dispose of those for me, would you, Echo?”
Vincent spoke as if he couldn’t have cared less. He added something spiteful about how they might have powdered newt in them, but Echo didn’t really understand that bit. She just nodded, silently.
“So? How did things look?”
“Yes, sir—”
Dahlia’s actions, or at least her actions today, had been quite ordinary.
However, the strangeness she’d sensed here and there—how was she to report that?
Echo began to speak, organizing her thoughts as she did so.
Dahlia had read a book all day, she told him, starting in the morning. She’d left the house once to go to a boutique, and after returning, she’d spent the rest of the day fairly monotonously.
After she finished speaking, Vincent muttered, “…No flaws that would make it easy to ruin her socially, then…” He sounded bored.
Then he glanced at Echo.
“What else? Anything you can think of…”
At Vincent’s question, although she still didn’t know how to explain it, Echo reported it:
The scent of blood she’d picked up from Dahlia when she left the boutique.
On hearing that, although Vincent’s bored expression didn’t change, a faint shadow of joy stole onto his lips.
“Is that right…” he said. “How interesting…”
That was all.
“Hello, Gil. I hear you’re meeting her tomorrow…?”
When Gilbert visited the Nightray manor and walked into the dressing room, he found Vincent sprawled on the sofa, as if lying in wait.
Vincent didn’t specify whom Gil would be meeting, but it was clear he meant Dahlia Garland. Dahlia’s request to socialize had come through the House of Nightray, so it wasn’t odd that Vincent knew about it.
“…Yeah.”
Gilbert kept his answer short; he wasn’t in the mood for a long conversation. He’d come back to the manor to pick up some clothes to wear to his meeting with Dahlia. He didn’t keep any formal clothes of the sort he could wear to meet a noblewoman in his bachelor’s apartment.
“You don’t look very cheerful… You’re not looking forward to it, Gil?”
“Not particularly. I’m just meeting her to turn her down. There’s nothing ‘fun’ or ‘not fun’ about that.”
“Hmm. So you’re turning her down…”
“Of course I am.”
“For the sake of your little master…?”
“—”
The longer he talked to this brother of his, the more bogged down he’d get. Knowing this, Gilbert let his silence answer for him and got to work choosing formal clothes.
Dahlia had said that, if he didn’t mind, she would prefer to meet in town. As a general rule, when two noble houses were involved, it was normal to begin by greeting each other properly at one family’s house. However, Gilbert appreciated the lack of formality, and he’d had no objections.
In addition, she’d said that she’d rather meet casually, without trying to put up a front for each other. The thought that, in that case, his ordinary clothes might be good enough had crossed Gilbert’s mind, but the roughness of those ordinary clothes had made him reconsider.
Casual is good, but… I really am meeting her, huh…?
At first, he’d thought about turning her down through a letter or something and ending it that way.
He couldn’t even consider seeing a lady socially, and Gilbert didn’t care two pins for the House of Nightray’s reputation. In that case, a letter would be the simplest way to do things, and it would also be the easiest on his nerves.
However, Gilbert had decided to meet her properly and turn her down. This had been partly due to his own serious nature, but even more to one of Oz’s teachings that he’d taken to heart:
“Always treat women with kindness and sincerity!”
As he thought back over this and that and grabbed a random suit:
“Shall I help you pick out clothes?”
Gilbert turned down Vincent’s teasing offer with a brusque “No need.”
As he absently chose clothes, he thought about Dahlia. Had she spoken to him at a
Vincent spoke as if he couldn’t have cared less. He added something spiteful about how they might have powdered newt in them, but Echo didn’t really understand that bit. She just nodded, silently.
“So? How did things look?”
“Yes, sir—”
Dahlia’s actions, or at least her actions today, had been quite ordinary.
However, the strangeness she’d sensed here and there—how was she to report that?
Echo began to speak, organizing her thoughts as she did so.
Dahlia had read a book all day, she told him, starting in the morning. She’d left the house once to go to a boutique, and after returning, she’d spent the rest of the day fairly monotonously.
After she finished speaking, Vincent muttered, “…No flaws that would make it easy to ruin her socially, then…” He sounded bored.
Then he glanced at Echo.
“What else? Anything you can think of…”
At Vincent’s question, although she still didn’t know how to explain it, Echo reported it:
The scent of blood she’d picked up from Dahlia when she left the boutique.
On hearing that, although Vincent’s bored expression didn’t change, a faint shadow of joy stole onto his lips.
“Is that right…” he said. “How interesting…”
That was all.
“Hello, Gil. I hear you’re meeting her tomorrow…?”
When Gilbert visited the Nightray manor and walked into the dressing room, he found Vincent sprawled on the sofa, as if lying in wait.
Vincent didn’t specify whom Gil would be meeting, but it was clear he meant Dahlia Garland. Dahlia’s request to socialize had come through the House of Nightray, so it wasn’t odd that Vincent knew about it.
“…Yeah.”
Gilbert kept his answer short; he wasn’t in the mood for a long conversation. He’d come back to the manor to pick up some clothes to wear to his meeting with Dahlia. He didn’t keep any formal clothes of the sort he could wear to meet a noblewoman in his bachelor’s apartment.
“You don’t look very cheerful… You’re not looking forward to it, Gil?”
“Not particularly. I’m just meeting her to turn her down. There’s nothing ‘fun’ or ‘not fun’ about that.”
“Hmm. So you’re turning her down…”
“Of course I am.”
“For the sake of your little master…?”
“—”
The longer he talked to this brother of his, the more bogged down he’d get. Knowing this, Gilbert let his silence answer for him and got to work choosing formal clothes.
Dahlia had said that, if he didn’t mind, she would prefer to meet in town. As a general rule, when two noble houses were involved, it was normal to begin by greeting each other properly at one family’s house. However, Gilbert appreciated the lack of formality, and he’d had no objections.
In addition, she’d said that she’d rather meet casually, without trying to put up a front for each other. The thought that, in that case, his ordinary clothes might be good enough had crossed Gilbert’s mind, but the roughness of those ordinary clothes had made him reconsider.
Casual is good, but… I really am meeting her, huh…?
At first, he’d thought about turning her down through a letter or something and ending it that way.
He couldn’t even consider seeing a lady socially, and Gilbert didn’t care two pins for the House of Nightray’s reputation. In that case, a letter would be the simplest way to do things, and it would also be the easiest on his nerves.
However, Gilbert had decided to meet her properly and turn her down. This had been partly due to his own serious nature, but even more to one of Oz’s teachings that he’d taken to heart:
“Always treat women with kindness and sincerity!”
As he thought back over this and that and grabbed a random suit:
“Shall I help you pick out clothes?”
Gilbert turned down Vincent’s teasing offer with a brusque “No need.”
As he absently chose clothes, he thought about Dahlia. Had she spoken to him at a
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