Outside the public bathroom, there is a waiting room that also served as a changing room. There are a couple of long benches and some foldable chairs inside the big room. Assistant Ortzen said he would bring me a new dress to change into, but it seems like he hasn't arrived yet? I sat down at the edge of a sofa while drying my hair with a big towel that was left there. At the same time, the door opened and Captain Jullius came inside. I waved my right hand to him.
"Thank you for letting me use the public bath. It was a satisfying bath."
"Ortzen hasn't come yet?"
I heard some footsteps coming closer so I raised my head and saw that Captain Jullius stood not far from my seat. He had changed from his uniform into black casual clothes. And… in his hands, is that… pudding? He carried a small plate of pudding covered with caramel syrup and some chocolate balls around it.
Did he bring it for me?
I love pudding! I really like all kinds of sweet desserts. When I lived inside the Church, delicious desserts would have been hard to come by were it not for the ladies who sent me some. I stared at Captain Jullius with expectant eyes. Captain Jullius used one hand to hold the plate and the other hand to hold the silver spoon. Then…
Are you going to eat it by yourself?
Arghhh! He ate it! He actually ate the pudding by himself! Well, from the beginning he never said he had brought it for me though, but… he was really eating it by himself.
"He's late."
"He should be coming soon."
I glared the man who was currently eating his pudding in delight, then I got up from my seat.
"Captain Jullius."
"What?"
"I also want some."
Don't eat it by yourself! Share it with me too! Captain Jullius looked at me for a moment then scooped up some pudding and offered it to me. I gladly ate the pudding from his spoon. Oh! This is very…
"Delicious!"
"Head chef Ira is really talented."
"The head chef for the headquarters?"
"Yes."
Hmm, seems like I could consider being a Special Task member as an option for my future job. The head chef of the Holy Knight Squad would never use expensive ingredients such as sugar or chocolate, even if he were beaten half to death. To be more precise, he couldn't use it. The treasury was such a cheapskate! Captain Jullius scooped the pudding once for himself then gave me another scoop.
"Add one chocolate ball, please!"
A round chocolate ball was placed onto the spoon. Hmm, there's a dry fruit inside. Is it a plum? Tasty! Deliciousss!
While Captain Jullius and I enjoyed sharing pudding together, Assistant Ortzen came inside. He brought many things along with him. When he saw Captain Jullius and me, he was surprised by what he saw.
"… what are you two doing?"
"We are eating pudding."
"I also know that just by looking, but the problem is both of you used the same spoon and … Hah…forget it."
Assistant Ortzen didn't finish his sentence and just sighed.
What's wrong with him?
"Miss Epheria, I have brought you a new dress, so please get changed into this."
"I owe you many gratitude. Thank you."
He handed over the things in his hands to me while saying, "I need to warn you beforehand… Miss must get changed in there."
"… I know that, alright?"
I'm not a kid anymore. If it's only that much modesty that's expected, I can do at least that. I went behind the changing room divided by partition walls, then checked out the things I had received. They had brought everything here, including a dress, a set of undergarments, a pair of shoes, and some accessories. Haa… there's no corset. Had they noticed I wasn't wearing one?
All of these are high-quality goods.
Although it hasn't been a long time since I started wearing dress, I had already seen many types of dresses so I could roughly guess. The fabrics and laces used here are all expensive. Not to mention the precious gems used on the necklace and bracelet are rare ones! Do they have an unlimited budget? Or maybe Assistant Ortzen and Captain Jullius are rich? The dress was many times nicer than my own dress. It's quite shameful given that I'm the eldest daughter of a wealthy Count. Well, it can't be helped that I was neglected inside the household though.
As soon as I was done changing and returned, Assistant Ortzen who was waiting for me, started to talk.
"It will be hard to have an engagement ceremony inside the Count's mansion."
"Engagement ceremony?"
"Do we need one?"
Captain Jullius and I glanced oddly at Assistant Ortzen at the same time. Ortzen nodded his head as if implying that this was a certain thing.
