed me that handkerchief.

“Since you said you couldn’t do embroidery, I did it instead. How is it?”

Her long eyelashes fluttered lightly like butterfly wings. Her eyes sparkled cheerfully as she looked at me.

“This gathering is Phil’s first social debut stage, isn’t it?”

“…”

“But if he participates without even a handkerchief embroidered by his fiancée, both Phil and you might be embarrassed, so I embroidered it in your place.”

Sisly looked at me with a smile, as if she had no malice at all, as if she purely wanted praise.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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