CH 38

Leonid only sat down after making sure I was seated.

“Fabi….. The Grand Duke must be so busy that he doesn’t even have time to have dinner with the Grand Duchess.”

He tried to call him Fabian at ease but hastily changed his words.

“Even now, there is still work to be done in a hurry, so I came alone first.”

“Ah…… is that so?”

Richard, who had already sat back in his seat, muttered, “Hmm, he doesn’t even know how important dinner is. I’m sure he’s stuck behind his desk and chewing a slice of bread while looking at the documents.”

“What kind of era it is these days, even if you’re a noble, you shouldn’t just play and eat like before, Richard.”

“Yeah, but isn’t there some kind of dignity and etiquette that a noble has to keep?”

What? You’re not trying to provoke a fight, are you?

‘I brought Larissa down for the first time in a while!’

I quickly intervened before the atmosphere became awkward.

“By the way, Marquis Orlov. I was thankful at that time.”

“Yes?”

“On the day of the funeral. You tried to help me when there was a shooting incident. I haven’t been able to say thank you properly.”

“Haha, no worries.”

He smiled like it was nothing.

The soup came out just in time. It was chicken soup with lots of spices.

It must be what they were making when I stopped by the kitchen earlier.

“Larissa, it’s chicken soup!”

Larissa’s eyes were twinkling as she looked down at the soup plate.

Larissa took a spoon and tasted it very carefully.

Soon her green eyes widened and a faint blush appeared on both cheeks.

‘It must be delicious.’

I smiled and also took a spoon.

“The soup tastes very good. You have a great cook.”

“Thank you.”

The soup was soft and thick, and the salty taste felt at the tip of the tongue naturally aroused appetite.

‘I should dip bread in the soup.’

I reached for the basket of bread.

At that moment, Richard, who was sitting behind the basket, caught my eye.

Richard raised the spoon in the air and stared blankly at one place.

At the end of his gaze, there was Larissa.

‘Geez…… I know How cute our Larissa is.’

The problem is that even such a guy can fall in love at first sight.

Maybe Larissa’s life is going to get harder in the future.

All kinds of flying flies should not be entangled with her.

I wanted to kick the shin of this fly under the table.

But the dining table of the Grand Duke was too large and wide, and it was covered with tablecloths that reached to the floor, so it was impossible to see below the waist of the other party.

Reluctantly, I looked at Richard and said, “Would you like to get me a basket of bread over there?”

Richard looked at me in surprise.

I looked at him with more intense eyes.

Don’t look at our Larisa.

Richard sighed, shook his head, and slid the bread basket toward me.

“Here. Now don’t look at me with desperate eyes. I’m not going to steal it.”

What the hell is this guy?

It wasn’t the bread I was looking at but you! And it wasn’t a desperate look, it was a murder ray!

I glanced at his untouched soup plate.

“I don’t think Sir Richard is too hungry. I see you don’t touch the food at all. Or have you stayed in the Duchy for too long and now you miss the County’s food?”

Richard’s pupils trembled slightly.

It is very rude not to touch the food the host has provided. Because it means you can’t trust the host.

It was the guests’ duty to even pretend to eat.

Richard started to put the spoon in his mouth.

“I am eating.”

“Oh, really? How does it taste?”

“Well, it’s delicious.”

It was a very insincere response no matter who heard it.

Anyway, instead of staring blankly at Larissa, he started moving his spoon diligently, stirring the soup.

I smiled and changed the topic.

“So, what were you two talking about?”

Leonid, who had listened to Richard’s conversation with me, answered with a smile, “Oh, we were talking about the academy.”

“Academy?”

The academy in the capital?

I think it’s famous as a place that no one could enter.

You must come from a prominent family if you want to be accepted into the academy.

“Yes. It’s been a long time since I graduated. I’m Richard’s senior, the same goes for Fabian. So we were talking a little bit about academy life.”

As Leonid explained kindly, Richard murmured, “His Majesty the King is too generous to accept a witch’s bloodline into the academy and let him graduate.”

“As a former student council president, I advise you’d better not to think too much about bloodlines, Richard.”

“What? Were you also the student  council president?”

“I told you before……”

Richard jumped out of his chair, surprised, and then he shook his head as if what he heard didn’t make any sense.

“Then why the hell are you so close with that guy?”

Is the academy’s student council president that great?

Leonid simply smiled and continued speaking despite the continued rude remarks.

“Is there anything I can’t do? Is it so strange to be close to the future Grand Duke?”

“No one knew that he would become a Grand Duke!”

Richard turned his head and looked at me.

Why? What did I do?

– If it wasn’t because of that woman, Fabian would have been kicked out of the mansion by now!

Oh, is that what you’re thinking?

‘But even if it wasn’t me, he must have found another woman who met the criteria somewhere.’

I mean, I’m just lucky.

Tearing the bread and dipping it in the soup, I said calmly, “Isn’t it natural for students to have human-to-human interactions at the academy? You’re from the same academy, so what’s wrong with being close?”

“Human-to-human interactions are only conducted with people of the same class.”

In response to Richard’s words, Leonid laughed out loud.

“Richard, didn’t you know that? An academy is a place where commoners and nobles share thoughts and discussions equally.”

“Equally? If they were really equal, they wouldn’t have picked only two or three people in a year as they do now. It’s just a show.”

“If you don’t know why they’re trying to please the commoners in that way, Laurent County will end in four generations. Let’s think carefully about why Fabian was chosen as the student council president even though he has red eyes.”

Richard eventually frowned and bit his lip.

Oh my, ho ho. This bread is so savory.

After swallowing the bread soaked in soup, I asked Leonid, “Then, did you meet Fabian at the Academy?”

“Didn’t that guy tell you?”

Hearing Leonid calls Fabian that guy makes the atmosphere more relaxed.

“In the academy, one senior and one junior are randomly paired and the senior takes care of the junior. I got Fabian’s name in a lottery.”

He said with a sentimental look that seemed to be reminiscing about the past.

“It’s a relationship that’s been going on since then. Now he is a completely different person from when he just entered school.”

“Is that so? How old was Fabian at the time? What kind of kid was he?”

He narrowed his eyes slightly at my question.

Before he could open his mouth, the answer came from someone else.

“I was nine years old.”

I was startled by the sudden voice from behind and turned around and saw Fabian standing there.

‘You startled me! When the hell did you come?’

He had a somewhat cold expression, and when our eyes met, he bowed slightly and turned his head toward Leonid.

“I was wondering where you went, and you were playing with someone else’s wife here.”

“Who told you not to come down? I definitely recommended it.”

Leonid took Fabian’s cold gaze casually and chuckled.

“The Grand Duke has finally come.”

Fabian completely ignored Richard’s murmur and sat down.

His seat was next to mine.

Of course, it felt strange to sit right next to me at this wide table.

As soon as he sat down, he called in a servant to bring the meal to him.

‘Didn’t you say you were going to eat in the office?’

“You haven’t eaten yet?”

When I asked calmly, he turned his head and looked at me.

Red eyes soon turned to the soup in front of me, then looked back at me again.

“I ate a bit in the office, but when I came here, my appetite started growing.”

What did you eat……?