Chapter 63: Awkward incident
After Angela and Lionel introduced themselves to each other, there was a moment of silence.
The main character and one of her love interests exchanged awkward glances. In any case, Angela definitely felt awkward: her cheeks flushed slightly, and her fingers nervously fiddled with the hem of her dress.
She looked at the boy with curiosity mixed with timidity. Lionel, on the other hand, seemed completely unperturbed — he looked at the girl in front of him with his usual emotionless gaze.
Well, I could understand why the atmosphere was like that right now. Of course, it’s always awkward to meet a new person you don’t know. Especially when it comes to children: for them, such moments could be even more embarrassing.
I thought that being under the scrutiny of adults — me and Enoch — would make it even more difficult for them to establish contact with each other. So I immediately came up with a way out of this situation to defuse the tension and give them a chance to get to know each other more naturally.
"Angela, Lionel, how about playing together?" I asked with a smile, trying to sound as friendly and relaxed as possible.
"Hm?" The heroine turned her attention to me and looked a little puzzled.
Her large eyes widened and her lips parted slightly, as if she hadn’t expected such a suggestion. Angela glanced quickly at her father, and he nodded to her.
"Exactly, the weather is nice today," Enoch added, fortunately supporting my initiative. "Why don’t you spend some time together in the garden? There’s plenty of room to play, and the sun is shining so brightly that you can run around or just sit on the grass. It’ll be fun!"
"Um... okay."
Angela looked at Lionel again, and this time there was a spark of curiosity in her eyes.
"Yes, you two play together for now."
Just as Lionel and Angela were about to go out to the garden, I looked over at Serpens, and he replied briefly:
"I’ll keep an eye on them for now."
"Yes, okay."
In fact, since arriving here, Serpens had not looked very enthusiastic, especially when he saw the main character. I could practically see how concentrated his disapproval of her was in his gaze.
His eyebrows were slightly furrowed, and his lips were pressed into a thin line, as if he were remembering something unpleasant. Well, I could understand why Serpens didn’t like Angela very much.
After all, there had been some incidents involving her family in the past that could have left a mark on his memory. But in any case, it was good that he would be able to keep an eye on them during this time.
"Then we’ll be going, Lady Weinstein."
"Yes," I smiled, watching them go.
Angela and Lionel were already heading toward the garden, and I saw the girl glance back at her father, as if seeking support. Enoch waved to her, and she smiled back, her steps becoming more confident. Serpens followed them at a short distance.
I sighed, hoping that this meeting would go smoothly and help lay the foundation for their future relationship.
At that moment, when we were left here alone, Enoch addressed me.
"Lady Weinstein, would you like to come into the house and have a cup of tea?" the heroine’s adoptive father asked me with a smile.
"Of course, I’d love to."
After Enoch’s invitation, we went into the house, where the maids served us tea, and we made ourselves comfortable in the living room. Yes, the inside of the house looked as exquisite and cozy as the outside. I couldn’t help but look around the room while drinking my tea.
For a while, we just drank tea in silence, as Enoch was obviously a little uncomfortable bringing up a topic of conversation with me first. Then I asked him:
"How do you like your current life?"
"Oh."
The man looked a little surprised when I asked him that, but nevertheless replied:
"Oh, thank you, lady. My life now... has really changed for the better."
"So you like everything?"
"At first, I felt a little uncomfortable and awkward," he admitted honestly, "but thanks to our current situation, my daughter can now eat delicious food and sleep in a comfortable bed in her own room. So I have no regrets."
"I see." I smiled, bringing the cup to my lips. "What about your new responsibilities? Are they difficult to handle?"
"Well..." Enoch scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "To be honest, when we first arrived here, I was really confused because I didn’t know how to manage everything. Before that, I had no property except for one small house. So at first, it was really hard for me to get used to it."
"But things are better now, right?"
