On the day Cordelia was returning to the royal capital, Nirupama looked disappointed.
“I don’t mind if you come here anytime you want. Will you come back when your coming of age banquet is over?”
“Thank you very much. But first, I’d like to use the things that I’ve learnt here in the royal capital.”
“I see, that’s a shame. But, the preparations of the shop seemed to finally be going well… If that’s the case, then should I come visit with my husband for a while? Bruno also feels very sad that you’re leaving.”
Cordelia bowed deeply at Nirupama who said what she wanted even though she knew Cordelia’s reply.
“Thank you for looking after me for two years. Please give my regards to Bruno-ojisama too.”
“Okay, you’ve been great. But promise me that you’ll come visit after everything has settled down, alright? I’m looking forward to your coming of age too.”
Then Cordelia said goodbye to her days in Weltoria and boarded the carriage to the royal capital with Lara.
When the mansion came into view, Cordelia informed the coachman that she would get off the carriage and slowly walked through the colourful flower garden in her home. She thought it would be more surprising and nostalgic because she was away for a long time, but all she felt was ‘calm’.
“I’m back.”
Cordelia talked to the flowers from time to time as she walked and quickly reached the entrance. A lot of servants were waiting for her there.
“Welcome home, Ojou-sama.”
“Welcome back from your trip.”
Cordelia smiled while receiving greetings from everyone.
“I’m back. I’m glad everyone seems well.”
Then, she asked Emina to distribute the gifts to the servants and went to her room by herself first.
She was somewhat happy that her room hadn’t changed since she left, and her cheeks naturally loosened. She liked her room in Weltoria, but she could relax more in a room that she was familiar with.
“Then, I’ll take a nap to heal my fatigue from travelling… What am I saying? I don’t have the time for that.”
I can’t take things slowly. I have to quickly make gifts for people who will be coming to celebrate my coming of age party.
Cordelia changed into her research clothes then headed to the laboratory. Then, she opened the door and saw that Ronnie was holding a wooden box and putting it away.
“Ah, welcome back. Ojou-sama.”
“I’m back. You seem well.”
It wasn’t a moving reunion and Ronnie seemed as carefree as before. The inside of the laboratory was also the same and it felt as if she had only been gone for a day. However, there were more sweets on the table than before, and there were some which had come from Weltoria.
“Lara must have already popped by since those sweets are on the table.”
“She did. She said, 『I have to make sure the greenhouse is alright before Ojou-sama comes! 』and left. She doesn’t seem to trust my management.”
“It’s been a while, so she probably didn’t know what to say to you.”
“Is it like that? It’s been a long time for you too, Ojou-sama, but you don’t seem perplexed at all.”
Ronnie shrugged and Cordelia smiled in amazement. Ronnie’s thick-headedness hasn’t improved at all in these last two years.
“Come to think about it, your coming of age ceremony will be celebrated as a dance ball?”
“Yes.”
The young nobles in this kingdom often celebrated their coming of age ceremonies at dinner parties in the past. However, more nobles have been celebrating it in a showy manner recently, and she heard that a ball was also held for Vernoux’s coming of age ceremony.
“I’m looking forward to it. Does the Master dance as well?”
“I… guess so.”
Ronnie seemed amused, but Cordelia tilted her head since she couldn’t imagine Elvis dancing.
(Ronnie is the same and doesn’t even hold back against his Master.)
But I heard that Cecily, the head magician, doesn’t raise her eyebrows a lot anymore, Cordelia sighed lightly.
“And, did you hear? The Madam wrote the invitations.”
“Huh? Okaa-sama did?”
“Yes. But she won’t attend the evening party herself. I heard that the invitation was very courteous and befitting of a daughter of the Pameradia House.”
“… That’s… nice.”
I still haven’t been able to meet with Okaa-sama, but at least she’s worried about me now. Cordelia smiled a little.
“By the way, since you came here as soon as you came home, what are you going to do?”
“I want to prepare gifts for the people who are coming to the evening party.”
“Eh, gifts? And since you’re preparing them here, are you going to be making essential oils?”
Cordelia smiled at Ronnie’s question.
“I have to greet them at the evening party, don’t I? If I glance at their magic wavelengths, then I can choose which essential oils will suit them. I can roughly guess their favourite fragrance from their magic wavelength.”
