Chapter Forty-Five
.Chapter forty-five.
After I was suppressing my anger that had been boiling since he talked about the price, I exploded: “Dad, are you thinking about selling the paintings? Why are all people’s thoughts about materialism? They are art and you should appreciate them. Try to touch them.”
My father looked at me annoyed that I was unusually angry, said, “Okay,” and then quickly left.
When my father left the room in surprise, I remained alone in my own living room, staring angrily at the closed door.
I stared at the door my father had left, and I couldn't stop the corners of my mouth from rising up and laughing.
Although my laughter was so sudden that if someone saw me now they might ask me if I was okay, I felt happy.
In the end, I ended up laughing silently alone in an empty room.
This situation was funny and childish, and the simple and natural feelings in life were very enjoyable.
Being angry and happy over trivial things and being able to integrate into everyday life was so wonderful.
I received a painting I liked as a surprise gift from someone who interested me. I talked to my father and got angry with him, and here I am laughing at these simple things.
It's good that I'm alive.
I'm so glad I didn't die after that accident.
When I thought about that, happiness filled me from head to toe.
I smiled at the wonderful feeling for a moment and looked around at the paintings again.
Every photo reminded me of a conversation I had with him.
I was so happy that I closed my eyes and smiled.
I don't think I should fall in love, but I shouldn't close myself off like this.
I was lost in thought... It might be nice to allow myself to be happy for a moment, even if it's just a dream.
As long as I don't get greedy... As long as I don't get greedy for too much, this new feeling will not negatively affect me.
I looked at a certain painting calmly.
At least we can be friends without greed.
When I was thinking about it, I saw a seal in the corner of the plate.
How can my father remember all the seals of painters who paint expensive paintings?.
Sometimes it's very scary.
I stayed alone in the reception room for a while, smiled as I headed to my room, and then suddenly stopped.
And I looked again at the seal.
My father looked at the paintings with strangely sparkling eyes.
There is a strange feeling of anxiety inside me.
Of course he wouldn't sell my gifts without my permission, but his beaming eyes.
And his excited voice, wanting to make a profit, worried me.
I thought for a moment, then went back to my room and started counting and valuing the paintings.
I felt it was a bit childish, but I ignored the feeling.
I should know how many paintings I got as a gift and it doesn't mean you don't trust my parents.
The date I was supposed to meet Max wasn't far away.
It was because I had deliberately made an appointment early, keeping in mind the day I would go to Viscount Roost.
But for some reason, strangely, time did not pass.
Only three or four days passed very slowly and boringly.
If time were a horse, my appointment day would have come faster. Sadly, I could only blame the slow year.
I have seen the paintings so often that I can now memorize their order now.
Since I didn't have much time, I decided to walk slowly back and forth through the park.
Then I decided to go to Diane.
Since I wouldn't be able to see her for a while, it wasn't a bad idea to take a look at her face.
Above all, I couldn't spend time alone...it would be boring but time would fly by if I talked to her.
When I went there, I met an unexpected person.
"Carmilla, what's going on? Were you visiting Diana separately?"
Curly pink hair, half of which is raised and the other flowing elegantly.
Fierce green eyes elevate and highlight the personality of their owner.
It was Hyde.
I heard there was a guest, but I never thought it would be Hyde.
She glanced at Diane from behind Hyde before answering.
Diane quickly shook her head.
It seemed like she might not want to tell Hyde about it now.
So I naturally said: "When I broke off my engagement, Diane comforted me a lot and took me out to play. Thanks to you, you comforted me a lot... We became friends too."
It seems to have been covered reasonably well. Diane's face relaxed in relief.
In fact, if Hyde intervened, there was a high probability that the story would spread all the way to the Imperial Palace.
Even if she tried to help Diane, it was not clear whether she would truly help with her actions.
Her ability to act without caring about her surroundings was sometimes frightening even to her acquaintances.
Hyde seemed to have already lost interest in my relationship with Diane and changed the subject.
"Anyway, things went well. And you're here too...I'm enjoying dessert while talking about different things with Diana."
She turned around naturally and led the way into the room, as if she were the owner of the house.
The room we arrived in was filled with the sweet, soft scent of food.
The knife used to spread the cream cheese was still on the table, placed on top of the white bread.
Next to it, I saw a piece of honey in the shape of a comb, intact.
Black, ripe, red and green berries were mixed randomly with figs that were cleanly washed and cut in half to reveal their red color.
Next to it was a luxurious tea table with biscuits neatly arranged.
I said, “You seem like you really enjoy sweets in the morning.”
Hyde shrugged her shoulders at my words: “What do you think? I eat whatever I want, no matter what time it is.”
Next to a plate of thinly sliced raw pork, a clear, pumpkin-like liquid was placed in a cup.
I went to my seat, sat down, picked up the glass, looked at her, and said: “Whatever time it is, I think you should drink in the evening as is customary... Do you drink in the morning, Hyde!... Diane, why did you allow this?”
When she looked at Diane accusingly, her face turned red and she averted her eyes: “She… Miss Hyde… I tried to stop her.”
However, Hyde sat down with a rude look on her face and poured herself a glass.
Golden-colored drink poured into a transparent cup decorated with a grape vine pattern.
The unique sweet honey scent aroused my senses.
“Are you really planning on drinking in front of me all morning?”
When I groaned in disbelief, she offered me a glass.
