Chapter 88: Chapter 38. Meeting at the library

After the baron’s youngest son realized what a terrible mistake he had made, sweat flowed from him in three streams. How could he have completely forgotten about dinner with his wife?! But apparently, after talking to the maid about her dream, everything else just slipped out of his mind.

As soon as Jeremy realized this, he ran to the dining room, hoping it wasn’t too late. But, as it turned out, he was still too late. When the guy entered the dining room, he found that Selina was no longer there, and the servants were clearing dishes and other utensils from the table.

At that moment, his heart sank.

«My Lord, where have you been all this time?» The butler’s displeased remark, which came up behind him at that moment, only added fuel to the fire.

In the end, Jeremy himself invited the Duchess to have lunch together, but as a result, he was the one who missed their meeting. Moreover, given the already difficult nature of the woman, this situation clearly did not appeal to her. And now how can he justify himself for this...?

On the evening of the same day, Jeremy Seibel came to his wife to «confess.»

«Your Grace, I apologize for not coming today. I had an urgent matter, and as a result, I was so distracted that I completely forgot about it... I’m so sorry!»

Saying this with all the sincerity he could muster, he bowed his head.

After listening to his excuses, Selina de Loon just frowned, without looking up from her work documents.

«And what was the emergency?»

«Oh,» Jeremy stammered, «that...»

For some reason, he hesitated before telling the Duchess about the incident with the maid. And all because he was worried that Selina might find such an excuse too unimportant. «What, did you miss our dinner together just because of some maid?» was what he was most afraid to hear. After all, in this case, Runny could have problems.

But at this time, while he was hastily coming up with another excuse, the ice witch, looking at him, only sighed softly.

«It’s okay if it was really important,» she said suddenly.

«What...?»

«You’re my husband, not my pet dog. There’s nothing wrong with having your own personal affairs. But in such cases, you need to send someone with a warning so as not to keep others waiting for you.»

Hearing something like that from her lips, Jeremy couldn’t help but blink his eyes. Unexpectedly, the northern Duchess’ approach was much more prudent than he had expected. In addition, he was pleased to hear that his own opinion was also taken into account and he was not just an empty place here.

— OK... Next time, I’ll do exactly that!

Imperceptibly, the Princess of the north’s gaze softened slightly after his words.

After this conversation in the Duchess’s office, Jeremy also felt a great sense of relief.

***

Starting next week, as they had agreed, Runny’s maid began coming to the library to study with the Prince of the North. Every day before work, Jeremy had about an hour of free time, and now he devoted it to helping the girl realize her dream.

As it turned out, it wasn’t that difficult to teach someone, especially considering that Runnie was a pretty capable student. Jeremy was genuinely glad that a useless man like him could actually help someone.

— ...Now try writing this. This sentence structure is a bit more complicated than the one we discussed earlier, but you should be able to do it.

The fact that the maid could already read and even write a little made the task much easier. At least Jeremy didn’t have to teach her the very basics like the alphabet. Therefore, since Runnie already knew the letters, the guy decided to start teaching her spelling right away.

— ...My Lord, did I do everything right?

A little out of breath, the maid copied the sentence from the book that the young master told her to.

«Wow, your handwriting is very good. Great job!» The Prince of the North sincerely praised her, smiling.

— Really? — the girl blushed deeply from the compliment she received.

— of course. You really have the ability. So just keep moving in the same direction.

«Y-yes, my lord!» she replied eagerly.

There was silence in the library for a while while Runnie worked hard on her manuscript. Jeremy waited patiently for the maid to finish so he could continue explaining the material to her. But when the girl finally raised her head from the notebook, her expression wasn’t too good.

The Prince of the North noticed this and became worried.

«What’s the matter? Is something wrong with you?»

«N-no, but...» she hesitated, «My Lord, actually, all this time I wanted to ask you a question, but I didn’t dare.

«Eh?»

To Jeremy’s surprise, the maid’s interest turned out to be not at all the process of her education, or even the topic they were studying today...

— My Lord... Does Her Ladyship really mind if you study with me?

— what? — The guy blinked in confusion.

— me... I’m very worried that Her Ladyship won’t like it if she finds out about it... — Finally voicing her secret concerns aloud, Runnie lowered her head.

«.....»

As soon as the baron’s youngest son heard about this, he involuntarily sighed.

«So that’s what was bothering her...»

A faint smile appeared on the youth’s face, and he lightly patted the maid on the head as if she were his little sister. Runny, who had not expected this, looked at her master in surprise.

«My lord...?»

«Must the northern Duchess really be a scary person in your eyes?» he asked curiously.

Runny’s maid blushed instantly.

«N-no, that’s not what I meant...!» she immediately began to deny it, as if afraid that she might be accused of disrespecting the mistress of this castle.

«You don’t really have to worry about that,» the Prince of the North suddenly said.

«What...?»

«Her Ladyship... In fact, she’s not as scary as many southerners think,» Jeremy himself did not believe that he would ever sincerely say something like that out loud, but now he was completely serious.

Even though he hadn’t gotten to know her well enough in the short time they’d spent together as husband and wife, he was sure that the woman who was dubbed the continent’s strongest witch had other qualities other than her intimidating public persona. Selina de Loon could show understanding in some matters and even make concessions and compromises if necessary. In the end, the fact that their relationship had improved significantly lately only reinforced his opinion.

«.....»

Runnie, who had heard many terrifying rumors about the mistress of the northern region even before coming to the north, found it hard to believe at first that the identity of the mistress she now served could be different. And yet... If her master spoke about it so confidently, then the maid decided to trust his words.

— ...So don’t worry about such things and just focus on your learning.

Runnie nodded emphatically.

«Yes, my lord!»

Noticing that the maid’s expression had become a little more relaxed, Jeremy Seibel was pleased. After this conversation, they returned to the topic they had discussed today.

At this time, while the two young men were bent over the textbook and workbook of the maid, another figure silently entered the quiet library. Butler Phillips, as usual, was going to check on the reports and other working documentation with his master. But at this moment...

Upon entering the room, the old man involuntarily slowed down and stopped at the entrance. And all because I heard laughter and unfamiliar voices. His gaze caught on two figures that seemed unusually close to each other.

At this moment, the butler’s already suspicious gaze narrowed even more.

«What’s going on here...?» — watching his master, a thought full of doubts crept into his mind.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read