Chapter 24
A shiny apricot on the outside.
That’s exactly what Winterford Castle was.
I greeted the people standing outside and stepped inside, but words failed me.
Winterford Castle was just a hollow shell. Flashy on the outside, empty inside.
Only now did I understand the sense of awkwardness I had felt when seeing the people who had come to greet the Duke and Duchess. There were far too few of them for such a large castle.
It was impossible that such a small number of staff could maintain and manage this enormous estate. Hiring more servants probably wasn’t feasible either.
The office and the Duke and Duchess’s bedroom, along with spaces for the people accompanying us from the capital, and the reception and dining rooms were decently arranged.
“Decently” meaning it was still worse than the townhouse of Baron Rudd in the capital.
An elderly man, who had probably been managing Winterford Castle for a long time, anxiously guided Kaylen and me around. He worried that the Duke and Duchess might be upset at the castle’s poor condition.
In the dining room, a dinner was laid out for the Duke and Duchess who had traveled a long way.
But the food on the table looked crude.
Greta, the head maid who had come with us to Winterford, grew more and more tense as we toured the castle. By the time she saw the dinner, her fists clenched tightly.
Just as Greta opened her mouth to say something, I stomped over to my seat.
“Ah, I’m hungry.”
I exaggeratedly rubbed my stomach as I stood by my chair. Benjamin, the Winterford steward, rushed over and pulled out my chair.
Kaylen, who had been standing at the doorway, strode inside and sat in his seat.
Before he settled, he quietly asked if I had just eaten dinner, but luckily no one else heard.
The meal began. Kaylen and I silently picked up our forks and knives, and Greta had nothing to say.
The food was delicious.
Contrary to appearances, the meat was tender and melted in the mouth. The soup, light on ingredients but rich and perfectly seasoned, warmed my body after traveling through the cold.
“This is good.”
I said this to Benjamin, who was still tense, and his expression almost crumbled—but he quickly regained his composure and bowed deeply.
He must have been through a lot.
The previous lord of Winterford had been cruel and incompetent, ignoring his duties to manage the land. He even foolishly touched the taxes owed to the royal family. That was discovered, and he lost his title and was expelled.
A year after that lord left, the new ruler of the territory turned out to be a Duke.
Even as the second prince with limited power, Kaylen was still royal, so everyone working in the castle must have been on edge.
They had probably done their best to refurbish the castle and prepare the dinner with limited resources.
It looked like there would be many tasks ahead. As I cut the meat, I quietly considered everything I would need to do.
The difficulty only fired my resolve.
Yet that night, I encountered my first unexpected challenge.
The perceptive Greta had prepared the bath so we could wash immediately after dinner.
I wanted to wash away the fatigue of the long journey in comfortably warm water and crawl into bed as quickly as possible. Hurrying down the corridor, Greta spoke.
“It’s customary for the Duke and Duchess of Winterford to share a room.”
What?
“Starting today, you two will be using the bedroom together.”
Mia, standing behind Greta, nodded repeatedly.
When we were in the capital, Kaylen had proposed at first sight, and we had shared a room in the mansion. I had assumed that in the territory we would have separate rooms…
I knew that politicians who appeared domestic and married were easily trusted, but thinking of Kaylen, I felt uneasy.
“I don’t snore. So I’ll sleep alone from now on.”
A chill seeped through the thick gown. Shivering to keep my body warm, I fixed a firm expression on my face.
“Hmm. Duke’s wife.”
Greta stepped closer.
“There’s no separate room.”
“What?”
My loud voice echoed through the empty Winterford hall.
“Why? Why is there no room?”
“As I mentioned earlier, the Duke and Duchess traditionally share a room, and the main reason is…”
Greta trailed off, glancing quickly down the corridor.
“The budget wasn’t enough to create a separate bedroom for the Duchess.”
Damn! There’s nothing I could say to that.
Seeing my despair, Greta clasped her hands together and bowed.
“When the budget allows, we’ll immediately prepare a bedroom for the Duchess. Until then, please endure it.”
I stared down at Greta’s graying hair, lowering my eyebrows in defeat.
I honestly don’t remember the first night.
All I remember was struggling with the heavy dress, wanting to lie down immediately, and shivering from the chill seeping into my spine while gulping down some unknown liquor on the table.
After that, my memory went blank.
When I woke up, someone had clearly slept beside me. Startled, I rose, only to see the sun already high in the sky.
After that, we were both too busy to look at each other, so the “married couple” setup didn’t really register.
“Alright. You’ll sleep together anyway.”
I replied, and Greta smiled, wishing us a good night before leaving.
“Duchess, shall we go?”
Mia guided me down the corridor. Near the bath, we arrived at the Duke and Duchess’s bedroom.
Well, given the situation, what could I do? We weren’t really married, and it was only for sleeping.
I can do this!
“No. I can’t. I can’t.”
Kaylen’s face was perfectly my type. What if I suddenly rushed him? Even the tiny bit of trust between us would be gone.
Feeling the urge surge, I raised my hand to bite my nails in anxiety, but Mia quickly held my arm.
I struggled to figure out how to control my desires with Mia holding me.
“Duchess…”
I glared at the large door, standing in place. Mia whispered softly, her dark circles prominent. Seeing her shivering, exhausted, and worried from the cold corridor made me feel guilty.
Mia had traveled the long distance from the capital with me. My day inside the castle marked the end of hers too.
Right. Let’s go in!
Knock knock.
Kaylen’s distant voice echoed from inside. I pushed open the thick, heavy door—heavier than the one in the Rampart Duke’s mansion in the capital.
Cre-aaak.
The stiff hinges groaned as Kaylen, leaning against the headboard, lifted his head.
“What is it?”
Surprised, he looked at me, and I froze at the doorway.
“Well… I mean…”
I peeked at Mia outside. She smiled, clenched her fist, nodded, and even closed the door herself.
Once the door shut, Kaylen leaned back from the headboard. I quickly spoke, prompted by his urging gaze.
“Shall we sleep together?”
Late at night, her proposal left Kaylen flustered.
Cutting everything else off, the way she spoke so bluntly shook his pupils violently.
He never expected Eliana, who had slept defenselessly, snoring softly, to make such a suggestion.
Many women had tried to tempt him for a secret night—young noble girls, women of marriageable age, widows, even married women.
Each time, he had to smile awkwardly in social settings, sometimes feeling pathetic.
Among all those temptations, Eliana’s was the most unadorned, direct, and honest.
Even for the one-year limited period, he never imagined his wife would attempt such a temptation.
What should he say to refuse?
As Kaylen considered his refusal, seeing Eliana awkwardly standing by the door with her hands clasped, another emotion stirred within him.