“Which means, you’ll have to make a lot of different types so that you’ll have the scent you need.”
“That’s right.”
Cordelia had already started mass-producing essential oils that were ready to be put up for sale.
For sweet and sour citrus aromas, she had orange, grapefruit, lemon, bergamot, lemon grass and melissa. Floral aromas include geranium, neroli (orange flower), roman camomile, German chamomile, and lavender. The refreshing aromas include peppermint, spearmint, rosemary, basil, clary sage and angelica. Woody aromas include tea tree, eucalyptus, juniper, myrtle, and so on. These aromas will be transported from Ertiga on a case-by-case basis.
“You have more variety now. How are you going to distribute them?”
“I plan to put the aroma stones and essential oils in these jewellery boxes, but I feel like it won’t make much of an impact, so I’m thinking of adding a small amount of balms and lotions in there as well.”
“Eh… Doesn’t this jewellery box have a cameo of a rose relief on the lid? Ojou-sama, are you serious?”
Ronnie looked impressed as he stared at the gorgeous jewellery box.
“First impressions are important, aren’t they?”
“Well, you can probably think of it as advertising expenses.”
“That’s right. I can’t read a person’s magic unless I see them in person, so it’s going to be a little tough on the day, but I plan on asking Emina to help me.”
“So, you’re preparing the essential oils now? You’re also going to make different balms, aren’t you?”
Ronnie said and Cordelia laughed.
“I’ll do that tomorrow. Apart from that, there’s something I want to try. Can you get me some jasmine flowers? Get all the ones I have.”
“Jasmine? By any chance, have you finally found a solvent that can be used for roses? The hard work of repeatedly experimenting has finally paid off.”
To extract jasmine oil, I use the same solvent method that is used to extract rose absolute oil.
The solvent extraction process uses organic solvent such as hexane to extract essential oils and is used for plants which have a poor extraction rate with the steam distillation method or when the components in the plant are altered by heat.
“No, I still haven’t gotten to that point yet.”
Cordelia has also tried magic medicine to replace hexane, but she still hasn’t found the best solvent yet. However, even without that medicine, she had obtained a magic medicine that was similar to pure ethanol, so she could also use the enfleurage method.
“Then, how?”
“I had another refining process. So, I wanted to try it with jasmine first.”
She hasn’t come up with this method because she had memories of her previous life, but she has strong magic that specialises in plants which she hadn’t had in her previous world. And, it was possible for her to directly obtain the essential oil from the plant if she grasps her magic analysis training.
(With the solvent extraction method, a little bit of the solvent remains in the essential oil. But if this goes well, then I can gain pure essential oils.)
However, the essential oil content in roses and jasmine is extremely small. I’m worried about whether I can really extract essential oil from them with magic when the oils can’t even be seen with the eye. But since I haven’t found a magic medicine to use, it would be better to bet on this method rather than use the enfleurage method.
“But, Ojou-sama. There are more roses than jasmine in stock right now…”
“Huh?”
“You always use jasmine when you try out whatever medicine you get your hands on, so there’s only a little bit of stock left. So, isn’t it better to use roses for your experiment? If needed, I can prepare a variety of roses other than Ojou-sama’s rose.”
The rose that Ronnie had referred to as 『Ojou-sama’s rose』is the『Cordelia』that she had received from Gille.
She had collected other fragrant roses in addition to 『Cordelia』, but she liked 『Cordelia』the most. Her favourite scent after the roses have been extracted into rose absolutes won’t necessarily be 『Cordelia』, but she thought that it would be her favourite anyway.
(But if there’s a lot, then I’ll like to try this method with roses.)
The flowers were perfectly preserved thanks to magic tools.
“What do you want to do? I’m fine either way.”
“Alright. Prepare them for me. Bring a bag of roses back with you.”
Ronnie casually went down to the underground warehouse. He didn’t care about Cordelia’s momentous decision at all.
Cordelia relaxed a little from his attitude.
(I can’t help but be nervous since I feel stronger towards it than the other varieties.)
The roses in the vase were probably put there by Emina before Cordelia returned. She pulled a flower out from the case, concentrated magic into her eyes and searched for information on the rose.
The magic circuit that continued into the veins of the leaf, and a little… she confirmed the presence of a little bit of essential oil.
(I will need fifty roses to get one drop of essential oil from them. So, it’s invisible to the eye.)
Still, Cordelia understood.
