🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 11
“Yaaawn.”
At last, peace had returned after a long time.
El had been confined to her room for a week. Well, “confined” was just a word. The noble mansion was built in such a way that there were rooms within rooms, so she never once felt truly locked in.
If confinement was meant to be punishment, shouldn’t they at least have blocked that huge window and terrace?
During that time, El leisurely drank tea with way too much sugar, and although clumsy, she slowly read books.
Receiving such a punishment almost felt embarrassing. If this was punishment, she could endure it for a lifetime.
No—this wasn’t punishment, it was a reward.
Her private tutor had been replaced quickly. The new tutor was cheerful and bright. Naturally, there were no beatings, either.
“……”
Everything was so satisfactory that it was almost frightening.
Not figuratively—El was truly afraid.
Afraid of herself, who had grown used to choosing whichever dessert she liked, adding firewood to the fireplace whenever it grew the slightest bit chilly, and adapting to the coziness of soft sheets.
Most of all, she feared that she was gradually getting used to the presence of Karon Feyros, the infamous duke.
“El. What are you thinking about?”
Karon, who as always visited El’s room, occupied a chair, and read the newspaper, suddenly asked.
“…That I’m scared.”
“Of what?”
“Happiness. The comfort I’m growing used to.”
Yes, this kind of familiarity.
El was the sort of person who found it terribly awkward to reveal her true feelings to anyone.
She had grown used to being called sly, even ruthless. In other words, she carried all the marks of someone who had never been loved.
Yet before even a single season had passed, she was growing used to Karon Feyros—a nobleman infamous throughout the empire and second only to the emperor in power.
He was like a cat, always claiming a space and spending time there at ease.
“I see. If something frightens you, I thought I should eliminate it right away.”
“Please don’t take it away.”
Karon Feyros was strangely gentle—at least, only toward El.
Through overheard conversations with the maids, El had pieced together a few facts.
First, the duke had never brought a woman into the mansion.
He had personally rejected every marriage proposal that came his way and had lived alone until now.
And the first woman he had brought in… was El.
“Your Grace.”
“What is it?”
“Why did you bring me here?”
“Well. I’m not sure telling you now would be helpful.”
At her question, Karon gave a vague answer. Then he approached El, crouched down, and met her eyes at the same level.
“Do you find this mansion uncomfortable?”
“Not at all! It’s just… I was only wondering why you would take in someone like me, who can’t even read….”
“El.”
“……”
“You remember the promises I made you, don’t you?”
“Yes. I remember.”
She would never forget—that he promised not to hurt her, not to cause her suffering.
Karon slowly took her fingertips into his own. As though he feared that the slightest pressure would shatter her hand.
“Can you make me a promise too?”
“Of course. I’ll give you all my loyalty, Your Grace.”
Warm food, a soft bed. Care, comfort, attention.
And those gentle eyes that always met hers.
All of these—Karon was the first person to give them to El.
“Even if everyone points their swords at me, you must stay by my side.”
“…Pardon?”
“I can give you everything you desire. Just promise me you won’t leave this mansion.”
Strange.
For someone so infamous and powerful, such a request was absurdly trivial.
But suddenly, El realized—Karon never specified whether “everyone pointing their swords” referred to him, or to her.
He always spoke casually, but never without meaning.
Surely, there was a reason he left it unsaid. Most likely, what he truly meant was that El herself would be the one targeted by those swords.
After gathering her thoughts, El quietly knelt before Karon.
He frowned and tried to lift her up, but El was resolute.
Kneeling before him, she gently took his hand and pressed her round forehead against the back of it.
“You saved my life, Your Grace. A life cheaper than an arrow.”
“That’s not true.”
Karon softly interrupted, but El truly believed it.
The arrow he had used to kill the stray dog—an arrow clearly of high craftsmanship—was worth more than the lives of several paupers combined.
No noble would waste an expensive arrow or raise their sword for the sake of a commoner.
But Karon did. He had spent it to save her, and had given her food and shelter besides.
