“I was worried because you didn’t come out of your bedroom all night.”
“You were feeling a little sick, so you rested for a day.”
“That’s understandable. Housekeeping at Rowen Castle is no ordinary job.”
Claudel said as if to reassure those who were fussing over her worries.
“Hannah gave birth. I guess you must have been very nervous.”
The ladies all smiled at her words. It wasn’t easy to find something in common with the Duchess of Valmonde, who had an unusual birth and upbringing and was very different from her.
“Oh. Of course. That’s understandable.”
“My younger sister also gave birth to a child, and it hurt like I was giving birth to my second child. Haha.”
The presence of the child had the effect of binding the ladies together.
“It’s a good thing the Lord Hindenburg didn’t go on an expedition.”
“It would have been hard if he had given birth to a child without a husband.”
Someone was playing along, and the beat was off. Then the lady next to her noticed.
“Oh, right. Miss Hannah and Lord Hindenburg...”
“Oh. Right. Come on...”
It was a story she had told to explain away the fact that she hadn’t come out of her bedroom for over a day. When she went in the wrong direction, Claudel quickly sorted out the situation.
“Thank you all for worrying about my health.”
“We can only feel safe if the Duchess is healthy.”
“If you have any difficulties, please tell me anything. The war may not end anytime soon, so don’t overdo it.”
The task they had gathered today was to stuff cotton into military trousers.
Originally, they were winter clothes that would not be worn in the warm Rowen, but they were making thicker clothes in preparation for the army’s advance to the capital.
Claudel asked Baron Colon.
“How far has the work progressed?”
The butler handed her a report neatly organizing the workload.
“The village women are also working in the castle yard.”
“Hmm. The tops are halfway done, and the bottoms are almost halfway done.”
Claudel nodded, confirming that the overall quantity of the upper and lower parts was correct.
'The war will end in our favor.'
There was no longer any need to make winter uniforms.
However, since I could not reveal the fact that I had gone and seen it in person yesterday, I controlled my expression so as not to show it.
"Hmm. You are all faster than I thought. This must be your first time doing something like this."
When I praised them, the women responded with happy faces.
"When I think that my children and grandchildren will wear it, my hands become faster and faster."
An old woman with gray hair said.
"It must get colder as they go north. Since they are still setting up camp at Promhunt, we should hurry."
I smiled.
"I would like to congratulate you for your work since the work is going so fast."
"Yes?"
"Let's all take a day off today. How about a drink instead of tea?"
"Oh my. Really?"
"Drinking in the afternoon. Hohoho."
The ladies who had sent their families to the battlefield and were called to the castle for housework and even worked together to make military supplies had also accumulated a lot.
They were delighted when I made a vague excuse and said that I would provide them with a place to eat and drink and give them a day off from work.
I looked at the butler.
“Allow all the ladies working in the castle yard to come in.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
In an instant, wide tables were brought back to the place where clothes and cotton had piled up just a moment ago.
Seeing them laughing and chatting for the first time in a while, I quietly slipped out and headed to the nursery.
Hannah had originally been living on the floor where the maids were, thanks to the butler’s consideration. He was worried that if he gave the maid from Valmonde a room shared with several maids, she would have a hard time.
However, she had now moved to a luxurious room next to the mistress’s bedroom.
The reason was that Hannah, who was full, had a hard time going up and down the upper floors, and I planned to take care of the baby Hannah gave birth to in the nursery where I was taking care of Julien.
Customs and manners were useless in the face of my stubbornness, so everything went my way.
As expected, everyone I wanted to see was gathered in the cozy room filled with the smell of babies.
My mother, my friends, and my beloved son.
“Claudel!”
Hannah, who had just gotten up and was holding the newborn, greeted me.
“Where’s Rohan?”
But the first thing she said was where her husband had gone.
I poured water into the basin and washed my hands, puffing out my cheeks.
“Can’t you start by saying, “Have a nice trip?”
“You were feeling a little sick, so you rested for a day.”
“That’s understandable. Housekeeping at Rowen Castle is no ordinary job.”
Claudel said as if to reassure those who were fussing over her worries.
“Hannah gave birth. I guess you must have been very nervous.”
