ITMWG 52

Chapter 52…

An unexpected development.

The tea time came unnoticed, but tea leaves, warm water, and refreshments were quickly prepared. This was thanks to the fact that Altair and Orca had had tea time a while ago, all the necessary things were already there in advance. Nadia carefully poured warm water into a teapot filled with tea leaves while looking at the person sitting across from her. Looking at the man smiling warmly with a relaxed posture, it was hard to believe that he was the culprit who planned the horrific murders in the novel.

No matter how one looks at him, he seems like a good person.

However, it was foolish to judge people only by their appearance. If based on the outlook only, Altair would be a scary villain. That’s why Nadia was extremely wary of him at first, but as they spent time together, she realised that he was just not good at dealing with people.

“Pardon…”

“Yes?”

As soon as she thought of Altair, her heart became heavy and her shoulders slumped. Disrupting her thought, Prince Orca called out to her, still smiling, and gestured at the teapot with his chin.

“The water is overflowing.”

“Yes…yes?!”

She turned to look at the teapot in shock and saw that the water was indeed overflowing, drenching the white tablecloth.

“The water is hot. If you touch it like that, you’ll get hurt.”

“Ah…”

While she was still blinking in surprise at the unexpected consideration, Prince Orca took out his handkerchief and wiped away the water that had spilled out of the teapot.

“Oh, no! The prince shouldn’t be doing something like this. I will do it.”

“Actually, it’s not the Baroness’s job. I was the one who asked to have tea together when you wanted some peace and quiet, so I’ll take care of it.”

Prince Orca was firm. Since Nadia couldn’t forcefully take the handkerchief out of his hand, she was at a loss for what to do, and before she knew it, he had finished taking care of the situation and sat back down with a grin on his face.

“It’s really strange. Noble ladies usually feel comfortable with me…Only the Baroness is this uneased. Why is it like that, I wonder?”

Nadia could feel the sharp look in his eyes despite his soft smile. The same thing happened back at the Eastern noble gathering.

“Because I’m a bit timid…I’m not used to socialising with people.”

“It’s even more surprising that someone like that married Baron Aylesford. In fact, he’s someone who gives an unapproachable impression more than anyone else.”

She couldn’t help but laugh at the somewhat sour tone of voice. ‘Someone who gives an unapproachable impression more than anyone else.’ Was there any better expression to describe Altair? Nadia once felt a barrier between her and Prince Orca when they met at the Eastern gathering, but strangely enough, she felt a strange sense of friendliness from him today. Thanks to this, her timid and shriveled heart opened up a little.

“If I had seen my partner’s face beforehand, I might not have married him.”

At the time, she was trying to escape the capital by any means necessary to avoid the tragedy described in the novel. If she had known in advance that the other person was a villain in the novel, she would not have gotten into this marriage.

“Still, the Baron seems to care a lot about the madame.”

“Yes. He’s very…considerate of me.”

Sometimes, he was so considerate that she felt like he excluded her from everything.

“Baroness?”

Prince Orca must have sensed her complexion darkening as she answered and cautiously called out to her. It was not becoming of a noble lady to reveal her true feelings in front of guests, so she tried to smile gracefully, repeating the phrase ‘elegant and composed Baroness!’ in her mind.

“The tea must have been thoroughly brewed. I’ll pour it for you.”

Prince Orca watched quietly as the tea filled up his teacup. Knowing that Prince Orca liked to try new things, Nadia wanted to treat him to something a little unique, so she chose a tea with a blue hue, which seemed to really pique his interest.

“I’m not as confident in the tea as usual because the pot is overflowing with water…However, it is a tea that has a very strong and fragrant taste, so you will be able to sense something novel.”

“You used tea leaves from the Ganat region.”

“So you know?”

Nadia’s eyes widened in surprise. Tea from the Ganat region later became very popular in the social circles, but was now a hidden specialty.

Thanks to that, I was so excited to be able to bring in the tea at a low price.

But did Prince Orca already know about that hidden specialty?

“Ah. Because I tend to travel to various regions for recuperation. I have also stayed in the Ganat region. I remembered the tea served by the lord there at that time because it was unique.”

“I see.”

It was clearly described in the novel as well. It was said that the secret to Prince Orca’s ability to take control of the political situation in an instant was the talents and information he collected during this period of recuperation.

This must be why it is important to have broad knowledge.

While she was admiring him in secret, Prince Orca took a sip of the tea and savoured the scent. Briefly after, a satisfied smile crept upon his lips.

“It’s hard to find such a refreshing tea. Needless to say, the colour is quite distinctive. The tea from the Bihram region is similar. Have you ever tried it?”

“Bihram… I’ve heard a lot about it, but it’s not easy to get.”

If tea from the Ganat region was a hidden specialty, tea from the Bihram region could be regarded as the star among stars*. Not only was it expensive, it was not easy to obtain because the quantity released on the market was so small. Since most of the quantity went to the imperial family first, it was difficult for ordinary nobles to obtain this tea.

T/n: There is an idiom in korean that says “like plucking stars from the sky” which means extremely difficult, impossible.

