Free Web NovelChapter 271: Conversations With The Baron
Chapter 270: Conversations With The Baron
Lyria’s POV
Baron Redwick remained still for a moment after my words, as though he were weighing them carefully before deciding how to respond. The air between us was not uncomfortable, but it was delicate in a way I could not quite describe.
I drew a breath and continued speaking, the words coming more easily now that I had begun.
"You were n-not," I said, "and are s-still not, the reason I c-cannot read fluently. There were s-situations that occurred—circumstances that m-made it impossible for me to learn."
My voice went lower.
"A-and circumstances s-surrounding that d-day itself. And r-rather than being mad at you d-directly, I was m-mad at myself."
I paused, my fingers twisting together in my lap.
"For being so i-incompetent. For failing to h-hide something that I always t-thought was a weakness I should n-never show. For not l-looking like the p-princess I was s-supposed to be and l-letting the m-mask fall. I-I wondered j-just h-how many others w-would know too if you a-also did."
I looked down at my hands.
"I was n-not really mad at you," I said, repeating my words. "I was m-mad at the circumstances and m-myself, so there is n-nothing t..."
I paused again. Thinking back to that day, I made a face.
"O-okay," I admitted, "m-maybe I was m-mad at you a l-little. You c-could have b-brought up the c-conversation differently."
Baron Redwick’s lips tilted upward in a small smile.
"That is fair," he said. "I have a hard time interacting with people. Even in my territory, most people respect me because of what I have done, not because they know me. I have very few friends. Actually, I have only one friend—my second-in-command, who is currently running the territory while I participate in this competition."
I tilted my head slightly.
"That is... r-reassuring," I said.
He paused, adjusting his spectacles, then released a sound of amusement.
"I would not call it that," he said. "It is only after coming here that I have tried to make... acquaintances. Though ’tried’ is not quite the right word."
I frowned slightly, but he continued before I could speak.
"Well, it is more accurate to say I was dragged into it."
I blinked at that.
"D-dragged?" I repeated.
"Yes," he said simply. "They are quite relentless."
A small laugh escaped me before I could stop it.
I lifted my hand slightly, half covering my mouth, but the sound had already slipped through.
Baron Redwick did not say anything if he noticed. He only smiled. I gestured to the bench opposite me.
"Do s-sit, my lord," I said. "It must b-be quite tiring to k-keep on standing after all."
He smiled and took a seat.
"Thank you, Your Highness," he said.
I nodded.
Then he placed the book he had been holding upon the small table between us.
Curiosity overcame me.
"D-does this group of a-acquaintances refer to D-duke Aurelgrave and t-the others?" I asked him.
Baron Redwick nodded.
"It does."
I smiled.
"Duke Aurelgrave d-does not strike me as r-relentless."
Except I had read him rightly. Lucian struck me as someone rather similar to Baron Redwick.
Baron Redwick sighed.
"Duke Aurelgrave is much like me in some aspects," he said.
I had been right then.
"The relentless ones," he continued, "are the others. They are quite the nuisance too. Duke Thorncrest, Duke Valenridge, and Earl Hawthorne."
I tilted my head.
"E-earl Hawthorne d-does not strike m-me as such though."
Baron Redwick shook his head.
"He would not. He does not even know he is. The Earl is as insufferable as the other two."
He paused.
"Did you not witness the competition last night?"
I laughed as the memory surfaced.
"It was a d-disaster," I said, remembering Earl Hawthorne turning his instrument into a percussion instrument. "A complete d-disaster."
Baron Redwick smiled.
"It was. And it should be of note that when Lucian..."
He paused.
"My apologies, Your Highness. It is becoming a habit to refer to them by their given names."
I raised my brows, intrigued.
"You a-all refer to each o-other by your g-given names?" I asked.
"When we are together, yes. Duke Valenridge insisted upon it. The man has little regard for propriety," Baron Redwick said with a shake of his head.
I did not doubt that even a little bit.
"T-then, if it will b-be more comfortable f-for you, r-refer to them by t-their given names," I told him.
"Really?" he asked, adjusting his spectacles.
"I-it would make for e-easier conversation w-without stumbling," I told him.
The Baron was quiet for a moment, then he nodded.
"Lucian and I asked the other three before the competition started whether perhaps they had prepared what to play. I was honest that I could not compose a musical piece, but Alistair was insistent that he could do something that would send a shock through everyone present."
I chuckled.
"He r-really did."
"Yes, but that was not what Lucian and I expected. We thought he genuinely had something better prepared. And Benedict assured us he had a piece too, and that he had been practising for quite some time, but his was shocking as well. Evander, on the other hand, told Lucian and me not to worry. The honest truth, Your Highness, is that we should have, because they had all lied."
I laughed again.
"Benedict argued that he had composed something marvellous and that he even came out in third place."
Oh, Goddess!
This was hilarious.
"And Alistair assured Lucian and me that he and Evander were going to stay longer because he knew there was going to be someone worse than them. And truly there was."
He sighed.
"I have a headache dealing with those men, and to think their territories flourish despite how they behave."
I laughed again as I shook my head. The only reason Earl Hawthorne was even in third place was because Jacinta, for some reason, wanted him there. I was of the opinion that she was greedy to spend time with him and so she placed him there.
"I-it almost sounds l-like you and D-duke Aurelgrave a-are nannies of s-sorts to the other three," I told him.
"Your Highness, I would take a nanny position over being with those three."
"But t-then," I asked him with a smile, "it w-would not be as interesting, w-would it?"
He paused at that.