"Yes, much better!" he replied. "Mainly thanks to the talented assistant who joined me three years ago. He now works as a butler on our estate. He helps me a lot with managing things, and with his help, I’ve also learned the basics of financial literacy. So, thanks to finding such a talented person, everything is going quite well!"
Ahem... Speaking of this talented person, Enoch was probably referring to one of Duke Dickens’ subordinates who worked here secretly.
No, to be honest, all the servants here were actually secret subordinates of the duke. And that was reasonable.
Ultimately, it was useful not only from a security standpoint, but also because it allowed the duke to learn about the family’s needs firsthand and help them without attracting unnecessary attention.
Yes, I would have been really interested to see Enoch’s reaction if he had found out that one of the most powerful men in the empire was actually his secret patron. But, anyway, all I could do was keep quiet and take another sip of tea.
In any case, I was glad to hear that Enoch seemed to really like his current life. At least it would be good if he lived happily for these few years. After all, in five years’ time, this man was supposed to die.
I sighed deeply, thinking about how sometimes fate can be really cruel to truly good people. But there’s nothing you can do about it.
In the end, we spent another hour talking and drinking tea, during which Enoch really opened up and now communicated with me more animatedly, without excessive awkwardness. I listened with interest to his stories about their daily life with his daughter, only occasionally interjecting my own comments.
Finally, when enough time had passed, I decided it was time for us to go back. After all, if we stayed here any longer, we would end up returning too late.
Besides, if possible, I wanted to have dinner with Ruby today, so I think it’s really time for me to leave.
All this time, there was no sound coming from the garden, so I thought the two of them were really having a good time. Well, it’s time to finally check on them.
"Enoch, I think it’s time for us to leave. It’s getting quite late."
"Oh, yes, of course!" The man immediately snapped out of it, his face expressing slight surprise, as if he had forgotten the time. Enoch quickly glanced back at the garden, then nodded, adjusting the collar of his shirt.
"It really is time for you to go. I wouldn’t want you to be on the road after sunset. The roads here aren’t the safest, especially for a lady of your standing."
"Yes. Thank you for welcoming us so warmly today," I smiled.
"Don’t say that," he replied, embarrassed. "You are always a welcome guest in our home, Lady Weinstein!"
"Ha. I’m glad to hear that."
In any case, after finishing our tea, we headed to the garden to tell the children that it was time to leave.
When we arrived in the garden, I saw that Lionel and Angela had indeed been chatting quite amiably all this time, sitting at the tea table. Angela was laughing at something, and Lionel was smiling with the corners of his mouth — a rare expression of emotion for him.
Well, it seemed that everything had gone well. I breathed a sigh of relief.
Well, I think that was more than enough for a first meeting and first impression.
"Lionel," I called him softly, "it’s time for us to go."
After my words, the boy immediately nodded seriously and stood up.
"Don’t worry. You’ll be able to meet again soon. But for now, it’s time for us to go," I smiled.
"Yes... it was very nice to meet Sir Lionel," Angela smiled.
"Me too."
"Hmm?"
At that moment, unexpectedly for all of us, Lionel put one hand behind his back and took Angela’s hand with the other and lightly touched it with his lips.
This gesture was so gallant and unexpected that I could barely contain my surprised gasp.
The main character looked very embarrassed by this gesture: her cheeks flushed bright red, she lowered her gaze, and bit her lip slightly, not knowing how to react.
Meanwhile, Enoch blushed no less than she did — his face turned crimson, and he coughed, trying to hide his embarrassment.
He was standing next to me, and I could see his shoulders tense up, as if he hadn’t expected such a display of politeness from a boy.
Yeah, right. To be honest, at that moment, I also found it difficult to maintain my composure. I even cleared my throat to hide my embarrassment.
Lionel Ferder... that little rascal! Who would have thought that at such a young age he would already be practicing his seduction skills?
"I look forward to our next meeting, lady," Lionel whispered in a mysterious, languid voice, his eyes glinting slightly as he released Angela’s hand.