HEAD 25

~Chapter 25~

Lily was planning to tease Blake, who was lost in his own thoughts.

She called to him with a bright, classy accent, the kind nobles use.

“Princess.”

“Yeah?”

The moment Blake answered without thinking, Lily couldn’t help but laugh. She clapped her hands.

“Hahaha!”

“…”

“Ahahaha!”

“Stop laughing.”

“Ha… My lungs, my lungs… Ugh, I think my lungs burst. Call a doctor…”

“Just go die. That would be better.”

“Has the gentle man who cared for me like a mother hen disappeared? If I die, please bury me next to him. I should repay that kindness, even after death.”

Lily still couldn’t stop laughing. Even the way she smiled with her eyes was beautiful.

She even patted his shoulder. Blake’s grumpy eyes looked at Lily’s hand.

“You’re the one who started this, calling people weird names. Now even Dominic II doesn’t care when you call his name.”

Blake sounded angrier the more he spoke.

He still remembered how embarrassed he felt when he had to call a young horse “Coco II” because of Lily! She had no idea how awful that was.

Lily pretended to be really sorry and said, “Oh no… I was going to call him Dominic II next week, but I’m a little late.”

“I really hate that noble style of talking around things. I hope you skip your meals for a whole week.”

“No, really! I wrote it down in my notebook. Do you want to see? Oops, I left it in my room.”

A little later, even Blake’s tightly closed lips turned up in a small smile.

“Good grief. What kind of woman are you…?”

Lily’s jokes and word games were getting more frequent and creative every day.

Sometimes, they even annoyed him, but he liked this side of her.

He thought to himself, She probably never acted like this in the capital.

Blake believed Winter Castle was the perfect place for Lily.

Even though it was cold, snowy, and wild all year round…

‘…Wait a minute. Should I install more fireplaces?’

The duchy was really a tough place.

Suddenly, Blake started feeling worried.

He wasn’t sure if Lily really liked it here.

She could never enjoy spring picnics or sunshine. She couldn’t do things nobles in the capital did, like having bazaars to sell old jewelry.

‘And what about Christmas?’

Other nobles would dance all day under chandeliers, but there was nothing like that at Winter Castle.

Blake remembered when some knights once secretly cut down an evergreen tree for Christmas, and named it “Holden.” But when Blake found out, he burned it in the fireplace.

“From today, his name is Holden!”
“Hoooolden!!”

What does Winter Castle have that Lily Hedwick could possibly like? Blake thought.

He quickly became doubtful again.

‘I really do need more fireplaces. Maybe one—or even two—in every room… Or maybe use magic heating stones on the whole wall…’

He had changed a lot. The old Blake never thought there was anything wrong with Winter Castle.

The Uffus family always liked tough places.

To them, being strong meant being fierce too.

Ever since this land became a duchy, nothing changed for the Uffus family.

Blake and his workers never minded living high in the snowy mountains. In fact, they loved the freedom.

When they went hunting or fighting with swords and crossbows, it made them feel alive.

That was why the duchy’s castle was here. They were rich because of the magic stones buried in the land, but still lived in this wild place.

But now, Blake was a completely different man.

‘I should also build better roads. If Lily really starts living here, we can even call in merchants. It’s hard to bring them from the capital, but if I pay enough, anything’s possible…’

He was basically planning to spend years’ worth of the estate’s money.

But he was serious.

He thought, If I’m going to cause trouble for Lily, this is the least I can do for her.

Just then, the noisy sound from the dining hall seemed to fade, and a familiar voice came into his mind.

“Hey. Guess what I brought you.”

It was another childhood memory.

Little Blake was sitting in a gloomy carriage, handing a small bag to an even younger Lily.

“What is it? Is it another jumping frog?”

“Ever since you cried, I don’t give you those anymore, silly!”

Inside the bag were some dried jerky pieces—the same kind they still made at Winter Castle when it snowed hard.

“And some candy and other stuff…”

Back then, Blake just wanted to give Lily everything he could.

“Good grief.”

When the memory ended, Blake chuckled to himself.

‘By the way, where were we going so confidently in that carriage? My diary says we just sneaked out at parties sometimes, but was that really possible?’

Just then, Lily spoke and pulled him from his thoughts.

“Beautiful princess, what are you thinking about now?”

“I’m not falling for that again, so stop calling me princess.”

Blake flicked Lily on the forehead.

Then he dropped his hand near his pants as if nothing happened.

“…”

“Oh.”

Lily held her forehead. Her eyes went wide.

Blake had never hit her before.

He’d tossed her over his shoulder like luggage, but never used any real force.

Blake realized it too.

He had just treated Lily the way he treated everyone at Winter Castle, but now he realized—‘I must really feel close to Lily Hedwick to do that…’

Even the mood in the banquet hall changed.

Everyone was staring.

From the scar-faced older woman to the young man in a bear skin coat, they all watched.

“The master hit Miss Lily.”

They all saw everything.

“The master hit Miss Lily.”

“He’s worse than an orc, hitting Miss Lily.”

“This is crazy, how could he?”

As they whispered, the rumors got wilder.

“He hit her forehead!”

“With his fingers! He did something terrible and low to Miss Lily!”

“What? Is she going to have a scar forever?”

“I heard she fainted and needs a doctor!”

“My righteous axe is thirsty for blood again.”

“It’s war!”

Lily couldn’t believe her eyes as some people pulled out weapons from under their heavy coats.

Had they expected something like this?

No, but where did that one woman hide a huge hammer in her clothes?

Blake was swept away from Lily by the crowd.

When the surprise faded, Lily smiled.

Her ex-husband used to beat her whenever he got drunk. Compared to that, Blake’s little flick was nothing—just a joke, really.

But now everyone was acting like war had started, and Lily thought the people of Winter Castle were kind of cute.

But I can’t laugh, Lily thought. Blake would get sulky for sure.

She was sure he’d go back to being scary if she laughed, so she held it in.

“…”

But Blake, sharper than any ghost, noticed her holding back a smile.

Even while dodging weapons, he could see everything.

He saw Lily use her small hands to cover her face, trying not to show her expression.

Then, as she hid her face and her shoulders shook, he saw her holding back laughter.

“Just wait and see if I let this go,” Blake muttered darkly.

He picked up the closest attacker by the armor on their shoulder and tossed them back.

He quickly took care of a second attacker and shouted with irritation:

“What the hell! What is this chaos, you idiots?!”

“No excuses, just die!”

The last day of the banquet ended in a very friendly way.

On a sunny, breezy afternoon…

There was a beautiful mansion in the capital of the empire.

A round garden blended with nature, elegant white stairs, and even the doors were built with careful, geometric beauty.

“Get out, right now!”

There was trouble at the main gate.

“What does a wild kid like you know about Lady Fox?!”

A huge knight threatened and pushed someone back.

“Argh!”

The person who fell was Sebastian.

He was almost an adult, but still growing, so he hit the ground hard.

Sebastian looked terrible.

His clothes were torn as if they’d gotten caught on tree branches.

He had clearly struggled on his journey from Winter Castle to the capital.