“I’m sorry to disappoint you. We are staying in one of my mansions.”
"Yes?"
When I turned my head again, I saw an elegant and old-fashioned mansion.
“This is yours too?”
"Yes."
Kaian had never stayed at an inn before going to war.
In the capital as the successor to Temnes, there was a mansion owned by the family.
Vermont was basically so closed that it did not pay taxes to Oberon.
Rather than taking a leisurely cruise with his family, the Duke of Vermont was the only one who moved from the northern tip to the capital, so there was no point in buying a mansion that he would not use, so he used a luxury inn within the kingdom.
Anyway, as Claudel blinked her eyes and looked at the mansion, Kaian thought over what she had just said.
'If it's a normal trip, don't we sleep at an inn?'
Did you want to stay at an inn?
'The last time I went to Rowen, I couldn't see it properly, so I was waiting.'
She was very proactive about wanting to travel, and it seemed like her ideals were specific.
“Wasn’t the travel schedule tight? I plan to stay here today and at the inn tomorrow.”
"Really?"
Kaian sighed inwardly when he saw Claudel jumping up and clapping her hands.
'So, you want to stay in a shabby, shabby lodging that anyone pays to go to.'
It was exactly the same idea he had heard from the butler when he went to the garden cafe.
"...I’m looking forward to it.”
Only then did Kaian burst into laughter as he saw Claudel, smiling brightly, walking cheerfully into the mansion's entrance.
He couldn't figure out why a shabby inn was good, even with the menu.
'Are all women like that?'
It was something he really didn't know.
Still, because of what happened at the Garden Cafe, he was proud of himself for not disappointing Claudel and for giving the correct answer with appropriate agility.
“Kaian! Here’s the golden lion!”
Kaian moved his feet as he looked at Claudel, who looked like she was going to introduce the mansion, which she had been to several times, to him.
***
The trip was truly enjoyable.
This is a proper trip!
Even after Herzol got better, I had to recuperate quite a bit.
I spent a lot of time lying in bed, and since I had nothing to do other than taking medicine and sleeping or staring blankly out the window, I started thinking about various things.
As the cruel pain clawing at my chest disappeared, I remembered, strangely enough, the things I had only glanced at on the way from Valmonde to Rowen.
The sweet smell wafting from the night market lined up outside the window of the small carriage and the dried fruits hanging on strings.
The fragrant-smelling meat pie that people had been lining up to buy since early morning was said to be a specialty of the inn where they happened to stay.
When I was intrigued, Hannah bought it for me to try, but the bitter cold made me cough and I couldn't swallow a single bite of the ice cream, feeling only the scent of vanilla, so I spit it out.
In the northern part of the country, a land of ice, grass is scarce and there is no grass to feed cows. Things like cheese and butter were not produced by Valmonde but were all imported.
The spice called vanilla is also from hot regions, so I was curious about what ice cream would taste like because I only read about it in books, but even when I got the long-awaited opportunity, I couldn't taste it properly because my body didn't comply.
Eating is one of the pleasures of traveling, but I was forced to marry and was simply carried away.
And that too with my secret illness.
However, the road to Kaian and the capital was different.
"Yes. Are we there already?”
When I woke up and rubbed my eyes when he patted me awake, it was already lunch time and we had arrived at the village where we were going to rest.
I, who woke up, got off the carriage, opened the parasol, and placed my hand on Kaian's arm.
“This place is cute.”
“Did you not see it when you came to Rowen?”
“It rained continuously from the time we crossed over to Rowen territory until we arrived.”
I was busy looking around frantically.
As we walked slowly through the market with Kaian's arms crossed, people who were busy bargaining and carrying and handing over goods stared at us and became quiet.
'It's happening again.'
I was treated as invisible throughout my time at Valmonde.
I, who had never once been asked to dance after dancing with my uncle, the Duke of Vermont, at the Debutante Ball, was a wallflower like something out of the romance novels.
I had no interest in it anyway, but strangely enough, whenever I went with Kai An, he would stare at me with his mouth closed, which made me feel strange.
'Because Kaian is noticeably cool and handsome.'
I thought the reason was because he was cool. He is also the lord of Rowen.
Because this never happened when I walked alone.
However, since it was something that happened inside the castle of Valmonde, it cannot be compared, and that was the conclusion that came to my mind.
The man who became my husband was truly an eye-catching man.
'Now that I think about it, I heard he's quite a playboy.'
While I was staying at Rowen Castle, I was so busy with things that I couldn't think about it, and I never saw him with another woman.
