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Edgar couldn't help but laugh hollowly. He couldn't let Rubica's reputation be thrown to the ground just because of ten thousand Gold. And, he felt irritated. He had made her worry so much and make her decide on giving up mana quartz in the end just because of ten thousand Gold. Was he a man who was worth only that much?
'I should have cared more. '
He had thought she would do well as she was good at keeping the books and accounting, so he did not care much about it. That was the problem. She was new to Claymore. Managing a dukedom couldn't be easy. Even he had found it too much when he first handled it. She had just become the duchess and had a lot to buy. He should have assigned her enough money in the first place.
'... you could have talked to me if you needed help. '
Then Edgar would have gladly helped her. He had given her a nice solution to Ms. Solana's matter, and Rubica had been delighted to hear that. Although he wanted to scold her and say he couldn't understand why she liked such an ordinary girl, he also felt happy at the same time. He had wanted her to ask for his advice again, but she didn't.
Edgar had been silently disappointed because of that. However, even he had to admit what he had said till now was...
Harsh.
He sometimes opened the empty jewelry box and stared at where the blue ring had been. If the ring had stayed there, he might have used it as soon as he met her just to be nice to her.
"Carl, prepare to withdraw money from my account."
Carl blinked, but soon he understood what Edgar was saying.
"I never thought of that solution, Your Grace."
Edgar reclined on his chair and tapped on the table's end. He had been angry at first, but maybe this could be an opportunity. He had been wondering if it would be better to give money to Rubica and tell her to buy new pretty dresses with it or to summon that designer Khanna and order the dresses himself. There couldn't be a better excuse. He wished he could just give her his bank account and say she could spend as much she wanted. However, judging from her personality, it was only going to backfire on him.
'Carl said she needed ten thousand Gold. So will thirty thousand Gold be enough?'
Although the dresses Rubica had worn now were made of expensive fabrics and had the family's history, they were old. That was a fact. The dress she was wearing today was different. The embroidered flowers fluttered in the wind with each of her step and made Edgar forget every worry. He wished he could go down to the garden now and see her. And...
'And what?'
And what did he want to do after that? He didn't know. He just wanted to see Rubica right in front of him, not from far away. Although mana stone lamps lighted the room as if it were still daytime, it didn't have the sunlight's warmth. He wanted to see her shine under the clear sky.
'... what is wrong with me?'
He had never had such a strong impulse and didn't know what to do with that strange feeling.
Carl was surprised to see him tap on the table's end. His face was changing color from red to blue to white. Carl carefully called him, "Your Grace?"
"Oh."
Edgar realized Carl was in front of him only then. He always finished what he was doing quickly and had a good concentration, but he had been slipping away while thinking these days. Moreover, those other thoughts were all about Rubica.
"What were we talking about?"
"We were talking about withdrawing money from your private account."
Carl answered in surprise. He had barely seen Edgar make such a trivial mistake. Edgar tutted and decided on the amount of money.
"Thirty thousand Gold. It should be appropriate, right?"
"But we only lack about ten thousand Gold. In my opinion, that is too much."
"It would be better to have enough budget. She should buy jewels and shoes sometimes. I don't want to see her give up when she suddenly wants to buy something expensive because there isn't enough money."
"Then I will tell so to Ann."
Carl bowed and was about to leave. Edgar then tried to imagine Rubica hearing the news from Ann. She would surely be delighted. Maybe she would have someone deliver a thank you to him.
'Wait. '
If I deliver the news myself, I can see her being delighted with my own eyes and hear her sincere thank you? He quickly stopped Carl.
"Wait."
"Yes, Your Grace."
"Do not tell Ann. I'll tell Rubica myself."
There was a slightly ominous smile on his lips. Carl soon noticed what he was planning to do. It seemed like his master really liked his wife.
'So soon?'
Carl tried to recall when Edgar started to like Rubica. He couldn't even guess. Edgar had found her to break his curse at first. He had no feeling toward her. To those who didn't know the real story of the two, they appeared to be madly in love, but the truth was different. It had been a marriage made by mistake. Edgar had barely, truly barely managed to stop her from running away.
Moreover, Rubica hadn't been trying to play the push and pull game. She really hadn't been interested in him. At first, Edgar had been no different. He had proposed to her only to find a lead to break the curse, that was all.
But at some point, his eyes were following Rubica. He was keenly reacting to her every action, although he would pretend he wasn't.
'This can't be good. '
Unlike him, Rubica didn't love him. She really didn't care about him. Carl's heart ached to think about how offended his master was about to be in the close future. Carl wished for his happiness. He would do anything for that as he had sinned against Edgar and his mother. He couldn't pay for it even with his life.
'She said four years. '
Carl and the emperor were the only people Edgar could talk to about his curse and discuss the matter with. Because of that, Carl knew everything about his and Rubica's marriage, like how it had happened and what kind of terms it had.
'What will happen to him if she leaves after four years?'
Edgar couldn't see it yet, but he was falling for her more and more every second. He had not trusted anyone and had turned cynical about love. But now, he had opened his heart to Rubica and was following her. The heart was an unpredictable thing. No one could know how it would change. That was a truth that never changed.
Carl felt sorry for his master to think what he would become after Rubica's departure. He would probably go through great pain and either get even colder than before or work till he collapsed.
'I must stop it. '
Rubica was the woman his master had managed to love. Carl had to stop her from leaving Edgar no matter what. Living for Edgar, that was the only way he could atone to him.
Carl genuinely believed so.
***
The seamstresses' place was decorated with elegant mint-colored panels. There was a fireplace that pleasantly warmed the room and Rubica was sitting in an armchair right next to it.
Close to her feet were about four, five dogs living at the mansion lying close to one another, trying to keep the warmth of their feet.
Rubica stroked the head of the biggest dog, Latte, and happily watched Ann and Elise talking to each other.
"You can read a little of Sharman language?"
"Yes."
"Then you can help me with the purchase of glassware and porcelains?"
Elise quietly nodded to that. She seemed confident. It looked like being complimented by her friends from the annex had done her good. Acknowledgment from your peers was always better than the compliments from the adults to regain confidence.
"Do you also know any other language?"
"I'm not fluent in any of them, but I know simple words and numbers."
"Well, it would be enough for keeping books and dealing with merchants."
Ann smiled proudly. Elise was diligent and liked learning. She absorbed everything she learned so it was quite fun to teach her, and she was kind-hearted. Ann was silently impressed with Rubica's eye of seeing people.
"Did you learn languages here?"
"Yes, I could learn many things thanks to His and Her Graces' generosity."
It was better to become a ward of Claymore than to grow up in an ordinary noble family for education. There were many scholars living in the mansion. For instance, Lord Sesar the botanist was unique. He knew which plants were poisonous and which plants could be used as medicine. Thanks to him, Rubica could add a few more facts to what she had learned about plants at the abbey. If it had been an ordinary noble family, it wouldn't have been possible.
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