The Eldest Daughter Walks Down The Flower Path - Chapter 57
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
The Eldest Daughter Walks the Path of Flowers Episode 57
“You really won’t drink tea? I already put the tea leaves in, so drink some before you go.”
Eve set the teapot and teacup down on the table.
It wasn’t even a particularly large movement, but just that motion alone put the knot of the soft silk waist tie in an extremely precarious situation.
“Sh… shall I drink it?”
“Yes. Sugar? Cream? Milk?”
“I, I’m fine…”
“I need to put everything in.”
When was it that he was grumbling about being dragged out of bed? Eve was now even humming as he brought containers of sugar, cream, and milk.
Every time he walked with those long legs swaying, the knot of his waist tie kept sliding down further.
Radis had to use all her strength to avoid looking at his vertically split abs and the navel that clung tightly above the muscles.
Completely unaware of her efforts, Eve now began shrugging his shoulders and singing a strange song.
“On days off~”
Eve cheerfully hummed as he opened the sugar container and picked up sugar cubes with small silver tongs, dropping them into the teacup.
“Three sugars~”
Each time the sugar cubes plopped into the tea with milk – plop, plop, plop – Eve’s shoulders bounced.
That light shoulder dance was driving the waist tie’s knot step by step into a corner.
The fragile silk string was now almost completely undone.
Then Eve lifted the cream jug, raising his arm unnecessarily high.
“Cream too…”
She could see the silk waist tie surrender and drop both arms limply downward.
“Lots of it~!”
Right before Radis’s eyes, Eve’s robe fell open.
His chest that looked white and solid like marble, his cleanly split abs, and his waist that looked even more slender due to his bulging latissimus dorsi muscles appeared with a ta-da.
Radis squeezed her eyes shut and hit her forehead with her fist.
Thwack-!
At the sound of bone hitting, Eve looked at Radis in surprise.
“Radis? What did you just do?”
“It’s nothing.”
Though her forehead was throbbing terribly, Radis, who had regained her composure thanks to it, said.
“It’s the fastest and most effective way to ward off an incubus’s temptation. You should remember it too, Lord Marquis, since you might need to camp overnight in the Monster Forest.”
“What? What are you talking about? Are you really okay?”
“Let me get to the point. Lord Marquis, what I wanted to ask you about is the Empire’s 6th Prince.”
The incub… no, Eve sat across from her and said.
“The 6th Prince, you mean Nesio Arpend?”
“Could you tell me about him?”
“That’s not difficult.”
Eve sipped his tea with three sugars and plenty of cream and milk as he spoke.
“How old was the 6th Prince… Around twelve? Something like that. Hmm… I can’t remember anything else about him. I’ve only seen him once or twice in passing. Nesio Arpend isn’t a prince with much presence in the Imperial Court.”
“Why not?”
“Because his mother was a maid.”
“An Imperial Court maid?”
“No, the Empress’s maid.”
“…!”
Radis’s eyes widened as she asked.
“The Empress… she’s the 1st Prince’s mother, right?”
“That’s right. By the way, the 1st Prince’s name is Charle Arpend.”
“I see…!”
Radis put her hand to her lips and fell into thought.
Being a prince born to a maid and having little presence, the 6th Prince probably wouldn’t become Crown Prince.
Then, considering David’s attitude, the one who becomes Crown Prince would be someone related to the 6th Prince.
“Lord Marquis, if the 6th Prince’s mother was the Empress’s maid, then he’d have a relationship with the Empress too, right?”
Eve nodded.
“The 6th Prince’s mother is a maid who followed the Empress from House of Relbelloa, the Empress’s family home. You can think of them as being in cahoots.”
“…”
Radis thought to herself.
‘Then… it seems the 1st Prince Charle will be appointed Crown Prince.’
She thought of Olivier.
‘Then His Highness Olivier won’t become Crown Prince? Is that good or bad?’
In front of Eve, who was yawning widely without even covering his mouth, Radis rested her chin on her hand and fell deep in thought.
For a prince with succession rights, it might be natural to desire the throne.
But last night, looking at the night view of the Imperial Capital, Olivier had said he ‘disliked’ it.
‘If the 1st Prince is appointed Crown Prince, what will happen to Lord Olivier?’
While sipping the bitter tea and lost in thought, Radis’s gaze turned to Eve, who was yawning.
Perhaps whether Olivier could become Crown Prince or not wasn’t such an important matter to him.
