Chapter 7 A Mysterious Beauty
Chapter 7: A Mysterious Beauty
“What are you talking about?”
I haven’t been out of the house since the stalking incident from last weekend. There was no such thing as a way for me to hear about Alan.
It’s not like going out of the house won’t make a point.
“Sir Alan was at the coffee shop last weekend.”
I choked as swallowed the wrong way.
“Mel, are you okay?”
Last Sunday was the day I waited for Alan blankly at the Antris coffee shop. Looking down at the words that couldn’t be read at all with a bored gaze.
There are only two coffee shops in the capital, Antris and Libre. Even though I knew it was useless, I vaguely imagined it. What was the probability that he entered the coffee shop before me and sat out of sight?
It was a nonsensical fantasy, but just imagining it somehow made my heart race.
Of course, if he really had come to the coffee shop to meet me, he wouldn’t have talked to me.
Nevertheless, I held back my lips from asking which coffee shop he was at. With force majeure. (T/N: it means he just wanted to see her and not talk to her)
But my lips were shut tightly because of Viola’s words that followed. Because I lost the meaning to ask.
“So, Sir Alan was in Antris last Saturday.”
Saturday was the day I met him after buying the poetry book. At that time, the sky was already turning red, and I didn’t know if Alan had already stopped by a coffee shop or was on his way to it.
I was just a little questionable about Viola speaking as if it were some great event. Although it is not common for Alan Leopold to appear in the middle of the city, is it so surprising that he was at a coffee shop?
“Why are you talking so seriously?”
“Sir Alan was with a girl!”
“Ah….”
Alan was always the center of the topic. He must be tired of his position, but it can’t be helped. Because everyone was anxious that they couldn’t reach him.
But he didn’t get along well with women or men. It was probably not because he was shy or something else. Because he was the heir of the Leopold Family, and he was sure to speak only when necessary,
I’ve always imagined that the reason he didn’t like to mix easily with people was because he was tired of people or because of his arrogance.
But last weekend, when I first met him, who had always been watching him from a distance, I had a vague thought. There was a very high probability that it might be the latter.
If the mere fact that he was with a woman was enough to circulate, there would be no way that the other person was his relative, his employer, or a business-related socialite. perhaps…..
“It was said that she was a mysterious beauty.”
I don’t know why my heart stung at that word.
“I heard that she had luscious red hair and wore glamorous clothes, but no one in the social world knew her.”
“…… That’s strange.”
“I know. Maybe she’s a foreigner.”
“Are they in a relationship? Those two.”
I don’t know why I’m asking this question.
“Well…It seemed like a pretty close relationship, so maybe it is? There was a lot of talk about his hidden fiancee.”
Viola’s face, as she answered with babbling, looked calm. Actually, she likes Alan’s beauty, but she didn’t
see him as a love object, so maybe that’s why she’s also in a relationship right now.
However, it was strange in any way to think that my heart fluctuated like a ship that met a storm after hearing the story from Viola.
I don’t know if I had expected that my relationship with him could progress just once when I ran into
him…….
Sending a letter to Tobias Miller was already a decision. As Viola said, it’s worth losing, so I decided to reply in a simple way.
However, after hearing the story of Alan and the young witch, I wanted to send a sincere reply. Thinking about it now, I wonder if it was something, like being grumpy. It’s a fleeting grudge that the other person (Alan) won’t notice at all.
“I don’t necessarily see it as bad.”
Viola suddenly opened her mouth.
“It’s welcoming to see the kingdom’s young women to stop tormenting their foolish hopes and face reality.”
“…..yes.”
That day, as soon as I got home, I wrote a letter to Tobias Miller. I wrote each letter with great care, using elegant handwriting, which was one of my few talents.
Sometimes I’m surprised by my own childishness.
Dear Mr Miller,
Excuse me for not having answered your letter sooner. I hope I’m not too late.
I’m sorry to have caused you a fever, but I was happy to receive the letter. At the same time, I thought all the time about what to say to answer. I’ll be coming of age this year, but I’m still a girl who’s not good at everything.
I’ll give you a chance to meet me again. I’m curious about you, too. I’ll wait at the Antris coffee shop on Saturday afternoon. I’ll be wearing a hat with a sky blue ribbon.
Best regards, Melissa.
*
*
*
In the midst of a quiet daily routine, the weekend has returned without fail. It was bright Saturday morning when my mother came to wake me up by herself with an excited face.
I was tempted to let my mother go instead of me to meet Tobias Miller. There was still a possibility that he was really about the age of a father or an old gentleman.
As I was leaving the house, my mother made a fuss for a while, saying she would call a carriage, and I had to sweat a lot to refuse it. Mrs. Kerney and Julia were also bustling as they saw me off to the front door.
