Chapter 320 – Old Man

  “Good morning, Dame Csille.” Lilla immediately greets me the moment I step inside the Foundation.

  Good morning? How can I have a good morning after what happened last night? 

 I thought after I brought Rufus and Lilla with me, he’d realize that I didn’t really want to be alone with him. However, that Prince Joachim even wants to have dinner with me again, and he specifically said he wants to have dinner with me only.

  And because of that, I was up until midnight. I was thinking of a way to decline the dinner, but I didn’t come up with any plan at all. 

  I smile at Lilla. “Good morning Lilla. How were the documents I asked you last night?”

  Lilla smiled hesitantly at me. “Apologies, Dame Csille. We’re still working on it. But we’ll definitely finish it this morning.”

 I heave a sigh. I need those documents today, but I don’t want to rush them, so I have no other choice but to wait. “I understand. How about the thing I asked you about last night? Have you sent people to help the villagers? They will move to the temporary shelter today, so I need some of our people there. Also, did you send the letter I ask you to give to his majesty? He needs to see it already so he can decide who are we going to hire for the joint project.”

  I look at Lilla and find her writing the things I am saying in her notebook. She then looked up at me after writing the things I said. “I already choose people to send to help the villagers. So, you shouldn’t worry about that. I also sent the letter to his majesty early this morning. I’m sure we can hear his decision at the end of this day.”

 I nod my head in satisfaction. I’m glad. I still have a lot of things to do today, and I need to hear his decision already so that I can start to talk to those people about the plan.

 Housing projects usually take a lot of time to do, and because I only have a few months, I need to start the joint project already. 

 “Thank you, Lilla.” I look at the clock and sigh. “It’s already late. I need to work now. If you need anything, just look for me in my office, and oh, I won’t be seeing any nobles today. So, if someone looks for me, tell them I am busy.”

 Lille nods her head. “But what about Prince Joachim? Is he not allowed to see you too?”

 I almost made a face when I heard the name of Prince Joachim. Oh please, he’s the reason why I haven’t gotten enough sleep. As much as possible, I don’t want to see it for now. 

  “Aside from you or Rufus. Please don’t let anyone inside my office, and if you think I need to see anyone who came here, you could just come to my office, okay?”

 I said a few reminders not just for Lilla but also for my other employees before I got inside my office. I have a lot of things to do today, and I really don’t have much time for chitchat.

  I groaned when I saw the piled documents around my office. As far as I know, there are still documents in the storage room. It’ll probably take more than a week to finish this all.

  “How great it is to be the villainess.”

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 I look at the blazing sun and sigh. It’s already one in the afternoon, and I still haven’t eaten my lunch. I was too busy with my work that it slipped my mind. 

 “Dame Csille, are you sure you like to go to where the villagers are? You haven’t even eaten your lunch. Maybe it’s best if you take your meal first.”

 I look at Lilla and shake my head. I initially planned to just let my employees help with the transfer. However, I couldn’t help but think about those villagers who were expecting to see me there. So, even if I didn’t want to witness how Prince Fraser and Rufus argue, I still decided to go there and help.

 “Don’t worry about me, Lilla. I brought with me the lunch Cairistine prepared. I’ll just eat it on my way there.” I put my hand on Lilla’s shoulder. “Lilla, can you please take care of the foundation while I am away, and if someone looks for me, tell them to return tomorrow.”

 Lilla nods her head. “But Dame Csille, how about his highness, Prince Joachim? You’re supposed to have a meal with him tonight, right? What should I tell him if he looks for you?”

 Oh yeah. How can I forget about Prince Joachim? 

  I heave a sigh. I didn’t intentionally avoid him today, but I really want to be with the villagers when they move to the temporary shelter. The meal can wait, but the villagers can’t. Although I know they can do everything without me, I still want to be there. I was the one who volunteered to give them temporary shelter. I think it is only right for me to be there with their transfer to the temporary shelter.

  “Can you please send him a letter and explain why I couldn’t have dinner with him tonight. He gave you the address where he is staying, right?”

  Lilla nods her head. “Understood. I’ll just send him a letter after this.”

 I left a few reminders to both Lilla and Mairenn before I get inside the carriage that will lead to the town where the villagers are currently staying.

  The carriage hadn’t even gotten out of the capital when it suddenly halted. I look at the coachman and frown. “What happened? Why did we stop?”

  The coachman looks back at me. “Dame Csille, there is an old man lying on the middle of the road. It seems like he had fainted.”

 I immediately get off the carriage and check the old man. It’s a good thing we’re still in the capital. I can still rush him to the nearest hospital if he is really not okay.

  I check the old man’s pulse first to see if he is alive. I sigh in relief when I feel his heartbeat. “He is still alive. But how come he is lying on the middle of the road?” I look around, trying to see if there is someone around, but aside from our carriage, I don’t see anyone else.

 I look at the old man again and check his belongings. It looks like the old man is trying to travel from the capital to the nearest town. 

