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Chapter : 16
Tris glanced back at her and said,
“Why are you being so creepy?”
“Oh, honestly. Would it kill you to speak a little more nicely?”
Idella grumbled, but she continued clinging to Tris almost as if hanging onto him. Duke Aike had said this to her before.
<If you tell Tris and that brat comes to argue with me, I’ll strip your brother of his right to succession and throw him out of the territory.>
He meant it. Duke Aike was more than capable of doing so. His obsession with power knew no bounds. She couldn’t tell Tris. She couldn’t bear the thought of Tris being ruined too.
“What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
Sensing something strange, Tris asked. Idella quickly slapped his back playfully and said,
“What could possibly be wrong? I just feel sorry for my brother, stuck in Dello Castle.”
“That guy…”
Tris snorted with a laugh, hugged the Idella who kept clinging to him tightly, then shoved her away, calling her disgusting. It was exactly like him.
A new morning dawned, and while breakfast was underway, someone arrived at Dello Castle. It was Peta.
“Peta!”
Tris greeted him warmly. Peta smiled and returned the greeting.
“You’ve been doing well, right?”
“Of course. As you can see. Did you come to take Idella back?”
“Yeah. The roads are dangerous, after all. So I came to escort her.”
“Have you eaten breakfast?”
“My stomach’s stuck to my back.”
“Hahaha. Come on over. Runi baked some really good bread.”
Peta smiled and sat at the table. But Idella turned away from him with a cold expression. As Tris poured ginger tea for Peta, he said,
“Idella.”
It was a prompt to greet him. Idella tilted her head slightly and said,
“Hello, Peta.”
The smile disappeared from Peta’s face. Idella knew too—why he had come. He was here under Duke Aike’s orders to confirm whether she had kept her promise or not. Judging by Tris’s reaction, it was clear he knew nothing.
Tris frowned as he looked at Idella. No matter that Peta was a knight of the territory—he was also a noble and his friend. Rudeness was unacceptable. Just as Tris was about to speak, Peta hurriedly stopped him.
“No, it’s fine. Don’t. Of course she’d feel upset. She has to return to the main castle soon.”
“Even so. You’ll see each other again soon.”
Idella shot Peta a sideways glare. There would be no “next time.” Duke Aike would send her back to the Lorem territory before Tris found out. She wasn’t oblivious. Once she returned to the main castle, she would never see Tris again.
Hmph! Idella turned her gaze to her plate. She tore the bread, soaked it in soup, and forced it into her mouth. She almost wished she’d feel sick—then she could use it as an excuse to burst into tears.
After breakfast ended, Tris took Peta into the study. At Dello Castle, Tris was the one in charge. Leaning against the desk with his arms crossed, he asked,
“Nothing unusual at the main castle?”
Peta replied,
“What could be unusual? Other than people complaining that they’ve never seen a winter with this much snow.”
“What about Aden and Tommy?”
“Same as ever. Still, Aden’s been working hard since you’re not there.”
“He’s more suited to be lord than I am.”
“That’s nonsense.”
“It’s not nonsense—I’m serious. Anyway, this winter has been especially snowy. The work’s slowing way down.”
“Then it’ll take a while to return to the main castle?”
“Probably.”
“Still, I noticed on the way here that the walls are incredibly solid. Even an avalanche wouldn’t budge them.”
“That’s the goal. We’re almost done, but the snow keeps getting in the way.”
They continued chatting casually. Where Idella usually talked about village gossip, Peta mainly spoke about the main castle. It was good he’d prepared in advance, knowing Tris would be curious. Still, his chest ached faintly. Hiding Idella’s situation wasn’t easy for him either.
Peta absentmindedly rubbed his chest before remembering something.
“Oh, right.”
He pulled out a piece of parchment folded several times from his coat.
“What’s that?”
“It’s a secret. I pulled it out after Duke Aike threw it into the fireplace.”
“Really?”
Tris reached out and took the parchment. Just as Peta said, it was half singed. Tris unfolded it and read. It was still legible enough—and his eyes widened as soon as he finished. It was a letter from Queen Meryl.
<There is a proposal I wish to make to you. If you become Emblin’s husband, I will grant you Wintergarden’s… However, there is a condition. You must respect and serve Emblin. You must devote yourself to her. Emblin is not being given to you as a wife so that you may… If you so much as touch a single fingertip, I will curse you…>
Tris scowled and crumpled the parchment.
