Chapter 77: The Language of Compliments

Chapter 77: Chapter 77: The Language of Compliments

"And Barek?"

A trace of disappointment flickered across Elysia’s face.

"He isn’t staying behind, is he?"

Miriam smiled knowingly.

"I made sure to ask."

"Lady Deborah has been fasting to slim down."

"Lord Gideon is worried she’ll faint during the outing, so he’s asked Lord Barek to accompany them."

Elysia quietly let out the breath she’d been holding.

"Good. That’s good."

Only then did Miriam voice the question that had been bothering her.

"Your Grace... Why did you ask me to investigate the Corvis family?"

She tilted her head curiously.

"Did you somehow already know they would be going to Oren Lake?"

Elysia smiled serenely.

"How could I possibly know the future? It’s precisely because I didn’t know that I asked you to find out."

Miriam still felt something was amiss.

She simply couldn’t put her finger on it.

After blinking in confusion for a moment, she wisely decided not to ask any further.

---

Elsewhere in Draevenor Manor, news of Miriam’s inquiries soon reached Cassiel’s study.

Bran finished his report before falling silent.

Cassiel lowered the document in his hand.

"She seems... unusually interested in the Corvis family."

He recalled Elysia’s peculiar reaction the day Oren Lake had first been mentioned.

Now... She had specifically sent someone to investigate whether the Corvis siblings would be there.

A vague uneasiness settled in his heart.

Bran scratched the back of his head before offering a guess.

"The Corvis family relied on the Hartwell family for years. Lady Deborah also grew up alongside Her Grace. Perhaps... women simply pay more attention to these sorts of things?"

Cassiel didn’t even look at him.

His brows remained faintly furrowed.

After a long silence, he rubbed his temples.

"Forget it."

Whatever the reason...

His responsibility remained unchanged.

Protect Elysia.

Take care of Elysia.

That was enough.

If the Corvis family behaved themselves...

He had no interest in them.

But if they dared upset his wife...

Even with nothing more than a careless remark...

Cassiel had more than enough ways to ensure the entire Corvis family regretted it.

---

The day of General Asheford’s memorial soon arrived.

Elysia deliberately chose a simple, understated outfit.

When Cassiel saw her, he smiled faintly.

"You don’t need to dress so modestly. My uncle wouldn’t mind."

Elysia met his eyes earnestly.

"But you said many fallen soldiers rest upon that hillside. I should dress respectfully. It’s not only for your uncle... It’s for all of them."

Then she hesitated.

Looking down at herself, she asked quietly,

"Does this colour... not suit me?"

Vaelen had often told her she looked better in darker colours.

He claimed lighter shades made her appear...

Plump.

She had never believed herself overweight.

Yet hearing those words repeatedly over the years had quietly eroded her confidence.

Cassiel answered without the slightest hesitation.

"It suits you very well."

He looked at her steadily.

"You’re beautiful. You’d look lovely wearing anything."

A faint blush spread across Elysia’s cheeks.

No woman disliked being sincerely complimented.

She smiled at him.

A genuine, radiant smile.

"Thank you."

Seeing her smile, the corners of Cassiel’s lips lifted almost imperceptibly.

Elysia was about to ask Clara to fetch Lillian from Rose Hall when the maid returned almost immediately.

"Your Grace, Lady Lillian is already waiting outside the courtyard."

Elysia looked toward the entrance.

Sure enough...

Lillian stood quietly beyond the gate.

She had clearly arrived some time ago.

"Why didn’t you come inside?"

Elysia asked gently.

"It’s quite warm outside."

Lillian lowered her eyes.

"It’s still early. It wasn’t too hot."

Elysia sighed inwardly.

Sometimes... Lillian’s meekness reminded her painfully of herself in her previous life.

Always obedient.

Always accommodating.

The sort of girl destined to be overlooked at home...

And trampled upon after marriage.

Just as before, two carriages had been prepared.

The journey to the eastern outskirts of the city was considerably longer.

Inside the first carriage, silence settled between them.

For a while.

Elysia had never been someone who enjoyed prolonged silence.

Before long...

She began absentmindedly lifting the curtain to peek outside before letting it fall again.

Then she traced the carved wooden patterns on the carriage wall with the tip of her finger.

Cassiel watched her quietly.

Eventually, he asked,

"What is it?"

Elysia quickly withdrew her hand, looking slightly embarrassed.

She thought for a moment before answering honestly.

"I was just thinking... Lillian and her elder sister Roxana are completely different. They don’t seem like sisters at all."

Cassiel nodded.

"That’s because Lillian was mostly raised by my uncle while Roxana grew up under Aunt’s care."

"I see..."

Elysia murmured.

"Was Lillian always so timid?"

Cassiel shook his head.

"No. She was much livelier when she was little. After my uncle passed away, she returned to Aunt’s side. Little by little... She became the way she is now."

Elysia couldn’t help sighing softly.

Some things...

Were difficult to judge as right or wrong.

Just then, Cassiel spoke again.

"You were much livelier as a child as well."

Elysia looked up in surprise.

"You’ve seen me before? Several times."

He paused before asking,

"You don’t remember?"

A hint of embarrassment crossed Elysia’s face.

She shook her head.

"I don’t."

Cassiel looked at her quietly for a long moment.

"Perhaps... Because your eyes and your heart were always fixed on the Crown Prince."

The moment the words left his mouth...

He regretted them.

He worried they might remind her of old feelings.

Or worse...

Reawaken them.

Instead, Elysia merely tilted her head in confusion.

"When are you talking about?"

"How old was I?"

Cassiel thought for a moment.

"Around ten. Perhaps again around twelve, maybe thirteen."

Back then...

General Hartwell, her brothers, and all her uncles had still been alive.

A nostalgic smile slowly appeared on Elysia’s face.

"At that age... My eyes and heart weren’t filled with the Crown Prince at all."

She laughed softly.

"They were filled with the northern deserts... And the willow trees in the south..."

"At Hartwell Manor, I could eat whatever delicious dishes my aunt prepared..."

"My brother often took me riding to the western training grounds to practise archery..."

"Whenever Mother visited Grandfather’s estate, she’d bring me along. We hunted in the mountains, caught fish in the streams, soaked in the hot springs..."

"There were far too many wonderful things waiting for me."

She looked out through the carriage window.

"So many... That my heart hardly had room for anything else."