Chapter 31

The wagon without a lid cheerfully ran along the cedar road. The boutiques on both sides of the Cedar Road were displaying new products at the peak of the social season. Anyway, all the items of the nobleman were made to order, so the boutique was actually a place for socializing.

Inside the salon-like boutiques, the ladies had social meetings and talked about dresses and accessories while looking at each other's catalogs. But our destination today was not a cedar road.

Our destination was Yerenia Park, named after the first queen and the best surname of the empire.

"It's my first picnic this year."

Elise said, her eyes twinkled. The parasol she had in her hand was pink and full of lace.

"I think it's my first picnic in my life."

At Ran's words, Elise said, "Oh my!" and opened her mouth in a circle.

"Really?"

"Yes, so I'm looking forward to it."

"It'll be fun!"

Elise said emphatically. The Marquis, sitting next to her, smiled and said.

"Lize is happy about everything."

"Oh my? what do you mean?"

Elise frowned at her husband.

"It's fun because I go out with people I like."

Ran nodded at Lizzie's words.

"Really, you're right."

No matter how much it was a picnic, if it had been with the Empress's invitation to leave with the Crown Prince, I would never have wanted to attend.

Elise spoke with a sorry face at Ran's answer.

"I've heard the rumor anyway. I mean, His Highness, the Crown Prince-- Is that right?"

"I don't know what you heard, but it must be true."

"Oh, my God. He's shameless, too."

Elise was indignant and dyed her face red. As if to appease his wife, the Marquis lightly patted her on the back of her hand.

Ran glanced at the Marquis of Cyrus. His left eye had a vertical cut, possibly with his eyes closed. I've heard the rumor, but it's true.

The Marquis' eyes met Ran. In his mid-30s, he looked like an experienced mercenary.

Ran smiled and Marquis Cyrus opened his mouth.

"It's a pleasure to have a good friend with my wife."

"Yes, I'm happy to have a good friend, too."

Ran nodded her head. Ran then tilted her white lace parasol to her side, giving it a little more shade toward Eustaf and asking.

"Are you okay with the sun?"

"It's all right. Noonim can use it."

Eustaf said, slightly pushing his hand in parasol.

Now, in May, the weather in the capital was bright and sunny.

The sun was so high that all the women who went out were using parasol. Ran said, "Then I won't refuse." and turned the umbrella back on her head. Elise smiled at the sight and said.

"You have a good relationship."

"He's the only one in the world-"

Ran blurted the ends of her words.

Well, not brother and sister, family?

While Ran was confused, Eustaf finished it instead.

"Noonim is a wonderful person, so I'm learning a lot."

"Ei, what's there to teach Eus?"

Ran said so and smiled lightly. But it feels good to say so.

The Marquis of Cyrus looked at Eustaf and said.

"Master-"

"Just call me Eustaf, Marquis."

The Marquis of Cyrus grinned at Eustaf's words.

"Then just call me Cyrus, too."

"All right."

As Eustaf nodded, the Marquis of Cyrus asked.

"You said you had completely wiped out the marquess of Cameron in battle?"

"I didn't make it annihilate. I accepted surrender."

"I understand all the knights were executed?"

Eustaf smirked.

"Let's say they were killed in the battle with honor."

"I'm curious about the details."

"I'm also curious about Cyrus's story. There was a story that you caught Geronical (a kind of Masu. The head of is a lizard. It is about two to four meters in size.) by yourself."

The Marquis of Cyrus laughed low at the remark.

"Then let's talk while opening the picnic basket."

Elise opened her eyes wide.

"Why do you come out on a picnic by the lake on such a nice day and talk about the smell of blood?"

"Hmm? I'm a little curious?"

At Ran's words, Elise raised her voice, "Ran!"

Ran smiled and nodded.

"All right, then me and Lizze will talk about pretty things separately."

"Nice."

Liz nodded her head deeply.

Yerenia Park was quite large, so it took an hour to go around the outskirts of the park with a carriage. And there was a blue-sapphire lake in the middle of the park.

I could already see people standing all over the park. However, everyone quickly knew who was in the carriage, and the party gave up a good seat.

"It's meant to be used at times like this."

Elise whispered to Ran. Ran said with a smirk.

"It would be really peaceful if they had enough power to get a job."

Of course, the baron couple, who gave up their seats, were satisfied with the deep eye-painting of the Marchioness Cyrus and the Duke of Lazia.

While the servants who followed quickly got off the wagon, set up their seats quickly and put down their picnic baskets one after another, Ran and Elise quickly settled on a soft mat.

The picnic basket was full.

Sandwich with sauce and smoked salmon, cold ham and beef tongue, light white-baked biscuits and various jams, biscis waz (cold soup made with potatoes and cream), apple pie, cream custard, and iced tea made with full ice and sugar were set.

After receiving a smooth wooden dish and napkins, that party soon began to enjoy the meal.

"Eum, salmon is really good. I'm sure you eat a lot in Lazia, right?"

Ran nodded and giggled at Elise's words.

"On the contrary, salmon is the most common thing left in the Lazia banquet hall. It's too common."

"Oh my, that's too bad."

Elise said so and rolled the last salmon into a fork and dipped it in sauce.

Ran asked as she poured the iced tea into the cup.

"Then I brought sparkling wine, too. What about the men?"

