NBTC 09

Chapter 09

It was said that there was nothing you couldn’t find on Plate Street’s shopping district, and it was truly so.

True to Bailey’s nature of taking care of what needed to be done first, they started by having Adel’s school uniform made. Then they stopped by a secondhand bookstore and picked up a few textbooks as well.

At the stall street where a regular market was held, they also bought some pretty lace, a wide-brimmed hat, and a bonnet for Adel to wear comfortably.

“How can a place like this have everything? It’s really amazing!”

“I’m glad you like it.”

Bailey replied somewhat brusquely.

She didn’t like walking around such crowded places. If it weren’t for Adel, she wouldn’t have come out on this hot summer day.

Bailey took Adel, who showed no signs of tiredness, and headed toward a tea house.

Passing through such a crowded area was exhausting, so she thought it would be good to rest for a while.

Bailey bought Adel a cool ice cream, and she herself had a cup of warm black tea with milk, taking a breather.

Adel’s eyes still sparkled with excitement as she asked Bailey all sorts of questions.

Bailey answered as thoroughly as she could, to the best of her knowledge.

Though it seemed insufficient to satisfy Adel’s curiosity.

“How about the tram? Will you be able to get off properly near the school?”

“Yes. I’ll remember it well. And I won’t forget to ring the bell either.”

“Never hang onto the front or rear steps of the tram. That’s something only uncultured people do.”

Adel, who had secretly wanted to hang onto the tram steps like those she’d seen, held her breath and answered.

“Yes, I won’t.”

“Good. Miss Adel is also a member of the Heitzlind family, so you must never do anything that would bring dishonor to the Klausen Duchy’s name.”

A member of the Heitzlind family. Those words made Adel happy, and she smiled brightly.

After resting enough, they headed to their final destination: an art supply store.

Adel had been taking private art lessons at the Baden house. She loved drawing and showed considerable talent, so her parents had supported her art studies.

As Adel looked through the various art supplies at the store, she realized that the paints, brushes, and canvases she had used before were quite expensive.

She had five gold coins in her apron pocket, but she couldn’t spend all of them on art supplies, so she was conflicted.

Adel chose carefully and thoughtfully, making her purchases.

It was also her first experience paying with money and receiving change.

Adel decided that she would paint Bailey’s portrait as her very first piece and give it to her as a gift.

So she chose paints that would match her gray hair and the deep navy clothes she often wore.

Bailey knew nothing about art supplies, so she just watched Adel carefully selecting yellow and brown paints as if looking at child’s dung or buttercups.

To her eyes, one color seemed much the same as another.

“If you’ve bought everything, shall we head back? Keep the remaining gold coins and money safe.”

Adel held Bailey’s hand tightly as they boarded the tram.

The tram on the way back was a bit more crowded than when they had come.

The sun was slowly setting toward the west.

It was summer with long days, so the heat hadn’t fully subsided, but the sunset light breaking over the tram tracks was truly beautiful.

The sun and clouds in the western sky formed deep crimson and pink hues.

Feeling the cool summer breeze blowing toward her face, Adel smiled brightly.

Seeing Adel smile so brightly without a care in the world, Bailey also let out a chuckle.

And so it was an evening painted in summer colors.

Adel spent most of that summer in the forest behind the mansion.

After suddenly encountering Karl in the Duchess’s private garden, she stopped going near the garden altogether.

She was afraid of running into the Duchess, the owner of the blue garden, and besides, she preferred the wild, overgrown forest to the garden’s artificial landscapes.

According to Bailey, the golden lion statue that had stood in front of the blue garden had developed a crack in its leg a few days before Karl returned, so it had been sent for repairs.

She had also asked worriedly whether Adel had unknowingly gone near the blue garden.

Adel silently smiled and shook her head.

Though her first meeting with Karl hadn’t been a particularly pleasant memory, nothing too serious had happened.

After encountering Karl in the library, she hardly saw his face at all.

Karl was truly busy preparing for university, and throughout the summer, social parties and gatherings were constantly being held.

He was mostly invited to social events held at other nobles’ estates, and very occasionally, when the Duchess was in a good mood, small parties or social gatherings were also held at Heitzlind.

On days when there were no such gatherings, he seemed to spend his time hunting in the forest on the estate or going on sudden trips.

Whenever Adel spotted Karl from afar, her heart would flutter a little.

No matter when she saw him, his clean-cut face and gentlemanly attire made him look like a prince from the fairy tales Adel loved.

Adel truly loved her father, but the face of her father in the locket she sometimes looked at didn’t look as much like a prince as Karl did.

