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Chapter 20
“So, did you find what you were looking for?”
“Oh, right!”
Diana had originally planned to explore the castle, get used to the layout, and look for what she needed—but getting trapped in the tower had made her forget all about it.
“I’ll think about it a little more…”
Her expression made it obvious what she was thinking, and Erno couldn’t help but let out a short laugh. His deep voice hummed lightly as he nodded.
“Do as you wish, Bi.”
Fenril Castle, built with stones from the mountains of Islant, wasn’t flashy—it felt more majestic than luxurious.
The way the buildings leaned on each other, having withstood long years and harsh winters, made them look like a mountain range built by human hands.
Diana looked around the stone buildings with awe. Then her eyes widened when something caught her attention.
“Erno, what’s that building over there?”
Though it had the same gray color as the rest, this building was shorter and had a slightly different look. Squinting her eyes, Diana realized it was more like a storage building than a regular house.
Erno followed her gaze. His sharp eyes narrowed.
He stared quietly at the gray building with a cold and gloomy look.
It seemed today was a day for revisiting his childhood memories—especially the worst ones he had buried deep inside.
“Can we take a quick look? Oh, if you’re busy, I can go alone.”
Up close, the building turned out to be a huge greenhouse, with glass walls on all sides.
“I didn’t know Norbert had a place like this…”
Diana let out one admiring sigh after another.
A greenhouse big enough to hold an entire garden was something only the wealthy could afford—a true luxury.
But the inside was in ruins. The beautiful exterior didn’t match the disaster inside.
When Diana looked at him with questioning eyes, Erno simply shrugged.
“It used to belong to the Fenril duchesses, passed down through the generations.”
This wreck did? Diana’s eyes narrowed with suspicion.
The glass, which should’ve sparkled and welcomed visitors with a bright shine, was shattered and broken. Most pieces were missing, and the few that remained were covered in dust and frost so thick they looked like stone tiles instead of glass.
The once-beautiful marble fountain, where clean water used to endlessly bubble, now had red stains from rusty water leaking from a broken pump.
The drain area was even worse. Dried algae and sticky, unknown slime were the only signs that water had ever flowed here.
The flowerbeds had long been overtaken by weeds, and the chairs and tables that should’ve been neatly placed under flowering trees were now scattered and overturned on the ground.
“What happened here…?”
Erno didn’t answer.
His eyes weren’t looking at the ruined greenhouse anymore. They were staring into the distant past.
Once, this greenhouse had been the pride of Fenril Castle.
On the other side of a single pane of glass, it was spring—even while endless winter raged outside. The fountain had sparkled with clear water, and the wet marble had gleamed brighter than jewels.
He had loved this place. It had been full of things he loved. Surrounded by people he loved—and who loved him back—young Erno had laughed like a child king who had everything in the world.
But now, only he and Veronica remembered those days.
Erno quietly looked up at the tree that had withered into black.
Once a year, it used to bloom with white flowers like snow, and its sweet scent had filled even the shadows. But now it was dried up, blackened, and hideous.
“It’s completely dead now.”
Diana had come up beside him without him noticing. She frowned sadly and bit her lip.
This tree must have been deeply cherished once.
She could tell just by how Erno looked at it.
“If you want, we can cut it down and plant a new one.”
But just as she was about to ask what had happened, Erno suddenly turned away with a cold face, as if cutting off all emotion. His voice sounded like he was trying to tear away the memories and regrets still tied to the tree.
It’s just a dead tree.
Erno clenched his teeth, then closed and opened his eyes. Whether the tree was cut down, uprooted, or even burned didn’t matter anymore. Honestly, if someone destroyed it for him, he’d probably be relieved.
Diana looked between Erno’s back as he walked away and the tree left behind.
Orders given with that kind of cold face usually came with regret and self-blame a few days later. She didn’t know what had happened, but she knew for sure: cutting that tree down was the wrong choice.
“Erno. I… have something I’d like to ask for as a reward.”
Or maybe it was something she’d just now decided.
At her sudden words, Erno stopped walking and turned back.
Standing next to the dead tree, with her pale face and long white hair fluttering in the wind, Diana looked like a forest spirit haunting a cursed tree.
“I want this greenhouse.”
When Erno’s expression twisted in shock, Diana stood firm and lifted her chin with all the strength she could muster.
He stared at her as if she weren’t his bride but some chaotic creature that had crawled out of the fountain.
He had no idea what this woman was thinking—though to be fair, there were plenty of times he hadn’t been able to guess before either.
She was constantly unpredictable. Expectations were often wrong, and surprises were normal with her. One more strange request didn’t make a difference anymore.
Now that he thought about it, she really was different from all the brides who had left him in the past.
He had to admit at least that much.
So Erno gave a small nod without hesitation.
“Do whatever you want. Burn it down, tear it apart—whatever you wish, Bi.”
“Really?”
“I’ll be going now. I’m busy—thanks to someone.”
He threw in a cold, sarcastic jab and walked away from the greenhouse without looking back.
“…Ah.”
Just as he was about to leave through the creaking door, he stopped, like he’d just remembered something.
“What exactly are you planning to do?”
His sharp gaze scanned Diana up and down. It wasn’t a question—it was more like suspicion, as if he was trying to confirm what crazy idea she was hiding.
He already assumed she’d do something wild with the greenhouse.
This foreign bride who had called the cold, proud North beautiful blinked slowly and answered. Her tone was so calm it was almost confused, like she didn’t understand why he was asking.
“Of course, I’m going to restore it to how it used to be. Or maybe… bring it back to life is a better way to put it.”
Erno didn’t laugh at her plan, but he didn’t agree with it either.
He just said, “Sure,” and gave a slow nod.
“Do as you wish, Bi.”
This time, he left without a single glance back.
Like a wolf returning to its den after patrolling its territory, his steps looked calm—but to Diana, it felt more like someone escaping an uncomfortable place.
“…My greenhouse, huh.”
My greenhouse. Mine. My own space. A place just for me.
Was there anything more exciting than that?
The words rolled on her tongue like a candy made of sugar and honey—so sweet.
If someone had told her a month ago that she’d come to the North, become a duchess, and own a glass greenhouse just for herself—would she have believed it?
Diana touched her cheek, feeling something strange. Her fingers found the corners of her mouth lifted high up.
She remembered reading an old newspaper as a child, one that featured glass greenhouses. The paper had been crumpled and barely readable, but she had stared at those illustrations until the thin page almost tore—dreaming of having one of her own.
Now, though it looked more like an abandoned graveyard than anything else, she would bring this place back to life. Into the dream she always had.
Marble fountains with elegant statues, rare flowers imported from faraway lands that needed special care, and peaceful, joyful moments spent inside… Just imagining it made her heart flutter.
But there were many obstacles ahead.
One step at a time, she told herself.
“When spring comes, flowers will bloom here again. I’ll make sure of it.”
“I’ll help you bloom again,” she whispered gently, touching the thin, bare branches of the withered tree.
