In the quiet dining room, the sound of dishes and caratori scraping against each other, and the sound of the servants replacing dishes echoes rather loudly.
Randall, who continues to eat in silence, seems to be bringing food to his mouth for the sole purpose of sustaining his vital activities, and this makes one wonder if he has no concept of “enjoying” a meal.
‘Ugh……,so uncomfortable…’
Nobles do not eat together with their servants. Inevitably, Randall and Sophia are alone in the dining room. Of course, there is a serving staff, but they do not speak to their masters during meals.
Sophia looked at Johannes, the butler, who was standing with a decanter of red wine, as if asking for help. When their eyes met, Johannes smiled wryly, but seemed unwilling to do anything about the uncomfortable silence.
Sophia sighed secretly and cut the white fish with herbs into bite-sized pieces and brought them to her mouth.
Randall, who had been sleeping at the castle for a long time, had, somehow, started coming back to the Duke of Voltio’s house a little over a month ago, just around the time the case of Gassour, who claimed to be Sophia’s father, had been settled.
At night, he would return in time for dinner, have breakfast, and go to the castle to serve.
Sophia, who is trying to become a “loving couple” with Randall to avoid a doomed end, was happy to see him come back to the duke’s house – but her excitement was short-lived.
Because Randall was not at all interested in conversing with Sophia. The only thing he would talk about was:
“What have you been up to today?”
‘There you go!’
Sophia wiped her mouth with her napkin and opened her mouth, thinking in her heart, “Here we go again”.
“I visited the Duchess de Lévord today. Madame Rose invited me to come and see her greenhouse.”
Duchess Rose of Levord was a close friend of Sophia’s late grandmother, Anne, who had also served as her mother’s guardian. She was also very fond of Sophia and often invited her to tea.
When Sophia answered, Randall immediately fell silent.
It was always like this. Whenever Randall asked her where she went, she would usually say the Duke of Levord’s house, but whenever she replied this way, he would suddenly become silent. Is it because he doesn’t like her going out?
But even Sophia has her own social life. She is not doing anything wrong, so please don’t be grumpy with her.
Sophia suspects that Randall has begun to practice what he originally called “surveillance”. He suspected Sophia of being a “fake princess”, and had married her for surveillance. He must be asking her about her day for the purpose of surveillance.
Randall resumed eating in silence, and Sophia silently grabbed a knife and fork.
“Hah ……, we don’t get along at all ……”
‘What should I do to get along with Randall?’
‘Randall has started coming home to the Duke’s house, but the only time we see each other is at breakfast and dinner. At breakfast there is almost no conversation, and at dinner he just asks me what I did for the day. The road to lovemaking is far from near’.
Sophia had finished her meal and was drinking her after-dinner tea.
Normally, Randall would quickly leave the dining room after finishing his meal, but today he remained seated with a thoughtful expression on his face, and Sophia turned and casted her gaze on him.
Sophia was about to ask when Randall suddenly said, “I’m going on a trip.”
“Oh, really? Then have a good trip. Take care.”
She told him to take care of himself, since he was going on a trip, but Randall was muffled and silent again. He probably couldn’t say “thank you,” but he should have at least nodded his head.
Johannes, who was listening to the exchange in the background, suddenly spoke up.
“Sir, that won’t get the message across……”
Randall stared at Johannes in disgust.
“What do you want me to say?”
“Just say it clearly, master.”
“I said it as it is.”
“You left out an important word.”
Randall let out a deep exhale, then abruptly looked away from Sophia, mumbling in his mouth and stuttering, “I’m going on a trip, and you’re coming with me.”
“What? Me too?”
“Are you unhappy?”
“No, I’m not, but…….”
Sophia was very surprised. She was surprised that Randall had suddenly suggested a trip. What kind of change of heart is this, when he has been avoiding Sophia so much? Sophia’s head was filled with “????”.
Sophia’s mind was filled with question marks, and when Johannes noticed this, his shoulders slumped, “You are missing the point, madam, the master wants to go on a honeymoon.”
“Honeymoon?”
Sophia’s voice trailed off in surprise.
‘A honeymoon? No way! Randall, it’s a lie, isn’t it?’
Randall, who brags that his marriage is for surveillance, can’t be thinking of a honeymoon event. There must be some mistake.
When Sophia opened her mouth, Randall said sullenly, “Don’t get me wrong! His Majesty told me to go.”
‘I see. So that’s it.’
While Sophia was about to say “Oh”, Johannes held his forehead and sighed loudly.