“I received an invitation from the Duchess of Vermont. It seems that Valmonde is becoming independent from Oberon.”
After my uncle was expelled, the one now called the Duke of Vermont was Irena.
I was delighted that Kaian, the Duke of Temnes, was accepting Irena as the Duke of Vermont, not as his wife’s sister by marriage.
“An invitation? When?”
Valmonde was a frozen land that was frozen for half the year.
Frost began to form on the ground in October, and by November, it was frozen with so much snow that it was impossible to go outside until the following spring.
Irena pushed her father out on the battlefield and became the next Duke.
Few people knew that she had briefly lent her name to me.
Not many people had actually seen the closed northern Vermont, so all they knew was its characteristic of being a red-hair.
In addition, my calculating uncle did not send Valmonde's private army to war, but only sent a mercenary group, so no one could tell Irena and me apart from the escort.
'I'll have to make you guys shut up.'
'Oh my. Young Master. Trust me.'
'Give me a chance. I'll live quietly. Please.'
Evan, who exuded a sinister aura, said that he would live quietly for the rest of his life if he could just let him set foot on the continent of Ita, so he loaded the escorts onto a ship and sent them to the continent of Sol.
'This is a good thing. I calculated the route back, but this is my first time going back.'
The advance party that returned via the southern route was forcibly formed like that.
However, around February, the snow began to clear up, and although it would be difficult to ride a carriage, we could still reach the castle if we rode a horse. Since I thought Irena was still staying in the capital, I was curious about her news.
"It's mid-March."
It was about a month and a half away.
“There’s a water banquet, so it’ll be hard to go there yourself, right?”
Kaian’s eyebrows twitched at the casual question.
‘Huh. I shouldn’t have told you that.’
How was it at the water banquet last year?
I jumped into the lake while pregnant with Julien to leave him. Looking back now, it was such a reckless thing to do.
‘I hated him so much back then.’
Why did I say something I shouldn’t have said while half-hugged by his arms tightly wrapped around my waist?
I became quiet, regretting what I had just said.
Seeing me, who had been silent but had become solemn, Kaian said seriously.
“If the Duchess doesn’t disappear, we can leave after the water banquet.”
“...”
“I-I’m sorry.”
In the end, I apologized again for the tears and sincerity I had given.
“Only with words?”
“Then how...”
“Well. Shouldn’t the one who feels sorry think about that?”
Kaian drove the wedge in.
“Sincerely.”
I felt that I had been wronged, but I had no choice but to answer.
“I’ll think about it. How can I apologize so that you’ll feel better?”
Seeing me slowly and groggily speaking, Kaian smiled again, twitching his lips.
“Do you enjoy teasing me?”
“Yes. It’s quite enjoyable.”
Kaian turned his head as if he were angry and hugged me tightly as I tried to escape his embrace, kissing me along the border of my white skin and red hair before biting my ear. As the sensation of his lips squirming like a herbivore grazing grass passed over my delicate spot, I turned my head and tried to avoid him, but it was no use.
“It tickles.”
“Ha. You really don’t know."
Kaian tried to shake off the doubt that had come to him late.
After Kaian and Claudel had left the meal.
Evan tried to calm his excitement.
‘Whew. I should show Leonie a good side.’
They met again after ten years.
Even if the Duke of Vermont had driven him out, how much attachment and pride he must have had for his family, having grown up as a son of a great noble family?
The person he loved so much that he didn't care if he abandoned it was his wife.
So, in Evan’s mind, Leonie was the top priority, but whenever the black-haired guy in front of him was next to the cute Claudel, it was hard to hold back the feeling of something being upset.
Click.
“You’ve been waiting long, right?”
She had left for a moment and brought tea and snacks on a tray herself. He was about to leave because the table was a mess because he hadn’t finished eating when a warm smell reached his nose.
“You’ve been waiting long. Hmm.”
Since they had just decided to be together, he had never been inside Leonie’s bedroom before.
When he entered the room she was using with a feeling of excitement, it was quite a nice room.
‘Even the enemy has manners.’
The room, which had separate bedroom and living room spaces and a bathroom, was bright and sunny with plenty of sunlight.
“Eat.”
“No. What is this?”
Evan’s eyes widened at the sight of the blueberry pie full of memories.
In the village of Plogne, everything was frugal and thrifty, so they mixed wheat bran into flour to make bread and cookies.