“That day, you delivered me. To me, Your Grace is… something beyond words. So I will give you my loyalty forever.”
“El.”
Her eyes, lifted toward him, carried a devotion that bordered on worship.
Karon’s expression stiffened slightly at the sight.
“I will never leave you. Even if you were to commit treason.”
“El. I am not the great man you imagine me to be.”
Her attitude was so absolute that Karon could only answer defensively.
“That’s how I see you. It’s not as if I don’t know of your infamy, Your Grace.”
On the contrary—she knew it all too well.
To the empire, he was a hunting hound grown too large. To the people, he was the symbol of war.
Fear and suspicion had eventually branded him with the name “devil.”
But to El, that didn’t matter.
Holding his hand to her brow, her manner was reverent.
“……”
“I won’t leave. Whether the rumors are true or false.”
“El.”
“Until you cast me out, I’ll remain in this mansion.”
“See that you keep that promise.”
At last, Karon let out a faint laugh and quietly stroked her hair. Her now-silky black strands slipped gently between his pale fingers.
As time passed, El slowly adapted to life in the mansion.
Every day she studied etiquette and culture, and even history.
“My lady is a genius! A true genius! The kind that appears once in a hundred years!”
“The empire hasn’t even lasted a hundred years. Be careful that word doesn’t get out.”
The new tutor praised El’s brilliance even before Karon.
He dismissed it lightly in front of the tutor, but even Karon himself was quietly astonished at El’s natural talent.
Of course, El knew none of this. She simply thought of herself as average, perhaps even a little below average.
“My lady!”
“This is really hot. You endure this to pour tea?”
“Of course. They say that’s elegance.”
She learned the angle of her arm when pouring, the exact time to steep the leaves.
After class, El would always visit where the maids worked, offering them fine desserts while asking them to teach her how to serve tea properly.
After all, who could pour tea better than those who served daily?
At first, the maids were uncomfortable with her presence. But by now, they welcomed her visits with delight.
“Oh, my lady! You’re so lovely.”
“Your younger brother just came of age, didn’t he? Please give this to him as a gift.”
It also helped that El’s hands were always full of generous gifts.
Most of all, she always approached them with humility, sincerely eager to learn. And whenever she did learn something, she would bow deeply and thank them.
“My lady, why do you work so hard? You’re the duke’s honored guest—you don’t need to do all this.”
“That’s exactly why I must give my best. I must repay the duke’s kindness, so I do what I ought to.”
Her answer was always the same.
She believed this was the only way she could repay the duke who had taken her in.
And more than she expected, Karon gave El a great deal of his attention.
Every day after his work was done, he sought her out to dine together and share tea.
To El, those moments were like a dream, a blissful fantasy.
“Your Grace. How is it?”
“…It’s good.”
That pause seemed a little too long.
El pressed her lips together and glanced at Karon, who looked as though he were forcing himself, before taking a sip from her own cup.
“Did I accidentally make medicine instead of tea?”
“It might be even more bitter than medicine.”
“Your Grace!”
El raised her voice slightly, cheeks flushed red, and Karon’s eyes curved as he stifled laughter.
“What? It feels like it’ll make me healthier. It’s delicious.”
“Give it to me then!”
“You brewed it for me, didn’t you? I’ll drink it. Thank you.”
And true to his word, Karon drank the entire cup in one go, then quickly popped a candy into his mouth.
A small round candy bulged beneath his cheek. El watched him for a moment, then carefully spoke.
“Your Grace. I’ve… been studying very hard lately.”
As she said it, her eyes remained fixed on his face, almost entranced. The duke was, as always, breathtakingly handsome.
His long, narrow eyes and sharp nose were somewhere between the southern red fox and the northern wolf.
Unconsciously, El glanced at her own reflection in the teacup.
A face marked by a hard life.
Standing beside such a noble man, she thought, she must look like nothing more than a mangy mutt beside a graceful wolf.
(To be continued in the next chapter)
