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~Chapter 1~
“Your Majesty, there’s a woman outside using noble speech. She says she must see you and keeps knocking.”
“That’s impossible,”
the man answered in a low, annoyed voice.
The castle stood deep within a mountain range, surrounded by frozen, snowy peaks.
Inside, the castle was gloomy and dark.
Anyone wanting to visit had to plan at least a month ahead and prepare carefully.
Even then, half the guests used to freeze to death before reaching the castle.
“There was no appointment.”
“I thought so too… But she clearly said your name. She came to see Duke Blake Uffus.”
Blake checked the small calendar on his mahogany desk again. He wasn’t expecting any visitors.
“I’ll go out myself.”
Finally, he stood up from his office. He was much taller than average and walked down the empty hallway.
It was a dark night.
His sharp jaw and the veins on his neck showed clearly in the mirror that covered an entire wall.
His skin was naturally dark, making him look even more rugged, but people still avoided Blake.
Blake Uffus was the descendant of barbarians.
His whole duchy used to be the kingdom of barbarians.
So, hardly anyone ever visited the Uffus Duchy.
‘What kind of crazy noble would come all the way here? More likely it’s a ghost.’
He grumbled to himself and finally reached the big front door. Even after crossing the huge castle, he wasn’t out of breath at all.
With his thick hand, he passed by the servants and opened the door himself.
The metal handle, frozen from the cold, made a fierce noise.
And beyond the door, on the snowy field at night…
“…Who are you?”
Blake had to admit there really was a woman standing outside.
On this high, snowy mountain, a woman was standing with a lantern.
Her hair was platinum blonde, almost white, but he couldn’t see much of it under her thick fur hat.
Half her small face was covered with a scarf.
The visible part of her eyes was blue, and she didn’t seem scared or bothered by Blake at all.
Her eyes looked like the color of waves on a deserted island. It didn’t fit this snowy mountain at all. It was funny.
‘But why does she seem so familiar?’
For some reason, he felt like he knew her.
It made no sense—a noble lady acting all high and mighty shouldn’t be familiar to a barbarian like him.
“What do you want?” Blake asked bluntly.
“I came here for some business.”
Her accent was clearly that of the upper class.
She seemed to be raised with the best education, completely opposite from Blake’s wild and rough ways.
There shouldn’t be any connection between them.
Yet… Blake felt that everything about this woman was oddly familiar.
Who was she?
“…Well, no one would knock on a stranger’s castle door for nothing. Especially not after crossing snowy mountains.”
The woman must have known this place was always winter. She was wearing layers and layers of skirts…
Blake pointed out in a not-so-kind tone,
“Those clothes aren’t good for climbing snowy mountains. After you got out of the carriage, you’d have to hike for at least thirty more minutes. How long did it take you?”
The woman sighed.
“It really was like that. My feet kept getting stuck in this damn skirt because it froze. Even with magic help, it took me two hours.”
As she lowered her scarf, her face was revealed.
Anyone who saw her once would never forget. She was beautiful.
She had the platinum hair and blue eyes everyone envied, a gentle face, and small, delicate features.
Blake frowned, like he was trying to remember something.
“What’s your name?”
“Lily Hedwick.”
Lily was famous.
She was the flower of high society.
Men would gladly give up an arm just to date her, people used to say.
‘If someone this famous was close to me, I would remember, wouldn’t I?’
That’s what Blake thought.
“Have we met somewhere before?”
“I’m not sure if you remember. It was five years ago, at the charity party Lady Rose Jeffrey held for war orphans. We were both there, so maybe we met then.”
No, the reason Blake felt so familiar with her couldn’t be just because of that small event.
Maybe… much longer ago…
“Other than that?”
“Nothing…?”
Lily Hedwick tilted her head, with snow blowing behind her.
To Lily, Blake was just a stranger.
“Anyway, at that party, your father spilled wine on my dress.”
“That must have drawn a lot of attention.”
