Chapter 2.5

“Celine… it seems the Crown Prince has found your sister.”

After the Crown Prince left the meeting hall to find his fiancée, Hubert Ianster, who had returned to the mansion, immediately relayed the news to Celine.

“Is… that so?”

“Yes. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince left the palace, saying he would go find Claire.”

“That’s… good.”

Celine was clenching her jaw from trying to force a smile. She hurriedly returned to her room, bit her nails, and paced the floor.

It was all wrong from the beginning, but since that useless girl had left the house, it had been tolerable so far.

Now, with just a little more pressure, the engagement with the Crown Prince was about to happen, but he was looking for Claire…

Celine released all the anger she had suppressed while pretending to be good inside her room.

“Aaaaaaaaaagh, what on earth, what in the world happened?!”

When Choi Hajin first entered this world, Celine, her new identity, was also seventeen.

In the novel, Celine doesn’t regain her memories until she’s 19, and only then does she remember everything and return to her home.

The problem was that she had taken and read a novel from a girl she used to bully.

She had laughed, saying that a loser would only read loser-like things, but she had unconsciously become engrossed in the book’s contents.

On that day, she had called out that dumb girl, who was quietly at home, and was walking down the street, holding her by her hair and tormenting her.

Hajin hated that girl with such a kind look in her eyes. It annoyed her that she had nothing but was full of a parent’s love and had such a bright face.

Her friends on the side were cheering her on, which stimulated Hajin’s competitive spirit.

She was very drunk and had crossed the street, ignoring a traffic light, when she was hit by a motorcycle that was making a delivery in the early morning, causing her to lose her grip on the girl’s hair. That was her last memory.

When she opened her eyes, she was in a shabby hut.

Celine, who had fallen off a cliff while running away from wild animals, was rescued by an elderly couple who were wandering from place to place, chased by creditors.

But Choi Hajin, who had become Celine, hated this disgusting hut.

So she couldn’t wait and left traces of herself here and there. As she intended, the person she now called her father quickly found Celine.

But the brand on the sub-male lead’s face, who was supposed to be in a quiet place, was… not there. That’s when she knew something was wrong.

Moreover, her sister, who should have remained at the count’s mansion and caused all sorts of trouble, had disappeared without a sound the day after she appeared. At first, it didn’t matter. After all, wasn’t she the protagonist of this novel?

 

***

 

The day after I came back from horseback riding with Adrian, the castle was busy from early morning.

“Jenny, what’s going on?”

“Today is the day His Grace goes on a tour of the Grand Duchy.”

“A tour?”

A tour of the Grand Duchy, in a way, was preparation for the winter. The North’s winter was much colder, longer, and more severe than the South’s, so they had to prepare for the dangers that would come.

Soon, the main gate of the Grand Duke’s castle opened, and I could see the backs of Owen and Cedric at the head, with Adrian in the center. And 50 or so knights followed behind them.

“How long will it take?”

I was startled by the emotion in my own voice.

“The butler said it would take about ten days. It usually takes about a month, but it seems like he’s going to finish things a little early this year.”

“He could have at least told me he was leaving…”

“Pardon?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

I sat with my chin in my hands, looking at the main gate that Adrian had left through, when a good idea suddenly came to me.

“Jenny! Let’s go out.”

“For a walk?”

“I need to look around the main castle.”

I remembered the day I first set foot in this Grand Duke’s castle. Large buildings were built like fortresses on desolate, vast land.

On top of that, the inside of the buildings were empty, and there were many places where the whole castle would echo when you spoke.

Ten days locked up in here without Adrian would be too boring.

Adrian had gone on a tour of the Grand Duchy, so I decided to change the atmosphere of this house a little with the people who were left behind.

I knew I couldn’t stay here forever, but I wanted to make this place, which was a symbol of the North’s winter, a little warmer.

The first place I would tackle was Adrian’s bedroom. Of course, I hadn’t been in his room yet, but given the atmosphere of this house and Adrian’s appearance, his bedroom would surely be unique.

“Ben!”

I was inspecting the castle in front of my door when I happened to see the butler, Ben.

“Yes, my lady.”

“Can I go into His Grace’s bedroom?”

“Of course.”

