Ines mostly helped the maids with the laundry, and Charlotte stayed in the kitchen.
She said that a new priest would be coming here from Edmont soon.
"Charlotte, what are you doing?"
When Charlotte, who she expected to be in the kitchen, was not there, Ines returned to her room.
"Ah..."
She sat there without saying much even after seeing Ines. In her hand, she was holding the priest's robe that Hansen had left behind. Charlotte often felt dazed these days. So Ines tried not to leave her alone as much as possible.
"It's just that I still can't believe it."
It had already been two months since Carson and his party left. It was still warm during the day, but a cold wind blew in the morning and evening. However, her heated heart did not subside at all. It was the same for Ines and Charlotte, who was holding Hansen's priest's robe.
"I can't believe that I will never see him again. As you know, I relied on him a lot.”
Charlotte came to Edmont before Ines, and it was Hansen who silently took care of her when she was having a hard time. It cannot be said that he treated her more especially than the other maids, but Charlotte followed him a lot.
“The priest was the son of King Puldufin... That kind of thing doesn’t happen in reality.”
Naturally, Ines and Hansen kept everything a secret until the day they left. It was perhaps natural that Charlotte was bewildered when she found out the truth later. Ines sat silently beside her.
“Still, wouldn’t he visit once?”
Charlotte shook her head at Ines’ words.
“I don’t think so.”
The process of a priest leaving the temple was not as simple as she thought. There was no term for quitting voluntarily. It was excommunication without exception.
“He’s not from this country anyway. He wouldn’t come back to be excommunicated, would he?”
She rubbed the priest’s robe she was holding with her hand, not hiding her disappointment. That sacred garment was definitely Charlotte’s.
On the day of the Water Festival, when the three of them were returning to the Castle together, Hansen took off his clothes and covered Charlotte's body when he saw that her whole body was soaking wet and her insides were completely transparent.
Even though his priestly robe was also soaking wet.
It was not easy for a priest to take off his clothes and cover her. Charlotte’s surprised expression at that time was hard to forget.
And Hansen said goodbye to them right then and there.
After he left, Charlotte stood still for a long time and cried. Ines felt a little envious of her crying honestly, saying she didn’t know why she was crying.
Charlotte rubbed her priestly robe once more and exhaled deeply. Then she hung his clothes in her closet.
“Let’s go now. I’m sure they’ve just started preparing dinner.”
Just as the two were about to leave the door, she saw Noah walking from the end of the hallway. Charlotte greeted him politely, gave Ines a wink, and then walked away first.
Everyone in the castle now knew that Noah often came to Ines to tell her about the return of Puldufin.
Even before that, no one had been upset about Ines receiving special treatment, but after the water festival, no one dared treat her rudely.
A woman who was a temple maid, but was respected by the lord. And a woman who was even followed by the lord's younger sister like a mother. If this were Landhill, she would have been an easy target.
“I have something to tell you.”
When Ines nodded, the two headed to Carson’s office as if it were a given. It was a place where even nobles who worked on behalf of Monstera could not enter without permission.
Although it was an unoccupied office, it didn’t feel empty thanks to the two people.
“The items you mentioned have arrived.”
As Ines sat down, Noah approached her with the ledger. As soon as Carson left for his campaign, she immediately brought more military supplies to Monstera. It was to prepare for the castle being in danger when the army left.
He bought all the guns he could find and prepared thick knightly clothing and war rations for the winter. There were too many to prepare for defense. Anyone could easily tell that he was preparing something else.
Before he left, Carson had left an order to grant Ines whatever she wanted. He had faithfully carried out the order, but Noah thought that Carson probably hadn’t expected this to be what she wanted.
“Yes, thank you. I’m sure your training is going well?”
“Of course. But may I ask you something now?”
“What?”
“Why did you raise so many private soldiers? As I told you last time, the royal castle of Puldufin had already fallen.”
He said that they had only taken the royal palace in three days because they had attacked quickly. However, Puldufin didn’t even know about that.