The ladies all smiled at her words. It wasn’t easy to find something in common with the Duchess of Valmonde, who had an unusual birth and upbringing and was very different from her.
“Oh. Of course. That’s understandable.”
“My younger sister also gave birth to a child, and it hurt like I was giving birth to my second child. Haha.”
The presence of the child had the effect of binding the ladies together.
“It’s a good thing the Lord Hindenburg didn’t go on an expedition.”
“It would have been hard if he had given birth to a child without a husband.”
Someone was playing along, and the beat was off. Then the lady next to her noticed.
“Oh, right. Miss Hannah and Lord Hindenburg...”
“Oh. Right. Come on...”
It was a story she had told to explain away the fact that she hadn’t come out of her bedroom for over a day. When she went in the wrong direction, Claudel quickly sorted out the situation.
“Thank you all for worrying about my health.”
“We can only feel safe if the Duchess is healthy.”
“If you have any difficulties, please tell me anything. The war may not end anytime soon, so don’t overdo it.”
The task they had gathered today was to stuff cotton into military trousers.
Originally, they were winter clothes that would not be worn in the warm Rowen, but they were making thicker clothes in preparation for the army’s advance to the capital.
Claudel asked Baron Colon.
“How far has the work progressed?”
The butler handed her a report neatly organizing the workload.
“The village women are also working in the castle yard.”
“Hmm. The tops are halfway done, and the bottoms are almost halfway done.”
Claudel nodded, confirming that the overall quantity of the upper and lower parts was correct.
'The war will end in our favor.'
There was no longer any need to make winter uniforms.
However, since I could not reveal the fact that I had gone and seen it in person yesterday, I controlled my expression so as not to show it.
"Hmm. You are all faster than I thought. This must be your first time doing something like this."
When I praised them, the women responded with happy faces.
"When I think that my children and grandchildren will wear it, my hands become faster and faster."
An old woman with gray hair said.
"It must get colder as they go north. Since they are still setting up camp at Promhunt, we should hurry."
I smiled.
"I would like to congratulate you for your work since the work is going so fast."
"Yes?"
"Let's all take a day off today. How about a drink instead of tea?"
"Oh my. Really?"
"Drinking in the afternoon. Hohoho."
The ladies who had sent their families to the battlefield and were called to the castle for housework and even worked together to make military supplies had also accumulated a lot.
They were delighted when I made a vague excuse and said that I would provide them with a place to eat and drink and give them a day off from work.
I looked at the butler.
“Allow all the ladies working in the castle yard to come in.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
In an instant, wide tables were brought back to the place where clothes and cotton had piled up just a moment ago.
Seeing them laughing and chatting for the first time in a while, I quietly slipped out and headed to the nursery.
Hannah had originally been living on the floor where the maids were, thanks to the butler’s consideration. He was worried that if he gave the maid from Valmonde a room shared with several maids, she would have a hard time.
However, she had now moved to a luxurious room next to the mistress’s bedroom.
The reason was that Hannah, who was full, had a hard time going up and down the upper floors, and I planned to take care of the baby Hannah gave birth to in the nursery where I was taking care of Julien.
Customs and manners were useless in the face of my stubbornness, so everything went my way.
As expected, everyone I wanted to see was gathered in the cozy room filled with the smell of babies.
My mother, my friends, and my beloved son.
“Claudel!”
Hannah, who had just gotten up and was holding the newborn, greeted me.
“Where’s Rohan?”
But the first thing she said was where her husband had gone.
I poured water into the basin and washed my hands, puffing out my cheeks.
“Can’t you start by saying, “Have a nice trip?”
“Wow. Do you know that the way you spoke just now is exactly like my lord?”
My eyes widened at Hannah’s words.
“Have a nice trip? How is my lord? How is he?”
“Yes.”
Madame Cronach closed the door as she sent Madame Repel and the nanny out of the nursery.
Her face looked tired as if she had been worried all day.
“Do you know how worried I was when you didn’t come until the sun came up?”
“Something was going on.”
“What happened?”
I sighed.
“The things we had planned went as planned.”
It was something that many people had prepared for a long time.
Since we had prepared thoroughly, we had caught our opponents off guard and things went smoothly.