Anyway, thinking he was the most handsome person she knew, she secretly sketched Karl’s face in her sketchbook.

She also encountered the Duchess occasionally, but whenever she did, the Duchess acted as if Adel were completely invisible.

Even when Adel bowed or greeted her in a timid voice, the Duchess would sweep past as if she hadn’t heard or seen anything.

At first, Adel felt a little hurt, but recalling her first day here, she began to think that such indifference and non-responsiveness wasn’t so bad after all.

Following Bailey’s advice to stay out of the Duchess’s sight as much as possible, Adel mostly stayed in her room, helped out in the kitchen, or played alone in the forest behind the mansion.

After all, those were places the Duchess would never visit.

“Are you going to the forest again today?”

Bailey asked Adel, pausing from crocheting lace in her room.

In a few days, Karl was to leave for university in Regenshen, so the entire Heitzlind mansion was bustling.

Bailey was also taking a break in Adel’s room, helping with various tasks and knitting for a while.

Adel’s room was located on the west side of the mansion, making it a bit cold in winter, but on summer mornings, it was cooler than other rooms.

“Yes, I found a wildflower I’d never seen before yesterday and only sketched it. Today I want to bring my paints and add some color.”

“I see. The heat has really subsided now. It’s almost mid-August. Once the semester starts, you’ll be busy with school, so rest up while you can.”

Adel smiled softly and answered yes.

As always, she loved the warmth of Bailey’s care for her.

When she had secretly given her the portrait she’d painted a while ago, Bailey had been overjoyed.

Indeed, Adel’s skill was good, and since she had spent days pondering and revising it, the result was quite impressive.

Bailey’s likeness on the small book-sized canvas looked just like she did when sitting in her room. Of course, Adel had deliberately left out a few wrinkles.

“Oh, and I heard that young master Karl will be hunting in the forest today. He’ll be riding his horse deep into the forest, so you probably won’t run into him, but still, be careful. If you hear gunshots, never go near them, and today, try not to go too deep into the forest.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Adel answered as she packed her art bag.

During the summer, there were days when Adel went to the forest and Karl went hunting at the same time, but their paths never crossed.

Adel mostly played only at the edge of the forest where the mansion was visible, while Karl went deeper in pursuit of game.

Adel packed her things and went out through the shutters.

As Bailey had said, the weather had become quite cool. When the sunlight shone directly on her, the top of her head felt hot, but once she stepped into the shade of the trees, it was cool.

Adel touched her hair.

Since coming to Heitzlind, she had trimmed her uneven hair, and the strands that had been quite short had grown a little.

‘I wish my hair would grow faster.’

It now just barely touched her shoulders, but compared to her previous length, it still had a long way to go.

At least when she started school, she hoped she could braid her hair neatly…

Lost in such thoughts, Adel found the spot where she had sketched the wildflowers yesterday.

A small stream ran through the area, and all around it, countless unknown flowers were in full bloom.

She had worked up a bit of sweat walking over, so Adel bent down and drank from the stream.

The water had a faint earthy smell. The cool, refreshing sensation of the clear water felt wonderful.

She wet her handkerchief, wrung it out, and placed it on her neck. The slight heat vanished instantly, and it was so cool that goosebumps rose on the back of her neck.

Adel quickly filled her water bottle with water, then painted the scenery she hadn’t finished last time and added color.

It was lovely to see the flowers of various colors blooming on her small sketchbook.

Around the stream, white birches and deep green fir trees cast their shade.

Adel thoughtfully mixed her colors, gradually filling her sketchbook with her own palette.

She was pondering how to color the unknown wild grasses dotted with pale purple when—

She heard the rustling sound of footsteps through the grass and the snorting of a horse.

Adel quickly turned toward the sound.

Karl, wearing a red tailor jacket, black riding breeches, and fine leather boots, was leading his horse toward the stream.

“Hello.”

Having only shown flustered reactions in their two previous encounters, Adel steeled herself when she saw his silhouette from afar and greeted him first.

Karl silently nodded and led his horse to drink. Then he took his canteen from the saddle, filled it with stream water, and drank as well.

Adel glanced at the game draped over the horse. A slender-legged doe hung limply.

Afraid Karl might see, she turned her body and made a face.

She couldn’t help shuddering.

Adel had never seen a hunting scene before.

“You draw, I see?”

Karl asked, having seen the sketchbook left open so the paint could dry.

Adel’s face turned red.

“Yes, I like drawing.”

“You like reading, and you like drawing. Refined hobbies.”

Shrugging, Karl leaned against his horse and raised his canteen to his lips again.

Adel narrowed her eyes and glared at Karl.