I accompany my sister back to her room after she finished her happily talk with my fiancé and my maids back there. Unlike the usual her, she"s not talking much while we walking, maybe there"s something in her mind and she needs to think about it. When we arrive at her room,"Henry…Please come inside and takes a seat. I have something to talk with you"
"Sure, sis"
I follow her to enter the room and after my sister dismissed her personal maid, there"s only two of us in her room.
"Say, sis…what do you want to talk with me?"
We sit in the chair where we used to talk together. My sister didn"t say anything and just take a teacup and pour some tea into the cup before she handed the cup to me.
"Here…take some tea first Henry. You must be tired after all these things during lunch and after that duel"
"Thanks, sis"
I receive the teacup and take some sips. There"s no point to reject her offer because she sincerely offers the tea to me. After I put the teacup in the table, my sister starts to talk about what she wants to say to me
"Henry….first of all, I want to say thank you because I finally free from that scary guy. It wouldn"t happen if you"re not helping me back there. And also, I"m sorry I can"t do my job as the host on the welcoming party"
"Don"t mention it, sis. It"s already set in my mind that you should have a better person to be your fiancé. And you still say that sc.u.m is a scary guy, then who"s that brave girl that confronting him face to face back there without fear?"
"Aaaahhh…Henry…how dare you tease your sister like that"
My sister"s face gets blushing and her hand starts pinching me.
"No no no…That"s not a tease, I swear. I really admire your fearless expression when you suddenly stand in front of me and shouting at that sc.u.mbag. The usual you that timid and gentle person changed into a brave and fearless woman, you know"
"Ugh…I really scared when he suddenly appears in the dining hall, Henry. My body unconsciously starts shaking non-stop since then…I want to hide so he can"t see me in the dining hall badly. I"m so afraid he noticed me there and pulled me out from my seat and takes me somewhere else"
I see my sister"s hand start to shake again when she remembers how Roland enters the dining hall. Considering how rude Roland enter the dining hall, my sister worry is not unreasonable. I stand up, approach her, take her hand and make her stand up before I finally hug her.
"You don"t have to scare anymore, sis. There"s no way that b.a.s.t.a.r.d can hurt you anymore…physically or verbally. You see how he so surprised when see you come in front of him? He almost can"t recognize you because you already changed so much…no, you"re not changed…you just return to what you should be. You"re my beautiful sister Eliza since we still kid"
My sister didn"t say anything, she just hugs me back while lean her head on my chest. I gently caressed her hairs and waiting until she speaks again. And when she finally speaks again,
"Henry…."
"Yes, sis?"
"Am I weird? I feel calm and comfortable every time you hug me like this"
"No, not at all. I guess you feel calm and comfortable maybe because you trust me"
"Mmm…you"re right…you"ve said to me to trust you before, and I still trust you until now and will always trust you in the future"
"Are you feeling alright now?"
"Yes…thank you, Henry"
Since she already calmed down, I slowly release my hug on her and let her sit back on her chair.
"Ah, one more thing Henry"
"What is it, sis?"
"The money from my dowry….it"s so much money, I never see money in such amount and don"t know how to use it and I think it would better if I give it to you and helps you with your salt project"
I"m touched with my sister concern, but that money is hers, I don"t have the right to use it. That money should use for her interest in the future. Well, I understand she never holds so much money until now and she naturally confused with what she should do with that money.
"No, sis….that money is your dowry. I don"t have any rights to use it even a copper coin. I think you should save it and use it later when you married and leave this castle. If you want to use it, maybe I can give you a suggestion"
"Henry…I"m just engaged and you already speaking of my marriage. Do you really don"t want it? And what is your suggestion?"
My sister"s face is getting reddish when I"m talking about marriage.
"No, Sis, I don"t need it. I don"t want to use your money for my sake even only a copper coin. You should use it for your own good or buy something you liked. And my suggestion is how to use that money to buy fabrics? You need a decent wedding dress when you married later, right? Maybe I can help you with the design, but I"m not good with needles. And you can ask father to keep it for you if you feel not safe to keep your dowry here. He"ll keep it for you until you need it again"
My sister"s face gets blushing again when I mention the wedding. And I"m not lying when I said I don"t need her money. I believe my conversation with Earl Stamfort tonight will worth more than 15 gold coins that my sister received as her dowry. Yup, it"s salt trade negotiation that I will propose to Earl Stamfort and I believe it would generate a lot of gold coins.
"Henry….I still don"t know much about Sir Anthony nor even thinking about our marriage"
"Hmm…I know. You just met him today and suddenly he"s already your new fiancé. That"s maybe too fast for you, sis. You barely know anything about him and maybe you secretly feared if he turns out to be like your previous fiancé, right? I have an idea about that. How about we have a picnic together tomorrow in the garden? You with Sir Anthony, I with my fiancé. We have a nice talk together in the garden and after that, we can visit our mom grave to give her report. She must feel happy to see us from heaven when we visit her grave with our spouse"
"Henry…that"s a wonderful idea. But aren"t you will be busy for banquet tomorrow?"
"Yes, that"s true, but if I"ve prepared in advance there would be some spare time available. So, are you in this picnic idea, sis? I"ll make special dishes for this occasion if you agree"
"Yes, let"s have a picnic together! It"s not because you make special dishes Henry, but because I also want to know about Sir Anthony better. Well, your fiancé already tell me quite much about her brother but I also want to hear about him directly from himself"
"That"s good…if Sir Anthony doesn"t have the initiative to start a conversation, you should start it first, sis. You can"t understand each other if you"re not talking much with him"
"Mmm…bu if I can"t come up with a good topic to talk with, you should help me too, Henry"
"Sure. I and Celes will help you and Sir Anthony to have a good talk together. Did you and Celes doing fine together?"
"Yes, your fiancé is a good girl and I like her. I think I can have a good relationship with her, Henry"
"Glad to hear that, sis. If you"re living in Stamfort castle later, she can be someone you can talk with"
"Mmm…yes, thank you, Henry. Like always, talking with you also give me peace of mind"
"You can talk with me anytime you want, sis, of course, if I"m still in the castle"
"Yes…Thank for listening to my worries, Henry"
"Anytime, sis. Do you have other things that still bother you?"
"Hmm…not now. You really want to leave?"
"Just as I said before, I want to take a bath after so many activities today"
"Ah right, then I should not hold you too long in here, Henry"
"I take my leave then"
I rise from my seat and walk to the door to leave my sister"s room. But before I open the door, my sister tugs my sleeve from behind.
"Sis? What"s up?"
"Henry…. Are you forgetting something?"
Huh? What I"ve forgotten? And why my sister lifts her face to me?
Oh! I get it! The kiss! She still wants me to kiss her like before.
"Errr…sis, don"t you already have a new fiancé right now? That"s suppose given by your fiancé, not me. Your lips belong to him now"
"But Henry….I don"t know when he will kiss me and I just barely know him…or do you don"t want to kiss me again because your fiancé is here now?"
"Sis…that"s not what I mean…oh what the heck, just don"t ask this too often, will you?"
Because she looks sad when I didn"t kiss her like before, I finally give up and kiss her on the lips. She looks completely different from before I give the kiss, it"s a happy face she wears now. Ugh, the woman can be troublesome sometimes.