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Chapter 26
“I’ll have the exact schedule delivered to you by a servant tomorrow.”
“Alright, thank you, Kilian.”
“Then I’ll take my leave.”
After a brief bow, Kilian closed the door and stepped out.
The moment Lithricia disappeared from his view, Kilian’s expression changed. The faint warmth that had lingered on his face vanished, replaced by a cold, icy look.
“Mark.”
“Yes, my lord.”
Mark, who had been waiting in the hallway since being kicked out of the room earlier, followed behind Kilian.
‘He’s doing it again.’
Mark wasn’t particularly perceptive—outside of battle, anyway. Pell even joked that Mark was more bear than man.
But lately, even someone as oblivious as Mark had noticed that Kilian had been acting strange.
Kilian was usually calm and rational, like a still lake—but not when it came to Lithricia.
This was another example.
What on earth happened inside that room to make him come out looking like a storm cloud after just a few minutes?
“Mark, what would you do in this situation?”
“Pardon? What situation, sir?”
“If you were terminally ill… could you accept it as if it were nothing?”
“……?”
It was a strange question, but Mark answered sincerely.
“I don’t think I could accept it. Dying in battle is a knight’s duty, but dying from illness? That would be unfair. I’d do everything I could to survive.”
Then, worried he might come across as cowardly and unreliable, he added a quiet explanation.
“I couldn’t give up on protecting my lord just because I lost to some illness.”
“Unfair, huh. Yeah, that’s how most people would feel. But not everyone’s like that.”
Kilian pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose.
That twisted feeling returned.
He was determined to cure Lithricia’s illness in this lifetime, no matter what.
But that didn’t stop him from being irritated by her seeming lack of desire to live.
Suddenly, a wave of anxiety swept over him.
Even if her body was healed… would Lithricia want to live?
“I suppose I need to give her more things to hold on to. Mark, go find anything that might help her learn braille.”
“Understood. Actually, I heard there’s a librarian near the square who’s well-versed in braille. I could—”
“Wait. That librarian—isn’t he a man?”
“Yes? He is, but he’s already over seventy.”
“No need. I’ve already found a teacher.”
“Already, sir?”
Blind people were often treated as lowly, and so very few even knew how to read braille.
The North was no different.
So the fact that he’d already found a teacher was surprising.
“Forgive me for asking, my lord, but who did you choose? To my knowledge, no one in the North can read braille.”
“I can.”
“Excuse me?”
“I’ll teach her.”
✦ ✦ ✦
“My lady, it’s Mark Davis.”
“Yes, come in.”
Lithricia, who had spent the night at the Grand Duke’s estate, was sitting by a sunlit window when she let Mark in.
“Was your room comfortable?”
“Completely. But why are you here?”
“My lord instructed me to escort you. He says everything is ready regarding what you expressed interest in learning yesterday.”
“Really? I didn’t expect it to be ready so quickly. Where should I go?”
“To the library. Please follow me.”
Lithricia threw a shawl over her shoulders and followed Mark.
“Um… Sir Davis?”
“Please, feel free to call me Mark.”
“Alright, Mark. I have a small request. Could you not call me ‘my lady’?”
“Does the title bother you?”
“Yes, a bit. It feels awkward… Haha. Please just call me by my name. It’s more comfortable.”
Pell had done the same when they first met in the townhouse. So did Mark.
But Lithricia still wasn’t used to being addressed so formally.
“Understood, Miss Lithricia. I’ll also tell the others to be mindful of that.”
“Thank you. By the way, Mark—have you seen the teacher who’ll be instructing me in braille?”
“Ah… yes, I have.”
“Really? What are they like? I hope they’re not too strict.”
She remembered the governess from her childhood, who taught etiquette while holding a bundle of switches in her hand. Lithricia rubbed her forearm at the memory.
She could still feel the sting of being hit just for misquoting a line from an etiquette book.
“I don’t think they’ll be strict with you, Miss Lithricia.”
“That’s a relief.”
But he’s totally going to be strict… Mark scratched the side of his head awkwardly with his thick fingers.
When they reached the arched door with a wolf-head handle, Mark stepped aside.
“We’ve arrived. Please go on in.”
Creeeak.
The heavy door groaned open. Lithricia took a deep breath and stepped inside.