The Monstera army that set out after that engaged in an all-out war with the army of Puldufin near the border, and just ten days later, news of the fall of the royal castle was heard on the battlefield.
The Monstera army advanced immediately and arrived at the royal castle without any trouble.
However, the rest was not easy. Of course, that was only on the surface.
Carson, who could not hold out even after locking the palace gates, escaped the castle and joined the Monstera army. In the meantime, the abandoned son of King Pulderpin appeared.
The people of Pulderpin did not mourn the death of the tyrannical King. Instead, they welcomed the new King who resembled him completely but killed his father and took the throne.
This was because he had driven out the Monstera army that had taken over the royal castle and was still fighting without giving up.
Ines only rolled her eyes and did not say anything despite Noah’s question. Frustrated, she sighed and asked again. Today, at least, she wanted to clear up the suspicions she had.
“Is what you are preparing for something that is not directed outward but inward?”
When she bit her lower lip without denying it, Noah covered his eyes with his hand.
Right now, Keynes was in a state of chaos. The Crown Prince had died, and the Empress was desperate to put her second son on the throne. However, that was not easy either.
It was too far away to know the exact details, but the situation was clear without a second thought.
Keynes had always been a country where there was fierce competition for the throne. Up until now, the Crown Prince had been strong and undisturbed, but there were always many powerful nobles and relatives who wanted to take advantage of crises like the present.
But the fact that they are preparing another war in this faraway place...
“Are you planning to make Your Highness as Emperor?”
“Yes?”
Her pale face as if she had never heard words like plot or war since she was born, turned to Noah.
“Absolutely not.”
She immediately blushed and denied it with an innocent face, waving her hand. But it had been a long time since Noah had been fooled by that flushed face.
“But that’s the case. Aren’t you preparing for a civil war right now?”
“Yes. That’s true, but... It’s not like we're going to attack first or take over the imperial family.”
What on earth did she mean? She sharpened her sword but wouldn’t swing it?
“It might be hard to understand. But I’m just taking the bare minimum of defense.”
“Basic defense?”
The bare minimum defense that the woman with the largest gold mine in the empire thought of was much more than she thought.
“All I want is safety.”
“Safety...”
“Yes, as you know, if Her Majesty the Empress is pushed back, she’ll definitely bite me.”
“..."
“The Empress's second son is going to be Crown Prince unless something happens, and I'm not trying to stop that, and if she bites, I might pass it on, but...”
She said that a new priest would be coming here from Edmont soon.
"Charlotte, what are you doing?"
When Charlotte, who she expected to be in the kitchen, was not there, Ines returned to her room.
"Ah..."
She sat there without saying much even after seeing Ines. In her hand, she was holding the priest's robe that Hansen had left behind. Charlotte often felt dazed these days. So Ines tried not to leave her alone as much as possible.
"It's just that I still can't believe it."
It had already been two months since Carson and his party left. It was still warm during the day, but a cold wind blew in the morning and evening. However, her heated heart did not subside at all. It was the same for Ines and Charlotte, who was holding Hansen's priest's robe.
"I can't believe that I will never see him again. As you know, I relied on him a lot.”
Charlotte came to Edmont before Ines, and it was Hansen who silently took care of her when she was having a hard time. It cannot be said that he treated her more especially than the other maids, but Charlotte followed him a lot.
“The priest was the son of King Puldufin... That kind of thing doesn’t happen in reality.”
Naturally, Ines and Hansen kept everything a secret until the day they left. It was perhaps natural that Charlotte was bewildered when she found out the truth later. Ines sat silently beside her.
“Still, wouldn’t he visit once?”
Charlotte shook her head at Ines’ words.
“I don’t think so.”
The process of a priest leaving the temple was not as simple as she thought. There was no term for quitting voluntarily. It was excommunication without exception.
“He’s not from this country anyway. He wouldn’t come back to be excommunicated, would he?”
She rubbed the priest’s robe she was holding with her hand, not hiding her disappointment. That sacred garment was definitely Charlotte’s.
