Don’t Pick Up The Trash Once Thrown Away - Chapter 149

“Baron… Wizard?”

 

Why is he, who should be at the Williot estate, here?

 

It was said that Philen came to the capital, so did he come along with him?

 

I didn’t know what brought Baron Wizard to the capital, but his presence in front of my mansion made me sure it was to meet me.

 

Baron Wizard was the closest to me among the Duke of Williot’s many aides. He was also the aide who helped me the most. That’s why it was nice to see him, but I couldn’t feel happy when I thought of the purpose of his visit.

 

Philen sent him, right? 

 

If not for that, Baron Wizard of the Duke of Williot wouldn’t have come to meet me at this late hour.

 

Anyway, I couldn’t keep Baron Wizard standing there. I had to bump into him anyway to get into the house.

 

I knocked on the window leading to the driver’s seat.

 

“Open it.”

 

“Yes, My Lady.”

 

Hans immediately opened the carriage door.

 

When I took his hand and got off, Baron Wizard approached me with a subtle expression.

 

“Long time no see, My Lady. Ah, I should call you Baron Aster now.”

 

It was the first time I felt so awkward being called Baron Aster.

 

“Yes. Long time no see, Baron Wizard.”

 

I smiled awkwardly and accepted Baron Wizard’s greeting.

 

Baron Wizard was holding a large box in his arms.

 

What is that? Is that a gift for me?

 

The box was a bit shabby for that, but seeing that he was holding it dearly, it seemed to be. Though I had no intention of accepting it.

 

“Did Duke Williot send you?”

 

When I asked bluntly, Baron Wizard smiled awkwardly and shook his head.

 

“No. It’s purely my own will to come here.”

 

“Really?”

 

“Yes. I swear in the name of my late predecessor, Duke Williot.”

 

It seemed to be true when he said that. But maybe he came to meet me because of Philen. Or maybe, it’s about the Williot estate.

 

Whether it was the former or the latter, it was equally difficult.

 

“I don’t know why you came here, but please go back. I have nothing to talk about with the Baron.”

 

When I was about to go into the mansion.

 

“I brought you Misa’s, the chief maid’s keepsake.”

 

I had no choice but to stop at his following words.

 

Misa’s… keepsake?

 

I looked back at Baron Wizard with my eyes wide open.

 

“Did you really bring Misa’s keepsake?”

 

Baron Wizard nodded and held out the box he held dearly to me.

 

“Yes. I got it from her bereaved family.”

 

If it’s Misa’s bereaved family, he’s probably referring to her son, right? 

 

Misa’s son was married and living in another estate before I became engaged to Philen, so I never saw him.

 

It was said that after Misa died, her son came to the Williot estate and took all her belongings.

 

…except for Misa’s body.

 

The son wanted to take it, but he couldn’t because Philen said he would never yield the body of the one who killed his child. Moreover, Misa’s body had already been fed to wild dogs, so it would be impossible to take it with him even if he allowed it.

 

Anyway, since Misa’s son took all of her belongings, I was sad and felt it was a pity that I couldn’t take any of her belongings, but to see it like this…

 

As I couldn’t take my eyes off the box, Baron Wizard smiled awkwardly.

 

“If you’re willing to listen to me, I will give you Misa’s keepsake.”

 

…is he making a deal?

 

I would have rejected it firmly if it was something else, but I couldn’t because Misa’s keepsake was at stake. I wanted to have Misa’s keepsake somehow.

 

“…alright.”

 

After a short thought, I nodded and turned around.

 

“Come on in.”

 

It will be okay to only listen to him, right? 

 

I took Baron Wizard into the mansion, thinking it would be okay to listen to whatever he wanted to say with one ear and let it out through the other.

 

*****

 

Late evening, in the emperor’s room.

 

Kalian closed the book, gently pressing down his painful eyes.

 

I’m going to stop here today.

 

As he put down his book and went to the bathroom, what caught his eye was the book he had also borrowed from the library.

 

The red cover of the book that made it stand out.

 

[Is this love?]

 

“…”

 

It was such a childish title that was too appalling to see. He was really curious as to who wrote this.

 

But why did I borrow this?

 

Kalian frowned as he couldn’t understand what he was doing a few hours ago.

 

I’ll have to tell the attendant to return it right away.

 

…but before that, should I check what it is about? I wonder how much nonsense would be written in it.

 

Kalian opened the book with a very serious face.

 

The first chapter contained a table of contents, and the next chapter contained a lengthy explanation of why the author wrote this book.

 

Just reading the first page didn’t make him feel the need to read this book. And again, the words with all kinds of unnecessary rhetoric were annoying, so he frowned.

 

I was only wasting my time.

 

As he was about to close the book, a sentence suddenly came into Kalian’s sight.

 

[If you want to know if it’s love or not, you must read this book.]

 

Love.

 

It was a distant word for Kalian.

 

Kalian had never loved anyone. So far, there’s only one…

 

[Your majesty.]

 

Suddenly, Leila’s image flashed through his mind like a film.