Of course, people would have talked—some “barbarian” embarrassing a beautiful noblewoman.
The other nobles probably spoke up loudly to defend her.
“My father apologized, right?”
“And then?”
“He made a promise to me. He said, on the family’s name, he would grant me one request, whatever it was.”
Lily remembered five years ago, when a tanned, middle-aged man spilled fifty-year-old wine on her dress and panicked.
She didn’t care that he was a barbarian, unlike the others.
—Please, don’t worry about it.
Because she acted like it was nothing, Blake’s father warmed up to her.
He was totally different from his fierce son Blake. He laughed loudly and shouted,
—How can you be so kind! I can’t just let it go. On my family’s honor, I’ll grant you any one wish. We may have no honor, but we have money! Just say the word!
And now, five years later, Lily had come to claim that promise.
“You were there too, Blake. Please keep your family’s promise and let me stay here. I would be grateful if I could stay for a long time.”
Blake felt a headache.
She did seem weirdly familiar, but… he really didn’t know her.
He replied, still gruff,
“No. I refuse.”
“Even if you didn’t make the promise, your father did—on your family’s name. It’s not even a hard request, so you should grant it, right?”
He suddenly wanted to make this shameless lady understand what she was really asking.
He was the only family member left, except for the servants.
“This is a castle ruled by one strong man. Letting a stranger lady stay here would just make people talk. They already call me a dangerous barbarian—now there’d be more rumors. Actually, you should worry more about your own honor.”
Blake had always been treated like trash by the empire.
But Lily Hedwick was the flower of society.
If his knowledge of society was correct, she was a noble lady.
“Don’t worry about that,” Lily said, taking off her seal fur gloves.
Her left hand turned red from the cold, making her pale skin stand out.
“…What are you doing?”
“Look at my ring finger—see the mark from my wedding ring? I got married last year. I’m not a young lady anymore. Didn’t know? You’re slow with your information.”
“Are you arguing about being called a ‘lady’? I’m only worried about your honor.”
Of course, his voice didn’t sound worried—it sounded sarcastic.
He noticed Lily was freezing outside, but…
“Don’t worry about my honor. I’m divorced. In fact, I just left the divorce papers and ran away. Honor is not more important than my life. I need a very quiet place where my ex-husband can’t find me.”
Blake’s snowy castle was the perfect place for Lily’s situation.
He barely interacted with the outside world. As long as his servants kept quiet, she could hide for at least a year.
Now, Blake understood why she had come here.
“…Ha.”
Anyway, he had to give in this time.
His father had left the family promise and went peacefully to his grave, huh?
“Fine.”
“Oh!”
“Come inside. But if you complain about how harsh this castle is, don’t blame me. Here, survival rules matter more than manners—it’s always winter.”
Lily smiled, grateful for his kindness.
“If you need help, give me some work to do. I’d like that. I’m sure I can be useful.”
Blake stepped aside and Lily hurried in.
Even though she was bundled up in winter clothes, she looked so much smaller than him.
“Wait,”
He saw Lily was limping a bit.
She stared at him as if asking what was wrong.
Her feet must have been so frozen she could barely walk, but she didn’t ask for help.
This annoyed Blake for some reason.
‘Why doesn’t she say anything if she’s hurting? Does she think I wouldn’t help? Am I that heartless?’
He was irritated, and a bit playful. Without warning, he picked Lily up like a sack of potatoes.
“…!”
It was strange to feel this way about a woman he just met.
It felt like he’d known her forever.
“First, you need to soak in hot water. If you don’t want to lose your legs to frostbite tomorrow.”
“Oh, a bath. Not a bad idea.”
Even though she dangled in the air like a leaf on a tree, Lily just laughed softly, completely calm.
Blake wondered what it would take to actually surprise her.
Anyway, he carried her through the halls with no effort at all.
“Sir, um, what is this…?”
The servants stared as he walked into the bathroom with a tub.
“Prepare a bath. I’ll wash this lady myself.”
He still sounded annoyed and teasing.
