Chapter 118

“Um, Ellen.”

Ellen gently answered the young lady who always spoke to her with such kindness, as if the smile on her face was simply uncontrollable.

“Yes, Miss Catherine.”

This form of address was something Catherine had insisted upon. She always said she wasn’t anyone important and wanted to be close to Ellen.

She’d even said that Ellen’s kindness reminded her of her late mother.

It was exactly the same thing Ellen had heard, so long ago, from someone now gone.

Catherine had wandered uninvited into the small drawing room Ellen used during her breaks and sat across from her, grinning sheepishly, then finally remembered to ask,

“I just came by because I was bored—hope you don’t mind? Am I interrupting?”

“Of course not, Miss Catherine.”

Catherine giggled again and started chattering about her day.

“This morning’s potato soup was really good. I wanted to thank the cook, but I’d just get in the way if I went to the kitchen, right? And then…”

Nothing but trivial stories of daily life. That habitually raised eyebrow when she was thinking.

Every little thing, so startlingly like Ellen’s late mistress, made Ellen’s heart ache. Long-buried memories, pressed down by years of work, now stirred as if they’d only been asleep since yesterday.

‘Of course.’

It had all been so sudden—a person as bright, warm, and energetic as summer, gone in an instant.

The Marquis’s face barely resembled hers, even though he was her father. But this young lady, though her features were different, had the same feeling about her.

As Catherine chatted, she suddenly looked at Ellen in surprise. Ellen realized her own vision had blurred with tears and quickly forced a smile.

“Ellen, what’s wrong? Did something sad happen?”

“No, it’s nothing… I must have gotten something in my eye. Yes, that’s it. Please, don’t mind me.”

“My story didn’t upset you, did it?”

“No, of course not.”

Ellen quickly wiped her eyes with a clean handkerchief, then kindly asked,

“But, my lady, why are you always alone? If you asked the Advisor, she’d show you around the castle and spend time with you. Didn’t you say you wanted to get closer to her?”

Anyone at White Swan Castle had surely seen Catherine, every time she ran into Nerys in the halls, calling her name and hurrying to greet her.

Catherine grinned awkwardly.

“Ah… The Advisor always seems so busy, so I didn’t want to bother her. I don’t want to make her uncomfortable…”

Her tone implied that Nerys did not welcome her. Ellen looked at Catherine with pity.

“Miss Catherine, the Advisor is a good person. She might not show it much, but she’s very kind. Before it gets any colder, you should try going out with her at least once.”

“Yes, I’ll do that.”

Catherine grinned again. Ellen glanced out the window.

Dark clouds were gathering.

“Ah, but not for a few days. Looks like the first snow will come soon. When it snows, it’s so cold it feels like your head will freeze, so you should wear the coat I gave you and stay warm in your room.”

“Yes, thank you for letting me know.”

Ellen now seemed to realize the time and looked apologetic.

“Miss Catherine, I have to go help prepare dinner now.”

“Oh, I see. Sorry for bothering you when you’re busy. Let’s talk again next time!”

As head maid, Ellen was extremely busy. Catherine, a guest with nothing to do, couldn’t compare.

Catherine left the drawing room with another bright, cheerful smile. Ellen watched her go—her eyes, for a brief moment, turning cold.

(T/N: Here I was thinking she got Ellen, but nooooo! Would have loved it if it was revealed later.)

❖ ❖ ❖

The sky was growing whiter. Though there was still time before evening, the sun had already disappeared.

Snow would probably fall soon. The clouds covering the sky this time looked ready to bury the ground.

“Shall we head in?”

Talfrin, dressed as a stable boy, asked. Talfrin had many faces, beyond just a minor noble or a servant at a banquet, and only two people in the world knew all his disguises.

One was Aidan, who nodded in agreement. The other, Cledwyn, looked up at the sky and answered,

“That sounds good.”

The three of them had spent the past few days touring Penmewick—checking if the river had frozen over, if the poor had received charity, the sort of things a lord traditionally confirmed at the start of winter.

Though the atmosphere in Maindulante had changed since Cledwyn’s accession, his administrative influence was strongest in Penmewick. The hard work of diligent officials was visible everywhere.

A year ago, Cledwyn would have been in a good mood about all this. He wasn’t the type to get angry over good work.

But as they rode their horses back toward the castle, Talfrin could feel a kind of pressure radiating from him.

It wasn’t directed at Talfrin, and in a way, it was understandable.

Ever since being turned down—or rather, choosing to keep his distance from the clever Advisor, the Grand Duke had become… prickly.

He never made bad decisions for the estate. But couldn’t he be a little more lenient sometimes?

Stern discipline, cold criticism, and so on… the whole mood of the castle was gloomy. The subordinates realized this was just like the old days, before the Advisor had arrived.

Looking back, the workplace atmosphere had improved so much after she came. Now that it had suddenly reverted, it felt all the worse.

