25 - Agnes Le Verges Living in Debt

T/L:
Hi there! Here’s another update you’ve been waiting for!
I must say, I’m kinda troubled translating this as there is some terms that I don’t know how to translate. Please do bear with me!

Enjoy~

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Thanks to Ernest Barthelemon, Bernard came home irritated and frustrated. Agnes greeted him again from the front door today.

--The tragic saint, Agnes Le Verges.

With such rumors spreading, the person herself did not have a clue about it. The scandal was solved, but another problem had arisen.

“Oi, I have something to talk.”

Shortly after returning, Bernard took Agnes to his office.
He pointed at the long sofa and ordered her to sit at his opposite.
Agnes felt nervous at the sudden call.
He told her that it was not something bad as he saw her like that.
Naturally, he would keep the bad rumors at the royal capital a secret.

“Do you know the Queen’s wine?”
“Yes. It’s the specialty of the southwestern town, right?”
“That’s right.”

Agnes knew about the liquor in the village where Lazare’s relative were. Then, this would save up his time.

“Do you like wine?”
“No, I never drink it.”
“Is that so. The Queen’s wine is said to be sweet and easy to drink. It is quite popular around the ladies too.”
“I see.”

He heard that the village was a serene place surrounded by vineyards. Wine’s quality was their priority, so they made them very carefully.
Since there was less young female, Lazare said they were treated nicely.
He thought it would be much better than holding her around the royal capital.

“My superior’s relatives are the chief there.”
“Yes.”
“Well I want to ask if you would try to live there.”
“M-me?”
“Yeah. It will be much easier than living here right. They will also welcome you.”

Agnes opened her eyes wide and looked bewildered.
Bernard thought it was only natural. She was a lady who never leave the capital.
She must’ve been worried to live in a distant place.

Agnes looked down silently.
She didn’t have any words to say to Bernard.
He groaned while scratching his head, then his eyes met Agnes’s.
He knew that look. It was the same look as a kitten that was thrown away on a rainy day.
He felt somewhat bad talking about it.

“We, well, that’s it. You can talk to Gigille about it first. Think carefully and choose wisely.”
“.....yes.”

Agnes bowed deeply and left the room.

***

Bernard called her with a serious face with something to talk to, and the content of their talk surprised Agnes the most.

“--Ah!”

She felt dizzy from the shock and placed her hand on the wall.

Her vision and head felt swirling and messed up.
Bernard told her to move away. She didn’t ask why. But she knew the reason.
She was from a fallen nobility house, and she herself, was not useful as a servant. There is not a single good reason for her to stay.
There is only one thing to describe her mental state, it was complicated.
Bernard didn’t even look like he wanted to get rid of a nuisance. The place she was recommended to move was peaceful and beautiful, it was an easy place to live for Agnes.

“--Agnes-san.”

She was surprised as Gigille called her.

“What happened? Are you feeling sick?”
“No, no.”
“Oh no, your face is very pale!”

Feeling sorry to make her worried, she let go of her hand from the wall, but she got wobbly.

“A-Are you alright!?”
“I’m sorry…..”

They walked to the resting area with Gigille supporting her.

She sat on a chair and sighed. Her dizziness had subsided.

“Gigille-san, thank you very much.”
“Yes, it’s no problem, but,”

Gigille brought a teapot and poured steamy herbal tea into a cup. And then she put down a sweet wrapped in silver paper.
She sat beside her and started to talk.

“It’s not because you are sick right?”
“.....Yes.”
“Then, the medicine is this.”

She pointed to a board like chocolate.

“This is?”
“This is called chocolat délicieux à manger from FAS company.” [1]

Gigille split it in half and gave it to Agnes. Gigille peeled the silver wrapping and took a bite.

“Un, it’s delicious.”

Agnes saw her without blinking.
This was the first time she saw a plate chocolate like that, and above all, she never had an experience to eat it as is.
Seeing her curious look, Gigille insisted that the board like chocolate was eaten like this.