Thanks to the magic given to me by the Pameradia House, I can see the magic in the roses and the essential oils that it holds.
“Ojou-sama, I have them.”
“Thanks. Put it here.”
When Ronnie came back from the warehouse, he transferred the roses from the big bag he brought into the glass containers. Cordelia closed her eyes and took a deep breath in front of the roses. Then, she put both hands on top of the flowers and concentrated magic into them.
(Come on, essential oils. Gather in one place…!!)
She slowly opened her eyes which were the same colour as the roses and spoke to them. The speed at which the essential oils were moving through the petals was slower than she thought.
(Rather than slow, it’s heavy…!)
I don’t know if that’s the right word to use, but I wanted to pull the essential oils with my magic, however my magic is being pulled into the essential oils instead. I only concentrated enough to search the roses, but it was stealing my physical strength and magic.
But I won’t give up.
The essential oils are invisible, but my magic and the essential oils are connected and they’re moving. This is an endurance test.
After a long period of time, she collected the essential oils from the petal and a drop finally appeared.
Yes, it was just a drop of essential oil, but this was a crystal of hope for Cordelia.
Cordelia smiled.
“You’re forcing the essential oils to collect… Ojou-sama, are you developing an underhanded trick with that?”
“Underhanded trick, hmm. You certainly don’t need tools for this, but it’s not suited for mass production.”
Cordelia wiped the sweat from her forehead, just collecting enough essential oils for my personal use would require a tremendous amount of magic and physical strength, but she also felt a sense of accomplishment.
Ronnie shrugged at her gesture.
“Well, that’s right. In order to make the essential oils easier to collect, you’ll have to continue looking for medicine and making them.”
“Yes.”
“Still, I think it’s amazing. Your magic goes well with plants, but you need a lot of control to do what you just did. This is the result of Ojou-sama’s diligence towards magic training.”
“Thanks. But, don’t praise me too much. I don’t know what expression to make.”
“I think it’s fine to express your joy as you want. For now, I’ll prepare the glass container to store the essential oil. It’s still a prototype, but there are some good ones, so please use them.”
“Thanks. That’s helpful.”
“It’s alright. When Ojou-sama went to Nirupama’s place, I said that I received an order from you and didn’t get much work from the magician wing. It’s give-and-take.”
Is it really alright to call that give-and-take?
One way or another, Ronnie is soft-hearted, so I think he would do his job at the magician wing if they asked him to… As usual, he’s still an honest person who says what he wants to say without hiding anything.
(It’s nice for me, but Ronnie should become a little more streetwise.)
Cordelia stared at Ronnie as he left the room and couldn’t help but be a little disappointed.
(Leaving Ronnie’s matter aside for the time being, I can barely make it in time for the evening party if I think about my magic consumption, recovery and how much essential oils I can draw from the flowers.)
In any case, Cordelia got the rose essential oils that she had hoped for.
She understood the mood from the previous challenge, so she decided to take a rest before refining essential oils again and stared at the essential oil that she had just made.
“I don’t know if the fragrance will reach him…”
Cordelia took a plain piece of paper out of the cupboard and pushed the essential oil against the edge of the paper.
“I hope that it will become a pleasant fragrance by the time it reaches him.”
She said as she ran her pen on the paper.
『I have returned to the royal capital. I also made the essential oils. I will contact you again. 』
I want to deliver this scent to Gille-sama as soon as possible since he gave me the rose. I want him to think it smells good, and I want him to be surprised by the rose aroma that was obtained with the steam distillation method ――― a fragrance that is different from rose otto.
She thought this and put the blank piece of paper into an envelope so that the scent wouldn’t evaporate. She will seal it after writing her letter tonight.
And, there are also other people who she had to inform about her return.
“Ah, come to think of it, Ojou-sama. Master will be back by the time the sun sets.”
Ronnie reappeared again with a glass container and Cordelia thanked him for informing her.
Yes, first, I must report Otou-sama since he had let me go to Weltoria.
Cordelia repeatedly looked out the window from her room as Elvis’s scheduled time to arrive home approached. She understood that someone would inform her when he got home, but she felt tensed and was worried about what was happening outside.
(Don’t, stop looking. Calm down.)
This behaviour is not befitting for an ideal lady who I’m aiming to be. She took a deep breath and cleared her head.