Ben was very friendly to me, unlike before. I didn’t know why there was such a clear change, but I was very happy about it.

“Really? But where is the bedroom?”

Ben looked at me with a puzzled look and walked a few steps.

“It’s here.”

His bedroom was right next to mine. Come to think of it, there was a side door in my bedroom, and it must have been the door that led to Adrian’s bedroom.

Quinze-Nouais’s buildings were usually connected in this way, with the master’s and mistress’s rooms connected.

“Oh…”

I felt my face blush a little and quickly went into his room. And the room I saw was…

The Grand Duke’s castle itself.

“No, does the curtain have to be black?”

The butler, Ben, tilted his head. He looked like he didn’t know what was wrong.

“Then… should I change it to gray?”

“Of course, gray is a modern color that fits the trend these days, but if you put gray in this castle, His Royal Highness the Grand Duke will become a gray person.”

“Pardon?”

“Never mind. Um… Ben, can I change the curtains in His Royal Highness’s bedroom as I please?”

“Of course. His Royal Highness the Grand Duke left, telling me that you can do anything you want in this castle, with the exception of just one thing.”

I didn’t ask what that one thing was, as I thought I knew without being told.

I very carefully decorated Adrian’s room by hanging a bright navy blue curtain and a sparkling ivory curtain that looked like silver thread alternately.

Since I couldn’t go out and choose them myself, it took me half a day just to change this one thing.

When the sunlight sparkled through, the whole room felt brighter.

“Wow…”

I heard Jenny’s pure admiration. I looked at Jenny with a proud face.

“Just changing the curtains makes the atmosphere so different, doesn’t it?”

“Yes…”

The answer came from Ben.

“It would be nice to change the bedding a little too, but that’s a bit too personal, so let’s not touch it.”

“It would be fine to change it.”

“Really? Hmm, I’ll ask Adrian, no, His Grace, when he comes back and then change it.”

“Understood. Then how about changing the curtains in the other rooms as well?”

“Are all the other rooms black too?”

“Yes, they are.”

“Then let’s do it. Curtains have the most dramatic effect, after all.”

Ben’s face brightened at my words.

“Then I will go and order curtains for the other rooms right away.”

“Wait, Ben. You’re not going to order them all in the same color, are you? I’ll look and choose the colors, so please have them cut and bring me small pieces of the curtain fabric they have.”

“There was such a method.”

“Yeah, but could you also get me some clothes that the servants wear?”

In this world, women never wear pants. Ben hesitated a bit at my strange request but soon brought me clothes that a servant would wear.

And when I put on the servant’s clothes and went out to the garden, Ben’s face was filled with horror. It was so funny that I wanted to take a picture.

“My lady! What… what is this?”

“Why, who’s here? Pants are comfortable for working.”

“Ah, no matter what, that is…”

“I don’t know, I don’t know. His Royal Highness the Grand Duke said I could do whatever I want in this castle. Hurry up and get me a ladder. I’m going to tidy up the greenhouse.”

“You… saw the greenhouse?”

“Yeah. Why is that beautiful greenhouse hidden by vines?”

A while ago, I saw a beautiful greenhouse that looked like something out of a fairy tale in the garden on the right side of the Grand Duke’s castle.

A greenhouse with a glass facade in this world was unimaginable.

But the area around the greenhouse was completely covered in vines, and since no one had touched it, 80 percent of the glass was already covered.

I planned to cover the bottom of the greenhouse with wood and stack bricks so that the vines could no longer climb up.

The North’s winter that I had experienced over the past few years was dreadfully long and cold. And the winter in the Grand Duke’s castle, which resembled its owner, would be even longer…

I thought it would be nice to have a warm space in this desolate garden.

I could pick fresh herbs to make tea, plant some lettuce… and maybe even some flowers would bloom.

I climbed the ladder and started cutting the vines one by one from the very top where my hands could reach. Of course, it was a daunting task. I might not even be able to finish it all before I left this place.

“Are you okay?”

Jenny was shivering at the bottom of the ladder, looking at me with a worried expression.

“Yeah, I should stop now.”

Jenny smiled brightly, as if she was finally relieved at my words. I brushed the dust off and went into the castle.

“Are you really okay?”

Jenny seemed very worried about me. That’s because no noble in Quinze-Nouais does hard labor. They don’t even lift heavy objects, let alone hard work.

