Maylily - Chapter 42

On her rare leisurely holiday, Maylily went to Aberque in the morning. The streets, changing clothes into vivid greenery under the warm spring sunshine, were quiet. From noon, this area would be crowded with nobles going out, so she had chosen this time on purpose.

Walking along the sidewalk shaded by plane trees, she arrived at a large bookstore in the busy district. She came to buy a Cartian novel and opera scores to practice privately. The bookstore near her home didn’t have such variety, so she didn’t mind the trouble of taking a carriage.

It had already been two months since she started Cartian lessons. Thanks to studying hard whenever she had spare time, her pronunciation as well as her reading ability had improved greatly, to the point she could now read simple novels on her own.

The new Cartian teacher who had come last month was excellent in teaching and kind, but even during class, Maylily occasionally thought of Michele.

Was he doing well? If they’d continued the lessons together, maybe they would’ve become friends.

She hadn’t formed many ties since coming to Roden, so the connection that had been cut so abruptly felt regrettable.

Still, she hadn’t thought of going to find him, because she felt she mustn’t. She didn’t want to risk doing anything that the Count of Everscourt might misunderstand.

Maylily carefully looked over the shelves in the corner and chose a book with pretty illustrations. At a glance, it was written with easy vocabulary, so it seemed she would enjoy reading it. Since she had already decided on the opera scores to buy, that took almost no time.

I should hurry home and study the new score.

In high spirits, Maylily left the bookstore and headed toward the carriage stop, but her steps halted soon. It was in front of a newsstand at the end of the block where the bookstore stood.

Skaard Soars, Record-Breaking Sales

What caught her eye before the bold headline at the top of the economic paper’s front page was the face of the Count of Everscourt below it.

Even in black and white, the refined beauty of his features seemed to fill her vision in vivid colors. Impulsively, for the first time in her life, Maylily bought an economic paper.

The article analyzed the factors that allowed the Skaard Hotel to record the highest sales in its history this first quarter, and projected the business performance for the coming quarters. Maylily knew little and cared little about economics or management, yet she read the article eagerly, eyes shining, forgetting even to walk.

So this is the kind of work the Count does.

She now deeply felt the reason why the world spoke of him with respect and praise.

When she finished reading, Maylily gazed blankly at the Count’s photo in the article.

“I want my singer to stand only on stages where she can maintain her dignity as a singer.”

At Patrick Cheshire’s party, the Count of Everscourt had promised to support Daisy’s tuition while forbidding Maylily from performing anywhere but the Roden Opera House.

The hand of help he extended no longer felt like a burdensome debt, but like radiant affection. So Maylily promised to gladly follow his words. That was how their conversation that day ended.

The Count always showed such concern and care for her….

But when she thought about it, Maylily had done nothing for him. She didn’t even know much about him.

What was his family like, what music he liked, what dreams he had…. She didn’t even know such basic things as his age.

I want to know.

For the first time, Maylily became curious about the man named Hugh Skaard.

How can I find out?

Asking the Count directly would be the quickest and easiest, but somehow it felt too blatant. Besides, she couldn’t see him right now anyway….

“Ah…! That will do.”

While gently stroking the Count’s face in the photo, one idea came to her mind.

Immediately folding the newspaper neatly and putting it into the paper bag from the bookstore, Maylily started walking in the opposite direction from the way she’d come. Her light blue eyes, set on a new goal, sparkled lively under the clear sunlight.

***

On his way to work, Hugh was reading documents inside his carriage when, by chance, turning his head, he caught sight of something absurd: it was Maylily. Beyond the window, she was climbing the wide steps in front of the city library’s main entrance.

The shape and color of her blond hair braided into one strand, her demure walk with hardly any movement of her upper body.

It was only a moment, but enough to be certain the back he saw belonged to Maylily.

“Go on ahead.”

Hugh immediately had the carriage stop, left a concise order to David, who gave him a puzzled look, then stepped down onto the street. He followed Maylily, who was just entering the library.

As Hugh climbed the stairs in long strides and passed through the entrance, Maylily, who had been studying the guide map posted on the lobby wall, began climbing the central staircase. Sunlight poured over her head through the facade windows.

Hugh continued behind her without hurrying. Her steps were a little quicker than usual, and each time she looked around, her profile, faintly touched with excitement, came into view.

What had brought her here?

He kept close enough that he could close the distance at any moment, observing her to satisfy his curiosity.

Maylily’s destination after her diligent climb was the periodicals room on the third floor. He had thought she liked literature such as novels and poetry, so this was an unexpected choice that narrowed his eyes.

The periodicals room was a space divided into sections by subject, with tables for multiple people, created so visitors could browse publications.

Maylily lingered for some time around the shelves of economic and political papers, then shifted her search toward the social gazettes. Hugh moved to the opposite side of the shelves where she stood, covering half his face with a pamphlet he picked up at random, and watched her.

Pulling out famous weeklies one by one and checking their covers, Maylily at last seemed to find what she wanted and began stacking periodicals in her arms.

Why is she suddenly looking for society information? Did some other problem come up?

While Hugh was lost in thought, Maylily, arms filled with various publications, went to a secluded table by the window and sat down. She opened them one by one with the serious and cautious face of a scholar tackling the research subject of a lifetime.

To finally confirm the answer to the curiosity he had endured until now, Hugh quietly sat across from her. She was so absorbed that her blue eyes, shining even more transparently in the sunlight, never once left the pages.

What could she be looking at….

With a slight smirk, Hugh lowered his gaze to follow hers, and his brow furrowed faintly.

Could it be a mistake?

But even after checking again, the fact didn’t change: what Maylily was looking at was his photograph from his military service days, wearing an officer’s uniform.

That was what she had been so excitedly searching for.

Suppressing the smile that threatened to break out unconsciously, Hugh pulled over the stack she had made and flipped through it. Every cover bore either his photograph or his name printed in large letters.

Startled by the sudden hand snatching away her things, Maylily’s head shot up. Seeing Hugh’s face with its peculiar smile, she turned pale.

“C-Count, how are you here….”

Even then, her lips moved in a tiny whisper to uphold public decorum, her face the very image of a modest, virtuous lady.

So, all this time, she was secretly looking me up.

An inexplicable exhilaration surged over him like a wave. Hugh couldn’t hold back his laughter and finally let it spill out in a chuckle. The sudden sound shattering the quiet drew the attention of those around them, and Maylily’s face turned as red as a ripe tomato.

“Don’t laugh, Count. Don’t you know you should be quiet in a library?”

Maylily snapped at him, trying to hide her embarrassment, and jumped to her feet. She wanted nothing more than to bolt out. Or else, to find some mouse hole in this library to crawl into.

Since neither was possible, her face crumpled as she gathered the periodicals spread across the table and dumped them into the return bin. Then she hastily grabbed her things and fled outside.

It was mortifying. As if all her feelings had been completely exposed to the Count.

Her face felt like it would burst from heat, her pounding heart thudded in her ears.

Even in that dizzy state, the sound of steady footsteps behind her rang far too clearly. No matter how fast she moved her legs, that sound never grew distant.

As she went down the stairs, a low laugh accompanied her. If only he would come stand beside her, it wouldn’t be so unbearable. Maylily quickened her pace as much as she could without breaking the library’s quiet.

At last, when she burst out of the library, her skirt hem fluttering, she spun around to vent her rising anger.

“Why, why… are you following me so sneakily without saying a word?”