DYBAR - Chapter 45 Welcome And Congratulation
Do Your Best And Regret It
When I entered the Grand Duchy's garden after a welcoming procession, I sank into the carriage chair as if I had lost all strength. Then, I rubbed my cheek with my finger. My cheeks were tingling because she kept laughing. Although it tingles, Still, it was good.
The corners of my mouth kept rising. I never expected that my first greeting with the Grand Duke, whom I met while very nervous, would be this good.
With flushed cheeks, I looked out the window. A huge great siege that I had never seen in the noble encyclopedia was waiting for me. Whatever it was, one thing was clear: I was going to love this place very much...
"Everyone at Vikander is ready to help with all our heart."
But when I got off at the entrance of the main castle, Sobel's words passed through my mind. Sobel didn't answer when I said he was asking about loyalty. Workers lined up in front of the entrance. The middle-aged butler in front of me was looking at me with a blank face without even bending her waist. Light blue eyes resembling the autumn sky shook slightly.
I, who was quietly looking at Bethany as if it was a sign of protest toward me, was momentarily surprised. Those eyes are not protesting. Pathetic. No, more than that.
"Bethany."
Butler Bethany blinked in surprise at Edwin's call, as if she had just woken up.
Bethany wasn't the only one surprised by Edwin's voice. I also looked at Bethany, feigning calmness.
"Oh, indeed. I stared at you without realizing it was rude. Sorry, Miss. You are so beautiful."
Bethany, whose straw-colored hair was beginning to turn gray, was neatly organized with a jewel pin and held the hem of her neat green dress to show respect.
"Nice to meet you, Lady. Thank you for your hard work in coming this far. This is Bethany, Vikander's butler."
Bethany's voice was somehow soothing. But before I could look at her again, Bethany snapped her fingers together.
"She has excellent handicraft skills and is also called the Wizard of the North."
At the same time, colorful sparks flew from the tips of Bethany's fingers. I opened my eyes wide.
Wizard of the North. I had heard of it. Bethany was an excellent wizard who was thought to be secluded in the Magic Tower. Even when I hired a large number of outstanding wizards to Investigate the abandoned mine, I could not hear a single word of news. She was the wizard of Vikander.
I tried to gather my slightly dazed mind. If she's a wizard, she should naturally be polite. She first introduced herself as a butler, so I had no idea how to address her. Bethany must have noticed that sign and spoke kindly first.
"Please feel free to call me Bethany, Lady. No one here sees me as a wizard. I'm just a butler with excellent handicraft skills."
Bethany glanced at Edwin as if she was proud of him. I suddenly looked at the robe Edwin was wearing at the boastful voice.
That sloppy and fancy handicraft. No way...The flower pattern on the robe was so colorful that it was pleasing to the eye.
"Did Bethany embroider it?"
As soon as I said those words, Bethany's expression became even more triumphant. The laughter deepened as I couldn't stop Edwin, who was looking at me and Bethany.
***
"You are tired. Please start with hot bath water. The people in the north must have been so lively and noisy. We'll go out while you relax in the bath for a while."
Hot steam filled the bathroom. I looked around the bathroom with slightly dazed eyes. Beautiful patterns were carved on the edge of the large ivory-pillared bath, and white and black marble decorated the walls. Rose petals swayed along the waves on the water. A fragrant scent rose from the water sprinkled with perfumed oil.
I never thought the journey was difficult, but the hot water relaxed my body. Vikander continued to show off the surprising side. A procession welcoming me. The butler tells me that I worked hard. Even though it was my first time seeing them, they all looked at me warmly.
For some reason, the bridge of my nose became cold. It's not like water from the bathtub got into my nose. I lowered my body below the water. As the heat warmed my eyes, my vision became blurry little by little. Perhaps, I didn't even know I was here. A place full of people who will accept my best. Just like Edwin, and mom.
"It's been a very long time."
The voice that came out of my mouth was softly wet.
I shrugged my shoulders and smiled brightly, my nose turning red.
***
An ordinary bar with upside-down wine glasses. Winster, neatly dressed in a shirt and pants, looked at the documents repeatedly. Embarrassment flashed across his ever-smiling face.
Clearly, the Princess's previous investigation was perfect.