Utter nonsense. Now he understood why they called her Mad Queen Meryl. From what was visible, it seemed she would give him something if he married Emblin—but demanded that he expect nothing as a husband. Not only that, she ordered him to worship and serve her.
“What is it? What does it say?” Peta asked.
Duke Aike had reacted the same way upon reading it. Tris replied,
“Crazy nonsense.”
He’d never received such an insulting letter. No matter how mad Meryl was, he had no intention of understanding her.
Tris flung the crumpled parchment into the fireplace. Whoosh. The letter turned into a handful of ash. Isolated for too long, Meryl had forgotten how to make a proper proposal. Her intentions vanished into the flames.
“You’re not leaving right away, are you?”
“The sun’s still far from setting. Since I’m here, I might as well rest a bit.”
“Haha. Then want to go to the village? I built a new warehouse.”
“Really? Let’s go.”
As they left the study and put on their cloaks, Peta felt a sharp sting in his back. It was Idella. She was looking at him with endlessly sorrowful eyes.
Gulp. His mouth went dry on its own. How much would Tris resent him when he found out… But Duke Aike’s anger was far more frightening.
Peta lowered his head and followed Tris with heavy steps. Tris excitedly bragged about the new warehouse, but none of it reached Peta’s ears. Idella’s sad gaze refused to leave his mind.
What should I do…?
No matter how much he thought about it, there was no solution. Peta’s steps grew heavier and heavier.
At last, it was time to return to the main castle. Tris personally inspected the carriage Idella would ride in. After checking it carefully, he opened the carriage door and said,
“Well then. Let’s meet again soon.”
“Okay, brother.”
Idella took his hand and was about to climb in when Tris suddenly grabbed her.
“Idella.”
“Huh?”
He gently stroked her face. She was already on the verge of tears.
“Don’t make that face. You look really ugly.”
“Tch.”
“I’ll come back as soon as I can.”
Her face crumpled. She’d been desperately holding back tears, but Tris’s gentle words made everything collapse. Hot tears fell drop by drop.
“Oh dear. Why are you acting like such a child?”
“Brother… you know…”
Peta quickly interrupted.
“If we don’t leave now, it’ll get dark on the way.”
Tris looked up at the sky. Peta was right. Winter darkness was far too dangerous. No matter how many torches were lit, danger lurked everywhere.
Tris hugged Idella tightly and said,
“Don’t cry. Go.”
“Okay.”
After hugging her several times, he helped her into the carriage. Mounting his horse, Peta said,
“You really need to come back quickly. Don’t get too comfortable in a place like this.”
“Haha. Got it, got it.”
“I’m serious. The Duchess misses you a lot too, so hurry back.”
Tris snorted. What nonsense. He knew full well how distant Duchess Marie was toward him. Tris had never felt a mother’s warm embrace in his twenty years of life. He’d been the heir from the moment he was born, raised by wet nurses. Perhaps because of that, he was especially cold toward his parents.
Tris said,
“Travel safely.”
“Don’t worry.”
The carriage began to move. Clatter, clatter. Once it was far from Dello Castle, Idella finally began to cry out loud. Runi hugged her and cried with her. Peta felt miserable as well. He almost wished an avalanche would block the road—then they’d have an excuse to stay longer.
But even the weather didn’t help. The sky was clear, and the wind was calm. Haah… It couldn’t be helped. Maybe this was fate.
Clatter, clatter. The carriage wheels etched tracks into the white snow.
Tris frowned and turned back. He’d been happy to see Idella after so long, yet his chest felt tight. It was strange. Why did he feel this way? Idella had been as cheerful and chatty as ever. And yet, something felt off.
But he couldn’t dwell on it. Someone came running in urgently.
“Sir Tris! Sir Tris!”
Tris snapped his head up.
“It’s terrible! Thompson slipped while working and fell down the mountainside—!”
Tris immediately started running. They had been felling massive trees to trim branches for avalanche prevention. Though the ground around Dello Castle was rocky, beyond it stretched a dense forest of towering trees reaching toward the sky. The timber used for the castle walls was processed there.
But the area was full of sheer cliffs. With snow on the ground, safety lines had been set along the edges. Even so, an accident had happened—likely from stepping on hidden ice and slipping.