Her green eyes widened with sarcasm and she said, “Don’t be silly and drink, Carmilla.”
“I can't drink in the morning like you.”
Hyde's green eyes were twisted mockingly: “Don't drink in the morning, don't go to temple on holidays, don't talk rudely.”
She took a sip and moved her fingers to the side with a negative sign: “If there is a knife on your neck, your neck will fall off easily... Is the knife not going to catch you because you are good or bad? So stop saying trite things... You should enjoy life while you are alive.”
Every time she spoke, the sweet scent of mead wafted from her mouth.
Although what you're saying is really ridiculous.
“What's going on with you here today?”
She looked at Hyde's face for a moment and then took the cup from her.
She sat down, emptied her cup lightly, and asked, "Why do you seem so upset this morning, Hyde? Has something bad happened to you?"
Hyde said sarcastically: “It can't be... Always, every day is the same... From people saying boring nonsense to insects crawling around and looking at you... But things are getting a little annoying these days... All kinds of rubbish bothers me with the news that the Crown Prince is looking for a fiancée.”
She frowned: “Watch your mouth, these words are very harsh.. Al-Malafiz Saad.”
Hyde turned her head sadly: “Really, I’m just telling the truth.”
“If anyone talks to me about this again, I will have to bring a whip with me next time...and I will catch any random person and hit them to show them an example of what I do to those who harass me so that they do not dare to bother me by making such gestures.”
Diana was in a daze: “Ha ha ha…You must be joking?”
Hyde looked at Diane coldly and asked, “Does this look like a joke?”
Her face certainly wasn't joking.
It seems you really mean to bring a whip and torture people.
Finally I touched my forehead and said, “Oh, my God.”
“Hal, Hal, I don’t want to talk about this annoying story in the morning... Clear? The whipping of some lady or man... If such a story happened, I might feel so upset that I might go to the countryside for a year or so to recover... Of course I won’t write a letter.”
Hyde frowned: “It was a joke… You can’t even joke in this atmosphere?”
Diane looked at Hyde with a tired face.
It was sad to see the words “it wasn’t a joke” written on her face.
I sat down and poured the drink into my cup to comfort Diane.
“Okay, let's take it that way... I want to ask something...”
Diane seemed pleased that my words had changed the subject.
“Yes. What is it?”
“Is there anyone with green eyes and black hair who has exclusive status to the Rost family banquet?”
Diane leaned back at my question, and the answer didn't seem to be easy: "Well, isn't that a fairly common color combination?"
If we count illegitimate children, there are too many people.
We try to make the banquets held at our house as large as possible so as not to discriminate between people.”
"naturally……."
So I couldn't guess anything specifically.
There have been a large number of instances in which the collection of Countess Lydia's poems could be entered.
If you mention Max's name, you'll recognize him immediately, but for some reason, I feel hesitant about it. I still want to keep it a secret.
Diane continued: “Even His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has black hair and green eyes.”
The strange thing is that my heart was beating strongly after those words.
Now that I thought about it, I realized that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's name was also Max. This realization hit me hard.
Of course, the course is named Max.
The assumption that he was a high-ranking noble, had the same hair and eye color, and had the same name, sparked a faint feeling of unease.
'no. This can't happen.'.
How low is the probability that I will meet and fall in love with the Crown Prince.
I laughed at myself and put that possibility away.
Moreover, I heard that His Majesty the Crown Prince spent his youth on the battlefield and that his temperament was cold and cruel.
This nice person couldn't be him.
I can ask him later, when trust is established between us. 'It's rude of me to search for his identity like this behind his back.'.
At this time, Diane suddenly opened her eyes wide and asked, “Ah, have you met someone you like?”
“Don’t get me wrong… I was rude to him at the banquet, so I just wanted to repay him if possible.”
Diane raised her hands in disgust at my answer: “Ah, Carmilla with deep pride... If you do something like this, the man might misunderstand you and start following you for no reason, so stop.”
Hyde also added a piece of thinly sliced raw meat, wrapped it in cheese, and ate it. “Diane's right,” she said. “If you did something like that, the worms would feel arrogant. Do you know how popular the Carmilla story was among the men that night? If you were weak or nice to anyone else, a dog would bother you at least once.”
Hyde then motioned to herself with a rude look on her face: "If you have the energy to spend on something meaningless, please behave with me. Why don't you come with Diane to my tea party instead of visiting her? You know that the closer you are to me, the more good things will happen to you."
Diane's eyes widened.
It seemed strange that Hyde treated people so kindly.
But I somehow knew what Hyde was like when she was little, so I wasn't surprised.
However, I felt sorry for him because he wondered how much his personality had changed to this point due to the hardships he had to endure inside and outside the Imperial Palace and being harassed by people.
I couldn't tell her that she still had an open mind towards me.
I couldn't tell her that I wouldn't be able to take the time to go down to see the mine soon so she nodded: "Okay I'll visit you sometime... There are a lot of difficult ladies at your tea party, so I didn't go because I thought it would be a headache. I didn't go on purpose."
She smiled happily. There, I caught a glimpse in my memory of Hyde's face as a child when she first started coming and going to the palace.
That's why I can't beat her.
Just as she was weak in front of me, so was I.
In the end, she smiled impatiently: “In the end, I will have to stop by the Empress’s residence in the Imperial Palace one day… I didn’t want to go there because it is full of scary people.”
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Enjoyable reading.