However, the more we investigated the Princess's whereabouts, as instructed by His Highness the Grand Duke, the more holes that had been hidden in that perfection appeared. It was a widely known story that the Princess performed a benevolent act of charity to restore her retail estate that had fallen into the spring crisis, but...
"Is this really the person who tried to buy LeCalle's necklace in early March of last year?"
Winster held out the portrait he was holding. The middle-aged woman with the dark blue hair elegantly styled up was the Princess's nanny, Baroness Ruhas. The man with the large knife mark on his left cheek snatched up the paper with the portrait on it and grinned. The scar on his cheek was distorted diagonally, but Winster faced him calmly.
"Is that right? A very proud lady who was looking for LeCalle's necklace. I don't know if she was a daughter or a servant girl, but she was with a girl whom she protected very carefully."
The man trailed off as if he was trying to remember. Then he nodded as if he remembered.
"I also heard the Young Lady sing a troupe. It's called Ragwell's Troupe. It was a theater company that was doing well but then suddenly went bankrupt. Do you know anything? It was famous as a place to follow wandering nobles."
If it's Ragwell's theater company. It was one of the theater companies that disappeared without a word last summer. Winster heard this from the leader he met at the Summer Palace.
"I heard that your friend's troupe called Ragwell also made a fortune after seeing Her Highness?"
"I guess this is solid information, right?"
"By the way, would I tell a lie while His Highness is gathering information? Maybe it's Lord Calter."
The man nodded awkwardly, saying he was saying all sorts of things. The words that followed were jarring, but what the man said was true. Jürgen, the intelligence merchant who owed his life to the Archduke, told the Archduke only the truth.
Winster looked at the document quietly, the smile on his face gone. The Princess's actions were different from her official actions. So who created this 'perfect act'?
Winster remembered the words of the Grand Duke, who ordered him to report everything that arose.
"Writing pad!"
In response to Winster's hasty shout, Jürgen hurriedly brought paper and a pen.
***
"I will tell you in advance. Today is definitely not Vikander's formal dinner. It's just a meal, so please enjoy it, Young Lady."
What Bethany said was a lie. I struggled to keep my mouth from opening and looked at the spacious banquet hall.
The banquet hall was large enough to comfortably accommodate two hundred people and was filled with knights and retainers. The flower-topped table and bright lights at the edge of the banquet hall livened up the atmosphere.
A grand dinner served on an elegant cream-colored tablecloth. If this isn't a dinner party, what is it? Without making a grand speech,
"It was a lot of hard work."
Edwin, who praised all the efforts, smiled as he pushed the tray filled with golden, honey-flowing chicken legs towards me. There was no formality at the dinner party.
I looked at Edwin with a slightly embarrassed face.
"Is there anything else you want to say?"
"These chicken legs are delicious?"
I swallowed my words as I looked at Edwin saying something else. Bethany next to me also agreed with Edwin.
"The skills of Masa of the Islands are outstanding, but the skills of Anthony of the Vikander Territory are also exceptional."
And it was true. The sweet and salty flavor of chicken disappeared the moment I put it in my mouth, and it was truly the result of amazing skill. Edwin and Bethany also got busy as I lifted my fork with a twinkle in my eye.
As if it had been a long time since they had eaten at a banquet hall like this, the atmosphere of the drivers was very excited. The knights, whose cheeks were flushed with alcohol, glanced at the Young Lady sitting on the platform. A noble Young Lady who looks fragile with silver hair as cold as moonlight.
Best of all, a beautiful green-eyed girl. When they first heard the rumor about the Princess, the knights who used all the insults and curses in the world changed their attitude a long time ago when they heard that His Highness the Grand Duke, to whom they had pledged allegiance, was the damsel to whom they had pledged their oath.
Even if it's not a dinner party, it would be nice if you could say something. But as if breaking that thought, Howard spoke coldly.
"Let the snow fall. Before you tell Bethany."
"If you put pressure on the Young Lady from day one, you will all get a taste of fireworks!"
Bethany's strong threats came to mind. The knights immediately lowered their eyes. Top and bottom. Because that firm loyalty was one of the iron rules of the Vikander Knights...
Then there was a moment. The knights who were eating gradually became quiet. I looked at the knights in the sudden silence. The knights looked at Bethany with sparkling eyes. I made an inexplicable expression as my eyes were focused on Bethany, who was helping me eat.
