Chapter 36
“How have you been, Lady Liri?”
The face smiling brightly at her was, no matter how she looked at it, unmistakably that of a woman.
The voice was somewhat androgynous, but even so, the facial features were far too delicate for a man’s.
Liriope instinctively glanced at Gray’s throat, then, realizing there was no Adam’s apple, found herself staring blankly at Gray with a dazed expression.
“Lady Liri?”
Seeing her stare, Gray tilted her head slightly in curiosity and called her name.
“Ah, ah… yeah. You’re back?”
Liriope finally managed an awkward smile as she spoke.
“Yes, have you been well?”
That slightly husky, rough tone only made her earlier misunderstanding more believable.
To Gray’s polite inquiry, Liriope nodded and replied,
“Me? Well… you must’ve had a rough time, right?”
“Not at all.”
Gray answered with a gentle smile.
Just then, Gemma appeared from somewhere and approached Gray, speaking to her casually in a familiar tone.
“You didn’t get hurt, did you?”
“No.”
Gray also replied comfortably in informal speech, smiling back.
“You were supposed to be gone for a week, and yet they kept you running for months.”
“I volunteered to stay longer, so it’s fine.”
Listening to their exchange, Liriope realized the two were quite close.
And it was Gemma’s next remark that confirmed without a doubt that Gray was indeed a woman.
“A few days ago, Lady Jurei sent you a new dress. She said to please stop wearing only uniforms and to wear a proper gown once in a while.”
“Oh, my sister did? I should call her.”
At that, Liriope unconsciously let out a small “Ah.”
‘So she really is a woman.’
Even though she had seen her with her own eyes, it was hard to believe until she heard her mention “my sister.”
Both Gray and Gemma turned their gaze toward Liriope.
Liriope gave them an awkward smile.
“Lady Liri, are you feeling shy because it’s been so long since you last saw Sir Gray?”
Gemma asked teasingly, and Gray tilted her head again.
“Do I feel unfamiliar to you, Lady Liri?”
Liriope waved her hands.
“Huh? No, no, not at all.”
“Well, you have been gone for quite a while,” Gemma said as she instructed the maids to take Gray’s battle uniform away.
Gray smiled softly and nodded.
“Lady Liri, perhaps you should let Sir Gray rest now? It was a long journey—she should get some proper rest.”
“No, I’m fine—”
“Ah, ah! Yes, yes, you should rest! Go on, Sir Gray.”
“I’m really fine.”
“I’ll take care of your uniform. Go on upstairs.”
At Gemma’s firm tone, Gray smiled awkwardly.
“She’s right—you’ve barely had time to rest, and you’ll have to head back north again tomorrow. You should take the night off.”
Only then did Gray nod, bow politely to Liriope, and leave for her room.
Liriope stood there blankly for a while, and once Gemma was alone, she hesitantly asked,
“Gemma, this might sound weird, but… Sir Gray was a woman from the start, right?”
“…Excuse me?”
Gemma blinked in disbelief, and Liriope let out a nervous laugh, saying it was nothing.
Before Liriope could fully recover from the shock of learning that Gray was a woman, she found herself accompanying her to the North.
Even after confirming her gender, Liriope couldn’t help sneaking glances at Gray, still somehow doubtful.
Perhaps noticing her constant glances, Gray approached her as soon as they stepped through the teleportation gate to the North, carefully pulling Liriope’s fur cloak tighter around her shoulders.
“Do I still feel unfamiliar to you?”
A warm, gentle smile curved Gray’s lips.
If she’d been a man, Liriope would’ve died of a heart attack on the spot.
Looking up at Gray’s pretty smile, Liriope quickly shook her head.
“Then why do you seem different from usual?”
‘Because I don’t even know how the real Liriope treated you before, that’s why!’
The words stayed locked in her mind. Instead, she just gave another awkward smile, and Gray, still smiling, finished adjusting her cloak snugly.
She could hardly breathe at this point—Liriope was about to ask her to stop when a low, pleasant voice came from behind them.
“You’ve arrived.”
The moment Gray saw Theo, she straightened and bowed sharply, like a perfectly disciplined soldier.
Liriope couldn’t help but mutter a quiet “Oh…” in admiration.
