Salina had almost finished recounting a tournament story from her youth to Edwin, who was watching her with expectant eyes. She was clearly thrilled when she told the story.
"... So I drew my sword and finally delivered a blow to my opponent's belt that holding his pants and bam! I was the winner of the tournament! Of course, afterwards my family intervened and I was forced to apologize to the nobleman whose pants fell down because of my rude gesture. How annoying!" Salina gave an annoyed pout at the end of her story.
"It's really unbelievable! So that's how you won the tournament in the Kingdom of Helion. Haaa... Compared to you, Lady Salina, I only spent my childhood training in a forest. Now that I think about it, I really missed out a lot. What a pity..."
Edwin lowered his head a little and said with a little regretful expression. Aimlessly, he was running the fingers of his right hand over the empty wine glass on the table .
Edwin and Salina had been chatting for a long time and at some point the topic turned to Salina's adventures when she was young. Salina didn't want to talk about them at first, but when she saw Edwin's curious look, she couldn't bear it and started to tell a story. And then another, then another...
Although they didn't realize it, it was five o'clock in the morning. Even though it was still dark and the room was dark because their fireplace was out, Salina had turned on the lights and they had resumed their conversation.
Edwin and Salina's conversation, which at first started out as a formal one, gradually evolved into something completely different thanks to the wine and their shared tastes.
Salina abandoned her stern and serious expression when talking to other people and began to speak in a casual and relaxed manner with Edwin. There had never been a time in her life when she had been able to open up and talk about her experiences in such a lighthearted manner.
She was a bit hesitant at first, but after Edwin's questions and his oblivious expression, which Salina found incredibly adorable, she couldn't resist and opened up more and more. Edwin, in turn, told her about himself and his past experiences, resulting in the two of them spending a really good night together and becoming closer without realizing it.
In response to Edwin's complaints, Salina smiled gently and placed her tulle gloved hand above his hand on the table and stroked it reassuringly.
"You are still young, Edwin. I am sure you will have better adventures than I have had." She sounded very gentle.
Edwin raised his head and looked into Salina's eyes, than, after a few seconds, he began to smile charmingly.
"Thank you for your efforts at cheering me up, Lady Salina. But I wouldn't have made it this far if I had been demoralized by such little things."
"O-Of course..." When Salina saw Edwin's eyes, she stuttered. Then she realized the warmth in her hand and looked at the table. Seeing that she and Edwin were holding hands, Salina immediately withdrew her hand in panic.
She looked at Edwin and saw that he was looking out of the window. She breathed a sigh of relief. Her heart was racing and her face was beet red.
'Calm down Salina! He is a young man and you are an old married woman! Besides, Edwin is the one Amber fancies. Maybe he will be your stepson in the future! Don't make any strange moves and don't be misunderstood! Just calm down, be good, and control yourself!"
Salina was taking deep breaths in and out, while in her head she was repeating the lines she had chanted many times during the conversation to calm herself down, which had become a sort of mantra for her.
When she saw that Edwin was still looking out of the window, she started to look out too. After the long story, this calming silence was good for both of them. They were both a little tired of talking.
A few minutes passed, and finally, Edwin turned to Salina, and asked the question that had been on his mind for a long time.
"Lady Salina, Amber has told me many things about you, but never mentioned about her father. When you summoned me, I honestly thought I would see your lord husband too. I wonder if his lordship is here. If so, it would be rude not to greet him."
Edwin's words were met with a few seconds of silence. But then Salina began to answer.
"... William does not usually stay at the castle. He probably stays in the mansion, which is specially reserved for him. You don't have to worry about him, Edwin." Salina's voice sounded indifferent. She didn't turn her head away from the window as she spoke.
"Ohh... All right."
From Salina's demeanor, Edwin understood that he had asked something he shouldn't have. Saying nothing more, he turned his head away and continued to look out of the window. He decided to pretend this conversation had never happened.
Ten minutes had passed. Suddenly Salina's pensive voice was heard in the silent room.
"...Do you know, Edwin? When I was a young girl, I used to wander around the world, doing as I pleased, not worrying about what would happen tomorrow."
Edwin turned his head in the direction she was sitting as Salina suddenly entered the conversation. Salina had a dreamy look in her beautiful eyes as she remembered the past. She was still looking towards the window. When Edwin saw this, he didn't interrupt and began to listen calmly.
"Everything was so simple back then. I would go and make trouble, fight with people, try to learn new sword techniques and enjoy the pleasure of getting stronger and stronger." Salina's voice was full of longing.
"But then my mother's unfortunate death changed everything."
"I'm sorry for your loss." Edwin said.
In response to this Salina gave a calm smile.
"It is all right, Edwin, that happened quite a while in the past.."
It seemed that this incident that happened a long time ago didn't affect her much anymore. Or maybe, she just didn't want to show her feelings to the others because of her pride. Afterwards, she continued her speech.
"It also changed a lot of things for me. There was a lot of responsibility to handle and take care of, with no one around to do it properly, except me. Unlike other noble families, our family has never been a big noble family with many members. So when my mother died, it was obvious that I would take over her position." Salina sighed tiredly.
"After a long and arduous process of putting everything in order, I finally stopped being the dreamy young girl I used to be. Luckily I met Aveline while I was doing this or I would have gone really crazy on my own. She has become a loyal maid, and a good friend to me all these years." Salina's lips curled upwards momentarily and soon her former serious expression returned.
"During this time I married William, a political marriage of course. I had to maintain my lineage while increasing my power. Under the circumstances I was in back then, his family seemed like the best choice."
Salina stood silently looking outside for a while. Her eyes were slightly squinted, with an almost vacant look in them.