On the day of the Water Festival, when the three of them were returning to the Castle together, Hansen took off his clothes and covered Charlotte's body when he saw that her whole body was soaking wet and her insides were completely transparent.
Even though his priestly robe was also soaking wet.
It was not easy for a priest to take off his clothes and cover her. Charlotte’s surprised expression at that time was hard to forget.
And Hansen said goodbye to them right then and there.
After he left, Charlotte stood still for a long time and cried. Ines felt a little envious of her crying honestly, saying she didn’t know why she was crying.
Charlotte rubbed her priestly robe once more and exhaled deeply. Then she hung his clothes in her closet.
“Let’s go now. I’m sure they’ve just started preparing dinner.”
Just as the two were about to leave the door, she saw Noah walking from the end of the hallway. Charlotte greeted him politely, gave Ines a wink, and then walked away first.
Everyone in the castle now knew that Noah often came to Ines to tell her about the return of Puldufin.
Even before that, no one had been upset about Ines receiving special treatment, but after the water festival, no one dared treat her rudely.
A woman who was a temple maid, but was respected by the lord. And a woman who was even followed by the lord's younger sister like a mother. If this were Landhill, she would have been an easy target.
“I have something to tell you.”
When Ines nodded, the two headed to Carson’s office as if it were a given. It was a place where even nobles who worked on behalf of Monstera could not enter without permission.
Although it was an unoccupied office, it didn’t feel empty thanks to the two people.
“The items you mentioned have arrived.”
As Ines sat down, Noah approached her with the ledger. As soon as Carson left for his campaign, she immediately brought more military supplies to Monstera. It was to prepare for the castle being in danger when the army left.
He bought all the guns he could find and prepared thick knightly clothing and war rations for the winter. There were too many to prepare for defense. Anyone could easily tell that he was preparing something else.
Before he left, Carson had left an order to grant Ines whatever she wanted. He had faithfully carried out the order, but Noah thought that Carson probably hadn’t expected this to be what she wanted.
“Yes, thank you. I’m sure your training is going well?”
“Of course. But may I ask you something now?”
“What?”
“Why did you raise so many private soldiers? As I told you last time, the royal castle of Puldufin had already fallen.”
He said that they had only taken the royal palace in three days because they had attacked quickly. However, Puldufin didn’t even know about that.
The Monstera army that set out after that engaged in an all-out war with the army of Puldufin near the border, and just ten days later, news of the fall of the royal castle was heard on the battlefield.
The Monstera army advanced immediately and arrived at the royal castle without any trouble.
However, the rest was not easy. Of course, that was only on the surface.
Carson, who could not hold out even after locking the palace gates, escaped the castle and joined the Monstera army. In the meantime, the abandoned son of King Pulderpin appeared.
The people of Pulderpin did not mourn the death of the tyrannical King. Instead, they welcomed the new King who resembled him completely but killed his father and took the throne.
This was because he had driven out the Monstera army that had taken over the royal castle and was still fighting without giving up.
Ines only rolled her eyes and did not say anything despite Noah’s question. Frustrated, she sighed and asked again. Today, at least, she wanted to clear up the suspicions she had.
“Is what you are preparing for something that is not directed outward but inward?”
When she bit her lower lip without denying it, Noah covered his eyes with his hand.
Right now, Keynes was in a state of chaos. The Crown Prince had died, and the Empress was desperate to put her second son on the throne. However, that was not easy either.
It was too far away to know the exact details, but the situation was clear without a second thought.
Keynes had always been a country where there was fierce competition for the throne. Up until now, the Crown Prince had been strong and undisturbed, but there were always many powerful nobles and relatives who wanted to take advantage of crises like the present.
But the fact that they are preparing another war in this faraway place...
“Are you planning to make Your Highness as Emperor?”
“Yes?”
Her pale face as if she had never heard words like plot or war since she was born, turned to Noah.
“Absolutely not.”
She immediately blushed and denied it with an innocent face, waving her hand. But it had been a long time since Noah had been fooled by that flushed face.
“But that’s the case. Aren’t you preparing for a civil war right now?”
