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~Chapter 16~
One day, the Duchess asked Delphina, who had been visiting her daily.
“Why are your hands so rough? They’re like the hands of a knight.”
Delphina’s face brightened.
The Duchess felt a strange emotion. Delphina was smiling brightly after just one answer…
“My parents passed away, and I had a lot to do by myself.”
“…”
“I had to survive somehow.”
The Duke of Rikeion was more malicious than the Duchess had originally thought.
The words “I had to survive somehow” began to trouble the Duchess.
‘It must have been difficult for her to survive alone after her parents died.’
Thinking back, Delphina and the Duchess shared the same kind of wound. Her own husband, the Duke, had also passed away from a carriage accident back then. She, too, had come to the north at a young age, wanting to survive and having to become strong.
The Duchess felt a sense of kinship with Delphina.
This was a very slow, natural change. She hadn’t realized it, but somewhere along the way, she had started to notice Delphina coming by every day.
And then one day, Delphina didn’t show up at the usual time. The Duchess was sitting alone on her bed.
The Duchess was sure Delphina had gotten tired of her.
The only ones who would tolerate her cold and indifferent demeanor were her friends from the East.
‘It’s peaceful and nice.’
With Delphina gone, the world seemed quiet. There was no one to talk to, no one to catch her attention.
This was exactly what the Duchess had wanted. She hadn’t even allowed her son, Elkeian, to visit for the sake of this silence.
But for some reason, an indescribable feeling of emptiness lingered.
“I’m late!”
And then Delphina appeared. Her whole body was covered in dirt. In her hands, she held the flowers she always brought, the Duchess’s favorite.
“Sorry, I was late because I had to go far to get the flowers. I had to go to the garden since there were no Lisace flowers.”
Then, Delphina staggered as she tried to move the heavy pot to the window.
She seemed to move cautiously, but in the end, Delphina dropped the pot.
“Oh, oh no?”
The Duchess, without thinking, used her left hand to catch the pot before it hit the ground.
“I knew you would drop it. Why are you trying to move a pot when you’re in such poor health?”
She spoke in a cold voice.
“Uh… Thank you, Duchess.”
Delphina thanked her, and the Duchess fell silent. She quietly moved the pot to the spot where Delphina had intended.
Walton felt pity for Delphina. He knew how hard she had been trying these past few days.
“The Duchess really is indifferent.”
Sana shivered.
She had friends among the maids working in the Duchess’s chambers and had heard about the recent events.
“I heard she hasn’t even spoken to Delphina.”
“She completely ignores her.”
The people of the north were afraid of the Duchess. She had never shown any weakness.
Even after the Duchess fell ill, things remained the same. She refused to let anyone into her chambers, making sure not to show any signs of vulnerability.
“That’s not true. Last time, when I almost dropped the pot, she caught it for me. She talks to me sometimes.”
“…”
“She’s a good person, the Duchess.”
Delphina had also been like that once.
There had been a time when she had been powerless, after losing her loved ones.
She had lost her grandmother in a car accident and, for a long time, refused to leave her bed.
When she lost her parents in a carriage accident, she would yell at her mentor every day.
There was a way Delphina had healed her wounds and found peace of mind during that time.
“I talked to my mentor, someone who had been through the same pain as me.”
Overcoming trauma alone was incredibly hard. In her past life, she had to face it alone, but at least in this life, Delphina could find comfort and healing through conversations with her mentor.
“Loss is something that’s hard to understand. People who’ve never experienced it don’t know how painful it is.”
“Why is that?”
“Because they’ve never gone through it.”
Delphina understood the heart of the Duchess.
When her grandmother and parents suddenly passed away in accidents, Delphina had experienced deep grief.
‘When the previous Duke passed away along with our parents, the current Duke must have suffered just as I did.’
That was probably the case for the Duchess as well. They both knew just how painful loss could be, as they had lived through it themselves.
It was a late night.
The Duchess was tormented by a nightmare. Around her, her comrades let out cries of agony.
The Duchess wielded her sword, but it was not enough. Death awaited them.
“Aris, you must live.”
The monsters began chasing her relentlessly. After a brutal battle, Aris was finally able to slay all the monsters.
She had saved the lives of the northern people. But she couldn’t save the lives of the comrades who had followed her.
What was the sacrifice for?
The Duchess still couldn’t understand.
The terrifying nightmare visited her every night. The Duchess slowly opened her eyes.
Her heart ached painfully.
‘When I open my eyes, I’ll be alone again.’
It was a familiar feeling.
Ever since she started having these nightmares, she had been cruel to the maids, deliberately not allowing them to keep her company.
The Duchess of the North couldn’t show weakness. This was a belief she had never wavered from since coming to the North.
‘It’s better this way. Alone, in solitude… leaving like this isn’t so bad.’
Fully awake, the Duchess was startled.
“The Lady of Rikeion?”
Delphina was standing right in front of her.
‘My weakened body couldn’t sense her approaching.’
The Duchess realized how deteriorated her body had become.
And then, in that moment, Delphina grabbed her hand tightly. Normally, the Duchess would have scolded her for being so bold as to take her hand.
“Why are you still in my room…?”
But the Duchess couldn’t speak.
The gaze Delphina gave her somehow felt like comfort. Delphina slowly began to speak.
“My parents passed away in a carriage accident.”
Delphina vaguely knew the truth.
Had her parents really died in an accident? The carriage that carried the Duke, the Empress, and the Duke of Rikeion’s family.
Their deaths were clearly no accident, even a fool could see that.
Young Delphina had been devastated by the death of her parents. She was sad, distressed, and couldn’t believe that she was alone at such a young age. At that time, she wanted to escape the reality of living without her parents.
“After my parents died, I was so scared and lonely, I don’t know how many days I went without eating. If it wasn’t for the Eastern cook who took care of me at the time, I might not be here today.”
The Duchess stared at Delphina, quietly.
“That person waited for me, no matter how angry I got. I threw food a few times, and I was angry, but….”
She had been angry out of fear and loneliness.
There were times when she wished no one was around. But her mentor was patient.
He visited Delphina every day.
“This is a dish from the East.”
“I don’t want it, I won’t eat it!”
“Ah, the sound of the birds this morning was really beautiful. It would have been nice if you had heard it too, Lady.”
Her mentor listened to her and reminded her she wasn’t alone.
“There are so many delicious foods in the world. I love finding new foods.”
“I hope you get to enjoy that joy too, Delphina.”
