Yunho finally found his voice. He cleared his throat and turned to all the staring servants and said with a shaky smile, "Then... escort him to the tea room as you would any guest."
He paused briefly before continuing, "And if we have any specialty teas or treats, serve him that. I'll be with him in a bit. I just need some time to look more presentable for such an important guest...ha."
Hearing this, there was a short beat of silence, then a lively clamor ensued in the lodge as the servants went to do as they were ordered. Hushed gossip could be heard between the young servants. The butler and Marella didn't really engage in talk like this, but they would inevitably be curious as well.
The Evastine Household didn't have much relation with the Northern Duke, since the family was based in the south under the jurisdiction of the much older Southern Duke. The only reason most of the servants could think of for why the Northern Grand Duke would visit was to reward the young master's work with frostwreath and/or inquire about the Evastine first son's reason for coming to the cold North. But, both of those reasons were relatively innocuous, and their young master's face just let on that there might be a more concerning reason for the distinguished guest's unexpected arrival.
The butler let in the Grand Duke and gave him a short bow. The older man stealthily looked past Dorian's shoulder. Rizer was an old man, but that didn't mean he was immune to nosiness. He could see his carriage and two of what he presumed to be servants at first glance fiddling with four white crates. However, these servants didn't look like the typical kind, who were mostly women or commoner boys. They were tall men with well-developed frames and also seemed to be wearing a soldier uniform of sorts, just less decorated.
Rizer didn't look for long and turned around to lead the Grand Duke to the tea room.
"The young master sends his greetings to Your Grace. The sudden visit caught him off guard. He'll be with you soon," Rizer said, navigating the lodge's relatively spacious yet cozy interior. The butler sent a fleeting glance back in the direction of the entrance. The men outside didn't seem to be coming in.
Dorian nodded.
"Ah, I should've sent a notice in advance. I see..." The Duke said. He noticed the butler's line of sight and looked over. He hummed as he realized what the older man was looking at.
"You don't need to mind those two; they're under me. They'll come in when they're needed. Apologies in advance, they're still in training," the man continued. He made a waving hand motion as if this were ordinary.
The butler felt a pang of embarrassment about being caught but nodded. He didn't want to question such a high-profile guest, but the Northern Grand Duke's words seemed to imply that the two men at his carriage were soldiers-in-training.
Though the South was more abundant compared to the bitter cold North, the Northern Grand Duke was the general of the Lucivia Kingdom's troops. It was known that he trained his men under an iron fist and heavy boot, making sure they were killing machines in times of war.
But what type of training was this? The butler couldn't help but wonder if the Northern Grand Duke lacked any regular servants, so he just made his men do banal tasks too.
"Maybe it's for extra protection...but looking at the Grand Duke, I don't think that's right..." The butler thought.
---
Little did Rizer know that outside, the two poor trainees were wondering the exact same thing as they unloaded the white crates from the carriage.
"Did the General ever tell us when exactly we're supposed to bring these in?" One of them said. He was the shorter of the two and had curly red hair.
The taller one shrugged and sighed.
"If he did, I can't remember... I think we're supposed to wait until he orders us to take these in," said the taller one. He ran a hand through his brown hair.
The shorter one rubbed his face.
"This is oddly stressful.... Why did we have to draw the shortest slots..." He said, his head drooping.
The General had announced that he would be paying a visit to someone, and he needed a little manpower. All the seniors were busy, so the newbies chose who would go among themselves by drawing slots made from parchment. The two lucky short-drawers were Quince and Beyr here.
Beyr idly tugged at a strand of his red coils. He still inwardly blamed his draw on foul play rather than on his foul luck.
Quince hummed in agreement.
They could only hope their judgment was right and that they wouldn't have to pay for a mistake with 10 laps around the training yard.
---
"Janine, can you help me sweep this up?" Aris called over to the skittish female servant coming down the hallway. The hallway was on the way to the tea room, so Aris took the liberty of sprucing it up.
The girl who had come back from helping in the kitchen walked over and replied, "Sure. I'm not busy with anything."
Aris swept at some dust behind a curtain and handed another broom to the young girl. They worked diligently until the hallway's floor was bright and free of any hidden debris. Despite the Grand Duke not even being her guest personally, she took a lot of care in maintaining appearances for her young master, Iris.
Wanting to break the silence and innocently gossip, Aris looked over at the other young lady. "So... what's your theory for why the Northern Grand Duke is here?"
Janine was slightly startled at the sudden question but not entirely surprised. Everyone had the question on their minds, especially after seeing their young master's reaction.
