01x02 - ...Thank You

[bunniefuu]

I hate my house.

The chill of the desk
where I studied alone...

And...

It seems you've had
a dalliance with a girl

whose family is not of noble status.

Would you please choose
your partners more prudently?

What about you?
Stop bringing men into this house.

The people will talk.

The voices of my parents
speaking cruelly to each other

are the only things that fill this house.

Master, Mistress,
Young Master Julius is...

Oh?

Well, then.

You overheard.

A dream?

I'd forgotten about all that
and my parents, and yet...

It must be because I went
ahead with this marriage.

The Duke's Son Claims He Won't Love Me,
But Showers Me with Adoration

It's been a month since
I married Lord Julius.

The peas!

This is my first harvest.

Our first day brought a few surprises...

but he was kind enough to say
that I could spend my time as I like;

so I've been growing vegetables
in a corner of the grounds.

Good morning!

Good morning, my lady.

Thank you, as always.

And the maids let me sew with them.

Lady Elsa, you really are skilled at this!

It makes me happy to hear you say that.

I've been spending my time
in quite a leisurely manner.

Dear Husband!

Good morning!

Good morning.

I feel as though she's looking at me
more intently than usual today.

Has she put poison
in my food, or something?

No, that can't be it.

It seems she's already become friendly
with the servants of the house.

She is a puzzling girl.

He didn't touch it today, either.

The vegetables I grew
don't seem to suit his tastes.

Please don't let it bother you.

Lord Julius has always had many foods
he's disliked without even trying them.

He makes the head chef cry.

He hates them without trying them?

He hates most vegetables.

You mean, he hates them without
ever once trying a single bite?

But that's just...

I will correct my husband's eating habits!

The most basic way to deal
with a hatred of vegetables

is to mince them finely and
mix them into other foods, but...

Lady Elsa, some mail has arrived for you.

There are so many today.

Most of them seem to be invitations
to tea parties hosted by the nobility.

Being the person Lord Julius married

appears to have garnered
a lot of interest.

Oh, what a beautiful envelope!

That invitation is from the wife
of Marquis Rikkonen, Lady Rebeka.

Lady Rebeka?

Oh!

The lovely lady I met
the day of the wedding ceremony!

She said that she was
Lord Julius's childhood friend.

Yes, the house of Marquis Rikkonen

and our ducal house of Royas have been
on friendly terms for generations.

Perhaps I will be able to
hear more about Lord Julius.

I will accept this invitation.

Lady Serafina.

These are the invitations to soirées
and tea parties that arrived today.

Today, they include an invitation
from the wife of Marquis Rikkonen.

From Lady Rebeka?

Then, the wife of that gentleman
may also be there.

I will also attend this tea party.

We've arrived, Lady Elsa.

So this is Lady Rebeka's estate.

I'm so nervous.

Lady Elsa!

Thank you for coming.

To introduce myself once more,
I am Rebeka Rikkonen.

I am Elsa Royas.

I was only able to give
my greetings to you

on the day of the wedding ceremony.

I'm so glad to have this opportunity
to speak with you at leisure!

It's just as I thought.
Lady Rebeka is so kind!

And I was overjoyed
to receive your invitation!

Lady Elsa, how is your
newlywed life with Julius?

Lord Julius is treating me very well.

The food is delicious,
and my bed is so fluffy!

And he's given me a garden
plot, and lets me do as I like!

I'm so glad that Julius found
a connection with someone like you.

When it comes to anything other than
work, he's completely hopeless.

As his friend, I've been worried for him.

Is that so?

But my impression of Lord Julius
is that he's always so dignified.

Well, then. I'll go and prepare the tea.

Please wait in this room.

H-Hello.

A pleasant day to you.

Hello.

My, this is the first time
we've met, isn't it?

Yes, I hope you'll look kindly on me.

Lady Rebeka's tea is absolutely delicious!

Then, I look forward to it!

Lady Elsa, it's been some time, hasn't it?

This is...