Since it was uncertain whether ascending to the throne would necessarily be good for him.
But what about Eve?
Radis’s eyes narrowed.
It was just speculation, but in her previous life when she hadn’t met Radis, Eve probably failed to build a relationship with Olivier.
However, as a result of Radis’s regression, Eve Russel’s present had changed.
‘The Marquis seems to firmly believe that His Highness Olivier will become Crown Prince, but if that’s not the case…’
Eve rubbed his eyes with his forearm and yawned.
“Yaaaawn!”
“…”
Looking at him with pitying eyes, Radis stood up from her seat.
“Oh, Radis? You’re leaving?”
“You look very sleepy, so sleep more.”
“I am sleepy, but I also want to play. Radis, want to play chess?”
Eve stood up from his seat, cracking his neck.
Interested at the mention of chess, Radis hesitated for a moment before following him.
Like his room at the Chateau of Ruarl, this room also had quite a lot of black.
The curtains were black with gold thread embroidery, the bedding was pitch black, and the table where the chessboard was placed was made of ebony.
Eve dragged that heavy table with one hand and pushed it next to the bed.
Wondering why he was doing that, Eve crawled into the bed and stuck only his upper body out from under the covers.
Then he smiled brightly and called to Radis.
“Come here, Radis!”
The sight was so absurd that Radis forgot everything she had been thinking about just moments before.
“Why are you really like this? You… lazybones!”
“Radis. Lazybones?”
Eve, lying prone on the bed, seductively swept his bangs up slightly.
Under his swaying black hair, she could see his amber eyes giving off a languid light.
“Where in the world is there such a sexy lazybones?”
Radis almost hit her forehead one more time.
But her forehead was still throbbing, and if she hit it one more time, she might get a nosebleed.
Radis silently approached Eve and pulled up the blanket, covering his entire body like a hermit crab, leaving only his face exposed.
“Hermit crab Marquis, let’s just play chess.”
“My lady, what is your skill level?”
As she laid out the chess pieces, Radis recalled memories from her previous life.
She had learned chess in the Extermination Troops.
Due to Robert’s influence, who had chess as a hobby, most of the members enjoyed chess.
Everyone had drawn chessboards on the backs of their shields.
During their free time, the members would sit around here and there, flip their shields over, and play chess with pieces they carved themselves.
‘I bet meal duty.’
‘I’ll take meal duty and bet night watch.’
They’d bet all sorts of things.
Radis said.
“Average. Lord Marquis Hermit Crab, what shall we wager?”
Eve blinked her eyes.
“Wager? What?”
“It’s a match, isn’t it? There should be a reward to make it fun.”
Eve covered her mouth.
“What’s that? That’s awesome! What should we bet? Money?”
“Money isn’t allowed.”
“Huh? Why?”
Robert, being the one responsible for making chess popular in the Extermination Corps, was lenient about allowing bets on chess games, but he strictly forbade wagering money.
Radis shrugged her shoulders.
“That’s the rule.”
“Hmm, strict.”
To Eve, who was resting her chin in thought, Radis said.
“How about this? Truth game. We ask each other something we want to know.”
Eve snapped her fingers with a click.
“Good. Let’s do that.”
“Black or white?”
“As a knight, I shall graciously yield to you, Lady.”
“Lord Marquis Hermit Crab, the match has already begun. This is a cold, harsh world where half-hearted courtesies are unnecessary.”
Radis put one black and one white pawn in her hands, mixed them, then with swift movements like a street gambler, separated them into each hand.
“Choose, Lord Marquis Hermit Crab.”
Eve let out a cheer.
“What’s this, Radis? Why are you so cool today? Alright, I choose this one!”
“You got black, Lord Marquis.”
Eve straightened her posture with the blanket draped over her shoulders, her eyes sparkling.
“Good. I won’t go easy on you!”
Robert placed down the black knight and said.
“Checkmate.”
Radis raised both hands in surrender and said.
“I lose, Captain.”
Across from her, Robert began sweeping up the chess pieces on the board with his large hands to organize them.
With his dark tanned skin making his platinum hair appear exceptionally white, he looked like a giant carved from bronze.
“Dee, you’re too honest. That’s why you fall for tricks so easily.”
Robert wasn’t much of a talker, but after chess games, he always made sure to offer a word of advice like this.
Radis liked that about him.
Perhaps that’s why she had never refused whenever Robert suggested a game of chess, even knowing she would likely lose.
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————