If You Wish to Have Me - Chapter 162

Life at the hotel was nothing if not comfortable.

The people Seyard had assigned to her prepared everything Kisa needed before she even had to ask.

He had even called a renowned obstetrician from Matera to the hotel to examine Kisa.

Kisa was a bit nervous, wondering if this might be the same doctor that Gale had introduced her to before, but fortunately—or unfortunately—it was a completely different person.

“As of now, both mother and baby are fine, so you can rest assured.”

He only cautioned that Kisa’s weight was below the appropriate level and that it would be better to be careful, then left.

After that day, whether there were instructions from Seyard or not, Kisa’s meals, which had already looked appetizing and nutritious, evolved to an even higher level.

However, Kisa had no appetite at all and sent back a considerable portion without even touching it.

In terms of her food intake alone, it was similar to when her morning sickness had been at its peak.

The people attending to Kisa told her several times that if there was anything she wanted to eat, she should let them know anytime, but Kisa only shook her head weakly.

It wasn’t that no food came to mind, but it was something they couldn’t prepare for her.

The dishes she had eaten at Mana’s house. Kisa constantly reminisced about those simple yet heartwarming flavors.

‘Even if Mana brought her home-cooked food directly here, it probably wouldn’t taste the same.’

It wasn’t simply a matter of ingredients or cooking process, but a flavor created by the people she shared it with and a fulfilling life.

Though the food at Count Vansfelt’s estate was more familiar, there had never been another time in her life when she had eaten so comfortably, without caring about dining etiquette or anything else.

That’s why Kisa declined the proposal that Seyard made out of concern for her.

“I’m fine, so there’s no need for that.”

“But the taste of your longed-for homeland will comfort your body and mind more than foreign food.”

Today, Seyard, who had joined the dinner table with Kisa’s consent, suddenly asked if it would be good to bring the head chef from Count Vansfelt’s estate here.

“If you mean the taste of home, I’m already experiencing it. Most of the food the hotel prepares is from Sorbi, isn’t it?”

“Food varies quite a bit depending on who cooks it.”

“I agree with that. But in this case, calling our house’s head chef wouldn’t be much use. I don’t particularly miss that person’s cooking.”

She was a bit nostalgic for it, but she didn’t want to meet the head chef here, so she lied.

Then Seyard didn’t urge her again.

“I see. I understand your feelings well. But could you promise me just this one thing?”

“What is it?”

“If you feel like eating anything, even a little, please be sure to tell me.”

His large hand overlapped Kisa’s hand on the table.

“Given what the doctor said, I’m worried. Also, since I wasn’t able to do much for you while we were apart, I want to make up for it from now on.”

At his considerate, worried gaze, Kisa was silent for a moment, then answered briefly.

“I’ll try.”

It was an ambiguous response that was neither this nor that.

Kisa didn’t like the silence that was approaching, so she brought up the next topic.

“Since we’re talking about it…”

This was the reason why Kisa, who had repeatedly declined Seyard’s requests to spend time together, citing reasons like not being in the mood or needing to take afternoon naps, had accepted this dinner invitation.

“How was my father after I left? I imagine he was very angry.”

Perhaps because it was a question Kisa had asked for once, Seyard tried to answer sincerely.

“I didn’t witness it directly, but from what I heard, that was the case. In the process of looking for you, I had occasion to send people to Count Vansfelt’s estate for various reasons, and they all said unanimously that the person who had been so cold-headed looked quite anxious. Some even heard loud voices from within the mansion.”

“……Is that so.”

This was exactly what Kisa had expected.

How upset he must have been. The daughter he had thought was a puppet who would move according to his words had arbitrarily broken off the marriage he had been working on and run away.

Thinking about it that way, a strange thrill arose in her chest, but more than that, she felt uneasy.

Of course, it wasn’t worry about her father born from filial piety, but about others.

‘What if the sparks flew to innocent places…….’

The faces of the servants who had attended to Kisa closely, such as her nanny and maid Masa, came clearly to mind.

Although they had been Count Vansfelt’s eyes, monitoring Kisa’s every move, that was their job.

The issue of livelihood, which had only touched her superficially when she was a noble lady, Kisa could now think of as her own concern.

She had considered practical problems when planning her escape, but actually coming out into the outside world and experiencing it firsthand was a completely different matter.

By personally helping with work at Mana’s general store, she had experienced what it meant to engage in making a living, and she had to fall into despair imagining a future where she might have to live alone with a newborn baby in case of emergency.

Only then did she understand. This is what it means to live as a commoner, and this is what life is like without a fence to protect oneself from the world.

For that reason, now she was not resentful of them but worried that they might have suffered in her place.

The Count was not harsh in nature toward his servants, but he didn’t particularly respect them either.

He was a person who didn’t even respect his own children.

“Oh, and if you’re talking about the servants who attended to you, they’re currently at my estate.”

But before Kisa could even open her mouth to say anything, Seyard brought up such words.

“What? At the Hillan estate?”

At Kisa’s question, Seyard answered while gracefully tilting his water glass.

“Was it perhaps unnecessary interference? My subordinate who heard the Count’s loud voice earlier said that he was sternly questioning your nanny at the time. It was probably because she was the servant who had been most intimate with you.”

It was a plausible story since, from childhood, whenever Kisa had any problems, the primary responsibility always fell on the nanny.

“I thought that if left as it was, the Count might punish the nanny or even dismiss her, so when I met with him, I said I wanted to take her on.”

“……Did father readily accept it?”

“He seemed displeased, thinking it was overstepping, but he didn’t particularly object.”

“Well, he wouldn’t have much to say to you either.”

Since he had poorly managed his daughter and caused the marriage to go awry, what could he dare say?

In fact, even if such a thing hadn’t happened, the Count would have tried to accommodate Seyard’s requests as much as possible.

Because that’s what power is.

“Anyway, putting the nanny aside, what happened to the other people?”

“When I heard his story, it seemed the other servants who had attended to you were in similar situations, so I made additional requests to the Count.”

Kisa breathed a sigh of relief for now.

Although she felt a subtle bitterness that he had easily solved what she had been worrying about all along as if it were nothing, she was still glad that they didn’t seem to have suffered greatly.

Since she had received help, she should express her gratitude.

“Thank you, Seyard. Thanks to you, I was saved.”

“Not at all. I’m happy that it was helpful to you.”

“……Why did you go to such lengths for me?”

She was a woman who had ruined the wedding and left. It was a question that implied such doubt.

And Seyard, as always, gave an answer that matched Kisa’s expectations.

“Because I love you. I wanted my house to become a place that you would want to return to, even a little.”

Kisa didn’t know how to respond, so she just kept her mouth shut.

The emotion he harbored made Kisa’s heart heavy while paradoxically also eliciting the opposite reaction.

Seyard gazed at such a Kisa quietly, then suddenly brought up unexpected words.

“Won’t you go out with me tomorrow?”

“Go out?”

“Yes, I’d like to go to a concert together.”

Seyard’s smile deepened.

“You might meet a familiar face there.”