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Chapter 32
Fool, Idiot
Duke Daniel Richard was the type of lord who was barely seen in the castle, almost like he didn’t exist. But today, as he walked by with a cold air about him, the servants whispered to each other. Daniel stopped walking and called out to one of them.
“You there.”
Startled, the servant bowed so deeply his head nearly touched the ground.
“Y-yes, my lord.”
“Where’s Captain Molly?”
“Ah, probably with the mercenaries in the herb field. At this time, she’s always there…”
Daniel turned toward the eastern fields. He wasn’t truly angry at Ricardo; he was just amazed at his nerve.
“I just overheard it. I heard people passing by say it…”
His wife’s excuse wasn’t worth considering. There were only four people alive who knew the truth Ricardo told Frida—including Daniel. The Dowager Empress only knew because Daniel was alive; everyone else who knew was killed by her. Dominic and Ricardo were only alive because the Empress didn’t know they knew. This story could never be a rumor, and never should be. And yet Ricardo had told Frida? Was he trying to get someone killed?
“I heard from Lotte that I was very jealous of my younger brother.”
Jealous? Yes, he had been. Daniel had always been jealous of Leopold, with his golden hair, blue eyes, and strong family connections. He was the true son, while Daniel, as an illegitimate child, didn’t even dare call him brother.
“When our parents weren’t looking, I’d pinch him and make him cry… One time, I put salt in Albert’s milk so he bawled and screamed…”
If only he’d done childish things like that, it would have been better.
“Please, madam, he’s just a child. He didn’t know what he was doing. Daniel didn’t know anything!”
No, his mother was wrong. She was fooled by Daniel. Even at thirteen, he knew what he was giving Leopold. He knew what would happen. He did it out of jealousy, thinking if Leopold wasn’t around, everything would be his.
Even though he had dark hair and reddish-brown eyes from his Milabo mother, Daniel always thought he was different from people like Dominic—because his mother told him so.
“Daniel, even if you’re illegitimate, you have Richard blood just like Leopold. It’s important to study and practice etiquette as well as sword fighting. Do you understand?”
Duchess Marguerite was always elegant and kind. Even when her husband stayed in the guest house with his mistress, she never showed any anger to Daniel, the mistress’s child. She looked like an angel, with golden hair and sky-blue eyes. Daniel used to believe she really was an angel, until he learned her smile was fake. For years, he liked her even more than his own mother and wished she was his real mother.
When his mother told him at age ten to go with Ricardo’s mercenary band, he couldn’t hide his feelings.
“Why do I have to go with Uncle Ricardo’s band? I’m not like Dominic. I’m a noble’s son. The Duchess even told me not to slack off in my studies like Leopold.”
“Listen to your mother, Daniel. I’m not saying you should be a mercenary. Just go and learn sword fighting with your grandfather.”
“No, the Duchess said I could get real knight training.”
“I’m your mother, not the Duchess.”
“I wish the Duchess was my mom! Then I’d be a proud son of the Richard family like Leopold…”
Slap! That was the first time his mother ever hit him. The next day, he packed and left with Ricardo. For three years, while wandering with the mercenary band, he kept thinking—he wasn’t like the wild Dominic and his group. He was a Richard. He was a noble.
On the sunny road, the heat made the air shimmer. Suddenly, Daniel felt he couldn’t breathe. He stopped and grabbed a nearby tree.
“Damn it.”
Memories he’d buried deep inside suddenly returned.
“How dare a lowborn bastard like you harm Leopold? Do you think a dirty Milabo’s blood will get in the way of my son, who will be the greatest in the empire? You filthy worm.”
“Madam, Daniel is only thirteen. He really didn’t know. Please believe me.”
“At thirteen, you can still be responsible. Right, Laura?”
“Please, madam, show mercy just this once. You cared about Daniel…”
“Care about him? Sure. He’s useful as a human shield for my son. But if he becomes the arrow instead, that’s different, Laura.”
