I Won’t Pick Up The T*ash I Threw Away Again - Chapter 143

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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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#143

 

“What? I have to host dinner for His Majesty the Emperor this weekend?”

 

Sara said in shock after hearing my story.

 

Nes’s face turned pale as a sheet.

 

“But why do you suddenly have to host dinner for His Majesty the Emperor?”

 

“Something came up that I need to repay His Majesty for.”

 

Repaying him for teaching me horseback riding was fine. I naturally thought I should repay him anyway.

 

But if that repayment meant inviting him to the manor for dinner, that was a different story.

 

From decorating the manor to the meal itself, there were so many things to worry about.

 

Baron Delrond was also a baron and relatively comfortable company, so I had invited him with a light heart.

 

I never expected Kalian would end up taking his place.

 

I hadn’t even thought Kalian would teach me horseback riding in the first place.

 

I sighed as much as the worry was boiling inside me.

 

Sara and Nes said worriedly.

 

“What should we prepare for dinner? It’s His Majesty the Emperor, not just anyone, so ordinary dishes won’t do, right?”

 

“Oh, not just the cooking, but we should do a deep cleaning too. We can’t receive His Majesty the Emperor in a shabby place.”

 

What Sara and Nes were worried about was exactly what I was worried about.

 

“First, go shopping for new ingredients tomorrow. Make sure to buy only the highest quality ingredients.”

 

“Yes, Baron.”

 

“And for the cleaning…”

 

I stopped mid-sentence and looked around the manor extensively.

 

There were a total of 4 servants residing in the manor, and among them, only Sara and Nes were maids who mainly handled cleaning inside the manor.

 

Hans was mainly in charge of carriage and horse care, while Paul mainly handled garden cleaning and heavy work like chopping firewood.

 

Could Sara and Nes deep clean this huge manor by themselves?

 

No matter how I thought about it, it was too much. Even if Hans and Paul helped, it seemed overwhelming.

 

Then I’d have to call in people.

 

Having organized my thoughts, I turned to Nes.

 

“Nes, go call the labor office manager right now.”

 

“Yes, Miss.”

 

* * *

 

“A job paying 1 gold per day.”

 

Perhaps because it was work for nobility, the pay was several times better than other places.

 

And it was just simple manor cleaning, not difficult work.

 

The labor office manager said it might be tough since it was deep cleaning a manor, but that was fine.

 

Cleaning was her specialty. She could do as much as needed.

 

What should I do with 1 gold?

 

First, I should buy Mother’s medicine. And I should buy bread for my sibling to eat too.

 

“Hehe.”

 

Just thinking about it made her feel good, and the girl blushed.

 

If I go and clean well and catch the noble’s eye, maybe I could work as a maid in that house.

 

Being a maid in a noble manor was like a dream job for common girls.

 

The salary was high, and there were even performance bonuses.

 

If I get hired as a maid, I can consistently earn money for Mother’s medicine and food.

 

“Alright, I have to work hard.”

 

The girl headed home, burning with determination.

 

She passed through the bustling streets and entered a quiet residential area when someone blocked her path.

 

“…!”

 

The girl was startled and looked at the person.

 

They wore their hood pulled down so far it covered their entire face, so she couldn’t see it.

 

But from the brilliant long blonde hair visible between the deeply pulled hood and the small build and slender fingers she could glimpse, it seemed to be a woman.

 

“Who are you?”

 

The girl asked, being very wary of the figure.

 

“I don’t have anything at all! Really!”

 

“You don’t need to be so tense.”

 

The voice was also high and thin. It really was a woman.

 

“I didn’t come to take anything from you, but rather to give you something.”

 

“What are you giving me?”

 

“I’ll give you this.”

 

What the figure, the woman, held out was a whole 10 gold.

 

With that money, she could buy a whole month’s worth of Mother’s medicine and still have some left.

 

The girl swallowed dryly as she stared at the money the figure held out.

 

“What do you… want from me?”

 

From her experience so far, there was no one who showed kindness without any price. Especially not with such a large sum.

 

With such a large amount, there must be a correspondingly large price.

 

Thinking this, the girl didn’t let down her guard and asked the woman.

 

“You look young but you’re smart.”

 

The woman made a slight laughing sound and continued.

 

“That’s right. There is a price.”

 

I knew it. The girl was about to refuse when the woman added before she could.

 

“It’s not difficult. Just plant these seeds in the garden of that noble manor you’re going to clean tomorrow.”

 

In the woman’s other hand was a small pouch.

 

The woman opened the pouch and showed the seeds to the girl.

 

“What kind of seeds are they?”

 

“Just seeds that bloom into pretty flowers.”

 

She’s asking me to plant something like that while giving me a whole 10 gold?

 

It was ridiculous. They absolutely couldn’t be normal seeds.

 

If I planted something like that in a noble’s house and got caught, I’d go straight to prison.

 

If that happened, there would be no one to take care of my sick mother and young sibling.

 

So I should refuse, but the temptation of 10 gold was too strong for the girl to readily refuse.

 

Noticing that the girl was hesitating, the woman smiled and held out more money.

 

“20 gold total. This should be enough, right?”

 

That was the end of her deliberation.

 

“I’ll do it.”

 

The girl took the money and seeds the woman offered.

 

She was thinking of just taking the money and running if necessary, but the woman, who seemed to read the girl’s mind again, said.