Antjona came forward as if she were his lover, but Hannah asserted that Antjone was completely lying.
My marriage was by order of the King, and looking at Kaian's attitude toward me during the early nights, it seemed unlikely that he would ever end up with his lover. It seemed like he had no intention of treating me as his wife.
'But I hope he doesn't meet another woman.'
His attitude toward me had changed little by little since the crocodile hunting days, but we seemed to be getting along quite amicably now.
Just like a couple who get along well.
“What are you planning to eat for lunch today?”
Early on in our journey, he seemed to have decided in advance where he would take me.
However, seeing that I was very curious about the itinerary, I brought two books written by a traveler.
From the castle, we ran to the northern part of Rowen territory for about four days, and from there until the capital, it was kingdom territory.
The book that Kaian gave was about the Rowen territory and kingdom and contained famous customs of major cities.
During the day, while the carriage was running, I slept leaning against Kaian and enjoyed the village I had arrived in. I read books until late at night, wondering what to do in the next village or city.
“This town is famous for its skewered barbecue and quail wrapped in pies. But I actually haven’t decided what to eat yet.”
Kaian answered calmly.
“I guess you can taste both. Why worry about something like that?”
“But if I want to eat both..."
Kaian pays.
I was buying things I couldn't even eat, and he thought it was a waste to spend that kind of money.
It would be a shame to throw away what he had left behind.
Kaian seemed to have read what I was thinking as I hesitated blurted out my words and opened my mouth.
“Please call Madame Marcel and Hannah too. That will work.”
"Really?"
Kaian told the attendant who was following him to call Madame Marcel and Hanna.
They came in a different carriage, and they always followed after leaving the place they were staying to check to see if anything had been accidentally left behind, since it was a different carriage than the one I and Kaian rode in, they often arrived about an hour late.
When my face cleared up as if my worries were over, Kaian started walking towards a suitable place.
At that time, a small girl blocked our path. What was in the child's hand was a pink zinnia.
“I’ll give you this.”
The girl was wearing shabby clothes with stains on her sleeves and a basket of flowers hanging on her arm.
I smiled and accepted the large flower with multiple layers of petals in full bloom.
"Thank you."
Kaian asked, taking out the money bag from his arms.
“How much?”
“I’m just giving it to you.”
The child looked up at me and tapped the ground with her toes, embarrassed.
“Because you're pretty.”
I was happy that the child's innocent eyes were full of sincerity.
"Really?"
“Are you a Princess?”
"No. The Princess must be much prettier than me.”
“Have you ever seen the Princess?”
“No, but I probably will.”
“Then who are you?”
I wondered for a moment what I should say to this child, whether I should be called the Duchess of Temnes.
"Fairy."
At Kaian's words, the girl turned her eyes to him.
“She's a fairy.”
“Wow. I knew it would be like that.”
The girl who just a moment ago had been asking me if I was a Princess was delighted to hear that I was a 'fairy'.
"This is yours. Fairies hate free stuff.”
Kaian rolled a coin into his handkerchief and tied it around the girl's wrist.
“A fairy’s gift disappears if you break your promise. Run home like this and show your parents.”
"Yes. Fairy.”
The child waved her hand at Kaian, who had become a fairy thanks to being next to the fairy-like me and then disappeared into the alley.
I, who was looking at the cheerful back of the running child, looked at him playfully.
“Are you a fairy?”
As I asked, Kaian cleared his throat and took the zinnia in my hand.
Since I had my parasol open and wasn't wearing a hat, he placed a flower in the ear of my beautifully braided hair, and the flower went well with my red hair.
“Pretending to be a fairy comes naturally to you. I guess you’re a fairy King or something.”
“A child’s imagination is precious.”
I asked as I walked towards the restaurant again.
“I thought you hated children.”
“Why?”
“Because you don’t like being disheveled and are neat.”
Children were on the other side of order and norms.
For a child to grow up is to carve what was born free by God's will into a mold created by humans.
“Is that a reason to hate children? If there is a successor, sometimes we have to be strict.”
“How were your parents? Were they strict?”
“They were both noble people.”
“I think so. Because Lady Elise is a Princess.”
“My mother was elegant, but she was quite firm.”
Kaian hugged my shoulder and walked slowly.
“Basically, it seems like they didn’t protect or look after me because I was young.”
“So you felt unfair and disappointed?”
"No."
In Kaian's eyes, ever since he became aware of it as a child, both his father, the head of the Temnes family, and his mother, a Princess-turned-Duchess, were faithfully carrying their respective burdens.
