Chapter 63
“I woke up while sleeping.”
“You had a scary dream?”
April nodded and leaned against me. Feeling sorry for her, I patted her head. She yawned widely.
When I offered to take her back to her bedroom, she shook her head hard and grabbed my dress tightly.
“Together.”
Her small white hand held on desperately.
It seemed I should stop working and go to bed for today.
I pushed the documents aside and walked to the bedroom with April.
“Is this big brother’s spot?”
“That one is mine. Kylen’s spot is next to it.”
April scooted to Kylen’s side and crawled under the blanket.
The blanket rose into a little mound and wriggled. I laughed softly and took off my dress.
I washed my face and hands with the water Mia had prepared, then approached the bed.
April poked her head out from under the blanket.
“It smells like big brother.”
She pressed her nose to the blanket and giggled.
“Really?”
“Mm-hm! A nice smell.”
I slipped under the blanket.
After washing in cold water, the warmth felt even better.
When sharing the bed with Kylen, there was always a boundary I never crossed.
Even after he left the castle, I still felt like I shouldn’t cross it, so I always slept only in my spot.
But tonight, my cute sister-in-law broke that line.
As soon as I got under the blanket, April wiggled over and snuggled right against me, closing her eyes with another sleepy yawn.
“Now that Eri is here, I’m not scared anymore.”
What kind of nightmare made her come alone to my office at this hour?
I stroked her tiny back as her eyelids slowly opened and closed.
“You won’t send me away… right?”
“…Pardon?”
April mumbled in a sleepy, muffled voice.
“April won’t go anywhere. I’ll stay… here. With Eri and big brother.”
Before she fully fell asleep, she added one last, crumpled-sounding sentence:
“I hate the palace. I don’t want to go back.”
And with that, April fell into deep sleep.
A clear teardrop clung to her long lashes.
It was only from yawning,
but after hearing her last words, I suddenly felt heartache imagining why such a small, pretty child had ended up here in such a harsh place.
She came with only a few clothes, one pair of shoes, and a small bag holding a doll—just her and her nanny.
When my own destination became Winterford, perhaps my parents cried in secret with the same feelings.
I wiped April’s tear.
Her eyelid trembled, but she didn’t wake—she was already deep asleep.
Her soft breathing filled the room.
I lifted her small hand that was sticking out from the blanket and placed it on my palm.
It was only half the size of mine—tiny and chubby with baby fat.
I looked at each pink little nail, then tucked her hand back inside and pulled the blanket up to her neck.
In the original story, the Empress abandoned April and ran away alone.
It never said what happened to April afterward,
but judging from Kylen’s attitude, she must have survived safely.
Kylen adored his half-sister,
and since the original heroine was a saint who loved children, the two of them would surely have cared for April until the very end.
When I reached that thought, an ache spread near my heart.
It felt like someone squeezed my heart tightly and let go—sharp and painful.
I imagined April smiling brightly and calling “Eri!” not to me, but to someone else.
And Kylen standing beside her, watching warmly.
“No. Stop. Stop thinking.”
I pressed a hand to my heavy chest and whispered.
In ten months, I would leave.
After divorcing Kylen, it was natural that I wouldn’t be able to see Princess April like this anymore.
Not only April—
Greta, Benjamin, Dylan, Caspian… everyone.
Maybe I had taken forming bonds—and then losing them—too lightly.
I brushed April’s messy hair on the white pillow and closed my eyes slowly.
I don’t want to leave.
The thought suddenly burst through my heart and rose upward.
I squeezed my eyes shut tight, blocking even the faintest light,
as if that could stop me from noticing the truth rising inside me.
“This one is Russ. This one is Hugh. And lastly, this is Edy. You already know Omari, right?”
“Yes. He used to work in the kitchen.”
“Yes, you remember! Haha.”
Doo-doo laughed loudly.
Russ and Hugh were from Rovany Village, and Edy was from a farther village called Taljani.
They all knew Doo-doo and were the people most knowledgeable about Kishti in their villages.
Proud of them, Doo-doo patted Omari on the shoulder—Omari was the one he personally recommended.
Omari blushed when he met my eyes and lowered his head.
I looked at the four people who would take care of the Kishti barrels.
“Thirty big oak barrels will be a lot for a small group. It’ll be hard. When things get better, I’ll hire more people, so please endure until then.”
“Endure? No, we’re grateful you gave us jobs!”
Last winter, Hugh was badly injured during the hunt and couldn’t join this year’s hunt.
So having a job made him genuinely happy.
Russ and Edy nodded strongly.
I smiled and rubbed my arms.
“It’s cold here. Should we talk in the kitchen instead?”
“Yes! I was just about to bake bread!”
No one in Winterford ever refused Doo-doo’s bread.
We walked to the kitchen with light steps.
In the warm kitchen, we ate delicious bread and discussed how to brew and age the Kishti.
With the oak barrels ready, we talked about how to get ingredients, how much to brew first, and how to divide the aging stages.
“I think a long-aged, mild but fragrant Kishti would be the best!”
“I prefer the one-month-aged one. It’s the strongest! High-alcohol drinks have their charm, so many people will want it.”
“One month, six months, one year. After that, maybe three-year, seven-year, and ten-year bottles.”
“A ten-year? Even in Winterford, that’s rare. Haha.”
“That’s because people drink it before it reaches ten years! Haha!”
They chatted comfortably, and I wrote down ideas I could use.
Releasing products by aging period, then removing low-demand ones and keeping high-demand ones, seemed like a good plan.
Of course, I would only get to taste up to the six-month-aged Kishti.
Do-doo’s bread tasted wonderful as always, yet somehow… bitterness lingered on my tongue.
I didn’t know where I would live later,
but to someday try the one-year, three-year, and ten-year Kishti,
I needed to build a solid business foundation.
Since I didn’t have much money, designing bottles only for the one-month and six-month Kishti seemed best.
I wondered who I should entrust the design to—
but before I could decide, Benjamin rushed into the kitchen.
“L-Lady Grand Duchess!”
Benjamin’s face was pale as he ran in, breathless.
“You need to see this.”
I put down my pen and looked at the envelope he held.
A letter from the Imperial Palace.
“Who is it for?”
Benjamin swallowed and answered carefully.
“From the Imperial Court… His Highness the Crown Prince sent it…”
I jumped up from my seat,
and the old wooden chair crashed loudly onto the floor behind me.
Benjamin’s hand trembled slightly, making the Crown Prince’s letter shake as well.
I reached out and took the letter.
“We’ll continue talking here. Please go.”
Quick-witted Doo-doo wiped his hands on the towel over his shoulder.
I nodded and left—
heading not to my own office, but to Kylen’s.
