TNCTR 20

Chapter 20

We emerged from the thicket only after the couple, who had been having a secret rendezvous, had disappeared.

Actually, I wasn’t sure exactly when they left… but by the time I came to my senses, they were already gone.

I raised my head out of the brush, glanced around, and then grabbed Ashdwa’s wrist to pull myself up.

Ashdwa brushed my disheveled hair back into place.

But honestly, he looked way worse than I did. After being knocked over onto the grass, his clothes were rumpled and covered in dirt and grass, and his hair was a mess too.

“If someone saw us now, they’d think I devoured you.”

I hurriedly took off his coat and started shaking it out, but he took it from my hands and did it himself. In the end, he tidied up both himself and me.

“Yeah, I’d be pretty upset if people misunderstood.”

He straightened his wrinkled clothes, ran his fingers through his hair to expose his handsome forehead, and gave me a light butterfly kiss.

“It was just a kiss, after all.”

Just a kiss, he says.

For a moment, I worried—what if he expected more from me later? But I quickly pushed the thought aside.

‘I’ll think about that when the time comes.’

As Ashdwa and I walked side by side, preparing to head back, he broke the silence.

“More importantly, how are you feeling right now?”

Huh? My feelings?

Surely he’s not asking how I felt about the kiss?

When I looked at him with wide eyes, he added an explanation.

“The Count acted rudely toward you. Of course you’re not feeling great. I’m still upset about it too.”

His words brought the Count’s face back to my mind, one I’d completely forgotten about until now.

Oh, right. That happened.

It already felt like ages ago that he’d given me that obviously intentional ring.

The Count would probably clutch his neck in frustration if he knew how easily I’d forgotten—but truth be told, my mind had been elsewhere.

“It’s fine. It’s not the first time something like this has happened.”

“Hm…?”

Ashdwa tilted his head.

Compared to the way I was treated as a child, this was nothing.

I scoffed and crossed my arms.

“I wonder who else has upset you before.”

Ah—no. Let’s not go there. I was finally enjoying a peaceful walk; no need to spoil it by digging into unpleasant memories.

So I said the first thing that came to mind.

“Ashdwa, don’t you think the weather’s been really nice lately?”

The problem was, I really did say just the first thing that popped into my head.

Ugh… saying that in this cold, wintry night—what was I thinking?

Unlike his calm demeanor, I clearly couldn’t act naturally around Ashdwa yet.

He chuckled softly and looked up at the clear night sky.

“Right? I thought so too.”

“Uh… yeah.”

“Anyway, Ina.”

Ah, I see the carriage!

“Do you want to go on a trip together?”

I was so startled I nearly twisted my ankle trying to run toward the carriage.

✦ ✦ ✦

I stood alone in front of the mirror in my room.

My reflection stared back. More specifically, the scar on the left side of my chest stood out the most.

Even though quite some time had passed since I received my title, the scar still hadn’t faded.

“Why did I have to wish for something so difficult?”

Early in the morning, I stared at the scar before slowly sinking to the floor.

“I should’ve wished for something simpler.”

My wish was for power, so of course it wasn’t going to be easy.

“Just becoming a duke isn’t enough, apparently.”

I engraved in my mind: never make a vague wish again.

I began dressing myself.

“Where are you off to? Don’t just sit on the floor like that.”

Before I knew it, Kishel had entered the room and was dragging me to a chair.

“I’m going to the temple.”

Kishel narrowed her eyes.

Should I tell her she looked like a flounder?

“What for?”

I wasn’t even sure I’d be able to meet her again, but…

“I have something to ask.”

I still remembered what Iris had said right before we parted ways when we first met.

She’d told me to come find her if I ever needed help.

“Then at least take some maids with you. And! Now that you’re officially a Duke, you need to take care of the territory’s affairs too.”

“Sigh, my life’s only going to get harder from here.”

“By the way, you’ve also got merchant guild matters to handle.”

