Thank You For The Confinement, Grand Duke! - Chapter 23
Translator and Editor: Effe and Nabi
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Chapter 23
“I think this suits you well, Miss.”
Sparkling golden earrings. The loops on the ears were adorned with pink jewels, making them resemble spring flowers. The earrings felt a bit unfamiliar since it was the first time I wore earrings. Fortunately, Chaperil’s ears were already pierced, so it was easy to put them on. But what should I say?
It felt a bit uneasy as if the earlobes might tear…
“Shall we take a look in the mirror?”
Tambor brought a full-length mirror in front of me. Thanks to that, I could see myself sitting quietly with the accessories on.
“Wow…”
The golden color shining through the white hair and the twinkling of the pink jewels reflecting the sunlight was dazzling. It was blinding.
Of course, the most radiant thing was Chaperil’s beauty.
Even with a rag on, she would undoubtedly look pretty. If she was decorated with sparkles, she would undoubtedly be even more beautiful. This was probably when they used the term ‘eye purification’.
Whoo.
“It suits you well.”
‘…Does it? It looks a bit weird to me.’
No matter what she wore, she would look pretty! However, at this point, it was safe to say that the jewelry complemented Chaperil’s beauty.
“Shall we go with this, then?”
“Sure. This seems suitable for a light occasion. Do you want to choose something more glamorous that would go well with a more extravagant dress?”
A more extravagant dress. What I wore…yesterday…
…Yesterday—
“Miss, are you feeling hot? Your face…”
I could feel it, too. My face was heating up, and I raised my head, gripping my cheeks.
“It’s nothing.”
Just another memory from yesterday resurfacing. I remembered kicking the blanket all night yesterday.
…Huhu.
According to Enfrise, who couldn’t hide his blushing face and bowed deeply to apologize, it seemed like the situation was my fault.
It turned out that the hard sensation I felt in my hand when I grabbed Frii, who was scampering on the blanket, was the notification jewel. It seemed I accidentally pressed the jewel while I was with Tambor, and that was what triggered Enfrise’s sudden appearance.
Enfrise spoke with a voice resembling the dying embers of a bonfire. And I, with a voice resembling the flames barely alive in a fireplace, assured him that everything was okay.
…Ugh.
“This is also pretty.”
Was it silver?
I lifted the sparkling earring to take a closer look. The metal extending between the dazzling jewels had a clean silver color. Furthermore, red gems were interspersed among the white gems, creating a pattern resembling wisteria flowers. It even somewhat resembled Chaperil’s image.
“That was chosen by His Grace as soon as he read the description of the product.”
“Is that so?”
It seems that Enfrise had the same thought.
Elegant and clean image. Yet, there was a subtly distinctive feel to it. Moreover, there was a large red gem in the center of the necklace, adorned with numerous gems, creating a mesh-like design that caught my eye.
“Would it suit the dress I wore yesterday?”
“Well… I think it will definitely suit the Miss.”
Should I get this, too, then? And what caught my eye again was…
“Should you just buy them all since having more is better?”
“Yes?”
… At a glance, it looked like there were about twenty jewelry boxes piled up? Buying all of these? Even though it was not my money, wasn’t that a bit…
“It seems like everything would suit the Miss.”
Ah, I had to agree.
If Chaperil was wearing them, even cheap accessories from a stationery store would look like luxury items. Still, I have no hobby of laying out items that wouldn’t all be used. It seemed more stressful to me. What if those things get spoiled?! I have to wear it at least once…!
While thinking that…
“You don’t need to buy something that doesn’t suit your taste. How about these two… and one of this…”
Since I bought only red-colored gems, it would be good to have some in the blue range. Oh, was that an emerald? The color was incredibly clean.
The slightly clear turquoise color, laid out on the cloth to protect the gems from scratches, was also illuminated. It showed a different kind of beauty. Moreover, what could I say? While it was silver, it had an antique feel. It has a beauty that seems to have accumulated over time.
When combined with the transparency of the gems, it emitted a peculiar charm.
“Shall we go with this one?”
“As expected, Miss has a great eye.”
Tambor chuckled and then neatly organized the remaining jewelry boxes. After that, she took the box I chose.
“Please wait a moment, Miss. I’ll be back soon.”
Was she going to pay?
If so, that meant there was an outsider in this mansion right now, right? Surely, she didn’t just bring in all those jewels. Well, if this were the villain’s family, they might have done such an arrogant thing, but Enfrise doesn’t have that kind of personality.
After Tambor left with all those boxes, Frii finally came out sneakily. It seemed bothered by a strange smell, sniffing around.
