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~Chapter 13~
A cold, old hut far from the Winter Castle.
That night, the only warmth was the heat between Lily and Blake.
Lily and Blake were under one blanket, strangely close, almost hugging each other.
‘She’s like an innocent city noblewoman.’
Blake planned to tease her.
He wanted to remind her of these things:
You shouldn’t be alone in a closed room with a man,
You shouldn’t touch each other,
And you shouldn’t drive a man crazy with your peach scent.
Otherwise, someday, he might cross the line…
But honestly, there was real tension between them.
If he confessed, Lily probably felt it too. Blake, sharp as a beast, could read the emotion in her wide eyes.
“Hey, miss,”
he whispered with a warm breath.
“This might sound strange, but… do you want to kiss me? It’ll be fun. You might even like it.”
He was about to say, “It’s nothing serious, no strings attached…”
But suddenly—
“Ugh, it’s wet.”
Lily pushed him away, annoyed.
The snow on their clothes had all melted.
Her ears were red, but Lily was good at hiding her feelings.
She acted calm, trying to escape the awkward situation.
She thought,
‘I can’t let things get weird like this…
I’m a divorced woman, he’s a single duke, and I’m just living here because I forced my way in.
Not even a tiny mistake is allowed.’
So she forgot the feeling from before and got up.
“I should go back to the mansion and wash up. Unless you mind. If you’re going to complain about water being precious, I’ll just go to bed.”
“Go ahead, wash all day if you want. I’ll even sprinkle gold in the water for you.”
Blake, not knowing the real reason, felt strangely empty and let out a small laugh.
It was time to go back to Winter Castle.
After that night, Lily and Blake became quietly closer.
Blake didn’t ignore Lily anymore. He would at least say hello when he saw her.
Their promise to ignore each other for a year was long forgotten.
But the bigger change was…
“It’s breakfast time, Mr. Blake.”
“I’ll eat while working in my office.”
“No, you can’t. The maids already set out two servings. Chef Alex even found some frozen lamb.”
Lily had pulled Blake to eat in the dining room.
The staff at Winter Castle knew the master eating alone wasn’t their fault,
but after the old duke was poisoned, they understood why Blake kept his distance.
“Master!”
The staff were even happier that Lily brought Blake out.
‘When was the last time our master smiled for real? She really is a sweet lady.’
Today, breakfast was lively as always.
They still served strong drinks for fun and spoiled Lily.
“Please try some more of this.”
“These blueberries were secretly brought from the village below the mountain. I won them in five games of poker! The gardener begged me for them, even lay on the ground, but I protected them. Why? For Lady Lily!”
A maid lifted her fork like a hero.
“For Miss Lily!”
“Can I have my fork back? I need it for the fish next…”
Lily couldn’t laugh loudly because of manners, but her face turned red.
“Thanks to you all, I’m really happy.”
“We’ll make you even happier at the festival.”
Lily’s smile faded.
Lately, the maids kept telling her to join the festival.
“We even made a dress for you! It’s not full of buttons and lace like the city ones, but it’s pretty.”
“Sorry. If I meet too many people, my husband might hear about it…”
“Don’t you trust our axes? The best defense is a good offense! We’ll just chop off that guy’s neck! Then you won’t have to hide!”
Lily met Blake’s eyes across the table.
He made a face like he’d never had such violent thoughts and pointed at the maids like they were crazy.
“See? That’s why they call us barbarians. Don’t you agree, miss?”
Blake and Lily acted as if nothing had happened between them.
“Uh, well…”
Lily stopped talking.
People here call each other ‘barbarians’ as a joke,
but if a city noble like Lily says it, it means something else.
Lily just gave a graceful smile, and the maids hit Blake on the head.
“Don’t bother our Lady Lily!”
“You crazy maids!”
While they argued, another maid spoke to Lily.
“From tomorrow, there’ll be more people at Winter Castle. The festival guests are starting to arrive.”
All the guests are local, so the maid didn’t look worried.
‘A festival…’
Lily quietly ate her salad, deep in thought.
She’d already heard about the event from the assistant, but didn’t really want to go.
‘I’m curious about their festival, but is it worth the risk to show my face?’
She remembered parties in the capital. She was always at the center, but it was never as bright as it seemed.
Before marriage, her parents controlled her. If she made a small mistake, she was punished at home.
After marriage, only the person in charge changed—her husband—but she still couldn’t go anywhere she wanted.
‘Remembering the past makes me tired. Maybe I’ll just go see the horses. When will Coco have her foal?’
These days, both Lily and Blake were interested in the horses.
Blake didn’t like that Lily cared so much, but from the way the horse Dominic acted, Lily seemed like the real owner.
“What?”
After breakfast, Blake was about to go to the stables, then realized Lily was heading the same way.
“Where are you going?”
“For a walk. Ladies like to stroll gracefully around the house.”
“It’s a problem if we’re going the same way.”
“I want to see Coco too.”
“I knew it.”
Lily and Blake left the castle, chatting peacefully.
But then—
A boy wearing a brown cap was coming up the mountain path.
“Master!”
Lily had never seen this boy at Winter Castle.
He was almost an adult, and looked very confident.
He ran up and hugged Blake without even looking at Lily.
“I’m finally here, my respected master!”
The boy was about as tall as Lily and had lots of freckles and red hair.
Lily was curious, since there were only adults around here.
But Blake’s face turned stiff.
“Sebastian, the festival isn’t for a while. Why are you here so early?”
He looked really annoyed.
Sebastian was a boy who followed Blake everywhere.
“I came early to see you, master! You haven’t changed at all in a year—still so grand!”
Sebastian was the son of a woodcutter at Winter Castle.
He grew up worshipping Blake since he could walk,
but after his father retired, he could only visit once a year,
since he worked outside getting food.
Sebastian finally looked at Lily.
‘I heard from Mr. Billy that a noblewoman was living here… but to see a real platinum-blonde Imperial beside my master? I can’t believe it!’
In Sebastian’s mind, Blake was always the lone wolf.
How could a city girl take his place while he was gone?
Jealousy burned inside him.
“Hello, madam noble.”
Sebastian took off his cap and nodded carelessly.
“Can you call me by my name? My name is—”
Lily tried to greet him kindly.
But Sebastian acted like he didn’t hear and brushed past her, even bumping her shoulder on purpose.
At social events in the city, many nobles bumped into Lily on purpose.
She never fought back. Instead, she’d go limp and fall gently,
so she’d look pitiful and the other person would get embarrassed and leave.
“Ow.”
Without meaning to, Lily’s body remembered and she fell on the cold snow.
She blinked in surprise.
‘There’s no need for this here…’
Sebastian’s glare was sharp, but Lily was much older and thought this was just childish.
She tried to stand up quickly.
But suddenly—
“Damn it!”
Blake’s huge figure rushed toward her.
“Are you okay?”