“This, you see, is stored for chocolat chaud [2], but when you feel down or tired, you can just eat it as is.”
“Is, that so?”
“It’s true. And since it’s the medicine, make sure you eat all of it alright?”
“Ye,yes. I understand.”

Agnes carefully took a bite on the bar chocolate.
There’s a crunchy sounds as she bite it.
As she chewed on it, she could feel a crisp texture and sweetness spread in her mouth.
It was totally different from the usual dense and smooth chocolate she ever had before. It was hard and she needed to chew it properly, but somehow it felt like it was soaking through her heart.
She understood now what Gigille meant that it was a medicine.
Agnes ate half a bar of chocolate while drinking the bitter herbal tea.

“Gigille-san, thank you very much.”
“Do you feel better?”
“Yes.”

Gigille patted her back lightly.
She was feeling better after eating chocolate, but there was still some clouds remaining in her heart.
Agnes mustered her courage and asked her some opinions.

“Um, Gigille-san. I have something to ask you…..”
“I understood. Let’s talk at Miel’s place on the third floor.”

Since there were people going back and forth in the resting area, they moved to the simple kitchen on the third floor.

***

Agnes told Gigille about Bernard’s proposal.

“That Master, saying that so suddenly…..”
“I heard that the village on the southwestern is a nice place to live.”
“That is true but…..”

Gigille swallowed her complains to Bernard midway.
Just the other day, she learned about the gossip surrounding Agnes in the magazine Eric bought.
The situation surrounding her changed rapidly.
This time it was heading to a dangerous direction. He must have felt some sense of danger, Gigille thought.

“Master said that Agnes-san should choose right?”
“Yes.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I--”

She knew well the situation around her.
That she was a useless ex-noble lady from a collapsed house. That if he was found out he was hiding her, Bernard will be put in a bad situation. And that even if she stayed here, she couldn’t do anything to help.

“As Master said, I know it is best for me to move away. ….. But, I still, I still haven’t repay his favor. And then, it’s sad to be separated from all of you and Miel.”

There was a conflict in her heart that she knew she was a bother to stay here and would be better to go away, but she wanted to stay near Bernard.

“It’s better if Agnes-san choose yourself.”
“That…..”
“It’s okay. Because when Master brought you here, he was determined to do so, that’s why you don’t have to choose while thinking for his sake. You only have this one life. So live the way you want without leaving any regrets.”

Living the way she wanted.
That was the first time she heard of that.
She had been living according to his father’s wish, to Agnes never had a room for choices, that had been pulling her down.

--I want to live with Bernard. That is all.

That was Agnes’s only wish. She asked herself many times if she was allowed to do that.

It was hard to live the life her father wished for.
But she never prepared the way to live other than that.

This time, Agnes herself had the right to choose.
Then, she thought, she should live the way she wanted.

She raised her head and looked straight at Gigille.
And she uttered her determination.

“I want to live here.”

She made her wish.
She would like to rent a room in Bernard’s mansion and live there as a servant.

Her words shook as she said her first choice.
Gigille hugged Agnes’s shoulder and encouraged her to work hard together.

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[1] = 美味しく食べるチョコレート(ショコラ・デリシュー・ア・マンジュ)
This one is a reference to J.S. Fry & Sons company’s first chocolate bar ever sold as a mass product (if I’m not wrong). The kanji literally says: chocolate that is delicious to eat and the furigana says chocolat délicieux à manger. Thank you to Anon-san who corrected me!

[2] = 熱いチョコレート(ショコラ・ショー)
Lit. hot chocolate. Thank you FranckOA-san for clarifying it!

I’m really sorry for my lack of knowledge in this area *bow*

Anyway, what do you think of this chapter? To be honest, I nearly cried when I read this.
Agnes’s character development is really nice, although her vocabulary is still limited to “Yes”, and “I understand” XD I hope she can be more confident in herself and talk more honestly later.

AND!! SHE ADMITTED SHE WANTS TO STAY BY BERNARD’S SIDE!

All we need to know now is Bernard’s feelings for her. Not just as her protector, but as a man himself. We will see in the next chapters maybe? So stay tuned!

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