The Circumstances of Being Chosen as the Villainess’s Favorite - Chapter 231

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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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Special Side Story 44
After breakfast was finished.
The three families made their way to the Tea Room set up in the Greenhouse, intending to have tea together.
And so, at present.
Dietrich and Lucas sat side by side at the tea table, watching Larite converse with the Gardener in the Greenhouse.
With surprising deliberation, Larite was examining the clustered blooms with careful attention.
A moment later.
The Gardener cut a flower with pruning shears and offered it to the lady.
“How are the plans for your Wedding Anniversary today?”
“…….”
Watching the scene, Lucas posed the question to his father.
But Dietrich did not answer.
Instead, he only gazed at his wife with anxious eyes as she arranged the flowers in the basket.
Lucas’s expression turned bewildered.
“Father?”
“…….”
“Father!”
Only then did Dietrich snap back to awareness and turn to his son.
“Did you call?”
“Yes. I was asking what the schedule is for your Wedding Anniversary.”
“Well, we had breakfast with you first, and after that, we’ve arranged to see Miss Morgan’s opera performance.”
To be more precise, Miss Morgan had been sending them tickets directly each time she performed.
Not only Lord and Lady Claudius, but the Crown Prince and Evangeline’s couple as well.
So they had been enjoying cultural outings quite thoroughly.
“Wait, the White Rose Woman? I’ve heard those tickets are nearly impossible to get!”
Lucas’s eyes widened in astonishment.
Then he gazed at his father with eyes that subtly seemed to be hoping for something.
“Could you get some for me too? I’d like to go see it with Chloe.”
“Hmm.”
Dietrich appraised his son from head to toe, then smiled faintly.
“Review the Accounting Ledger five times.”
“Pardon?”
“When you’ve verified it five times without a single error, I’ll see about obtaining the tickets for you.”
“Ah, Father!”
Lucas groaned in irritation.
But Dietrich no longer spared his son so much as a glance.
Instead, he gazed endlessly at his wife alone.
“But why are you looking at Mother like that?”
“Why must Larite insist on making a Bouquet for Miss Morgan herself?”
Dietrich murmured as if sighing.
“Evangeline could simply enjoy flowers as a hobby for her own sake. Why on earth did she have to teach Larite as well…….”
“Pardon?”
“What if she injures her hands handling the flowers directly?”
“Pardon?”
“What if she gets pricked by thorns? Or what if her hands become rough from the leaves…….”
“Pardon?”
“And handling sharp tools like shears is equally concerning. If Larite sustains even a small wound, it would be disastrous.”
“Pardon?”
Lucas stared back, dumbfounded, repeating “Pardon?” over and over.
There were times when Father became rather smitten with Mother alone, but even accounting for that, this was excessive.
Just then, Larite approached the father and son.
“What are you all discussing so animatedly?”
“…….”
Lucas clamped his mouth shut.
There was nothing particularly amusing about it, really.
It was simply his father’s besottedness that baffled him…….
Meanwhile, Larite, now seated, began arranging the flowers in the basket.
The fresh scent of grass and flowers rose gently in the air.
Dietrich, fidgeting restlessly, spoke to Larite.
“Wouldn’t it be simpler to just purchase a Bouquet?”
“Still, this performance is important to Miss Morgan. I wanted to put some genuine care into it.”
It was a fair point.
This production of The Lady of the White Rose had been the performance that truly launched Miss Morgan as a renowned opera singer.
Miss Morgan herself held considerable affection for this particular show.
Larite picked up the scissors and began trimming the flowers one by one with meticulous care.
Dietrich watched her with an expression full of concern, and then—
“Larite, scissors are dangerous.”
He took the shears from his wife’s hands and deftly began stripping the rose thorns away with practiced efficiency.
His movements were nothing short of artistry.
Lucas was now regarding his father with an expression of utter exasperation.
‘The swordsmanship once called the finest in the Empire, and here he is wielding it for this. Quite wasteful, really.’
In a charitable reading, it spoke to how deeply he loved his mother; in practical terms, his father’s doting had reached utterly absurd heights.