“It looks like a jeweler has come, Frii.”
As I gently reached out my hand, Frii sniffed the scent of my hand and rubbed its cheek against it softly. It wasn’t because of any special event that brought us closer. Something accumulated little by little every day, narrowing our distance.
At first, Frii kept a distance, just observing and staying on guard. Gradually, it came closer to me, allowed physical contact, and now it even reciprocated in this way.
The process was truly enjoyable.
“Should I brush your fur later? Why did you go in and out from the corner again?”
I gently stroked the fur standing up on its back. However, the stiff, tangled fur didn’t settle down.
Tambor cleaned thoroughly every day, and the room was spotless, yet something seemed to be stuck somewhere. Sometimes, it disappeared, and I wondered if there was a passage somewhere in the room that it could come and go through.
“Come here, Frii.”
It didn’t resist when I gently picked it up. It didn’t stiffen, either.
I liked it, so I held it in my arms and lifted it slightly.
I heard that weasels often have a bad smell, but how did they use magic to address that? From Frii, I only smelled the warm scent of sunlight. In addition, I heard that weasel fur is famous enough to be used for high-quality brushes, and that part was still true.
It was so soft and pleasant that I closed my eyes and enjoyed it silently.
However,
“….”
Suddenly, Frii lifted its head.
“Frii?”
It started sniffing intensely, making sniffling sounds, and then its entire body’s fur began to stand up. Why was it acting like this?
“Why are you doing that?”
“….”
Without making the usual chittering sound, Frii just pricked up its ears and nose. Its black bean-like eyes were so serious that, unintentionally, I also silenced my voice.
And then, after some time passed.
At that moment, when it felt like the entire world was shrouded in silence…
“….!”
Frii curled its body, raising all its fur. Simultaneously, I heard brisk footsteps.
What was happening? Since the day Enfrise offered his somewhat apology to Fri. Frii hadn’t shown hostility, but it wasn’t particularly friendly either. However, even when Frii was hostile, it wasn’t this intense.
“…Miss Chapteril.”
A low voice. It was an unfamiliar voice.
The air chilled suddenly.
“….Frii, come here.”
I hid Frii behind me. However, instead of hiding, Frii climbed up my back, making sniffling sounds on my shoulder, making me nervous.
Was he trying to protect me?
That would mean the person outside this door was…
No, it couldn’t be. This was Enfrise’s mansion, the mansion of the Grand Duke of this country. It wasn’t possible for an intruder to enter so easily.
Nevertheless, I couldn’t answer easily.
“Miss, I’m coming in. It’s Verdi.”
I don’t know. Who was that?
Considering the difficult situation, I wondered how Chaperil could have escaped alone. Breaking free from such heavy chains and fleeing would not have been easy. However, I didn’t need to think about that.
Someone had set her free.
Someone who knew Chaperil.
“I apologize, Miss. We don’t have much time.”
What should I do? Should I run?
However, there was no place to escape.
…No, come to think of it, is there even a need to run? The reason Chaperil has been running until now is one. She wanted to leave on her own accord.
Still, I don’t want to leave. Would it be fine if I explained that well?
While I was thinking, the door quietly opened, and a solidly built middle-aged man entered.
“Miss Chaperil… How is this possible…”
“…Verdi.”
I hesitated for a moment.
Should I say that I have no memory? Or should I pretend to remember?
…And I quickly chose the latter.
It was because this man came to save Chaperil. Because of that, I thought if I said I had amnesia, he might forcefully take me away from here. It seemed better to feign remembering if I wanted to persuade him.
What was Chaperil’s way of speaking originally?
“That beast b*stard. How dare he touch our lady… I’ll release you right away.”
“Wait a moment, Verdi.”
‘…I’m in trouble.’
All I remembered was Chaperil’s sharp tone who used to criticize Enfrise and the way she begged then and cursed at Tambor, or whimpering sounds. Considering my reader experience so far… characters like Chaperil, who were loved by people and always acted perfectly, tended to be respectful even with servants!
With that thought in mind, I used respectful language as well.
“…Miss…?”
Why was that man looking at me with such a shocked face?
Wait, this was not it?
“I have no intention of running away.”
Still, it was already too late. The situation was too urgent to push back the respectful language I used once.
Verdi’s expression distorted at my firm words.
“Miss!”
“Rather, Verdi, you should run away quickly. Before others arrive.”
“…What on earth happened to you? Surely…”
The man’s expression contorted with anger. It even seemed like sparks were flying from his eyes.
Ugh. It seemed like… there was a strange misunderstanding.
—
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