Chapter 45: Grace’s birthday (3)
On the way to the Dickens estate, I couldn’t stop thinking about what exactly the duke wanted to discuss with me.
Considering that our joint ventures had been going very well lately, I couldn’t even imagine a possible reason. Had something really happened?
I frowned as I mulled it over in my mind, but in any case, I decided not to jump to conclusions until I spoke with the duke himself.
When we finally arrived at the estate and soon entered the house, we were greeted by the Dickens family butler.
"Mr. Riley, is Father in his study?" Roger asked him.
Hearing the young master’s question, the servant looked puzzled.
"Oh, no. The master left just twenty minutes ago on some important business."
"What?"
Both the young man and I were equally stunned by this news.
"But how is that possible?" Roger asked in confusion. "Father himself told me that he urgently needed to speak with Lady Weinstein, which is why I brought her here."
"My lord, unfortunately, I am not privy to my master’s affairs... He did not inform me of anything. I apologize for this turn of events."
Roger sighed heavily.
"Don’t apologize. It’s not your fault. Thank you for letting us know."
The butler bowed low.
"Perhaps I can offer my guests a cup of tea?"
At these words, Roger looked at me, but I just shook my head, intending to refuse.
"No, thank you. If His Lordship is not at home, then I will not stay either."
"I understand," Roger nodded. "Lady Weinstein, I apologize for disturbing you. I never imagined that my father would leave so suddenly..."
Yes, it was unpleasant indeed. It turned out that I had come all this way for nothing.
In the end, all I could do was sigh heavily.
On any other day, I might have simply waited for the duke to return if the matter had been truly urgent, but today I couldn’t afford to do that.
After all, all my thoughts kept returning to Ruby, who by now must have woken up and was wondering where I was.
In fact, even though today was my birthday, it seemed that Ruby was looking forward to it much more than I was. And, of course, I didn’t want to keep her waiting.
"If it’s really important, I’ll visit His Excellency another day. But now I have to go."
"Yes, of course, I wouldn’t dare keep you," he said quickly. "But perhaps you’ll allow me to accompany you?"
Huh?
I looked at him in surprise.
"Lady Weinstein, there is actually something I wanted to tell you too... And I thought I could do it on the way back."
I hesitated involuntarily.
Well, I didn’t expect so many people to want to say something to me today.
But even if that’s the case, couldn’t he have said it right here? Why waste so much time on another long trip back to my house, which was not that close?
Did Roger suddenly have so much free time after returning from his training?
"Sir Roger, why waste so much time on this? You could just tell me here."
"Yes, but this conversation will be quite long, and besides, I would prefer to discuss it with you without unnecessary witnesses..."
Saying this quietly, Roger glanced almost imperceptibly at the servants and maids who were bustling back and forth.
"But, ahem, even so..."
"Ah, besides, as you yourself said, the road back will be quite long. We’ll have plenty of time to talk."
I sighed heavily again. Well, if this man really had that much free time, what could I do about it?
"All right... As you wish."
In the end, after I agreed, we decided to make the return trip together.
When we settled into the carriage, several minutes passed, but the young man still couldn’t bring himself to start a conversation.
Finally, when I couldn’t take it anymore and was about to ask him myself, Roger suddenly spoke up:
"Lady Weinstein, thank you for supporting me back then."
Huh? At first, I didn’t quite understand what he was talking about, but then it dawned on me.
"I mean my dream... You were the first person to support me on this path."
I was involuntarily embarrassed.
I didn’t understand why he brought this up right now. Besides, hadn’t he thanked me for that before?
And yet... before I could open my mouth, Roger spoke first again:
"When you said I should follow my heart, I did. And now I finally have a chance to make my father believe in me."
"Hmm? What do you mean?"
"You know that our empire has been in conflict with the neighboring empire of Hyperion for several months, right?"
Although such a sudden mention of this was quite unexpected, I couldn’t deny that I had indeed heard the news.
After all, living in this world, I was inevitably forced to learn something about the internal and external situation of this country.
Moreover, the military conflict with Hyperion had been regularly appearing on the front pages of all the newspapers I read for some time.
So yes, I had heard about it. But why mention it now?
Nevertheless, Roger explained almost immediately:
"The emperor is now gathering an army to send to the border and resolve this conflict. And I intend to volunteer to join it."
Oh... Well, I could congratulate him on that.
"Um, congratulations. That’s what you’ve always wanted, isn’t it?" I asked casually.
Roger Dickens was, without a doubt, a true patriot of his country, ready to prove his loyalty not only in words but also in deeds.
In fact, there weren’t many people like that — especially among the upper aristocracy.
And that’s why, of course, I admired this quality in him.
"Yes... Hmm. I hope that thanks to this, I will be able to achieve more significant results and prove myself. Maybe then my father will finally change his mind and accept my decision."
Yes, winning the war and becoming a hero of the empire was certainly not a bad plan to influence the decision of a man like William Dickens. Roger had definitely thought it through when he came up with this idea.
Well... since wishing him luck was the only thing I could do in this situation, that’s what I ended up doing.
Roger responded to my words with a barely noticeable smile. Yes, it was truly amazing to see a smile on the face of such a cold person.
"Thank you, Lady Weinstein. But I don’t know how long this war will last — it may take several months before I can return, or maybe even a whole year."
Well, wars have always been a long business, so that was not surprising.
But I was sure that a man like Roger, despite his young age, would undoubtedly endure it all.
Besides, I had no reason to worry about his safety or doubt that everything would end well in the end.
After all, as one of the main love interests, this young man was destined to live to see the heroine’s arrival — safe and sound.
"Yes, take care of yourself in the war."
"Thank you..." The moment Roger said that, I thought his ears turned slightly red.
"But that’s not the only thing I wanted to tell you."
"Hmm? Is there something else?"
"Yes... It’s about our lessons." Roger cleared his throat. "Although I’m going to war for a long time, when I return, I hope we can resume our lessons as before."
To be honest, I was a little surprised to hear such a request from Roger. I didn’t quite understand why someone like him would still need these lessons.
Hadn’t Roger already decided to devote his life to war, where there would clearly be little room for such pursuits?
"Will you even have time for such things? Besides, I thought you were very busy with your service now..."
"It’s true, I have less free time now than I used to. And yet... I would like to continue these lessons. At least when the opportunity arises."
"But why?" I asked sincerely, confused.
Roger smiled quietly.
"Just because I’ve decided to devote my life to serving in the Imperial Army doesn’t mean I intend to renounce everything else. Besides, even as a knight, shouldn’t I remain an educated and enlightened person?"
Roger’s statement took me somewhat by surprise, so I didn’t even know how to respond.
To tell the truth, I had no intention of continuing to teach him art even after he joined the army.
Now that our collaboration with Duke Dickens was firmly established, I saw no further need to use Roger as an excuse to visit their mansion.
In other words, I really saw no reason to continue interfering in his life.
If this young man wanted to study art so badly, he could simply hire another teacher, couldn’t he? Besides, I was quite sure that there was no shortage of talented people at the imperial court.
In short, since I had no desire to continue wasting my already limited time on this, I was ready to refuse him.
"Lady Weinstein, what do you say to my offer?"
"I..."
And yet, just as I was about to answer him, that damn system window appeared in front of me again.
(Yes, with pleasure.)
(I’m sorry, Sir Roger, but I have to decline.)
No, seriously, I’m not even the main character.
So why did this ridiculous choice window keep appearing in front of me, even three years later?!