The next morning.
Karina went for a walk in the garden of the Grand Duke's house with Mikhail.
The northern garden, covered in pure white snow, was quiet.
The rough yet beautifully shaped stones and elegant statues were in secret harmony.
Although they did not have the colorful and elegant charm of the palace gardens, the winter flowers that did not lose to the cold had an elegant yet noble beauty.
Karina and Mikhail walked along the stone path neatly laid in the garden.
"Haam. It's really leisurely."
Mikhail yawned as he looked at the clear, cloudless sky.
"It's good to be leisurely."
Karina decided to talk to Mikhail when he was hired as her bodyguard.
It would be strange for the Grand Duchess to speak to her bodyguard.
"I thought you would be busy all day long with a high position like the Grand Duchess."
Mikhail looked back at Karina and asked again.
“Can you really be leisurely wandering around like this?”
He had expected to be busy and under strict surveillance, but since becoming an escort, all he did was follow the Grand Duchess around while she was enjoying rest and walking.
Karina asked back with a sullen expression.
“Why? Do you think I’m just rambling around with nothing to do?”
“Yes.”
‘This... honest guy.’
Karina gave him a quick glance at his answer.
“You don’t even think of saying no with empty words, do you?”
“Uh... I should have said no?”
“No.”
She refused to be poked in the side and bowed.
‘But it’s not wrong.’
If things were as they were, Karina would have been busy taking care of the household affairs of the mansion and all sorts of internal and external events as the Grand Duchess, making her days seem like they would be too busy for ten bodies.
However, Karina’s daily life was very different from that of the Grand Duchess.
This was because Caroline held all of the Grand Duchess’ authority tightly in her hands and would not hand it over.
The important thing was that Karina wasn’t particularly interested in such rights.
‘Do I really need to take that away? I’m going to leave anyway. It’d be a hassle to bring it back.’
Karina planned to just relax and leave before leaving the Grand Duke’s residence.
‘Anyway.’
Karina looked back at Mikhail with a serious expression.
“You said you’d tell me later. You didn’t forget, did you?”
Now that she had brought it up, she planned to hear exactly what was going on here.
“Mikhael. What is your identity? What is your relationship with the Magic Tower?”
“Hmm, I don’t know where to start or how to explain it.”
Mikhail scratched his head and hesitated for a moment before opening his mouth.
“Since you asked me what my identity is, let me answer that first. In a word, I’m a ‘trainee.’”
Mikhail emphasized the word ‘trainee.’
“Trainee?”
Karina was puzzled by the unexpected words that came out of his mouth.
“I still have many shortcomings. To the point where my master kicked me out and told me to go outside the Magic Tower and study the world a bit more.”
Mikhail scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
“If I were to reveal that I belong to the Magic Tower and be treated as a magician, I would get in big trouble with the Master. That’s why I didn’t reveal my affiliation from the beginning.”
Mikhail smiled softly and asked back.
“Have you been able to dispel some of your suspicions about me?”
“Well, for now.”
Mikhail’s explanation was not unreasonable.
However, Karina couldn’t shake the feeling that he was still hiding something.
That was when.
“Karina.”
A high-pitched voice called out to her.
“...!”
Karina’s expression changed as if she had chewed shit, as she immediately recognized whose voice it was.
When she calmed down and turned around, Caroline was approaching with a large group of maids.
“You’re the Grand Duchess. What brings you here?”
Karina went for a walk in the garden of the Grand Duke's house with Mikhail.
The northern garden, covered in pure white snow, was quiet.
The rough yet beautifully shaped stones and elegant statues were in secret harmony.
Although they did not have the colorful and elegant charm of the palace gardens, the winter flowers that did not lose to the cold had an elegant yet noble beauty.
Karina and Mikhail walked along the stone path neatly laid in the garden.
"Haam. It's really leisurely."
Mikhail yawned as he looked at the clear, cloudless sky.
"It's good to be leisurely."
Karina decided to talk to Mikhail when he was hired as her bodyguard.
It would be strange for the Grand Duchess to speak to her bodyguard.
"I thought you would be busy all day long with a high position like the Grand Duchess."
Mikhail looked back at Karina and asked again.
“Can you really be leisurely wandering around like this?”
He had expected to be busy and under strict surveillance, but since becoming an escort, all he did was follow the Grand Duchess around while she was enjoying rest and walking.
Karina asked back with a sullen expression.
“Why? Do you think I’m just rambling around with nothing to do?”
“Yes.”
‘This... honest guy.’
Karina gave him a quick glance at his answer.
