Chapter 66: Invitation to the Mountain Cabin
One week later, at an inn in Lipps village.
“If you don’t mind, would you all like to come and visit my mountain cabin?”
At Diana’s sudden invitation, the noble daughters, including Sophia, looked at each other in surprise.
“Oh, is that okay?!”
“Yes. My husband has given his consent as well. So, I thought it would be nice for us to do some outdoor embroidery as a little diversion.”
“Oh, how lovely.”
“We can also have a meal. I have prepared various dishes.”
“Sorry, but isn’t this quite sudden?”
“Yes, well, they say haste makes waste.”
“Let’s go. Even if we talk at the inn, the conversation will quickly run out.”
The noble ladies were quick to accept Diana’s invitation. Diana had planned to invite them on a day with clear weather. Recently, the weather hadn’t been favorable, but today was a bright and sunny day, perfect for the invitation.
They climbed the gentle hill, passing by the ruined rose garden, and headed towards the mountain.
Diana led the way on horseback, gazing into the distance.
She could see the mountain cabin.
When they reached the edge of the mountain, a large round table was set up there.
Diana thought about the arrangements.
Today, she intended to demonstrate the “shop” she had envisioned. She had informed her husband about it as well.
Leon, dressed in work clothes, came out of the cabin.
“Oh, everyone is here.”
When the noble daughters got off the carriage, they looked around curiously at the farmer’s lifestyle and the surrounding area.
One of them pointed below the hill with shining eyes.
“That’s Lipps village!”
They all looked down at the town spreading out in the foothills.
“What a beautiful view.”
“I thought the hill would be gentle when we rode in the carriage, but the elevation is quite high.”
“The town looks like a miniature… it’s interesting.”
Sofia wandered around with curiosity, not saying a word.
Diana took out several handkerchiefs and embroidery threads from her bag.
She placed them heavily on the round table.
And then the sampler.
The noble ladies gathered around, sensing the event.
“I’m planning to sew initials on the handkerchiefs. They will be useful in the summer, won’t they?”
Diana spread out the embroidery threads and handkerchiefs that Hans had gathered for her. The girls picked them up, following their curiosity.
Sofia picked up the embroidery sampler.
“This is…”
“It’s an alphabet sampler. I got it from Melissa.”
At that moment, Sophia’s eyes widened as she stared at Diana.
It seemed that Sophia knew the name of that woman, whom she concluded was her husband’s mistress.
“…Melissa?”
“Yes. Melissa is a master of embroidery. Klaus-sama asked Melissa to do embroidery for Sofia-sama.”
Sophia sighed.
“…I see.”
It was not a sigh of relief, but rather a sigh of frustration and anger towards her husband, who had caused the misunderstanding.
“So, Sophia-sama. If you can do the embroidery yourself, Klaus-sama won’t need to go to Melissa anymore.”
The peaceful atmosphere of the rural hill suddenly became tense. The other ladies seemed to know the situation and watched the situation unfold from the corner of the table.
“Well, it’s not like I…”
Seeing Sophia pouting, the noble ladies laughed.
“Sophia, just be honest. You were relieved when you found out that there was no other woman calling your husband ‘Ojii-sama’.”
Diana turned to them.
“…’Ojii-sama’?”
The ladies laughed.
“Oh, right. Sophia was forced to marry a relative’s 〝Ojii-san.〟 But even after getting married, Sophia still calls her husband 〝Ojii-sama〟 just like before. It looks strange from an outsider’s perspective.”
“Hmph. ‘Ojii-sama’ is ‘Ojii-sama.’ It’s strange to change the way I address him now.”
“It’s even stranger to call your husband ‘Ojii-sama’!”
As they laughed, Diana gently embraced Sophia’s shoulder.
“If Klaus-sama is fine with it, then it’s fine, isn’t it?”
Sophia looked at Diana with a troubled expression.
“Now, let’s start embroidering. Sew with your favorite thread and take it as a souvenir.”
The noble children were delighted.
“Is it okay?!”
“It’s a service for our valued customer.”
Sofia redirected her gaze to the handkerchief as if regaining her composure.
“Sofia’s s…”
Sofia found her own initial from the sampler.
“First, stitch the letters following the lines, and then add outline stitches to wrap around them.”
As instructed by Diana, Sofia inserted the wooden frame into the linen handkerchief and carefully sewed the thread, as if casting a spell, one stitch at a time. As she herself said, her concentration might indeed be that of a skilled artisan.
Leon, being considerate, brought rose syrup diluted with well water.
The transparent red color on the wooden table cast light and shadows, and the four women quenched their thirst in between their needlework.
Meanwhile, Leon busied himself with cleaning the cowshed and going into the mountains. The noble ladies were enraptured, intoxicated by the idyllic morning.
“Ah, it’s so quiet and cool… Such a nice place.”
“Does your husband always work like that?”
Diana nodded.
“Yes. There’s always work to be done every day.”
The ladies laughed.
“My husband never leaves every day.”
“It’s true. Mine was lazy and disgraceful every day. It would be nice if he had at least a hobby, but he doesn’t even have that. He acts all high and mighty in his own territory, but here, he’s just a borrowed cat!”
Diana glanced at them.
(Here we go again…)
“And also…”
One of the noble ladies leaned forward to the center of the table and whispered, covering her mouth with her hand.
“It’s troublesome, isn’t it? The nights.”
At the direct topic, Diana blushed.
And then…
Sofia slammed the embroidery hoop onto the table with a loud noise.
Silence fell.
“Stop talking about that.”
The noble ladies exchanged half-exasperated looks. And then, they said in a sarcastic tone.
“…Yes, if Duke McGallen is your husband, he probably won’t bother you at night.”
Moreover, it sounded more envious than sarcastic.
Diana panicked. She remembered what Klaus had said the other day.
Sofia, who was retorted, gritted her teeth in frustration and picked up the embroidery hoop with trembling hands.
――He can’t love like a young man.
As those words came to mind, Diana furrowed her brows sadly but suddenly looked ahead.
“Everyone, there are still handkerchiefs left. If you don’t mind, would you all like to embroider for the Danna-samas as well?”
The noble ladies forced a strained smile and exchanged bewildered glances.
“I-I’m sure he would be happy.”
Diana almost gave up due to their lack of response.
However, Sofia reached out to the pile of handkerchiefs.
While being watched by Diana, Sofia drew the letter “k” on the handkerchief.
(It’s Klaus’s “k”.)
Ignoring everyone’s gaze, Sofia calmly ran the embroidery thread through the next handkerchief. The noble ladies stared at her handiwork in astonishment, as if they had been defeated.
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