“Greetings, Your Grace.”
“It’s been a while, Sir Gray.”
The two greeted each other calmly, as if well acquainted.
After exchanging greetings, Theo’s gaze shifted to Liriope.
The North was bitterly cold, and even without seeing, he knew her cheeks and nose must be red.
Looking at her with an unreadable expression, he extended his hand.
Liriope instinctively placed hers on top of his.
Theo clasped her hand firmly, his voice light with teasing amusement.
“You look like a snowman.”
Her eyes narrowed sharply.
The heavy cloak Gemma had insisted she wear did make her look bulky and round.
But snowman? Really?
“I’m not that fat!”
Liriope snapped, glaring at him. Theo chuckled lowly.
“I meant it as ‘cute.’”
Her face flushed crimson instantly.
Theo laughed again, that deep, resonant sound tickling pleasantly in her ears.
Her heart pounded so hard it felt like it might rattle her skull.
Ever since that hug, her heart had been beating faster whenever she looked at him.
And since that hug, his gaze on her seemed… different—warmer, heavier somehow.
The way he kept subtly tightening his grip on her hand now only confirmed it.
Liriope ignored the chaos in her chest and asked,
“Before we go to the Grand Duke’s castle, may I visit the Ice Cliff first?”
“The Ice Cliff?”
Theo tilted his head slightly, curious.
Liriope nodded.
“Yes. There’s something I need to check there—and something I need to discuss with you.”
Because that entire cliff of ice would soon melt, flooding the North—she needed to confirm whether there was space to build a dam to contain it.
Not that she’d personally know how, but Theo certainly would.
After all, in the original story, he was the one who later ordered the dam to be built.
Theo looked puzzled for a moment but, just like at the hunting festival, didn’t ask for an explanation. He simply started toward the Ice Cliff.
The path was rough, so Liriope had to keep accepting his steady hand for support—though her bulky “snowman” cloak didn’t help.
“We’re here.”
When they finally arrived, Liriope’s eyes widened at the sight before her.
A vast, magnificent wall of frozen water stretched endlessly across the horizon—more than enough to justify the name Ice Cliff.
Seeing it, she immediately understood why melting it would have caused a massive flood that destroyed the lower villages of the North.
“Lord Theo, could a dam be built around here?”
“A dam?”
“Yes. One large enough to hold the water when all this ice melts.”
Theo gave her another curious look.
Seeing that, Liriope decided she might as well explain everything.
“Could you have the guards dismissed for a moment?”
Theo gestured behind him, and with just a flick of his hand, all the guards withdrew—including Gray.
Once they were alone, Theo looked down at her and said softly,
“Now it’s just the two of us, Lipe. Do whatever you want.”
“Do whatever I want”?
Liriope’s face turned scarlet in an instant.
Just those words—“the two of us” and “do whatever you want”—were enough to send her imagination running wild. She shook her head quickly.
“A–after the Harvest Festival, this Ice Cliff is going to melt.”
The teasing curve vanished from Theo’s lips in an instant.
Liriope explained calmly about the black mage who would melt the cliff and cause the flood, her tone earnest.
Theo listened silently, his expression growing serious.
“We can still prepare. If we build a dam now—one large enough to contain the water when it melts—the villages below won’t be harmed.”
She deliberately left out the part about the Empress being behind it all.
Speaking carelessly about a member of the imperial family could be considered treason—and besides, Theo was sharp enough to figure that out himself.
“Anyway, it’s best to start construction quietly, before word reaches the Empire.”
One of Theo’s eyebrows lifted slightly.
“You mean, to proceed in secret, without the Empire knowing?”
“That’s right.”
When Liriope nodded firmly, Theo nodded once as well—then smiled faintly, as if another idea had come to him.
“Lipe, wouldn’t it be faster to just find and kill this so-called black mage first?”
Liriope’s eyes narrowed.
“And how would you know who that is?”
“Oh, so you don’t know their identity?”
“I don’t know their face, their name—nothing. I just…”
She caught herself before saying I just know from the original story, and bit her lip.
Theo studied her quietly, as if waiting to see what she’d say next.
But then he spoke first—calmly, reassuringly.
“Whatever you say, I’ll believe you. So just tell me only what you want to.”
