“I’ll definitely come back healthy in body too, Howard…”

Valentin mumbled towards his father-in-law who wasn’t present, watching the lively movements of birds coming and going in the garden. He was engraving a repeated self-affirmation.

Then he rang the bell to call for Dawson.

“You called, sir.”

Seeing his master’s bright expression nodding, Dawson immediately followed up with a question.

“You seem to be in a better mood. Shall I prepare a meal right away?”

“Yes. I think I can really eat well now.”

“That’s the best news I’ve heard, Your Highness.”

The title remained the same even though they had returned to Eldon. Valentin sat at a small table, watching Dawson move sharply, calling and directing maids. Then after drinking freshly squeezed orange juice from a crystal glass, he spoke again.

“I want to go to an art supply store today. I should go to Brewer’s Street.”

Valentin mentioned the street full of artists’ supply stores as he put down his glass.

“Won’t you just call for an art supplier? You’re not feeling well.”

“No. That would delay things again. I want to go see for myself and choose a variety.”

“It seems you’ve got something you want to draw.”

“Yes. I want to draw a picture for His Highness the Grand Duke.”

He was thinking of drawing their family. Even if he couldn’t see and draw it in detail, just capturing the atmosphere and feeling would be enough. That’s how I should remind him again that we are family, that we are connected by an unbreakable thread. Valentin made up his mind.

“Oh, and after shopping, I’ll stop by Count Osborne’s house, so please send a telegram in advance.”

Dawson’s face brightened even more at the words that he would visit a friend as soon as he returned to the capital. It felt like he was finally seeing the bright young master of the past.

“Then I’ll prepare everything right after you finish your meal.”

Dawson also replied to Valentin with a smile. It was a welcoming greeting for the master whose mind had become healthy again.

Eldon

He still felt like he could smell the unique scent of high-quality conté at the tip of his nose. It was a fragrance he hadn’t smelled in a very long time. The unique smell of an art supply store with various art materials gathered together. It was one of Valentin’s favorite things.

He personally chose new tools and canvases. He imagined the pictures he would draw while touching each one. Valentin left the art store in a good mood, watching Dawson hand over the check. The items he had chosen would be delivered to Lution House in a few days along with the receipt.

‘Yes. I had forgotten about these things.’

Valentin hummed a tune as he headed towards the entrance of Count Osborne’s mansion. The footman of the Osborne family was already holding the door open so Valentin could enter comfortably.

A familiar face approached quickly through that open doorway. But isn’t it too fast…?

“Valentin!”

Oh, this friend. Valentin put his hand to his forehead as he watched Cecilia running towards him in a most unladylike manner, dressed in a crinoline dress and coat.

“You came at just the right time. I was waiting for you.”

“In outdoor clothes?”

“Yes. Because we’re going out.”

“Without telling me…?”

Cecilia smiled slyly and linked her arm with Valentin’s. Then she poked his side with her elbow.

At the gesture that seemed to say “What need is there for such things between us?”, Valentin raised both hands and feet in surrender and volunteered to escort the lady. It was the smooth surrender of someone who knew that resistance would only waste time and make his mouth sore.

Clop clop clop.

In an instant, Valentin found himself loaded into a small two-wheeled carriage that prioritized mobility, Cecilia’s preference. Seeing Valentin’s dumbfounded face, not knowing the destination, she finally opened her mouth.

“There’s an event I absolutely have to attend today. But Christopher suddenly cancelled!”

“Christopher did?”

Valentin tilted his head quizzically. Christopher Vernon, Viscount and Cecilia’s fiancé, was not someone who easily broke promises. He knew this well from observing him for a long time.

“You know. The only time Christopher cancels an appointment.”

“Ah… It seems a guest from the Middle East has arrived again.”

“That’s right.”

Cecilia sighed deeply and said dejectedly.

Christopher, as the second son of the Vernon Viscount family, was actually quite an eccentric and curious researcher. That was also the reason why he maintained a good friendship with Valentin. With his interest in foreign countries, he often traveled to distant lands and had many foreign friends.

Especially when acquaintances from Middle Eastern cultures that value guests visited, he would personally entertain them lavishly as a sign of respect for their culture.