 But the sun is blazing right now, and with his fragile state, he really can’t bear this heat. Does he have a heat stroke?

 I try to wake up the old man to see if he still has consciousness. “Mister, wake up. Wake up.” After a few gentle nudges, the old man finally opened his eyes. He then looks at me with sleepy eyes. “Mister, are you okay? Why are you lying on the ground? And you’re even in the middle of the road. Do you feel anything wrong? I can bring you to the hospital.”

  The old mad smiles widely at me before he shakes his head. “Thank you, young lady, but I’m all good. You don’t have to worry about I probably fainted because of starvation. But I’m okay now.”

 Starvation? I look at the old man’s body and realize how thin he is. It looks like his bones will break if you put so much force on it. How long has he not been eating anything?

 I help the old man sit up. “Are you sure you don’t want me to bring you to the hospital? There’s a nearby hospital from here. If you’re worried about the bills, I can pay for it.”

 The old man holds on to my arms and shakes his head. “Thank you for your kindness, but I’m really okay. As I told you, I was only starving, that’s why I fainted. So, you really don’t need to worry about me.” He then looks at the carriage behind us. “It seems like I am interrupting your trip. I should probably continue my journey again.”

 I nod my head. I don’t want to force him if he doesn’t want to go to the hospital. I look at the carriage behind us and look back at the old man who is trying to get up on his own. 

 I heave a sigh. Although I’m not in a rush to get to the town, I’m sure the people are already wondering where I am. 

  “Mister, where are you going? I can give you a ride. I also have packed lunch inside the carriage. You can just have it.”

  The old man looked at me. Disbelief is clearly written in his face. He then shakes his head. “You look like a young lady from a noble family. How can a lowly old man like me have the guts to sit with you? I don’t think it’s appropriate for me to do that. But I’m grateful for your offer.”

 I looked at the carriage and sighed in relief when I noticed that there was no Lauretré Family symbol on it. I know the old man will not go with me if he knows that I am Csille Lauretré.

  I smile reassuringly at the old man. “Don’t worry, Mister. I am not a noble. I might look wealthy, but that is because my parents are both merchants. We sell rare artifacts. That’s why I look wealthy.”

 The old man looks at the carriage for a couple of seconds before he looks at me. He looks like he is still doubting what I said.

 It’s a good thing I cover my hair with a scarf, and my eyes are covered with a headband with a mesh, so the old man couldn’t see my distinctive features.

  After a few moments, the old man sighed. “Young lady, are you telling the truth? Are you really not a noble lady?”

 I almost smiled when I heard his question. I nod my head at him. “Yes, my coachman can even attest to that. I am not a noble lady, so there’s really no need for you to be worried about.”

  The old man looks at me for a couple of seconds before he nods his head. “If that’s the case, then I would gratefully accept your offer.”

  I smiled at the old man and immediately gestured the coachman to get down, which he immediately obliged. 

 “Da—”

 My eyes widened when I heard how the coachman addressed me, so I immediately cut him off. If the old man knows I am a Dame, there’s no way he would agree to get inside the carriage.

  “Can you help this mister to get inside the carriage?” I pretend to look at my time watch. “If you’re worried about Father and Mother. I’m sure they are still busy with their business dealing. I heard there’s a lady from a wealthy family who’s interested in buying the golden hairpin.”

 The coachman frowns, but he nods his head after. He has been working in our family for years now, that’s why he already can read what I want to say. 

  “Yes, Miss. But you know that your parents are one of the famous merchants in the Kingdom. They are probably worried about your safety.”

  I shake my head. “Don’t worry, we’ll just drop this Mister to the nearest town, and we’ll continue our journey. I cannot leave him be. What if he fainted again? My conscience won’t be able to bear that. So, can you please help him get inside the carriage?”

  The coachman looks at me hesitantly. He knows it’s not appropriate for an unmarried lady to let a stranger inside her carriage, especially if it’s a man.

  I shake my head at him. Having no choice, the coachman guides the old man inside the carriage.

  “Young lady, thank you for your kindness. If it weren’t for you, something might have happened to me already.”

 I just smile warmly at him before I take the lunch Cairistine made for me. “Here. You should eat first.”

  I thought the old man would decline as he always did, but he takes the lunch and eats it at a fast pace. He’s probably that hungry that he immediately finished the food in just five minutes.

  After eating, the old man keeps thanking me for the food and for the lift, but I just smile at him. He then takes something from the bag he holds and hands it to me. 

  It’s a box with a lock.

  “I know this doesn’t worth any centimes, but I hope you can accept this as a form of my gratitude for what you have given to me.”

  I refused it at first, not because I didn’t want to but because I was worried that this might be the only thing he had. However, the old man kept insisting, so I didn’t have much choice but to accept it.

  I look at the box on my lap and frown. There are symbols carved on the box, which seems familiar to me.. However, I just couldn’t remember where I saw those symbols.