“If my son’s heart will be pierced, I’ll break the arrow first.”
Only after getting rid of those blue eyes in his mind could Daniel finally breathe again.
“Haah… cough, cough…”
When Frida went into the secret vault, she always smiled and felt full even without eating.
“Haah…”
But today, she could only sigh, not smile.
“His Grace is really sharp. I only mentioned Albert, but he immediately guessed Ricardo had told me something.”
“No wonder everyone says there’s no one like Richard. Muriel said that if it wasn’t for the Duke, the Emperor’s rebellion never would have succeeded, no matter how hard the Weitzen family tried.”
“But who called him the ‘Mad Dog of Volshtak II’? I’d kick their shins if I found out. And the Dowager Empress! How could she try to hang a thirteen-year-old? That’s just scary. Are all the Weitzen people that heartless?”
Frida didn’t know much about echinacea, but didn’t believe a single drink could cause lasting harm. It wasn’t about taking her husband’s side; it was just common sense. Otherwise, every pharmacist would be rich.
Sitting on the floor with her bag of gold coins, Frida muttered,
“Did echinacea really do that?”
She knew a lot about herbs, but had never heard that echinacea caused infertility. The world was full of things she didn’t know.
Her husband’s chilling warning echoed in her head:
“I warn you. Never repeat what Ricardo told you to anyone else. Especially to Sir Rosibalt.”
“Really, what does he take me for? If I fell in a lake, I’d sink mouth-first. My lips are sealed. I haven’t even told Muriel that we kissed… oh.”
She remembered it again. Hugging the money bag, Frida lay flat on the floor. If the Hakbon family tutor saw her now, he’d faint.
“Ah, this feels good.”
She looked up at the ceiling, watching sunlight come through a tiny window. Dust floated in the beam, appearing and disappearing as clouds covered the sun. The dust wasn’t gone; it was just out of sight. Frida realized that she should be glad she could see it, even if just for today. If her sight failed someday, even these floating specks of dust would be missed. It’s easy to feel sad and deny reality, but Frida had no time to waste. At twenty, she’d lived a long life for a Hakbon girl. She couldn’t count on tomorrow, so every day was precious. If there’s something she wanted, she had to do it today.
To spend today just being excited about her first kiss or feeling sorry for her husband’s unhappy past was a luxury. She couldn’t afford it.
Frida jumped up, stretched, and took a deep breath.
“I can do it!”
She started listing what she needed to do.
“This fall, I’ll collect taxes based on the harvest. Before winter, clear land for roads. In the fall, plant bulbs in the east fields, then sell them to the Turk traders next spring. Let’s go!”
Even as she left, she kept muttering to herself.
“Prepare Godric, the second son from the black-striped birch house, to enter Celleno University’s medical school next summer… Oh, and build a lumber mill outside the castle next spring.”
There was so much to do. As she locked the door, Frida hesitated between the sunny forest path and the dark secret passage.
“Hmm… If I walk in the sun, my face will get red.”
She didn’t have a hat, so if she went out bare-faced, Muriel would notice immediately. Her pale skin always gave her away. Even if she made it inside unseen, her skin would break out in rashes and blisters if she stayed in the sun too long. But she didn’t want to go back through the dark tunnel either.
“So, that’s the only way.”
Leaning against a tree, Frida closed her eyes for a moment. The clear blue sky, the drifting white clouds, and the rustling leaves all filled her with peace. She felt tears coming—not from sadness, but because today was so beautiful, and because she felt sorry for the boy who’d once suffered so much. There was something she’d wanted to tell him as she passed through the dark tunnel in his arms:
“The Dowager Empress was too harsh, too cruel. You were… just a child. You’ve paid enough. You don’t have to suffer anymore.”
But all she said, in her own clumsy way, was:
“Fool. Idiot. I wanted to comfort you, but you didn’t even notice.”
The soft spring breeze touched her cheek as if comforting her.
