Hard Work Will Never Betray Me - CH 7

“Good day, to you .”

I witness a real princess and become completely rigid. In this life, I’m a real nobleman, but inside I’m a young virgin from the common folk.

The greeting that I had prepared was blown out of my mind, and I was showing a face that was unreadable to  nobleman.

“Welcome, Your Excellency. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you, so it’s a great honor to see you here.”

“I’m glad to see you are in such good health, North General.  It is because of outstanding people like you that we can sleep with our pillows high.”

“What are you saying?  My work is only possible because of the Duke’s strong support. ”

Haha, you are too modest, Lord Farenheit.  and this you’re the legitimate son, Eberhard, aren’t he ?”

Just as I thought the old men were exchanging greetings with their aristocratic talk (they seemed to get along with each other well enough to call it social etiquette, so they probably meant it), the contradiction came to me.

Yes, this is my eldest son, Eberhard. , Eberhard, and I am very glad that you care for him, even though he is not a perfect “.

“I’ve heard that he is quite brilliant at such a young age. Whenever I hear gossip about him through social gatherings, I am always impressed by the fact that he is the son of Lord Farenheit.”

“T”hat’s too kind of you to say.”

“It would be better to say hello to her . I’m sure you’ll understand. You can’t stay in a daze forever.”

“The first time we met  i am , Karlheinz Klaus von Fahrenheit son, Eberhard Karlheinz von Flensburg Fahrenheit.  I A, is still in my infancy, but I look forward to working with you.”

“Well, I am Lagarde von Bernstein, the head of the Duke of Bernstein, which is located next to your father’s frontier county. I am delighted to have made the acquaintance of a young man with such a promising future as yours.”

“”That’s very kind of you to say.”

I’m sure the language is fine now!　I don’t know how great a duke is, but his aura is clearly different!　I feel that my father is great as general, but the Duke is even greater. Well, he looks about ten years older than my father, so I guess the difference is due to his age.

Then the duke called his daughter who was waiting behind him.

“Lily, come here.”

“Yes, father.”

The girl called Lily walked up in front of us, bowed gracefully and said in a beautiful voice like a bell rolling.

“I’m Henriette Lily von Bernstein. I the eldest daughter of the Dukes of Bernstein. Please make my acquaintance.”

“Thank you for your kindness. I look forward to working with yon.”

“Nice to meet you.”

I don’t know what to say in this situation. What should I say to the Duke? But she was a six-year-old girl, the same age as me. It would not shorten the distance between us even if I returned the greeting in a strange and elaborate manner. And moreover, she might be my bride-to-be. I thought it would make a better impression if I was friendly. That’s why I dared to reply softly. ……

“Hmmm…”

What came back was an indescribable laugh. I don’t know if I succeeded or failed.

Seeing us like that, His Excellency the Duke opened his mouth.

N”ow, we have something important to discuss. t, and you two should go and have some fun together.”

I was suddenly confronted with a hard problem. Do you want me to be alone with a girl?

“Is it okay if I don’t have an escort?”

Nice assist, old man. I’m not sure I can hold a conversation without at least mixing in Arisa or one of servants.

“This is your house, isn’t it?　Then there is no danger. Or do you feel uneasy about being alone with me?”

“No way. …… You two are going to have to get along.”

“Uh-huh”.

“I know, Uncle.”

Let’s go, then.

“Yes, let’s.

…… It seems that it is the dukes who are thinking more positively about this engagement .

✳︎

“So, let’s go, shall we?”

“Where are we going? ”

I turned to Lily with a cold sweat on my back, shoving myself as hard as I could inside.

This is the first time I’ve seen her up close and personal, and she’s so pretty and beautiful that I can’t believe she’s from this world.

.” The garden we saw on the way here was so beautiful, I want to look around some more.”

What?　The beautiful voice that sounds like a rolling bell is still there, but the tone of voice has changed.

“Hmmm, that was just my way of talking to people. My father gave me a lot of cajoling to learn it better.

“I guess we’re all the same when it comes to learning manners.”

I was surprised because I thought the Count would be more powerful and scary, but  you are such a cute boy.

” cute?”

Can I call you Eberhard?”

Hal is fine. Can i call you Lily?

Yeah, sure. Hal’s kind of cute.

Don’t say cute to a guy. ……

It’s not so bad when it’s said by a relative’s aunt, but when it’s said by a girl of the same age (six years old!) If it’s said by an aunt, it’s a little depressing. I’d rather have a girl say, “You’re so cool! ! It seems that my baby face like my mother’s had an unwanted effect on me here.

Anyway, I was glad that she was more frank than I expected. I would have been in trouble if she had continued in her distant mode.

Well, there’s a lot more to show in the garden. I’ve done some work on it myself.

I’ve been walking around the garden a lot since I was a baby with my mom.  and since I’ve been able to do things on my own, I’ve built a lot of secret bases in the backyard!

No matter how old a man gets, he always loves secret bases and things like that. It’s great that I’m a kid now, so I can play like that without hesitation. I would love to show Lily the beauty of my secret base.and maybe we can build our own base together!

“Shall we go ?”

I couldn’t help but hold out my hand, as I do when I walk with my sister and brother (my sister is still a baby and can’t walk). It’s like a date, isn’t it?

I was so nervous, but I couldn’t pull it back now that I had offered my hand, so I made a delicate face and started to stiffen up again with my hand halfway out, a situation I didn’t understand.

“Let’s go!

Fortunately, for  me Lily, who was still a child, holding hands with a man did not seem to be a particularly serious event. She grasped my hand back in a normal way and wrapped her soft hand around mine with the high body temperature characteristic of a child. She’s cute.

I was a little nervous, even though I was over 20 years old inside. Do I smell like a criminal?　It’s okay, I’m the same age as you!