But I had done most of the housework on my own during the two years I lived independently. Although I had two servants, it was a ridiculously small number of people to take care of a mansion.

“I’m fine. But it really doesn’t show.”

The greenhouse was so big that no matter how much I cut, I still had a long way to go to get rid of all the vines. But at least time was passing quickly, so I was satisfied.

“Are you going to do it again tomorrow?”

“Yeah, there’s nothing else to do anyway.”

“Still…”

“You must be tired too. Clearing the vines from below looked pretty hard…”

“I’m fine.”

“Alright. Then you go and get some rest too. It’s good to go to bed early if you want to be active again tomorrow.”

Perhaps because of the physical labor, I was able to fall asleep without any other thoughts. And for the first time in a long time, I met Han Hyuntaek in my dream.

This time, it wasn’t a hospital room but somewhere else. It seemed like a simple dream, as there was none of that ambiguous feeling of whether I was waking up or drifting away.

During the time he and I were decorating our new home together, I had studied interior design very hard because I wanted to show him the most wonderful house.

Holding his hand tightly and leaning on his shoulder, the garden that we looked down on from the second floor was so quaint and pretty.

“Wow… what is all this?”

The next day, with my body aching here and there, I went to the greenhouse and saw a beautiful sight.

The knights who had stayed behind in the castle, other than the ones Adrian had taken with him, had come to the greenhouse and were doing the work I had been doing.

A knight with hair the exact same color as my horse’s fur came running toward me.

“You’ve come, my lady.”

“Oh! What’s your name, Sir?”

“James Carter.”

“Sir Carter. What’s all this?”

“Ah… well, the knights who saw you tidying up the greenhouse yesterday wanted to help you, so they came.”

“But don’t you have training and a lot of things to do?”

“Only the off-duty knights came. The other knights will probably come tomorrow.”

“Awesome.”

“Pardon?”

“No, I’m just so touched.”

Once the strong men started to tidy up, it only took a week for all the glass of the huge greenhouse to be revealed.

Finally, the door to the greenhouse opened, and we entered it together. As soon as the door opened, a warm air rushed out.

We were all impressed.

Because the greenhouse was covered with vines, the inside was warmer than we thought and was full of lush leaves like summer. The knights and I looked at each other with dirt on our faces and smiled broadly.

Tidying up the inside of the greenhouse was much easier than tidying up the outside. Soon, the useless weeds were pulled out, and a spot for new seedlings was made.

And I thought of Adrian’s face. Will Adrian be happy to see this greenhouse? It’s possible that the guy who is always angry without a single expression might smile for once.

“James.”

“Yes, my lady.”

“To celebrate the greenhouse being all tidied up, I’d like to treat you all to some tea… could you come to the main building after lunch?”

The whole time I was working with them, I was very curious about why the knights were so willing to help me. And there was also something I really wanted to ask them.

“Understood.”

Over the past few days, the knights and I had become quite close, so they readily accepted my invitation. The knights who helped me tidy up the greenhouse were over thirty, but only five of the knight commanders came to the main castle.

“Thank you for the invitation.”

“No. I’m more thankful for your help.”

As they were drinking the tea, I started to bring up my request.

“Um… but it seems like I have to go out for a bit.”

“You can’t.”

At my words, a knight named Hobbes was the first to answer loudly.

“I know I can’t, and I know that too… but there are still two days left until His Grace returns, and I just want to go to the market and buy a few seedlings.”

“If that’s the case, we will go instead.”

Sir James Carter tried to appease me with a slightly softer tone.

I thought this must have been the part Adrian emphasized the most when he left the castle. But I couldn’t give in either.

“I can’t ask you to go instead. I don’t even know the exact names, and I have to go and see them for myself to choose. It will only take half a day, and a couple of knights can come with me, right?”

But Hobbes was still firm.

“We are His Grace’s knights. We can never do anything against his will.”

“He didn’t give a separate order to lock me up.”

“He didn’t order us to lock you up, but he did forbid you from leaving this castle.”

“I’m not saying I’m leaving for good; I’m just saying I’m going out for a short while with the knights.”

Hobbes suddenly stood up and bowed to me. It meant that he would not continue the conversation.