"...It was really hard."
It started with Howard. The blunt face spoke as if complaining. In the relaxed atmosphere, someone added another word.
"It's the first day our precious Young Lady arrived."
"On such a celebratory day, I can't miss drinking."
The knights spoke quietly one by one and looked at Bethany earnestly. As for alcohol, there are dozens of beer pails and wine barrels piled next to it. Edwin whispers just as I tilt my head.
"Bethenny makes alcohol as a hobby. That fruit wine tastes really good."
I was quite a strong drinker. I had to drink lightly in order to survive in the thin ice of society. So when I first received Bethany's cider.
I grinned and said I was confident. But this was different from the sweet drink of my system.
"... I'm drunk. Would you like to get some air for a moment?"
He nodded with his white face flushed. The corners of my mouth went up as I smiled brightly. Edwin escorted my faltering steps smoothly. When the two people left the banquet hall, the space became quiet for a moment as if cold water had been poured on it, but then it became noisy as if the chandelier was about to fall.
***
The wind passed over my hot cheeks.
I shook my head, feeling a little dazed. The feeling of the cold stone of the balcony I was leaning against was felt all over my arms. I shivered from the sudden chill.
Edwin chuckled and wrapped a robe around me. In an instant, warmth enveloped my body. I lifted my arms and looked down at the robes. It was the robe that Bethany had sewn for me.
"The Great Siege is enchanted, but you must not trifle with the Northern Night, Olivia."
"Is it okay if you wrap me in such a precious robe?"
Edwin raised the corners of his mouth. The corners of his deep eyes were rounded and his red eyes looked at me.
"Of course. I can give you everything."
"Can you call it a robe?"
As I looked at Edwin's face, who nodded as if it was no big deal, my heart pounded hard. It's probably because of the alcohol.
Even as I repeated it like a mantra, my eyes kept turning to Edwin. The moment our gaze locked, I froze, like an herbivore in front of her predator. His red eyes, filled with greed, searched me thoroughly.
A glimpse of my white nape and my small earlobes revealed through her hair. There was a strong sound of a heart beating somewhere. I couldn't tell if it was Edwin or me. When the lazy gaze began to gradually rise, I shouted without even realizing it.
"Water!"
Edwin's eyes filled with laughter at the sudden sound. I muttered, lowering my head. The reason my face got so hot was because of the alcohol.
"....I want to drink water. I'm thirsty."
"Thank goodness I had a drink today, Olivia."
A heavy voice tickled my ears. I nodded, lowering my head. I laughed softly and told Edwin to wait a moment, and I walked away. The maids who had been waiting at a distance came up behind me as if it were natural. Then, looking at me with a slightly excited face, he lowered his head. Why is Vikander such a perfect place?
If I had known it would be so welcoming, I would have been a little less worried. I laughed slowly. At that moment, a part of my heart sank as I felt the familiar feeling of dėja vu. This was anxiety.
"Because of you, I really..."
No matter how much I try, I will never erase what Eshela said to me on that happy day while wearing the pink diamond necklace that Edwin gave me. Because when I was happiest, I had already experienced that bad things would happen.
I said that if I was careful, I would be fine.
I narrowed my eyes at the gentle breeze and looked around me. Then I looked to the other side of the garden and I blinked my eyes. I felt sober.
A knight standing on one side of the garden was glaring at me, his red hair intense. A knight with brown eyes.
"What's wrong?"
Edwin's voice came from behind. When I reflexively turned around and looked forward again, there was no one. Was I drunk?
"No."
I took the water, hiding my dazed voice. If I want to find him later, I will be able to find it. Someone that clearly shows hostility like that... But there was nothing else to find.
"These are Vikander's knights. Everyone has gathered except for the knights who have gone to the current border to exterminate beasts."
My eyes widened as I saw many knights lined up. The knight with intense red hair. He was polite towards me.
"Nice to meet you, lady. Dean Szellin, a knight of Vikander who is loyal to His Highness the Archduke."
Listening to that heavy voice, I remembered the definition of Vikander.
Vikander. A place full of welcome and celebration. I should add one thing here. And, a place where hostility coexists.
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