Young Lady Albert Is Courting Disaster: Volume 7, page 4
“It’s fine! I have everything I need for a sleepover here, including my pajamas. I also have thorough knowledge of the baths at Albert Manor!”
“I hope you’re not just using this situation as an excuse to stay here...” Mary grumbled suspiciously as she glared at the other girl.
However, Alicia magnificently ignored such allusions. Instead, she approached Adi, and peered down at the sleeping Anna’s face. “She’s so cute like this,” Alicia said affectionately, but to Mary, it just seemed like she was feigning ignorance.
Regardless, Alicia was experienced in dealing with children, so Mary could at least admit that she was thankful to have the girl’s help. Knowing she had no other choice, she decided to keep quiet about the matter. “All right, Alicia. Please look after Anna.”
“Okay! Now then, Adi! Please get Anna to bed, slowly, carefully, and without shaking her!” Alicia instructed, all the more invigorated now that Mary was relying on her.
Adi smiled dryly in response. He would’ve bowed, but couldn’t do so without the risk of waking Anna, so instead he settled for a light nod. Then, he vacated the room.
It was shortly after he left that Roberto entered. “I’m afraid I come with bad news,” he announced.
***
Once he’d put Anna to bed, Adi returned to the room. Roberto, who was taking a breather, began explaining what he’d discovered. Under his supervision, Albert Manor’s staff had found out that nobody had reported a missing child named Anna in their country.
“Does that mean she came from another nation...?” Mary asked.
“The scope of our search is wide, but as you might expect, things are more complicated when it comes to other countries...” Roberto said.
“But Anna said her mother had been hospitalized. It’s possible that nobody’s noticed she’s missing...” Mary argued.
If Anna truly was a lost child from abroad whom even her parents didn’t know was missing, then finding more information about the matter wouldn’t be easy. The only person they could ask at this stage was Anna herself. But if they pressed her too much, she might grow fearful again.
This may be a drawn out war... Mary thought, reaching for the postcards that were resting atop the table. “What are these?”
“Postcards from Anna’s father. They mention that he’s been working away from home for a long time now, and he doesn’t even know where he is anymore,” Roberto said.
“Working away...?”
“Yes. It sounds like he hasn’t been back for as long as Anna can remember. That’s why she was out looking for him based only on this postcard.”
As Roberto explained, Mary glanced through each of the postcards in turn. There were only five of them. They looked old, and it seemed like they hadn’t been kept properly, as the paper was deteriorating, wrinkled, and had a few tears here and there. Everything would’ve been resolved if she could have read the address, but sadly those areas were too smudged to read.
All that remained was the landscape pictured on the postcards. The little Anna must’ve thought that she would be able to find her father if she followed the scenery depicted in these images. She’d had these postcards in her pochette, along with a creased handkerchief. There were also a few crumbled cookies, and so few coins that one couldn’t even call it a child’s allowance.
That was all she had on her. Her supplies were certainly insufficient for such a journey, but Anna must’ve prepared them to the best of her ability. The idea made Mary’s chest ache.
“To think such a small child was walking around with only some postcards as her guide...” Adi muttered with a sigh, taking one of the cards from Mary. The writing was all blurry, and even the images were faded and dim. Using this as a guide was beyond unreliable. If anything, it was reckless.
Nevertheless, they were Anna’s only means of finding her father. She had treated them with the utmost care when she’d taken them out of her pochette.
“Still...” Mary said quietly. Both the front and the back of the postcards were too blurry to be of use. They looked old, so they must’ve been sent several years ago. Anna had said that these five were the only ones they’d had, and that her mother had kept them in a box. Mary sighed when she remembered how lonely Anna had looked when she’d mentioned that.
The girl’s father had left home a long time ago in order to work. The only information they had about him was based on old postcards, which had stopped coming a few years ago. This didn’t exactly seem like a solution.
“Your Ladyship, I know you may have some things on your mind regarding this, but for now we should focus on finding Anna’s mother. Getting her back home is the first priority,” Adi said.
