🔊 TTS Settings
The next morning.
The sound of galloping hooves echoed in Marie’s ears. She was on her way to Cliff Castle in a carriage.
Sitting across from her, Mildred hesitated before speaking.
“Miss… do you really plan to hire me as your secretary? I can read, but I’ve never had a proper education.”
“That’s fine. You’ll learn step by step from now on.”
“But…”
“You’ll do great. The fact that you can read without formal schooling is impressive. You must have worked hard in secret.”
At the unexpected compliment, Mildred’s cheeks flushed red.
“You’ve changed so much, Miss…”
“Yes, I have,” Marie said with an awkward laugh, which gave Mildred a strange feeling.
Nobody had ever stood up for her in her entire life.
Even when her mother was dying, there had been no help.
‘After Father passed, it was nothing but hardship…’
Her mother, once a baron’s mistress, had been thrown out of their residence the moment the baron died.
Mildred, having to care for her frail mother, hadn’t been able to learn any useful skills.
They drifted into the Whitehouse territory in desperation.
It was Count Henry Whitehouse who took them in, even paying three years’ wages in advance for her mother’s treatment.
Thanks to him, her mother’s final moments weren’t too painful.
‘I was always grateful to the Count, but honestly, I hated Lady Marianne…’
Back then, the lady always had messy hair, staring blankly in her room alone all day.
‘Or she’d suddenly throw hysterics at the kind Count or the servants.’
It made sense that a giant like Dwayne stood guard at her door day and night.
If someone like her roamed around freely, it would bring shame to the House of Whitehouse.
But now—
“Mildred is my person! Even if you’re a Duke, you can’t punish someone who belongs to me!”
For someone so frail-looking to stand up and protect her…
‘I never thought she’d risk herself for me.’
She felt a lump in her throat and bit her lip to hold back tears.
‘But what if starting a business just leaves her drowning in more debt?’
As far as Mildred knew, Marie had no training in interior design, nor had she been properly educated.
Someone who had always stayed inside suddenly starting a business just wasn’t realistic.
‘What if she gets scammed by contractors? If a noble lady goes through all that for nothing, it’ll be terrible… No. I need to keep my head straight.’
With conflicted feelings, Mildred expressed her gratitude.
“Lady Marianne, I’ll do my best… I’ll try not to be a burden.”
“Thanks, Mildred.”
“But… isn’t it rude of the Duke of Bloodstone to ‘test’ your abilities like this?”
“No, it’s a chance to make a deal. I should be grateful.”
“Grateful? To that terrifying Duke in Cliff Castle…?”
Marie looked intrigued.
“Terrifying?”
“Yes. That black mask alone is scary enough to make your legs tremble.”
“Really? Doesn’t bother me.”
Marie smiled faintly and looked out the window.
“We should be arriving soon, right?”
They had been traveling north for over two hours and had just entered the Bloodstone territory.
Outside, they saw villagers working in the fields.
They all looked surprisingly healthy and happy.
Not the image you’d expect of people suffering under a “terrifying destroyer.”
They looked even healthier and wealthier than those in other lands.
“…The villagers look well off,” Marie commented.
“Yes, surprisingly so.”
Clatter.
Neigh!
“Goodness!”
The carriage suddenly jolted to the side.
“Ahh!”
Mildred, caught off guard, tumbled off her seat.
Screech.
The carriage stopped abruptly. Mildred scrambled back into her seat.
“Miss! Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, Mildred.”
It seemed one of the wheels had gotten stuck in a ditch.
Dwayne, the coachman, got down to check. One wheel was deeply embedded.
“Miss… one moment…”
“Sure, Dwayne. Take your time.”
Just then—
“Are you alright?!”
A farmer came running from a distance. He looked older but strong and healthy.
“Let me help!”
“Thank… you.”
Dwayne didn’t refuse the help. Marie and Mildred got out to watch the two men work.
“Heave-ho! Heave-ho!”
Clunk, clunk, creak.
With both men pushing—and Dwayne being exceptionally strong—the carriage was lifted without much trouble.
Neigh!
