Chapter 39: Planning for a marriage to a brother
Meanwhile, at the Lipps village hot spring inn in the afternoon――.
“I wonder how Ilsa-sama and the others are doing right now.”
Diana and Leon were still spending their boring time. Besides eating, there was really nothing else to do.
“Ah, I want to go back soon and take care of the cows.”
“Sometimes it’s good to take it easy.”
“Even if we take it easy, it’s frustrating to have nothing to do.”
“Yeah. . .Oh, I have an idea.”
Diana looked out at the backyard.
“There’s a red rose over there.”
Leon, standing behind Diana, peered out the window with her.
“Can we make syrup out of it?”
“Are you going to borrow the kitchen?”
“It’s a waste of time. I’ll use this time to brainstorm ideas.”
“Just for syrup?”
“Fufufu, yes.”
“While you’re at it, can you ask for some pruning too?”
Diana and Leon went downstairs to find the butler. They caught him at the entrance and asked him to relay the message to the chef about the roses.
“We told him we’ll be waiting in the garden. Let’s go check on the plants for a bit.”
Diana walked with Leon. As soon as they opened the door to the garden, they froze in surprise.
There was someone already in the garden.
It was George.
Come to think of it, Diana felt like she had seen this man in the backyard before. She called out to her brother-in-law before anyone else.
“Long time no see, George.”
George turned around, slightly surprised, and looked at them.
Since that incident, both Diana and Leon had special feelings towards him.
“. . .What are you two doing here?”
“Oh! Thank you for the other day!”
George coughed as if trying to cover something up in response to Diana’s enthusiasm.
“Don’t get the wrong idea. I didn’t tell Leon to do anything for your sake.”
Diana’s cheeks relaxed a bit at the reaction she somewhat expected.
“I thought that if I let the only bride who came to our family escape here, we would lose the woman who would take care of us when we become old. I just stopped you to secure a caregiver.”
Leon was slightly taken aback. Diana suddenly looked at George’s hand.
In his hand was a bouquet of white roses.
(He must have been picking flowers. . .)
Diana’s face paled at the unexpected combination. George seemed to notice her gaze, turned on his heel, and left, raising the bouquet as a farewell gesture.
As they watched him in astonishment, the butler approached them.
“You can use the kitchen. However, only until three o’clock. They said it’s fine to pluck the roses as long as they’re not buds.”
“Thank you. Let’s gather the rose petals right away.”
Diana went to get a bucket. Leon, while plucking the roses, stared at them and fell into deep thought.
Borrowing sugar and a bottle from the kitchen, Diana simmered the rose petals in sugar water.
The vibrant red color dyed the sugar water, and a fragrant smell filled the kitchen.
“We couldn’t gather much, but this amount should be enough for the color and fragrance.”
Leon remained silent beside her.
“. . .What’s wrong, Leon?”
Leon snapped out of his thoughts.
“Oh, it’s nothing. . .”
“By the way, George was unexpectedly picking roses, wasn’t he? I wonder if he’s giving them to someone.”
Leon pondered.
“Diana.”
“What?”
“Do you know Laura?”
Diana looked up.
“Yes. . .I know her. She came to our wedding.”
“. . .I see. Did you talk to her about anything?”
“No. Oh, but. . .”
“But?”
“She poured wine on George. I was really surprised at that time.”
Leon fell into deep thought again.
“. . .I see.”
“Hmm? What’s the matter, Leon? Did something happen between Laura-san and George?”
When Diana asked, Leon hesitated for a moment before confiding in her.
“Laura is my brother’s ex-girlfriend from a long time ago.”
Diana nodded.
“Ah. . .I thought so.”
“I suddenly remembered that. Laura loved roses.”
“Oh, really? I wonder why they broke up.”
“There were various reasons. I don’t know the exact reason. But. . .”
Leon lowered his voice.
“Maybe George. . .still. . .”
Diana closed her eyes.
“Don’t end up like me. . .huh.”
“I’m sure it was my older brother who pushed Laura away. If it’s for the same reason as me.”
“Hmm? The reason?”
“He must have thought he couldn’t be happy.”
“Oh, I see. Why do you think that? There’s no difference in social status.”
“That’s been bothering me for a while. In any case, it’s a big problem if no brides come to the brothers.”
Diana lifted her face.
“Why?”
“George mentioned it earlier. If all my brothers remain unmarried until they die, won’t it become a huge burden for us?”
“. . .Yeah.”
“Well, if possible. . .Even though they’re detestable brothers, I’ve always thought that if they all got married, it would reduce Diana’s burden, you know?”
“Indeed, that’s true.”
“It’s a strange thing, but we’ve managed to live like this too. I’ve been thinking that maybe we could take care of their wives.”
“I see. But, there aren’t any young women in this village, are there?”
Leon pressed his forehead.
“. . .That’s the problem.”
“We need to make the village more attractive and lively, otherwise women will be drawn to the urban areas and won’t stay here.”
“I wonder if there’s any way.”
“Well, it’s quite difficult with just our own efforts.”
Diana poured rose syrup into a sterilized bottle.
That’s when it happened.
The front door opened, and voices could be heard.
“George can’t read, so it’s easy to deceive him.”
Leon almost dropped the pot. He looked up and listened carefully.
“Even if we manipulate the account books quite a bit, it’s still the same. He’s so full of himself, desperately trying to maintain his pride with just his attitude.”
Diana quickly closed the bottle and stuck it to the kitchen door.
“Thanks to that, the wheat supply never runs out. Ahaha.”
The kitchen door opened.
Diana faced the head chef who had entered. The head chef turned pale at her appearance and hurriedly sealed his lips.
Diana smiled sweetly.
“Head chef, I wanted to talk to you about George. . .”
Behind Diana, Leon gave a stern look.
The head chef and the worker exchanged glances, trying to escape Leon’s gaze, and then slumped their shoulders as if all hope was lost.