"Isn't it just that His Grace is here to reward the young master? For feeding those villagers and spreading Frostwreath, right?" The girl said, looking around at their work. She swept at an already clean spot for some cleanliness overkill.
"That's what I thought too, but the young master looked so frightened. The young master is a good person, so I hope it's not anything troubling," Aris responded, resting her cheek on the tip of the broom in her hands.
"Or maybe it's neither of those reasons..." A voice said, coming from down the hallway. The light and steady pair of footsteps approached the two girls.
The footsteps belonged to a thin, feminine figure holding a duster. It was the final servant chosen to be taken to the lodge, a young woman named Ailene.
Janine and Aris looked at the newcomer to the conversation with curiosity and confusion. There was a beat of silence before Ailene explained herself.
"Oh, I overheard you guys speaking from the entrance of the hallway and cared to let you in on a crazy little theory I have," Ailene said, fiddling with the duster in her hands.
She continued without putting down the duster, which was tossed around in her hands, "I actually peeked through the window at the carriage the Grand Duke came with, and there were two whom I think are his subordinates unloading these white crates from it. Doesn't that sound like His Grace brought gifts with him?"
Aris quirked an eyebrow and replied, "Well, anything could be in those crates, but it does sound like it could be. However, doesn't that support the "reward" theory? Why else would he bring gifts?"
"Well, my second supporting piece of evidence needs to be confirmed by you, Aris. But you accompanied the young master to go to young lady Irene's celebration event a few days ago, right?" Aileen asked with a smile.
Aris nodded.
Ailene asked another question, "And was the Grand Duke also present at this event?"
Aris nodded again but slower. Ailene hummed and nodded.
"And, lastly, did the young master exhibit any out-of-the-ordinary behavior that night?" Ailene questioned.
Aris paused, and her face went red thinking about her and Nym's flub from that night. They were supposed to keep an eye on Iris, yet they lost him for a second time! But... now thinking about it, didn't Iris leave on his own? He even apologized for it. But where did he go?
Aris looked up at her and nodded again. She was curious about what else the woman knew.
"The young master momentarily left us during the masquerade segment of the event..."
Ailene snapped her fingers. "That's what I suspected. Because when the young master went to freshen up, he left his tea on the table. I went to clean it up for him, but I didn't only find tea. I also found a book..."
Ailene leaned in and lowered her voice, drawing the other two girls as well, "A book titled 'My Loyal Knight Actually Wants To Marry Me?'... Which is one of my top five romance books of the past two years, but nevertheless, it's a romance novel about a forbidden relationship. It may seem unrelated, but think about it... The Grand Duke brought gifts for the young master. Young master inexplicably sneaks off somewhere during an event that the Grand Duke is also at. And he's also reading a romantic book about a forbidden and unconventional relationship?"
Aris was on the edge of understanding what Ailene was putting down, but Janine was completely lost.
Ailene sighed, looking at the two girls' confused faces, and said it point-blank, "I think that His Grace and Young Master may be hopelessly in love."
Janine and Aris stared at her with wide eyes.
...Instead of a detective, maybe be a screenplay writer, ah?
The three girls exited the hallway, lightheartedly bickering about the validity of this conclusion.
But they didn't know that someone else had been able to pick up on their conversation.
----
Dorian's hearing, paired with naturally being good, had been honed by years of training and battle victories. Alongside assassins frequently being thrown his way and scheming by those around him, he needed to have superior hearing to be able to detect and decipher faint noises in any area.
The butler, with Rizer being an older man, had no such thing.
So, when the butler led him to the entrance of a hallway, the Northern Grand Duke was able to catch almost all of the conversation. His sculpted face was blank as the three girls' conversation managed to catch him off guard at every sentence even when the girls had already left.
Hearing the evidence for the insane conclusion, the man could understand how the misunderstanding could occur, but still... wasn't "hopelessly in love" a little out there?
But then again, "My Loyal Knight Actually Wants To Marry Me?" was a little out there, too, if the infamous Young Master Iris de Evastine was really reading that.
There were no other surprises for the rest of the walk to the tea room, and the butler opened the door for him.
On the table, there were already some treats and a tea set poised on the table. The tall Duke took a seat.
The butler bowed at the door.
"Call for assistance if you need anything. Our young master shall be with you soon," Rizer said before leaving the room.
The room fell into silence with only the Grand Duke being there.
"Hm, they all must trust me a lot to not even keep the door open while their young master hasn't even come in yet," Dorian thought with a shrug.
Soon, the tearoom door opened again.
...
"Sorry for the wait. This humble one hopes Your Grace didn't have to wait for too long... Shall I pour you a cup of tea?"
----
End of Chapter 24