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~Chapter 11~
Lily and the assistant, Il, walked down the snowy road outside the winter castle, chatting away.
And watching them from a distance—was Blake.
“……”
Behind his calm expression, his eyes burned sharply.
He rested his chin on his large hand, clearly displeased, his lips twisting into a crooked line.
He wouldn’t admit it, but he was definitely jealous.
Lily Hedwick, you shouldn’t be like that. Laughing with another man in front of me? Unbelievable.
That thought led to another question.
Wait. Why?
Well… because…
—Because you made a promise.
It wasn’t his own voice answering.
A young Blake appeared in his memory, pouting.
—She promised me.
She said she’d marry me. We even hooked our pinkies and sang a song.
Before he could ask more, the image of his younger self faded like mist, leaving only the shocked man behind.
‘What?’
Was that a dream—or the truth?
He couldn’t even tell anymore.
Meanwhile, Lily and Il kept walking together, smiling under the snowy mountain sky.
“Mr. Il? What did you just mumble?”
“Nothing.”
Il shrugged instead of saying, ‘The maids will never let you skip the banquet.’ Then he changed the subject.
“Did you know the castle is currently less than one-tenth full? Most of the people are working outside.”
“Oh my, I thought it was just small. So there’s a secret behind that!”
They kept talking as they walked.
About how the castle would get busier as the annual banquet approached.
About how knights rarely stayed inside the castle.
“Why do the knights live down the slope?”
“Because monsters prefer areas with more oxygen. And battles are easier down there. You can use guns there.”
“Guns? I haven’t seen any around here. They’re not allowed in the castle?”
Il, who had been pretending to hold a gun, froze.
He looked startled, as if he’d said something he shouldn’t have.
“Well… as you know, guns are hard to handle. They’re big, they break easily, and they’re still new. Axes are much better.”
“But you said they use them below the mountain.”
“Only in some areas where they can check the guns constantly… Please don’t ask more! I really must go!”
Il ran off down the mountain, leaving Lily behind.
‘Is there a special reason guns aren’t allowed in the castle?’
When Lily returned alone, she spotted Blake near the doorway.
“It’s been a while. A whole hour since you snapped at me in the hall this morning.”
Blake had been frowning every time he ran into her lately.
Lily teased him lightly before getting to the point.
“You’re going out too?”
“…Something like that.”
Even Blake didn’t know why he’d left his office.
Had Lily Hedwick really promised to marry him?
No, that couldn’t be true.
He’d always been treated like a barbarian.
And they barely saw each other as children—maybe only a few times a year.
“When did you promise to marry your husband?” he asked out of nowhere.
“Well, the engagement talks began, and then we married right away, so… not long. Maybe longer than it takes to brew tea.”
“Then you’ve never promised anyone else before?”
“Of course not. Breaking off engagements is terrible for a lady’s reputation.”
“I mean… a childhood promise, perhaps? Just words… Damn it, forget it.”
He sighed in defeat.
The girl in his memory looked no older than five.
Even if it was real, no one would remember something like that.
“You came down here to ask that? That’s the silliest question I’ve heard today.”
“…I came to see a horse about to give birth.”
“Oh! The lovely Coco, right? Let’s go together.”
He had actually said “Dominic,” not “Coco.”
A dozen replies circled in Blake’s mind, but all that came out was—
“If we meet, we should probably just walk past each other.”
He didn’t mean it.
He knew perfectly well he’d come down just to see Lily.
They talked as they walked toward the stable.
“There’s going to be an annual banquet, right?”
“Yes. The one event every year that annoys me. But don’t worry, everyone attending will keep quiet. Your presence won’t leak out.”
At that, Lily thought of her husband.
He was probably sending letters everywhere, embarrassed and desperate to find her.
And yet, he’d never dare send anyone to the duke’s lands.
That was funny to her.
“Thank you for being so considerate. But there’s no need to worry—I’ll just stay quietly in my room during the banquet.”
“You’re not attending?”
Blake remembered the maids struggling to make her a beautiful dress from the dull, thick fabrics of the North.
