# 48
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“I got you.”
I looked at her, lowering my gaze, and closing the corners of my mouth that were curling up.
“What's wrong?”
“...Can you really promise me? That you can stop the development of the mine?”
Her eyes, which had looked sunken earlier, now shone with desperation, as if she was a different person.
I looked at her intently for a moment before smiling.
“I will just say that His Majesty the Emperor always listens to people’s opinions.”
She gently lifted her hand from my skirt.
“Okay, think about it and tell me.”
❖ ❖ ❖
It didn't take long for the Countess to completely change her mind.
By the next morning, a letter arrived indicating her approval.
“It was faster than I expected.”
"I didn't have any other options. Thank you for coming."
In the drawing-room of the Count's house, where I went the second time, the Countess was waiting for me with warm tea and simple refreshments.
She still seemed nervous, but soon began sharing the story she had carefully kept to herf about her husband.
“…It was 20 years ago when I met Count Olsen, Felix. I was 13, and Felix was 10, so we were both very young.”
Was their relationship in May and December?
“I escaped from my mother’s urging, and ended up under the tree. Coincidentally, Felix also claimed this place as his hideout.”
Countess Olsen smiled softly, as if recalling a memory from long ago.
I didn't realize she could make such an expression.
“At first, he shouted at me saying it was his territory. I remember thinking, ‘What kind of kid is this, treating a lady so rudely?’ Later, I found out that Felix also thought I was very annoying.”
I laughed.
"At first, it was like we were fighting over territory. Normally, after such an encounter, you would want to avoid seeing the other person again, but Felix and I didn't do that."
“Somehow, you two got along even back then.”
"Yes. Looking back, I think it was an interest in each other, although we didn't realize it at the time. We were just kids."
The Countess shrugged.
"We argued endlessly, but we still met under that tree every week like clockwork. One day I brought cookies I baked, and another day Felix picked flowers to give to me."
“We met like this for ten whole years, under that tree.”
“Ten years – long enough even for a landscape to change – and yet these two have maintained their relationship throughout that time.
Suddenly I realized how amazing that was.
“Then one day, my father, Viscount Downing, told me that my marriage was arranged.”
There was a short silence.
She fiddled with the teacup, her eyes closed.
“Unlike Felix, who was the heir to a respectable count family, I was just the youngest daughter of a poor viscount. “My father wanted to marry me to a wealthy merchant to restore our family’s declining fortunes.”
Using one's daughter for profit – whether it was Eloise's father or her father, it seemed like there was not much difference.
I thought about this matter only to myf, and continued to listen intently.
“I didn’t want to marry that man. People say a woman’s virtue is to find a good partner, to devote herf to her husband and family… but sending me, just over twenty, to a merchant over forty was too much.”
'...over forty?'
Correction: Marquis Alpheus, Eloise's father, wasn't bad at all. At least Ian was regal and handsome at her age.
I could barely suppress the curse that almost escaped me.
“…So, what did you do?”
“I ran away from home.”
If I were in her shoes, I would do the same thing if I were told to marry someone twenty years older than me.
I nodded sympathetically.
“But where would a young woman in her early twenties go? After wandering around for a while, I ended up sitting cross-legged under that tree after sunset.”
“I didn’t want to go home, so I cried until nightfall. Then Felix found me, looking exhausted from running around looking for me.”
She paused, as if remembering what had happened, then continued.
“He grabbed my hand and said, without warning...”
“Marry me.”
“Wow, this is incredible.”
I couldn't help but let out a sharp scream.
“…Her Highness the Grand Duchess?”
Countess Olsen looked at me, puzzled by my uncharacteristic interruption.
“Oh, nothing.”
I cleared my throat and motioned for her to continue.
'It's not good, but the story is very interesting.'
I shouldn't dwell too much on another person's past, especially a widow's past, but their story was too captivating for me to listen to dryly.
"Some say falling in love is a magical moment, but it wasn't like that for me. I simply realized in that moment, when Felix held my hand under that cedar tree, that I had loved him for a very long time."
Considering they spent a full decade together, wouldn't it be weird if she didn't know?
This rational thought crossed my mind, but I remained silent, not wanting to spoil the mood.
“Felix told me that as soon as he heard I might get married, his heart dropped. He said he couldn’t bear to let me go to that merchant, so he proposed to me.”
I held my breath, anticipating another round of heartfelt exclamations.
“It was difficult, but in the end I succeeded in convincing my father, and we held our wedding under that tree.”
As I listened, I thought to myf: If I were the Countess, I wouldn't be able to give up that tree either.
“…Even after our marriage, we used to spend a lot of time under that tree. It was a place where Felix and I could really be alone together. But we couldn’t visit it often after Felix’s health deteriorated.”
As far as I know, the Count died a few years ago after a long struggle with complications from the plague that swept through his lands.
If modern medicine existed in this world, it might be different, but unfortunately, it didn't exist, and the Countess could only watch as it slowly withered.
'And they didn't have any heirs either.'
No one knew whether this was the Count's problem or the Countess's problem, but in any case, it was tragic for her to lose her husband at such a young age without leaving her with any children.
“…You must have suffered a lot.”
"no."
The Countess shook her head vigorously at my sympathetic tone.
Then she lowered her gaze and gently wiped the ring on her left finger.
“…It was the happiest ten years of my life.”
A gentle smile appeared on her thin face.
It was undoubtedly the face of someone in love.
“…Before Felix closed his eyes, he said he wanted to go to that tree. All the servants tried to stop him, but I couldn’t do it.”
“Then...”
“Yes. Just like when we first met, I let him go under that tree. Felix closed his eyes with a face that looked like he had just fallen asleep.”
After she finished her story, I found myf speechless, staring at her.
“It's not a big story.”
"no!"
I practically shouted, as if I wanted to directly refute her words.
The Countess's eyes widened in surprise.
“Your Highness...?”
She looked at me as if to say, “I didn't expect this kind of reaction from you.”
I asked her in disbelief.
“How on earth did you keep such a story hidden?”
"I didn't hide it but I didn't see the need to share it. Who would be interested in such a personal story?"
“Everyone will be interested!”
“S…Your Highness…?”
As I watched the troubled Countess Olsen, I thought to myf.
This story is more like a novel than an incident itf.
‘If this novel had been written as a romance novel, it would have been a bestler. My instincts as an avid reader told me so.'
After wiping my teary eyes a little, I folded my handkerchief, placed it on the floor, and gently took her hand.
“I completely understand your feelings.”
“…Thank you for saying that.”
"And don't worry. A story like this will undoubtedly touch anyone's heart."
“...Are you sure this is acceptable?”
The Countess still looked a little skeptical.
I squeezed her hand reassuringly and said confidently, “It is more than acceptable.”
More than acceptable already.
I was on the verge of tears, barely holding in my emotions.
“I'll write the ad, so just sit back and watch.”
I smiled at her victoriously.