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

Chapter 66: Backyard Concert

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“No, it isn’t time yet.”

Hearing Nora’s answer, Paula’s mouth froze in disbelief.

Nora was shaking off the excess soil on the shovel before returning it, but Paula snatched it from her hand in a hurry.

“Did you hear me correctly? It’s Lady Melnes! The lady who would soon become the queen!”

“I know. But I’ve heard that I could only meet her after I’ve been trained to do all kinds of chores.”

“You’re not just doing all kinds of chores; you’re doing all sorts of odd jobs! It’s rather frustrating, but it’s not like it’s problematic. In fact, if I had to say one problem, it’s that you don’t act like an aristocratic lady at all.”

Hearing such unexpected words of praise from Paula, it was Nora’s mouth which froze in disbelief this time.

“W-What?”

“I didn’t expect you would praise me… Thank you.”

She had always been nitpicking at her because she didn’t want her near Lady Andrea, but the way she treated her now has changed since then.

She might have just expressed her appreciation of Nora’s hard work, but it seemed that she was a good person at heart if she didn’t let personal feelings affect her judgment at work.

Feeling somewhat happy, Nora smiled at Paula. The latter’s face turned slightly red.

“T-that’s how you managed to win over the gardener and cook.”

Win over… that didn’t sound nice… whatever did she mean by that?

“I didn’t do anything special. I just worked like normal.”

“It’s that, you know. It’s precisely that. So then, are you sure you don’t want to go to Lady Melnes?”

Considering how she kept asking her, Paula must be reminding her of how great an honor it was for her to go to Andrea.

“It was me who asked to work at the royal castle. So I think that first and foremost, I must do my job well. That should be my priority especially since I want to go to Lady Andrea… In any case, I’m learning quite well as it is.”

“Learning?”

“I worked here in hopes of learning how to act and behave like a noble. Lady Andrea is undoubtedly a wonderful lady, but there’s a lot to learn from observing other people as well. And also I need the money.”

With the shovel in her hand, Paula stared at Nora incredulously.

“Aren’t you the daughter of an aristocrat yourself?”

“I may come from an aristocratic family, but we’re poor. I’m probably the aristocrat with the most part-time jobs in the world.”

“What kind of part-time jobs?”

“Well, I used to work as a salesperson in a store. I’ve also washed dishes, harvested potatoes, dyed and carried ceramics… But now, the only part-time job I’m still doing is being a singer.”

As she counted the number of her part-time jobs in her fingers, Paula’s eyes sparkled upon hearing the last one.

“That’s right! You were the singer at the founding ball! If it’s all right, can you sing for a bit?”

“If it’s during the break, then it’s no problem.” Paula was unexpectedly enthusiastic so Nora felt a little happy and started tidying up.

“Paula, you said only for a bit, right?” As she arrived at the backyard for her break, a large number of servants had already gathered around. Some gardeners and cooks she’d seen around were there as well as people who looked like maids and knights.

What’s going on?

“Err, I might have let it slip to a few people that you were going to sing, and it somehow ended up this way…”

She didn’t hide her identity so everyone knew she was Nora Kranz. Since she wasn’t dressed up as the “Azure Nightingale”, people surely wouldn’t recognize her but a few might have heard of her name.

And so they must have thought they could enjoy watching a performance during their break as well.

Paula might have said she only told a “few” people, but the crowd was by far not “few.” Considering the amount of people that have gathered, she must have spread the word to quite a number of people.

Paula might have been a good person at heart, but she’s either got a loose mouth or she’s gullible enough.

Nora had only herself to blame for agreeing to it so easily this time. But she didn’t mind singing anyway, so she just gave in.

“I don’t have much time nor do I have any accompaniment, so… just one song, all right?” She had expected Paula to object, but her face surprisingly beamed in delight.

“That’s totally fine! Thank you!” Paula pushed her into the backyard with a big smile on her face. Nora was greeted with a warm round of applause.

After pushing Nora to the center of the crowd, Paula returned to her spot and smiled happily.

She seemed happy, I should be more careful in the future.

“Everyone seems to be on break now, so I’ll just sing one song.” Saying so, Nora took a deep breath.

One fine day, birds in a lush forest found a balloon caught on a tree branch.

The red balloon caught their attention amidst the green trees, so the birds gathered around in curiosity.

Could it be a new friend or a different animal?

As everyone was discussing it, the balloon was blown away by the wind and drifted far away.

The song had a slightly comical tune, but it reminded them of how if one wouldn’t take action, they were bound to lose something.

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When the song ended, there was a momentary silence, followed by a round of applause.

Seeing everyone smiling and applauding, Nora felt happy.

“What is the meaning of this?” Just as Nora smiled, a woman’s clear voice echoed.