“Oh. If so, let me share a little with you. I recently went to Bihram and got some.”

“Pardon? That precious tea?”

“You are too generous to an uninvited guest like me, so I should at least repay you that much.”

“Wh-what do you mean repay?! It is rather an honour to serve Your Highness.”

“Haha. I tend not to believe such words. I will definitely repay you.”

The conversation flowed so naturally that Nadia’s tense shoulders gradually relaxed. Prince Orca surely had the power to lead conversations naturally.

He is a better person than I thought?

The thought of him being a ‘villain’ in her mind began to crack little by little. As she listened to his story, she found herself laughing or sharing her experiences. The fact that the other person was a villain from a novel, which she was very wary of, soon faded away, and Orca and Nadia refilled warm water several times as they shared tea and refreshments.

“It’s been a long time since I last had such a pleasant conversation with someone. How about we drink the Bihram tea together that I promised to give you tomorrow?”

Nadia was planning to hold Prince Orca back until the day he left so he couldn’t meet Altair, but he’s the one who made the suggestion first. Considering herself to be very lucky, Nadia smiled brightly and nodded with joy.

“Sure!”

As soon as she answered, for some reason, her back felt cold. Nadia flinched and looked back, but there was nothing behind her.

Was it a hallucination?

As she tilted her head, Prince Orca also asked in puzzlement.

“Is there something wrong?”

“No. It seems there’s nothing…”

As Nadia touched the back of her neck at the weird sensation, Prince Orca cast his gaze behind her and let out a strange sigh.

“Well, it seems like there’s someone who can’t bear to approach but is watching us with a resentful face.”

Someone watching them with resentment? As a shady figure of an uncertain being appeared in her mind, goosebumps arose all over her body.

“Your Highness.”

As she carefully lowered her voice in solemn, Orca also nodded with a serious expression on his face.

“Yes.”

“Could it be…”

“Could it be…?”

“You saw a ghost?”

“Pardon…?”

Prince Orca, who looked dumbfounded for a moment at her serious question, soon burst into a fit of laughter.

“Hahaha! A ghost?!”

Nadia felt her face turn red as she saw the prince laughing so hard that he was holding his stomach.

“I-, I was just kidding…”

Abashed, Nadia tried to make an excuse, but her question was so serious that she didn’t think he would believe her now. Prince Orca looked like he was about to shed tears while trying hard to suppress his laugh. He then smiled at her.

“It seems like a jealous ghost is hovering around the Baroness.”

“I-, I said the ghost was a joke…”

“Hmm.. But I’m not joking, though?”

Prince Orca gestured behind her with his chin with a mischievous smile on his face. Refusing to believe him, Nadia felt like she was breaking into a cold sweat because he was clearly trying to make fun of her. She didn’t mind people laughing at her, but she didn’t want rumours to spread that ‘Baroness Aylesford was a dork’. As she was flitting her eyes here and there wondering how to resolve this situation, Prince Orca stood up with a chuckle.

“Ahh, I really like the Baroness. This is a truly unexpected development…”

He was almost talking to himself, so it was difficult to even reply.

I am actually curious about what is going through Prince Orca’s  had mind, but…

There’s no way he would give her an honest answer even if she asked him. The moment Nadia gave up and sighed deeply, Prince Orca held out his hand to her.

“I’ve been holding on to you for too long. I will escort you back.”

“Oh, no! How could I leave such a task to Your Highness?”

“It is a gentleman’s duty to escort a lady. Am I not a gentleman?”

“That’s not it…”

Prince Orca showed no sign of backing down, so she carefully held his hand and stood up.

I understand why the ladies in the novel squealed whenever they saw Prince Orca now.

He certainly knew how to win people’s favour. He could even touch the heart of someone like her, who was timid and wary of him, so he would be able to enter and exit the hearts of others with ease as if his own home. As she thought so while looking at Prince Orca in admiration, he responded with his signature soft and friendly smile. This was expressed in the novel as ‘a smile that melts a person’s body and mind.’ It was always amazing to see the moment when printed text became reality. The moment she opened her mouth with slight curiosity, a crackling sound was heard from behind. Then somewhere on the ground, a ‘thud’ followed. When she hurriedly turned her head to see what was happening, she saw that a tree, which was completely fine so far,  had been broken in two and fallen to the ground.

“W-why suddenly…”

“It seems the jealous ghost couldn’t control his anger and kicked the tree.”

“Pardon?”

It seemed to Nadia that Prince Orca planned to tease her until the very end.

But I don’t give in easily either!

She turned away from the fallen tree.

When the seedlings were brought in, there must have been some defective ones mixed in.

She should immediately send a letter to the merchant and complain that they sent a defective product.

“I don’t know what else the ghost will do, so let’s leave quickly.”

If there were more ill trees and they fell down, it would be quite dangerous.

If the prince were to be injured by a falling tree in Aylesford’s garden…

It’s an accident whose consequence she did not dare to think about. When Orca nodded in agreement, he naturally led her into the manor. As soon as they left the garden, Nadia heard another crackling sound from behind.

They really seem like a bad merchant.

She could not believe they delivered so many defective trees. She would never let them off easily.