They were bold and carried out big tasks without mistakes, and whenever problems arose in the territory, they calmly solved them and took care of the people of the territory.
“I guess I just thought I had to do my part.”
Even when he was young, he thinks he thought that even if something was difficult, he couldn't show it or talk about it.
By looking at his parents.
There was hardly anything he could get scolded for.
I listened to the story Kaian told.
'You don't hate children.'
What made Kaian think he wouldn't want kids?
Because he has a scary side.
I couldn't imagine such a man holding a child in his arms, and the fragile life and the peak of inaction were somehow distant images.
Baby and Kaian.
However, it was also one of the most important things the Duchess had to do.
Giving birth to a successor.
'What would it be like if a child who looked like him was born?'
Any child with black hair and pretty red eyes would be very pretty and cute, whether it be a boy or a girl.
I fell into such thoughts without realizing it.
... I gave birth to a child.
This was also the case of the abandoned Duchess who did not even think about Herzol's scheduled death.
My face darkened.
'But I wouldn't be able to have children.'
As the cruel pain clawing at my chest disappeared, I remembered, strangely enough, the things I had only glanced at on the way from Valmonde to Rowen.
The sweet smell wafting from the night market lined up outside the window of the small carriage and the dried fruits hanging on strings.
The fragrant-smelling meat pie that people had been lining up to buy since early morning was said to be a specialty of the inn where they happened to stay.
When I was intrigued, Hannah bought it for me to try, but the bitter cold made me cough and I couldn't swallow a single bite of the ice cream, feeling only the scent of vanilla, so I spit it out.
In the northern part of the country, a land of ice, grass is scarce and there is no grass to feed cows. Things like cheese and butter were not produced by Valmonde but were all imported.
The spice called vanilla is also from hot regions, so I was curious about what ice cream would taste like because I only read about it in books, but even when I got the long-awaited opportunity, I couldn't taste it properly because my body didn't comply.
Eating is one of the pleasures of traveling, but I was forced to marry and was simply carried away.
And that too with my secret illness.
However, the road to Kaian and the capital was different.
"Yes. Are we there already?”
When I woke up and rubbed my eyes when he patted me awake, it was already lunch time and we had arrived at the village where we were going to rest.
I, who woke up, got off the carriage, opened the parasol, and placed my hand on Kaian's arm.
“This place is cute.”
“Did you not see it when you came to Rowen?”
“It rained continuously from the time we crossed over to Rowen territory until we arrived.”
I was busy looking around frantically.
As we walked slowly through the market with Kaian's arms crossed, people who were busy bargaining and carrying and handing over goods stared at us and became quiet.
'It's happening again.'
I was treated as invisible throughout my time at Valmonde.
I, who had never once been asked to dance after dancing with my uncle, the Duke of Vermont, at the Debutante Ball, was a wallflower like something out of the romance novels.
I had no interest in it anyway, but strangely enough, whenever I went with Kai An, he would stare at me with his mouth closed, which made me feel strange.
'Because Kaian is noticeably cool and handsome.'
I thought the reason was because he was cool. He is also the lord of Rowen.
Because this never happened when I walked alone.
However, since it was something that happened inside the castle of Valmonde, it cannot be compared, and that was the conclusion that came to my mind.
The man who became my husband was truly an eye-catching man.
'Now that I think about it, I heard he's quite a playboy.'
While I was staying at Rowen Castle, I was so busy with things that I couldn't think about it, and I never saw him with another woman.
Antjona came forward as if she were his lover, but Hannah asserted that Antjone was completely lying.
My marriage was by order of the King, and looking at Kaian's attitude toward me during the early nights, it seemed unlikely that he would ever end up with his lover. It seemed like he had no intention of treating me as his wife.
'But I hope he doesn't meet another woman.'
His attitude toward me had changed little by little since the crocodile hunting days, but we seemed to be getting along quite amicably now.
Just like a couple who get along well.
“What are you planning to eat for lunch today?”
Early on in our journey, he seemed to have decided in advance where he would take me.
However, seeing that I was very curious about the itinerary, I brought two books written by a traveler.
From the castle, we ran to the northern part of Rowen territory for about four days, and from there until the capital, it was kingdom territory.
The book that Kaian gave was about the Rowen territory and kingdom and contained famous customs of major cities.
During the day, while the carriage was running, I slept leaning against Kaian and enjoyed the village I had arrived in. I read books until late at night, wondering what to do in the next village or city.
“This town is famous for its skewered barbecue and quail wrapped in pies. But I actually haven’t decided what to eat yet.”
