BEW 6

 After awkwardly letting go of Dante's hand, I quickly rummaged through my pockets and pulled out a bribe.

“This is a gift to commemorate your safe return. Eat it after dinner.”

It was a cookie I had made.

After being dragged off by the maids while coughing painfully, I had stopped by the kitchen to package the cookies before coming to Dante’s room.

“I made them myself.”

“You made these yourself?”

“Yes. I’ve recently taken up baking as a hobby.”

Waving the cookie bag a couple of times to urge him to take it, Dante cautiously accepted it.

* * *

Dante struggled for a while to adjust to the changed atmosphere of the house.

It wasn’t just about Serafina popping up everywhere to talk to him.

“Good morning, Madam. Have a wonderful day.”

“Yes, good morning.”

“Madam, I’ve managed to acquire some new fertilizer! Hahaha!”

“Oh, thank you, Markovs.”

“Madam, I found some new boots and gloves. They’re perfect for gardening!”

“Wow. Thanks, Mary.”

The servants treated Serafina warmly.

And Serafina responded even more warmly.

They were so friendly, they looked like friends.

Watching them made it feel like the very air in the mansion had changed.

The color, the atmosphere, the smell.

The mansion, which used to resemble the northern weather, had somehow become filled with sunshine.

At the center of it all was his wife.

Wearing familiar boots, a frayed dress.

Gardening gloves on her hands and a wide-brimmed lady’s hat on her head.

Serafina.

From his office window, Dante watched Serafina in the garden below, and their eyes met directly when she suddenly looked up.

Immediately, Serafina waved her hand vigorously.

“Good morning, Your Grace! Let’s have lunch together later!”

Her booming voice disregarded the high ceilings and reached him clearly.

Dante, unsure how to respond, hesitated and then just nodded a couple of times.

Satisfied, Serafina crouched in the garden and began planting seedlings in a new furrow.

As Serafina tended to the herb garden and Dante found himself watching her, time passed without him noticing.

When this became part of their routine, Dante realized something.

He hadn’t suffered from any post-scouting aftereffects for the first time.

Until now, Dante had always experienced various aftereffects after scouting the Beast Forest.

Dizziness, cold fingers, gut-wrenching pain.

Sometimes it felt like his chest was being stabbed with an ice pick.

It might have been the trauma from seeing a knight torn apart by a beast right before his eyes as a child, or the influence of the frozen ground of the Beast Forest.

It could have been a phantom pain caused by fear.

Facing the frozen ground inevitably made him think of death.

He was destined to die young because of the ice land’s curse.

The ice land.

The source of the magic that turned beasts and plants into monsters.

It was a land literally frozen solid by thick ice, but it wasn’t always frozen.

It used to be a swamp constantly emitting magic, but as the beasts were defeated, it gradually froze over, becoming the ice land it is today.

Fortunately, the frequency of beasts emerging decreased after the swamp froze, as if the magic had frozen with it.

However,

Unfortunately, that’s when the Richter family curse began.

Their bodies started to freeze, just like the thick ice that froze the magic swamp.

It started at the fingertips, spread to the toes and limbs, and eventually froze the heart.

“…I will die someday too.”

Yes.

When the heart froze, death followed.

Since the curse began, no Richter bloodline had lived past 35.

No Richter had escaped the curse of the ice land.

…Except for one.

His brother.

Oscar Richter.

He had avoided the ice land’s curse by choosing death himself.

“Brother, please. You have me. Stop this foolishness.”

“…I’m sorry.”

A voice, white with fear, echoed in his mind.

Then his brother’s noticeably gaunt face and the stormy weather outside the window.

And the back of the woman who had betrayed his brother flashed and disappeared.

The suffocating memory made Dante’s brows furrow deeply.

Dante silently clenched his fist.

For some reason, his fingertips felt cold.

As if the delayed aftereffects were finally catching up with him.

* * *

“Don’t you think they look a bit wilted?”

I muttered as I squatted in the herb garden, and Sienna shook her head vigorously.

“No, they look vibrant! I think you really have a talent for growing herbs, Madam.”

“Right? I’m kind of talented, huh? Not just anyone can germinate seeds like this, right?”

“Of course. Germinating seeds isn’t easy! Madam, you’re a complete genius at germination!”

Wait a minute. This feels a bit off.

