7 Volker: That Nape…
‘I will call upon you again.’ I
said as I kissed the back of Miss Fredericka’s hand and left the Castley home.
As soon as I boarded the carriage I
loosened my tie and top button, and breathed out a heavy sigh of relief,
‘Ah~…I was so nervous.’ I said to
Xavier.
I had been more nervous in that
drawing room that I had ever been on the battlefield. I had thought she would
have shouted at me, looked at me with eyes full of disdain like she was looking
at a disgusting bug. I thought I would be killed.
‘Miss Fredericka was rather
adorable, and she’s lovely too.’ I said to Zazie.
Xavier had been forced to come with
me just in case I ended up being accused of indecency of some sort. Freed from
a potentially tense situation, I was a bit more relaxed, therefore more
loquacious than usual.
‘She was acting. Didn’t you
notice?’ Xavier replied. (Zuben: Dude stop ruining it) Xavier looked as though
he was shocked, ‘Maybe because of you, Young Master?’
I didn’t like his expression.
I sat up in shock, ‘Acting? That
loveliness?’
My body sagged. How come?
‘She had no choice but to act that
way. Young master looked like you were headed for the guillotine, so she
quickly conveyed her gratitude. Apologising first was intentional. See how
relieved she was when you calmed down? Under normal circumstances, who would
admit that their lace underwear tore and fell off?’
Xavier’s insight! I cleared my
throat and made myself more comfortable in the carriage.
‘She was blushing from her ears
down to her neck. Although it didn’t show on her face, Miss Fredericka was
embarrassed. She is still young. She could not fully hide her shyness.’ He
added with an evil sounding chuckle.
Xavier is a bad guy, I thought.
‘Hey? How did you notice that?’
‘Her hair was up.’
Indeed, Miss Fredericka’s hair had
been styled prettily into a loose knot off to the side. I am glad I didn’t
notice or I would not have been able to concentrate.
‘What kind of a cad would abandon
such a beautiful lady? Doesn’t he have eyes in his head? Why did her love
affair end so sadly?’
I sighed.
‘If you think you do not want to
hand her to another, don’t worry.’ Xavier said.
I was struck by Xavier’s words. Truly,
I did not want to let her meet another man. But she is a young lady and she has
just had her fiancé break their engagement. She would be hurt.
She is beautiful and gentle.
She had attempted to cheer me up. During
the visit, her father had told funny stories and she had laughed heartily. She
hadn’t been scared rather she had been like a kitten studying me curiously.
‘Look into plays that the Society
ladies like.’ I commanded.
‘Yes, young Master.’ Xavier
replied.
8 The Storm Has Passed
but there is a Local Tornado
The door closed heavily behind the
General and his man, shortly after we heard the creak of carriage wheels.
We kept silent until the general’s
carriage went out of view.
There was a hiccup.
Everyone burst out laughing.
I grimace at my own shamelessness
as the rest of my household were clutching their bellies laughing.
‘Oh Fredericka!’
‘“It’s was my favourite”! Hahaha!’
‘And that cute act?! You were like
a little girl. Very cute!’
More laughter.
‘The general seemed pleased, so it
turned out alright.’ Oliver said wiping tears from his eyes.
It was fine if he was pleased, but
to the General, I must seem little more than a child.
‘Well, I just imitated Marie.’ I
said with a smile as my maid
‘Wait? What?’ she asked confused.
‘Marie is the cutest person around
me.’
Aside from that, he kissed my hand!
Oh how exciting. But, it was only a greeting, it didn’t have any deeper
connotations.
But when he lifted my hands to his
lips...so dashing so sophisticated! (Zuben: Someone has fallen hard)
Could I afford such a grown up man
who exuded such intense sex appeal like 『buwaa』 (Zuben: Like buwaaa! Like a man standing in dry ice)
When I was with Eugene, it had been
so stiff. I have never experienced such a feeling before.
I never realised the back of my
hand was so sensitive, I could still feel the sensation of General Volker’s
lips on my skin. It was strange and numb. I want to scream and run and hide. I
feel agitated and restless.
There was a knock on the door.
Eugene? No. It was a messenger with
the formal request for the dissolution of the engagement from the Duke of Cajes.
How could he turn up without even a
by-your-leave? Is it that they were more concerned about the consequences of
not coming?
I suppose now that the engagement
is cancelled they don’t need to keep up the pretence of politeness.
The messenger sat proudly in the
proffered chair, and narrowed his fox-like eyes at me. He told us his name was
Garde.
‘Miss Fredericka, please sign this
document right away.’ He said, while his words were polite, his tone was rude.
He unfurled a paper that had been tied with a grey ribbon.
‘I will read it,’ Father said
taking the document.
The written agreement to end the
marriage contract.
I held my breath as Father read it.
