~Chapter 51~
Edwin leaned back on the sofa with his eyes closed.
His head was throbbing.
“Did you block the road?”
“Yes, we disguised it as a landslide and sealed it off completely,”
answered his deputy, Gareth, in a calm voice.
“No one will be able to enter Lombard land until the snow melts.”
There were two main ways for outsiders to enter Lombard:
One was the great bridge connecting to the southern continent.
The other was crossing the sea to the western port.
But the great bridge was under heavy repair because of a structural defect.
The road Gareth blocked was the inland route from the port, up through the mountains to Lombard.
“Good work.”
“Thank you.”
It was winter, so few people came or went, but Edwin’s order was still unusual.
Yet Gareth’s face didn’t show a hint of doubt.
‘Those people from the Holy City will be stuck for a while.’
It was a price to pay for daring to send a spy near kindhearted Elicia and make her care for him.
Of course, Edwin couldn’t say he held no personal grudge against Brother Vincent.
‘Might be good to keep the Inquisitor occupied, too, for now…’
Suddenly, Edwin stopped thinking.
His headache grew stronger—something that had been bothering him for a while.
This morning, he hadn’t been himself. Endless, nightmare-like memories kept eating away at his mind.
He’d lost control.
He hadn’t even realized Elicia was there, and poured all his rage and despair into his sword.
If she’d come any later, he might have hurt her with his own hands.
It was frighteningly close.
‘Elicia is alive. This time, she’s alive.’
He knew it well.
Still, just imagining what could go wrong made him nervous.
Pressing his throbbing temples, Edwin asked,
“And my wife?”
“She’s been resting all day. I think she’s unwell.”
Edwin’s face grew darker.
While his mind was falling apart, Gareth stayed calm as ever.
‘The lady must be quite frail.’
Gareth had grown up in a family of knights, training from dawn to late at night.
For people like him, sitting still for even a short time felt unbearable.
Even when they were hurt, most knights would sneak out of the infirmary after just a few hours.
‘But the lady has stayed in bed all day. That’s a shame.’
Bertolt and Ramon both said she was perfect as the lady of the house, but Gareth wondered if she could handle the work with such a weak body.
‘God never gives you everything.’
Gareth, who wasn’t much for thinking, left it at that and looked at the Duke.
It seemed the Duke was also worried about the lady, as he kept rubbing his chin.
“What’s on the schedule?”
“The new knights’ training report, and a dinner for the order tonight. What would you like to do?”
“Next time. Today, I’ll see to my wife first.”
Edwin opened his eyes and stood up from the sofa.
Gareth just watched him go, not thinking much of it.
But just a few minutes later, the Duke—who said he’d visit the lady—showed up at the knights’ dinner after all.
I must have fallen asleep rolling around in bed.
When I opened my eyes, the sky outside the window was already turning orange.
“I’m hungry.”
Normally, I would’ve just closed my eyes and enjoyed feeling lazy.
But now I was hungry.
Lately, I never had to skip meals, so maybe my stomach was getting spoiled.
Just missing half a day’s food made it grumble like crazy.
To be fair, all I’d had for breakfast was a glass of juice.
“No bell string… of course not.”
Not that it would help, since I didn’t have a maid anyway.
I sat up slowly and looked beside the bed.
Unlike in Lombard Castle, where snacks were always ready for me, here there was just a pitcher of water and a cup.
I got out of bed, wiped my eyes, and fixed myself up enough to go out without embarrassment.
“God really is unfair.”
Even after just waking up, my face in the mirror wasn’t puffy at all.
Instead, I looked as fresh as a lily just watered.
Clicking my tongue, I peeked out the door.
I planned to ask anyone passing by for food.
But of course, not a soul in sight.
‘The time…’
I remembered from my past life that this was a place for knights, so rules were strict and everything ran on a tight schedule.
Meals were only served twice a day, in the dining hall, no exceptions.
If I wanted to eat, I had to go down to the hall.
“If you’re the one who wants something, you have to be the one to give in.”
…Looking back, I should have just stayed hungry.
The moment I stepped into the dining hall, the lively noise instantly died.
Every eye turned toward me.
‘Please save me.’
If Ramon or Baron Comte were here, it might be less awkward, but I didn’t see either of them.
With no familiar faces, I could only head quietly for a corner table.
‘Wow, this is so uncomfortable.’
Wherever I moved, people parted to the sides like the Red Sea.
Finally, I picked a random table and looked around, desperate for someone to save me.
Luckily, I spotted the two knights I’d seen earlier in the day, sitting a little ways off.
They noticed me too but, feeling the pressure from the other knights, quickly looked away.
‘Tsk.’
How cold.
I fiddled with my water glass, just waiting for food.
When I didn’t react, the knights slowly started looking away, but the heavy atmosphere still pressed down on my shoulders.
For someone who spent her life quietly behind a desk, this was almost unbearable.
‘Someone, anyone, please save me!’
“My lady, what brings you here…?”
Right then, a familiar voice came from above me.
Normally, he’d be the last person I wanted to see—but not today. I looked up at the Duke like a puppy spotting its owner.
He looked surprised to see me there.
“Since I was at the camp, I thought I should greet the knights.”
“If you’d told me, I’d have prepared something proper.”
“I didn’t want to trouble you when you’re so busy.”
I was actually just hungry, but with everyone listening, I changed the subject.
The Duke handed his coat to a squire and sat down.
As soon as he looked away, the dining hall went from silent to noisy again, just like that.
‘The mood changes this fast?’
It seemed odd, but considering how much the knights adored the Duke, maybe just having him at the table really did lift their spirits.
I decided to just go with it.
Once he sat down, the dinner began.
The servers brought roasted goose, lamb, and more to the long tables.
“Shall I carve for you?”
“You could have a maid do it.”
“It’s faster if I do it myself.”
The Duke carved up the goose himself and placed a piece on my plate.
While he did that, I soothed my stomach with a bowl of vegetable soup.
More food kept coming: baskets of barley bread, thick slices of cheese, fruit in honey, even drinks to set the mood.
“Please, eat.”
The Duke placed a perfectly cut piece of meat on my plate.
At that moment, the lively hall grew silent again.
The knights stared back and forth between us, eyes wide with surprise.