With a loud cry from the horse, the wheel came free from the ditch.
“Got it!”
As the carriage was moved back to the road, the farmer asked,
“Where are you headed?”
Mildred handed him some fruit in thanks.
“To Cliff Castle.”
“Oh! Y-you’re going to see our Lord! Then I—I’ll be on my way…”
His face tightened with anxiety. He clearly feared the Duke.
“Wait!”
Marie, halfway back into the carriage, called him back out of curiosity.
“Yes, miss? What is it?”
“…What kind of person is the Duke of Bloodstone?”
“Ah… well, he doesn’t really talk to people like us… I’m not sure.”
He glanced around nervously, afraid someone might have heard.
Clearly, even the villagers were frightened of the so-called “Destroyer of Cliff Castle.”
“I see. Then, is it good living here in this territory?”
“Oh, that—”
Suddenly his expression brightened.
“It’s a great place to live. The Duke is wealthy, so taxes are low. Market prices are fair. Even in winter, we never run out of food. We never go hungry.”
He explained that after moving here from another region, his family no longer suffered from hunger.
“Really? But if the Duke rules harshly, life wouldn’t be easy even with full stomachs.”
Marie gently probed further.
“Oh? Not at all. The Lord doesn’t even pay us much attention, let alone punish us.”
“…I see.”
The carriage resumed its smooth motion.
‘Isn’t that actually a great lord?’
No excessive taxes. No oppression.
The villagers’ healthy appearance said it all.
‘But still… they fear him. Even though he treats them well. Why…?’
“Ah!”
Marie gasped, eyes wide. Her breath caught.
Far in the distance, she saw the ruins of the original Bloodstone Castle.
“So that’s the burned castle. It’s completely collapsed.”
“Looks like it…”
It must have been several times the size of Whitehouse.
Once majestic, now reduced to skeletal remains.
It had been left abandoned after the fire.
Crumbled walls lay like old ruins across green grass.
Charred pillars and burned wooden beams remained.
She could almost see white smoke and ash still rising from the ruins.
It even smelled faintly of fire.
Despite the sunny day, the area around it looked as if shrouded in a dark cloud.
As if a ghost might appear at any moment.
‘Why haven’t they torn it down? That fire must’ve happened ages ago.’
The surrounding garden, once splendid, was now dead and unmanaged.
Trees withered. The fountain dried up. Birds hovered, thirsty.
“…”
They passed a cracked statue that looked ready to collapse and approached the cliffside.
“Miss, look there!”
Marie was shocked again.
Past the ruins and up the hill stood Cliff Castle.
A dark crimson stone fortress loomed over the landscape.
It sat on the cliff edge, made from massive, rough stones.
It wasn’t huge—five stories tall—but perched on the cliff, it looked enormous.
Even the cliff itself had windows, suggesting there were cave-like rooms below the surface.
‘That’s Cliff Castle…’
The man she was about to meet suddenly came to mind.
The so-called “Destroyer of Bloodstone.”
Rumors said anything in his hands would be ruined—like the ruins they had just passed.
Maybe his fearsome reputation came from the castle’s terrifying appearance.
‘But he gave me a chance.’
Even if it was just a test, to her, it meant everything.
He didn’t mock her for being bankrupt. He didn’t pity her either.
‘No need to be afraid. He’s not going to kill me… right?’
Mildred interrupted her thoughts.
“How can a noble’s castle look so creepy? It’s like something out of a ghost story. I wonder if the interior is at least properly decorated.”
“…Who knows? Can’t judge by the exterior. We’ll have to see the inside.”
Mildred looked terrified—probably still shaken by the earlier ruins.
“Aren’t you scared, Miss? What if the Duke destroys Whitehouse while we’re working here? What if he plans to burn it like that ruined castle?”
Her face was deadly
serious.
Marie couldn’t help feeling a bit anxious, too.
“…No way. He wouldn’t.”
“No, Miss! You can’t trust just anyone. Don’t forget—this is the man who murdered his own parents and servants.”
“……”
The carriage jolted again as the tension thickened.
