The Former Empress Roughly Hides Her Abilities - Chapter 106

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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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【Chapter 106】

Everyone was skeptical about the Head Maid’s words.

‘Come on, surely not…’

After all, the atmosphere between Asil and Rianel didn’t look bad.

Moreover, Rianel’s abilities had been sufficiently proven. She wouldn’t carelessly choose a man.

‘Among countless civil servants, he’s someone rumored to be so capable at his work.’

He wasn’t someone with nowhere else to go either, so if their master had treated him poorly, he would have left long ago.

If he were someone with proper sense, his feelings would naturally have cooled when he received a tarnished ring as an engagement gift.

‘Still, isn’t our lady someone with good judgment?’

Rianel was a princess from one of the wealthiest great noble houses in the Empire.

Though she usually lived modestly as if uninterested in luxury, she wasn’t without an eye for luxury goods.

‘Just look at the Empress Dowager’s birthday celebration.’

Her sense in choosing and wearing dresses and accessories that suited her was clearly accumulated through years of experience.

Moreover, Rianel was clearly showing her affection for Asil.

Though she was somewhat clumsy at expressing emotions, precisely because her feelings were so clear, it raised even more doubts.

“Isn’t something wrong?”

“Maybe there are circumstances we don’t know about.”

“Right. Let’s not jump to conclusions and find out more details.”

So they went to Rianel one by one to ask questions.

When they returned with the gathered information, they all reached the same conclusion.

‘Trash.’

‘He’s trash!’

[Um… do you happen to remember what the first gift you received from the master was?]

[It was a 10-gold fatigue recovery potion.]

The first maid who went to question Rianel was greatly shocked.

“How disappointed must she have been to remember even the price…!”

She didn’t know that this stemmed from anti-corruption laws.

“I heard an even worse story. The master apparently once loved another woman and even confessed directly to her…”

At those words, everyone grabbed their necks.

Liking someone and experiencing the pain of loss was unavoidable, so that was understandable.

But why would he need to tell his current lover about it so bluntly?

“The next gift was also problematic.”

No matter how much he tried not to burden her, a used fountain pen and sandwich?

“Of course, expensive gifts aren’t absolutely necessary to win a lover’s heart…”

What matters is giving according to one’s means and putting heart into it.

‘But our master isn’t poor, is he?’

That’s why the reality felt even more devastating.

They could imagine how disappointed Rianel must have been when she received those pathetic gifts.

“Gifts are about exchanging sincerity.”

Gifts become special because they contain meaning.

The effort put into obtaining the gift, the heart that went into choosing it, the time spent thinking of the other person, etc.

All of these come together to create the gift’s worth.

People are moved by expensive items for this reason too. They value the effort that went into obtaining it and rate the gift’s value highly.

‘Fine, giving something cheap is one thing! But shouldn’t there have been at least some meaning?’

‘I’ll give the used fountain pen a hundred passes, but that rusty ring is really…’

‘Why did you do that, master…’

The maids covered their faces with their hands.

Even though it was someone else’s business, they felt embarrassed themselves.

At the same time, they recalled how Rianel had coldly and firmly cut them off with “I am not the Duchess” when they called her ‘my lady.’

“Now that I think about it, didn’t my lady judge that this household had no prospects after seeing the master?”

Romance could be done while throwing away one’s dignity, but marriage was reality.

Rianel might not have wanted to share a future with a man who acted stingy even with a single gift.

This was the result of the maids not asking deep questions out of consideration for Rianel, and Rianel only answering what was asked, but they didn’t know this.

‘Besides, didn’t the lakeside date also fail recently?’

‘Why did the temple official have to flee in that direction of all places…!’

This was also because Asil and Rianel had predicted the criminal would likely flee that way and waited there.

But there was no way the maids could know such inside circumstances.

[The temple has east and west gates. The walls are too high to climb over, and since the Special Tax Bureau people will enter through the east gate, the criminal will likely escape through the opposite west gate. So it would be best for us to wait at the lakeside near the west gate.]

‘Even heaven clearly isn’t helping their romance.’

Then they had to help, at least.

“It’s fortunate that the master’s feelings are firm.”

Originally, men tend to grin foolishly and not know what to do in front of someone they like.

Asil had been exactly like that recently.

Even when he smiled the same way before, there was something cold about it, but recently that eerie atmosphere had noticeably faded.

Having reached their conclusion, they approached Asil.

“How about spending some time with my lady?”

Go talk to her!

You two need to have a conversation!

Asil didn’t feel the need to clear up their misunderstanding.

