I Won’t Pick Up The T*ash I Threw Away Again - Chapter 17

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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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#17

Why would it turn out that way?

Though I was slightly bewildered, it seemed like it might be fun, so I said the first name that came to mind.

“Is it Young Lord Vallen?”

“No.”

“Then Young Lord Ilizai? Or if not him, Young Lord Logan?”

I mentioned several names of heirs from count families or higher among my peers, but they were all wrong.

What on earth could this man’s name be?

I felt determined to find out no matter what.

“Please give me at least a hint.”

“The hint is my hair.”

Hair?

I looked at the man’s hair. Blue hair that shone vividly under the sunlight fluttered softly in the wind.

As I couldn’t quite catch on and just stared blankly at his hair, the man curled up the corners of his mouth.

“You’re quite clever in other areas, yet ignorant in this regard.”

“Are you teasing me?”

“Of course not.”

The man rested his chin on his hand, thought for a moment, then snapped his fingers.

“Let’s do this. Find out my name by the banquet.”

“It seems you’ll be attending the banquet.”

“Of course.”

Then he must be a noble of at least count rank.

Since nobles of baron rank and below cannot participate in this imperial coronation commemoration party.

More than that, thinking about attending the banquet made my briefly improved mood sink into gloom again. A sigh escaped me naturally.

“Do you dislike attending the banquet?”

The man, who noticed my feelings like a ghost, asked.

Since I was already caught, there was no point in denying it, so I nodded honestly.

“Yes.”

“May I ask why?”

Well, if I attend the banquet, other nobles will surely whisper about Fillen and me.

Words I couldn’t speak aloud lingered in my mouth.

I let out a deep sigh and looked at the ground.

If Fillen weren’t a fool, he wouldn’t attend the banquet carrying Sisly’s embroidered handkerchief.

But he wouldn’t attend carrying a handkerchief I embroidered either.

Though I have no intention of giving him one.

A noble attending his first social debut without a handkerchief despite having a fiancée.

It was perfect material for nobles who love gossiping about others.

Thinking about being mercilessly torn apart by them made my vision go dark.

Knowing this yet thinking about having to force a smile in front of them filled me with disgust, and I bit my lips tightly.

“My lady has all sorts of bad habits.”

The man’s cold fingertips touched my lips.

I was startled and pulled my body back.

The man looked embarrassed and withdrew his hand.

“I’m sorry. I was worried your lips might get ruined, but I ended up startling you.”

“Oh, no.”

Though I was startled, answering that way would make the man feel awkward, so I shook my head.

“I was just lost in other thoughts and got surprised. You don’t need to apologize, my lord.”

“That makes me feel a bit better.”

“Please do feel that way.”

“May I ask what you were thinking about?”

When I stared at him silently, the man hastily added.

“I’m not asking with strange thoughts. I’m just worried because your expression looked so troubled, so please don’t misunderstand.”

Do I look that bad?

I rubbed my face. Unfortunately, I couldn’t see what expression I was making myself.

“It’s nothing much. I was just worrying about the party.”

Since he said he was worried, I couldn’t not answer, but I couldn’t speak honestly either, so I gave a vague response.

“This party is my first social debut, so I have many worries. What if I make some mistake?”

“There are many young ladies and lords making their first social debut at this party due to the long war.”

The man said slowly while brushing away hair stuck to my face.

“So please don’t worry too much. I’m sure you’ll do well, my lady.”

His gentle actions and tone calmed my anxious heart.

I looked at the man with a faint smile.

“You’re truly kind, my lord.”

“Am I?”

“Yes. You must be popular with other young ladies.”

“I am popular.”

As if it were perfectly natural, the man’s lips curved mischievously as he acknowledged my words.

“But I only act this way with people I’m interested in. I don’t even look at people I’m not interested in.”

‘People.’

If he had said ‘women’ he was interested in, it would have been burdensome, but saying ‘people’ didn’t feel burdensome at all.

Rather, it felt good that he seemed to see me as a person, not just some young lady.

“You really speak well.”

“You flatter me.”

After exchanging a few more trivial conversations, I saw the Williot Duchy’s carriage at the bottom of the hill.

It was time to go.

I felt regretful. I wanted to converse more with this man.

“Are you really going to take the handkerchief?”

Before leaving, I asked the man once more if he intended to return the handkerchief.

The man slowly blinked and asked.

“Do you dislike giving me that handkerchief?”

“It’s not that, but it has the Williot Duchy’s crest embroidered on it. I was saying it’s not something you can use anywhere.”

