(36) Permeating Warmth (7)
There was a reason Isaac was renowned as an alchemist.
Soon after drinking the potion he made, the muscle pain she'd felt all over her body vanished. The fatigue that had been threatening to crush her also disappeared.
'Wow.'
After magic faded, current alchemists worked like pharmacists. It's said that in the past, there were potions that could completely heal wounds simply by drinking them, but that's no longer the case.
However, Isaac's potion was just as effective as the unknown potions made by alchemists long ago.
She always thought he was just a pretty, bright-eyed person, but Isaac seemed different.
As Ariana developed a secret respect for Isaac, Isaac was quietly asking Cyrus,
"Cyrus, you want to go to the Northern Territory too, right?"
"No."
"What? So you're trying to kidnap her now? Kidnapping and marrying is something only savages do."
“I’m not getting married, and I’m not kidnapping anyone. Why on earth do you think I’d marry that woman?”
Isaac wanted to ask back, “Are you asking because you don’t know?” but held back. It seemed like he really didn’t know.
Having lost his parents at a young age and living solely to solidify his position as the Northern Lord, Cyrus had a certain ignorance about relationships between men and women.
“Then why do you let everyone call Miss Ariana ‘Duchess’?”
“What does it have to do with me, no matter what anyone calls her?”
“Oh, then you can call Princess Charlotte Blenwit, who is in love with you, Duchess. I’ve been calling her Duchess for a long time...”
Isaac felt Cyrus’s cold gaze and stopped talking. Cyrus spoke in a quiet voice.
“Don’t annoy me so much, Isaac.”
Isaac thought.
“Look at this! You’re so angry at me for calling the Princess Duchess! And you look like you’re going to kill her!”
Cyrus stared intently at Ariana, who was with Louis.
“She’s interesting.”
“Yes, I suppose so.”
“She was confined to the mansion, doing the work of a maid. Where did she learn horseback riding?”
“Oh, now that I think about it...p Where did she really learn it? It wasn’t just her first or second time riding.”
“Even if we investigated, the information we had on her was limited. If we could figure out how she learned it all, we could easily exploit it.”
Isaac swallowed a sigh at Cyrus’s cold tone.
He knew why Cyrus had built a wall around everyone and refused to let anyone in. Few people knew that better than Isaac. With nothing revealed about the past events of the Northern Dukes and their wives, Cyrus’s position as Northern Duke seemed secure, but in reality, it was like a candle in the wind.
A small candle that would vanish with a single breath.
He understood Cyrus's feelings of not being able to rest until the candle became a lamplight and the lamplight became a flame, but he was worried that Cyrus would regret it if this continued.
"Use? Are you still saying that?"
"Or is there no other reason for me to help that woman?"
Cyrus looked like he really didn't understand why, so Isaac put his hands on both of his shoulders and spoke seriously.
"Whatever it is, if you keep saying that, you will definitely regret it someday."
Cyrus snickered and pulled Isaac's hand away.
"I have no regrets in my life, Isaac. Regretting the past only brings despair."
Louis and Noah whispered throughout dinner.
As soon as dinner was over, Louis went into the forest, and Noah brought a large, round stone over the fire and began to roast it.
'What are they doing?'
Ariana, feeling drowsy from eating a full meal, barely lifted her heavy eyelids and watched Noah's actions.
'Is this some kind of magic that is only known to the Northern Territory? Or do the people of Northern Realm even chew on rocks?'
Northern Realm was a mysterious land, still imbued with magic. It seemed like there were many things Ariana didn't know about the Northern Realm.
Soon, Louis, who had gone into the forest, returned carrying a large log on his shoulder.
Thud!
The ground shook slightly as she set the log down. Despite carrying such a heavy load, Louis showed no sign of difficulty.
Louis drew her sword and began to dig into the log. Her dazzling swordsmanship rained down on the log. The pieces of wood that had filled the log flew up in a dazzling display.