“But on the way back, Kaian got shot by an arrow at the dock.”
“What?”
As Madame Cronach and Hannah were startled at the same time, the baby woke up and cried.
“Oh, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I was surprised. Got shot by an arrow?”
“What about Kaian? Is he badly hurt?”
“He actually happened to put the rock I gave him in his inner pocket. That’s why it hit his chest, but he didn’t get hurt or anything.”
However, the problem was that an unexpected variable occurred.
He had thought everything was going according to plan the whole time.
One incident that had not prepared for made me feel extremely uneasy.
“If Kaian wasn’t hurt or something, there shouldn’t be anything wrong.”
“That should be the case.”
That should be the case.
Witnessing that one variable vividly left a worry in my heart.
“Julien. How have you been?”
“Yes. Mom. I missed you.”
When Hannah spoke to me in a childlike tone, speaking for Julien, everyone laughed at the same time.
Even when worries darkened our hearts like dark clouds, the presence of a child who made us smile like sunshine kept me going in the castle without Kaian.
“You caught the guy who shot the arrow?”
Kaian got up from his seat after receiving the report.
“Would you like to see it now?”
“Show me.”
He was very upset.
Losing his life and saving his life was just a matter of swords on the battlefield.
He knows that many people think that God favors him.
Until now, he believed that his own ability to train without slacking off determined his luck.
However, last night's events changed his thoughts.
He realized for himself that there really is such a thing as luck given by the heavens.
'Claudel saved me.'
No matter how much he wanted to achieve his goals, how could he not know that a person whose heart was pierced had no way to survive?
As long as he had breath, he would only push forward with his desires to the point of extreme self-centeredness and arrogance.
The moment the arrow hit the stone, the shock passed through his heart.
For a moment, he felt as if the arrow had really hit his chest.
However, only after he felt the power and sense of his body still intact did he realize that the stone fragments next to the arrowhead were rattling.
The woman who gave him her heart had saved Kaian with it.
'But the stone was split.'
There will never be another such special and pretty stone.
The stone was soaked with Kaian's tears.
When he found the gift box by chance after Claudel disappeared, he couldn't remember how many days he cried.
So he wanted to take it as his own and keep it, but he put it back where it was because Claudel had never given it to him.
When Claudel gave it to him as a gift, asking him to return it safely, he thought it was a good thing.
After she returned, all the memories of feeling frustrated alone remained as embellished memories.
There shouldn't be two heart-shaped stones under the sky that Claudel picked up from the bottom of the lake because she wanted to give him a birthday present. How could he have damaged such a thing?
When she saved his life, Kaian felt like it was a miracle and he was happy, but when he came to his senses, he was annoyed that the precious stone, the only one in the world that he couldn't buy with money, had been damaged.
Kaian told himself that he wouldn't let it go if he caught him, but since it was an arrow that flew in suddenly from a dark distance, it wasn't easy to search for the culprit.
"Is it the remnants of the royal army?"
Among the men that Valquiterre had brought down, there might have been some who had not been taken prisoner.
However, the subordinate hesitated to answer the casual question.
“That is... Go and see.”
Seeing his suspicious attitude, Kaian hurried his steps.
'Did he send them separately from Vermont?'
My eyes widened at Hannah’s words.
“Have a nice trip? How is my lord? How is he?”
“Yes.”
Madame Cronach closed the door as she sent Madame Repel and the nanny out of the nursery.
Her face looked tired as if she had been worried all day.
“Do you know how worried I was when you didn’t come until the sun came up?”
“Something was going on.”
“What happened?”
I sighed.
“The things we had planned went as planned.”
It was something that many people had prepared for a long time.
Since we had prepared thoroughly, we had caught our opponents off guard and things went smoothly.
“But on the way back, Kaian got shot by an arrow at the dock.”
“What?”
As Madame Cronach and Hannah were startled at the same time, the baby woke up and cried.
“Oh, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I was surprised. Got shot by an arrow?”
“What about Kaian? Is he badly hurt?”
“He actually happened to put the rock I gave him in his inner pocket. That’s why it hit his chest, but he didn’t get hurt or anything.”
However, the problem was that an unexpected variable occurred.
He had thought everything was going according to plan the whole time.