I asked out of concern that using it might cause strange misunderstandings with others, and the man smiled brightly.

“You don’t need to worry about that.”

Then he bent his waist slightly and brought his lips close to my ear.

At the suddenly close distance where I could hear his breathing, I was startled and blinked rapidly.

Finding my reaction amusing, the man chuckled softly and continued in a subtle yet alluring voice.

“Because I plan to hide it where only I can see and use it secretly.”

Soon his lips moved away, but my earlobes still felt hot as if he were still close.

I touched my ear unnecessarily and answered curtly.

“You have a unique way of saying you won’t show it to anyone.”

“Haha, I do speak rather uniquely.”

“Miss!”

I heard the coachman calling for me.

It was really time to go. I was about to get up when the man grabbed my arm.

“There’s one more thing I want to ask.”

“Is it about taxes again?”

“No. It’s about you, my lady.”

About me?

“What is it?”

“Have you ever considered becoming a government official?”

At his following words, I looked at the man with slight surprise.

“Are you mocking me right now?”

“I’m serious.”

I couldn’t find any trace of falsehood in his straightforward answer.

“Then you must not know that women cannot become government officials.”

At my response, the man tilted his head slightly as if puzzled.

“I believe there’s no such law.”

“There’s no law, but that’s how custom works.”

“It’s just custom, not something absolute, isn’t it?”

That was true, but sometimes custom was a more frightening law than actual law.

Because it made you harbor vain hopes that couldn’t be fulfilled, and when those hopes crumbled, it brought despair.

Having experienced it firsthand, I knew well how great that despair could be.

I absolutely refused to go through the same experience again.

“I’d like to stop this pointless argument.”

Not wanting to continue the conversation with the man any longer, I answered firmly and tried to stand up, but the man persistently asked.

“If an opportunity to become a government official came to you, would you seize that opportunity?”

I didn’t know why he was so obsessed with this, but I answered honestly.

“Of course I would have to seize it.”

At my answer, the man smiled with satisfaction and released my wrist.

“Please don’t forget that answer.”

His additional words were meaningful.

I wanted to ask what he meant by asking such a thing.

And why he was here.

But because the coachman had come up the hill to fetch me, I had to turn away without being able to ask anything.

* * *

The place where the man who had conversed with Leilah appeared again was the Imperial Palace.

The guards protecting the Imperial Palace, as well as the maids and servants, were startled upon seeing the man and bowed deeply.

Without giving them so much as a glance, the man walked forward unhesitatingly and stopped in front of a certain room.

And he opened the door and entered without even knocking.

A young man who had been sitting at a desk piled high with documents, battling paperwork, quickly raised his head to look at the man.

“Well, well, who do we have here.”

The young man who discovered the man spoke sarcastically.

“If it isn’t our gracious Emperor Callian de Chepel Yusbeldya, who dumped a pile of work on me and went out to play.”

Calling him by his full name while being sarcastic showed he was quite angry.

Well, it was understandable since he’d been dumped with so much work.

The man, Callian, chuckled and picked up part of the pile of documents stacked on the desk.

“Have you finished much of the work?”

“Does it look like I’ve finished much?”

“It doesn’t seem like it.”

When Callian answered in an indifferent tone, the young man grabbed the back of his neck with a reddened face.

“Your Majesty, your dream isn’t to work me to death, is it?”

“Of course not. You know how much I cherish you.”

Cherish my ass! The young man screamed silently and complained to the man.

“Then why do you assign me so much work?”

“Because I trust you.”

“Then don’t trust me!”

The young man who had shouted in a moment of frustration quickly averted his gaze when Callian looked at him with cold eyes.

“Please, Your Majesty.”

That lasted only briefly, as the young man looked at Callian with eyes that seemed ready to shed tears and pleaded.

“Please fire me already. Or at least accept my resignation letter.”

“Rejected.”

Callian refused outright and checked the documents.

The young man suppressed his rising blood pressure and pleaded with Callian once more.

“If not that, then please hire more assistants. Does it make sense that I’m the only assistant when there’s this much work to do!”

“Ber, what can I do when there’s no one I can trust besides you.”

When Callian answered as if asking why he was questioning something so obvious, the young man, Ber, seriously considered betraying Callian’s trust for a moment.

Then he could spend his life in prison without worrying about dying from overwork!

“However.”

Callian continued speaking as he put down the document he was looking at.

“I suppose it’s about time to hire a new assistant.”

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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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