What was created was a large wooden barrel, large enough for two people to fit inside.
'What are you really doing?'
Ariana was becoming increasingly confused. The wonder of what Louis and Noah were doing made her drowsiness vanish.
Louis quickly lifted the hollow log again, went to the lake, filled it with water, and returned.
Boom!
As she set down the bucket, Noah took out two daggers and used them to pick up hot rocks and placed them in the bucket. One, two, three...
Several hot rocks splashed into the water, filling the bucket. Louis dipped his hand briefly in the water and nodded to Noah.
Noah then quickly picked up the bucket, carried it into the bushes, and returned empty-handed.
Louis approached Ariana.
“Duchess, I’ve prepared the bath water.”
Ariana was too stunned to respond. She simply stared up at Louis, her eyes wide.
“I’ve heated the water, so you can bathe comfortably.”
Ariana covered her mouth with her hand, blinked, and then asked,
“Have you been preparing my bath all this time... all this time?”
“Yes.”
“Ah...”
All that tedious work—cutting down trees, hollowing out their cores, fetching water, and immersing hot stones to heat the water—was all done for her.
Ariana didn’t know how to react, because no one had ever done such tedious things for her before.
A pang of emotion etched into her heart, which she had thought was frozen.
“I understand you don’t want to bother washing, but,”
Cyrus’s soft voice brought her back to her senses.
“Since they’ve taken the time to prepare the bath, why don’t you go and wash up? I won’t peek.”
His voice was serious, but his words were playful.
Ariana turned to Cyrus and said,
“Thank you, Your Excellency.”
“I didn’t order you, so I don’t deserve your thanks.”
So did Louis and Noah do it themselves? Why, when there was no reason to?
Instead of showing her doubt, she spoke honestly.
“Thank you, Louis. Noah.”
Noah grinned at Ariana's thanks. It was a pleasant smile.
When crossing from the Western Realm to the Empire, they didn't take the usual route, but a rugged mountain path.
Because relations between the Western Realm and the Empire were good, security wasn't tight, so while the mountain path was rough, they were able to cross easily without being watched.
From the Empire, out of the reach of the Western Duke, they didn't sleep out, but stopped at a small village. It was on the edge of the border, without any inns, but the kind village headman lent them an empty house.
It was already long past sunset when they entered the village, so after a quick dinner, everyone went to bed.
Having been alone in a room for so long, Ariana felt strangely empty and couldn't sleep easily.
As she lay on the floor, staring up at the ceiling, memories of her journey with Cyrus and his men came flooding back.
Uncomfortable beds, meals cooked with only salt and seasoning, prepared whenever needed, baths provided by Louis and Noah, and a daily supply of stamina restoratives from Isaac.
Thanks to them, she was able to come here safely and comfortably.
Every time she thought back on their journey, it felt like a dream.
Had I ever received such loving consideration in my life?
Even if Cyrus was just using Ariana, it was an overabundance of consideration.
'I think it'll hurt.'
If he was trying to numb Ariana's heart for the sake of using her, he used a very effective method. The parting was so regrettable that she felt like continuing this journey.
'No.'
Ariana coldly cut off the hope that was bubbling within her.
'Think of the Third Prince.'
Third Prince Harold was incredibly sweet. From the moment they met until the very end, he was affectionate and sweet. The touch that stroked her hair, the adoring gaze, the loving words.
Ariana trusted all of that without question, and because of that, she was cruelly betrayed and died a horrible death.
She was reborn with a new opportunity, but she couldn't repeat the same mistake.
'Remember your life.'
The child no one loved. The child no one wanted. So, a child who can be used without affection. A child who can be used however one wants for one's own purposes.
'That's the kind of child you are, Ariana.'
The trust and affection that not even one's own parents can give, no one else can.
'You've been like that since you were in the womb.'
Her maternal grandfather, her biological mother, her older sister and younger sibling, her husband and in-laws, all of them.
