Chapter 91 – Like A Child
“Are you alright?”
“Yes?”
“You aren’t sick, right?”
Ingrit carefully looked at the dishwasher with a gloomy face.
“Ah, I’m fine. It’s nothing.”
Seeing her obviously forced smile, Ingrit felt uncomfortable.
“… You should say right away if you are in pain. I will let you rest. I don’t want to find a dead body inside my restaurant.”
The moment she finished speaking, Ingrit took a deep breath and was startled by herself. What is happening to me? Didn’t you throw a fit at that child for no reason a few days ago? Ingrit cleared her throat with a cough to hide her reddening face, and then turned her eyes again to the account book.
If by any chance her dishwasher would feel disappointed, she thought of apologizing right away. But strangely, there was only silence for a long time from the person in front of her. Ingrit slowly raised her head. The dishwasher was standing there as she expected. The only thing that went against her expectations was her pair of eyes stuck on the account book.
“Well….”
“Huh?”
“This may be impudent of me, but can I say something? About what is written in the account book.”
The dishwasher’s question came out of the blue, and her expression turned blank for a moment.
“I don’t know which ceramic ware shop you bought that, but there’s something wrong. I don’t know if that was a counterfeit….”
“What… do you mean by that? A counterfeit?”
Embarrassment momentarily flashed on the dishwasher’s face. She looked like she was pondering as if she had done something presumptuous.
“Ah, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sound it like that, but unconsciously….”
Ingrit looked alternately at the dishwasher’s red face and the account book.
“Why do you think I bought a counterfeit product?”
“The wave pattern on the genuine thing was way thicker. The color of the hydrangea is also darker.”
As soon as her words fell, Ingrit ran to the scullery and came out with a teacup. Under the bright sun, the finest teacup, which was said to have been made by the artisans of the Birmingham Imperial Family, looked like a really cheap imitation.
The dishwasher continued her explanation, “Ceramic ware vendors will sell fakes like that because the teacups from Birmingham are so popular. That is why the butlers of the noble families take a long time to distinguish the genuine thing from the counterfeit.”
“… Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
Ingrit was shocked by her resolute answer.
“By the way… how did you… know that?”
Even as she asked the question, Ingrit had a feeling that she knew the answer. Her white, even teeth and clean skin were never that of an ordinary worker. Was it just her looks? Her words and demeanor were closer to those of aristocrats or well-educated, wealthy commoners.
Looking at the dishwasher who had attempted to escape notice by getting her dazzling hair trimmed, Ingrit thought that she looked like a runaway lady hiding her identity because her family had fallen. Whatever the truth was, Ingrit didn’t want to keep her anymore. A noble lady with a story to tell, absolutely not.
The problem was that the veiled dishwasher did a better job than she initially expected. She delayed her dismissal by a week, then another week, as Chef Hellock had said, and as a result, two months had passed already.
The dishwasher hesitated, then opened her mouth again. “Actually, I once worked in a Baron’s house before. I helped the butler there run errands with the traditional teas, and with other things too.”
Ingrit couldn’t keep her mouth shut because the answer was completely contrary to her expectations.
Returning to the scullery, Emilia suddenly felt a surge of regret from the depths of her heart. She had peeked at other people’s account books and even given some hasty advice. She vigorously shook her head to clear away her discomfort and concentrated on washing the dishes.
Emilia suddenly felt dizzy again as she finished washing the dishes and stood up from squatting. She sat down unconsciously, closing her eyes and waited for her dizziness to subside.
Am I overworking myself? You shouldn’t overwork like your stepmother. Should I just quit?
Emilia had experienced the same worry for a few days. His Majesty’s royal grant was enough for them to survive a year even if her stepmother quit working at the factory. She was also looking for a job for Mitch to make some money. It would never be the same as before, using private loans.
But she couldn’t quit her job right away. Emilia had no intention of letting Mitch, who was only twelve, go to work. The child must go to school. To her, taking a semester off and completely dropping out were two completely different things. It was the same for Charlotte. Whether it was a school for blind people or a tutor, she needed to get her into one quickly and let the child communicate with the world.
Above all, Emilia wanted to continue working for herself. She was starting to like this little restaurant, which door she had knocked on without much expectations. The owner, Boss Ingrit, was still as sharp-tempered as ever, but she was a soft-hearted and warm-hearted person. The same was true for Chef Helock. She still used to curse at even little mistakes, but on the other hand, wasn’t she the person who gave her food for her family to eat?
Emilia endured the harsh time in the restaurant, making small achievements. She wanted to forget such complicated thoughts in the future.
[‘You are free. I am also free. And then we will start over.’]
If that was true….
Emilia, who was free, was going to live the way she wanted for the time being.
“How is the dinner party important? Didn’t you finally break off your engagement and even show your sincerity by preparing a surprise gift? He has a surprisingly romantic side, don’t you think?”