“I said I want to go to a wonderful place…..I’ll be back without being late..”
“You will be late, Melissa!”
Fearing that my mother’s sermon would begin with those words, I hurried out the door.
The three women were behaving as if all my finding a imate was everything in life. Perhaps my father would have felt the same way. Is this how a soldier who goes to the battlefield for his country feels? I walked away with a deflated smile.
Outside, the air of autumn was getting thicker. The smell of wet leaves was carried by the cool wind. My heart was pounding for some reason, and I felt nervous as if I was floating in the air.
It was not even noon yet when I arrived at the coffee shop. The table was half full and filled with a moderately pleasant commotion.
I looked around the inside with nervous eyes, but I couldn’t see the figure of a man alone. I felt a deep sense of relief and sat down in a corner as if I had collapsed.
“Good weekend, Miss.”
At that time, an attendant with a friendly smile quickly approached.
“Oh, I’d like an Espresso please. Without sugar.”
As soon as I finished my order, the attendant politely bowed down and left. As I stared at the white back, the surrounding landscape caught my eye again.
Even in the middle of the leisurely weekend, Antris Coffee Shop boasted a cozy atmosphere.
The walls surrounded by dark Mahogany panels went well with the small floral decorations hanging everywhere, and the teak wooden floor, which stood out with the grain of the wood, twinkled like a mirror, as if it had been polished carefully.
It was when I was looking down at the wooden floor tightly woven with chevron patterns and chasing the narrow gap with a blurred gaze for a while.
“Miss Collins?”
When I heard a cautious voice over my head, I froze. didn’t have the talent to talk to a man in a casual manner. The moment has come to admit that meeting him was just a hasty attack.
Fortunately, at least, his voice was cautious enough to give the impression that he was gentle, and that he didn’t seem like an old man.
“… Right?”
When the calm question knocked on my ear again, raised my head.
“To… Mr. Miller?”
I couldn’t remember his name for a moment, but I stuttered like a fool. He affirmed my words with a wide smile.
The man in front of me seemed to be less than thirty. The first thing I noticed was his slightly brighter brown hair that looked soft like coffee with milk. His eyes were dark black, and his smile was kind.
“Thank you very much for giving me a chance to meet you again. Can I sit down if you don’t mind?”
“Oh, yes…I placed an order first…….”
I was visibly gibberish. He had a comfortable impression that could be easily seen around him, and it was never because of the reason that he was a very handsome man.
What made me nervous was the fact that the person he sent the love letter to was indeed me. Because was implicitly thinking that he would be embarrassed when he saw my face…
“It’s okay. I’ll order Miss Collins’ coffee then.”
I had a lot of questions. Like why did you send me a love letter and what aspect of me that you liked?
I just couldn’t say anything because I didn’t want to ask any stupid question.
The same was true of the other person who was unable to start the conversation. He seemed to be thinking about what to say to me. Of course, he seemed nervous, but I was so rigid that anyone could tell it.
The first word he chose was outstanding.
“It’s a pretty hat.”
“Ah…”
At those words, I could see at once that he was a thoughtful person. Suddenly, I felt like my vigilance melted away like snow. Half, if not all.
“Thank you. I put a ribbon on the hat my aunt and grandmother gave me. I didn’t put it on myself, but….”
“Awesome. I’m so happy to see you again…… Oh, did I already tell you this story….”
“……Yes, Mr. Miller.”
Then he smiled shyly.
“You can call me Toby.”
Soon after, when the attendant approached and put down a small cup of coffee in front of me, Toby sent the attendant away by asking for the same thing as me.
It was only the two of us again.
“I think I have to explain how I ended up sending such a letter.”
Toby nervously touched his nails and smiled nicely. As if trying to reassure me. The Indian dimples that went wide over their cheeks looked innocent.
“I may sound like a fool….. I thought you were beautiful, Miss Collins.”
“…What about me?”
“Wasn’t it written in the letter?”
He let out a shy laugh. I couldn’t believe this tickling situation.
“My eyes are brown. How can they look like a lake? || thought you were mistaken for me and someone else…..”
“When I first looked at you, I thought your eyes were clear.”
“If you were to talk about colors…… It can be called a lake deep in the mountains in autumn.”
He spoke just like a poet. I was just puzzled because found someone praising my ordinary eyes for the first time.
Dark-colored eyes looked at me cautiously.
“A lake full of beautiful maple trees, Miss Collins.”
***
T/N: find yourself a man who praises you like Toby.
Comments from Korean readers:
Wow TTTTit’s perfect
It’s ticklish! So good!!
Oh my….
Ha i need to buy more cookies
that’s funny
He speaks so beautifully TTTT
Awww, he is poetic
I ain’t dating unless I get a man like him