“You don’t even think of saying no with empty words, do you?”
“Uh... I should have said no?”
“No.”
She refused to be poked in the side and bowed.
‘But it’s not wrong.’
If things were as they were, Karina would have been busy taking care of the household affairs of the mansion and all sorts of internal and external events as the Grand Duchess, making her days seem like they would be too busy for ten bodies.
However, Karina’s daily life was very different from that of the Grand Duchess.
This was because Caroline held all of the Grand Duchess’ authority tightly in her hands and would not hand it over.
The important thing was that Karina wasn’t particularly interested in such rights.
‘Do I really need to take that away? I’m going to leave anyway. It’d be a hassle to bring it back.’
Karina planned to just relax and leave before leaving the Grand Duke’s residence.
‘Anyway.’
Karina looked back at Mikhail with a serious expression.
“You said you’d tell me later. You didn’t forget, did you?”
Now that she had brought it up, she planned to hear exactly what was going on here.
“Mikhael. What is your identity? What is your relationship with the Magic Tower?”
“Hmm, I don’t know where to start or how to explain it.”
Mikhail scratched his head and hesitated for a moment before opening his mouth.
“Since you asked me what my identity is, let me answer that first. In a word, I’m a ‘trainee.’”
Mikhail emphasized the word ‘trainee.’
“Trainee?”
Karina was puzzled by the unexpected words that came out of his mouth.
“I still have many shortcomings. To the point where my master kicked me out and told me to go outside the Magic Tower and study the world a bit more.”
Mikhail scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
“If I were to reveal that I belong to the Magic Tower and be treated as a magician, I would get in big trouble with the Master. That’s why I didn’t reveal my affiliation from the beginning.”
Mikhail smiled softly and asked back.
“Have you been able to dispel some of your suspicions about me?”
“Well, for now.”
Mikhail’s explanation was not unreasonable.
However, Karina couldn’t shake the feeling that he was still hiding something.
That was when.
“Karina.”
A high-pitched voice called out to her.
“...!”
Karina’s expression changed as if she had chewed shit, as she immediately recognized whose voice it was.
When she calmed down and turned around, Caroline was approaching with a large group of maids.
“You’re the Grand Duchess. What brings you here?”
Karina didn’t respond well to Caroline’s behavior of calling her by her name as if she were her subordinate.
Caroline’s maids also looked arrogant and held their heads up, just like their master.
“I always take a look around the garden at this time. It’s one of my daily routines.”
“Oh, yes. You’re so diligent.”
Karina replied dryly to Caroline’s teasing.
“I want to rest, but I can’t believe how many things are going on. Even this garden looks the same on the outside, but if I don’t take care of it for even one day, it becomes difficult to keep it neat.”
“...Is that so?”
The gardeners take care of the garden.
Caroline’s only job is to point out any unpleasant corners or give instructions on what flowers to plant.
Even then, because she lacks basic knowledge of gardening, she often makes unreasonable demands such as requesting plants that are not suitable for the season or tropical trees that cannot withstand the cold.
Whenever the gardeners shook their heads, saying it was impossible, she would inevitably scold them. After venting her anger like that, she would often pass it on to the headmaid, making excuses that it was annoying.
“That’s not even funny.”
Karina laughed inwardly.
To Karina, who already knew the truth, it just sounded like a funny joke.
“What are you doing in the garden at this hour, Karina... Oh my.”
Caroline noticed Mikhail and her eyes widened.
“That’s the wizard who was at the center of the commotion yesterday?”
“He’s the wizard who’s going to be my bodyguard.”
When Karina introduced him, Mikhail nodded his head slightly in greeting.
“I’m Mikhail.”
Caroline’s maids frowned at his rude behavior.
However, Caroline didn’t seem to notice Mikhail’s rudeness.
Everyone in the mansion already knew about Mikhail, who had defeated one of the strongest men in the knights and became Karina’s bodyguard.
However, when Caroline actually met him in person, she was distracted by something other than his skills.
“I was curious because I heard that a young wizard had defeated a candidate for the commander of the knights, but I didn’t think he would be this handsome.”
The beauty she saw in Mikhail wasn’t just that he was young and handsome.
Even she, who had a handsome younger brother and had high standards for men, couldn’t close her mouth because Mikhail’s beauty was extraordinary.
“Hmm, you're really great.”
She looked Mikhail up and down as if evaluating an object, then raised her chin with an arrogant expression.
“The Grand Duchess has quite a refined hobby.”
Caroline gave Karina a strange smile.
‘...What?’