"... When I was little, I used to dream about the person I would marry when I grew up. I wanted him to be strong, adventurous and kind, so that when I wandered around the world, there would be always someone by my side who understood me, ensuring I'd never be alone and lost. William... I mean, he's not a bad person, but I couldn't feel anything for him, not at first nor now. He wasn't the person I was really looking for and dreaming of. Our relationship started and continued as a relationship of pure self-interest."
Salina's face broke into a motherly smile.
"But I do not regret this marriage. After all, it gave me Amber, my precious little cherry. When I held her in my arms I felt as if I had found my purpose in life again."
Edwin looked at Salina from his armchair and smiled gently.
"William and I have always had a distance between us that made Amber sad, but I couldn't do much about it. Haaa... I guess it's my fault, but sometimes you really can't control your emotions. So I tried my best to make her happy and the result was a really spoiled and bossy girl. Hehehe, I guess she's like me when I was little."
Salina laughed and then turned towards Edwin and spoke with a serious expression.
"Edwin! I didn't have the opportunity to live my life the way I wanted to and I'm an old woman now, but Amber is different! I always want to be on her side and I want her to be happy in every way, so Edwin, this might be a bit sudden, but can you promise me that you won't let her down no matter what?"
Edwin looked into Salina's serious blue eyes for a moment and then he too put on a serious expression and nodded.
"Don't worry, Lady Salina! Amber is a dear friend of mine. I would never knowingly and willingly hurt her!"
Salina shook her head at these words. "Friend, huhh... Anyway, I have no intention of interfering in your relationship. But knowing you for this short time, at least I know I can trust your word."
After her speech, her eyes fell on the clock on the wall. She couldn't believe her eyes when she saw what time it was. Salina had never felt so much time had passed. She looked back at Edwin with an apologetic expression.
"Edwin, I'm sorry, I had no intention of keeping you this late. If you want, you can go to your room. I'd feel really bad if you fell asleep at breakfast in the morning."
Edwin smiled. "That's all right, Lady Salina. I really enjoyed every moment of this evening, and if a few hours of sleep is the price for that, it's a cheap one."
Caught off guard by Edwin's smile, the mature woman looked away nervously.
" I-Is that so? I'm glad to hear that. I-I enjoyed talking with you too."
He slightly smiled and then spoke calmly.
"But I really better go now."
Edwin stood up and gave a small bow with his hand on his chest. "Thank you very much for this lovely evening's conversation, Lady Salina."
"Edwin! Uhh... C-Can you not tell Amber anything about what was mentioned here?" she said hurriedly in a anxious voice.
Salina didn't want Amber to know that she and Edwin had spent an entire night together, chatting over wine in a romantic setting. How could Salina ever look her daughter in the face again if Amber knew!? Of course Edwin didn't understand it that way. He rather thought that this serious woman was too ashamed to tell her daughter about her private life.
"Don't worry, Lady Salina. Whatever is said here will stay here." Edwin said in a serious voice.
"Haaa, thank you, Edwin. And... Forget it, have a good rest." For a moment Salina was going to ask Edwin to call her only by her first name, but then she thought she might be misunderstood and reluctantly gave up.
"Thank you, Lady Salina, you too." With these words, Edwin started to walk toward the door. Just as he was about to open it, he stopped and in an instant, Edwin turned around.
"Lady Salina!" Edwin said loudly.
"Huhh?! Y-Y-Yes!?" As Salina watched Edwin, she felt as if she had been caught red-handed when he suddenly turned around. Embarrassed, she didn't know what to do for a moment.
"... I think you should give yourself more credit. You are a woman who still shines with vitality and beauty, plus you are an excellent mother! It doesn't really suit you to act as if everything is over. Pay more attention to your own life and don't quit! You never know what happiness will come your way in the future." Edwin said these words with sincere seriousness. Then he turned and left the room.
"..."
Salina's eyes widened in surprise at Edwin's words. Recovering from the sound of the door closing, the mature woman placed her hand over her rapidly beating heart, her cheeks flushed to rival her hair and a tender smile formed on her face. Her eyes glowed with different emotions as she fixed her gaze on the closed door.
"Edwin... You really are a special person."
Daydreaming for a while, Salina slowly recovered. For a moment her eyes fell on the glasses on the table. She picked up Edwin's empty glass and turned it a little in her hand. Then she suddenly brought it to her mouth and sensually licked the rim of the empty glass. There was a passionate look in her eyes and she began to breathe in and out hot breaths rapidly.
"How sweet..."
Awakened by the sound of her own voice, Salina opened her eyes wide with fear.
"W-What am I doing!?"
She quickly put the glass back on the table. Her face was flushed with shame. Even though no one was around, Salina wanted to sink to the ground because of her spontaneous action. She sat down, pulled her knees to her stomach as far as her dress allowed, and covered her face with her hands.
"What were you thinking, Salina?! Damn it! Why did I tell Edwin all those embarrassing things!? None of this was in the plan!"
As the magic of the moment faded, one by one the things she had done during the night began to come back to this serious woman and torture her mind. Sleep seemed to be a very unlikely option for Salina at this hour.
…
Meanwhile, Edwin, on his way to his room, was thinking about what had happened when he fist saw Amber's mother. The moment he met Salina was the moment he realized how troubled his situation was. He wanted to find out as soon as possible what this phenomena was and find a solution. Now that he had almost disgraced himself in front of Lady Salina this evening, he had become quite self-conscious about it.
Unaware of the condition of the mature woman he had left behind, Edwin finally reached his room and threw himself on the bed without even changing his clothes. Exhaustion, like a cunning serpent, wrapped itself around his whole being and after a few seconds he fell asleep.
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(For Some Extra Chapters)
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