🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 17
Eloise let out a sigh as she was being examined by her attending physician. The deeper her sigh, the louder the ticking of the clock in the room became. The endless examination had worn her down. To shake off her boredom, Eloise turned her gaze toward the window.
‘It must already be spring.’
Just like the hands of a clock racing toward the afternoon, the winter scenery she had first seen upon arriving at Reston Manor had begun to change. The once-frozen northern garden, hardened by the biting winter cold, was now tinged with green. Tiny buds peeked from the bare branches, as if preparing to dress themselves.
‘The weather’s definitely warmed up a lot.’
Twenty minutes passed as she blankly stared at the garden outside. Even the ticking clock in the room and the view beyond the window began to bore her.
“Ha… When will this be over?”
Eloise’s impatient words went unnoticed as the physician continued the examination.
“I was supposed to head to the training grounds this morning, but I’m running late.”
At her insistence, the doctor’s eyes flickered, and his voice rose sharply.
“You’re going to the training grounds? Surely, you’re not going to train, are you? Rest! You need rest!”
“I’ve fully recovered by now. It’s been two months since I was kidnapped.”
Glancing outside again in her anxiousness, the sun had already climbed high into the sky. Morning had long passed.
“I only lost consciousness. As you know, I wasn’t seriously injured. Everyone said I’d mostly recovered by now.”
The reason the examination took so long was mostly because of Hanson McFlynn, a faint-hearted physician from the southern region.
“Still, your strength has weakened while lying down, so you must be careful!”
Despite Eloise’s reassurances, Hanson stubbornly persisted. As he stood his ground, the cold-faced Duke flashed through his mind.
‘And that’s not all! Is this northern region full of monsters or what?’
The memory of the bizarre maid throwing magical beasts into the garden for training still lingered in his mind. Every time she appeared, pointing her sword at him, threatening that he’d be in trouble if he didn’t examine properly—it terrified him.
“If you go to the training grounds and get worse… then that maid will…!”
Hanson kept repeating to himself that coming to the North was a mistake.
‘It has to be Riena!’
Eloise flinched at the predictably obvious figure. Now that she had returned to her position as the commander, why was she still wearing a maid’s uniform? It only caused strange misunderstandings.
“Well…”
Eloise hesitated to tell Hanson that the sword-wielding maid was the commander.
‘If I tell him, won’t he get even more scared?’
Ultimately, she pretended not to notice and urged Hanson again.
“I need to leave quickly.”
Hanson pushed aside the image of the monstrous maid filling his mind.
“Then I’ll conclude today’s examination. I’ll explain the medication for the young lady.”
“Yes.”
At Hanson’s words, the maid Bella, who had been standing behind Eloise, stepped forward. Seeing her large frame and expressionless face, characteristic of northerners, Hanson trembled again as if he were terrified. Eloise sighed at the sight.
“Ha…”
Bella, her new maid, and the faint-hearted doctor Hanson were not the only changes. Many new people had filled the manor, while several long-time staff had left—or perhaps been dismissed. When Eloise inquired about their sudden disappearance, Riena had smiled brightly and said:
‘I got rid of those who couldn’t figure out their roles.’
Feeling that further questioning might lead to unnecessary complications before the “story” truly began, Eloise merely nodded.
“Take this herbal medicine, boil it in water, and then drink it.”
With her expression still almost unchanged, Bella replied succinctly.
“Yes.”
Hanson, glancing at Bella repeatedly, stammered out a question.
“D-Do you have… any questions?”
“I was briefed in detail last time, so I understand.”
“Yes! I told you then! I must’ve forgotten!”
He nodded exaggeratedly, bouncing slightly, then abruptly stood up.
“Uh… I’ll be off then! The medicine bottle…”
Hanson, fumbling even for the medical tools at his feet, hurried out of the room. In his haste, the door swung open and shut shakily. Bella sighed, closed the door properly, and approached Eloise.
“I’ll help you get ready for the training grounds.”
“What about the snack I mentioned yesterday?”
“It’s here. I prepared something you can comfortably eat at the training grounds.”
Eloise glanced in the direction Bella indicated. A snack basket was placed on the side table, with the medicine bottle lying on the floor beneath it.
“Oh? The medicine bottle’s here.”
“You didn’t have time to grab it. I’ll bring it for you shortly.”
Bella bent slightly to place the medicine bottle on the side table, a faint hint of embarrassment crossing her face.
“Quite the unique person, aren’t you?”
Her calm and composed observation, carefully worded, made Eloise smile slightly.
“Do people from the South usually express their emotions so openly? Whether excited or frightened, they’re quite loud.”
Eloise thought back to the people from her orphanage in the southern town. Compared to the quiet northerners, southern people were talkative and lively, so it was natural for Hanson to be startled. But Hanson was far from typical southern temperament. If anything…
“Could it also be because of age? There’s quite a difference, right? Compared to Bella, he’s much younger…”
“….”
At the mention of age, Bella froze. Her expression, usually so unchanging, darkened sharply.
“Y-You said he was a little younger…”
Realizing she misspoke, Eloise quickly corrected herself.
“I’m thirty-one years old, and he is forty.”
“Ah…”
Eloise’s pupils seemed to lose focus for a moment.
‘A little younger! I shouldn’t have said that! No, I shouldn’t have brought up age at all.’
As her mind raced, the atmosphere in the room deteriorated. Desperately, Eloise tried to change the subject.
“Oh! Maybe it’s just that northern culture is difficult!”
“True, the North and South are very different.”
Bella muttered, seemingly appeased, and nodded. Eloise let out a sigh of relief.
“It must be tough to adapt at first.”
“Perhaps…”
A hint of concern seeped through Bella’s cold facade. Sensing the warmth beneath her icy exterior, Eloise smiled.
“Don’t worry, you’ll get used to the North soon. I adapted quickly too.”
Eloise’s words made Bella widen her eyes.
“Even you were awkward at first, like our physician?”
“Yes, at first. But now I’m fine.”
While answering Bella, a certain concern lingered in Eloise’s mind, though she smiled to hide it.
“I’ve heard that even on your first day, you were composed.”
“Who said that?”
Composed… remembering that day, Eloise shook her head. Bella’s raised voice affirmed it was no lie.
“My grandfather said that you were a confident and strong person capable of leading northerners!”
Confident and strong? Eloise froze at the discrepancy between that description and her memory of herself.
“Who’s your grandfather?”
For once showing excitement, Bella proudly exclaimed:
“The butler of the Reston family!”
‘No… I was trembling so much that I couldn’t do anything.’
Feeling flustered, Eloise lowered her head. She knew well how she had appeared upon first arriving at Reston Manor.
‘Could the butler have lied for me?’
Still, they had hardly spoken face-to-face.
“Well…!”
“Yes?”
Eloise opened her mouth to deny it but stopped. She didn’t want to shatter Bella’s gaze.
“It’s nothing, I’m going!”
Hastily changing the subject, Eloise grabbed the snack basket and left the room.
“Miss!”
Bella’s voice called out, but Eloise ignored it and exited the manor. She ran straight to the training grounds, where she spotted Kylian training with the other knights.
“Kylian!”
“You’re here?”
Waving her hand above her head, Eloise smiled, and Kylian approached, holding a wooden practice sword.
“Is the sword training hard?”
Receiving a sandwich from her, Kylian smiled, saying it was fine. The shadow of past pain on his face seemed to lift.
“It’s fine, not too hard. And I should walk too.”
Kylian repeated his resolve. Despite all the changes, the greatest transformation was in Kylian himself.