However, she noticed a problem when she calmed down.
“What should I talk to him about after I welcome him home…?”
She wanted to report on her training period after she had finished getting the materials ready, but she hadn’t unpacked yet and a part of her luggage hadn’t arrived at the royal capital. Elvis will probably give her a chance to report later.
So she thought she should start with something fun, but it was hard to choose a topic that Elvis would enjoy.
Cordelia was hesitating and Lara laughed at her.
“Ojou-sama, shall I prepare some tea for you to calm down?”
“Thanks, but I’m not in the mood for tea.”
“Then, shall I re-do your hair? It might distract you a little.”
“It’s a shame since you spent such a long time getting my hair done this morning.”
Lara, who had been doing Cordelia’s hair every day in Weltoria, and had gotten good at it because Nirupama suddenly said, “Why don’t you try this hairstyle on Cordelia today?”
“Then shall I prepare hot chocolate? The temperature will rise soon, and you won’t be able to enjoy it anymore.”
Lara said before lightly leaving the room.
Cordelia didn’t mean that she wanted to drink something other than tea, and it was getting hot already. She smiled wryly since she didn’t even have time to stop Lara. Maybe hot chocolate was something that Lara enjoyed drinking. However, she felt a little relieved to see Lara acting like her usual self.
When the cup that Lara had prepared for her became empty, Cordelia was told that Elvis had returned home.
She headed to the entrance while feeling nervous, and Elvis was acting the same as usual as he gave Hans some orders.
Even so, he noticed that she had appeared. Hans seemed to have noticed the change in Elvis’s attitude and stepped back while smiling.
Apparently the matter wasn’t urgent, and Elvis had already told Hans everything he needed to.
“Welcome home, Otou-sama.”
Cordelia said and suddenly noticed.
He had just come back, but would it have been better if I informed him that I had returned first?
Elvis had widened his eyes for a second and didn’t seem to mind.
“… Yeah.”
Cordelia was relieved by his brief reply. Apparently, the words she had said to him hadn’t been wrong.
However, she was surprised by what Elvis said next.
“You seem well like always.”
“Th-thank you very much.”
She knew that he cared about her from long ago, but it was rare for him to tell her this directly. Cordelia’s expression cracked and she laughed. Hans smiled widely when he saw her.
“Master, shall I prepare some tea?”
“Yeah, in the sunroom.”
Elvis replied briefly and returned to his room. Apparently, he was indicating that she should go and wait for him there.
The Pameradia mansion’s sunroom, which was rarely used to host tea parties, was used less frequently than in other mansions. Thus, there were a lot of potted plants in the room instead of already cut flowers.
Cordelia waited while looking at the plants and Elvis finally appeared with Hans. Elvis sat down and so did Cordelia. Hans prepared the tea and then left.
“Otou-sama. This gift is for you.”
Cordelia held out a box that was decorated with five rock glasses.
There were a lot of coloured glass products in Weltoria that were manufactured with sandblasting. There was also a lot of cider there as well since the climate was warm and they could harvest a lot of different types of fruits, and so glass production is also prosperous there.
“Please use it if you don’t mind.”
“… Ah.”
Elvis didn’t immediately take the glass out of the box to look at it, but Cordelia didn’t miss him saying, “With this we can drink the promised alcohol…”
It seemed like he was speaking to himself, and he hadn’t noticed that he had done so. However, Cordelia was happy since he had remembered that she had asked him to choose an alcohol for them to drink once she reached adulthood.
“It seems like you’ve learnt a lot under Countess Weltoria.”
Elvis muttered while picking up the cup and continued.
“It seemed like she wanted to keep you by her side for a little longer. A while ago, Bruno-dono sent me a grievance letter saying, 『I’m losing an excellent secretary』.”
“Did Nirupama-obasama and Bruno-ojisama praise me that much?”
“Yeah. The Weltorias said that they will welcome you anytime. If you want to visit them again, then you can. They’ll also welcome you for long visits as well.”
Cordelia wondered if this was about what they have been telling her since she was younger; about how they wanted to adopt her and teach her how to manage the fief, but Elvis’s attitude gave her the impression that they were forced to make a decision.
“You can just do what you want. It is evident that your ideas are wanted from your evaluation at the competition show. Countess Weltoria also said it was too early.”
Elvis continued since he had guessed what Cordelia was thinking.