Karina, who was in a bad mood, had no intention of continuing to face Caroline.
“If you have nothing more to say, I will excuse myself.”
Karina nodded for Mikhail to follow her and quickly tried to pass Caroline.
However, Caroline grabbed Karina’s arm and spoke.
“Karina. The banquet was a misunderstanding.”
Karina’s one eyebrow went up diagonally.
“Huh?”
“I did my best to help you prepare for the banquet. I hope you don’t misinterpret my sincerity because of a minor misunderstanding.”
“...”
‘I wondered what you meant all of a sudden.’
Karina was speechless at Caroline’s confident actions.
‘Do you think I still don’t know anything after what happened at the banquet?’
It was enough to make Caroline wonder how much she could ignore her for her to act like that.
“You know? I did it all for you. The merchant did something strange that I didn’t ask him to do, so things got a little messed up, but I had no idea about it.”
'Ha, you really haven’t changed.'
Karina was annoyed when she heard the same words she had heard in the past.
Caroline insisted on her innocence, blaming Abdul, the merchant.
“If I had known he was such a swindler, I would never have sent him to you.”
It was disgusting to see her expression of resentment and her voice cracking.
“My hands still tremble when I think about that time. I was so embarrassed.”
Caroline went further and wiped her eyes with her fingertips as if wiping away tears.
'You really are all sorts of things.'
Caroline’s maids also looked arrogant and held their heads up, just like their master.
“I always take a look around the garden at this time. It’s one of my daily routines.”
“Oh, yes. You’re so diligent.”
Karina replied dryly to Caroline’s teasing.
“I want to rest, but I can’t believe how many things are going on. Even this garden looks the same on the outside, but if I don’t take care of it for even one day, it becomes difficult to keep it neat.”
“...Is that so?”
The gardeners take care of the garden.
Caroline’s only job is to point out any unpleasant corners or give instructions on what flowers to plant.
Even then, because she lacks basic knowledge of gardening, she often makes unreasonable demands such as requesting plants that are not suitable for the season or tropical trees that cannot withstand the cold.
Whenever the gardeners shook their heads, saying it was impossible, she would inevitably scold them. After venting her anger like that, she would often pass it on to the headmaid, making excuses that it was annoying.
“That’s not even funny.”
Karina laughed inwardly.
To Karina, who already knew the truth, it just sounded like a funny joke.
“What are you doing in the garden at this hour, Karina... Oh my.”
Caroline noticed Mikhail and her eyes widened.
“That’s the wizard who was at the center of the commotion yesterday?”
“He’s the wizard who’s going to be my bodyguard.”
When Karina introduced him, Mikhail nodded his head slightly in greeting.
“I’m Mikhail.”
Caroline’s maids frowned at his rude behavior.
However, Caroline didn’t seem to notice Mikhail’s rudeness.
Everyone in the mansion already knew about Mikhail, who had defeated one of the strongest men in the knights and became Karina’s bodyguard.
However, when Caroline actually met him in person, she was distracted by something other than his skills.
“I was curious because I heard that a young wizard had defeated a candidate for the commander of the knights, but I didn’t think he would be this handsome.”
The beauty she saw in Mikhail wasn’t just that he was young and handsome.
Even she, who had a handsome younger brother and had high standards for men, couldn’t close her mouth because Mikhail’s beauty was extraordinary.
“Hmm, you're really great.”
She looked Mikhail up and down as if evaluating an object, then raised her chin with an arrogant expression.
“The Grand Duchess has quite a refined hobby.”
Caroline gave Karina a strange smile.
‘...What?’
Karina, who was in a bad mood, had no intention of continuing to face Caroline.
“If you have nothing more to say, I will excuse myself.”
Karina nodded for Mikhail to follow her and quickly tried to pass Caroline.
However, Caroline grabbed Karina’s arm and spoke.
“Karina. The banquet was a misunderstanding.”
Karina’s one eyebrow went up diagonally.
“Huh?”
“I did my best to help you prepare for the banquet. I hope you don’t misinterpret my sincerity because of a minor misunderstanding.”
“...”
‘I wondered what you meant all of a sudden.’
Karina was speechless at Caroline’s confident actions.
‘Do you think I still don’t know anything after what happened at the banquet?’
It was enough to make Caroline wonder how much she could ignore her for her to act like that.
“You know? I did it all for you. The merchant did something strange that I didn’t ask him to do, so things got a little messed up, but I had no idea about it.”
'Ha, you really haven’t changed.'
Karina was annoyed when she heard the same words she had heard in the past.