Kaian answered calmly.
“I guess you can taste both. Why worry about something like that?”
“But if I want to eat both..."
Kaian pays.
I was buying things I couldn't even eat, and he thought it was a waste to spend that kind of money.
It would be a shame to throw away what he had left behind.
Kaian seemed to have read what I was thinking as I hesitated blurted out my words and opened my mouth.
“Please call Madame Marcel and Hannah too. That will work.”
"Really?"
Kaian told the attendant who was following him to call Madame Marcel and Hanna.
They came in a different carriage, and they always followed after leaving the place they were staying to check to see if anything had been accidentally left behind, since it was a different carriage than the one I and Kaian rode in, they often arrived about an hour late.
When my face cleared up as if my worries were over, Kaian started walking towards a suitable place.
At that time, a small girl blocked our path. What was in the child's hand was a pink zinnia.
“I’ll give you this.”
The girl was wearing shabby clothes with stains on her sleeves and a basket of flowers hanging on her arm.
I smiled and accepted the large flower with multiple layers of petals in full bloom.
"Thank you."
Kaian asked, taking out the money bag from his arms.
“How much?”
“I’m just giving it to you.”
The child looked up at me and tapped the ground with her toes, embarrassed.
“Because you're pretty.”
I was happy that the child's innocent eyes were full of sincerity.
"Really?"
“Are you a Princess?”
"No. The Princess must be much prettier than me.”
“Have you ever seen the Princess?”
“No, but I probably will.”
“Then who are you?”
I wondered for a moment what I should say to this child, whether I should be called the Duchess of Temnes.
"Fairy."
At Kaian's words, the girl turned her eyes to him.
“She's a fairy.”
“Wow. I knew it would be like that.”
The girl who just a moment ago had been asking me if I was a Princess was delighted to hear that I was a 'fairy'.
"This is yours. Fairies hate free stuff.”
Kaian rolled a coin into his handkerchief and tied it around the girl's wrist.
“A fairy’s gift disappears if you break your promise. Run home like this and show your parents.”
"Yes. Fairy.”
The child waved her hand at Kaian, who had become a fairy thanks to being next to the fairy-like me and then disappeared into the alley.
I, who was looking at the cheerful back of the running child, looked at him playfully.
“Are you a fairy?”
As I asked, Kaian cleared his throat and took the zinnia in my hand.
Since I had my parasol open and wasn't wearing a hat, he placed a flower in the ear of my beautifully braided hair, and the flower went well with my red hair.
“Pretending to be a fairy comes naturally to you. I guess you’re a fairy King or something.”
“A child’s imagination is precious.”
I asked as I walked towards the restaurant again.
“I thought you hated children.”
“Why?”
“Because you don’t like being disheveled and are neat.”
Children were on the other side of order and norms.
For a child to grow up is to carve what was born free by God's will into a mold created by humans.
“Is that a reason to hate children? If there is a successor, sometimes we have to be strict.”
“How were your parents? Were they strict?”
“They were both noble people.”
“I think so. Because Lady Elise is a Princess.”
“My mother was elegant, but she was quite firm.”
Kaian hugged my shoulder and walked slowly.
“Basically, it seems like they didn’t protect or look after me because I was young.”
“So you felt unfair and disappointed?”
"No."
In Kaian's eyes, ever since he became aware of it as a child, both his father, the head of the Temnes family, and his mother, a Princess-turned-Duchess, were faithfully carrying their respective burdens.
They were bold and carried out big tasks without mistakes, and whenever problems arose in the territory, they calmly solved them and took care of the people of the territory.
“I guess I just thought I had to do my part.”
Even when he was young, he thinks he thought that even if something was difficult, he couldn't show it or talk about it.
By looking at his parents.
There was hardly anything he could get scolded for.
I listened to the story Kaian told.
'You don't hate children.'
What made Kaian think he wouldn't want kids?
Because he has a scary side.
I couldn't imagine such a man holding a child in his arms, and the fragile life and the peak of inaction were somehow distant images.
Baby and Kaian.
However, it was also one of the most important things the Duchess had to do.
Giving birth to a successor.
'What would it be like if a child who looked like him was born?'
Any child with black hair and pretty red eyes would be very pretty and cute, whether it be a boy or a girl.
I fell into such thoughts without realizing it.
... I gave birth to a child.
This was also the case of the abandoned Duchess who did not even think about Herzol's scheduled death.
My face darkened.
'But I wouldn't be able to have children.'
Comments
Post a Comment