“You’re right... Tomorrow, let’s go out in a carriage to follow the path that Anna walked. Roberto, please continue the search too,” Mary commanded, at which Roberto bowed his head.
“If you need extra hands, House Dyce will join the search,” Patrick added. “Mary, I’ll come along tomorrow as well.”
“Are you sure?” she asked him.
“I may not be as experienced as Alicia, but I have younger brothers myself, so I know a thing or two about caring for kids. I think I can help.”
“Right, how nostalgic... When our mothers had tea parties together, you used to sit to the side with your brothers and read them books. At the same time, my brothers were chasing me around with frogs in their hands...” Mary recalled, furrowing her brows at the unpleasant memory.
Compared to House Dyce’s intellectual brothers, the Albert children had been exceedingly boisterous. Generally, Mary would screech as loud as thunder, Adi would rush over, and Roberto would bring the twins down, drawing things to a close. It had all been very clamorous, indeed.
We’re both distinguished families from the same nation, so why is there such a difference between us? Mary asked herself inwardly. Even considering that their conditions at home hadn’t been identical, the disparity between them was just too great. A moment later, Mary shook her head to dispel these idle thoughts (things would always get postponed like this, which was why the state at Albert Manor was still so boisterous).
“Well, it’s heartening to hear that both you and Alicia will be around,” Mary spoke up. “Right, Adi?”
“Of course. However, I’m the reason we’re in this troublesome situation to begin with,” Adi responded. “So you can just stay here, milady. You shouldn’t be taking such trips. You ought to rest at home instead...”
“Rest at home? Mary, are you feeling unwell?” Patrick asked, looking at her with concern.
Adi’s face soured at his accidental slipup. Roberto glared at him coolly.
In contrast, Mary’s expression was clear as she evasively replied with, “A little.” Dealing with children may have been her weak point, but keeping up appearances and glossing things over was her specialty.
“If you don’t feel well, shouldn’t you stay at Albert Manor?” Patrick followed up.
“I’m fine; Adi’s just a worrywart. Besides, I’m not sick. This is something I ought to accept,” Mary explained with a warm smile, giving herself a tight hug. She wondered if the child in her belly would feel the embrace. The thought made her feel all the more affectionate.
“Accept...?” Patrick repeated. “Well, as long as you’re not sick, then fair enough. I’m going to go back home and begin the preparations. You’ll see me again tomorrow morning.”
“I’d like to see you off, Lord Patrick,” Roberto proposed. “If you don’t mind, we’d certainly love to receive House Dyce’s assistance.”
“No problem. Well then, Mary, Adi. I’ll be excusing myself.”
Patrick and Roberto both stood up and walked out of the room. Now it was just Mary and Adi. Mary let out a deep breath, and Adi softly patted her arm. Naturally, that was because she blamed him for his earlier gaffe. Patrick was quick on the uptake, so it wouldn’t have been surprising if he’d realized something upon hearing Adi’s words.
Adi placed a cushion on Mary’s knees, perhaps by way of apology. Her arm was already midswing, but she altered its course towards the cushion. She punched it lightly to express her exasperation and anger.
“Gracious, what a careless father you are! Don’t you agree?” Mary asked, addressing her abdomen.
Adi awkwardly scratched the back of his head. He then moved closer to Mary and placed his hand on her belly. His touch was gentle, maybe for the sake of the child, or else to lift Mary’s mood. “I apologize. I’m just worried about you.”
“Only about me?” Mary prompted, purposefully sulking about Adi being a mean father.
Adi surmised what she was trying to say and smiled wryly. He looked a bit embarrassed, yet unspeakably happy as well. How utterly lovely his expression was in this moment. “I’m worried about you and our child. So please don’t push yourself too much.”
“Right, I’d better consult the doctor about this. And we should have the carriage drive slowly.”
“Of course. With the doctor’s permission, we’ll make all the preparations. We’ll inform the driver, take plenty of breaks, and travel as slowly as possible to reduce any shaking.”