But seeing Sienna with both thumbs up, I decided to let it slide.

“Right? Haha.”

The time to revisit the off-topic conversation came when we were having tea after inspecting the vegetable garden.

“Oh, right. It wasn’t about the herbs.”

Munching on some pre-made healthy cookies, I finally remembered the “wilted” subject.

“Listen, Sienna. Doesn’t His Grace seem a bit wilted these days?”

Sienna, who had been sipping her tea, stopped and looked at me.

Her wide-open eyes seemed to say, ‘What are you talking about, Madam?’

After blinking in surprise, Sienna spoke with a determined expression.

“Listen carefully, Madam.”

“Yes, I’m listening.”

What on earth is she going to say?

“Honestly, if anyone looks wilted, it’s… you, Madam.”

Oh my goodness, how could she!

Me, wilted?

“Me? No way. I’m as fresh as our herbs.”

“No, you’re not. You look like you could break if tapped, or even crumble completely."

Sienna spoke with such firmness that it might as well snap in two.

Yes, my heart snapped in two at her words.

Villagers! The maid is bullying the madam here!

“…How could you say something like that?”

“But it’s the truth. Look at your wrist, Madam.”

My wrist? What’s wrong with my wrist?

I glanced down at my wrist.

…It’s definitely thin.

But it’s unfair.

I inherited this from my mother, who never gained weight.

I just look particularly frail among the robust northerners with their well-built physiques.

I’m not wilted.

You all are just excessively healthy.

I pouted and shoved more healthy cookies into my mouth.

“Forget about me. My husband has such dark circles under his eyes. I always bring him herbal tea and cookies, so what’s the problem?”

“…Maybe that’s the cause?”

“What did you say?”

“Nothing. Never mind.”

What’s with that half-hearted comment?

Sienna closed her eyes and sighed, seemingly imagining Dante in her mind.

Her effort to help was admirable, but.

“I think His Grace looks the same as usual. So, don’t worry too much.”

Her answer didn’t change.

By this point, I wondered if I was just imagining things.

Sienna has probably been watching Dante longer than I have, so if she says so, it must be true.

I nodded roughly and shoved more cookies into my mouth.

However, that very night, I realized I was right.

As usual, I went to bed early, but I woke up in the middle of the night.

I needed to go to the bathroom.

How childish.

It must have been because I drank too much tea.

I should drink less starting tomorrow.

In a daze, I was heading back when I noticed the empty bed.

“Huh? Still not asleep?”

It was 4 a.m.

I knew Dante went to bed later than I did.

Unlike me, who goes to bed early and wakes up late, Dante was a night owl, staying up late working.

So, I figured the Duke had a lot on his plate...

But to think he had so much work that he couldn't sleep even at 4 a.m.

I considered stopping by the office but decided against it and went back to bed.

As I buried myself in the blanket and closed my eyes, I heard the door open behind me.

Debating whether to greet him, I heard the soft footsteps approach cautiously and lie down beside me.

The movements were so delicate and discreet, it seemed like he was trying not to shake the bed.

He didn’t even cover himself with the blanket and started to sleep.

It didn’t take him long to start breathing evenly.

I lifted myself slightly and looked down at Dante.

“He must be really exhausted.”

Thinking the overtime must have been tough, I pulled the blanket up to his chest.

It took me about a week to realize there was something off about his late nights.

“Madam, you look wilted.”

“…Huh? What did you say? My herbs are wilting?”

“No, Madam, you are.”

Ah, me.

Right, that makes sense.

Instead of denying Sienna's words, I slumped my face onto the table.

“Madam, Madam?!”

“Don’t shout… I’m just sleepy.”

“Oh, that’s a relief… Haven’t you been sleeping well?”

No, I haven’t.

Not for a week!

“Ughhhhh!”

With a scream, I pounded the table. Then, I raised my head sharply.

“Sienna.”

“Yes?”

“Call Barhan for me. I need to ask him something.”

Sienna quickly left.

And to fill the vacancy, Barhan came.

I gestured for him to sit, resting my chin on my hand as I looked at him.

“What is it, Madam?”

“Barhan, tell me the truth.”

“Yes, I’ll answer honestly.”

I nodded at his agreeable attitude.

Then, I asked the question I had been holding back.

“Is the North on the verge of collapsing?”