Chapter 03
Usually, when Mr. Schvalt warns someone to be careful, they either run off in a panic or become as quiet as a mouse, nodding and listening attentively.
Sometimes, they even vanish without a trace.
I’m not sure why. Well, actually… I don’t want to know.
Anyway, I had no intention of going out, so I headed straight for the stairs to the second floor. I could hear their conversation as I went up, but it wasn’t anything important. The truly important conversation would happen only after I disappeared.
The wooden floors creaked under my steps as I walked down the hallway. I should have gotten used to it by now, but that grating sound never felt familiar.
I paused before entering my room and opened the window in the hallway. Outside, the blizzard was still raging wildly, not caring about anything.
It was so full of force.
The cold air felt surprisingly refreshing, so I leaned out a little more instead of closing the window right away.
Honestly, the reason I was a bit impatient to go out had nothing to do with excitement. I had stacked up a large supply of firewood and planned not to leave for a while.
According to the original story, the prince would come here soon—Valeri Ahivara Kashinef, the emperor’s second son and the male lead. He was the very person I would drive into corruption.
If I remembered the original story correctly, he was supposed to come to the North in mid-January, hiding his identity.
He would then leave for the capital about three days after arriving, supposedly inspecting the northern lords to boost their morale.
But I couldn’t remember the exact dates, so I planned to stay secluded for about two weeks to avoid running into him. I also wanted to avoid seeing my mother, but unexpectedly having Mr. Schvalt visit made me a little anxious—if he saw me, he might accelerate my plans.
“Hmph.”
Sometimes I thought it might have been useful to read the book carefully, word by word. But it had already been nearly twenty years, and even the memories I had were hazy, so it was useless.
Some memories of my own childhood had completely faded, so remembering this much was already impressive.
The wind that had felt refreshing earlier had grown cold.
I, like my mother, was sensitive to the cold and chilled easily, so I really disliked winter. It wasn’t because I was being capricious.
I hurriedly closed the window and headed to my room, planning not to leave until Mr. Schvalt came to visit in the evening.
The dinner table was far more abundant than it had been in the morning. Mr. Schvalt had come. He had even cooked a proper meal by himself. Every time I saw such an unexpected side of him, I became more curious about his true nature.
I called him Mr. Schvalt, but he was actually a noble with his own title. He had vast wealth and could do almost anything.
Sometimes I wondered if he had lived life five times over.
“Not thinking?”
He noticed me pausing at the door, seemingly thinking I didn’t want to eat.
“Uh… no. I’ll eat. Did you finish everything?”
Even though I knew he had finished, I asked anyway. He shrugged his shoulders in response.
“It’s nothing. Sit down. I’ll call Lu.”
“Yes.”
He put my chair in place and went out to summon my mother.
I knew she wouldn’t come, so I rested my chin on my hand and waited for him to return.
One… two… three… four… I counted silently. My mother had never eaten dinner, and today would likely be no different.
“She’s not eating again, as expected.”
Mr. Schvalt returned quickly, wearing a face full of disappointment.
I smiled and urged him to sit.
“Mother never eats dinner.”
“She could change her mind suddenly.”
“Looks like not today.”
“Exactly.”
He sat down, smiling pleasantly.
As always, Mr. Schvalt piled my plate high with food and asked how I had been. Even though it was just the two of us eating, the portions easily exceeded four servings.
Since I usually didn’t eat much, I ended up eating more than two servings thanks to his insistence. The saving grace was that he cooked exceptionally well.
“Nothing difficult happened today?”
“No, nothing.”
He always asked the same questions, and my answers were always the same.
“I’ll stack the firewood in the storage for tonight. I changed the deliveryman too.”
He took care of everything before leaving.
“Hmm… that’s fortunate. Are you leaving tomorrow?”
I asked, hoping he would hurry and go.
“Not sure. By the way, your birthday is coming soon—don’t you want a present?”
“Present… I’ve never thought about it.”
“Think about it from now. Make it something big.”
“Hmm, then I’ll pray instead. I want to continue living simply like this. Not too long, but reasonably long.”
Mr. Schvalt chuckled.
“Don’t speak like an old person. You’re still young, unlike me. You should enjoy more. It’s your duty, in a way.”
I paused mid-bite and looked at him.
“I know duty and responsibility aren’t really words that suit you.”
I didn’t intend to criticize him, but he seemed restless alone. I knew very well that such notions didn’t suit the mother-and-daughter in this house.
“Still, I know you’re only eighteen years older than me.”
“Still, I’m older.”
“I’ll think about it.”
“Good. Aim high, like Luccelai.”
“Like Luccelai…” I smiled bitterly.
I couldn’t fathom how much of my mother’s ambition to devour the empire I was supposed to inherit.
I noticed he was about to serve more food, so I pulled my plate closer. Even if it was delicious, more than three servings would be too much.
“Mr. Schvalt.”
“Hm?”
“Is the capital alright?”
“The capital?”
He raised his eyebrows in surprise.
“Yeah. I was just curious if there was any interesting news.”
“Well… there’s always something going on. Though lately it’s been quiet. I’ll see if there’s anything interesting. The capital is definitely convenient, isn’t it? Sorry about that.”
Even when he did nothing wrong, Mr. Schvalt always apologized to me.
I realized I might have asked unnecessarily. I wanted to know if the second prince had departed, but I probably phrased it too indirectly.
“No, it’s fine. I like it here—it’s quiet. I’m tired of trivial love letters anyway.”
He chuckled.
“Next month, we’ll move house.”
“Next month?”
“Yes. It will be much better than here. Though it’s still in the North.”
He frowned slightly as he sipped wine. He had long been upset about sending the two of us to the North.
I was thankful to have survived, but he apparently was not.
“Have things been mostly resolved?”
“To some extent. And several new servants are arriving. Not bad, right?”
“You’ve always been remarkable, Mr. Schvalt.”
As I finished speaking, he couldn’t hide the smile creeping onto his lips. My plate received yet another heap of food.
I thought: today I’m going to suffer indigestion.
“…So full.”
Persuaded to eat a bit more, I had overindulged, and my stomach felt completely blocked.
Feeling uncomfortable, I thought about taking medicine but changed my mind. I wrapped a shawl around myself and went outside. Although there was no garden, the area was quiet, so I could use the whole yard-like space.
Originally, there had been two more houses, but one had been vacated, and the lights were off.
The other was inhabited by an elderly man, who had passed away recently. So this was the only house nearby with lights on. Few visitors came, and the occasional visitor was mostly wild animals.
The air was so cold that my breath came out as white mist.
After walking for a while, my cheeks freezing, I heard the sound of a carriage in the distance.
Squinting, I watched the carriage approach. It felt like a huge mountain was moving toward me. Apparently, the firewood Mr. Schvalt mentioned had arrived.
As the carriage neared, I could hardly believe my eyes. It seemed almost a lie compared to his earlier claim that we would move in a month—the carriage was piled high with firewood.
Unlike the previous plump, furry deliveryman, this one was a tall, muscular man with a stern expression.
“Where should I put it?”
He asked about the location of the storage, his voice deep and commanding.
I pointed toward the storage, and he nodded, then began unloading the firewood. I watched for a while longer before heading back inside.