Mary paused. “It sounds like walking would be faster.”
“You mustn’t walk for long periods of time,” Adi insisted, and Mary’s shoulders sank at his overprotectiveness. His expression made it clear that he wasn’t joking, and that he wouldn’t allow her to take a single step.
But thinking of the child in her belly, Mary concluded that maybe this level of protectiveness was acceptable. Adi was only acting like this because he cared about her and their baby. Mary was grateful for that. Yet even so...
“If we go that slowly and stop so frequently, the others might catch on. Patrick noticing wouldn’t be surprising, and as for Alicia... When it comes to me, she has a scarily good intuition,” Mary said, knowing better than to underestimate the girl.
If they did as Adi suggested, their friends might recognize that something was going on. They might wonder why Mary’s carriage was taking so long, given the fact that they were supposed to be in a hurry to get Anna back home.
When Mary said as much, Adi nodded deeply. “Leave that to me.” He puffed out his chest, seemingly having a plan. “After all, I have motion sickness!” he declared, for some reason sounding proud. The difference in temperatures between his imposing stance and his actual statement was unspeakable.
“You mean we’ll blame your motion sickness?” Mary questioned.
“Yes, exactly!”
“I wonder where your sudden pride and self-confidence have come from... But I suppose you have a point. We can deceive them that way.”
When Mary entrusted the matter to him, Adi nodded elatedly. What a thin line there was between looking cool versus unattractive. Nevertheless, with this plan in place, they’d be able to avoid Patrick and Alicia’s suspicion.
I’ll have to wake up early tomorrow and see the doctor, Mary thought. “But...” she whispered, for there was one thing still on her mind. Adi looked at her inquiringly. “I’m a bit worried about going back to my room all by myself when I’m pregnant. I wonder if I’ll be able to find the way?” she mused, pretending to be fearful.
Adi smiled softly, reading her intentions, and held out his hand to her.
A single horse-drawn carriage departed from Albert Manor the following day. Inside were Mary and Adi, as well as Anna, who’d clung to Adi since the moment she opened her eyes. Sitting across from the trio were Patrick and Alicia. However, directly behind this carriage...
“Follow them!”
“Make sure we don’t lose sight of them...”
...was yet another carriage with Lang and Lucian inside.
Chapter 2
“They’re obviously following us,” Mary murmured with disgruntlement while glaring at the carriage behind them. It definitely belonged to House Albert, and to her brothers, no less. Yesterday, they had disappeared after mentioning frogs and lizards, and Mary had thought that would be the end of that. But now it was clear to her that the twins had been devising a way to follow her since the previous day.
Mary had wanted to leave the house in their hands while she was away, but things hadn’t turned out like that at all. The small light of expectation within her, as well as her appraisal of her brothers, went out in a blaze of glory. Now, she lamented the fact that she had sent Roberto out on the search.
If he’d been here, he would’ve been able to stop Lang and Lucian’s antics. Or perhaps, after a long period of deliberating whether he should stop his foolish masters or follow his foolish brother, he would’ve hopped onto the carriage after all. (Mary thought the latter was more likely, because while she found Roberto reliable, she still thought of him, Lang, and Lucian as a unit.)
“Goodness!” she complained. “I told them we were going to look for Anna’s house. Do they think we’re taking a leisurely trip?”
“I’m sure they’re just concerned. But don’t worry, Anna. I guarantee they’re not bringing frogs or lizards with them,” Adi reassured the girl.
“I hate frogs and lizards...” she whispered fearfully while clinging to him. Just looking at her terrified countenance made Mary feel a stab of pain.
Reflexively, she clenched her fist. “Leave it to me!” she proclaimed enthusiastically. “Be it frogs or lizards, I’ll drive them all away!”
“Really...?” Anna asked quietly.
“Really! I’ll...um...pick them up and toss them out of the carriage window!” Mary declared proudly.
