novelCan I come to Debita Street? (4)
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Chapter 23: Chapter 23 Can I come to Debita Street? (4)
"Captain! Wow, you must be the captain of the Imperial Knights, right?"
When only two pieces of steak remained on her plate, she heard a strangely familiar voice nearby. It was a bit excited and grumbling tone.
"Jean Jacques Simuan. What business have you brought here?"
Jean Jacques was the deputy captain of the First Imperial Knights. He was a man who had a big mouth like his frivolous blond hair!
'Jean Jacques Simuan! You gave my address to everybody!'
She stared at him coldly.
Jean noticed his boss during the meal and immediately walked toward him, even holding a crumpled white napkin in hand. Looking at her face and his boss's alternately, Jean obviously came to him to talk frivolously.
"In fact, I had an alumnus meeting here today. Everybody over there was excited and curious. How come the captain is eating with a lady! I'm not seeing things, right?"
"Sir Simuan, you need to be more cautious in your words and deeds. I don't think I can correct your frivolous actions with just the morning training these days."
Lard warned him, quietly slicing the steak without looking at him at all.
"Oh, boss, why are you so mean to me? I just came here because I was so glad to see you here. By the way, this lady is...You must be Miss Wendy I saw at the museum, right? Hello, Wendy, my name is Jean Jacques Simuan."
He greeted Wendy gently. Although he grinned at her cheerfully, his grinning only stirred her anger. Hearing that he was with his friends of the imperial knights, she was now restless.
A series of events were happening in a row that could make her efforts to hide herself as much as possible for the past two years useless.
'Why did I bump into him here?'
"Hi, Sir Simuan. I am keeping very well as you have promoted the address of my flower shop here and there. I wanted to express thanks to you by all means, and I'm glad I met you here by chance, " she responded coldly.
It looked like he was at a loss about how to respond to her icy remarks.
Although she wore a gentle smile, he could feel hostility in it.
"Oh, Wendy. Haha! Did Melissa, the marquis's daughter, find your shop? As she earnestly came and asked me to give her your address, I was compelled to give it to her...Did you feel uncomfortable about it?"
"Oh, no, not at all. How can I feel uncomfortable just because my daily routine was bothered a bit?" she said, staring at Lard this time.
As she reacted so icily, Jean was so embarrassed that he didn't know how to behave.
The atmosphere quickly turned cold. He quickly glanced at his boss, sweating because his sudden appearance caused such an uncomfortable situation.
However, Lard, notorious for his expressionless face, silently brought the glass to his mouth without showing any reaction.
"Anyway, it was nice to meet you here. Let me leave as my friends are waiting for me over there. Miss Wendy, enjoy your meal. Captain, see you tomorrow!"
Saying goodbye to them quickly, Jean left the place immediately. The white napkin in his hand fluttered as he moved.
"Don't be too upset. He didn't do it with bad intention. You express your feelings so easily, which isn't yourself at all."
"Well, you're talking as if you knew me well. You've only seen me a few times. I have always been in touch with my feelings, "
She then crammed the remaining two pieces of steak into her mouth at once. Her munching away on them seemed to reveal her feelings faithfully.
"You are right. I don't know much about you yet. That's why I was very curious about what kind of person you were. For example, when you frown like now, I'm curious whether you are expressing disgust or you are in a rage, or you are doing it purely to hide your embarrassment."
"What a bad taste you have!"
After sipping a glass of water, she frowned deeper.
"Are you curious about my look now? Very simple. Half of it reflects my annoyance at the toughness of the steak here, and the other half shows my displeasure at your weird story."
Lard looked at her empty plate. Despite her grumbling about the tough steak, she cleaned her plate. Seeing her put down the fork on the table with a thump, he continued calmly, "You look like a flower without color. A flower whose color changes according to the ambient light, but the flower doesn't know its true color."
He then picked up a white rose in the vase on the table.
"A foolish man who sees a flower under a sunset sky thinks its color is orange, but the flower doesn't change its original color, of course."
"You are citing a strange analogy. Don't try to judge me with your shallow thoughts."
At her quasi-warning, he let out a faint sigh, putting the flower back into the vase.
He saw her trembling grass-green eyes and was reminded of a magician's performance as a child. A magic box left alone on the stage after the show. The magic box from which the veil was lifted was vivid in her eyes.
"Do you think I said that frivolously? In fact, I was pretty serious."
"... Well, let me make an analogy, too. You're like a Tustree growing in a swamp. It's a plant I nicknamed the Poison Teeth. It's usually quiet, but when there's some movement around, it pulls its teeth bitterly like the words you are throwing at me now."
"Tustree...I don't think it's a pleasant plant...As you say you have given it a nickname, let me give it a pass. I like it somehow."
A gentle smile was on his mouth. Even a small smile of a man like him seemed to have a big impact. She lifted her eyes at the change in his expression. Nevertheless, he had no intention of removing the smile from his face. This time he was more satisfied because he did not have to recite the Imperial Knights' code.
"I would like you to refrain from smiling a bit. As you smile like that, how aren't young ladies captivated? Please refrain from smiling in front of me. You said smiling was not the virtue of the imperial knight, right?"
She stopped being upset and advised him in a gentle tone. In any case, giving him a compliment was as shameful as clearing a messy drain hole, but she couldn't stand it without giving him a piece of her mind.
She thought that his laughter was like a ripple in the lake. When seeing sudden ripples on the surface of the water, the person standing blankly dipped his or her feet there. The laugh of the imperial knight had such a sudden impact. Accordingly his smile was an unexpected insult to her.
"In fact, I was rebuking myself as I happened to smile often these days. Let me keep your advice in mind."
He took her biting advice seriously. At least he seemed so on the surface. He thought briefly how many more codes of the Imperial Knights he had to recite in order not to fan Wendy Waltz's anger.
"Shall we go back to the shop?"
"Sure."
After the meal, the two stood up before dessert was served. They saw an orange souffle, apparently for them, on the waiter's tray, but neither gave it any further attention.
Before they mounted the horse, she looked at his beloved horse anew. Its good looking muscles were several times bigger and stronger than the horses that had been sold at a high price at the Horseville Horse Market. As the captain of the Imperial Knights's horse, it was perfect, but she thought this brown horse in front of her was worth even the emperor's ride.
She lamented that she didn't know the true value of Lard's horse. Gazing at its big black eyes, she stroked its nape with a gentle touch. When it tried to meet her eyes, blinking its gentle eyes, she was captivated by its pure and innocent eyes.
"Sir Schroder, I've got to ask you a favor."
"Tell me."
"Please allow me drive the horse this time."
"...... Have you learned horse-riding skills?"
"Of course. I don't know much else, but I'll be as good as you, imperial knights, as far as horse riding is concerned."
As if she already decided, she reached out to him. She didn't pretend not to be excited, but she was already. Her eyes were burning with desire to ride. Looking at her glowing eyes, he gave up dissuading her and eventually had to hold her hand.
"You have to be careful. Balos is very ferocious. I've had a hard time taming this guy. Let me hold the reins with you first."
"Is this guy's name Balos? What a nice name! By the way...can you hold the reins together with me? Oh, you don't have to. If you're really concerned about me, it's your call."
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