This is the beautiful lady who came and
greeted us on the day of the wedding!

Lady Serafina, yes, it has been some time.

I'm delighted that you remember me.

Allow me to introduce myself again. I am
Serafina of the ducal house of Parnilla.

She's dazzling today, too!

I'm happy to see you again.

This is my first time
attending a tea party,

so I feel relieved seeing someone I know.

I'm so glad.

Thank you for inviting me
to your wedding ceremony.

Not at all! Thank you for—

I was so surprised when
the two of you suddenly married!

Lord Julius has been quite friendly
with me since long before that, you see?

Lady Serafina, you're friends
with Lord Julius, too?

Then, it would make me so happy
to hear your stories about him!

Yes, of course.

Ever since I met Lord Julius
at a soirée three years ago...

he's treated with me
with great friendliness.

Not only does he excel at
the art of conversation,

he casually gives me little gifts,
and he's wonderfully considerate.

When we spend time together,

he always makes sure that I enjoy myself.

Is that so?

Lord Julius is a lovely gentleman
who is equally kind to all women.

So, even though you were
only chosen as his wife

to balance out his family's status,

I'm certain he must
treat you kindly as well.

Lady Serafina...

I'd rather not discuss anything vulgar,

but have you forgotten that
her family is a ducal house?

Lady Elsa is Julius's wife,
and he is the heir to a dukedom.

Please pardon my rudeness.

I find I'm not feeling well.

I will excuse myself for today.

Lady Elsa, please don't let it bother you.

I always invite Lady Serafina,
but she never attends.

I thought it was strange for her
to come this time, but I...

Yes, I see. And she's so slender,
I'm worried for her.

Could it be that this girl didn't notice

that Lady Serafina was
trying to get the upper hand?

Just how pure can a person be?

This lady and that Julius...

I have to watch out for her!

Lady Elsa,

there's something about Julius that
I earnestly wish to discuss with you.

For the sake of the kingdom's politics,

Julius targets various ladies
to extract information.

He's an intelligence operative.

An intelligence operative?

He's someone who can deal rationally
with his own feelings of affection,

so, in a way, he's
the perfect person for the job.

But the discord between his parents

caused him to rather
distrust romantic love.

Discord between his parents?

Even if a woman holds true affection
for him, when his work is done,

it seems he always leaves them
with no regard for their feelings.

I'm merely his childhood friend,
and yet, even in my case

I've had women I've never seen before
throw sharp words my way.

And so, well, there are various
unavoidable circumstances,

but he's a kind person at heart,

so I hope you'll be good enough
not to abandon him.

Why would I ever abandon him?

It's true that I'm a little surprised,
but... it was the first time, you see?

Lord Julius wasn't like the others
who proposed marriage to me.

He didn't look down on my family
or issue unfavorable conditions.

Not only that...

he's helping to restore
our dilapidated lands,

and he's even lending his assistance
so that my younger brother can study.

Someone like that can't
possibly be a bad person.

I want to repay
Lord Julius for his kindness.

How incredibly reassuring!

If you should ever run into difficulty,

please come and tell me,
whatever it may be.

I will help you!

Thank you so much!

Lady Rebeka, in that case, there is
something I'd like to ask you.

Please, ask me anything.

What foods does Lord Julius like?

Pardon?

Whenever he eats, he always leaves
something behind on his plate.

It bothers me so much!

Lady Elsa is adorable.

It seems that he particularly
dislikes vegetables,

but I can't tell what foods he likes.

Gratin.

Gratin?

In that case, it will be easy to mix
in some finely minced vegetables!

That's a wonderful idea.

He particularly likes
gratin with meat in it.

When we were children, there was
a large dish of it meant for a party,

and he ate the whole thing by himself.

The head maid scolded him.

Given how he is now,
I'm sure you'd never imagine that.

Not at all.

Still, I didn't know that Julius still
had such childish likes and dislikes.

And next month, Bellflower Month,
he'll turn twenty-four, too.

Lord Julius's birthday is next month?