“Yes. That’s true, but... It’s not like we're going to attack first or take over the imperial family.”
What on earth did she mean? She sharpened her sword but wouldn’t swing it?
“It might be hard to understand. But I’m just taking the bare minimum of defense.”
“Basic defense?”
The bare minimum defense that the woman with the largest gold mine in the empire thought of was much more than she thought.
“All I want is safety.”
“Safety...”
“Yes, as you know, if Her Majesty the Empress is pushed back, she’ll definitely bite me.”
“..."
“The Empress's second son is going to be Crown Prince unless something happens, and I'm not trying to stop that, and if she bites, I might pass it on, but...”
“But?”
Noah thought that Ines’ eyes had changed for a moment. And it wasn’t something Noah had seen for the first time.
“If she tries to eat His Highness, then there’s nothing we can do.”
“What do you mean...?”
“If there’s anything that threatens his safety, I’ll trample on it.”
The end of her words was as sharp as a knife, so he couldn’t move at all. If he made even the slightest mistake, it felt like the well-sharpened knife would slice his flesh.
Noah waited for the woman’s next words with a blank expression.
“If necessary, he should climb to the highest place.”
“He’s the kind of person who can do that.”
There was not a shred of doubt in Ines’ face as she spoke.
At that moment, goosebumps ran down Noah’s spine.
It was a shiver, so to speak.
“Um... but is that all you have to say to me?”
Noah let out a shallow breath at the calm voice that came softly. Then he moved his body to recall the matter he had forgotten.
“No. I have a letter.”
There were two letters for her. One was from Viscount Swenden, and the other was from Priest Hansen. Both were welcome news, so a bright smile appeared on her face.
“If you’re done talking, can I go now? I have to read the letter, and today is the day to wash the bedsheets.”
Ines, who had suddenly become a maid from a capable staff, hurried as if washing the bedsheets was the most urgent thing in the world.
“Yes, please do so. Ah!”
Noah looked back as he was leaving.
“The Lord will be back within a month.”
At that moment, emotions that she couldn’t hide were written all over her face. Noah lost his mind for a moment as he looked at Ines smiling brightly. That moment was exactly the same feeling he sometimes felt when he saw Carson.
Ines returned to her room and opened her father’s letter first.
As usual, Andrew began with the words, “My dear daughter.”
At that moment, goosebumps ran down Noah’s spine.
It was a shiver, so to speak.
“Um... but is that all you have to say to me?”
Noah let out a shallow breath at the calm voice that came softly. Then he moved his body to recall the matter he had forgotten.
“No. I have a letter.”
There were two letters for her. One was from Viscount Swenden, and the other was from Priest Hansen. Both were welcome news, so a bright smile appeared on her face.
“If you’re done talking, can I go now? I have to read the letter, and today is the day to wash the bedsheets.”
Ines, who had suddenly become a maid from a capable staff, hurried as if washing the bedsheets was the most urgent thing in the world.
“Yes, please do so. Ah!”
Noah looked back as he was leaving.
“The Lord will be back within a month.”
At that moment, emotions that she couldn’t hide were written all over her face. Noah lost his mind for a moment as he looked at Ines smiling brightly. That moment was exactly the same feeling he sometimes felt when he saw Carson.
***
Ines returned to her room and opened her father’s letter first.
As usual, Andrew began with the words, “My dear daughter.”
Even though the first part was written, his excitement was palpable. It was because of the news that Swenden Station had opened.
Then, when he told her about her mother’s health, Ines held her breath for a moment and held the letter close to her chest. Every time she heard it, her heart swelled. That everyone was healthy.
And there was news of Susan. She had finally married Bernie Scott, a coachman two years younger than her. Thinking of Susan, who must have laughed shamefully at the wedding, Ines smiled involuntarily.
"I am doing everything you tell me to do, but I am worried about my father.
I cannot understand why supporting Count Grandel is the way to serve the lord.
As you said, the system is on the brink of collapse right now.
But don’t worry here. Landhill is more peaceful than ever."
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