 

“If you don’t properly carry out what I asked and just run off with the money, know that your sibling and mother’s lives will be forfeit.”

 

The girl’s eyes wavered. This woman knows about Mother and my sibling.

 

Well, she entrusted me with such a big job while giving me this much money, so she must have investigated such things beforehand.

 

“I won’t do such a thing.”

 

I guess I’ll have to give up on working as a maid in that house.

 

Working as a maid after doing such a bad thing would be too shameless.

 

The girl crumpled up the dream she had briefly held and gripped the pouch containing the seeds tightly.

 

For someone like her who struggled just to live each day, thinking about the future was a luxury.

 

* * *

 

I left the manor’s deep cleaning to the people the labor office manager brought, and assigned Sara and Nes to prepare the dinner meal for Kalian.

 

There were still two days left until that day, but since it was an important matter, it was better to prepare well in advance.

 

I was worried about whether the people brought in from outside would do well, but my worries were unfounded as they cleaned everything spotlessly.

 

A few of them were so good that I was considering hiring them as servants.

 

That wasn’t urgent, so I’d think about it slowly.

 

I smiled contentedly as I looked around the now-clean manor.

 

As I had said, all the ingredients for dinner were prepared with the finest quality.

 

Nes and Sara did their best to prepare a splendid dinner banquet, even consulting cookbooks.

 

Hans helped Paul and put extra effort into managing the garden, and as we prepared with renewed determination, the weekend soon arrived.

 

As promised, I visited the Imperial Palace a little past lunchtime.

 

The Imperial Palace, enchanted with warming magic, was as warm as spring despite the cold winter.

 

Green trees and flowers that had forgotten the season were scattered everywhere.

 

I took off my coat and headed to the equestrian training ground.

 

Kalian was already at the equestrian training ground.

 

“You’re here.”

 

“I greet His Majesty.”

 

When I gave a brief greeting, Kalian gestured for me to come over.

 

As I approached and stood beside him, Kalian pointed to the white horse in front of him.

 

“This is the horse you’ll ride today. She’s the gentlest mare among the horses I own.”

 

A white horse and a mare at that.

 

Though I didn’t know much about horses, I knew that such horses were considered fine steeds.

 

Well, there’s no way a horse owned by His Majesty the Emperor would be of low quality.

 

‘To think I’d get to ride such a fine horse.’

 

I was really lucky.

 

I carefully approached the white horse.

 

To ride a horse, you first need to become friendly with it.

 

This was something the riding instructor had emphasized several times.

 

“What’s this horse’s name?”

 

“Ilena.”

 

“Hello, Ilena.”

 

I called the horse’s name while stroking her head. Her coat was as soft as silk. This meant she was a well-cared-for horse.

 

Usually, horses would resist or show displeasure when touched by someone they’d never seen before.

 

The practice horses I’d ridden so far had also disliked my touch at first.

 

But Ilena didn’t do that and obediently let me stroke her head.

 

“She really is a gentle horse.”

 

When I murmured in admiration, Kalian smiled with satisfaction.

 

“Then let’s try riding right away.”

 

When Kalian gestured, the stable hands approached and fitted Ilena with a bridle and saddle.

 

Meanwhile, another stable hand brought the horse Kalian would ride.

 

It was a black horse, larger than Ilena.

 

“This is my beloved horse, Nero.”

 

Nero. In ancient language, it meant water.

 

I tried to greet Nero too, but Nero snorted roughly and turned his head away.

 

Does he… dislike me?

 

“He doesn’t dislike you.”

 

Kalian said while stroking Nero’s head.

 

“Nero is particularly picky about people. The stable hands are having a hard time because of it.”

 

The stable hands nodded vigorously, agreeing with Kalian’s words.

 

“Now let’s try riding. You know how to mount a horse, right?”

 

“Yes.”

 

I was confident about that. I confidently mounted Ilena’s back.

 

“You mount well.”

 

Kalian smiled lightly and mounted Nes.

 

“Then let’s start with a walk.”

 

* * *

 

I had already heard that there was no progress in Leilah’s riding skills, but I never thought it would be this bad.

 

Kalian looked at Leilah, who was clinging tightly to Ilena’s back, with bewilderment.

 

At first, it seemed like she could do it somewhat, but when the speed increased a little, she didn’t know what to do and lowered her posture.

 

How could anyone believe she was someone who had been learning to ride for over a week?

 

It was believable enough to say she was riding a horse for the first time today.

 

No, more than that, if she continued like that, she might fall off the horse.

 

Worried, Kalian dismounted from Nes and approached Leilah.

 

“Leilah, lift your head and straighten your back.”

 

Despite Kalian’s words, Leilah wouldn’t let go of Ilena’s back.

 

“Leilah.”

 

The moment Kalian placed his hand on her bent back.

 

“…!”

 

Leilah startled and straightened her body. Without realizing it, she kicked the horse’s side hard.

 

Neigh-

 

Startled by this, Ilena bucked greatly, shaking Leilah’s body as well.

 

“Ah!”

 

“Leilah!”

 

Kalian hurriedly stretched out his arms and embraced Leilah as she fell from the horse.

 

The two people who fell to the ground were pressed so close together that not even a sheet of paper could fit between them.

 

They were close enough to feel and even mix each other’s breath.

 

Kalian’s eyes widened at the soft and tender sensation touching his lips.

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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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