“Lady Claire Ianster, do you know how long His Grace the Grand Duke has been wandering this battlefield of the North?”

“I know… But what does that have to do with me going to the market for a short while to buy seedlings?”

“Are you perhaps planning to leave this castle, my lady?”

“No, absolutely not. I just want to decorate the inside of the greenhouse beautifully and show it to His Grace. I was hoping that it might make His Grace a little happy…”

My words, saying it was for the Grand Duke, seemed quite convincing, and a positive silence fell among the knights.

I decided to drive the final nail in the coffin.

“No, do I look like someone who would run away? We have been through thick and thin together for the past few days to fix the greenhouse, so where would I go, leaving this behind? Do you not trust me?”

I threatened the knights with a tone like, ‘Don’t you trust me, Oppa?’ And soon, I was able to get into a carriage escorted by Hobbes and Sir Carter.

‘How long has it been since I last went out?’

To get to the market near the Grand Duke’s castle, we had to pass through a large forest.

It took quite a while just to get out of the Grand Duke’s castle, and the distance was also a bit far, so we hurried to the market.

Even though we left right after drinking tea, the sun was already setting when we arrived at the market.

“You must hurry.”

I looked up at the sky at James’s words.

“I know. It was perfectly fine a while ago, so why is it getting so cloudy?”

I hurriedly chose the seedlings. It was not easy to find the seedlings that had been dried well all summer because there was no one who wanted to buy them now.

But there was a flower I really wanted to plant, and like a two-year veteran of the North, I was able to get all the seedlings I wanted.

“I bought everything.”

When I smiled brightly holding the seedlings, Hobbes and James also smiled back at me. We hurriedly moved toward the Grand Duke’s castle.

“Please try to understand Sir Hobbes Seban.”

While we were driving for a while, James spoke to me softly from outside the carriage.

“Huh?”

“In the last Winton battle, His Grace took a sword for Sir Seban. His Grace would never get hit by an enemy’s sword. He got a long slash wound while trying to save Sir Seban, who was in danger.”

I remembered the scar I had seen on Adrian at the training ground a while ago.

“That’s why he was so firm about stopping your outing, my lady. It’s because of Sir Seban’s deep loyalty, so please understand.”

From James’s explanation, I was also able to find out the reason why the knights were so willing to help me. The knights’ loyalty to Adrian was beyond my imagination.

 

***

 

“Your Royal Highness, the rain is too heavy. How about resting in the village for a bit?”

Adrian glanced at the sky but quickly fixed his gaze forward.

“We’re going straight to the Grand Duke’s castle.”

Owen couldn’t stop his master because he knew why he was in such a hurry to get back to the Grand Duke’s castle. Owen and Cedric were utterly astonished watching Adrian handle the tour as if he were in a frenzy for the past week. While Owen and Cedric managed to get some sleep, the Grand Duke simply set up a tent and toured the area by himself, cutting down on their time.

The tour should have taken a month. But Adrian finished the work nonstop, like a broken machine. They were able to reach the vicinity of the Grand Duke’s castle two days earlier than scheduled. The weather had been bad for a while and now it poured down relentlessly. Owen tightened his reins, thinking it might be a better decision to ride faster and reach the Grand Duke’s castle.

 

***

 

“Your… Your Grace! What on earth!”

The castle was thrown into chaos as its master stormed in without warning. But Adrian narrowed his eyes at the strange atmosphere. It was very late, but everyone in the castle was awake. It was as if they were waiting for someone who had run away from home.

Adrian entered the main building, took off his black robe, and handed it to the butler. Rainwater dripped from his soaked robe. He shook his silver hair that sparkled in the lamplight and cast a sharp gaze toward the second floor.

“Where is Claire?”

“Well… about that.”

Adrian ran up to the second floor before Ben could even finish his sentence. When he opened the door, he saw only Claire’s maid, Jenny, trembling and standing there. Adrian simply tilted his head, and Jenny collapsed onto the floor. The moment he saw the empty room, he felt like he was facing the reality of the insane anxiety that had been driving him for the past few days.

“Where did your mistress go?”

“The… the lady went to the market to buy seedlings.”

Adrian let go of Jenny and ran back down to the first floor.

“Owen, Cedric! To the market!”