'You tried to use me for your own purposes. A child who not even one's parents wanted can be used and then thrown away like that.'
Could it be any different for the Northern Duke Cyrus Carha?
Ariana remembered his crimson eyes, always searching. She etched the scheme and suspicion in those bloodshot eyes into her heart.
"We weren't planning a fun trip."
A series of events had dealt the Brontes a major blow. Victoria and Rachel's once-pure reputations were tarnished.
But they, descended from the Duke of the House of Bronte, couldn't be destroyed by something so minor.
They would soon regain their reputation.
"Victoria wants the Empress title. Helena will be content with being a Duchess of the empire. The Duke of the House of Bronte and Rachel will do anything to make them Empress and Duchess."
There was a reason Isaac was renowned as an alchemist.
Soon after drinking the potion he made, the muscle pain she'd felt all over her body vanished. The fatigue that had been threatening to crush her also disappeared.
'Wow.'
After magic faded, current alchemists worked like pharmacists. It's said that in the past, there were potions that could completely heal wounds simply by drinking them, but that's no longer the case.
However, Isaac's potion was just as effective as the unknown potions made by alchemists long ago.
She always thought he was just a pretty, bright-eyed person, but Isaac seemed different.
As Ariana developed a secret respect for Isaac, Isaac was quietly asking Cyrus,
"Cyrus, you want to go to the Northern Territory too, right?"
"No."
"What? So you're trying to kidnap her now? Kidnapping and marrying is something only savages do."
“I’m not getting married, and I’m not kidnapping anyone. Why on earth do you think I’d marry that woman?”
Isaac wanted to ask back, “Are you asking because you don’t know?” but held back. It seemed like he really didn’t know.
Having lost his parents at a young age and living solely to solidify his position as the Northern Lord, Cyrus had a certain ignorance about relationships between men and women.
“Then why do you let everyone call Miss Ariana ‘Duchess’?”
“What does it have to do with me, no matter what anyone calls her?”
“Oh, then you can call Princess Charlotte Blenwit, who is in love with you, Duchess. I’ve been calling her Duchess for a long time...”
Isaac felt Cyrus’s cold gaze and stopped talking. Cyrus spoke in a quiet voice.
“Don’t annoy me so much, Isaac.”
Isaac thought.
“Look at this! You’re so angry at me for calling the Princess Duchess! And you look like you’re going to kill her!”
Cyrus stared intently at Ariana, who was with Louis.
“She’s interesting.”
“Yes, I suppose so.”
“She was confined to the mansion, doing the work of a maid. Where did she learn horseback riding?”
“Oh, now that I think about it...p Where did she really learn it? It wasn’t just her first or second time riding.”
“Even if we investigated, the information we had on her was limited. If we could figure out how she learned it all, we could easily exploit it.”
Isaac swallowed a sigh at Cyrus’s cold tone.
He knew why Cyrus had built a wall around everyone and refused to let anyone in. Few people knew that better than Isaac. With nothing revealed about the past events of the Northern Dukes and their wives, Cyrus’s position as Northern Duke seemed secure, but in reality, it was like a candle in the wind.
A small candle that would vanish with a single breath.
He understood Cyrus's feelings of not being able to rest until the candle became a lamplight and the lamplight became a flame, but he was worried that Cyrus would regret it if this continued.
"Use? Are you still saying that?"
"Or is there no other reason for me to help that woman?"
Cyrus looked like he really didn't understand why, so Isaac put his hands on both of his shoulders and spoke seriously.
"Whatever it is, if you keep saying that, you will definitely regret it someday."
Cyrus snickered and pulled Isaac's hand away.
"I have no regrets in my life, Isaac. Regretting the past only brings despair."
***
Louis and Noah whispered throughout dinner.
As soon as dinner was over, Louis went into the forest, and Noah brought a large, round stone over the fire and began to roast it.
'What are they doing?'
