IBWMD 60

~Chapter 60~

The look on his face when he said “Let’s go together”—for some reason, it felt like it meant more.

‘Everything else was just an excuse.’

Anywhere would be fine—as long as we got to walk together, breathe the fresh air, and spend time.

…That spending time with me made him happy.

‘Okay, now I’m definitely overthinking it.’

It’s not like this was our first day hanging out. I’ve spent plenty of time with Karl already. This shouldn’t feel so new or significant.

Trying to convince myself, I brushed the thoughts away…

But even when I looked again, Karl’s face still looked genuinely happy.

Maybe it was the festive atmosphere—he seemed, just maybe, a little more cheerful than usual.

And that joy… it felt like it was contagious.

‘With a face like that, I can’t argue with him…’

“Lead the way, then.”

In the end, I gave a small nod and followed after Karl.

And so, for that reason…

I ended up hiking a mountain in the middle of the night.

‘Why does this feel like a surprise mountain-climbing trip?’

Ever since I came to Saint Portu, I feel like all I’ve done is climb mountains.

“Are we there yet?”
“Almost.”

And of all places, the Duke’s favorite spot had to be smack in the middle of rugged mountains.

I understood—Saint Portu was mostly mountains anyway. But still…

‘This feels exactly like one of those early morning team-building hikes for your boss.’

On top of that—

“Why is the path like this?”

It wasn’t even a path. More like an open invitation to trip and roll down the slope.

Actually, scratch that. It was practically rock climbing.

‘If I were a regular noblewoman, I’d have already tripped five times.’

Not that Karl would’ve let me fall.

He kept a close watch as he walked ahead—turning back so often, I wondered if he was hoping I’d trip just to catch me.

‘What would he even do if I did trip? Throw his body under me?’

A few more steps in, I paused to catch my breath.

“Is this like the dragon relics again? Some place normal people can’t go?”

Karl calmly answered.

“No. Just an ordinary cabin in the woods.”

A cabin? Like a hunter’s lodge? That was anticlimactic.

“That’s unexpected.”
“What is?”

“Since it’s a place the Duke likes, I figured it’d be somewhere majestic—like that lake you showed me before.”

I didn’t say it with much thought. After all, the Duke is tied to dragons.

Even now, I could see the bonfire flames he lit over the mountains—so grand and beautiful.

‘To honor a dragon like that…’

Though people slander him because of dragons, I figured the Duke must have some affection for them.

“Not really.”
“What?”

“The Duke doesn’t particularly like dragons.”

…Oh. Never mind, then.

I rolled my eyes and asked,

“Like you?”

Karl visibly flinched.

“…Yes.”
“…”
“Just like me.”

Maybe that’s why he gets along with the Duke.

People bond more over shared dislikes than shared likes, after all.

I thought back to the shed dragon skin beneath the lake.

‘Even if it’s beautiful, to him it might still be a cursed thing.’

Maybe he hates dragons, just like I didn’t cross-dress out of joy.

At that thought, a firm hand gripped mine—and suddenly, I was being lifted.

“We’re here.”

One moment I was clinging to the cliff, the next I was on level ground.

But instead of marveling at the view, I stared with wide eyes.

“…You said cabin?”

A rather majestic mansion sat before us.

To be precise—

“This isn’t a haunted mansion, is it?”

Behind the house, a tall waterfall had frozen over in mid-fall, while bright white flowers bloomed all around despite the deep winter.

‘This feels less like a cabin and more like a haunted manor from a gothic novel.’

How did a place like this even end up here, halfway up a mountain?

Wait, does the Duke climb up here every time too—

“Is that a trail?”

Off to the side of the waterfall, I spotted a small, winding path.

“…”
“There was a normal path the whole time?”

Of course there was. Any mansion would have a proper trail for its owners and staff.

‘If we’d used that, I wouldn’t have had to hold Karl’s hand, or be carried up steep rock faces…’

“You really go out of your way to mess with me, huh…”
“This way.”

Before I could complain further, Karl gently turned my face—not toward the mansion, but toward a tangled garden.

Then I saw it.

“Did someone camp here?”

A small, crude tent sat in the middle of the overgrown yard.

“That looks… really flimsy.”
“The young Duke made it.”

“…”

“It was his secret base. He built it himself.”

“Actually, now that I look again—it’s kind of charming.”

Karl raised a brow at my quick change of tone.

“But why use that, when there’s a whole mansion right there?”

“That mansion was a villa owned by the previous Duke and Duchess.”

“Really? No wonder it’s too grand to be a cabin. But still—what’s that got to do with anything?”

“The Duke probably didn’t want to disturb them. They were… very affectionate.”

I blinked slowly.

“You mean, they came here together and he made a base just to avoid them?”

Forget how affectionate—it sounded excessive.

“The former Duke and Duchess were that close?”

“…”

Saying it aloud, I realized it might’ve been an inappropriate question.

Most Duchesses, after all, were married off by force.

Karl had once told me the former Duchess was a prisoner who nonetheless got along well with her husband—but I had assumed he meant “moderately well.”

But more importantly…

“She didn’t die in childbirth?”

That was what shocked me most.

If the Duke came here as a child, then his mother was still alive at the time.

And the biggest reason people feared marrying the Duke was because his “seed” was said to kill his partner.

Even Karl had once warned me about it.

“So it’s possible to survive being married to him…”
“They don’t die immediately.”

“…”

“Usually, they use up all their energy giving birth to a dragon child. Their health deteriorates afterward and they eventually die.”

…So, still a death sentence. Just a delayed one.

‘Am I supposed to feel relieved or not?’

While I was feeling disheartened, Karl shrugged.

“The previous Duchess held up fairly well.”
“Did she eventually succumb to the dragon’s power too?”
“No. It was an accident.”

“…”

“She went away to recover, and…”

Karl’s gaze dimmed.

“Her carriage fell off a cliff.”

He paused, then said with dry irony:

“The fact that the former Duke died in that same accident is what makes it truly tragic.”

‘Did he really just drop that kind of story in front of the Duke’s childhood base?’

‘Okay… that’s heavy.’

I forced a grin and asked,

“You’re not trying to make me feel guilty, are you?”

“Guilty?”

“Like… making sure I don’t hate the Duke anymore?”

“…Not really.”

After all that hesitation earlier, now he suddenly goes quiet?

“Seriously not?”

I narrowed my eyes. Karl paused again, then took my hand and started leading me toward the little tent.

“…Now that I think about it, maybe I did want that, a little.”

“You’re surprisingly honest for once.”

“As you said… I hope you won’t hate the Duke too much.”

“Didn’t you once say he might kill me?”

“People are full of contradictions.”

As I followed Karl—

“Karl.”

“If you want to hear more about the Duke, I can—”

“No, not really.”

“Still—”

“I want to hear about you.”

It came out without thinking.

Not for any particular reason…

‘They died in a carriage accident when I was young.’

Hearing that the former Duke and Duchess died that way made me recall what Karl had said about his own family.

He must’ve found it difficult to even say those words aloud.

‘Some things hurt just by saying them.’

My own memories of being an orphan in a past life briefly resurfaced.

‘Even if he looks detached…’

I know how much effort it takes to sound like that.

‘Because I’ve been there too.’

That’s why my current family meant so much to me.

‘And yet…’

Karl still brought me all the way here and shared that story. All while playing along with my silly plan to find a gift for the Duke.

Or rather—

‘He just wanted to spend more time with me.’

So, honestly…

“I don’t want to hear more about the Duke.”

“I want to hear about you.”

Not anyone else.

You.