Kays Translations

Chapter 37: A Romantic Battlefield

Additional chairs were quickly brought into the salon, but there was no practical way for everyone to sit around the same table. Rosalia, Brother Cain, and I therefore moved to a separate sofa area.

Perhaps “evacuated” was the better word. These visitors had most likely come to the Heine Margraviate because of Brother Alex, so he should take responsibility. The rest of us were innocent.

I felt sorry for Carolina, who had been caught up in the situation, but I suspected she would join us before long.

“I’m Daniela Crystal. This is my younger sister, Chloe. I hope you’ll treat us both kindly.”

“I’m Chloe. Nice to meet you!”

Chloe answered with cheerful energy. Daniela seemed gentle and refined, while Chloe struck me as mischievous and lively. I was probably not wrong.

Once everyone had exchanged greetings and the newcomers sat down, Chloe immediately noticed the stuffed animals.

“Oh! Everyone has such cute stuffed animals. Sister, I’ve never seen ones like those before.”

“You’re right. They’re exceptionally well made. Which workshop produced them?” Daniela asked.

Once again, the stuffed animals had attracted everyone’s attention. They were practically bait for girls. I would have to tell Rosalia not to carry them whenever we went out. If this generated any more work, I would have no time left to make magic potions.

“They weren’t made in a workshop,” Alex said. “My younger brother Julius made them.”

He exposed me immediately. I understood that he couldn’t lie to or mislead members of the royal family, but he could at least have tried a little harder. He might have waited until I wasn’t present, for example.

Now I would probably be making more stuffed animals.

As I broke into a cold sweat beneath their stares, Chloe hurried over to me.

“You’re amazing. Those animals are wonderful. Would you make one for me too, please?”

She leaned across the table and looked up at me as she asked. Curse it—she was adorable.

“I don’t mind. What kind would you like?”

I could hardly refuse a princess. In other words, accepting was my only real option.

“Anything? Then a cat! I want a kitty!”

“Understood. I’ll make you a stuffed cat.”

Chloe nodded in satisfaction. Behind her, Daniela was looking at me as though she wanted one too. I glanced at Alex, and he understood.

“Would you like one as well, Lady Daniela? As you can see, giving stuffed animals as gifts has become something of a family tradition.”

“Oh, has it? Then I would also like a cat…”

“Very well. Julius, I’m counting on you.”

“Yes.”

I wondered when such a custom had been established, but Alex wasn’t entirely wrong. Every girl I had become acquainted with had somehow received a stuffed animal from me.

When had that happened?

Chloe then sat on the sofa at our table, perhaps having sensed the atmosphere around Alex.

Carolina was now in danger of being left alone at the other table, so I invited her to join us. She must have been waiting for an opportunity, because she came over immediately with visible relief.

“Brother Cain, will the people at that table be all right?” I asked.

“They don’t look all right, but I think it would be safer not to interfere.”

“I agree.”

“I’ve never seen my sister smile like that before,” Chloe whispered, trembling slightly.

What kind of smile had she witnessed? I was afraid to ask.

Carolina’s face stiffened as well. Had she seen Hilda’s expression? Daniela and Hilda clearly regarded one another as rivals.

Otherwise, Daniela wouldn’t have chosen to visit precisely while Hilda was here. The timing was too perfect to be accidental. Even when members of the royal family travelled incognito, their hosts normally received some advance notice.

“Lady Chloe, had your visit to House Heine been planned for some time?” I asked.

“No. It was decided suddenly this morning. My sister said we should greet our friends, and the servants at the villa went into a panic. Lord Julius, you may call me Chloe.”

“Then you may call me Julius as well.”

“I will. Julius.”

What was this strange feeling? Had sending Chloe to charm me been part of Daniela’s strategy? And why had she granted me that privilege but said nothing to Cain? Cain had every right to cry.

Instead, Cain looked relieved. Perhaps he believed he had escaped being drawn in. He was probably correct. I, on the other hand, had been caught completely.

“Lord Julius…” Carolina said.

“What is it, Lady Carolina?”

I already had a bad feeling. Rosalia, sitting beside me, locked both hands around my left arm. Please stop. I had only one body.

“Could you call me Caro? Carolina is rather long and difficult to say.”

“All right. Caro… Lady Caro? You may call me Julius too.”

“You don’t need to add ‘Lady.’ Julius…?”

What was this feeling? It was oddly embarrassing, and Rosalia’s grip on my arm was tightening by the second.

I had expected Alex’s table to become a romantic battlefield. Somehow, ours had turned into one as well.

I didn’t fully understand what was happening, but I felt I had learned something frightening about girls.

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