Yes, the seventh of Bellflower Month.

He's taken such good care of me,
and I had no idea!

Well, Julius doesn't hold birthday
parties or anything, after all.

If I celebrated his birthday,
do you think he'd hate it?

She's wonderful!

I'm certain he'll be overjoyed!

It's almost Lord Julius's birthday.

How should we celebrate it?

The main dish at dinner
will be meat gratin...

and I'd like to give him
some sort of present.

Lady Elsa, what are you making?

It's a secret.

What?

That makes me curious.

And... what is that?

This is a corsage I made for myself.

I've already finished my work
for the day, you see?

For yourself?

It's for the Sun Festival!

The Sun Festival?

It's a festival that
will be held next month

to celebrate the founding
of Ralt Kingdom.

When the first king gave
his speech at the founding,

the people held up
sunflowers in celebration,

and that's how they say it started.

I know of it.

Huh?

Because we celebrated the Sun Festival
in my homeland as well.

Oh, I see!

I've heard the Sun Festival in the royal
capital is a joyous, beautiful event.

I've always longed to see it one day.

Keep your expectations high!

It's the best festival
in the royal capital.

I'm looking forward to it!

I'll have to sew myself a dress, too.

Say, who are you going with?
Come on. Tell me!

But I'm looking forward to
Lord Julius's birthday even more!

At last, it's tomorrow.

Julius.

Are the invitations to the Sun Festival
commemorative ceremony coming along?

Yes. All that's left is to send them.

And, Jere, what about
the security arrangements?

Well, nearly all of the nobility from
across the kingdom will be participating.

As in previous years, there'll be
strict security measures.

"As in previous years"
may not be enough this time.

Because Count Parnilla may try
to set something up.

Correct?

Yes.

In recent years, Count Parnilla's house
has amassed strength far too quickly,

and the flow of their money
is suspicious, too.

And the son Jarmo's movements
appear suspicious as well.

I had Julius get close to
the daughter before to investigate,

but he wasn't able to get hold
of any definite proof.

In any case, I've done a lot of things
to get in the count's way,

so I'm certain he must bear
quite the grudge against me.

Your Highness certainly
does make a lot of enemies.

Even if that's true...

you two will protect me, won't you?

By the way, Julius,

how has your wife been lately?

There aren't any problems in particular.

I've heard that she's
been attending tea parties

and making appearances
in society, as of late.

I'm glad to hear it.

If I had to pick something...

I'd heard that gardening
was a hobby of hers,

so I thought she grew roses or the like.

When I allowed her to use a corner
of the garden as she pleased...

for some reason, she seems
to be growing vegetables.

Vegetables?

Yes. Carrots and beans...

and this morning she informed me
that she'd harvested radishes.

Julius, you hate vegetables, don't you?

What a delightful girl!

In what way?

You have a habit of
causing problems with women,

so I was a little worried, but...

It's on your orders that
I'm gathering information.

I think you'll become a wonderful
married couple, don't you?

A wonderful married couple, is it?

It's been two months since we married.

I simply have breakfast with
that girl every morning,

and then she sees me off.

When I return, she's there to welcome me.

And I accept it, that's all.

I'm certain that I...

have no understanding
of this thing called a "home."

Master, welcome home.

She isn't here to welcome me today?

My lady awaits you in the dining room.

Understood.

It feels like... the light
throughout the whole house is dim.

Dear Husband! Happy birthday!

Y-Your birthday...

It is today, isn't it?

Yes, it is.

I'm so glad!

Please, open this.

Did you sew this?

Yes, I did.

When I lived with my parents,

we celebrated like this
as a family every year.

For me, a birthday is
always an exciting day...

and you and I have become a family, so...

I wanted to celebrate in a similar way,

so I intended for this to be
a surprise party with just the two of us.

Oh!

Could it be that I've meddled too much?

Was this a violation of our agreement?

No, I don't mind.

I'm a little surprised, that's all.

Then, my surprise was successful!

Dear Husband, happy 24th birthday!

Thank you.