‘Humanly speaking…’

Who’d have thought the day would come when they’d use such a word for their lord, always rumored to be a monster?

Talfrin deliberately said with a hint of sarcasm,

“My lord, there’s no need for it to snow where you are.”

Cledwyn’s cold gaze turned to Talfrin. Even Aidan’s heart skipped a beat from the intensity, but Talfrin, as always, was unfazed.

“I hear that old man still tells the vassals you rule as a tyrant, just doing whatever you please. If you act like this, what can we say?”

“I’m handling things by the book.”

“Well, yes. Maindulante needed strict law and order, so your approach wasn’t wrong.”

Better a ruler who’s strict but fair than one who laughs and does as he pleases.

Having suffered during the collapse of Maindulante’s system, Talfrin understood the importance of justice.

“The Advisor only ever asked for leniency because it was time for a little carrot, not just the stick.”

“That’s true, but my Advisor’s suggestions were always rational too.”

“Of course. But don’t you think your mood’s been swinging a bit too much lately? If the Advisor won’t take your side anymore and a bloodbath breaks out, that would be trouble.”

“Could that happen?”

“Why not? What if the Advisor marries someone else?”

The air around them dropped even further. It was almost funny that the temperature could fall any lower.

Aidan was deeply uncomfortable but didn’t know how to fix it.

Cledwyn narrowed his eyes and said,

“Yes, I suppose that could happen.”

He really thought so? Aidan had believed Cledwyn was already committed in his heart.

But Cledwyn meant every word.

He’d done everything possible to win Nerys’s affection, but it hadn’t worked. For someone like him, to say this much meant he was truly discouraged.

To make things worse, that strange woman was roaming the castle, and Nerys wasn’t stopping her at all. Didn’t that mean she really had no feelings for him?

Nerys had mentioned marrying for practical reasons several times, but he had never thought there could be a woman more perfect than her. She was beautiful, smart, strong, loved by all the people of this land… Not that he’d ever weighed her up by such standards, but even if he had, she would have met every one.

Money? He had plenty.

Power? That too.

Why chase after illusions of what you already have, only to lose what truly matters? Even if he didn’t have enough money or power, he was confident he could reach the top on his own.

So the problem wasn’t conditions—it was her heart. The one thing he couldn’t control, curse it all.

As Cledwyn fell silent, his two companions didn’t try to speak. The three men made their way back to the castle in silence.

When they neared the castle gate, Cledwyn suddenly remembered something.

“About the deployment to Gubelberg, make sure preparations are flawless for any scenario. As soon as the snow stops, we’ll leave immediately.”

Gubelberg was a small territory in the mountains near Penmewick. In winter, when the mountains froze, hungry animals would descend and attack villages.

The lord there had been troubled by this for years, but after seeing what the “Platinum” knights accomplished in the recent tournament and in Fecernon, he’d asked for central aid.

It would only take a day or two to get there, but winter made things tricky. Aidan, as the order’s vice-captain, nodded, already thinking of what he’d need to prepare.

Seeing Cledwyn approach, the gate guards saluted.

“Your Grace, welcome back!”

“Anything unusual?”

“No, nothing! It’s an honor to be asked, sir!”

“Very good.”

Just then, a woman’s scream ripped through the air inside the gate.

❖ ❖ ❖

Under the gray sky, Catherine strolled slowly to the stables. The stable master, already familiar with her, greeted her warmly.

“Hello, Miss Catherine. What brings you to the stables?”

“Hello! I thought I’d take Bella for a ride around the castle before the snow starts in a day or two. She could use the exercise.”

Bella was the name of the mare Catherine had brought from the Marquisate. She wasn’t a valuable breed, and she was getting on in years, but she was well cared for—a gentle, dark bay.

“Oh, I see. My joints are aching, so the snow must be coming soon. But please don’t leave the castle grounds, all right?”

“Of course.”

The stable master, charmed that she cared so much for even the horses, smiled broadly. Catherine returned his silly compliment with a cheerful smile and took Bella out.

“Let’s go, Bella!”

Catherine really did circle the castle—at the slowest pace she could manage.

When she finally neared the inner gate, a commotion rose on the other side of the wall. She grinned.

‘Perfect.’

The Grand Duke, with the “Platinum” order’s vice-captain and a stable hand, made daily rounds of the village below the castle. The servants said he personally oversaw preparations for winter.

Sometimes he returned quickly, sometimes late, but today he’d surely hurry—snow was coming.

What perfect timing.

“Your Grace, welcome back!”

Catherine couldn’t see the guards, but their voices were clear. The reply was cool and sharp.

“Anything unusual?”

“No, nothing! It’s an honor to be asked, sir!”

“Very good.”

Now.

Catherine checked that no one was watching and drove her heel hard into Bella’s side.

Whinny!

Bella bucked and tried to throw her rider. When that didn’t work, she bolted.

Catherine screamed.

“Kyaaaah!”