Chapter 88
Chapter 88. Heart-Pounding Summer Vacation!
While loading the carriage, Henelone was standing on the side of the port, muttering her worries, when she heard a woman’s high-pitched voice.
Now that it was a voice that she had become quite familiar with, Henelone was startled and turned her head toward the source of the sound, awakening her consciousness.
Marie-Jose, with a bright face, was running toward the knight standing beside the carriage.
Brown hair and brown eyes. Moderate height and a decent appearance. The knight, who had no particular blemishes, bowed to Marie-Jose as she ran toward him.
“Did you enjoy your vacation?”
“…Oh, well. That’s fine… What about Benjamin?”
“He couldn’t come with me because of something.”
“At least you came. It’s so nice to see someone I know after such a long time!”
When a bright smile appeared on her usually sullen face, the princess looked like a girl her age.
Henelone, who had been staring blankly at that pretty face, soon turned her gaze to the man who was a head taller than the others.
Pitch-black hair that didn’t let a single ray of light through and fiercely hardened red eyes.
A faint line formed on the corner of Henelone’s mouth as she watched him speaking to the one who was surrounded by knights and was clearly the emperor.
A strange sense of floating and tension, as if she had suddenly fallen from the high sky, made her heart pound.
On the ship returning from Brenicke to Berner, just like the first day, Henelone could not have any conversation with Heinz.
But she was no longer anxious.
In the cabin, the sunlight streaming down through the brightly open terrace window was warm, and she lay there like a satisfied cat the whole way back.
Sometimes, there are feelings that can be felt without saying anything.
The red eyes that met her briefly stared at her with deep affection.
***
“There are too many people at the port.”
Dietrich, who was able to see Marie-Jose’s back as she ran, smiled and opened his mouth.
The port, full of people befitting its reputation, was cheerful and lively, but there was a sense of ominousness somewhere.
Heinz, who responded with a faint smile to Henelone who was looking at him, also nodded in agreement with Dietrich’s words.
From the moment he set foot on land, he had been alert to the tension flowing around him.
“That group seems to be from the north.”
“They’re southerners, huh?”
The vast empire had distinctive physical characteristics based on their region of origin.
The northerners had pale skin and light hair, while the southerners had reddish skin and mostly reddish-brown hair.
Since it was the port closest to the capital, it was natural for people from various regions to come and go, but was it really a coincidence that they all had the same common traits?
“But it’s strange… They’re all trained.”
A specific stride and gait, a balanced posture without putting weight on one side. They were smiling and talking, but they seemed constantly wary of their surroundings. Heinz tensed up his body as he scanned every single one of their sun-tanned necks and calluses on their fingers.
“I’ll look into it.”
Marie-Jose, who had finished a short conversation with the brown-haired knight, was approaching them. Heinz, who had been persistently examining her innocently shining dark blue eyes, answered Dietrich.
***
“After all, home is the best.”
Milena had arrived at the mansion, washed up briefly and changed into her indoor clothes. She muttered as she leaned back on the sofa in the living room as if lying down.
Henelone, who had also changed into comfortable clothes, was also half-lying on the sofa. It had been a leisurely schedule with nothing to be tired about, but when she actually arrived at the mansion, her body was completely relaxed.
‘I’m sleepy…’
Just as she was about to go up to her room and get some shut-eye, Diana raised her voice and entered the living room.
“My daughter! My daughter-in-law! I missed you so much!”
Her face looked quite tired as she spoke, even with tears in her eyes.
It seems that the summer vacation with her father, brother wasn’t that enjoyable. Seeing Diana flopping down on the couch with her mouth hanging open, Henelone got up and walked closer to her.
“How was Küsshausen?”
“Nonsense! All I can see are trees in the distance. I don’t even know where your father and brother are wandering around? It felt like I was locked in a tree prison! They say that in that country, hundred-year-old trees are considered young.”
“Oh my, it must have been really great. There aren’t many large forests in the empire.”
Milena, who was sitting next to Diana with her arm linked, smiled coquettishly and tried to comfort Diana. Thanks to that, Diana’s pouting expression softened a bit.
“Well… it was magnificent, but that only lasted for a day or two. Your father couldn’t take his eyes off it as if he had found some great treasure. Where is he going to use it?
“I’m sure your father has his own thoughts.”
“Of course he does. Oh, I’m not interested in outside things at all.”
Diana sighed deeply at Milena’s whispering. She hadn’t expected a pleasant vacation in the first place, but she didn’t know that he would ignore her and focus on business all day.
If she had known this would happen, she would have gone to Brenicke with her daughter and daughter-in-law. Diana, who nodded her head as if she was tired, soon asked Milena with shining eyes.
“That’s enough about me, how were you?”
“Hahaha, it was a very fulfilling vacation!”
At Diana’s question, Milena glanced at Henelone and giggled with a sinister smile. Henelone, who was taken aback by that awkward smile, answered Diana in a hurry.
“It was a very beautiful estate. Let’s definitely go together next time, Mother.”
“Hohoho, by then, there might be a very handsome groom next to you!”
“What? What are you talking about?”
“Ugh, Milena!”
“No, it’s just something. It’s just my wish. Hoho!”
Henelone, who had been furious at Milena’s mischievous prank, eventually burst into laughter. The three women’s laughter flowed out through the living room window.
It was the moment when they finally returned to their daily lives after the eventful summer vacation.
