Chapter 138 - The Night Escort and the First Cup of Tea
Volf gazed out the carriage window at the stars peeking through the clouds.
Tonight, he was tasked with escorting Altea, the former duchess, back from her evening gathering.
As usual, after finishing his training, he changed clothes and rode in the carriage that had come to pick him up.
Normally, he would either rest in the carriage or snack on the light meals prepared inside, but today he felt unusually restless.
He couldn’t settle down enough to sleep, and even the high-quality snacks failed to whet his appetite.
The time spent waiting in the carriage felt unbearably long.
When attending evening gatherings, Altea always arrived late and left a little early.
Her escort upon arrival was either a titled knight who also served as her guard or Volf himself. For her departure, she would either leave with the same knight or have Volf come to pick her up.
Occasionally, the escort would change, but Volf had never bothered to find out who they were.
A while ago, Dahlia had asked him to deliver something to Altea as a token of gratitude for the wine she had received earlier.
Dahlia had been seriously debating whether a shoe dryer would be a rude gift and if a compact magic stove would be more appropriate.
In the end, she had chosen the stove because Volf had been involved in its development. Even though he wasn’t sure if Altea would ever use it, he still brought the compact magic stove Dahlia had meticulously wrapped with him, carefully carrying it.
After what had happened at the royal castle yesterday, Volf had been deeply worried about Dahlia.
But when they parted, Dahlia’s concern had been for the maid who had stained her clothes. Volf had decided to leave the matter to Grato and his brother to handle.
The incident with the maid was something Dorino and Randolph knew about, but Volf had been left in the dark.
He told himself it was either a coincidence or an attempt to spare him worry, but it still left a strange knot in his chest.
“Altea-sama will be out shortly.”
At last, upon hearing the servant’s call, he checked his appearance one final time before stepping out of the carriage.
The grand mansion before him had glossy white walls and a vibrant red roof. The path leading to it was lined with dazzling magical lamps.
As he walked toward the front door, he smiled and extended a hand to the woman emerging from it.
“I’ve come to escort you, Altea-sama.”
“Thank you, Volfred.”
This was far from the first time.
After balls and dinner parties, Volf would simply come to pick up Altea like this and accompany her back to her estate.
Neither Altea nor Volf paid any attention to the numerous gazes directed their way.
Whether filled with jealousy, desire, or admiration, none of it interested them.
They ignored the overly conspicuous whispers as Volf escorted Altea back to the carriage.
The moment the carriage door closed, Volf couldn’t help but let out a sigh.
“Your mind seems elsewhere. A man should at least put on a proper front in front of a woman. Isn’t that part of an escort’s duty?”
“My apologies. I was lost in thought.”
Altea teased him with a mischievous smile, but Volf responded with a sincere apology.
“Tell me, Volfred, is something troubling you?”
“Well, yes...”
“Something you can’t tell me?”
“No, it’s not a secret. It’s just that the unit is having some trouble adopting a product from a company I’m involved with.”
“If you wish, I could put in a word for you.”
“Thank you, but I’ll have to decline your kind offer.”
Volf refused without hesitation.
He knew Dahlia wouldn’t want Altea’s intervention.
“You had such a serious look on your face, I thought you were going to break up with me.”
“Break up?”
“Yes, you and me. If you keep escorting me like this, won’t your special someone get jealous? If it’s causing you trouble, we can stop anytime.”
“No, we’re not in that kind of relationship.”
As he answered, Volf tried to imagine Dahlia being jealous because of him, but he couldn’t picture it at all. They were just friends, after all.
“Volfred, would you be fine if your friend danced with another man?”
Volf imagined Dahlia, as a baroness, dancing at a ball.
She would likely look good in a dress, but dancing didn’t seem to be her forte.
While he might worry a little about her safety, he had no right to stop her. At most, he would simply watch over her.
“As a friend, I might worry a little, but I wouldn’t stop her. I don’t have that right.”
Unnoticed by Volf, he ended up referring to himself in a more casual way.
Altea simply smiled, her eyes narrowing.
・・・・・・・
Upon returning to the estate, Volf drank a single glass of white wine before retreating to the room he was borrowing.
In front of Altea, a maid unwrapped the compact magic stove from its floral-patterned packaging. Inside was a folded card with a polite thank-you note for the wine, written in neat handwriting.
Altea placed the compact magic stove, a gift from Volf’s friend, on the table.
She seemed quite intrigued, turning it this way and that, inspecting the slot for the magic stone.
“Altea-sama, shall we boil some water for tea?”
Seeing Altea’s delighted expression, the attendant half-jokingly suggested.
But Altea, smiling, agreed and declared she would brew the tea herself, refusing any advice on how to do it.
The maid beside her fidgeted nervously, glancing at the attendant for guidance.
“That boy... he absolutely refuses to accept anything beyond what he can repay. It’s like he’s terrified of ‘owing’ me anything.”
Altea pouted as she checked the water boiling in the small pot on the stove.
She scooped three spoonfuls of high-quality tea leaves and tossed them into the vigorously boiling water.
The maid beside her covered her mouth, silently screaming in horror.
“It’s because he’s a man. Men don’t like owing women.”
“Is that how it is? Is it wrong to wish he’d rely on me a little more?”
“Given his personality, it might be a bit difficult...”
“Oh? So men don’t appreciate a ‘woman’s consideration’?”
As she spoke, Altea’s slender fingers turned off the stove’s flame.
Then, with a precarious gesture, she lifted the small pot and poured its contents through a strainer into a white teacup.
The way she brewed the tea was riddled with problems, and the resulting color was undoubtedly far too dark, but the attendant silently watched.
The maid’s face was pale, but no words of intervention came.
“This is the first time I’ve brewed tea from boiling the water myself.”
Altea looked utterly satisfied, making it hard for the attendant not to laugh.
He managed to hold back by imagining the taste of the tea he would soon have to drink.
“By the way, I’d like to know more about what Volf mentioned earlier.”
“You promised not to intervene, didn’t you?”
“Oh, I said I wouldn’t ‘intervene,’ but I never said I’d ‘do nothing.’”
“...Altea-sama.”
“Surely it’s fine to help a puppy avoid getting soaked in the rain, no?”
Her dazzlingly beautiful smile made the attendant exhale deeply. Once Altea got like this, there was no stopping her.
“Now, how does this tea taste?”
Playing the part of a whimsical noblewoman while acting for the sake of her family and country, Altea was surprisingly deep in her affections for those she considered her own.
This was the first cup of tea that Altea had ever brewed herself.
Having served her for nearly twenty years, the attendant wondered if he should be grateful for the honor of being the first to taste it.
Or if he should take pride in being a challenger.
In the end, all three of them grimaced at the taste of the first cup of tea.
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