He had never eaten anything like that since then, but his stomach vibrated just from the smell of its unique, savory smell. He could tell that something made with a lot of butter in the flour would be sweeter and better, but he wanted something with a slightly bitter aftertaste made with wheat bran.
“Ha. This is the taste. I wanted to eat this.”
“Does it suit your taste?”
“Yes. Your skills haven’t changed at all. Hmm. Hmm.”
Leonie laughed as she watched him inhale the pie that tasted like his wife’s cooking.
“Kaian made it.”
Phew.
The expression ‘Duchess of Vermonte’ that came out of his mouth so casually felt a bit strange.
After my uncle was expelled, the one now called the Duke of Vermont was Irena.
I was delighted that Kaian, the Duke of Temnes, was accepting Irena as the Duke of Vermont, not as his wife’s sister by marriage.
“An invitation? When?”
Valmonde was a frozen land that was frozen for half the year.
Frost began to form on the ground in October, and by November, it was frozen with so much snow that it was impossible to go outside until the following spring.
Irena pushed her father out on the battlefield and became the next Duke.
Few people knew that she had briefly lent her name to me.
Not many people had actually seen the closed northern Vermont, so all they knew was its characteristic of being a red-hair.
In addition, my calculating uncle did not send Valmonde's private army to war, but only sent a mercenary group, so no one could tell Irena and me apart from the escort.
'I'll have to make you guys shut up.'
'Oh my. Young Master. Trust me.'
'Give me a chance. I'll live quietly. Please.'
Evan, who exuded a sinister aura, said that he would live quietly for the rest of his life if he could just let him set foot on the continent of Ita, so he loaded the escorts onto a ship and sent them to the continent of Sol.
'This is a good thing. I calculated the route back, but this is my first time going back.'
The advance party that returned via the southern route was forcibly formed like that.
However, around February, the snow began to clear up, and although it would be difficult to ride a carriage, we could still reach the castle if we rode a horse. Since I thought Irena was still staying in the capital, I was curious about her news.
"It's mid-March."
It was about a month and a half away.
“There’s a water banquet, so it’ll be hard to go there yourself, right?”
Kaian’s eyebrows twitched at the casual question.
‘Huh. I shouldn’t have told you that.’
How was it at the water banquet last year?
I jumped into the lake while pregnant with Julien to leave him. Looking back now, it was such a reckless thing to do.
‘I hated him so much back then.’
Why did I say something I shouldn’t have said while half-hugged by his arms tightly wrapped around my waist?
I became quiet, regretting what I had just said.
Seeing me, who had been silent but had become solemn, Kaian said seriously.
“If the Duchess doesn’t disappear, we can leave after the water banquet.”
“...”
“I-I’m sorry.”
In the end, I apologized again for the tears and sincerity I had given.
“Only with words?”
“Then how...”
“Well. Shouldn’t the one who feels sorry think about that?”
Kaian drove the wedge in.
“Sincerely.”
I felt that I had been wronged, but I had no choice but to answer.
“I’ll think about it. How can I apologize so that you’ll feel better?”
Seeing me slowly and groggily speaking, Kaian smiled again, twitching his lips.
“Do you enjoy teasing me?”
“Yes. It’s quite enjoyable.”
Kaian turned his head as if he were angry and hugged me tightly as I tried to escape his embrace, kissing me along the border of my white skin and red hair before biting my ear. As the sensation of his lips squirming like a herbivore grazing grass passed over my delicate spot, I turned my head and tried to avoid him, but it was no use.
“It tickles.”
“Ha. You really don’t know."
When his soft voice, accompanied by his breathing, reached my ear, I flinched and tensed up.
“Claudel. The days without you were like a nightmare.”
Kaian sighed.
“It’s so horrible, but it’s like a dream that keeps on happening without waking up.”
We both kept quiet about what happened back then.
We were sorry for each other and felt bad for each other.
Both were hurt, but it was just a difference in position that was hard to say who was better. I, who needed to recover my health, and Kaian, who was preparing to go to the battlefield that was a done deal, were both busy enough to bring that up.
“Claudel. The days without you were like a nightmare.”
Kaian sighed.
“It’s so horrible, but it’s like a dream that keeps on happening without waking up.”
We both kept quiet about what happened back then.
We were sorry for each other and felt bad for each other.
Both were hurt, but it was just a difference in position that was hard to say who was better. I, who needed to recover my health, and Kaian, who was preparing to go to the battlefield that was a done deal, were both busy enough to bring that up.