"Don't you think it is a good opportunity? We could gain more informations regarding some people who are associated with the Count."
"You think that there might be accomplices?"
"That's right. Miss also doesn't believe the Count did it all by himself, right?"
Well, that's not necessarily wrong. At the very least the Countess' family also played a role. From what I've heard, her family shouldn't be underestimated.
"It would be better to hold the party inside the Count's manor but if it can't be done, then we could just borrow the hall inside the palace. Oh right, Miss Epheria. You don't have to use formal speech when we're talking. Miss is Captain's fiancée afterall."
"You're right. Okay then."
"Heh, that was fast."
Well, anyway I'm more accustomed to using informal speech. Speaking of which, do we need to go so far as to have an official engagement ceremony? Why do I feel that the problem has become more complicated?
(T/N: in Korea, there are 2 type of speech: formal and informal. You use formal speech when you talk to someone older than you/in any formal occasions. While you can use the informal one to talk among your peers of the same age. If someone older than you use informal speech to you, you can't reply in informal speech. You need to reply in formal speech, unless the older party allowed you to speak informal too. For more info, pls google it by yourself xD )
"I'm thinking that Miss could say you fell in love with Captain when he testified to help you as the reason for the engagement. Needless to say, the Count's family would still be suspicious no matter what reason you give them."
Assistant Ortzen explained the ins and outs of his self-constructed plan. Meanwhile Captain Jullius and I could only stare blankly at Ortzen. We tried to pretend that we understood the plan. It can't be helped because we are both more proficient at using our fists over our heads.
"Oh, right! The engagement token is enough with Cali–"
"No way."
Tsk. As expected, it's impossible, huh?
"Then I need some useful weapons to defend myself. Starting tonight, my 'kind-hearted' stepmother will probably send some lackeys to deal with me."
Since I was cleared of any charges, she would likely take the extreme route. This being said, it would be safer to have at least one concealed weapon on my body.
"Alright. You can choose one from the armory by yourself. Captain, please lead the way for Miss Epheria."
"Okay."
"Just giving her a weapon isn't enough. You must also escort her back home."
"Escort her?"
"That's right. When you return, I'll personally teach you all about the etiquettes needed on how to treat a Lady properly as your fiancée."
"That–"
"I'll make sure you won't be able to avoid it."
"…"
Uhh… I felt bad for Captain Jullius. He clearly looked depressed and I could do nothing because I'm also afraid to get into that kind of trouble. To be honest, I myself have zero understanding of a lady's etiquettes. I have no idea how to act like a proper noble lady. At the very least, I should ask Sofia to teach me the basic etiquette to be a lady. After all, she served a noble Miss, so she should know more than myself.
Quite a long time passed just listening to Assistant Ortzen's advice mixed with scoldings. Finally Captain Jullius and I could be free from Ortzen and left the room.
Two kinds of footsteps could be heard one after another inside the long corridor. I frowned at the discomfort I felt on my feet. The cause of this discomfort came from the shoes given by Ortzen. All expensive shoes put more focus on sophisticated design and made the heels very high, making them uncomfortable. That aside…
Apparently, my body is indeed small.
The gap between Captain Jullius and my footsteps is big. For instances, I have to walk 3 steps to match 2 of his steps. In addition, a knight walked much faster than ordinary people. There were many times when a knight didn't realize he had walked faster because it had become a habit. Ah, our distances got wider while my mind was wandering. I need to catch up to him so I wouldn't be left behind.
Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.
The heels made a loud noise when I did a short run. I appreciated the gifts but it seems like I am not meant to use heels. It felt painful when I was running. Besides, it was such a nuisance to always have to use holy power to strengthen my feet. It's not just troublesome, but it could give rise to a new problem if I were seen by any high-tier clergy. They might ask, "How could she use holy power when she is not a clergy?" I would rather use comfortable shoes than make baseless excuses just to answer that kind of question.
When I was running after him, Captain Jullius who was in the front suddenly stopped walking. He turned his body around and looked at me while tilting his head a bit.
"Should I carry you?"