Chapter 51

* * *

Edwin leaned back on the sofa, head tipped, eyes shut.

His head throbbed.

“Did you block the roads?” he asked.

“Yes, sir. I blocked the pass and disguised it as an avalanche.” Gareth answered in a steady voice.

“No one will dare come into Lombard lands until the snow melts.”

There were two main ways outsiders could reach Lombard. One was across the great bridge that connected Lombard to the southern continent. The other was by sea into the western port and then inland.

But the great bridge had been found to have structural flaws and had been shut down for major repairs. The route Gareth had blocked was the inland path coming from the port over the mountain tracks.

“Good work.”

“Not at all, sir.”

Even if winter traffic was light, Edwin’s order was no ordinary one. Still, Gareth’s expression didn’t waver.

‘The Capital types will be stuck for a while.’

It was the price paid for daring to plant spies around the weak-hearted Elicia. Of course Gareth didn’t completely lack personal resentment toward Brother Vincent.

‘We need to keep the Inquisitor tamed, so for now…’

Suddenly Edwin’s thought stopped.

A headache that had been nagging him all morning flared up with fresh intensity. He hadn’t been himself that morning. Hundreds, thousands, an endless loop of nightmare memories gnawed at his mind.

He had lost his reason.

He’d poured all his fury and despair into his sword without realizing Elicia stood nearby. If he’d been a moment later, he would have crushed her with his own hands.

It had been a hair’s breadth from disaster.

‘Elicia is alive. This time she is alive.’

He knew that. Still, the possibility of what might have happened made his nerves raw.

He pressed his temple and asked, “How is the lady?”

“She hasn’t been well. She’s been sleeping most of the day.”

Edwin’s face darkened.

Where his lord’s mind was unspooling, Gareth remained composed. Gareth had been raised in a military household among knights who trained from dawn to midnight. If they leaned their backs on something for even a moment they’d be restless. Wounded men would be in the infirmary and be out again after a few hours.

‘But the lady is bedridden all day. That’s sad.’

From what Berthold and Ramon had lamented, she seemed fit to be an excellent mistress of the household. Whether she could handle state affairs with such frail health was another question.

God didn’t hand out everything.

Gareth, who didn’t enjoy thinking too much, stopped speculating and watched his lord. Edwin toyed with his jaw, clearly worried over the duchess.

“What’s on the schedule?”

“The new knights’ training report is ready and tonight there’s a dinner to encourage the order. What would you like to do?”

“Later. Today I want to see how the lady is.”

Edwin opened his eyes and rose from the sofa.

Gareth saw him off without hesitation.

A few minutes later they would both reappear at the knights’ banquet, the lord having gone to check on the duchess.

* * *

It seemed Elicia had fallen asleep while sprawling in bed. When she woke the sky outside the window was already moving toward evening.

“I’m hungry.”

Normally she would have closed her eyes and enjoyed the lingering laziness. But her stomach complained. She’d gotten soft muscles from never having to go hungry, and not eating for only half a day sent her stomach into a fuss.

She hadn’t had much for breakfast either, just a glass of juice because she had no appetite.

‘No attendants to pull a tray… well, it doesn’t matter.’

She rose lazily and glanced beside the bed.

Unlike in Lombard Castle where snacks were always ready, here there was only a water jug and a single cup.

She cleaned the sleep from her eyes and fixed her hair so she wasn’t too embarrassed to go out.

“God is unfair,” she said, a little annoyed. Even after waking up her face wasn’t puffy, it looked fresh and clear like a lily that had just drunk water.

She stuck her head out of the guest room to see if anyone was passing by to ask for food.

Not a mouse in sight.

‘Time…’

Memory of a previous life came to her. The barracks were for knights so discipline was strict and the schedule was exact. Meals were served twice a day in the dining hall, no exceptions.

So if she wanted to eat she had to go down to the mess hall.

‘Fine. The humble one must bend.’

* * *

She regretted not simply starving herself.

The moment she stepped into the dining hall the noisy room went as silent as if doused with cold water. Every eye turned in her direction.

‘Help me.’

If only Ramon or Baron Conte were here it wouldn’t feel so awkward, but they were nowhere to be seen.

Alone in a dining hall of unfamiliar faces, she could only edge toward a corner.

‘This is unbearable.’

People parted like the Red Sea as she moved. She finally sat at any nearby table and hoped a savior would appear.

Luckily two knights she’d met earlier that day sat not far off. They froze when they noticed her, then, sensing the other knights’ pressure, looked away.

‘Good grief.’

She clicked her tongue and idly toyed with the water cup, waiting for the food to come. As she gave no reaction, the knights averted their gaze more and the oppressive atmosphere pressed down on her shoulders.

Living quietly behind a desk her whole life, it nearly killed her nerves.

Somebody just save me.

“Lady, why are you here…” someone said.

At that moment a familiar voice sounded overhead. Normally she wouldn’t have been happy to hear it, but this time it was different. She lifted her eyes like a dog seeing its master.

The duke looked surprised to see her.

“It seemed rude not to greet the knights when I came to the camp,” he said.

“If you’d told me, I would have arranged a seat properly,” she replied.

“I didn’t want to trouble you while you are so busy.”

She almost said she came because she was hungry, but the many eyes watching made her change the subject. The duke handed his cloak to a footman and took a seat.

The dining hall that had gone quiet burst back into chatter the moment he sat down.

‘The mood loosens that fast?’

She wondered, but they were a group whose loyalty to the duke reached the sky. His mere presence could cheer them.

So she let herself think that way.

When he sat the banquet began. The servants carried out roast geese, lamb legs and more in long succession.

“Allow me to carve,” the duke offered.

“You could have just ordered a servant to do it,” she said.

“It’s a bother to call them so I’ll do it myself.”

He tore apart the large goose placed in front of them with his own hands.

She warmed herself with a gently simmered vegetable soup while the servants brought baskets of barley bread, thick cheese, honeyed fruit and spirits to lift the mood.

“Please eat,” he said, placing a neat piece of meat on her plate.

For some reason the noisy dining hall fell silent again. The knights stared huge-eyed at the two of them, switching their gaze back and forth between her and the duke.