Lucas rose abruptly from his seat.
“Well, I suppose I’ll be on my way then.”
“Leaving already?”
Lucas regarded his excessively affectionate parents with a mixture of bemusement and resignation, glancing between them in turn.
“Personally, I’d just appreciate it if Father would consider that there are eyes watching him sometimes…….”
He sighed heavily as he said it.
Larite tilted her head in confusion.
“What do you mean by that?”
……
Faced with his mother’s ingenuous expression, Lucas’s discomfort only deepened.
The truth was, his mother bore some responsibility too.
For her failure to notice his father’s excessive affection.
“Father will explain all that. In any case, you’ll absolutely keep your promise about the tickets, won’t you?”
Having issued this final warning to his father, Lucas slipped out of the Greenhouse.
Larite turned to her husband, bewildered.
“What did Lucas mean just now?”
“I’m afraid I haven’t the faintest idea.”
Dietrich replied without so much as raising an eyebrow.
Larite, momentarily puzzled, soon returned to her busy work.
Having learned quite diligently from Evangeline, her hands moved with considerable skill as she arranged the flowers.
“What do you think, Dietrich?”
A moment later.
Larite held up a modest bouquet she had just completed for Dietrich to see.
Dietrich regarded her with a stern expression.
“It’s lovely.”
“You’re certain it’s truly lovely?”
Larite studied her husband’s face intently as she asked again.
Dietrich narrowed his brow and replied flatly.
“It is lovely, but…… I don’t see how that concerns me. It’s not for me, after all.”
……
Larite gazed at Dietrich steadily.
And then.
“Why do you think it’s not for you?”
She placed the bouquet into his arms.
Dietrich’s eyes widened considerably.
Larite held his gaze and smiled warmly, her eyes crinkling with affection.
“Do you like it?”
“Of course I do. It’s truly beautiful.”
Dietrich beamed and cradled the bouquet tenderly in his arms.
But the moment was brief.
“……Still, why are there so many flowers left?”
Something seemed amiss.
Despite having completed one bouquet, plenty of flowers remained.
At the same moment, Larite broke into a smile.
“Oh, I still need to make a bouquet for Miss Morgan.”
Dietrich’s face fell immediately.
* * *
The popular opera, The Lady of the White Rose, had a full house once again.
It was the same even though the performance took place around three o’clock in the afternoon, not during the usual evening show.
On the stage where the spotlight fell brilliantly.
Miss Morgan stood alone.
“I, pure as fresh snow, wait for you. My heart for you is like a single rose blooming on a cliff…….”
Larite listened quietly to Miss Morgan’s song.
Where once her voice had been as clear as a songbird’s, it now possessed the richness of ripened fruit.
And so, when the opera ended.
“Hooray!”
Clap, clap, clap!
Thunderous applause erupted from the audience.
Larite and Dietrich rose from their seats and joined in the applause.
Miss Morgan placed a hand on her heart and offered an elegant bow.
A radiant smile graced her beautiful face.
In the Opera Singer’s Waiting Room after the performance.
To celebrate Miss Morgan’s successful show, not only did Lord and Lady Claudius visit, but the Crown Prince and his consort as well.
“That was a truly beautiful song today.”
Larite offered the compliment in an excited voice as she handed over a bouquet.
“I made this bouquet myself.”
“That bouquet—I taught her how to make it.”
Evangeline cut in smoothly.
Miss Morgan accepted the bouquet with a delighted expression.
“Thank you so much. I must be such a fortunate woman.”
“Here, please accept this as well.”
Evangeline presented a gift she had brought along.
“It’s honey tea that’s good for the throat. Dissolve it in hot water and drink it.”
Miss Morgan’s face brightened even further.
“Thank you so much. I’ll have to drink it every day while thinking of you, Your Highness.”
“Well, not quite to that extent.”
Evangeline laughed, pleased with herself.
Larite and Miss Morgan laughed warmly as well.
Separate from this pleasant scene, there was one man who felt strangely left out.
That was Dietrich.

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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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