Anna contemplated for a few seconds. “But then I’ll feel sorry for them...” she said eventually, her head drooping. Although she hated frogs and lizards, she still didn’t want to see them tossed out a window. Considering the carriage’s speed and the way it shook, throwing small creatures from it would be a matter of life and death for them.
Mary looked blatantly troubled at Anna’s sympathizing with the critters. “Then what do you want me to do...?” she asked pathetically. She didn’t think she could go up against frogs and lizards in the first place. Had Anna not been here and Mary’s brothers barged into the carriage with such creatures, Mary would’ve screamed at the sight of them. (Or perhaps she would’ve bemoaned her brothers’ immaturity.) But it wasn’t as if she could retract her statement, so she was at a loss for what else to do.
At that moment, Alicia smiled and addressed Anna. “If it comes to it, we can take those frogs and lizards back home to Albert Manor. There’s a garden and a fountain, so the critters can live there safe and sound.”
“Really? So nobody will toss them?”
“No, don’t worry. But we’ll have to get House Albert’s approval first,” Alicia said, purposefully casting Mary a worried look.
Mary’s eyes widened at this sudden change in topic. “Me?” she asked. But when Adi lightly elbowed her with a wry smile on his face, she finally understood what Alicia was doing. Patrick was smiling as well, and sent Mary a nod.
Anna hesitantly glanced up at Mary. Her soft, fluffy hair swayed with the movement, and her large red eyes were practically urging Mary to agree. It was adorable to see how worried she was about the critters, even though none of it was actually happening. “Can the frogs and lizards live in your home?”
“F-Fine,” Mary replied. “If need be, I’ll even install a frog-shaped ornament by the fountain.”
Anna thought about that for a while. “No need,” she decided, rejecting the idea. Apparently, the idea of a frog objet d’art was not to her liking.
Mary groaned and murmured, “You’re quite selfish, aren’t you?”
The little girl giggled at her words. The way she hid her mouth with both hands was very childlike. It seemed like Anna was teasing Mary, and Mary was left at the mercy of Anna’s shifting attitude.
***
The conversation continued for a while as they traveled. Anna was slowly coming out of her shell, and occasionally she played hand games with Alicia. Although she still stuck by Adi and called him her father, she was no longer wary of everyone else.
“Ah, I lost again. This is the first time I’ve taken loss after loss in a game,” Patrick said, having just lost against Anna. It was the first time in his life that he’d been on such a losing streak, and nothing was going his way.
“You’re losing because you’re trying to employ elaborate strategies in a hand game, Patrick,” Mary said. “That won’t do you any good.”
“I don’t want to hear that from someone who keeps adding an element of psychological warfare to this,” he responded.
They both smiled pleasantly while criticizing each other’s faults. Their smiles were beautiful, as if taken straight out of a painting. Yet in reality, there was a spark of strife between them as they struggled not to land in last place. Alicia and Anna watched them with amusement. As for Adi...
“Daddy, are you okay?”
“I’m not your father, and I’m not okay... But don’t worry. Just keep playing...”
...he was leaning against the window as he stared into the distance with hollow eyes. Indeed, it was due to his motion sickness. He wasn’t putting on an act.
“Adi loses by default.”
“Adi takes last place.”
Mary and Patrick were still smiling as they nodded at each other. This was no coward’s way out; it was simply that as members of distinguished noble families, they couldn’t afford to land in last place, even in a children’s game.
***
The trip continued, interspersed with more games and idle chatter, until eventually the carriage began slowing down. “We’re here, Adi,” Mary said, rubbing his shoulder. (Anna imitated Mary and rubbed his arm too. What a gentle child she was.)
The carriage stopped, and everyone looked out through the windows. Before them was an expansive field of flowers, blooming in many colors beneath the sun’s rays. The breeze reached inside the carriage, bringing with it a floral fragrance. Mary’s breath hitched at the gorgeous scenery. It was different from the pristinely managed garden within Albert Manor. There was a natural beauty here, with flowers freely blooming all over the place.