“Thank you very much, Otou-sama.”
Cordelia also reached for her cup. There was hibiscus tea, which Cordelia had brought back as a gift, in the cup. Originally, there was no custom of using roselle flowers in tea at Weltoria fief, but the acidity of the flower suited those in Weltoria, so making tea leaves from the flower’s calyx quickly spread throughout the fief. Hibiscus contains a lot of citric acid and malic acid, so it can be expected to improve blood flow, prevent lifestyle diseases, recover fatigue and lower cholesterol levels. What was poured in the cup right now was blended with rosehip and tasted much more mellow.
“However, that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t rush. If you want to be a feudal lord, then you should hurry up and make your decision. This will also be connected to your marriage.”
Cordelia answered, “Yes,” and froze half-way.
(Ma-marriage…?)
Cordelia needed a few seconds to understand what he had meant.
(That’s right, I…!!)
Having spent her time being busy in Weltoria, Cordelia forgot that she was also at the age where she had to take that seriously.
(I thought that I would have more encounters with men now that I’m able to go to the Big Bookcase…)
Was what she had thought, but in the end, she went to Weltoria to study, so nothing would have changed even if she hadn’t forgotten.
However, this was the first time since she was four years old that Elvis clearly mentioned her marriage. He had basically stated 『The plan to marry you into the royal family has been scrapped』.
(So, there is still a lot of freedom for me to choose who I want to marry…? If so, then I might be able to experience my first love!)
When she thought that, her cheeks naturally got hotter.
She thought that she had to remain calm in front of Elvis, but she naturally relaxed when he informed her clearly that she didn’t need to marry into the royal family.
However, in contrast to Cordelia, the glare in Elvis’s eyes sharpened.
“… Otou-sama?”
“… Anyway, it’s still too early to think about this. At least, wait until you’re an adult.”
“Huh? Y-yes.”
But she would become an adult in one month. She felt like it wasn’t too early to talk about this.
“The first person who will dance with you at your coming of age ceremony is Isma.”
It wasn’t particularly weird for Cordelia to dance with her family members first since she didn’t have a fiancée, but she was a bit disappointed that Elvis wouldn’t be the one who was dancing with her.
“And, this is from Marquis Flantheim.”
“From Marquis Flantheim? It’s rare for him to write me a letter.”
“… It’s not like he will write anything decent anyway, but I’ll give it to you.”
“Yes, I’ve received it properly.”
“I happened to meet him on my way home. He knew you were back for some reason and said he would come over, but I didn’t listen to him. I managed to leave him behind, but I was home late because of him.”
Of course, Cordelia hadn’t told the Marquis that she was back in the royal capital and she hadn’t even told Vernoux. Did he perhaps guess that I was back because Otou-sama went home from the castle earlier than usual?
Cordelia couldn’t open the letter in front of Elvis, who seemed dissatisfied, and talked about the water technology that she had studied in Weltoria and about the personal connections she had made while there. She didn’t delve much into the details since Elvis had told her to tell him later, but it became dark before she realised, so she returned to her room until dinner time.
When Cordelia returned to her room, she cut open the seal on the letter from Marquis Flantheim and five pieces of paper were neatly folded inside. He was completely different from Vernoux who finished his letters in a few sentences, and Cordelia smiled wryly when she thought about how Marquis Flantheim had made Elvis wait until he had finished writing the letter.
The letter began with how he had met Elvis by chance. After that, he continued to write about his wife, Sara, for what felt like forever, so Cordelia decided to put those aside for now and skipped three pages of writing. Then, in the second half of the fourth page, he wrote that he would be attending the Pameradia’s evening party.
『I asked Elvis if he would be dancing with you, but he only answered me with a vicious glare. I’ve never seen him dance before, so I was really looking forward to it. 』
Cordelia, who saw this sentence, thought that Elvis didn’t dance because the Marquis had gone out of his way to say something like that.
『When I asked him if Vernoux could dance with you, he didn’t even react to me. 』
Cordelia felt exhausted when she saw this sentence.
The Marquis might not have been serious about that, but if such a thing had happened, then it would become a state of emergency where people will think that Vernoux is her fiancé.
Vernoux was a very reliable friend, but she didn’t think that they had any feelings of love between them. On the contrary, if she had told this to the person himself, then he would snort and make fun of her, “What? Did you fall in love with me?”