For a time there was only silence.
‘I have a question.’
‘Is there any room for questions?’ the
messenger asked arrogantly with a raised eyebrow.
Why did the Duke send this person?
My Mother was sitting beside with a
fixed smile on her face, yet her hand held me gripping my arm tighter and
tighter. I tried to keep the discomfort from my expression.
‘It says here “Accepting Fredericka
Castley’s error…” what error does that specifically refer to?’ my father asked.
What error? What have I done that
was a disgrace towards Eugene and the Cajes family?
‘Think of it as an error in the
document if you do not understand.’ The messenger replied.
My tried to hold down my temper;
how could I understand if you don’t explain?
‘In other words, this agreement is
trying to say that the Castley family is at fault. Is it?’ my father asked the
messenger.
This may have been the plan from
the start.
The messenger shifted in his seat,
and uncrossed his long legs. He took a sip of his tea and returned the cup to
the saucer with a loud clatter.
‘Eugene went to the ball last night
with another woman and told my daughter in front of a lot of people, that the
woman with him was his destined love and he wanted to break the engagement. I
am afraid there was been a mistake. How do you like this?’
‘Where you there?’ the messenger
asked, ‘Is there any evidence? You are trying to malign my master.’ The man
said with a derisive laugh.
There were many witnesses, the
other attendees, the orchestra, the servants.
‘Do you think I cannot protect my
daughter?’ My father said his jaw tense. The messenger merely looked amused.
‘I will delete that line. We agree
to cancel the marriage contract between ourselves and the Cajes family.’
Oliver presented a pen, and father
crossed out the offending line before signing.
‘We formally acknowledge the
cancellation of engagement between Fredericka Castley and Eugene Cajes. I hope
we never cross paths in the future.’
The messenger took the document,
and left out house laughing loudly.
‘I’m sorry, Father,’ I said after
the odious man left. I wish I was a better woman. (Zuben: Girl, how is it your fault that
family is full of shysters?)
I should have been able to avoid
this.
‘Heh heh, that messenger, I’m sure
he’ll be crowing that he got the better of the Castleys.’ Father said without
anger.
Good, Father isn’t daunted.
People will talk. The misfortune of
others is like nectar to bees for Society.
Hopefully our business will not
lose customers because of this.
The duke was obviously trying to
manipulate the story to Eugene’s benefit, and place the responsibility of the
break up on me.
The acquisitioning party should
have the higher hand. It’s like telling your enemy, ‘this is my weakness.’
(Zuben: This is gobbledegook, but nothing came up better)
I gave them goods and they taught me
weakness.
We are the losing party. When the
story comes out, my family and I would become “pitiful”.
We couldn’t even ask for a
settlement even if we wanted to.
Nobles are troublesome.
Would I be able to go see the play
with General Volker?
It looks like it would be
impossible.
In the background, Mother
repeatedly cursed the messenger’s name.
I rubbed my sore arm as I listened.
This is rather unfortunate.
9 Volker: A Fox Borrowing the Power of a Tiger
A cup of fragrant tea sat before
me.
There was a man sitting on the
other side of the table wiping his sweat with a handkerchief.
His behaviour was very suspicious.
I wondered if he was like this with Miss Fredericka, and became anxious.
When we returned from the Castley
residence, there was a man waiting for me. He shouted at my carriage in a
rather embarrassing manner as we passed through the gate.
I looked at Xavier; the person
seemed to be a messenger from the Duke Cajes residence.
He had waited all afternoon, he
said, because of my absence, time had been wasted. What should he do if he was
scolded by the Duke? He cried, while looking angry.
When Xavier and I did not say
anything, he fell silent. I wondered if he noticed his own rudeness. He gave
his name and said he had important matters to discuss from the Duke, so a maid
directed him to a drawing room.
Xavier had an appalled expression
as the man walked away.
‘Do you think he is really from the
Duke? It is rather unbelievable,’
‘Lack of talented manpower…?’
Xavier went to check details with
the house keeper. I handed my coat to my footman, and walk unhurriedly to the
reception room.
It seemed in the mean time, he
remembered his position. The recent abominable manners were put aside, and the
messenger was wiping his sweat nervously. He gave a nervous smile as he
accepted tea from the maid.
It just seemed unlikely that this
person was a messenger from the Duke.
Something felt off.
He was behaving like a commoner
confused by the sudden acquisition of power they were not accustomed to.
He began by saying using the
Western army as security detail last night was a waste of troops, and I should
have thought of my position as a general. As he continued, his tone got more
arrogant.
When he finally concluded, I was
annoyed, ‘I was asked to assure security last night by the West General as a
favour. It was a last minute thing. I do not understand what the Duke’s concern
is.’
