My Engagement Got Broken, But I Don’t Remember Getting Engaged in the First Place

Chapter 57: He Told Me to Pay Him A Little More Attention

Any reproduction, distribution or other type of use of these translations elsewhere is not allowed. In other words, do not repost. Hosted exclusively at Foxaholic. Translated by lacusky.

“Looks like you and Elias are getting along well.” Allan said as they walked together towards her part-time job. He was grinning so Nora wondered if he was teasing her.

“I won’t deny that but… I’m not sure it’s going all well.”

She thought that he might just be infatuated with her because she wasn’t like the other ladies and feared that he might tire of her soon. It wasn’t like she was doubting Elias, but there’s nothing she could do if that ever happened. Their status and everything else was world’s apart, after all.

“I could tell just by looking at Elias. It’s rather irksome to see him in a good mood all the time, but it’s admittedly better than seeing him sullen.”

A young gentleman with the same face as Elias but with grayish brown hair and lemon-colored eyes was walking a little slower to match Nora’s pace. It seemed almost unbelievable that he had once publicly broken their engagement right on their first meeting and that he now looked like a dignified aristocrat even after all that fiasco.

Allan’s heartbreak must have enabled him to grow. The power of love indeed must not be underestimated.

“Just to be clear, Nora. I have no intention of succeeding the marquis title.”

“Oh…” It wasn’t really her concern, so she just gave him a noncommittal reply. But Allan shrugged his shoulders in disbelief.

“Come on, be a little more concerned about it. If I don’t succeed, then the title will naturally go to Elias… In other words, you will be the future marchioness.”

“The future marchioness…?” As her feelings receded like a tide, Nora felt her lips twitch.

“You don’t have to look so repulsed.”

“But… we’ve never talked about that.”

The successor would certainly either be Elias or Allan, but Nora had never thought that far into the future. She had thought of the possibility of Elias succeeding the title, but she never considered herself to be the next marchioness. Just the mere thought of it made her stomach churn.

“Oh well, I suppose you might run away if we keep on talking about it. Looks like that guy has to suffer more with his unrequited love.”

For someone who has long harbored a complex against Elias, it seemed out of character for him to say that, but Nora decided not to point that out.

“Pay him a little more attention. He’ll be happy.”

“Don’t treat him like he’s a dog or a cat.”

When he said “he’ll be happy”, the image that came into her mind was that of a dog wagging his tail around, but Elias didn’t give off that vibe. If anything, he was more of a noble cat with long grayish brown hair and glistening sky blue eyes. And the type of cat whose belly fur was black (1). Imagining it was surprisingly fun, and Nora almost squealed in delight.

“What about you, Allan? What are you planning to do?”

“If I won’t be the next marquis, my worth would be halved or even less. But well, once Elias gets married, our House would be fine, and I could take it easy. I wonder if I can still help manage our estate then…”

He sounded as though he was embittered, but Allan’s expression held no grudges. He had said he didn’t want to succeed the title, but it just proved how much he had matured.

It felt like her younger brother had grown up, and Nora didn’t realize she had smiled at the thought.

The moment they arrived at the restaurant, she parted ways with Allan and went straight to her dressing room. As soon as she opened the door, a flash of pink filled her vision.

“Hi, Nora! They got delivered today. Flowers.”

“It appears so.”

At the room’s entrance was a lovely bouquet of flowers with dark pink petals and pointed tips. But unlike ordinary bouquets, this one was composed of twigs, making it conspicuously bulky. It was probably placed at the entrance because of its size, but its vivid color caught Nora’s eyes.

“They’re peach blossoms, aren’t they? I see them a lot lately.”

“But it’s rather rare around here. ‘To the beautiful Azure Nightingale. Sven.’ It’s a fairly common name, but I don’t know who it is. They must like peach blossoms a little too much though.” Flora passed the card in her hand to Nora.

“What is this?”

“It’s the card that came with the peach blossoms. Many people have taken the flowers because you had told them they’re free, but I took the card because it seemed inappropriate.”

“Sven… I don’t know anyone with that name. In any case, I appreciate the gesture.” She had occasionally received bouquets of peach blossoms since after the founding ball. They were pretty rare so she remembered them well, but she was certain that she had received them quite a few times already.

“By the way, I brought the jam made from the peach blossom petals last time.” Nora sat down on her chair, took a jar out of her bag and placed it on the desk. She often received flowers intended for the “Azure Nightingale”, which were either displayed in the restaurant or given to other staff. However, there weren’t many people willing to take it home because it was unusual for flower bouquets to have the twigs included. Nora then took them home and used the petals to make jam.

“Oh my, thank you! The jam last time was delicious. My father also commended it.”

“That’s good to hear. This time I tried to make the colors more vivid. I’m proud of them.”

“It’s such a pity if you stay as a baron’s daughter…” As she closed the lid of the jar, Flora muttered with a sigh.

“Did Elias pick you up today?”

“No, it was Allan… He told me to pay Elias a little more attention.”

Flora looked initially surprised, but then burst out into laughter.

Notes:

When someone has a “black belly” (腹黒 “haraguro”), it means they’re sly, cunning or manipulative.