 

The way she called him with a bright smile and the way she tilted her head and wondered. Also, the way she listened carefully to what he said.

 

Her face, which was very happy with the little things and had a bright smile without a single speck, made even the viewers feel good.

 

On the other hand, the sight of her shoulders shaking and shedding tears was so sad that he wanted to hug her right away.

 

[…Your Majesty, do you like Baron Aster?]  

 

“…”

 

Does this mean I like someone?

 

I don’t think so.

 

Kalian sat on the sofa’s handle.

 

His eyes automatically turned to the book. The words he read a while ago caught his eye.

 

‘If you want to know if it’s love or not, you must read this book’. That cheeky sentence.

 

He knew his heart better than anyone else. Still, even though he thought he didn’t need any help from this book, he turned the pages without realizing it.

 

The sound of pages flipping echoed through the quiet room.

 

By the time the candlestick became very dirty with the dripping candle wax, Kalian read the contents of the book as if possessed.

 

“Falling in love is just a moment.”

 

‘Even if you close your eyes, you can see the other person clearly.’

 

‘Even the slightest touch makes you excited.’

 

‘It feels very bad if there’s another person next to that other person beside you.’

 

‘When the other person is happy, you are also happy.’

 

‘When the other person is sad, you are sadder than them.’

 

‘When you’re apart, you want to be with them.’

 

‘Love is what makes you want to be closer when you are together.’

 

“What a useless thing.”

 

This kind of stereotyped thing could have been written by him too.

 

I just wasted my time for nothing. 

 

Kalian clicked his tongue and closed the book.

 

At that moment, he could feel someone’s presence outside the window.

 

“Is it Hiltine?”

 

The window opened silently, and Hiltine entered with the cold wind. He bowed his head and said the reason why he came.

 

“A black market has opened up in the northern district.”

 

“Let’s go then.”

 

Kalian put the book on the table and stood up.

 

Soon, a cold wind blew in the room. Kalian’s body then became water droplets and scattered in the air.

 

*****

 

I took Baron Wizard to the drawing-room

 

Sarah and Ness, who knew him, exchanged meaningful glances and whispered.

 

“Please sit.”

 

“Excuse me.”

 

Baron Wizard looked around the drawing-room and smiled lightly.

 

“It’s a drawing-room with Baron Aster’s taste, isn’t it?”

 

Is that so? I’ve never really decorated it to reflect my tastes though.

 

“More than that, what do you want to say?”

 

I had a lot of work to do, and I wanted to receive Misa’s keepsake as soon as possible, so I asked the main point right away.

 

Baron Wizard let out a long sigh and clasped his hands tightly.

 

“Recently, the situation in the Williot estate has been very bad.”

 

Did he come here because of the Williot estate? It wasn’t pleasant, but it was better than it was about Philen.

 

“Well, it’s winter now. Is there something wrong?”

 

They can’t do farming either, right? 

 

When I asked in wonder, Baron Wizard’s complexion darkened even more.

 

“At this time, when no farming is done, the farmland needs to be restored to its original state, but it has not been restored yet.”

 

What is this again?

 

The flood happened that day, and the farmland hasn’t been restored until now? 

 

“Why? Did you not hire the wizard?”

 

“We were going to hire them, but the Duke postponed hiring the wizard because that woman was traumatized by them at the time.”

 

The woman he was referring to was Cecily.

 

Oh my God, how could he leave the farmland that the people of his territory depend on for their livelihood just because of her trauma? It’s very absurd.

 

“You can just hire them right now, then.”

 

Wasn’t Cecily not there anymore? It was late, but it was better than not hiring them at all.

 

But when I said it, Baron Wizard’s complexion became even worse.

 

“We would like to do that, too, but after that day, the Duke’s condition became strange.”

 

Philen’s condition became strange?

 

“I know I shouldn’t say this, but… the Duke is unable to maintain his sanity right now.”

 

In other words, he went crazy.

 

If the loyal Baron Wizard had used such an expression, it seemed that Philen’s condition was very bad.

 

Well… he was betrayed by the mistress he trusted, so it must be harder to stay sane.

 

I understood, but I didn’t sympathize with him. Because everything was something he brought to himself. He reaped what he sowed, so it was not worthy of sympathy.

 

“Not only does he not review the documents, but he is also addicted to drinking and drinking every day.”

 

His condition is much more serious than I thought, huh?

 

“And not too long ago, he suddenly said he needed to return. And so, he came to the capital.”

 

This story was not surprising because I had already heard it from Kalian.

 

“That made the estate even more messed up.”

 

Baron Wizard then explained how messed up the estate was.

 

Things were definitely bad. If it left as it was, the Williot estate would be on its way to destruction.

 

“We can’t just watch the Williot estate go down like this.”

 

Baron Wizard seemed to feel the same way as I did.

 

“We need someone to make things right.”

 

Baron Wizard bit his lip and looked at me.

 

“So Baron Aster, My Lady. Could you please come back to the Williot estate?”