ALL NOVEL Chapter 35
Episode 35: Alexia’s Hesitation
(Was that a mishearing… or not… ?)
The next day, Alexia was deep in thought, resting her chin on her desk in her office.
Now she was recalling the day they first met.
In a lush green forest, those were the very first words Luke spoke to her.
“Please marry me!”
Kneeling down, extending his hands, he confessed in a manner akin to a proposal.
(At that time, I thought he was just confused…)
Having just been attacked by a wolf, she had assumed he might be dazed, and when she later read the report about his broken engagement, she thought perhaps he had confused her with his ex-fiancée.
After all, it must have been a case of mishearing or mistaken identity, so it would be wrong to bring it up again.
In her efforts to forget the comment without addressing it, she had genuinely managed to forget it until now.
(Could that have been a real confession? No way…)
Alexia withdrew her chin from her hand and buried her face in her palms.
The events of the last night kept swirling around her mind.
Under the clear starry sky, Luke had declared to her:
“The one I love is you!”
His earnest expression. His piercing gaze. His sincere voice, undistorted by the gentle night breeze.
“I know it’s unrequited love, but I like you—”
“…………”
Alexia was thoroughly confused about what to do, yet she had no intention of consulting anyone.
That was until Ewald, the assistant butler, made a sharp observation while adjusting his glasses.
“Miss, you don’t seem to be fully focused.”
“Oh… I’m sorry.”
“Is this a particularly difficult decision? You typically wouldn’t take this long over matters like this…”
“Well… um…”
As Alexia’s gaze wandered, her questions didn’t end with Ewald’s inquiry.
Their conversation had also been overheard by Marie, who came in to clean the room.
“Miss, could it be that you’re talking about Lord Luke?”
Marie immediately hit the nail on the head and proceeded to ask,
“What did Lord Luke say to you? No, I know! He finally confessed to you, right?!”
“Oh… finally?”
“Ever since Luke first arrived in this land, he has been hopelessly in love with you.”
“H… hopelessly?”
“Yes. For ages now. What are you talking about?”
“…Talking about?”
All her responses were parroted back to her.
As Alexia displayed her cluelessness, Ewald and Marie sighed in perfect harmony.
“You truly had no inkling, did you…? Poor Luke…”
“Your lack of perception is astonishing. It must be from taking after your husband in not recognizing the subtleties of love…”
Even the absent Margrave felt the sting of stray arrows.
After that, thanks to Marie’s relentless questioning, Alexia found herself confessing every detail about how Luke had confessed to her.
Marie, usually gentle and easygoing, had been through marriage and motherhood and was quite adept at discussing these matters.
“So, what was your response, my lady?”
“Response… nothing…”
“Nothing?!”
Ewald and Marie chorused, exchanging glances filled with pity for Luke.
“Why on earth didn’t you respond at all?!”
“…Well… I didn’t know what to say…”
Timidly, Alexia asked, retreating slightly.
“Umm… this confession of his, he doesn’t say it to everyone, does he?”
“Not at all,” Marie firmly denied.
“If Lord Luke were truly a ladies’ man and chased every young woman he laid eyes on, he would have been making advances all over. There are countless eligible ladies in this mansion, the town, and even among the Knights.”
Even with children, Marie was still a woman of a certain age, and many of her fellow maids were quite beautiful and unmarried.
While he might not act flirtatious in the castle due to Alexia, Marie’s point stood: if he went to town within the territory, there would be even more women.
If Luke were just a frivolous cad throwing compliments around, sooner or later, Alexia and the others would hear about it. You can’t muzzle gossip, and you can’t prevent rumors from spreading.
(On the contrary, Lord Luke seems utterly unaffected by anyone’s advances…)
She held her tongue, knowing it would complicate matters further, but Luke’s popularity among Marie’s fellow maids was soaring.
With a face perfectly matching the word “cute,” Luke was both friendly and humble for a nobleman. Kind to everyone, proactive in work, and his once-slight physique had undergone a remarkable transformation into a robust build. There was no way a young woman could overlook such a man.
Among the single maids, a few had set their sights on Luke, repeatedly trying to get close to him.
However, they clearly were failing miserably or didn’t even register his disinterest…
Handing out homemade sweets would elicit a bright smile and a heartfelt, “Thank you! Let’s all share them!”
Feigning to trip while getting close would end with him looking genuinely worried, saying, “Are you okay? Not feeling well? Just rest; I’ll handle the rest.”
The question, “What kind of woman do you like, Lord Luke?” was met with, “I like strong women with great arm strength who can expertly pierce a wolf’s brow with their sword!” without a hitch.
(A wolf…? The brow…?)
They must have looked truly confused, only for him to add, “Exactly! Isn’t it so cool?!” with innocent enthusiasm, completely oblivious to being hit on.
He was utterly focused and didn’t glance away even once.
He was truly a single-minded man with only eyes for Alexia.
Marie beamed at this.
“While Lord Luke speaks kind words to everyone, he reserves sweet words solely for you, my lady.”
“…”
At a loss for words, Alexia fell silent.
Just then, all three froze, having finally noticed the petite figure that had quietly entered the room.
“…Brigitte.”
Brigitte’s smile deepened the wrinkles on her face, appearing friendly yet terrifying.
“Brigitte. Um, this is…”
“…I suspected as much.”
Marie flustered, attempting to justify their situation, realized it was already too late.
Brigitte trembled, her white hair standing on end, her fury evident.
“So, he has been after my lady! How shameless! That ignorant country bumpkin!”
“Calm down, Brigitte. We are the simple folk. Luke has grown up in the city.”
“That’s not the point, my lady.”
As Alexia tried to calm her, her misdirected words only made Marie shake her head.
Naturally, Brigitte was not settling down but instead seemed more agitated.
“That detail doesn’t matter! It’s entirely unacceptable for someone living in this castle to target the daughter of a Margrave! It’s ridiculously inappropriate!”
“We’re also the ones receiving aid here. Luke deserves fair compensation for his work…”
“My lady. Yes, but that’s not the issue…”
Luke carried out a variety of tasks throughout the castle. Work-wise, he covered the duties of about three average servants, yet whenever they tried to increase his pay, he would dismissively say just having a place to stay was enough.
But that wasn’t the point at the moment.
Without entertaining Alexia’s diversion, Brigitte continued to berate Luke.
“Isn’t he merely a nobleman by name? Born a bastard, lacking a middle name, and unlikely to inherit even the only asset of the Valten family: its wealth? This man brings no benefit to Rietberg! How dare he confess to a lady!”
Her fierce expression left no room for rebuttal.