Spring in My Grasp - Chapter 72

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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(72) Meeting with the Marchioness

The carriage door closed with a soft click. The vehicle lurched forward into motion. Valerian Castle’s gates receded slowly into the distance. I gazed quietly out the window from within the carriage.
‘Come to think of it, I haven’t explored very many places in this world.’
I hadn’t spent much time at Hartwood House, and afterward, my days had been confined almost entirely to the East Annex and Valerian Castle. Yet now I was venturing forth—into a world I had never before set foot in.
‘Let’s give it a try!’
I steeled my resolve.
***
After traveling for some time, the carriage gradually began to slow. The landscape visible through the window transformed incrementally. The familiar forests and meadows surrounding Valerian Castle gave way to orderly roads and expansive manicured grounds. Along the departure route, trees trimmed at regular intervals stood in neat rows, their spaces filled with flowers blooming in season.
After traveling thus for a considerable distance, the carriage rounded one final gentle curve, and there Matia Castle revealed itself. I stepped down from the carriage, my feet touching solid stone pavement.
In that instant, all eyes turned toward me. The attendants standing before me, the servants waiting in the distance—everyone gazed upon me.
‘I feel like a celebrity.’
It was certainly burdensome, yet unavoidable. My seclusion had only intensified people’s curiosity about me.
“Please come this way.”
The Matia Family Butler guided me with courteous formality. Lea swallowed nervously, while Eloze followed silently behind me without the slightest falter. Together, we proceeded toward the tea party venue prepared by Marchioness Matia. The tea party was being held in the Central Garden of Matia Castle.
The expansive garden achieved perfect symmetry, with paths stretching straight without the slightest deviation. Stone walkways bisecting the garden were flanked on both sides by meticulously trimmed hedges of uniform height, interspersed with flowers carefully selected for the season. Upon close inspection, each plant had been chosen with deliberate care; from a distance, they formed a single completed painting. At the garden’s center stood a modest fountain.
There, in the very heart of it all, the tea party was underway. Noblewomen already occupied their seats, sipping tea. The moment I stepped into their midst, the garden’s atmosphere shifted subtly. The woman at the center of all the rumors—the Countess of Valerion—had arrived. I felt their gazes and offered an embarrassed smile.
“Welcome, Countess.”
One noblewoman who had been seated attending to her guests rose from her chair. It was immediately apparent. This was Marchioness Matia, the hostess of this gathering.
“I am honored that you accepted my invitation.”
“The honor is mine—though I fear I was terribly slow in responding to your letter.”
Marchioness Matia possessed a remarkably gentle demeanor, yet emanated an equally formidable presence. She appeared somewhat older than me, though I suspected her actual age might be considerably more advanced.
Perhaps because Marchioness Matia regarded this as merely a small tea party held at her own estate, she wore an unadorned, modest dress—yet this only served to enhance her dignity all the more.
“Please, do be seated. The ladies present here are my close companions. I prepared this modestly, fearing that too many guests might prove burdensome for you, though I wonder if I’ve succeeded.”
A brief silence fell as the fragrance of tea diffused gently through the air. The noblewomen present all appeared to be of an age similar to my own.
“Good day, Countess. I am Florence of House Morenne.”
“I am Laila of House Boden.”
They all rose with elegant grace and introduced themselves to me. Each was a refined noblewoman of relatively tender years.
“Everyone here present is a married woman. The age difference between you and them is not particularly great, so I hope you will find conversation with them quite comfortable.”
At the Marchioness’s words, I turned to regard her.
“I hardly know what to say—you’ve been so thoughtfully considerate.”
I expressed my gratitude with genuine sincerity. Behind me, both Lea and Eloze exhaled in profound relief. There was no doubt that Marchioness Matia had invited me with no ulterior motive.
Thus the tea party began in earnest. At first, everyone spoke somewhat hesitantly, gauging my reactions.
“If I may be so bold—”
Then a woman named Laila gathered her courage and spoke.
“Baron Valerion is surely a hero of the Kingdom. Yet it seems that since becoming a Holy Knight, he has never participated in any official gatherings, and I confess I have been most curious about what sort of person he is.”
“As have I. And I have been equally curious about the Countess of Valerion.”
Perhaps because they were still relatively young women, they spoke with considerable ease and familiarity. It seemed that the Marchioness Matia’s warmth toward Rowan, combined with Rowan’s acceptance of an invitation to this place for the first time, had earned their favor.
“Alexis is—”
Rowan began to speak but hesitated. She worried that her words might be twisted and distorted, spreading strange rumors about him through High Society. Yet when she saw the gentle expression on the Marchioness Matia’s face, she felt reassured.
“Well….”
Rowan seemed to ponder for a moment before breaking into a soft smile.
“He’s just adorable.”
The eyes of everyone present widened in astonishment.
“Pardon?”
Laila, who had spoken first, gasped in surprise.
“I’ve seen him from a distance, standing beside the King. Though it was far away, he was….”
Hardly the type to be called adorable. Laila swallowed the rest of her words.
“Oh, what are you talking about? When he comes home, he’s an absolute spoiled child.”
Rowan’s next remark was even more shocking. Even the Marchioness Matia struggled to hide her expression.
“Hehe… A Holy Knight being a spoiled child?”
The Marchioness Matia’s hand trembled faintly as she held her teacup.
“That’s quite unbelievable.”
But Rowan’s words were the truth.
When Alexis returned from his campaign, he clung to Rowan without leaving her side all day long. At such times, he would always complain about how difficult this mission had been, asking how much he had missed her. It wasn’t the horrors of the battlefield that had been so difficult—it was missing Rowan and Leonius that had tormented him.
At those moments, Rowan would bite her tongue, resisting the urge to point out that except for extended absences like campaigns, he came home punctually every single day to be with them. If she said such things, Alexis’s eyes would grow a little sorrowful. He wished to be even closer to her than he already was.
So Rowan would have to indulge him with playful words about how much she had missed him too. Only then would relief soften Alexis’s expression, yet he was always concerned that his own love might be excessive.
“But isn’t everyone the same?”
Rowan said.
“They put on a stern face in public, but they’re different when they come home, aren’t they?”
“Well, that’s….”
Florence spoke hesitantly.
“My husband is actually quite a picky eater. When he dines with everyone outside, he pretends otherwise, but when he comes home, he complains endlessly—no carrots, he hates broccoli.”
“Really? Count Morenne?”
Laila was startled once again.
“I think his mother was very strict with his eating habits when he was young. But it seems to have backfired—after marrying me, he simply refuses to eat vegetables he dislikes.”
“I can hardly imagine it….”
At Laila’s astonishment, Florence let out a laughing sigh.
“When I serve him something healthy, do you know what he said? He told me to bring him something that’s both healthy and delicious.”
“My goodness….”
Even with a marquis’s title, people are still people, Rowan thought to herself. I wonder if the King has such preferences? At least Alexis had no such picky habits. He devoured everything I gave him. Moreover, he had quite an appetite.
Though Florence and Laila had interacted for so long, Laila could not hide her surprise at hearing such a story for the first time. The Count Morenne they encountered through their families’ interactions was an extremely stern and intellectual man. That such a man would complain to his wife about side dishes and demand vegetables be removed—it was truly shocking.
“Hahahaha.”
Suddenly, the Marchioness Matia burst into laughter. Rowan turned to look at her.
“How amusing.”

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