Caroline insisted on her innocence, blaming Abdul, the merchant.
“If I had known he was such a swindler, I would never have sent him to you.”
It was disgusting to see her expression of resentment and her voice cracking.
“My hands still tremble when I think about that time. I was so embarrassed.”
Caroline went further and wiped her eyes with her fingertips as if wiping away tears.
'You really are all sorts of things.'
Karina could not help but laugh at the way she denied knowing when she knew it was intentional.
Karina stared at Caroline.
She wanted to see how far she would go.
“But Karina. You were too reckless.”
“...”
Caroline began to blame Karina in a slightly raised voice, perhaps mistaking Karina’s lack of response as an apology.
“If you were worried about what to wear, you should have come to me instead. What would happen to the reputation of the Grand Duke’s family if you barged into a formal banquet hall and caused a big mess?”
Karina frowned at those words.
Caroline hated Karina like a bug and openly avoided her.
Nevertheless, she pretended to care for her and thought of her very much.
In the past before the regression, Karina had been completely fooled by that appearance.
'At that time, I thought Caroline was really on my side.'
However, she later found out that Caroline was the one who was leading the maids to harass Karina behind her back.
How much she shivered when she realized that fact.
'Disgusting.'
While Karina swallowed her curses, Caroline came closer to her.
"Next time, consult me before doing anything. I'll give you some advice so that the same thing doesn't happen at the banquet."
"Pfff."
"?"
Karina finally couldn't hold back her laughter.
"You... laughed just now?"
Caroline's eyes were filled with displeasure.
'As expected. That's right.'
Karina made a face that was fed up.
At first, she blamed the merchant and said she wasn't at fault, but in the end, she blamed everything on Karina.
And she acted as if she had more power than the Grand Duchess, saying that she should have consulted with her before making the final decision.
'I'm fed up.'
Karina summed up the current situation in one word.
“Karina. Are you laughing at this situation?”
Caroline made a stern expression.
But Karina didn’t care at all.
Instead, she looked straight into Caroline’s eyes and answered in a low voice.
“Caroline. You keep saying that you did it for me.”
Karina lifted one corner of her mouth as if she found it funny.
“Please stop talking nonsense. It’s boring.”
“What... What did you say?”
Caroline frowned at Karina’s unexpected counterattack. Karina leaned her head closer to Caroline so she could hear her clearly.
“Don’t you know better who is responsible for this?”
It was her words that implied that it was all because of Caroline's behind-the-scenes manipulation.
Karina stared at Caroline.
She wanted to see how far she would go.
“But Karina. You were too reckless.”
“...”
Caroline began to blame Karina in a slightly raised voice, perhaps mistaking Karina’s lack of response as an apology.
“If you were worried about what to wear, you should have come to me instead. What would happen to the reputation of the Grand Duke’s family if you barged into a formal banquet hall and caused a big mess?”
Karina frowned at those words.
Caroline hated Karina like a bug and openly avoided her.
Nevertheless, she pretended to care for her and thought of her very much.
In the past before the regression, Karina had been completely fooled by that appearance.
'At that time, I thought Caroline was really on my side.'
However, she later found out that Caroline was the one who was leading the maids to harass Karina behind her back.
How much she shivered when she realized that fact.
'Disgusting.'
While Karina swallowed her curses, Caroline came closer to her.
"Next time, consult me before doing anything. I'll give you some advice so that the same thing doesn't happen at the banquet."
"Pfff."
"?"
Karina finally couldn't hold back her laughter.
"You... laughed just now?"
Caroline's eyes were filled with displeasure.
'As expected. That's right.'
Karina made a face that was fed up.
At first, she blamed the merchant and said she wasn't at fault, but in the end, she blamed everything on Karina.
And she acted as if she had more power than the Grand Duchess, saying that she should have consulted with her before making the final decision.
'I'm fed up.'
Karina summed up the current situation in one word.
“Karina. Are you laughing at this situation?”
Caroline made a stern expression.
But Karina didn’t care at all.
Instead, she looked straight into Caroline’s eyes and answered in a low voice.
“Caroline. You keep saying that you did it for me.”
Karina lifted one corner of her mouth as if she found it funny.
“Please stop talking nonsense. It’s boring.”
“What... What did you say?”
Caroline frowned at Karina’s unexpected counterattack. Karina leaned her head closer to Caroline so she could hear her clearly.
“Don’t you know better who is responsible for this?”
It was her words that implied that it was all because of Caroline's behind-the-scenes manipulation.
