Chapter 63
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Just then, Margaret, who had been standing next to Delnia, spoke up in admiration.
"Really, there are so many things I've never seen before in my life, I can hardly blink."
"Well, that's understandable. Our village has a lot of specialties."
Nodding her head with pride, Leticia's steps naturally led them to the fruit stand.
She haphazardly picked up a bunch of odd-looking tropical fruits that looked like they were hard to peel. Thankfully or not, green grapes were not among the options.
When she was overloaded, Leticia hailed a passing errand boy and asked him to carry the luggage to the carriage.
With her hands lighter, she resumed her shopping. This time, Margaret's request for a hair tie led her to a stall selling hats and headdresses.
"Do you have any recommendations? Something I can wear on my head that will make all the passersby turn around and look at me."
Leticia asked the owner, who seemed to have a friendly relationship with her, as she did in every shop. It sounded like a ridiculous request, but instead of a slap, she got a meaningful glance.
"We have something good for you."
The owner pulled a box from the back of the stall, each one filled with jewelry with a unique pattern.
"This is what the Golden Wheel had brought, but I didn't have enough of them, so I set it aside."
In other words, it was a special product that was only available to special customers.
Next to Margaret, who was looking at the trinkets with admiration, Leticia spoke in a light tone.
"Here, take your pick. I'll buy you each one as a souvenir of your visit to Blois."
"Really?"
Margaret picked out a ribbon with exotic embroidery as if she had been waiting for it.
Delnia, on the other hand, shook her head calmly. Not only was she not in a position to splurge, but she remembered Letitia's words in the carriage.
"I'm fine."
"Oh, it's no fun if you’re not buying, and then you'll embarrass Margaret."
As Leticia had said, Margaret was curling her lips and rolling her eyes, and Delnia couldn't refuse any longer.
Finally, Delnia picked out a hairpin on a whim. It was a red artificial flower that resembled an exotic flower.
And she also bought an unusual ornament that looked like a small comb.
The lightheartedness of her mood continued in the vegetable and spice shops that followed.
As Margaret watched with interest as Leticia made her purchases, she asked a question.
"Does Leticia cook by any chance?"
"See have a chef, but he's very slow. I thought I was just going to watch, but before I knew it, I was helping."
"Well, do you mind if I help today? I was wondering how you make the seafood dish."
"Uh huh, we'd love that."
Margaret's face immediately lit up at the affirmative response.
"I feel like I'm home now, somehow."
Margaret's earlobes quickly flushed with embarrassment, but she didn't stop talking.
"In my hometown, people take care of each other like family, but in the capital, you don't even say hello to the person next to you, so it was hard to adjust............ honestly."
"I'll give the capital city credit for that."
Leticia clucked her tongue briefly, then patted Margaret on the back as if she understood.
"I'm so glad you've come. It's so much better to stay in Blois, even if it is a bit rustic.”
"I don't think it's rustic, not at all."
"Hmm. Are you serious?"
Leticia narrowed her eyes playfully, then said, "Oh," as if she had a good idea.
"Well, how about catching a Blois man and and settle down here?"
"Huh?"
Margaret asked, perplexed by the unexpected suggestion. Leticia, on the other hand, tilted her head, puzzled by the unexpectedly strong reaction.
"Is that something so outrageous? The men of our village are quite good, and the naval officers are as good as any in the world as husbands, except that they rarely come home."
"No, it's not that I don't like them, I'm just surprised...........Besides, the officers are aristocrats, and even commoners tend to have some barriers...."
Margaret blushed and rambled on, and Leticia snorted.
"That's for the capital's snobs. No one in Blois cares."
"They don't care?"
"Of course they don't. Not when you're going to die at any moment."
One corner of her mouth quirked up, and Leticia spat out the word ‘die’ casually. Then something occurred to her, and she lowered her voice to a whisper.
"Do you remember the couple I met earlier, the one whose husband asked me to find a midwife?"
Delnia and Margaret's heads tilted toward Leticia of their own accord at the sudden reduction in volume.
"The couple was, I don't know, a young lady and a servant who ran away together from some noble family."
"What?"
Margaret’s surprised voice interrupted Leticia, her voice rising to a loud echo, her hands moved wildly, unable to contain her excitement.
"So they’ve been running away with love, as you say......?"
Instead of answering, Leticia smiled and nodded. Margaret let out a muffled squeal, typical of someone her age who was so interested in love stories.
"Actually, they're not the only ones, there are quite a few people in our village who've just slipped in and settled down without us knowing. I wonder where they got the word that we take them in without asking."
"It's so romantic."
Margaret whispered, her voice almost thrilled.
"Because that's Blois."
Leticia affirmed with pride and looked around the village. Her hometown eyes were calm and reflective.
"Seafarers are a people who live with the knowledge that they may never return home again. Everything else pales into insignificance, and until the sea gods call, you just make the best of where you're at."
There was a wistfulness in her tone that was unlike anything she had spoken before.
As she listened, Delnia realized where the city's unique atmosphere came from.
And why Leticia could be so tender to a mere slave who had managed to secure a position as Roan’s mistress.
At least here, status didn't matter in the slightest. As long as you could be with the one you loved right now.
The problem was, Roan didn't love Delnia, he hated her.
"Well, there are plenty of widows left to raise their children alone, and so am I."
Delnia and Margaret's eyes widened at the unexpected personal information. Leticia smiled warmly at them.
"I lost my husband to the sea a long time ago."
"Ah........... so sorry to hear that, Leticia."
Margaret took Leticia's hand in comfort.
Leticia shrugged her shoulders slightly, as if it didn't matter, and gently placed her hand on the back of Margaret's.
"Again, it was a long time ago, but God wasn't completely unkind, and my brief stint as a maid before I married allowed me to work at the manor house, and I've managed to raise my children well, so I can't ask for much more."
Even as she spoke, there was a deep longing in Leticia's eyes. Perhaps she was remembering her husband, who had died too soon.
Delnia watched, unable to swallow the question that suddenly welled up inside her.
"Did you ever think of leaving Blois?"
Even after everything that had happened?
Leticia's eyes widened slightly, recognizing the omission of such a nuanced statement earlier.
But only for a moment, before the corners of her eyes resumed their gentle curve.
"Of course not. It's home."
Leticia added confidently.
Delnia stared at Leticia as if peering into water of unknown depth. There was no shadow of falsehood in her smile, bright as autumn sunshine.
How was it possible for a heart to resent the sea for taking her husband away and still cherish it?
Is that what love is? She wondered.
"...."
As if turning away from a mind she couldn't understand, Delnia shifted her gaze back to the bustling city.
The sunlight glinted off the water's surface. The sound of children's laughter washed over the waves as the world drifted away.
Leticia had loved this peaceful scene her whole life.
Delnia mulled over the words in her mind. The inner echo that pronounced love even though it was silent was terribly unfamiliar.
Had she ever loved something so much?
As she was asking herself this question, a face popped into her mind as if in rebuttal.
Delnia stopped dead in her tracks.
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