Chapter 62: Meeting
When I told Serpens Strang about my idea — to make Lionel and Angela friends — he was, of course, initially less than enthusiastic. More accurately, he genuinely couldn’t understand why I wanted to do this.
"Madam, why on earth would you want to introduce this boy to the emperor’s daughter?" he asked, raising an eyebrow, his voice a mixture of caution and hidden distrust.
I saw a shadow of suspicion flash across his gaze — he knew perfectly well that I was not one to act without reason. Serpens was skilled at reading between the lines and, of course, sensed that there was more to my idea than just childhood friendship.
Nevertheless, I had to use my artistic abilities again in this situation.
"It’s simple. It’s precisely because Angela is the emperor’s daughter that I want to introduce them."
"Hmm? Madam, I don’t quite understand..."
"We will use this opportunity to allow Lionel to win her favor. And in the future, when Angela enters the palace, he will also easily become close to the imperial family and will be able to better assist us as a spy."
Finally, after listening to me, an unimaginable expression appeared on the man’s face.
"Madam..."
"Yes?"
"As I thought... your cunning truly knows no bounds!"
Well, I didn’t even know if I could consider something like that a compliment. Nevertheless, thanks to this, I managed to get rid of Serpens’ initial skepticism and disapproval of this idea.
Meanwhile, a few days later, we were on our way to the Bastier estate in the company of three people — me, Serpens, and Lionel. The latter, as usual, was not very talkative and just silently watched the scenery while Serpens and I talked about something.
When I told the boy that he was going to meet someone, he just nodded and took it for granted. Lionel had never contradicted anyone in the last three years and obediently followed all instructions.
I was surprised by his calm nature, which was unusual for a normal child, and wondered if Lionel had been like that in his childhood and in the original game. In the end, it seemed to me that he had no emotions at all and was simply behaving like an obedient doll. Oh well.
I sighed as I watched the boy sitting on the opposite side of the carriage. He had short silver hair and thoughtful violet eyes that always seemed so mysterious that it was impossible not to stare at them.
Also, since we were visiting the main character of the game today, I made sure Lionel was dressed in a suitable formal suit. It was also purple and matched his eyes perfectly. This outfit was a stark contrast to the dark mercenary clothes he usually wore. Yes, it was indeed unusual for a fifteen-year-old teenager to lead such a lifestyle and wear mercenary clothes.
But in any case, it wasn’t what I wanted from the beginning, so I just had to accept it. In the end, it was all the fault of this stupid game.
While pondering some things and discussing some abstract topics with Serpens, we finally arrived at the Bastier estate, which was located at the opposite end of the city. Yes, that happened because I wanted the main character’s house to be as far away from my own as possible. So in the end, we had to spend almost half a day on the road.
When the carriage stopped in front of the estate’s fence and we got out, I looked at the mansion, which, to be honest, I was seeing for only the second time in my life. It was a well-maintained estate that looked luxurious enough for the residence of an ordinary baron.
This was because Duke Dickens, who was responsible for restoring the estate, wanted it to look as good as possible, as it would be home to the princess of his beloved empire. I was sure that the duke would have easily made the place even more luxurious if I hadn’t stopped him in time.
After all, it would have been really strange if an ordinary baron lived in such a luxurious place, and it would certainly have attracted unnecessary attention. So I really had to limit the duke’s construction plans.
In any case, when we got out of the carriage, I almost immediately saw Enoch walking toward us. Since I had, of course, sent him a letter in advance informing him of our visit, he must have been waiting for us all this time.
I saw a man of ordinary appearance with graying hair, whose nobleman’s clothes looked somewhat awkward on him. Perhaps Enoch felt the same way. But in any case, he approached us and said:
"Lady Weinstein, thank you very much for coming here today!"
"Of course. I was happy to visit you," I smiled, accepting his handshake.
"It’s been a while since we last saw each other. How are you feeling now?" he asked with concern.
"Oh, that problem has been resolved, so you don’t need to worry."
"I’m glad to hear that," the man smiled absently.
At that moment, he shifted his gaze from me to the two people standing behind me.
"Lady, who are these people?" he asked, somewhat puzzled.
"Oh, of course, I should introduce you. This is my servant," I pointed to Serpens, "and this is the boy I brought today as a friend for Angela."
"What? A friend for Angela?" he asked in surprise.
"That’s right. Lionel, please say hello."
After my words, the boy bowed his head obediently and said, "Hello."
Nevertheless, the heroine’s adoptive father still looked at him puzzled.
"But who is this...?" he couldn’t help asking.
"Don’t worry, he’s a good kid," I smiled. "After you told me about your problem, I thought for a while about how to solve it. In the end, I decided to introduce Angela to my ward so that they could become friends."
"What? So this boy is your foster child?"
"Yes... ahem. You could say that."
After I said that, the former forester’s eyes suddenly lit up.
"My goodness, I didn’t know that you were actually helping not only me and my daughter!"
"Um..."
"So you have several other children that you support besides Angela?"
Um. From Enoch’s perspective, it sounded as if I were some kind of saintly woman who helped poor and disadvantaged children. Although in reality, it could hardly be described that way.
Nevertheless, I couldn’t deny that from the outside, the situation might look that way, so I couldn’t argue with it.
"Ahem... yes."
Now the heroine’s adoptive father really did look at me as if I were some kind of saint.
"Lady Weinstein, you... you really are such a good person!" The man’s eyes were almost filled with tears. "Who would have thought that among the aristocrats there could be such a righteous person as you!"
I was embarrassed because I felt a little awkward saying something while listening to all these praises addressed to me. And stop looking at me like I’m a saint! I’m really not like that!
Hmm, but in any case, that wasn’t the main thing right now. To quickly move on from this topic, I instead turned my attention to the surroundings and asked:
"Where’s Angela?"
Yes, indeed, the main character was nowhere to be seen.
Meanwhile, Enoch immediately rushed to answer my question:
"Oh, Angela, she..."
However, before the man could finish his sentence, a clear child’s voice was heard from the house. A girl ran toward us.
"Aunt Grace!"
The girl with golden hair ran up to us and stopped, looking a little embarrassed.
"Lady Weinstein, I heard you came to visit us," she said shyly.
"Yes, that’s right," I smiled. "That’s because I wanted to introduce you to someone."
"Hmm? Introduce me?"
In response to the heroine’s puzzled look, I decided it was the right moment to bring her to Lionel.
"Angela, meet Lionel, a boy I know well and whom I brought here specifically so you could meet. I hope you two will get along."
There was a brief, almost solemn pause.
The slightly puzzled gaze of the girl’s emerald eyes slowly shifted toward Lionel. Her face reflected curiosity mixed with slight wariness, as if she were trying to understand who was in front of her.
I involuntarily held my breath as I watched the scene. It seemed that even the air between them had become denser, saturated with the invisible tension of first impressions.
"I... My name is Angela, nice to meet you," the girl said, a little embarrassed, but her voice sounded soft and sincere. She bowed her head slightly, as if in a sign of politeness.
"The pleasure is mine, Lady Bastier," Lionel replied. He bowed his head slightly and, with his hands behind his back, looked like a true gentleman. His manners exuded a restrained confidence and nobility completely uncharacteristic of a boy his age.
For a moment, everything around them seemed to disappear — the sounds, the movements, even their breathing.
At that moment, a pair of violet and emerald eyes met.