~Chapter 68~
Blake’s father had always been an unpredictable man.
For one thing, he never set a good example for his son.
Even when Blake was just toddling around, his father would be sprawled asleep on a chair or lounging with his feet up on the table.
The first thing young Blake learned from watching him was how to put his feet on the table the exact same way.
“Wahaha! That’s my kid—quick learner!”
Naturally, he never stopped him.
Still, he was a good man.
He was Blake’s only blood relative, the one who taught him how to throw a harpoon and clean fish.
One day, he pointed at a snow-covered tree and told Blake to climb it.
“What kind of lunatic makes a nine-year-old do that?! Dad, are you crazy?”
Complaining did nothing.
After slipping down ten times, Blake finally learned how to climb.
That was the kind of man his father was.
He didn’t give you fish—he taught you how to catch them.
That was why Blake grew into an adult who could handle everything on his own.
He took it so far that even when Blake became a young lord, the Duke dumped paperwork on him and went off to play.
“You’ll be the Duke after I die anyway. Might as well get used to it now, hah!”
“Then please just die already…”
“I’m going to live with my son for a thousand, ten thousand years!”
“Please. You’re embarrassingly childish.”
“Can’t you talk to me casually like when you were little? Hm?”
That day, young Lord Blake was reading documents in the Duke’s office.
That damn father.
It wasn’t even a harsh insult.
The Duke was always hiding somewhere, barking to scare Blake whenever he passed by. If that wasn’t a dog, then what was?
Anyway, Blake had just finished his work, stretching lazily as usual, when—
“Y-Your Grace! I-I think something terrible has happened!”
A maid rushed in.
There were no real “terrible things” at Winter Castle.
Even if monsters camped in the courtyard, they’d just beat them down. Even severe frostbite could be treated by roughly cutting it off.
Still, Blake felt his heart pounding like a drum as he ran down to the first-floor hall.
There, in the middle of the mansion, the Duke lay collapsed, unsightly and still.
He often slept sprawled out on the floor, so Blake thought this might be the same.
“Father…?”
He approached and lifted the Duke’s upper body.
Muscle spasms. Contracted pupils. A bluish face.
The Duke was already dead—clearly poisoned. In his hand was a glass of distilled liquor he’d usually drink lightly before meals.
The easiest way to poison a noble was to bribe a servant.
Winter Castle trusted its people so completely that liquor was left casually around the display cabinets.
One servant would’ve been enough… yet no Duke of Upfus had ever died this way. They always lived out their natural lifespan.
Betrayal meant death.
That was the creed of the Upfus bloodline.
“….”
So Blake couldn’t even cry. He only lifted his head, his face twisted with rage.
The servants stood in a circle, unable to approach.
Who did this?
Why?
On whose orders?
“Y-Your Grace, it—it wasn’t us. Truly.”
“How pitiful… our poor Duke…”
Blake looked around with bloodshot eyes, veins bursting.
Nothing but an unerasable sense of betrayal filled him.
Blake had always believed he could handle anything alone.
But with his father gone like this, he couldn’t even think straight.
Of course, the culprit was never found.
Blake left Winter Castle and headed straight for the battlefield.
He didn’t want to stay where he didn’t know who had betrayed him. It disgusted him.
In an instant, he lost every bond he’d built and the place he’d lived his whole life.
Years on the battlefield passed quickly.
Blake was a capable warrior. Even if he lost a fight, whatever he held became a weapon, enough to protect himself.
He distrusted food given by others so deeply that poisoning him was nearly impossible.
And there, on blood-soaked battlefields, he finally realized something.
None of this meant anything.
Enough.
Stop wandering. Go back.
Even after returning to the castle, Blake couldn’t change easily.
But his frozen heart melted in an instant. That day, Lily didn’t just open Winter Castle’s thick iron gates—she opened his heart.
That was why Blake had to get Lily back after she was kidnapped.
“Did Lily seem alright?”
The knight assigned to infiltrate the Hedwig estate had just returned.
With confidence, the knight raised both thumbs.
“Aren’t I a messenger of happiness? She seemed a little down, but it’s all resolved now. I left after seeing her smile.”
“Then all that’s left is for me to do my part.”
Blake couldn’t wait to see Lily again.
He planned to tell her that being with her had eased the pain of losing his family.
And that the food last time probably didn’t suit her taste after all.
That he’d find a better restaurant, so they should go eat again later.
When Winter Mountain froze over more, they could play on the lake. Once the roads were finished, they’d invite more merchants, attend auctions, buy everything in sight…
He wanted to ask her to have fun like that.
Because he liked her.
He liked how the maids made a racket downstairs while fussing over Lily during rushed signings in the office.
He liked how Lily would joke, saying, “This is why rich people are ridiculous,” when they forced fine clothes on her.
He liked how she always walked gracefully, yet quickened her pace slightly when she spotted him.
He felt he’d never grow tired of watching her.
Blake thought,
If my father knew, he’d laugh at me with everything he had.
Love had turned him into a fool.
There were so many things he wanted to do for her.
Lily thought,
It’s all over.
Even after revealing the shocking secret they’d hidden for years, the Marquis and Marchioness acted no differently.
Worried their weakness might be exposed, they became even more active in society.
They didn’t care whether Lily starved herself or cried sleepless through the night.
How can they be like this?
She sat blankly on her bed, lost in thought.
Her reflection appeared in the window.
She had looked beautiful reflected in Winter Castle’s glass, but now she looked gaunt. Even the capital’s skyline from the second floor felt bleak.
The previous Duke had died because of her.
She couldn’t escape that thought.
Five years ago, he was poisoned simply for showing her kindness at a charity banquet for war orphans.
She kept replaying the moment he spoke to her that day.
Lying still, her body needed less energy.
Her breathing slowed to half that of others; even holding her breath felt oddly natural.
He died just for promising to grant a request in his family’s name… and I used that promise to go to his castle and burden his son.
For the first time, Lily truly wanted to die.
Yet even wanting to end her life felt wrong.
If she truly decided to, it wouldn’t be difficult.
The problem was her heart stopping her.
Because the people of Winter Castle had taught her the joy of living.
Once she’d learned that, she couldn’t go back.
Someone died because of me, and I keep living.
That was her punishment.
“Please come down for the meal.”
A maid spoke from beyond the door.
“You must come.”
Since Lily learned the secret, the Marquis and Marchioness hadn’t minded her staying in her room.
But now they said must.
Lily sighed and went down to the first floor without asking why.
The table was filled with dishes.
It was long enough to hold glass-made imitation fruits and decorations.
The Marquis, the Marchioness, and Lily sat far apart, with only the clinking of cutlery between them.
Then the Marchioness spoke.
“I’ve taken charge of the Women’s Society’s annual debutante ball this time.”
“I see…”
Lily, who hadn’t eaten a thing, looked at her.
Normally, such a short reply would’ve been rude.
Instead of scolding her harshly, the Marchioness merely reproached her.
“As you know, it’s a great honor. I hope the past few months haven’t left you so distracted that you’ve forgotten that.”
“I’ll keep it in mind.”
“Now that you’re recognized as a member of the Society, you must prepare the ball without mistakes.”
“Yes.”
“After the ball, you’ll need to follow up. Ask if the party was enjoyable, whether their daughters’ debuts were successful. But most importantly…”
Lily’s face stiffened, already knowing what her mother would say next.
