Chapter 13
“Is this enough to be helpful?”
“Immensely.”
Luirene rose with a look of relief and noticed the tea she’d set out for him had gone cold. The warmth gone, the scent had grown sharp, the taste so bitter it would sting the tongue. Assuming he wouldn’t drink it, she reached to clear it away—but contrary to her expectation, Hitaon lifted the cup.
“It’s already cold and won’t taste good. I’ll bring a fresh one, so…”
“What matters is appreciating the sincerity of the one who poured it.”
He downed it in one go. It must have been bitter and harsh, yet not a single wrinkle creased his handsome face.
“It was good.”
With that delicate farewell, Hitaon gathered his things and told Luirene to hold onto his shoulder. When she did, he lifted her as easily as before and set her back down inside the window.
As her floating feet touched the floor, a subtle shyness rose. She was smoothing her skirt unnecessarily when Hitaon hooked his arms over the ledge and murmured.
“Is there anything you want?”
“Pardon?”
“In return for your help today.”
“It’s fine. I spilled tea on you before, so…”
“Opportunities like this don’t come often. It’s better to take when someone offers.”
His tone suggested she think it over properly. Luirene glanced around and spotted the books on the chair.
It had been quite some time since she’d been able to return to the bookshop since staying at the Glair Marquisate. The new books she’d ordered before leaving would have already arrived at the back door storage. She was also a little worried about the state of the shop, left unattended for nearly two weeks.
“Then could you send me to the bookshop?”
“You mean the bookshop in Solirode?”
Solirode. The name of the shop where Old Man Hopper had devoted his life, the bookshop that had become Luirene’s home.
“Yes.”
“All right. I’ll mention it in advance and have it arranged.”
“You knew?”
“Knew what?”
“The name of my bookshop.”
From what she’d observed while working as a book courier, the only avid reader in this household was the old Lady Glair.
The others only dealt with the essential texts one must read to get by in life, showing no particular interest in any other books.
Hitaon Glair, who hadn’t known much about the empire’s three great tragedies earlier, had seemed no different from them in Luirene’s eyes. So this was, if anything, unexpected.
“Does that surprise you?”
“Yes. I thought you wouldn’t know.”
“I suppose I must pay quite a bit of attention to you.”
He spoke indifferently, as if talking about someone else, then disappeared after a brief wave. That night, Luirene mulled over his puzzling words for quite some time.
The day she would go to the bookshop came when the Nanny herself visited her room to tell her. The young master had been so moved by her devotion to caring for his grandmother that he’d personally provided a carriage, and she was to choose a convenient day within three days to go.
Considering the former Marchioness’s condition, Luirene said she would go tomorrow.
The next morning, she finished her preparations and stepped outside to find a carriage waiting for her, beautiful as a painting.
A luxurious black frame, sturdy wheels, and delicately carved golden ornaments displayed restrained elegance. A lily spreading its white petals over a steadfast shield. The green flag bearing the Glair Marquisate’s crest fluttered softly and gracefully in the early summer sunlight.
“Oh?”
Luirene, stepping onto the footboard, was startled to find Hitaon already seated inside.
“Young master? Why are you here?”
“Why? Do you dislike me accompanying you?”
“No… are you coming to the bookshop as well?”
“That’s the plan.”
“Aren’t you busy?”
“A day of diversion now and then is necessary.”
Unlike his usual indoor attire of just shirts and trousers, today the young master was dressed formally.
He wore a cravat over a perfectly fitted vest, a small brooch pinned near his chest, and gloves on his hands. Even his hair was smoothed down as if styled. With his already striking features enhanced by grooming, he was almost radiant.
The observation wasn’t one-sided. Like her, he too looked her over and spoke.
“Your hair. You’ve tied it up today.”
“Yes. When I go out, if I don’t tie it up, it becomes a mess.”
“Those curls at the ends—who do you take after? Your mother? Or your father?”
“Um… I don’t really know. I’m an orphan.”
It was the first time she’d revealed her birth to anyone. The merchants who frequented the bookshop knew through Old Man Hopper, and the customers who visited knew her as Hopper’s granddaughter.
The fact that the first person she’d spoken this open secret to was the young master of the Marquisate felt a bit strange.
“I was abandoned in front of the bookshop. Hopper, the owner, took me in and raised me.”
“…I see.”
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