‘Hmm.’

If he said a few words unnecessarily, he could clearly see the maids would approach his master to verify the truth.

‘Master’s time belongs entirely to me.’

He hated the idea of Rianel wasting even a few minutes on the maids.

Most importantly, he didn’t mind them pushing him to be with Rianel.

As the head of a great noble house, Asil had more than a few responsibilities.

But they were offering to let him set those aside for several days.

Moreover.

“Yes, well. The Saint won’t be returning anytime soon.”

“Have a comfortable trip.”

Even the Special Tax Bureau people showed generosity, securing a full ten days of vacation.

‘Then it’s right to enjoy this opportunity.’

“Then let’s go.”

Asil grinned.

Their destination was the small villa in the Southern Coastal District that he had received from Rupert.

Rianel also agreed.

“I thought we should go down to the site at least once.”

She wasn’t sure if it was suitable as a date location, but it was also a place the Duchess Vincenheim had protected.

Incidentally, only the two of them would be spending time at the villa.

“Are you sure it’s alright with just the two of you?”

“Wouldn’t it be better to have a servant or two attending?”

The servants who had expressed concern soon understood.

“Come to think of it, it might be better for just the two of you to go.”

Misunderstandings originally meant accumulated feelings while being unable to see each other’s emotions.

To resolve this, it might be better without spectators.

The only servant accompanying them was the coachman, and he too was scheduled to take them to their destination and return after a few days.

In other words, from inside the carriage, the two would be completely aware of only each other.

Seeing Asil’s melted expression in a place where others’ gazes couldn’t reach, Rianel clicked her tongue.

“Are you that pleased?”

Asil grabbed Rianel’s hand and pulled close to her.

The wounds left by the con artist had faded considerably, but like an afterimage, he still gently overlapped his hand over them.

“Well, Master doesn’t keep just anyone by your side.”

“…?”

“You like capable people.”

After all, wasn’t she kept as a beloved disciple because she was valedictorian in the first place?

‘That… makes sense?’

Rianel couldn’t refute it.

Though many students at the Academy were all Rianel’s disciples, her heart always went to only a few.

Rianel was human too, after all, so there were limits to who caught her eye.

“So please continue to favor me.”

Soon he rubbed his face against Rianel’s nape as if acting cute.

“I’ll become the best thing you have.”

Then she wouldn’t be able to abandon me even if she felt reluctant to.

Rianel’s hand slipped between his fingers and interlocked with them.

“You don’t need to do that.”

You are.

“Already more than enough.”

This was Rianel’s tender comfort and her own way of confessing that she liked Asil.

“You really are kind.”

The momentarily serious atmosphere quickly dissolved.

Rianel frowned as she realized she had been tested.

“You’re so sly.”

“Haha.”

Suddenly Asil pressed their interlocked hands against the backrest.

With the distance suddenly shortened, Asil’s hot breath flowed in brushing against her earlobe, and a light blush colored Rianel’s face.

‘As expected.’

It was a face he didn’t want to show to other men.

‘I wanted to hide her away somewhere so only I could see her.’

Of course, it was a sinister assumption that could only remain in his imagination.

Asil knew well that he couldn’t bear to see resentment and tears fill those eyes.

So instead of revealing his desire, he buried his lips on Rianel’s slightly exposed neckline and left his body heat along her collarbone.

Pausing briefly as if feeling Rianel’s increasingly rapid heartbeat, he soon bit down on Rianel’s lips as if breathing in their overlapping breaths.

Languid eyes closed.

‘This time is indeed precious.’

This time.

Somehow he felt terribly thirsty.

* * *

The next day.

“This must be the place.”

The two arrived at Pleng District in the southern region.

The inheritance from the Duchess of Vincenheim was a small estate left in a tourist area, situated behind an open hill overlooking the sea.

The mansion was small but cozy, with its own quaint charm.

Most importantly, it was just the right size for the two of them to stay.

Rianel tried to open the door with the key. The rusty lock wouldn’t open easily and she fumbled a bit…

“It’s open.”

Though no one had entered for a long time, the interior was clean.

As if it had been waiting for someone to come here.

“Where should we unpack our luggage?”

Until that moment, Rianel had been thinking of spending the long-awaited rest peacefully.

‘?’

But seeing the envelope placed on the dining table, that thought changed.

A single envelope yellowed with age, impossible to tell when it had been placed there.

But the writing on the surface was readable.

-To my beloved Ensilen.

The moment the writing on the surface caught her eye.

‘Did she know I would come?’

Following her heart that dropped with a thud, the envelope fell.

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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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