Chapter 63: Misunderstanding
“Ah, Diana. I apologize for the late introduction. This is Duke McGallen.”
Hans stepped forward, holding a dress in his arms.
Diana faced Duke McGallen and stared intently at his appearance.
His rich, romance gray hair and mustache. His tall and slender figure, hinting at the tradition of the previous Duke McGallens being military Dukes. Although he was now aged, he must have been a strikingly handsome man in his prime.
The Duke immediately kneeled.
“My name is Klaus Von McGallen. I have often heard your name from my wife.”
Diana gazed absentmindedly at Klaus, and he lightly kissed the back of her hand.
Leon stepped forward.
“…It’s Leon, Diana’s husband.”
Klaus stood up. He had a height that matched Leon’s.
Leon leaned in, peering at Duke’s face. Diana snapped back to reality and tugged at her husband’s sleeve.
“Hey, Leon…”
“Hmm. He seems like a better man than what Hans described.”
“What are you saying, Leon!”
Hans, who suddenly mentioned his name, looked up at Klaus with fear, and he smiled and said, holding back a laugh.
“Oh, so you were calling me an old man behind my back, huh?”
“No, no! Not at all! It’s just that…”
“Just?”
“Klaus-sama and Sofia-sama have quite an age difference, that’s what I told my sister-in-law.”
“I see. That’s how it is…”
At that moment, Diana didn’t miss the lonely smile that appeared on his face.
“Um, Klaus-sama. Aren’t you here with Sofia-sama today?”
Diana asked, and Duke nodded.
“Ah, she said she didn’t want to come.”
“W-Why is that?”
“Well, she’s whimsical like that.”
Diana blurted out the words she had been holding in her chest.
“Is it because you’re going to see another woman?”
The room fell silent, as if someone had poured water on it. This time, it was Leon who panicked.
“You idiot! Diana, why would you suddenly say something like that…!”
Then…
Kukukuku.
Klaus began to laugh as if he found it amusing.
“Diana, what on earth did Sofia tell you?”
“B-Because Sofia-sama said so…!”
Diana stammered in defense. Klaus tilted his head slightly and asked.
“Ah, I’m going to see another woman now. Will you come with me?”
Hans took a fabric sample from the bewildered Diana.
“Goodness… What a bride you turned out to be!”
Completely forgetting about the sheets, Diana and Leon boarded Duke McGallen’s carriage.
Klaus compared the peasant couple.
“Are Sofia and Diana friends?”
Diana shook her head.
“No, rather than friends, I am the shopkeeper and she is the customer.”
“Oh, I see. So you have a shop?”
“Well, I plan to open a shop in the future. For now, I mainly do mobile sales.”
“I see. She really likes the tinctures you make.”
“Oh, I’m flattered.”
Suddenly, Duke’s gaze shifted to a box containing dresses.
“Yes, she likes it… as if she’s only interested in that.”
The peasant couple stared at Duke, holding their breath.
He seemed to be burdened with some great anguish as well.
The carriage stopped on the outskirts of Pabst village. In the distance, there was a house standing alone.
“That must be the house of the other woman Sofia mentioned.”
Diana and Leon looked at the house while being blown by the summer hot wind.
“…This is Melissa’s house.”
Leon muttered, and Diana looked puzzled.
“Melissa-san?”
“Yes, she’s just an ordinary woman, but she’s a master of embroidery.”
While tilting her head, Diana followed behind Duke.
He knocked on the door of the cottage, and it made a loud sound as the door opened.
“Oh my, Klaus-sama. The items are already prepared.”
“I came to pick them up today.”
“Please wait a moment. I’ll prepare them right away.”
Saying so, Melissa hurriedly brought out fine tableware and started preparing tea.
As Klaus took off his tight jacket, Melissa diligently hung it on a hanger.
“It’s getting hot.”
Klaus loosened his necktie.
“Yes. But if you drink mint tea, it will help alleviate the heat.”
“Do we have enough blue silk thread? I want you to embroider my name on a handkerchief.”
“Oh, are you preparing it for summer? Is the handkerchief made of linen?”
“You understood well. I was thinking of switching to linen soon, instead of cotton.”
“Are you going out for shopping again?”
“Yes, I am. If Melissa is with me, we might find good linen.”
Diana watched Melissa chatting with her and felt satisfied.
Even though she was an “aunt,” Melissa was actually a little younger than Klaus. Moreover, she was quite beautiful.
(Could it be, Sofia-sama…)
“It seems like they get along well. It’s no wonder if people misunderstand.”
Leon, who seemed to have the same thought, muttered with a wry smile.
“Oh, Sofia-sama can be quite a troublemaker.”
“Well, but I can’t overlook the fact that they go out together so often. Probably because that old man used to be quite popular, he doesn’t seem to be wary of women’s attention at all.”
“That’s certainly true.”
“Things like this, the perception is different between men and women, and between older and younger. I have to teach him properly.”
Diana gradually felt her heart warming up.
Duke McGallen was not a stubborn old man, and she felt relieved that he would understand if she faced him properly.
“I’m sure that handkerchief is also for Sofia-sama.”
“Yes. But I feel like the root of their misunderstanding is hidden there.”
Diana tilted her head at Leon’s words.
“Well, I’ve hardly ever given Diana anything. But she came to like me. Isn’t that right?”
Diana groaned and crossed her arms in front of her.
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