Please Support My Revenge - Chapter 51

As the revelry continued into the night, Lobelia and the miners boarded a carriage back to the hotel as dawn broke.

“Catherine, we’ve arrived,” Joel announced.

Lobelia, dozing off in the carriage, awoke at the sound of Joel’s voice. “Ah…”

She peered outside with sleepy eyes. The hotel sparkled grandly under the bright morning sunlight.

“Are you okay? Can you get down?” Joel asked.

“Of course… I mean, I’d say so, but could you help me a bit?”

With Joel’s assistance, Lobelia descended from the carriage. Joel escorted her into the hotel. Despite Lobelia’s initial refusal, Joel insisted he had something to convey to Jade, and she found herself entering with him.

In the lobby, Joachim and Jade awaited them. They entered Jade’s room and gathered in the sitting area.

“How’s your body…?” Jade began, trailing off as he observed Lobelia’s exhausted expression. Whatever he intended to say, he thought better of it and remained silent. It seemed challenging for him to keep quiet, as if he were holding back something he desperately wanted to express.

Since realizing his feelings for Lobelia, he has become awkward around her. Once articulate and eloquent, he now stumbled over his words whenever he stood before her.

“Well, everything seems to be resolved with this,” Jade remarked, fist on the table, staring at the center as if avoiding eye contact.

This statement marked both the beginning and the end. An oppressive silence filled the not-so-spacious room. While the presence of Joel prevented them from discussing certain matters, the awkward tension between the two made any conversation difficult.

Lobelia stared uncomfortably at Jade. He, too, didn’t seem at ease.

Both shared a similar thought at that moment.

‘Let’s just let these emotions pass.’

Jade, observing Lobelia, directed his words toward his own racing heart.

‘Don’t get carried away. There’s no need for unnecessary excitement.’

Meanwhile, Lobelia, feeling tense in front of Jade, spoke to herself about her unnecessarily anxious body.

“Um, may I deliver my father’s letter for a moment?”

That’s when Joel broke the silence.

“Please do so.”

With admiration in his young eyes, Joel looked at Jade. As soon as Jade gave his permission, Joel took out two envelopes from his embrace. One was for Jade, and the other for Lobelia.

“What’s this?” Jade asked, flipping the envelope.

“I don’t know the contents. My father just asked me to deliver them to Duke Ferrado and Miss Catherine,” Joel replied apologetically. “It’s probably something confidential. Seeing that he asked me to return home before you two open the envelopes,”

Joel, tipping his hat as a sign of farewell, left the sitting room while faithfully obeying his father’s command. Even as he exited, he couldn’t tear his eyes away from Jade.

Lobelia opened her envelope first. Inside, she found a letter densely written in Silveston’s rough handwriting. Reading through the letter, Lobelia’s eyes widened strangely in the middle section.

“Why? What’s written in it?”

“Silveston has invited us. He wants to host a dinner for us at home. I think that’s why he told Joel to leave; the letter was addressed to me, not Catherine.”

At the bottom of the letter, instead of the name Catherine, there was a phrase, “Respected Miss Lobelia.”

“Oh, a dinner invitation. That makes sense,” Jade shrugged.

“Go ahead. I’ll wait here,” he added.

“Well, um…” Lobelia hesitated, giving Jade a perplexed look.

“He invited ‘us.'”

“Us?”

“He means the Duke also extended an invitation.”

“For me?”

Jade opened the envelope. After confirming the contents, his face filled with surprise.

It seemed that Silveston, upon learning about Jade and Lobelia’s relationship through the newspaper, thought that if he was inviting Lobelia, he should invite Jade as well.

“I guess he read the newspaper and knows about us being in a relationship,” Jade remarked while reading the letter.

Realizing that Silveston, after learning about Jade and Lobelia through the newspaper, had thought to invite Jade as well if he was inviting Lobelia, Lobelia thought to herself, “He probably never got invited by a noble as a commoner before.”

Lobelia felt discomfort in her stomach. Silveston, who cherished her, must have thought that they were truly in a relationship and sent two invitations. Unfortunately, the reality was that they were merely bound by a contractual agreement.

“You don’t have to go. I’ll explain it to Silveston,” Lobelia quickly suggested.

Jade folded the letter back, placed it in the envelope, and shook his head. “No, we’re going.”

“What? But…”

Lobelia was taken aback, and Jade, seeing her confusion, became perplexed himself. It dawned on him, belatedly, that his usual self would have declined Silveston’s invitation.

How could he explain this?

“Earlier,” Jade hastily began, “I was deeply impressed by Silveston Pramer during the trial. I can’t refuse an invitation from such a sincere person.”

He added sternly, “It’s absolutely not for any other reason.”

It was partially true. Silveston’s plea for a ‘just judgment’ during the trial had been so upright that anyone seeking justice would be moved by it. However, if someone were to ask if that was the only reason, it wasn’t.

Despite deciding to let go of his feelings for Lobelia, Jade couldn’t resist the damn urge not to miss the moment to be with her.

“Why? Why am I begging like this?” Jade scolded himself, wrapping his head around both hands and barely controlling the urge to blame himself.

Having never felt affection for anyone before, Jade was unaware of how foolish a man infatuated with a woman could be.