However, Cordelia tilted her head and wondered what kind of lady Vernoux would marry in the future. The Marquis had said, 『Find your own wife! 』, but she couldn’t imagine him flirting with a lady.
“Well, putting Vernoux-sama’s future aside, I have to worry about my own future.”
Even though one of her fears had completely disappeared thanks to Elvis’s words, she still had concerns.
Yes, they were about Shelley.
“… If we don’t have to see each other, then that’s fine.”
However, things probably won’t go that way. Rumours of her adulthood have even reached Cordelia. It seemed like she had not grown into a docile lady.
She pulled herself together and put the letter in her desk. I’ll read about his wife slowly later, she thought before heading to the dining room.
Cordelia reached the day before her birthday evening party while preparing for various things.
“I thought I might be a little nervous, but it’s beyond my expectations. I’m extremely nervous right now.”
Cordelia was drinking tea in the greenhouse to calm down, but her nerves wouldn’t settle down at all. Emina smiled at her.
“It’s a grand occasion, so please have fun… Is what I would like to say, but I can understand how you feel. I couldn’t sleep the night before either.”
“You couldn’t sleep either, Emina?”
“Yes. My speech flew right out of my head, and I desperately tried to keep it together.”
“That’s exactly how I feel right now.”
Cordelia shrugged a little at Emina’s words.
She still felt a bit nervous, but she was able to calm down a little bit after she heard that she wasn’t the only one to feel like this.
“You’ll be fine, Ojou-sama. Shall I help you as much as I can tomorrow?”
“Thanks. All I can do today is eat well, sleep well and prepare for tomorrow. The problem is whether I will be able to get a good night’s sleep or not.”
She thought that she wouldn’t be able to calm down if she wasn’t doing anything, but she had already finished all the preparations that she had to do. All that was left was to attend the party with a perfect condition.
She pondered over how to kill time and Lara came carrying a cloth.
“Ojou-sama, I’ve moved all the presents for tomorrow near the venue.”
“Thanks.”
“And, Vernoux-sama is here.”
“Huh? Now? Really?”
“Yes. He said he was just going to leave a message, but I thought you would like to see him, so I stopped him from leaving.”
“Hmm, thank you for stopping him. I’ll go see him now.”
But, what did he come here for?
Cordelia rushed to the entrance with that question in mind.
A young blonde, who was much taller than she remembered, was waiting for her at the entrance.
Cordelia stopped breathing for a second at his appearance.
She didn’t fall in love with him.
(It’s the face of『Vernoux Flantheim』…!)
Vernoux is Vernoux, but she was shocked that her childhood friend had grown into the same figure as the game and her face stiffened for a moment.
“Hey, it’s been a while.”
His high voice seemed to have lowered slightly, but his tempo was still of the same childhood friend who she knew well. When she heard his voice, she dropped her shoulders slightly and relaxed.
“It’s been a while, Vernoux-sama. You still visit suddenly like always.”
“You haven’t changed at all since you still say something like that. Well, I could tell from your letters.”
“I’m glad you look well, Vernoux-sama.”
Two years was a long time even though they were talking casually to each other.
Vernoux’s young looks had disappeared, and he had grown a head taller than her even though he was the same height as her when they were younger. However, his mischievous aura hadn’t changed at all.
(Even if his nature hasn’t changed, he’s at the age when his appearance changes greatly.)
If it’s like this, then Gille-sama might have changed a lot too.
“But, did you shrink a little Dilly?”
“Stop joking. You’ve grown.”
“I have, but I’m a little surprised you’re smaller than I thought you were. Weren’t you taller a while ago?”
“I’m tall among the women of my age. If I wear heels, then I’ll be even taller.”
“Ah, that dangerous weapon?”
Vernoux looked clearly dejected at the word “heels”.
“Did someone, perhaps, step on you?”
“If I hadn’t been stepped on, then I wouldn’t have known the horror of that deadly weapon.”
“Oh my. The Vernoux who reluctantly went to the houses of ladies because the Marquis took him there is now dancing with ladies… You’ve grown up.”
“Don’t say misleading things. Even if I don’t dance, a lot of things happen in the adult world.”
“Even if you say you’re an adult, aren’t we the same age? Even I will become an adult tomorrow.”
Cordelia wondered what kind of wonderful lady stepped on her childhood friend’s feet with heels and sighed. Vernoux laughed.
