“…….”
I can see why this tea smelled familiar.
“Mmm.”
It smelled exactly like Lockhart family tea, the tea I used to drink in the main house when I was a child.
The same tea that the family's tea trees no longer produce because they have dried up.
“How could he have this…….”
* * *
Dale, who had come to visit after receiving the contract writer's address, had a slight frown on his face.
“…….”
This was the Salou area.
The same area that Del Eña visited.
And home exactly.
The door was open and unoccupied, as if they had been gone for a while.
The house was too big for just the two of them.
Even on his previous visit, the house was full of books.
Most of them were by Enya's favorite writer, Madame Cosette, and Dale remembered them all.
For Dale, an unfamiliar place never meant a comfortable place, so he kept his senses alert every time he remembered this place, which was why he remembered most of this place.
This house was even more suspicious.
Dale had previously had tea at the Lockhart family home.
It smelled exactly like the tea the Duke of Lockhart had given him when he was a boy.
It was the first hot tea he had ever tasted.
Its scent and memory are ingrained in his memory and he cannot forget it.
The man owned it.
Well, not exactly a man, but...
woman.
Dale recognized her immediately.
Enya looked like a duke, and this woman looked like Enya.
The meaning is clear.
"nice to see you."
Dale looked directly at her and called her name.
“Daughter of the former Duke of Lockhart.”
* * *
"This is it, isn't it?
Yes, this is home!"
Since I had only visited the place a few days ago, I was able to find it without difficulty.
But the door was wide open.
And the woman?
I recognized her as the wife of the man I had seen before.
He had told me that all the books were in her collection, so I knew she had the same hobbies as me.
“Hey……!”
I was about to call her when the door slammed shut.
oh well.
I'll go knock on the door and say hello, so come on.
When I raised my hand to knock on the door, I heard a strange sound.
Not strange, but familiar?
"man?"
'Should I come back next time?'
But I was curious.
If someone has a tea with our family name, there is a good chance it has a connection to our family.
Either a long time ago, or at the present time, until now.
‘It may be the Emperor or someone from my family.’
I needed to check it out.
When I pressed my ear to the door, I heard another man's voice, but I thought I recognized him.
“Dale?”
So I screamed.
My hand shot forward as an idea occurred to me.
The door was unlocked, and as soon as I turned the handle, the door opened.
In front of me was Dale, who had no business here.
Dale, to be precise, with another woman.
"Are you……."
I didn't recognize the face, but surprisingly, it was the first thing that came to my mind.
“Are you my aunt?”
She looks like my dad if he had long hair.
* * *
“I have a lot of guests today.”
The woman who looked exactly like my father smiled, “No, my aunt.”
It was a smile very similar to the one I had seen before.
The man we were helping was her husband, the man who was responsible for the arranged marriage that had upset my grandfather so much.
“I didn't think you'd recognize me, Enya, after all these years.”
"…… How are you?"
My voice trembled with nervousness even as I tried to sound normal.
She was right, there was no image of my aunt in my memory.
This was my first time meeting her.
I had heard that she ran away from home when I was very young, and she was like an oral history character.
It was exciting to see someone like her in real life, and because she looked so much like my father, I felt like she was family without being an outsider.
“I used to play with Enya a lot when you were little, don’t you remember?”
Auntie smiled.
“But, ma'am.”
"Call her aunty.
Yes, what's wrong?"
I looked at Dale.
Why is he here?
Did he already know my aunt?
Judging by the atmosphere, I doubted it.
“So you and Enya know each other.”
My aunt seemed to notice my doubts and said with a smile.
“Which one of you should I listen to first, I'll let you speak first.”
“Why is Dale here?”
I asked Dale directly.
Dale gave me a confused look and let out an awkward sigh.
He moved his lips slowly.
“I thought there might be something here that Enya would like.”
“……?What did I want to get?”
At the same time as my question, I heard the sound of laughter.
My aunt laughed amused.
“No, he came to get the book.”
My aunt looked at Dale.
“Mr.
Dale…..
You said you liked my book, and you came to ask me to continue publishing the unfinished book.”
The aunt smiled meaningfully, then tightened the corners of her mouth.
“He seemed dry for a fan, but now I realize that's not why he came, he came to get a book for you.”
“My aunt’s book?”
The family didn't talk about her much.
Whenever the topic was mentioned, my grandfather would show signs of collapsing into a fit of rage.
“Yes.
These books to be exact.”
She pointed to the bookshelf.
They were all books by Madame Cosette.
maybe.
impossible.
“Did you write these books?”
My eyes almost popped out of my head.
This woman, who was smiling happily, this woman who was my blood relative, was the author?
"truly?"
I stared at Dale with my mouth open.
“Dale, are you sure that Madame Cosette the author is my aunt?”
Instead of Dale, my aunt suddenly took out a notebook.
“I have a bunch of notes.”
One look at the tattered notebook confirmed my suspicions.
A notebook filled with notes on short ideas, revised dialogue, and conversations with publishers.
I knew that fiction writers often used pseudonyms.
I didn't expect to be so ignorant.
“How did you know about her, Dale?”
“I bought information from an acquaintance.”
He was an amazing resource, but Dale was a mercenary.
In a way, it made sense that the quality of information he was getting was good.
“But why……were you trying to give it to me?
Dale likes romance novels, right?”
“……This is a gift for Enya, yes.”
Dale answered carefully, not denying it.
“Did you find out Madame Cosette's identity just because of a gift for me?”
I couldn't help but be more surprised by his answer.
There was no reason for him to give me a gift.
“I know it's a strange question, but why did you want to give me a gift?”
“Okay, Enya, your birthday is in about a month.”
The answer came from my aunt, unexpectedly.
"Yes……!"
Before I knew it, it was time.
That means Dale and I have been married for about six months now.
“Did you remember my birthday?”
I was amazed by Dale's attention to detail.
I can't believe he planned a gift for me a month before my birthday.
A thoughtful gift, one of the hardest things to get, a gift that can't even be thought of without thinking carefully about me.
Dale smiled weakly, embarrassed at being discovered.
“Of course, I didn't mean to just give you a book.”
“The book is more than enough, no, I am more affected than anything else right now.”
My heart sank.
I had no idea Dale thought so much about my birthday.
I think I was too reckless compared to him.
He came here to get me a birthday present for a reason I could never have imagined.
She squeezed Dale's hand.
“Don’t bring me anything else, I feel like you’ve already overwhelmed me.”
Dale's temperature rose immediately upon our contact, and he looked at me with a slightly sheepish look.