Ariana, feeling drowsy from eating a full meal, barely lifted her heavy eyelids and watched Noah's actions.
'Is this some kind of magic that is only known to the Northern Territory? Or do the people of Northern Realm even chew on rocks?'
Northern Realm was a mysterious land, still imbued with magic. It seemed like there were many things Ariana didn't know about the Northern Realm.
Soon, Louis, who had gone into the forest, returned carrying a large log on his shoulder.
Thud!
The ground shook slightly as she set the log down. Despite carrying such a heavy load, Louis showed no sign of difficulty.
Louis drew her sword and began to dig into the log. Her dazzling swordsmanship rained down on the log. The pieces of wood that had filled the log flew up in a dazzling display.
What was created was a large wooden barrel, large enough for two people to fit inside.
'What are you really doing?'
Ariana was becoming increasingly confused. The wonder of what Louis and Noah were doing made her drowsiness vanish.
Louis quickly lifted the hollow log again, went to the lake, filled it with water, and returned.
Boom!
As she set down the bucket, Noah took out two daggers and used them to pick up hot rocks and placed them in the bucket. One, two, three...
Several hot rocks splashed into the water, filling the bucket. Louis dipped his hand briefly in the water and nodded to Noah.
Noah then quickly picked up the bucket, carried it into the bushes, and returned empty-handed.
Louis approached Ariana.
“Duchess, I’ve prepared the bath water.”
Ariana was too stunned to respond. She simply stared up at Louis, her eyes wide.
“I’ve heated the water, so you can bathe comfortably.”
Ariana covered her mouth with her hand, blinked, and then asked,
“Have you been preparing my bath all this time... all this time?”
“Yes.”
“Ah...”
All that tedious work—cutting down trees, hollowing out their cores, fetching water, and immersing hot stones to heat the water—was all done for her.
Ariana didn’t know how to react, because no one had ever done such tedious things for her before.
A pang of emotion etched into her heart, which she had thought was frozen.
“I understand you don’t want to bother washing, but,”
Cyrus’s soft voice brought her back to her senses.
“Since they’ve taken the time to prepare the bath, why don’t you go and wash up? I won’t peek.”
His voice was serious, but his words were playful.
Ariana turned to Cyrus and said,
“Thank you, Your Excellency.”
“I didn’t order you, so I don’t deserve your thanks.”
So did Louis and Noah do it themselves? Why, when there was no reason to?
Instead of showing her doubt, she spoke honestly.
“Thank you, Louis. Noah.”
Noah grinned at Ariana's thanks. It was a pleasant smile.
***
When crossing from the Western Realm to the Empire, they didn't take the usual route, but a rugged mountain path.
Because relations between the Western Realm and the Empire were good, security wasn't tight, so while the mountain path was rough, they were able to cross easily without being watched.
From the Empire, out of the reach of the Western Duke, they didn't sleep out, but stopped at a small village. It was on the edge of the border, without any inns, but the kind village headman lent them an empty house.
It was already long past sunset when they entered the village, so after a quick dinner, everyone went to bed.
Having been alone in a room for so long, Ariana felt strangely empty and couldn't sleep easily.
As she lay on the floor, staring up at the ceiling, memories of her journey with Cyrus and his men came flooding back.
Uncomfortable beds, meals cooked with only salt and seasoning, prepared whenever needed, baths provided by Louis and Noah, and a daily supply of stamina restoratives from Isaac.
Thanks to them, she was able to come here safely and comfortably.
Every time she thought back on their journey, it felt like a dream.
Had I ever received such loving consideration in my life?
Even if Cyrus was just using Ariana, it was an overabundance of consideration.
'I think it'll hurt.'
If he was trying to numb Ariana's heart for the sake of using her, he used a very effective method. The parting was so regrettable that she felt like continuing this journey.
'No.'
Ariana coldly cut off the hope that was bubbling within her.
'Think of the Third Prince.'