“If it’s something like that, it can’t be helped.”

Valentin nodded, recalling the Middle Eastern culture he knew well. At those words, Cecilia also stopped sighing and nodded along.

“I know. So this time I was thinking I really had to go alone without a partner when your telegram arrived just in time.”

“And you thought it was an opportunity.”

As Valentin responded with a grin, Cecilia clapped her hands and screamed.

“You think it just seemed like an opportunity? I thought this was fate! Look at this exquisite timing!”

Seeing her delighted expression, Valentin giggled along and finally asked about their destination. He preferred not to be carried along just smiling stupidly.

“So where are we going?”

It was also a question that seemed quite late, but well, he needed to know where they were going to prepare his mind a little…

“The Imperial Palace.”

Damn…

So much for mental preparation.

Good heavens… How could he have forgotten that the Royal Ascot was held at this time? Horse racing was a major event held every spring and fall in the Heston Empire. It was an event that everyone was enthusiastic about, not only the great nobles but also counts, viscounts, and barons who wouldn’t miss attending.

The outdoor event enjoying the autumn atmosphere under the blue sky had a different charm from that of spring. The gentlemen held warm mulled wine with spices in their hands and noisily debated which racehorse to bet on. Young ladies gathered in groups and looked at small things sold by merchants at stalls, while mature ladies walked around with their partners, exchanging conversations.

Valentin was also walking through the ladies with extravagant hats with a soulless expression, holding a paper printed with introductions of the racehorses participating in the race and the program, blaming himself for his ignorance. Even though he had been in Dales, it was proof that he had been too preoccupied with his own emotions recently.

To come to such a big social event without any mental preparation.

‘I should have brought Reinard to a place like this…!’

It felt like coming to the middle of enemy territory empty-handed. To think he would engage in such unexpected social activities. Of course, there were far more people than in Dales’ social circles for attention to be focused on Valentin as an individual. Moreover, it was somewhat reassuring that it was outdoors and a noisy place, but…

“Cecil… What would you have done if I had come visiting in my pajamas?”

Valentin glared at his friend, slightly covering his mouth with the program paper. They had never met in pajamas except until they were 7 years old.

“If that happened, I was going to dress you in the men’s clothes we have at home and take you!”

The only gentleman in that house with only daughters is Cecil’s father, Count Osborne. Valentin felt dizzy about the situation where he might have visited the royal event dressed as a dignified businessman, and fanned himself with the order sheet he was holding. Count Osborne’s clothes with his good build… Just imagining it made him want to decline.

“Why do you worry about such things when you always dress well and appropriately?”

“Haa…”

I should stop talking. Fortunately, he was dressed formally enough for a light outing. It would have been a big problem if his clothes had been shabby too. Although how shabby could the Grand Duke’s consort be.

Cecilia and Valentin soon blended in with the people. Perhaps because there wasn’t much time left until the race, it was getting more and more crowded. The neigh of horses and their snorting sounds could be heard from somewhere, blending with the noisy sounds of the crowd. Thus, pushed by people, they barely managed to sit down in the spectator seats outside the white fence.

*

“As expected! I knew the horse I bet on would win the cup!”

After the race ended, Cecilia rejoiced, swinging her fist in the air in a most unladylike manner.

And our Valentin, who always has terribly bad luck anywhere and anytime…

With slumped shoulders, he tore up the betting slip that had become a piece of trash and stuffed it into his coat pocket.

“Why on earth did you bet on Rosalyn?”

“She was also the winner of the last horse race… and above all, her name is Rosalyn!”

Valentin protested in an aggrieved voice.

“Don’t tell me you chose it just because it’s a rose name, being from the Viscount Wiche family…?”

Cecilia asked, squinting her eyes in disbelief. You chose for such a trivial reason? Her eyes also showed sympathy, wondering what to do with this fool who didn’t think about strategy at all.

“Rosalyn is a southern breed and was raised in the south. So she has an advantage in the hot spring races. But in late autumn when it’s cold like now, you should choose a breed that’s strong against the cold! Like Dublin that I chose, with solid and strong muscles!”

Ugh. Come to think of it, Rosalyn was a slender and swift one. I thought that would make her run better.