Chapter 54
Suspicious Kassel (2)
He seated her on the lowest step, draped his coat over her shoulders, and only then did Kassel finally calm down.
“I’m sorry. I got too carried away.”
“No, it’s fine. You were only worried about me. Like you said, I could have slipped.”
Riena replied as if nothing had happened. Yet, for some reason, she couldn’t shake off a lingering unease.
It was because of something Kassel had once said that suddenly came to mind.
〈There is a forest to the west of the capital. At the entrance of that forest, there is a bell tower… I would ask that you never go there.〉
That was what Kassel had told her on the very first day she arrived at the Winkler estate. At the time, she had thought it somewhat cryptic, but after today’s incident, it felt even more suspicious.
“Could it be that someone fell to their death there?”
If that were the case, his overreaction might make sense.
“Is this place on the west side of the capital?”
“No, it’s the south. But it’s connected to the western forest.”
“I see.”
So at least this wasn’t the bell tower Kassel had warned her about.
And yet, he still overreacted.
She wanted to ask him why he had said such a thing that day, but seeing how unsettled he still looked, she couldn’t bring herself to. She was afraid to provoke him again after he had just barely calmed down.
In the end, Riena talked only of matters entirely unrelated to towers, hunting grounds, or the western forest. Thanks to that, Kassel gradually seemed to settle down.
His breathing returned to normal, and his expression regained its composure, as if he had never been shaken.
Seeing Kassel calmly listening to her with his eyes fixed on her face, Riena too was finally able to relax.
When the rain stopped, they rode back together to the estate.
“I had no idea it would rain so suddenly! I was so worried something might have happened to you or His Grace! But thank goodness you didn’t get too soaked!”
“Yes. Luckily we were near the hunting ground entrance. We waited it out in the watchtower.”
“That’s a relief. Still, you’d best wash up right away and rest with a warm cup of tea, just in case.”
As Amy hurried off to draw warm bathwater, Riena stopped her.
“Wait, Amy.”
“Yes, my lady?”
“I heard there’s a bell tower in the western forest.”
“That’s right! It’s not used normally, but they ring its bell every year during the Founding Festival. But… why do you ask about the bell tower all of a sudden?”
“Has there ever been an accident there?”
Amy tilted her head at the odd question.
“An accident? What kind of accident?”
“Like… someone falling, for example.”
Amy shook her head.
“Not that I know of.”
“Then… has anyone close to His Grace ever died in an accident?”
Now Amy looked genuinely perplexed.
“No. His family members all passed away due to illness. If I had to mention someone…”
Amy trailed off, but Riena understood. She must mean Count Dyke, Kassel’s mentor, who had died in a riding accident.
“That was a fall from a horse, yes, but not the same as falling from a great height, was it?”
Besides, if Kassel truly associated Dyke’s death with falling, he probably wouldn’t have enjoyed horseback riding with her in the first place.
“But why ask about that so suddenly? Did something happen, my lady?”
“No, nothing happened.”
“Shall I look into it for you if you’d like?”
“No, that’s not necessary. Just… forget I asked.”
It was another puzzling request, but Amy simply nodded without protest.
“Yes, my lady.”
Riena glanced out the window where rain had begun to fall again and thought to herself:
“Some people are just unusually sensitive about safety.”
Even she herself would surely panic and stop Aaron or Noah if they leaned too far out of a high tower window just to look down.
Still, there was something curious about Kassel’s very specific warning about the western bell tower. And yet, thinking about it, it wasn’t something that couldn’t be said, either.
So Riena decided to let the matter drop.
The Founding Festival was just around the corner. The entire capital was in a festive uproar.
The maids were so excited that even Riena, who mostly stayed inside the estate, could feel the energy of the festival.
“Amy, don’t you want to go see the festival?”
Amy, who was brushing Riena’s hair, let out a deep sigh.
“I’d need someone to go with.”
“Why not just go with the other girls?”
“They’re all going with their sweethearts. Since you can’t take much leave during the Founding Festival, everyone goes with the one person they really want to.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. So I’m left out.”
