Chapter 104
“It wasn’t the duke who chose you—you chose the duke. I suppose the Duke was the lucky one in the end.”
“Haha…but it seems that luck will soon be moving elsewhere.”
The Duchess said meaningful words. With that, she offered the Marchioness her final farewell. The Marchioness didn’t ask her more about what she meant and simply took her leave.
* * *
The next day, after returning to the manor, Felice borrowed a straw hat from Mr. Thomas and set off to circle the grounds. She wanted to gather flowers for tea. Of course, she’d already visited each of the staff to thank them personally after the patron event, but it still felt like it wasn’t enough.
This time, she decided to make tea from chamomile and dandelion petals. Dandelions were easy to find, and once dried and steeped in hot water, the petals gave off a gentle sweetness—one of Felice’s favorites.
“I’ll have to dry these for at least four days, so I need to get moving.”
Felice gripped the basket in one hand and the spade, also borrowed from Mr. Thomas, in the other as she headed for the spot she’d scouted earlier.
While dandelions were easy to find in fields, they were almost nonexistent in the carefully manicured Racliffe gardens. Reluctantly, Felice made her way to the western path instead. Fortunately, she found a patch of dandelions near the pond.
Glancing around to make sure no one was watching, Felice stepped closer. After all, this was the spot where she and Claude… well, certain memories made her avoid the area lately.
“If we have many more lessons, I won’t be able to look anywhere in the Racliffe manor.”
Felice muttered, giving her surroundings a final check. Still, as long as it was just the study or his bedroom, she supposed she could manage.
Sighing, Felice suddenly remembered the events at the academy and squeezed her eyes shut. Even though her hat shaded her face from the sun, she could feel the heat rising in her cheeks.
“What if someone saw?”
She could have sworn she’d heard voices in the corridor, though Claude insisted he hadn’t heard a thing….
“Haa…since nothing happened afterward, I must have really imagined it. Still, I wondered what Lady Elise must think of Claude now.”
Felice resumed her walk. Now that she thought about it, Lady Elise hadn’t appeared for quite some time after Felice and Claude entered the gallery. When she finally returned, Elise explained that she’d simply been delayed while chatting with a close friend.
That was the end of it—nothing dramatic.
People did glance between Elise and Claude, and sometimes the gaze landed on Felice as well. That only made her stick closer to Marchioness Depende.
Thunk.
Just as Felice dug her spade into the ground near the pond, a voice called out.
“Puh-ha!”
“Kyaa!”
A figure suddenly emerged from the pond, startling Felice so much that she fell flat on her backside.
“Felice?”
Claude looked at her, puzzled.
“Haa… Claude, I—ha…”
Felice struggled to calm her racing heart.
“Out for a stroll?”
Claude’s gaze drifted to the basket in her hand.
Felice gulped, unable to answer. To make matters worse, Claude was not wearing a thing. His bare torso glistened in the sunlight, droplets of water running down his skin. His lower half was still hidden beneath the water….
Felice yanked her straw hat down over her face, nodding vigorously.
“Y-yes… I-I was just—”
“Just?”
“Flowers! I’m picking flowers for tea! Haha!”
Felice blurted out. She almost involuntarily glanced in Claude’s direction.
“Oh, you’re making flower tea?”
Thankfully, Claude was still in the pond. He propped himself up on the bank to look at her.
“Yes…”
“Looks like you’re out gathering dandelions.”
Claude flashed her a smile as he ran a wet hand through his hair. He wiped his face with his palm, exhaling slowly.
“And what are you doing here, Claude?”
Felice asked.
“…Lying in wait.”
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