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~Chapter 3~
Lily stayed seated, just lifting her head.
She looked up at the man, her eyes asking what was going on.
“Mr. Blake?”
It was just past the hour.
Outside the warm office, snow fell fiercely. The frozen mountains curled around outside the window.
Blake walked around the desk and stood beside Lily.
The people of Uffus were taller than the pure-blooded Imperials. Blake was especially tall.
His huge figure blocked the chandelier’s light.
A big shadow fell over Lily.
“Sorry, but I don’t understand. What isn’t your fault?”
Her shining platinum hair glowed under Blake’s shadow.
“I mean, it’s not my fault that you look like you’re stuffed into a huge sack.”
Blake tossed a winter coat from the rack onto Lily.
He was rough, but he did it so his skin wouldn’t touch hers.
Hiding his blushing ears, he spoke even rougher,
“At least cover yourself with that. You’ll look like you’re wrapped in a giant blanket this time.”
Just as he thought, Lily looked round and small with only her face peeking out of the big coat.
Blake tried to keep a straight face, but honestly… she looked cute.
He struggled not to smile.
“Whoever gave you that nightgown has no taste at all.”
Lily wrapped the coat around her shoulders, buttoned it up, and it fell like a cape all the way to the floor.
For the first time, she didn’t like something about Blake.
He’d refused to let her stay and carried her roughly, but she never minded until now.
“I told you, the maids gave me these clothes, Mr. Blake. Don’t insult them. They were very kind to me.”
Blake, still fighting a smile, asked,
“Like what did they say?”
“The tall maid even said I was cute. I might have looked awkward, but I could tell they both had good hearts.”
Lily smiled a little, talking about the maids who helped her bathe.
The maids were all from the duchy—big and strong, like true Uffus people.
But despite their scary looks, they treated her as carefully as glass.
Blake felt uncomfortable when she spoke so kindly about them.
How could she get so friendly with them already? She’d only given him a formal smile, but with them…
He didn’t want to admit it, but he felt jealous.
‘Do you know? I’m the only one who feels something familiar with you.’
“You say ‘tall maid’ but who do you mean? Everyone here is taller than you.”
“Don’t be childish. Let’s just talk about the real reason I’m here.”
Blake wanted to tease her more, but held his tongue.
Being around her made him feel strange, like a boy picking on a girl he likes.
He pressed his temples, trying to return to his usual self.
“Fine… Let’s get to the reason I called you here. I want you to explain. What did you mean by saying you ran away and left only your divorce papers, and why do you need to hide from your ex-husband?”
“It’s a long story. It might be a bit embarrassing for a man to hear.”
Blake, now sitting across from her again, waved his big, rough hand for her to start.
“I had a political marriage a year ago. On our wedding day, my husband told me he had a problem with his body. He couldn’t sleep with me.”
“He really had a problem, then.”
Blake glanced at the fireplace and spoke carelessly.
A man might lie about that if he wasn’t attracted to his wife—but who wouldn’t be, if the wife was Lily Hedwick?
Blake almost swore under his breath.
“Damn.”
He shouldn’t admit he thought of Lily as a woman.
It felt strange.
Why had his father promised their family’s help to this woman? He was a wild man, but not to this extent.
‘It’s not like my father even knew Lily Hedwick before…’
If his father were alive, he could’ve asked.
Maybe there was a hidden connection behind all of this.
But he quickly shook off that idea.
He hated imperial nobles as much as they hated him.
Lily Hedwick was one of them—so that was the end of it.
Blake decided never to be kind to her.
“Go on.”
“My husband felt inferior because of his problem. He always apologized, but really, he just wanted to hear me say it was fine.”
Lily thought back to the early days of her marriage.
Her husband always asked if she was okay with his problem.
—I’m sorry. But you don’t really mind, right?
If Lily just nodded,
—You can’t just give a short answer. I’ve apologized this much, haven’t I?
He’d press her for more.
He always used polite words, but that was it.
—But how can I answer ‘it’s fine’ in a long way?
—Just say you don’t mind! Say you don’t care!
Living like that every day would drive anyone crazy.
Her life was horrible, both before and after her arranged marriage.
Blake’s thick eyebrows drew together as he listened.
“So he was useless and pathetic, too.”
“If that was all, I could’ve managed. But when he drank, things got much worse.”
When her husband got drunk, he hit her.
He’d say that correcting his wife’s “bad habits” was a husband’s duty.
“Small acts of violence turned into real danger over time. The next day, he’d apologize again. It kept repeating.”
Lily remembered how the maids had been shocked to see her scars.
She had to ask them to keep it a secret.
All the pain was on parts of her body that clothes would hide.
“Not long ago, my husband was gone all day. The butler said he’d gone to celebrate a friend’s railway contract and took bottles of strong alcohol with him.”
“…”
“That’s when I realized. ‘Maybe today, I might die.’”
Her sweet voice was calm, even a little smiling as if it was just her habit.
Her pale skin looked just like the snow outside.
Her blue eyes reflected the harsh, white mountains.
There was a sad, broken feeling about her, like a toy that had run out of power.
Blake Uffus was used to war, violence, and blood.
He’d fought monsters and beasts in the mountains all his life.
But somehow, hearing Lily speak so calmly made his heart ache.
To be honest, he wanted to find her husband and beat him up, then toss him to the wild animals.
“So you ran away here that day?”
“You guessed right. I trusted your father’s promise to help me with anything and got on the train. He was so kind for someone who’d just met me.”
After hearing this, Blake couldn’t chase Lily away anymore.
He could even justify it now—he was protecting a noblewoman from someone worse.
It was a result both of them could accept.
Blake nodded, lying to himself.
Again, it wasn’t because he liked having Lily in his harsh castle.
Definitely not. Never!
“…Fine. You can stay. But only for up to a year. During that time, try to find another way and then leave this castle.”
“Thank you for your kindness.”
Blake stood, ending the conversation.
“I’ll assign you a personal maid. Ask her for anything you need. Don’t wander around the castle. I’m different from other nobles—I’m often out in the snowy mountains, so you probably won’t see me much.”
He opened the office door, the hinges making only a faint sound.
“Call me if you need anything. But only if it’s important. Don’t look for me unless it’s absolutely necessary.”
This was Blake’s last pride.
He would never get close to a noble lady.
He would keep his distance, just like he kept his distance from all nobles.
“It’d be best if we both forget we live in the same house.”
“I’ll remember that, Mr. Blake.”
Lily left into the hallway, and Blake chose a passing maid to assign to her.
Lily truly planned to follow his words.
He was letting her hide here, so she could put up with a strange duke’s strange rules.
When she returned the coat, the two really parted.
Blake sighed in relief, happy to think he wouldn’t notice her anymore.
He slipped on the coat she’d worn—then paused, catching a faint scent from her skin.
“…”
He definitely didn’t want to know that she smelled as sweet as peaches.
A scent that tickled old memories—familiar, and oddly tempting.
A scent he wanted to hold onto.
“Damn it.”