“Oh, I see.” Lobelia nodded as if understanding.

Awkwardly, Jade couldn’t muster any more words, and that day, the two parted ways.

The next evening, disguised Lobelia, Jade, and Joachim visited Silveston’s house.

“Welcome, please come in,” Silveston’s wife, Mrs. Pramer, greeted them. Joel and his sisters also emerged to greet them.

The household seemed noticeably tidier since working at Mine No. 9, and both Joel and his sisters looked healthier.

Lobelia was grateful that she no longer had to worry about wasting a piece of cheese on them.

“There are guests waiting for you outside,” Mrs. Pramer informed, guiding Jade and Lobelia to the dining room. Yohaim decided to stay in the parlor until dinner was over with Joel.

Candles illuminated the dining table, and a variety of warm dishes, accompanied by what seemed to be high-quality beer prepared for the occasion, filled the table.

“I apologize for not having much to offer to such distinguished guests,” Mrs. Pramer said.

“It’s more than enough,” Lobelia replied, shaking her head.

“But I don’t know if it suits the tastes of the young lady and the duke.”

“I may not know what you think, but I’ve spent my life having much simpler meals than this. The food on this table is a feast for me,” Lobelia said sincerely. She didn’t want to disappoint Mrs. Pramer, who had put so much effort into preparing the table.

Mrs. Pramer was finally relieved by Lobelia’s sincere words. Pouring warm soup into small ceramic bowls, she left the room.

“Thank you so much for accepting the invitation,” Mrs. Pramer said as she left.

As soon as she left, Silveston, who had been standing beside the table, welcomed the two.

The three sat around the table, starting to enjoy the carefully prepared meal by Mrs. Pramer. The clam soup had a rich flavor, and the roasted goat meat seasoned with salt was delicious. Finally, the local pasta dish called Merdanion was the highlight of the meal.

After finishing the dishes, Mrs. Pramer came in, cleared the table, served dessert, and then left again.

The three leisurely indulged in desserts and exchanged various stories.

The main topic, of course, was Mine No. 9. Silveston showed great interest in how Mine No. 9 would be operated in the future, and Lobelia and Jade made efforts to answer his questions.

Contrary to Lobelia’s concern, Silveston did not awkwardly bring up the relationship between her and Jade throughout the dinner. His invitation to Jade seemed to be out of courtesy, and Silveston handled it tactfully.

Silveston may have seemed gruff at first glance, but he was, in fact, adept at dealing with people and leading discussions. Thanks to him, the atmosphere remained warm throughout the day.

This allowed Lobelia to finally relax after a long time.

It happened when she put the last remaining piece of soufflé in her mouth for dessert.

****

“I eat much better here than at my mansion.” Jade’s voice came from beside her. Only then did Lobelia realize that she had emptied every dish, from soup to main course, and even finished the soufflé.

Indeed, it had been a long time since she had eaten so much.

“Your appetite seems different today,” Lobelia replied, wiping her mouth with a napkin.

“Ah, I made a mistake,” Jade belatedly apologized.

“What do you mean?”

However, Lobelia was perplexed as to why he was apologizing. In general, imperial ladies considered it disgraceful to eat a lot, and gentlemen viewed it as rude to comment on the amount ladies ate. But Lobelia was different, or more precisely, she never gave any thought to how much she ate.

“I interfered with your meal.”

Jade explained his mistake with a feeling of foolishness.

Lobelia raised an eyebrow at the revelation that noble ladies in the empire paid attention to the amount of food they consumed.

“It’s okay. You don’t have to be so polite to me. There were times when I couldn’t eat at all, so if the food is delicious, I eat a lot.”

Lobelia’s philosophy on food was simple, influenced by her experiences of living poorly in the countryside and being confined in the attic by Josephine at the Evelentia mansion.

Jade, feeling like a fool, closed his mouth. He couldn’t understand why he had brought up the topic of food in the first place, leading to this awkward situation.

He just found it fascinating how Lobelia, who used to eat only a little like a bird and make uncomfortable expressions in front of food, was now comfortably enjoying her meals here.

Somehow, and he couldn’t quite explain why, he liked seeing that. His true feelings seemed to leak out unintentionally.

Jade bit his lip, trying to prevent himself from making another mistake.

Fortunately, Silveston and Lobelia carried the conversation well, so Jade didn’t need to speak anymore.

The issue was that Lobelia’s natural and relaxed demeanor continued.

Jade watched Lobelia actively and joyfully engage in the conversation with Silveston, as if they had built a strong bond in his absence.

‘When did they get so close without me?  ‘

For some reason, Jade felt a bit twisted.

He couldn’t understand why Lobelia, who had always rejected any form of care or kindness, was opening up to Silveston. And the fact that Silveston and Lobelia were discussing events that occurred when he wasn’t present bothered him.

The climax was when Silveston made a joke about Mine No. 9, and Lobelia burst into laughter.

At that moment, seeing Lobelia laugh so brightly, Jade was so surprised that he couldn’t say anything.

The naturally curved eyes, the widened smile, and the clear laughter.

Lobelia quickly covered her mouth with her hand, but Jade, who had been watching her, could still capture the blossoming laughter.

‘Was she really a woman who could laugh like this?  ‘

Jade thought, dumbfounded.