Chapter 4
With the help of my maid, Asha, I put food on my plate and began eating. The warm soup, chestnut bread, and roasted turkey filled the empty chill in my stomach with comforting heat.
On the way back to my room after the meal—
Asha, who had been supporting me, asked,
“How was your meal, my lady? Did it suit your taste?”
“Hmm? Ah, yes. It was really delicious.”
“Really? I’m glad! Many southern folks don’t like the northern way of seasoning since it’s quite strong.”
Her voice lightened as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Though I had gone two days without food, tonight’s dinner hadn’t strained my stomach.
Perhaps because of my past life, I wasn’t particularly picky about food. My stomach was also strong.
Maybe the memory of eating whatever I could find in the slums has even shaped my sense of taste.
I had always thought not being picky was the best trait to have, but the Duchess constantly found fault with me—even with my eating habits.
“Eat gracefully like your sister, as though you’re pecking at birdseed. Watching you eat makes me lose my appetite.”
Unpleasant memories surfaced, and I quickly shook my head to cast them aside. The Duchess wasn’t here anymore, and this wasn’t the Duke’s estate. I didn’t need to shrink from those thoughts.
Asha looked puzzled.
“My lady? Are you feeling unwell somewhere?”
“No, I just remembered something unpleasant. I’m fine now.”
When I smiled gently, I heard her sigh in relief.
Asha seems like a good person.
Back in my room, I received her help to wash, change clothes, and then sat on the bed.
But going to sleep just like that left me feeling uneasy.
Until now, there had been no time to think because of the whirlwind of events. But after a refreshing wash, the tension eased, and I could finally let my mind wander.
I cleared my throat and gave Asha a signal.
“Hey, Asha.”
“Yes, please speak freely.”
“What kind of person is Lord Russell?”
A cold-blooded man who executed his fiancée, a monstrous Duke with a violent and brutal nature—that was the Russell Glacies I knew.
But recalling the earlier dinner conversation, it was hard to believe he was as savage as the rumors claimed.
He seemed scheming, but not like someone who would behead another simply for offending him.
I knew the truly violent sort well.
The slums, with little sunlight and constant hunger, laid human nature bare.
Husbands who would beat their wives and children half to death when dissatisfied, starving neighbors always watching for a chance to steal bread, loan sharks who ruled over the slums with murderous interest rates—
Compared to them, how did the Duke appear?
“Talk with Asha for now and calm yourself.”
That sounded like lip service, but my instincts—sharpened in the slums—were telling me otherwise.
Processing so much information at once made me dizzy. But one thing was clear: if I was to live well here, I had to know the truth about this Russell Glacies, so different from the rumors.
Asha answered more comfortably than she had in the dining hall.
“Well… I haven’t been working here as long as Sir Frater, so I don’t know everything. But I heard the Duke grew up in the capital with Sir Frater.”
“The capital? Russell… is from there?”
That was news to me.
I had only ever heard grim rumors about him, never looked into his origins.
Of course, I thought going north was the same as dying, so I never bothered.
I clenched my fists tightly on my lap.
“And his family? Which house is he from? ‘Glacies’ is just the northern title, right?”
“Uh… well…”
Asha hesitated this time. Was there something unpleasant about his origins?
“I actually don’t know. Aside from Sir Frater, I doubt anyone could tell you details about his background.”
“Why only Frater?”
“From what I heard… Sir Frater has been serving him since before the Duke came to the north.”
“So they must trust each other deeply.”
Asha giggled softly.
What was so funny?
“Not always. I’ve seen them bicker in the office sometimes.”
“Frater… and Lord Russell?”
That was hard to imagine.
So Frater could get angry. He hadn’t seemed the type at all.
“Yes. In those moments, they don’t seem like lord and servant but more like true friends.”
“I see…”
I thought nothing could surprise me anymore since coming here, but perhaps I was wrong.
I grew quiet in thought until Asha suddenly clapped her hands.
“Come to think of it, aren’t you curious about the Duke’s appearance?”
“Didn’t you already say he was handsome?”
“T-That was because you asked so suddenly! I can describe him more properly.”
“Oh, that’s not necessary.”
“What? But knowing might make it easier for you to picture him.”
Ever since I lost my sight, faces no longer interested me. Peel away the thin skin, and everyone looks the same underneath. What was the point?
I had no desire to judge beauty or ugliness.
“Besides, I’m not exactly pretty myself, so I don’t really care.”
“What? Who told you that nonsense!”
The Duchess and my sister had said so since childhood, always criticizing my manners and looks. But now didn’t seem the right time to mention that.
Feeling embarrassed, I wriggled my toes under the bed and asked,
“Then… how do I look to you?”
“You’re adorable!”
Her answer burst out without hesitation, leaving me flustered.
“You’re petite, with soft pink curls like cotton candy! And your eyes are violet, your face is small and cute… If I were you, I’d probably stare at the mirror all day!”
“R-Really?”
“Of course!”
I had never been confident about my looks, though I did look cuter than in my past life. Still, hearing such compliments for the first time made the corners of my mouth twitch upward against my will.
With a strangely fluttering feeling, as if I were eavesdropping on a secret, I carefully asked,
“Then… what does Lord Russell look like?”
Aside from calling him handsome, Asha seemed to struggle for words. After some silence, she finally spoke.
“Well… first, he’s a head and a half taller than you, with broad shoulders and a strong build. His eyes are a beautiful shade, like the sunset.”
She paused, then added,
“And though he usually wears only black… ah! His natural hair color is blonde, but he dyes it black with magic.”
That startled me.
I had heard northerners all had dark black hair and blue eyes like the night sky. But the northern Duke—blonde, with sunset-colored eyes?
That image was far too different.
Especially since in my past life… I remember that golden eyes were said to belong only to the royal family.
Could Russell be connected to them somehow?
I asked further,
“Do you know why he dyes his hair black and insists on wearing only dark clothes?”
“That… I don’t know. Even if we try to give him bright clothes, he refuses and only wears black.”
Asha sounded troubled. Was it just preference—or something more?
While I was lost in thought, a knock came at the door.
Knock knock.
“Busy, Piana?”
“L-Lord Duke!”
I was just as startled as Asha. I hadn’t sensed his presence at all—yet he was already at my door.
With a sly tone, Russell spoke to Asha.
“I’d like some time alone with my fiancée. Would you mind leaving?”
“O-Of course, excuse me.”
“Good.”
Her footsteps receded, and once the door shut, Russell approached at a leisurely pace.
Tension welled up inside me as I clutched at my front.
“What brings you here so late at night? It’s hardly an hour for conversation.”
“How cold.”
I heard him pull up a chair and sit.
“Don’t we have things to discuss, Piana?”