Third Prince Harold was incredibly sweet. From the moment they met until the very end, he was affectionate and sweet. The touch that stroked her hair, the adoring gaze, the loving words.
Ariana trusted all of that without question, and because of that, she was cruelly betrayed and died a horrible death.
She was reborn with a new opportunity, but she couldn't repeat the same mistake.
'Remember your life.'
The child no one loved. The child no one wanted. So, a child who can be used without affection. A child who can be used however one wants for one's own purposes.
'That's the kind of child you are, Ariana.'
The trust and affection that not even one's own parents can give, no one else can.
'You've been like that since you were in the womb.'
Her maternal grandfather, her biological mother, her older sister and younger sibling, her husband and in-laws, all of them.
'You tried to use me for your own purposes. A child who not even one's parents wanted can be used and then thrown away like that.'
Could it be any different for the Northern Duke Cyrus Carha?
Ariana remembered his crimson eyes, always searching. She etched the scheme and suspicion in those bloodshot eyes into her heart.
"We weren't planning a fun trip."
A series of events had dealt the Brontes a major blow. Victoria and Rachel's once-pure reputations were tarnished.
But they, descended from the Duke of the House of Bronte, couldn't be destroyed by something so minor.
They would soon regain their reputation.
"Victoria wants the Empress title. Helena will be content with being a Duchess of the empire. The Duke of the House of Bronte and Rachel will do anything to make them Empress and Duchess."
It would take a year or so for their reputation to recover, and then the behind-the-scenes work would begin.
"In about three years, Victoria will have a truly magnificent debutante, and she will be blessed with the Empress's protection."
That was the case before.
Victoria was praised as the most beautiful and wise young lady at that year's debutante, and she caught the attention of the Princes.
'Three years. Until then, work hard and climb as high as you can, Victoria, Helena.'
A cool smile played on Ariana's lips.
'The higher you climb, the greater the pain when you fall.'
In the end, morning dawned without even a wink of sleep.
Rubbing her tired, heavy eyes, she left the room to find Cyrus and his party already up and ready to leave.
Ariana hadn't even noticed them awake, as they moved so quietly in the small space that served as both the kitchen and the living room.
Noah, who had spotted Ariana, approached her with a bright smile.
"Did you sleep well?"
"Yes, thanks to you."
"The village chief shared some ingredients. I think I'll be able to make other dishes besides grilled meat for the time being."
"That's good."
Ariana smiled at Noah and approached Cyrus. Cyrus was sitting cross-legged on an old chair, lazily watching his subordinates.
As Ariana stood in front of him, he glanced up. Ariana stood upright and said to him,
"Thank you for bringing me here safely. I will repay this favor someday, Your Excellency, when you need it."
"In about three years, Victoria will have a truly magnificent debutante, and she will be blessed with the Empress's protection."
That was the case before.
Victoria was praised as the most beautiful and wise young lady at that year's debutante, and she caught the attention of the Princes.
'Three years. Until then, work hard and climb as high as you can, Victoria, Helena.'
A cool smile played on Ariana's lips.
'The higher you climb, the greater the pain when you fall.'
***
In the end, morning dawned without even a wink of sleep.
Rubbing her tired, heavy eyes, she left the room to find Cyrus and his party already up and ready to leave.
Ariana hadn't even noticed them awake, as they moved so quietly in the small space that served as both the kitchen and the living room.
Noah, who had spotted Ariana, approached her with a bright smile.
"Did you sleep well?"
"Yes, thanks to you."
"The village chief shared some ingredients. I think I'll be able to make other dishes besides grilled meat for the time being."
"That's good."
Ariana smiled at Noah and approached Cyrus. Cyrus was sitting cross-legged on an old chair, lazily watching his subordinates.
As Ariana stood in front of him, he glanced up. Ariana stood upright and said to him,
"Thank you for bringing me here safely. I will repay this favor someday, Your Excellency, when you need it."
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