Chapter 126: Chapter 34. A contradictory thought

«And where is this guy...?»

My older brother, whom I kindly asked to take out the trash, had been gone for at least half an hour. And this was despite the fact that it was no more than a three-minute walk to the nearest dumpster. I couldn’t believe that even with such a simple task, Yufil could have any difficulties.

After all, Jeremy and I didn’t burden him with any responsibilities anyway, which was all the guy did was chill out in his room. Because of his bad temper, I wouldn’t even consider letting him work with clients, otherwise we wouldn’t have them here. As for more mundane tasks, such as cleaning or distributing goods, the guy would simply not agree to this, appealing to his once high status as the «successor of the duchy.»

However, today, since everyone else was busy with other duties, and I didn’t have a free minute myself, for the first time I decided to ask him for help. And who would have thought that such an elementary task could take up so much of his time.

I was even worried involuntarily.

This guy might be a pain in the ass, and I hardly thought of him as my dear «brother,» but if something really happened to him, no matter how you look at it, I’d have to deal with it.

«Maybe he got lost on the way? Or was he attacked by bullies...?»

While I was thinking about whether I should go and look for Yufil, the guy suddenly returned on his own. A bell rang above the door and a guy with blue hair came inside with an unassuming face.

«Brother, you’re finally back! I exclaimed with relief, «Where have you been?»

— ...

«Brother?»

Yufil exhaled irritably.

— Why are you making such a fuss about everything? I just got hungry and stopped at a cafe on the way.

«So you were at the cafe?» I asked again.

«Exactly. So leave me alone and let me pass.»

As usual, Yufil «rejected» me in his rude manner, walked past me and was about to go up to the second floor. At that moment, I made up my mind and called out to him:

«Brother, are you sure you’re okay?»

«Hmm?»

— It’s simple... You look kind of pale.

Yufil looked at me askance. In the next moment, he slowly opened his mouth and said:

«It’s nothing special. I’m just tired.»

«....»

Following these words, the guy finally turned around and left, leaving me standing alone in some perplexity.

***

Jacob Osman stood for a while, watching from the sidelines the Duke’s youngest daughter, who was currently busy with work. A girl with long wheat-colored hair gathered in a careless bun deftly sorted through the flowers, carefully arranging them in vases. Her face was focused, but her eyes shone with interest in what she was doing.

After hesitating for a while, the man finally decided to take a step forward and approach her.

«The mistress.»

— Yes, what is it? — The next moment, Camille raised her head, meeting his gaze. The girl smiled affably, and at that moment the knight shifted uncertainly.

— What do you do? Can I help you with something? — he asked, coming closer.

Camilla thought for a moment before answering with a smile:

— Actually, yes. We received several orders at once, and I need to prepare several bouquets for the wedding. If you want, you can help me choose the flowers!

Jacob nodded and stood next to her, choosing bright roses, delicate lilies and fragrant carnations for the festive bouquets. In the process, he finally decided to ask the lady the questions he had been preparing for a long time:

«The mistress.»

— Yes?

— When it comes to the wedding and wedding bouquets... That’s what I wanted to ask. Have you been married to your husband for a long time?

Having received such an unexpected question, Camilla looked up from her work for a moment and looked up in surprise.

«Why are you suddenly asking this?» she asked with considerable puzzlement.

— It’s simple... — Jacob tried to find the right words quickly, — You both look young, so I assumed you might be newlyweds.

The duke’s youngest daughter sighed with some relief, and belatedly replied:

— Ah, that’s true.

She nodded, continuing to cut the stems.

Jacob noticed how her expression became more relaxed, and continued:

— In that case, you must have known each other well before the wedding, since you decided to get married so early.

— Well, you could say that...

«So this is really true love?» Jacob asked.

Although such personal questions were not at all what it would be appropriate to ask an employee of his employer, but, nevertheless, Jacob decided to go all the way. After all, this was also one of his goals, which was why he had come here.

Camilla hesitated for a moment, and her smile seemed a little strained:

— «Love?» Is it really necessary?

«I beg your pardon?» Jacob asked.

— I mean, Jeremy and I... I mean, uh... Jonathan, we get along well, and that’s enough for us to be married.

— That means... — said the other, — Love doesn’t matter to you?

— This is all philosophical reasoning, — the girl shook her head, — You can spend your whole life looking for your man and never find him. So wouldn’t it be better to choose a more stable option instead, one that you can be sure of?

«The stable version...?»

Jacob Osman involuntarily frowned after these words. For a moment, he even lost control of himself and gave free rein to his own emotions:

— So what you had before doesn’t matter to you? Isn’t that too selfish of a person who might think otherwise?

«So Her Highness wasn’t a stable option for you...?» was exactly the phrase that threatened to slip from the knight’s lips, but he managed to restrain himself at the last moment.

Camille de Walt’s eyes widened in surprise.

«What are you talking about?» she asked.

At that very moment, the commander of the Dark Host seemed to come to his senses and shook his head.

— It’s nothing special... Just thinking out loud. Don’t take this seriously.

— Oh... Good then.

They continued to work, but now there was an intangible tense atmosphere in the air. More precisely, it came from the knight, who was currently filled with the most contradictory thoughts.

Jacob was baffled by how the lady’s current mindset was completely different from what he had known before while she was living in the Heilos residence. Didn’t the girl say before that she wanted Her Highness to be happy...?

So why is she acting this way now? And, moreover, she even says such things that are completely at odds with her previous way of thinking?

The man felt that there might be much more hidden behind the words and actions of the duke’s youngest daughter than she was willing to say.

Jacob involuntarily squeezed one of the flowers in his hand, which instantly crumbled in his palm. At the same time, he looked at the lady next to him, who was as beautiful as this flower. A contradictory dilemma arose in his mind.

«Lady de Walt, what are you really thinking...?»

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read