Was she really?
Riena thought of Ryan, who had seemed strangely cheerful the past few days. When she asked him if something good had happened, he replied, “I don’t know yet if something good will happen or not.”
Riena quietly suspected he might be planning to ask Amy out for the festival.
“Ryan and Amy would actually suit each other quite well.”
Both of them were so kind and gentle, almost unbelievably so. She hoped they would each find someone good, and not end up hurt by people who treated them harshly.
“Of course, it’s not my place to interfere.”
Riena believed it was best not to meddle in others’ romances. That was something for the people involved to work out themselves. A careless intervention could make things worse—forcing two people together when one of them wasn’t interested, for example.
Still, after spending time around them both, Riena had noticed something unexpected.
She already knew Ryan liked Amy. That much was obvious. But after observing carefully these past few days, she realized Amy didn’t exactly dislike him either.
In fact… quite the opposite.
“Maybe they actually like each other.”
Riena decided to test the waters.
“Come to think of it, Ryan also said he wants to see the festival but has no one to go with.”
“Ryan oppa did?”
“Yes. If you’re looking for someone to go with, what about him?”
Instantly, Amy’s face turned the color of her name—bright red like a carrot. She fanned herself furiously and turned her head away.
“Oh, my lady! How could I possibly go with Ryan oppa? What would we even do at the festival together? We’d just fight!”
“Really?”
“Yes! He’d only keep teasing me, calling me ‘Carrot’ the whole time.”
“Still, he seems to care for you quite a bit.”
“R-really?”
Now even her ears flushed red. With her vivid hair, it was hard to tell where the hair ended and the blush began.
“Maybe I should stop teasing her now.”
Instead of pushing further, Riena changed the subject.
“I do want to see the festival myself, though.”
Amy’s eyes lit up.
“Then shall I accompany you? Well, technically I’d be attending as your attendant, but I think it would be fun to go together. If we ask His Grace, he’ll assign knights to escort us too. Maybe even my brother will come along.”
“Wait—your brother?”
“Yes!”
Come to think of it, Amy’s older brother worked as a knight for the Winkler family, but Riena had never met him. Sorry as she was for Ryan, she thought this might be a good opportunity to get acquainted with Amy’s brother. And perhaps, if possible, the four of them could even go together.
“I hate to admit it, but my brother Max is really skilled.”
“Is he?”
“Yes. He even spars with His Grace sometimes. Of course, His Grace holds back, but still—very few can exchange more than ten moves with him.”
“You must be very proud of him.”
“Of course! Max oppa is a real oddity in the Carrot family. Our parents still can’t believe a knight came out of our house.”
Amy grinned as she offered, “Since we’re talking about him, want to go meet him? He should be at the training grounds right now.”
“Shall we?”
Since Amy and Sandra were family, Riena definitely wanted to meet him at least once.
Following Amy, she headed to the training grounds, a little apart from the main building, where many knights were training.
“There he is!”
Amy pointed toward a group of knights. Among them, Riena immediately spotted Max Carrot—he had the same vivid red hair as Amy.
“Oppa! Max oppa!”
Max, who had been talking with his comrades, turned and waved.
“Amy! What brings you here?”
He ran over quickly and tugged at her nose.
“Missed me, did you?”
“No, I didn’t!” Amy protested nasally, her nose pinched.
Riena laughed at Max’s hearty chuckle and studied him carefully.
He resembled Amy not only in hair color but in other features too—the same green eyes, the same friendly gaze, even the freckles across the bridge of his nose.
And, like Amy, he radiated warmth and kindness. Appearances could be deceiving, but he seemed like someone Riena could trust enough to accompany her into town.
“If not because you missed me, then why’d you come?”
“Well…”
Amy pointed behind her. Max, still smiling, looked past her and noticed Riena. His smile vanished, and after thinking for a moment, he bowed.
“My lady.”
Immediately, the surrounding knights began to murmur.
“What? My lady?”
“The lord’s lady?”
In an instant, the three of them were surrounded by curious knights.