"Is it a good wine?"

At the words of Marquis Cyrus, Elise frowned and said, "Darling," but Ran smiled and nodded.

"In the name of Lazia?"

"Then make sure you have a drink."

The servant quickly brought the wine. After checking the label, Cyrus smiled, saying, "I'd have regretted it if I refuse."

The golden liquid filled the glass quickly. Eustaf and Cyrus began their conversation by lightly hitting glasses and slowly savoring wine.

It was also about hunting and fighting.

"In Lazia, hunting is usually a Masu (Beast) hunt."

"Then you'll have to invite me to hunt. The hounds are fine this year."

"I look forward to it."

Elise shrugged and said to Ran.

"Shall we talk about something different?"

"Nice. What should we talk about?"

"Ah, speaking about His Highness, the Crown Prince's earlier - you know his illegitimate children."

Elise was whispering low. Ran tilted her upper body and raised her ears.

"Yes, I heard he already have two illegitimate children."

"Yes, one's mother is Cortizan, and the other mother is Baroness Valjean's."

"The noble wife?"

"Yes, she is."

"The Baroness Valje-"

"She died last year."

"Oh, my God."

Ran opened her eyes round. Why did you have an affair with the Crown Prince when you already have a husband?

'Of course, it is the virtue of a flirt not to touch a virgin.'

It's an unbelievable story.

"Thanks to what, Baron Valjean also enjoyed the position of a close aide to the Crown Prince."

It's not even Versailles.

Ran held back her tongue from wanting to kick it. Didn't the king of France formally have a government?

"But his boy looked quite brilliant."

Ran shrugged at Elise's words.

"But that's still an illegitimate child."

"Yes, but- There's no child between the two right now. So, some people seem to be asking why it's better to enter with an adopted son."

"Oh my!?"

Ran's voice popped out unknowingly. He's officially entering an illegitimate child?

"Oh, my God, ladies are talking bloodier than we are."

The Marquis of Cyrus stepped in and said, Elise looking back at her husband as if she had lost her excitement.

"Why don't you go over there and talk to each other?"

"We're done talking between men."

When Eustaf said, Elise said with a slight blush.

"Really, the woman who will marry Master Eustaf will be lucky."

Marquis Cyrus said, with his eyebrows raised.

"Is that what you're going to tell in front of me?"

"Oh my? I'm already married to you. This is the privilege of a married women."

"If I tell you that-"

"It's the shackles of married men that don't talk about it again."

"Then I'll keep my mouth shut. I'll go home and find my dignity as husband."

The Marquis of Cyrus said so and filled the glass one more time. Ran shook her head and said.

"But the Crown Prince Mother will never allow this. And I've met the Duke of Miro.... And he's not going to stand by either."

"Of course, he is. But the two haven't had any children for three years, haven't they?"

"No matter how much they do."

Ran looked away and shook her head.

"It's not going to work."

"I think so, too. And the fact that this story goes around already hurts the pride of the Crown Prince Mother. The Duke Miro endless pride is famous, right?"

"Oh my? Is that so?"

When Ran showed curiosity, Elise said with excitement, "Don't you know?"

"Why? Do you know Burton?"

Ran was wondering what it was and realized that it was the name of the horse race, which is popular these days.

"Yes."

"That's what Count Burton and the Duke of Miro made a bet. The two of they decided to make a horse racing game, but they thought about what to do with the name, and they'll do the race and the winner's Will named it."

"Then Count Burton won."

"Yes, that was 100 years ago, and the Duke of Miro never races after that. Even though it's so popular. And Burton still grinding his teeth with the back writer."

"It's been 100 years."

"Yes."

"That's incredible."

"Right, so the Queen Mother, the Miro princess, will never forgive the story."

Elise finished by pretending to be rational, but her temperament was intense.

Ran nodded her head.

'Adopting a son?'

You've been talking about this before.

This was a story she didn't even know. I don't know much about the story before the original starts.

'And now there are so many variables.'

At least in the past, the Duke of Lazia would never have been so powerful and the Crown Prince would never have chased him around.

Now I couldn't figure out how things would work. You have no choice but to infer as much as you can from the information you know.

'By the way, Elise is a good collector of rumors.'

"No, where did you heard that?"

When Ran asked, Elise said with a giggle.

"Everyone talks comfortably in front of me."

"Ohh..."

Ran nodded her head. Elise had such a thing as to make people relax.

'And she's pretending to be tactless, but I don't think she's really tactless.'

It's also great if you think it's her own camouflage.

"Oh, and this is a different story."

Elise's words brought Ran to her ears.

"What's the story?"

"Well, Baroness Joko's parrot has eaten up all the flower decorations on her hat!"

"Oh my!"

As Ran opened her eyes round, Elise shook her head and said.

"And when the Baroness grilled it, it says, "It's so bad! That's mean! That's mean!'"

Ran burst into laughter.

When Baroness Joko fought with Baron at the boutique a while ago, she said, "How bad, so bad! It was a story that spread through the people in the boutique salon when they shouted, 'That's so mean!' In addition, her parrot was so famous that the parrot's voice seemed to automatically play in their head.

The story went light afterwards, and Ran enjoyed a long, empty-headed conversation.

After eating up to the last grain of strawberries, the group finished their picnic and returned to their respective residences.