That was the price of attending four days of parties.

“And invitations are coming in nonstop, so you need to review them.”

“Alright, organize everything well! I’ll handle it when I get back.”

In the end, I headed to the temple with Kishel seeing me off.

‘What does the capital’s temple look like?’

Answer: It’s way bigger than the one in the dukedom.

We stopped the carriage near the bustling entrance, and after a moment of hesitation, I stepped out.

For some reason, my feet felt heavy.

“Hey, look.”

“Huh? That’s the Duke.”

“The Duke? The Duke of Japino?”

“No, I think…”

The murmurs of the crowd made me want to grab a fistful of my own hair.

It was my first time walking around without hiding myself, and my heart pounded in my chest.

At that moment, a temple priest appeared.

His eyes were covered, reminding me of Iris when I’d first seen her.

“Welcome. Please follow me.”

He guided me as if he’d known I was coming.

I quietly followed him.

And at the end of the path—

“Welcome.”

Just as I’d suspected, it was Iris.

It was winter. Definitely winter. Yet there she sat in a garden filled with blooming flowers, slowly rising to her feet.

A white cloth was wrapped over her eyes.

“I had a feeling you’d come today.”

“…”

“So I thought I’d step outside.”

To think I’d actually meet her again.

Feeling strangely excited, I gazed at her. Still blindfolded, she called out to me.

“Will you come over here?”

“May I?”

“I prepared two chairs. One for me and one for you.”

I sat where she gestured.

I wondered if she had been enjoying tea, but the table was empty.

The woman in white was surrounded by a garden bursting with color, yet she somehow blended into it perfectly.

“So, what brings you here today?”

I carefully chose my words.

Still, gratitude should come first.

“I wanted to thank you. I was confused, but you gave me clarity.”

I pulled out a gift from my coat.

“I don’t know if you’ll like it, but I picked it myself. I hope you do.”

It was a black quill pen.

Shiny and elegant.

I had deliberately chosen something in stark contrast to her all-white appearance. I’d thought it through.

But… can she even see it?

“….”

Maybe she can’t?

Then she casually took the gift from my hands.

Ah, she can see it.

She finally spoke.

“It’s cute.”

“I’m glad.”

“My little bird, Marine, used to bring me gifts like this. Like tree seeds and nuts. So adorable.”

“Marine?”

“That was the name of a bird I raised. It wasn’t much, but it was endearing how it always brought things with its beak.”

“Not much”? That’s a strange phrase coming from a divine being.

“It’s nothing. Just… adorable.”

She chuckled and tucked the pen away.

Looked like she liked it.

“But you didn’t come all this way just to say that, did you?”

A slight smile curved Iris’s lips.

“You came because I told you to find me if you needed help, right?”

There’s no fooling her.

So I got straight to the point.

“You said I’d get what I wished for.”

She nodded.

“I don’t think I ever told you what that wish was. Let me tell you now. I want power—so much that no one would dare look down on me.”

She relaxed her posture and plucked a flower from nearby.

“Duke, want to hear something interesting?”

A flower the size of a palm fell into her hand.

“Every problem has an answer.”

I tilted my head at the vague statement.

She chuckled again.

“And the answer to that problem… probably lies within you.”

My heart pounded.

“You made me happy today, so let me offer you a little help.”

The scar on my chest pulsed as if reminding me of its presence.

“Find the person who’s most wary of you gaining power.”

“…”

“If you face off with them, the result you’ve been seeking will be there waiting for you. Simple, right?”

No. Not at all.

“It sounds hard.”

“It is—but I know you can do it. After all, you’re not a Lady anymore. You’re a Duke.”

Duke. A title I’d been hearing over and over lately.

But somehow, hearing it from her made it feel different.

Yes, I had the title now. This was only the beginning.

I clenched my fist.

It felt like I could finally see a path forward.

‘The one who’s most wary of me gaining power… I think I know who that is.’

“Duke, come closer.”