Evan brought up the grudge between Vermont and Temnes again, and said something so tactless that she felt bad for him, but today, was she so pretty that he was going crazy because she was so obediently embracing him whenever he reached out and opened his arms.
“I don’t think I’ll ever have a moment like this again.”
Claudel realized too late how precious it was when she lost it.
He wondered why he would do something he would regret, but it must have become a proverb.
Many fools regretted it like him.
The human mind is relative.
When he searched for her whereabouts, he hoped that she would at least be alive, but when he found out that she was staying in the capital city, he thought that it would be meaningless if he didn’t let her stay by his side.
When he decided to take her back to Rowen, he wondered what the point of taking her empty body without a heart this time.
Like before.
When nothing happened between them, he wanted Claudel to smile at him when he called her name and hold his hand when he reached out. When he rubbed the spot where her pretty red hair grew densely on her white skin, the scent coming from her body grew stronger.
Kaian was intoxicated by his longing and held her for a long time. At that affectionate gesture, Claudel, who was panting slightly, hugged him and buried her face in his arms.
She doesn’t want to hide anything from Kaian.
But since everything had been going by so quickly, there wasn’t really a chance to talk.
Claudel took a deep breath and confessed what was on her mind.
“Actually. I saw His Majesty Valquiterre at the lakeside of the backyard.”
“What?”
His hands that had been gently touching her stopped.
“When you went hunting at Promhunt. He suddenly appeared when I was practicing swimming at dawn.”
“Did something like that happen?”
“It was after you banned people from the backyard. And when he asked me my name, I thought he was strange, so I told him my middle name.”
“I see.”
Keeping her meeting with Valquiterre a secret back then led to a trick to deceive Kaian later. That’s why she had been thinking about telling him someday, and that time was now.
“Even when we were formally introduced later, I didn’t know that it was him. But he revealed himself first.”
“Valquiterre?”
“That’s why he called you to Promhunt and asked if you shouldn’t have been there at that time.”
“And then?”
Claudel tried to tell the truth without distorting her words.
“I asked him to keep it a secret because I didn’t want you to know that I was there. He said you’d get angry. I had a lot of memories, so I stopped by for a moment, but I missed you as you were going up to Prom Hunt.”
“I guess you couldn’t refuse.”
She nodded slightly.
“That’s why I asked him to keep the fact that I was practicing swimming a secret.”
Seeing Kaian furrow his brows in displeasure, she quickly said.
“I... just wanted to surprise you by secretly practicing what I learned.”
The days at Rowen Castle were spent doing nothing, but it was something she had been working hard on.
“Don’t misunderstand that I was cheating on Valquiterre.”
“It was wrong to keep a secret from your husband and someone else.”
“I’m glad you know now. It shouldn’t happen again.”
Claudel finally nodded in relief.
“You’ve gotten better at swimming.”
“Hmm. Since I don’t do much, you practice whenever I have time.”
“When are you going to show me?”
“When the weather gets a little warmer.”
Kaian smiled slightly as if her answer had resonated with him.
“I’m looking forward to it.”
It was something Kaian had taught her, so she had practiced.
The day they first kissed was a great memory for Claudel because it had happened in the backyard.
He was a difficult person to deal with, but if she could live like this, could she possibly be happy?
She had hoped.
Since she had kept the secret of her encounter with Valquiterre, she had felt a shadow cast over that memory, so after telling Kaian, Claudel felt relieved.
‘Valquiterre saw my wife?’
However, she had not expected that the thought would leave her heart, which was filled with sunlight, and move to Kaian’s heart, just as dark clouds drifted across the sky.
‘Could it be that that bastard really...’
“I don’t think I’ll ever have a moment like this again.”
Claudel realized too late how precious it was when she lost it.
He wondered why he would do something he would regret, but it must have become a proverb.
Many fools regretted it like him.
The human mind is relative.
When he searched for her whereabouts, he hoped that she would at least be alive, but when he found out that she was staying in the capital city, he thought that it would be meaningless if he didn’t let her stay by his side.
When he decided to take her back to Rowen, he wondered what the point of taking her empty body without a heart this time.
Like before.
When nothing happened between them, he wanted Claudel to smile at him when he called her name and hold his hand when he reached out. When he rubbed the spot where her pretty red hair grew densely on her white skin, the scent coming from her body grew stronger.
Kaian was intoxicated by his longing and held her for a long time. At that affectionate gesture, Claudel, who was panting slightly, hugged him and buried her face in his arms.