Hannes’ eyes contained his hearty smile as he turned to his daughter. Bianca showed a moderate smile – it was neither too much nor too little.
“Honestly, I was actually a little disappointed with you all this time. But with this incident, all those feelings completely disappeared.” Hannes tapped Hadius’ shoulder and continued, “You will understand if you have a daughter, too. I’m talking about the heart of a father who adores his daughter. Even though this is a marriage by alliance, I want my daughter to marry a man who values my daughter the most in the world….”
“Father, the tea is getting cold. Hurry and drink it.”
Bianca quickly put her arms around Hannes. Her smile to her father was overflowing with confidence that she was the only one who dared to stop the Grand Duke.
“Ah yes, let’s do that.”
The three headed to the sitting room. Enria, who was waiting inside, welcomed Hadius. Their light conversation continued, like cold weather between rising steam. The ones mainly speaking were Hannes and Bianca. Hadius only set the mood with a moderate smile and slight nod.
Enria silently observed them and interjected at the opportune moment. “Ah, Grand Duke.”
“Hmm?”
“You will have to attend the Royal Academy of Arts in a little while.”
Hannes glanced at his wife and said, “Oh right,” and jumped up from his seat. The Grand Duke and the Grand Duchess exchanged glances and bid farewell to Hadius and Bianca. The moment they were left alone, Bianca couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
“What is wrong with everyone? Just like last time, they are openly acting like Cupid of Love….”
(T/N: As if you hate it [curses in bunny language])
Bianca shook her head and glanced at Hadius. He took a sip of tea and put the cup down silently. He looked like a machine moving without a problem.
“Anyway, thank you so much for the gift. I really didn’t expect it.”
Hadius gently rolled up the corners of his mouth. Bianca felt more pain than disappointment in front of his soulless smile.
“How about playing chess?”
“Shall we?”
Bianca squinted while stroking her chin, “Hadii, I heard that your skills had improved a lot.”
“Is that so?”
“When I was in the convent, my friends often told me about you. The Duke Meyer swept the championship title in every competition, so wouldn’t they be completely blown away? Not just chess, but also rowing and hunting.”
“I don’t know who told you that, but they are exaggerating,” Hadius answered lightly and laughed coldly.
Looking at his cold face suddenly reminded her of that day long ago. A boy standing alone in the snow…. She wanted to give him warmth. She wanted to embrace his inner self which must have been bruised and wounded.
Hiding her deeply moved heart, Bianca put on a humorous expression, “Come on! Let’s attack with all our might!”
The first match after five years ended with Bianca’s victory. It was natural. Hadius wasn’t concentrating on the game at all and had no interest in the game itself. His eyes looked at the chess pieces, but his head was filled with other thoughts.
She stood with her back to him, her short hair tucked behind her ears. Emilia smiling softly at him with her eyes twinkling like that of a seagull’s baby kept Hadius dazed even after a few days had passed. Her blue eyes held nothing beyond pure resignation. Even so, Hadius felt his heart beating like a child’s.
When he parted ways with Bianca and went home, Hadius heard news that once again broke his heart.
“Young Master, the chimney sweeper from Krambitz contacted me. We found a prime suspect.”
The fatigue weighing on him like a dark cloud disappeared, and he returned to his senses.
“Who is it?”
“His name was Jetson.”
“Jetson?” As soon as he repeated the name, Hadius was instantly reminded of an old servant who took care of his sick father. “Are you sure?”
“Yes, he was the only one in various circumstances. He said that he is ready to tail Jetson, so all you have to do is give your orders.”
Hadius was lost in thought for a moment. He wanted to do it right away, but they didn’t need to be hasty.
“How’s the situation in Kund?”
“Vermeer started producing gonro, but it is expected that progress will be slow due to the lack of manpower.”
“By how long?”
“He said that it would take at least two months and a maximum of three months.”
Hadius’ face once again filled with anxiety. “How long does it take to produce steel in finished product form?”
“It would be possible within a month if it is made of gonro. The problem is that we need large-scale manpower before that. It’s not hard to hire workers in the name of Meyer Steel, but it would be hard to keep it a secret.”
“I see.”
Their goal was to produce steel in the shortest time possible. Only after successful production of steel could Krambitz’ plan be carried out freely. He promised Josef. He told him that at the Continental Expo next year, he would definitely demonstrate a steam locomotive that runs on steel rails. If all goes according to plan, the three-way alliance will begin to collapse by then, leaving the investors like low tide and putting Meyer Steel into an unprecedented crisis.
Of course, no one would know that it was the strategy of the Young Duke Meyer to build a new world by picking up grains and empty shells. He will take Meyer down with his own hands and raise it with his own hands as well.
This was the future that Hadius had worked hard on for so long, envisioning it with the elaborate cogwheels. The only weakness in that perfect plan was ‘time.’ Hadius lost his composure whenever he was pressed for time as he was now, feeling his stomach tighten again.
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