It's been two weeks. Elroy had been at the Palace all that time. He chatted intimately with his new student and toured the vast Royal Palace. He even hunted rabbits in the Palace forest, but he had never met Mariette!
Is her sickness that bad?! Elroy thought.
Now he was starting to panic.
"Sir Elroy!"
From a distance, Louie flashed by waving his hand. Beside him, his twin Louisa also waved her hand in greeting. The two teenage twins looked already excited this morning.
Elroy waved them back. And there it was, the woman he had just been thinking about.
Mariette walked behind the twins with some documents in her hands.
Elroy's smile widened when Mariette saw him. He waved his hand more excitedly, hoping Mariette would notice him. His efforts were not in vain. Mariette returned his greeting with a gentle nod.
"My, my. What is this?"
A voice startled Elroy. Beside him, Ferdinand looked at him with suspicious mimicking eyes. Not wanting to be caught red-handed, Elroy immediately looked away.
But he was too late.
"Since when did you become interested in Viscountess Tierney?" Ferdinand inquired matter-of-factly.
"You and your damn sharp instincts, really," sighed Elroy.
Ferdinand chuckled. "No wonder when you got here you looked around–besides shutting yourself up in the library. Geez, could it be what you've been looking for in the library all this time about Her Ladyship?"
"I won't find any people's personal data in the library," said Elroy. "Okay, you go there. Those archery equipment are for His Highness and Her Highness, right?"
Ferdinand sneered. "Remember, buddy. You owe me a story," he said, then went to follow the direction Louie and Louisa had walked earlier.
Elroy is worried because Ferdinand knows that he has feelings for Mariette. But no problem. The important thing is that he already knows the state of that women.
"Viscountess Tierney in her work gown is beautiful too," Elroy muttered while smiling to himself.
***
It's the first day of lessons for Louie. Previously, Elroy had chatted with the Prince–as well as the Princess. They are like teenagers in general. They don't feel like a child of a king at all.
"Honestly, Your Highness. I'm a bit worried about this attitude of yours. You've had etiquette lessons, right?" asked Elroy before starting their first lesson.
"Yes, I have. Don't worry, I know when to be formal and dignified," said Louie. "You won't be hard on me like Marquess Gauthier, will you?"
"My father behaved like that with you?"
"Yeah, when I had my first sword lesson," groaned Louie. "It's good that you're not the same as His Grace."
"No, no. People say when it comes to character, I look more like my mother," said Elroy. "But of course, we must stay disciplined during class, okay?"
Louie smiled. "I think I will like this class. I heard that you got the best knowledge score in the knight exam."
"Thank you for the compliment, Your Highness. But what you heard is too much."
"Exaggerated what? If Viscountess Tierney and Sir Anatole complimented someone, it meant that their merits were valid. You know what those two people are like, right?"
Elroy could only laugh at that.
If Mariette is known as a woman who is expressionless and rarely speaks, then the male version is Sir Anatole. The two of them were famous for their cold demeanor and expressionless faces. So no wonder whatever they say is definitely true.
So embarrassed, thought Elroy. He didn't expect Mariette to compliment him in front of Louie.
Also Anatole…
'You heard about me from Sir Anatole too? Wasn't he on a special expedition?" asked Elroy in surprise.
"He is already on his way back. I received a letter from him saying he would come to Louisa's debutante."
"Wow, your relationship sounds good."
"Of course. Sir Anatole is the best cousin. If I force him to be Louisa's dance partner, then he will. Well, no man out there deserves to be Louisa's partner."
Elroy forced a laugh. It turned out that what Mariette had said was true: Louie was too protective of Louisa.
"Hopefully, he's still available," added Louie.
"What? Sir Anatole has a dance partner?"
"Well, I heard that His Majesty the King intends to set him up with Mariette. It's no wonder; they suit each other. I mean, that attitude and demeanor…" Louie's sentence floated in the air. "Sir Elroy? Why are you freezing like that? Hello?"
Elroy fell silent in shock from what he had just heard.
Mariette will be arranged to another man?!
What's worse, this man's qualifications are indeed outstanding!
Anatole Valent, the first child of Duke Valent. His family was still closely related to the Imperial family, which was why they were very famous. But Anatole is famous because he is a great person.
Anatole is the leader of the kingdom's special forces. His skills in martial arts and knowledge were formidable. He is a great warrior who has undertaken various expeditions and investigations for the kingdom–and the results have always been satisfactory.
Well, of course. Besides these things, Anatole is also famous for being handsome, despite his often expressionless face.
His obsidian hair matched his piercing sapphire blue eyes perfectly. His body is big and well-built as if to show if he is the greatest knight in the entire kingdom. The voice that escaped from his thin lips was always deep and cold. Totally like a character who jumped out of a crap novel that Elroy's big sister used to love.
"Hello? Sir Elroy?"
"Ah, huh?!" Elroy shook his head. "Forgive me, Your Highness. I was–errr–just surprised."
"Well, I was surprised myself when I heard Father planned such a thing. Ha ha ha. Sir Anatole, who agreed to the match, surprised me the most."
"I think… it's because His Majesty the King ordered it," said Elroy. As a knight of the Palace, Anatole could not refuse an order from the king.
"At first, I thought so too, but I don't think that's possible. Sir Anatole is so honest that sometimes his words can hurt," said Louie. "It is possible that Sir Anatole does like Viscountess Tierney. They have known each other for a long time too."
Elroy's mind automatically pictured Mariette with Anatole. In his mind, the two expressionless people smiled at each other, breaking Elroy's heart instantly.
My goodness, this was the first time Elroy felt such a thing as heartbreak.