She doesn’t want to hide anything from Kaian.
But since everything had been going by so quickly, there wasn’t really a chance to talk.
Claudel took a deep breath and confessed what was on her mind.
“Actually. I saw His Majesty Valquiterre at the lakeside of the backyard.”
“What?”
His hands that had been gently touching her stopped.
“When you went hunting at Promhunt. He suddenly appeared when I was practicing swimming at dawn.”
“Did something like that happen?”
“It was after you banned people from the backyard. And when he asked me my name, I thought he was strange, so I told him my middle name.”
“I see.”
Keeping her meeting with Valquiterre a secret back then led to a trick to deceive Kaian later. That’s why she had been thinking about telling him someday, and that time was now.
“Even when we were formally introduced later, I didn’t know that it was him. But he revealed himself first.”
“Valquiterre?”
“That’s why he called you to Promhunt and asked if you shouldn’t have been there at that time.”
“And then?”
Claudel tried to tell the truth without distorting her words.
“I asked him to keep it a secret because I didn’t want you to know that I was there. He said you’d get angry. I had a lot of memories, so I stopped by for a moment, but I missed you as you were going up to Prom Hunt.”
“I guess you couldn’t refuse.”
She nodded slightly.
“That’s why I asked him to keep the fact that I was practicing swimming a secret.”
Seeing Kaian furrow his brows in displeasure, she quickly said.
“I... just wanted to surprise you by secretly practicing what I learned.”
The days at Rowen Castle were spent doing nothing, but it was something she had been working hard on.
“Don’t misunderstand that I was cheating on Valquiterre.”
“It was wrong to keep a secret from your husband and someone else.”
“I’m glad you know now. It shouldn’t happen again.”
Claudel finally nodded in relief.
“You’ve gotten better at swimming.”
“Hmm. Since I don’t do much, you practice whenever I have time.”
“When are you going to show me?”
“When the weather gets a little warmer.”
Kaian smiled slightly as if her answer had resonated with him.
“I’m looking forward to it.”
It was something Kaian had taught her, so she had practiced.
The day they first kissed was a great memory for Claudel because it had happened in the backyard.
He was a difficult person to deal with, but if she could live like this, could she possibly be happy?
She had hoped.
Since she had kept the secret of her encounter with Valquiterre, she had felt a shadow cast over that memory, so after telling Kaian, Claudel felt relieved.
‘Valquiterre saw my wife?’
However, she had not expected that the thought would leave her heart, which was filled with sunlight, and move to Kaian’s heart, just as dark clouds drifted across the sky.
‘Could it be that that bastard really...’
Kaian tried to shake off the doubt that had come to him late.
***
After Kaian and Claudel had left the meal.
Evan tried to calm his excitement.
‘Whew. I should show Leonie a good side.’
They met again after ten years.
Even if the Duke of Vermont had driven him out, how much attachment and pride he must have had for his family, having grown up as a son of a great noble family?
The person he loved so much that he didn't care if he abandoned it was his wife.
So, in Evan’s mind, Leonie was the top priority, but whenever the black-haired guy in front of him was next to the cute Claudel, it was hard to hold back the feeling of something being upset.
Click.
“You’ve been waiting long, right?”
She had left for a moment and brought tea and snacks on a tray herself. He was about to leave because the table was a mess because he hadn’t finished eating when a warm smell reached his nose.
“You’ve been waiting long. Hmm.”
Since they had just decided to be together, he had never been inside Leonie’s bedroom before.
When he entered the room she was using with a feeling of excitement, it was quite a nice room.
‘Even the enemy has manners.’
The room, which had separate bedroom and living room spaces and a bathroom, was bright and sunny with plenty of sunlight.
“Eat.”
“No. What is this?”
Evan’s eyes widened at the sight of the blueberry pie full of memories.
In the village of Plogne, everything was frugal and thrifty, so they mixed wheat bran into flour to make bread and cookies.
He had never eaten anything like that since then, but his stomach vibrated just from the smell of its unique, savory smell. He could tell that something made with a lot of butter in the flour would be sweeter and better, but he wanted something with a slightly bitter aftertaste made with wheat bran.
“Ha. This is the taste. I wanted to eat this.”
“Does it suit your taste?”
“Yes. Your skills haven’t changed at all. Hmm. Hmm.”
Leonie laughed as she watched him inhale the pie that tasted like his wife’s cooking.
“Kaian made it.”
Phew.
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