One incident that had not prepared for made me feel extremely uneasy.
“If Kaian wasn’t hurt or something, there shouldn’t be anything wrong.”
“That should be the case.”
That should be the case.
Witnessing that one variable vividly left a worry in my heart.
“Julien. How have you been?”
“Yes. Mom. I missed you.”
When Hannah spoke to me in a childlike tone, speaking for Julien, everyone laughed at the same time.
Even when worries darkened our hearts like dark clouds, the presence of a child who made us smile like sunshine kept me going in the castle without Kaian.
***
“You caught the guy who shot the arrow?”
Kaian got up from his seat after receiving the report.
“Would you like to see it now?”
“Show me.”
He was very upset.
Losing his life and saving his life was just a matter of swords on the battlefield.
He knows that many people think that God favors him.
Until now, he believed that his own ability to train without slacking off determined his luck.
However, last night's events changed his thoughts.
He realized for himself that there really is such a thing as luck given by the heavens.
'Claudel saved me.'
No matter how much he wanted to achieve his goals, how could he not know that a person whose heart was pierced had no way to survive?
As long as he had breath, he would only push forward with his desires to the point of extreme self-centeredness and arrogance.
The moment the arrow hit the stone, the shock passed through his heart.
For a moment, he felt as if the arrow had really hit his chest.
However, only after he felt the power and sense of his body still intact did he realize that the stone fragments next to the arrowhead were rattling.
The woman who gave him her heart had saved Kaian with it.
'But the stone was split.'
There will never be another such special and pretty stone.
The stone was soaked with Kaian's tears.
When he found the gift box by chance after Claudel disappeared, he couldn't remember how many days he cried.
So he wanted to take it as his own and keep it, but he put it back where it was because Claudel had never given it to him.
When Claudel gave it to him as a gift, asking him to return it safely, he thought it was a good thing.
After she returned, all the memories of feeling frustrated alone remained as embellished memories.
There shouldn't be two heart-shaped stones under the sky that Claudel picked up from the bottom of the lake because she wanted to give him a birthday present. How could he have damaged such a thing?
When she saved his life, Kaian felt like it was a miracle and he was happy, but when he came to his senses, he was annoyed that the precious stone, the only one in the world that he couldn't buy with money, had been damaged.
Kaian told himself that he wouldn't let it go if he caught him, but since it was an arrow that flew in suddenly from a dark distance, it wasn't easy to search for the culprit.
"Is it the remnants of the royal army?"
Among the men that Valquiterre had brought down, there might have been some who had not been taken prisoner.
However, the subordinate hesitated to answer the casual question.
“That is... Go and see.”
Seeing his suspicious attitude, Kaian hurried his steps.
'Did he send them separately from Vermont?'
If so, there could have been a very difficult problem.
They didn't know that the Duke of Vermont was in custody while they were marching here.
So if the Duke of Vermont had sent the Sol Continent mercenary group instead of the family's private soldiers to the battlefield and tried to take Kaian's life separately, it could have been possible.
'It would be a burden to Claudel.'
After the war, he had to focus on ruling the Rowen territory. He had to raise Julien as his successor and make a place for him.
With so many eyes watching him and many forces gathered, if it became known that Vermont had threatened the Temnes family again, there would be some within the bloodline who were dissatisfied with the mood of reconciliation.
However, the captured prisoner missed all the cases that Kaian had briefly thought of.
"You..."
When he released the gag, the man glared at him with his eyes wide open.
"Why did you abandon us?"
They didn't know that the Duke of Vermont was in custody while they were marching here.
So if the Duke of Vermont had sent the Sol Continent mercenary group instead of the family's private soldiers to the battlefield and tried to take Kaian's life separately, it could have been possible.
'It would be a burden to Claudel.'
After the war, he had to focus on ruling the Rowen territory. He had to raise Julien as his successor and make a place for him.
With so many eyes watching him and many forces gathered, if it became known that Vermont had threatened the Temnes family again, there would be some within the bloodline who were dissatisfied with the mood of reconciliation.
However, the captured prisoner missed all the cases that Kaian had briefly thought of.
"You..."
When he released the gag, the man glared at him with his eyes wide open.
"Why did you abandon us?"
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