But the timing…it is probably
related to Miss Fredericka, that the Duke would come to see the security
officer for the ball last night. (Zuben: I know it’s a plot contrivance, but
why did they need security anyway?)
As I spoke, the messenger drank his
tea casually.
‘Last night, Eugene the heir to the
Duke of Cajes broke his engagement with Fredericka.’
I raise a brow, ‘So I’ve heard.’ I
replied.
He leaned over and said in a conspiratory
tone, ‘Actually, the engagement was a conspiracy by the Viscount Castley. The
General may not know this, but Fredericka is a spend thrift. A wasteful woman.
She spent the Duke’s money without end, claiming it was for her bridal
trousseau.’
Hmm…
‘The nouveau riche Castleys are a
vulgar clan. She goes about wear gaudy jingly
jangly jewellery about showing off their so called wealth. Isn’t it all a lie?’
Hmm… (Zuben: Indeed)
‘She was the one who tempted Lord
Eugene in the first place, showing off her chest with low cut dresses. And he
was tempted enough to propose!’
Hmm…
‘Eugene is young, so who could
blame him? He was deceived by her ample charms. The only thing good about that
girl are her breasts. Hahahah’
I growled but he didn’t notice.
‘But Lord Eugene eventually became
wise to her fox like ways. There was numerous evidence of her true common
behaviour. So finally he broke off the engagement yesterday. But that sly fox
girl played the pitiful victim.’
The messenger’s face was flush with
excitement as he recounted this tale. He took a sip of tea to calm down.
‘So what are you trying to tell
me?’ I asked. The only evidence of my rage was my hands gripping the armrests
tightly.
‘Well, the duke wants the truth of
the matter to be known, since you may have received a biased report from the
guards at the party, so as not to be embarrassed later.’
The messenger said with a smile.
‘It was strange in the first place
for a duke’s son to marry a viscount’s daughter. Their family status is too
different. It’s like the stars compared to stones. Besides, they only bought
their title with gold in the turmoil of the last great war. Such low blood
people should not mix with a Duke’s noble blood.’
‘That girl is a vulgar woman, like
a prostitute that invites men in the back streets.’
I shot out of my chair,
‘I will not listen to any more of
this for I fear my ears will rot!’
The messenger jumped at the tone of
my voice.
‘Er, yes! That’s right, that girl
is…’ it seems the messenger was taking my words at his convenience. He was
rubbing his hands together like a little housefly, laughing. So I pulled out my
sword and held it against the messenger’s pale cheek.
He squealed. (Zuben: Squeal piggy
squeal)
‘Shut up, you cretin!’ I growled,
‘I will not listen to you malign that woman any longer.’
The messenger sputtered, he began
retreating, keeping his eyes on the shiny blade,
‘Why are you attacking me so
suddenly? I am a messenger of the duke! Can such a thing be forgiven?!’
‘Be quiet, or I will sew that mouth
closed so that lies may not pass from your lips.’
The messenger paled. His mouth
gaped open like a fish.
‘I believe what I see with my own
eyes and Miss Fredericka is not the kind of woman you are maligning her to be!’
The messenger scrambled out of the
reception room, stumbling on all fours.
‘Weren’t you too patient?’ Xavier said
as he entered the reception room.
‘I was about to choke from anger.’
I took a deep breath and exhaled.
‘Aren’t you worried about the House
of Lords?’
I did not spend a lot of time in
court due to military duties. I had to patiently listen to confirm that Cajes
had definitely cancelled the engagement with Fredericka.
I was nearly dizzy with the
ridiculousness of the whole situation.
‘I do not care about the Lords.’
Xavier gave a small laugh as he
packed up the tea things.
Since I can't log into my Wordpress, I used (my long forgotten) LiveJournal~ Thanks for the chapter! I usually like any character named Xavier, but butler Xavier was a definite no-no at the start. Was she acting? I totally missed that. Lmao at the translator’s comments, especially that “bwuaa”. I laughed so hard at that. Wow. I can't believe they tried to frame her, but knowing that her ex-fiancee is scum, I really shouldn't be surprised. I wanted the male lead to do a little more damage to the piggy~
ReplyDeleteIt was more in the sense that she was trying to act not as embarrased as she really was. It wasn't like a super total personality flip.
DeleteShe was trying to save herself from further embarrassment by not making a big deal out of it. I've acted like that a few times before as a cover up becaus of my clumsy ways...
Deletethanks!
ReplyDeletethat disgusting duke cajes! how dare he! volker, my boy, you did great!
Thank you so much for the chapter!!
ReplyDeleteI really like this kind of story,, light but still able to make me smile like a fool lololol..
This deal of using slander smacks of a common woman. Perhaps the young lady that was with the heir is behind all these things.Why hasn't someone checked the seals on these documents? Or checked to see if the Duke's manner has such a crude messenger in their employment.
ReplyDelete