The fact that she introduced a clumsy swindler named Abdul to an important position. The fact that she secretly ignored her, a young and immature woman who had married into the Grand Duke’s family. Even the fact that she had her maids and servants intentionally harm her...
Caroline.
It was all her doing.
“I can’t stand the nonsense coming out of your mouth.”
Caroline’s expression hardened for a moment.
But soon she covered her mouth with her palm and made a surprised expression.
“Oh my God, Karina. Don’t you even know what you did wrong? Well, you must be acting like this because you don’t know.”
And she continued as if scolding her.
“Still, it’s not good to always blame others. You should know how to admit your mistakes. Didn’t the Marquis teach you such basic common sense?”
Caroline, who had cursed the Marquis, made a pitiful expression at Karina.
“You lack even such basic manners... How disappointed would Jeremiah be if he found out?”
Caroline tried to control Karina by bringing up Jeremiah.
Karina didn’t hide her expression of laughter.
In the past, she had been taken advantage of because she didn’t know, but now she could see right through Caroline’s dark heart.
“Caroline. That’s what I wanted to say. When a person does something wrong, they should know how to admit it. Even when it’s all over, it’s more ridiculous to pretend not to know.”
Karina looked at the maids standing behind Karina.
“Out of all those maids, wasn’t there a single one who told you about that? How pitiful.”
Karina’s eyes widened at the word pitiful.
“Karina. What did you just say?”
“Oh my, didn’t you hear? It’s going to be a big deal if you start losing your hearing already.”
Karina sneered back, and the maid next to Caroline shouted in a loud voice.
“Lady Karina! How rude of you to the Princess! Hurry up and apologize!”
“Lady Karina?”
Karina’s brow furrowed.
“The Princess’ maid is calling my name, the Grand Duchess, so carelessly.”
Karina glared at Caroline’s close maid with a sharp look.
The maid continued to speak fearlessly even after receiving Karina’s gaze.
“If you’re going to marry into the Grand Duke’s family, you should show an effort to become one! What a rude, vulgar…!”
Crack!
“Whoa!”
Karina slapped the maid’s face before she could finish her sentence.
She hit her palm so hard that it was freezing.
‘I tried so hard in the past.’
Karina knew all too well how meaningless and futile that effort had been.
That was why she couldn't just sit by and listen to the maid's nonsense.
At that moment,
"What's all this noise?"
Jeremiah walked out from the direction of the training ground.
Caroline.
It was all her doing.
“I can’t stand the nonsense coming out of your mouth.”
Caroline’s expression hardened for a moment.
But soon she covered her mouth with her palm and made a surprised expression.
“Oh my God, Karina. Don’t you even know what you did wrong? Well, you must be acting like this because you don’t know.”
And she continued as if scolding her.
“Still, it’s not good to always blame others. You should know how to admit your mistakes. Didn’t the Marquis teach you such basic common sense?”
Caroline, who had cursed the Marquis, made a pitiful expression at Karina.
“You lack even such basic manners... How disappointed would Jeremiah be if he found out?”
Caroline tried to control Karina by bringing up Jeremiah.
Karina didn’t hide her expression of laughter.
In the past, she had been taken advantage of because she didn’t know, but now she could see right through Caroline’s dark heart.
“Caroline. That’s what I wanted to say. When a person does something wrong, they should know how to admit it. Even when it’s all over, it’s more ridiculous to pretend not to know.”
Karina looked at the maids standing behind Karina.
“Out of all those maids, wasn’t there a single one who told you about that? How pitiful.”
Karina’s eyes widened at the word pitiful.
“Karina. What did you just say?”
“Oh my, didn’t you hear? It’s going to be a big deal if you start losing your hearing already.”
Karina sneered back, and the maid next to Caroline shouted in a loud voice.
“Lady Karina! How rude of you to the Princess! Hurry up and apologize!”
“Lady Karina?”
Karina’s brow furrowed.
“The Princess’ maid is calling my name, the Grand Duchess, so carelessly.”
Karina glared at Caroline’s close maid with a sharp look.
The maid continued to speak fearlessly even after receiving Karina’s gaze.
“If you’re going to marry into the Grand Duke’s family, you should show an effort to become one! What a rude, vulgar…!”
Crack!
“Whoa!”
Karina slapped the maid’s face before she could finish her sentence.
She hit her palm so hard that it was freezing.
‘I tried so hard in the past.’
Karina knew all too well how meaningless and futile that effort had been.
That was why she couldn't just sit by and listen to the maid's nonsense.
At that moment,
"What's all this noise?"
Jeremiah walked out from the direction of the training ground.
Comments
Post a Comment