Mark had said the teacher wouldn’t be strict, but the brutal etiquette lessons of her childhood still made her tense.
“What’s got you so nervous? Do I look like I’m going to eat you or something?”
“Eek!”
A deep voice suddenly came from above, making Lithricia let out a bizarre yelp.
Followed by an unprompted hiccup.
“You startled—hic! You startled me!”
“Huh. Didn’t know my wife was this jumpy.”
“I’ll have to be more careful from now on,” Kilian muttered to himself as he called for a servant to bring warm water.
“Try sipping it slowly. It should help.”
He placed the cup directly into Lithricia’s hands and guided her to a desk that had already been prepared.
Gulp, gulp. She drank with impressive focus.
Kilian perched on the edge of the desk and gently played with her hair.
“Did you sleep well?”
“Yes. It was—hic!—great.”
“Any discomfort?”
Lithricia nodded while taking more sips to suppress the hiccups.
“That’s good.”
“Th-thank—hic!”
Beating her chest in frustration, Lithricia forced herself to speak.
“By the way, where is the teacher who’ll be instructing me? Are they late?”
He’d said preparations were complete, but there was no one else in the library except Kilian.
“They’re already here.”
“Huh? But you’re the only one here.”
Trying to stop her hiccups, Lithricia held her breath.
“Don’t tell me… the teacher is you?”
“Why not? It is me.”
“Aren’t you busy? Why are you doing this yourself? Just ask someone else. You don’t need to make time for this.”
“I’d love to, but unfortunately, there’s no one else in the North who can read braille.”
Without batting an eye, Kilian lied and brushed aside the empty cup she’d set down. Then he opened a book.
“I’ll teach you one letter each day at this time. You’ll probably learn it all in about a year.”
“What? One letter a day for a year?”
Lithricia gaped at the absurd timeline. Her hiccups disappeared instantly, as if they were never there.
“Kilian, that’s way too long. Can’t you teach me more than one letter a day?”
“Unfortunately, I can’t. As you said, I’m quite busy. The only time I can spare is just enough to teach one word per day.”
[“Blatant lie.”]
“……?”
A faint blue smoke began to rise but was quickly swatted away by Kilian’s rough hand.
‘What was that? I thought I saw some blue smoke just now?’
Maybe it was a hallucination. Lithricia muttered to herself and clutched the book Kilian had opened.
“Then could I just borrow the book? I’m a quick learner. If you let me borrow it, I’ll study on my own.”
“That’s not possible either. This book is very precious to me—I can’t lend it out to anyone.”
With a straight face, Kilian acted like the book Mark had fetched was the most treasured thing in the world.
“Hm. But if you help me dry my hair again, like yesterday, maybe I’ll teach you more letters.”
“You just said you could only spare time for one word…”
“Oh? Did I say that? Well, things change.”
Having never been one for empty words, Kilian slyly twisted his previous statement.
Yet, he didn’t come across as unserious. Just… a little annoying.
“Ugh, fine. And here—this is for you, Kilian. I’ve been receiving so much lately—lessons, gifts—it’s starting to feel a bit shameful.”
Lithricia placed an emerald brooch on the book. Kilian’s eyebrows shot up.
“Isn’t this Patrick Godwin’s? Why are you giving it to me?”
“I originally brought it to help with my engagement cancellation, but I don’t need it anymore. And I thought it would be more useful to you.”
Thanks to Kilian’s public declaration of engagement, she no longer needed to confront the Godwin Duke to break things off with Patrick—the engagement was practically dissolved already.
But it would be a different story for Kilian. The North had no trade with the capital and had to be completely self-sufficient.
That’s why Kilian was constantly at war—he had no choice but to secure what the North couldn’t produce on its own.
“Peter Godwin is handling the spice trade operations right now. Unlike the Duke, he’s interested in more than just spices.”
Lithricia pulled a small slip of paper from her sleeve.
She’d written it last night, right before falling asleep.
“This contains a list of the trading companies Peter Godwin has started to acquire. Some of them are in regions bordering the North.”
“Go on.”
Kilian seemed to be listening closely, and that made Lithricia’s cheeks turn a soft pink.
It was the first time someone had truly paid attention to her voice.
“If you use this brooch wisely, you might be able to negotiate trade deals with his businesses.”