And part of his heart whispered, ‘I might like to see her in that dress… just once.’
So he said bluntly,
“You’re attending.”
“What?”
“Most of us live our entire lives in the duke’s lands. The guests are all locals. There’s no one to spread gossip. Don’t worry, just come.”
“There’s really no need to—”
“I don’t take opinions from anyone with less authority than me. Let’s go see Dominic.”
He strode ahead, his large frame moving gracefully.
“No one but royalty could ever stop you, huh?” Lily muttered.
She didn’t really mind seeing the banquet, so she sighed softly and said,
“I’ll think about it.”
Soon, their talk returned to the pregnant horse, Dominic.
Lily still believed the name Coco suited her better.
“It’d be lovely if Coco the Second is born before the banquet. I could hold her and show her around—what a memory that’d be!”
“Dominic the Second will be a fierce warhorse. Don’t spoil her.”
“Our parenting philosophies don’t match. Good thing we’re not married.”
Her casual joke made Blake freeze.
“You really think that’s a good thing…?”
Then suddenly—
“Why are guns banned here, Mr. Dictator?”
she asked playfully.
If guns weren’t allowed near the castle, it had to be because of him.
“……”
He froze.
Her tone was joking, but his reaction was terrifying.
It was as if she’d just blamed him for his parents’ deaths.
“Where did you hear that?”
His voice was already deep, but now it was dangerously sharp.
“I feel like you’d kill whoever I name.”
“Il Dexter.”
“Where are you going? No! What if he gets angry at me?”
“It’s fine. The dead don’t speak.”
That wasn’t a joke.
Right then, Blake looked like someone who could freeze the world in an instant.
Lily shrugged as she watched him storm off toward the mountain path Il had taken.
“Oh no, this looks bad.”
In the end, nothing serious happened.
Except for Il Dexter nearly crying, asking Lily why she had said that—
and for Blake avoiding her even more obviously than before.
“Good morning, Mr. Blake.”
“……”
“Fine. Bad morning, Mr. Blake. You tried to sneak out the back, but I caught you. You even knew I’d be near the front gate. How cute.”
But Blake just left without replying.
“I feel like I’ve turned invisible.”
Lily complained to her maid, Giana.
Even her complaint sounded graceful and light, making Giana laugh.
“Master’s acting strange, that’s for sure. But don’t worry, he’ll be back to normal soon.”
“Why is the word ‘gun’ banned in this castle anyway?”
“I don’t know! I didn’t hear anything!”
If even Giana—who’d start a riot for Lily’s sake—was this nervous,
then something was definitely wrong.
Lily’s curiosity grew stronger by the day.
And then one night, she finally found the answer.
“It feels like thunder in the mountains.”
Lily looked out the window into the pitch-black sky.
“A thunderstorm with snow—it’s kind of romantic, isn’t it, Giana? …Giana?”
Her maid, who’d been standing behind her a moment ago, had vanished.
Confused, Lily went down to the first floor.
The servants all looked worried and restless.
“No one can find the master? Didn’t he go to see the horses?”
“There are no footprints leading out the front gate. Soon they’ll be buried completely, but for now, we can still trace them.”
“This looks bad.”
Lily stepped in.
“Did something happen to Mr. Blake?”
“Oh, my goodness—Lady Lily.”
This time, Lily was determined to know the truth.
Her steady gaze made the servants falter until they finally spoke.
“The master lost his father five years ago. You know that, right?”
“Yes. That’s when Blake inherited the title.”
“It was a murder. The killer was never found. After that, the master wandered from battlefield to battlefield—and came back with war neurosis.”
What people now call PTSD was once known as “war neurosis.”
“He can’t stand loud noises. Not anymore.”
Finally, everything made sense to Lily.
“Like thunder… or gunfire!”
“Exactly. Please, don’t tell him you know. He hides it. You know how the capital mocks people like him—saying it’s weakness. We hate those bastards for it.”
Without another word, Lily ran toward the back gate.
She knew one thing for sure—
Blake had been using only the back gate lately, so no one would see him.
