You Think I Won't Talk?-Chapter 69

The knock on the door didn’t take long to come and just as I was making my way back to the couch, I heard the Duke’s voice resound through the door, asking for permission to enter the room, always politely and always with a loving tone.

Now, with hearing his very familiar voice, even I get excited from knowing about his presence.

"Marianne, sweetie, may I come in?"

For a while now, we have adopted a new way of welcoming the Duke into our bedroom. We had decided that once we were able to walk on our own, we would receive him by opening the door ourselves to welcome him whenever he came to visit. So, it’s been a few days since we’ve done this and whenever we open the door, the first thing we see... is Marianne’s Father, fixed to the spot a few steps right in front of the union between the two doors that made the entrance, waiting in patience and fidgeting in a bit of expectation, for any kind of reply we might supply. It seems like he hasn’t accustomed to this new routine because he hasn’t changed this awkward attitude from the very first time we did it... Although..... he DID stop his slight flinch whenever the door opens...

Also... My guess is that he expects us to actually talk and tell him to enter... Since I can see a bit of disappointment in his eyes every time we open the door without making any kind of sound.

"Ah... Good morning sweetie. I see you have dressed up already... Did I take too long to come? I am so sorry to make you wait. You must be hungry and... I remember you also have plans today..."

He’s always overly cautious, yet, I became so familiar with his nature that, right now, I only find his attitude overly cute. And, apparently, I’m not the only one who thinks so, because, Anne, seems to have similar thoughts to mine.

Though, I do doubt it a tiny bit... because her feelings seem a bit different from mine... she might not find him cute but ... admirable maybe...? He is her Father after all, so there is always a hint of respect in the emotions she displays towards him.

Whatever. It always ends up mixing with my emotions so, in the end, it’s the same. We both feel eager every time he comes to visit, so let’s go with admirable right now since he looks quite prominent in his new outfit.

Taking a look into his appearance today, I’ve been thinking that he’s looking quite good lately. I mean... in a healthy way.

His burgundy vest with black decorations framing the chest aperture shaped in a curvilinear rhombus ended in a black matte collar. His short, well combed and organized straight hair, looked beautiful as the light fell on it, making the natural hair of ashes bring colour to his demeanour.

He didn’t show this much vitality when I first came here, so, I think the fact that we’ve started to eat together every meal, might have done something quite good for the Duke’s health this time...

I must say he always looks outstanding... But his clothes right now make him look even better. It might be because, as I said, we’ve been feeding him well... but he clearly seems more animated than before. I am quite glad that this great outcome came from our falling ill... The Duke should live a long life and stay with Marianne for a long time after all... So we must keep him in good form.

I opened the door widely, so he could enter the bedroom as all these thoughts ran through my mind. Marianne’s Father would always just give one step inside, and, unless I closed the door, he would wait fixed at that spot, waiting for me to close it so he could escort me to the couch, where we usually await our meals now that I’m able to walk. Today was no different, hence, we took a seat on the couch I had been seating on earlier. Taking notice of the portable canvas laying on the central table after taking his seat next to me, the Duke said.

"Hmm?... You said you would go outside for a walk... Will you bring this with you, Dear?"

Although we have been spending a lot of time together, our relationship did not progress much as I would like to. Although he was a bit more comfortable expressing himself, I could feel Marianne’s Father putting a restrain on his freedom to speak without worries with me.

Though, I can’t blame him.

Regardless of the time we’ve shared this last two months... I couldn’t really communicate much with him since our body has been through a lot of stress because of the nocturnal visits of a certain someone... Therefore, I opted for not writing much...

Given how strong our body’s trembling would look in the Duke’s eyes... I just decided to avoid writing as much as I could as to not worry the poor man...

Lamenting how our relationship didn’t seem to change much during this recovery period, I nodded to his question, confirming my intentions to bring the portable canvas with me.

"I see... Do you want me to send a servant to help you carry it?"

Giving it a last glance with a blank expression, he turned back to me, and with a soft and pleasant grin, Marianne’s Father offered.

Thankfully, today, our body is not having such a hard time. Thus, I took out the little notes from a hidden pocket in my skirt and wrote a longer message than usual to the Duke.

[I appreciate your consideration, Father. However, that will not be necessary. I wish to carry it myself.

Yet, if it is not much trouble, I would like to ask Paige to prepare a little snack to bring with me...]

Showing him the notes, he leaned over to read them and, delighted by it, for a reason I ignore, the Duke answered.

"Of course, dear. I’ll tell her once she arrives to prepare something tasty for you to take along... I’ll make sure they put some apples on it too. You liked to bring some whenever you went to explore when you were little..."

Smiling fondly, he gave a quick stroke to my forehead and shoved a few loose hairs out of my cheek with a tender caress. Marianne felt happy to be pampered once again, and apparently, the fact that he remembered the snacks she liked when she was younger made her joy beam strongly enough to make us blush. As always, attentive to every little detail our dull demeanour was able to display, the Duke didn’t miss the dim rosy shade that had started to invade our cheeks.

"Hmm? Do you like apples that much, sweetie? Right now is their best season, so I will make sure to ask the kitchen to prepare some delicious snacks for you. Zate is just starting, therefore, we’re still on time for you to enjoy the last few harvests of this year..."

’Zate? What’s that?’

"Ah... That’s right... We are already on Zate... The Royal Summer Ball is just around the corner... We should look into new dresses for you and your sister since it will be your second ball... Thankfully, there is still a bit more than two weeks for it to take place... so we are still on time..."

Bringing his hand to his chin he began to contemplate new plans for the upcoming Summer Ball, mumbling and completely ignoring the lost look in my eyes as he blurted information I couldn’t quite understand.

’Summer Ball?? We had the Spring Ball just two months ago... shouldn’t there be about a month until Summer comes??... But he says it’s only two weeks away?! How?! Wait... This Zate thing too... Does it have to do with the dates???... Oh no... No, no, no, no... I’m getting a bad feeling about this...’

Marianne was nonchalant to my confusion and didn’t pay much attention to the bad feeling I was getting. She was focused on listening to her Father make plans on the matter while my mind worked hard on making this new information match with whatever I could recall from the original story to make all of this somehow make sense.

Since nothing came to my mind, I couldn’t calm my gut feeling. However, what worried me more than not being able to put the pieces together... was that my hunches... oddly ever failed me...

’... If my hunch is right... Bloody hell... It’s a good thing I’ll be going to the library after this since I will have to do a little investigation on this world... I refused to do it when I just arrived, but this time I have no choice... Sigh...’

The Duke seemed to be thinking in silence after a short pause, looking downwards at the canvas laying in front of us. Soon both of us glanced at each other, causing our gazes to meet by coincidence.

I blinked in surprise since I didn’t expect our timing to intersect, and, seeing in my eyes how the chance amazed me, Marianne’s father gave a playful snicker before tilting his head to express the idea he had been creating in his silent stance.

"... My child... Should we make a little visit to the city?"