Chapter 65
“I think I might just have the perfect job to recommend to you. If you’re interested, could you make some time later?”
Elaina’s eyes sparkled as she said it.
If no one else had yet realized someone’s true worth, then it was only right to act first — especially if that person was talented.
“Of course.”
Nathan readily nodded and rose from his seat.
“Then, I’ll be off to the academy now. I need to prepare the materials for tomorrow’s experiments.”
Though he said that, what he really meant was that he wanted to give Elaina and Diane some private time to talk freely.
After seeing Nathan off, Elaina and Diane returned to the room. Diane opened the window and waved for a long time, until Nathan’s carriage disappeared from view.
“Do you like him that much?”
At Elaina’s teasing words, Diane flushed and pressed her palms to her cheeks. Still, she shot back a retort without missing a beat.
“You know what I mean, Elaina.”
Elaina tilted her head, puzzled.
“I do? Know what?”
“Oh, come on. I mean His Grace the Grand Duke.”
Diane quickly came to sit beside Elaina, her eyes shining like morning stars. Elaina was so taken aback that she instinctively scooted back in her chair.
“The Grand Duke…? I really don’t know what you mean.”
“Elaina, I’m truly happy. Every morning I wake up praying that this isn’t just a dream — that I really deserve to be this happy. If I feel this way, how much more must you feel? You fell in love at first sight! And now you’re living apart right after the wedding — how lonely that must be for you!”
“I— fell in— what?”
Elaina stammered, blinking rapidly. Diane, however, remained convinced that Elaina and Lyle had fallen for each other from the moment they met at that first ball.
Elaina tried desperately to correct her misunderstanding, but Diane didn’t seem inclined to believe a word she said.
“You’re telling me you didn’t fall in love at first sight, yet you still got married? Why?”
“Well, that’s…”
Elaina trailed off. She couldn’t very well tell Diane that she had married to stop Diane’s own wedding.
Her hesitation only made Diane smile mischievously.
“Even if you’re right about everything else, this time I’m right.”
And she would know better than anyone else — after all, she had spent twenty years surrounded by people who hadn’t given her even the faintest shadow of love.
A dry, desolate life wears down a person. It withers them slowly. But Elaina was different — even dressed in simple indoor clothes, she looked more beautiful than she ever had at a grand ball.
Looking at her, Diane smiled gently.
“You know something, Elaina? Every time you write to me, your letters are filled with news about His Grace and his younger brother.”
“Well, of course! These days, those two take up most of my life.”
“Exactly.”
Diane’s smile deepened. Elaina’s letters were brimming with warmth and affection whenever she mentioned Knox or Lyle. Maybe it wasn’t love, as Elaina insisted — but it was certainly fondness.
Seeing Diane’s knowing expression, Elaina gave up trying to persuade her. Love? Who for whom? It was ridiculous.
“Let’s stop talking about me. Tell me about you instead. How’s life in Hennet?”
She’d already heard bits through letters, but talking face-to-face was different. Diane blushed slightly before answering.
“Our house in Hennet is a modest little mansion. Nowhere near the size of the Grand Duke’s estate, of course, but we live there with five servants and maids. My father gave us a dowry, and we used it to build a home with an attached laboratory.”
She described it fondly — five guest rooms, three rooms for the servants, a cozy parlor, a library, and a master bedroom. As Diane painted the picture of their two-story home, her face glowed with serene happiness.
“When the baby comes, we’re planning to turn one of the guest rooms into a nursery. If our family grows, maybe we’ll even build an annex.”
“Wait— the master bedroom? You didn’t make yourself a separate room? Why not? You could easily afford it.”
“Yes. Even after buying land and building the house, I still have nearly half my dowry left.”
So it wasn’t about money.
“I just… didn’t want a room to myself anymore.”
From her earliest memories to the age of twenty, Diane had lived in a detached annex.
Diane Redwood’s room — a lonely, silent place that no one visited except for a cold nanny or a servant sent by the marquis.
After all that, in her new home, there was no need for a solitary room.
“At first, it felt strange having someone share my bed. But now, I can’t fall asleep if Nathan isn’t beside me.”
At that, Elaina’s lips parted slightly. She understood that feeling all too well.
Ever since Lyle had left for the northern province of Mabel, she hadn’t been sleeping well either. She’d tried using her old room, but it felt too empty — too foreign.
Eventually, she’d written to Lyle asking permission to use his chambers instead.
“There, you see?”
Diane’s cheerful voice startled Elaina out of her thoughts. Seeing her smiling knowingly, Elaina quickly cleared her throat.
“I told you, it’s not like that.”
But Diane clearly didn’t believe her.
✦ ✦ ✦
When Knox returned from the academy, he quickly grew close with their house guests. Warm-hearted Diane and gentle Nathan had a different kind of kindness than his brother or Elaina.
Diane, who had never spent time with a child before, doted on Knox as if she had gained a younger sibling.
After Lyle left for the north, time had seemed to crawl by — but now, with the house lively again, the days flew past. Still, Elaina never forgot to write to Lyle.
She began her letter thanking him for allowing Diane and Nathan to stay at the estate, then quickly filled page after page with cheerful news.
By the third page, she caught herself smiling sheepishly.
“Honestly, I sound like I’m gossiping.”
She wondered if it was strange to tell him every little thing like this. But she soon shook off the thought and continued writing.
“The herbs you sent last time helped Nathan a great deal. He told me something fascinating — he discovered a new medicinal property in one of them, and it might make a fortune. But that’s not even the most exciting part…”
Before she knew it, she had filled yet another page. She ended her letter inviting him to visit Hennet with her once the monster subjugation was over — and then, as always, added a long postscript.
How strange, really.
Just a few months ago, they had barely known each other — and now she had so much to say.
Her conversation with Diane came back to her. Diane had said she couldn’t sleep without Nathan beside her.
Was Lyle like that too?
Did he lie awake, unable to sleep, the way I did?
“I couldn’t sleep that night.”
The memory of Lyle’s voice from the night of the send-off ceremony — when he’d brought her a blanket — echoed in her ears. Flustered, Elaina shook her head quickly. Her heart felt oddly warm and restless.
She slipped the letter into its envelope, sealed it with wax, and pressed the signet down firmly.
It took a week by carriage for mail to reach Mabel. His reply would arrive, at the earliest, in about two weeks.
But contrary to her expectations, no letter came after two weeks — or even after another.
Nearly a month later, a letter finally arrived from Mabel.
Elaina tore it open hastily — and froze.
The handwriting was familiar, but it wasn’t Lyle’s.
It was from Leo.
His urgent words carried grim news:
Lyle and the search party had gone deep into the mountains to investigate something… and they hadn’t returned.