“I came to deliver something to celebrate you becoming an 『adult』. I could have given it to you tomorrow, but he’ll be happier if I gave it to you today.”
“This is?”
“Open it. It’s from Gille.”
Cordelia opened the bag without hesitation when she heard Vernoux say that. She looked at the item inside and took it out in surprise.
It was a gorgeous hair ornament made of rose flowers. Not only roses, but there was also ribbon lace and baby’s breath on the ornament.
“Beautiful.”
“Gille made that.”
“Huh?”
Gille-sama might have made this?
“He also suffered a lot while making flower crowns a long time ago.”
“Oh, he practiced a lot after that. Maybe, he can make it better than you now, Dilly. He’s always been skilful, and he hates to lose.”
“Fufu, I know that too.”
He seems skilful, but I didn’t think he could make something like this.
“Gille-sama always amazes me. But, there’s nothing more surprising than the time when I first met him.”
“Well, it would be nice if you aren’t surprised by him anymore.”
“This isn’t a fresh flower, right? But it isn’t an artificial flower or dried flowers…”
The rose, which was as soft as fresh flowers, was just like a preserved flower.
“I don’t know much about it, but Gille worked hard to make it. I’m sure he had another hair ornament prepared, but you can preserve that without having to use it at tomorrow’s evening party.”
“Still, the fact that you brought it today means that I’ll look pretty if I wear it at the evening party tomorrow?”
“I won’t deny that. Well, I can’t confirm that either since I don’t know what colour your dress will be.”
She had prepared some hair ornaments for tomorrow, but she could tell at a glance that this suited her. Let’s talk about this with Emina and I’ll also ask Otou-sama about it too.
Cordelia thought and Vernoux coughed on purpose.
“What’s wrong?”
“Oh, this is sudden, but I think it’s time for me to stop being a delivery man.”
“Huh?”
“Gille has already turned sixteen. If you want to deliver letters to each other, then you can do it yourselves. It’s weird for me to be your middleman forever right? Well, I won’t stop right away, but I’ll be telling Gille that I’ll be stopping soon too.”
Vernoux said and Cordelia suddenly noticed.
(If I don’t know Gille-sama’s real name, and I can’t use Vernoux as a delivery man, then we won’t be able to get in touch. Still, it’s a bit sad that he’s still hiding it.)
She stayed silent because she knew that Vernoux was teasing her, but rather than gradually growing lonelier, she felt that she couldn’t even have any complaints if he didn't tell her his name.
(But if I miss the timing, then it’s a good opportunity.)
If he would state it clearly, then Cordelia would welcome it.
“Then, just one thing. Will you send him a thank you note from me?”
“Oh, I’ll deliver your letters anytime Dilly. You haven’t been told how to contact him, and you’re not hiding anything, are you?”
Cordelia only smiled at Vernoux’s question.
I don’t know if it’s a secret, but he’s been hiding it for a long time.
He might have been worried that I would feel weird if he told me, ――― but how can I tell him that I was reincarnated into the world of a game?
It’s not like I’m at some kind of disadvantage from Vernoux-sama or Gille-sama just because Gille-sama is hiding who he is.
“What’s wrong?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
“I see. Well then, I’m going home now.”
“Oh my, you’re really going home fast.”
“I’m quite busy, and I’ll be coming tomorrow anyway.”
Before, he would at least enjoy some tea, so he must be really busy.
“Are you disappointed?”
“Don’t joke. But Vernoux-sama, you’re already a grown man. If you visit my house that often, then the ladies wouldn’t be able to remain calm.”
Vernoux-sama has good parentage, his personality and looks are also good, and he has a lot of elements that are liked by women, so I wasn’t really joking.
(Come to think of it, I wonder what relationship he has with Hazel-sama now since she knows this well.)
I received letters from Hazel-sama and Vernoux-sama while I was in Weltoria, but I didn’t receive any that mentioned both their names.
Vernoux lifted the edge of his mouth as if interrupting Cordelia’s thoughts.
“Oh? Am I that fine of a man?”
“Yes, I think you have a good personality.”
“You’ve said too much. Then, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Vernoux said while turning around and Cordelia waved at him lightly.
“Since Vernoux-sama is coming, I can’t say that I’m nervous.”
Along with those words, Cordelia got hyped up for her evening party tomorrow.