Owen, who had already sensed the situation, grabbed a new raincoat and followed his master.

Just as Adrian was about to leave through the door, he heard the butler’s cry.

“She… she’ll be back!”

Adrian paused at Ben’s shout. He then walked back toward him with heavy steps. The rainwater on the wooden floor, lit by the yellow lamps, left traces like blood wherever he walked.

“She better be. Otherwise, no one in this castle will survive.”

With that, his master opened the door and left. Ben staggered and grabbed the second-floor stair railing.

 

***

 

“Sigh, it’s like a hole was torn in the sky.”

Hobbes and James tried to keep me from getting out, but I’m not the type to sit still.

When I opened the carriage door and stepped out, James and Hobbes were already soaked to the bone.

“Get back inside. It’s dangerous to get wet in this cold.”

“I’m sorry, this is all my fault.”

“No, my lady. Who could have known it would rain like this? Please, go back inside.”

James and Hobbes had been in the rain for dozens of minutes, pulling the carriage wheels out of the mud. No matter how healthy these men were, a heavy rain in this cold was dangerous.

“Let’s just ride the horses.”

“It’ll take an hour to get to the castle. You can’t keep getting soaked.”

“We’re already all wet. And look. It looks like someone has already ridden by here. There are a lot of horse tracks. Let’s hurry.”

I immediately went to the front of the carriage and unhitched the horses. I then lightly hopped onto my horse.

“Please take care of me.”

After whispering to the horse, I kicked its side and hurried on my way. Soon, I heard the sounds of James and Hobbes following me.

“James, the road here has collapsed. It’s too much to just pass through, isn’t it?”

“Yes, we’ll have to go a little farther up and around.”

It was a shallow stream, but the road was broken, and the water had risen, so I was worried about just passing through. We turned our horses around and went up a little to find a shallower spot.

After riding for about an hour, the castle came into view. At first, it was so cold I thought I would die from the rain, but at some point, I lost all sensation.

And the castle we entered was a complete mess.

Torches, lit with oil, were burning precariously in the rain all over the garden, and the cries of beasts coming from all directions made the atmosphere of the Grand Duke’s castle even more grim.

I quickly entered the main building.

“Ah, my lady!”

I shivered from the sudden change in temperature and threw off my heaviest robe first.

“What happened? Were you all awake because I didn’t come back? I’m sorry for making you worry.”

“That… His Grace…”

“Huh?”

“He has returned.”

Just then, a thunderclap echoed behind me. Startled, I turned around and saw Adrian at the door, his eyes a chilling, piercing blue.

His eyes were so cold it felt like I was being thrown out into the rain, even though I wasn’t getting wet.

“Oh, Adrian, when did you get…!”

I couldn’t finish my sentence before Adrian grabbed my wrist. He then led me by the hand, dragging me up to the second floor.

I had to try my best not to trip on the stairs because Adrian was walking with such a terrifying momentum.

The place Adrian dragged me to was his bedroom.

It was the very room where I had placed a beautiful white decorative cabinet as a surprise for him. But nothing was visible in the pitch-black room. He pushed me inside and closed the door, shoving me against it.

“Ah!”

He stood me in front of him. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I saw Adrian’s hand, which was on his forehead, trembling.

I, too, was trembling like a leaf from the cold.

“Adrian… you must have misunderstood something.”

Adrian knew as well. When he reached the forest, he saw a carriage with his family’s crest. The front of the carriage was clearly facing the castle, and the footprints of the missing horses were the same.

He turned his horse around and came back to the castle, and as if like a lie, he saw Claire standing in the lobby.

But the fire that had started refused to die down.

Adrian came closer to me. Unlike his cold, wet clothes, a hot steam was rising from his shoulders.

Rainwater was still dripping from his cold face, and his flickering blue eyes were filled with his rage and anxiety.

Adrian stared at me for a moment, then suddenly spat a curse and snatched my wrist, pulling me to the bed.

He threw me carelessly onto the bed, went to his desk drawer, and took something out. It didn’t take long for me to see what it was.

It was a whip.

Adrian took the whip and walked toward me with big strides.

‘Ah… no way?’

The moment I saw Adrian raise the whip, I squeezed my eyes shut.

‘Damn it, it’ll hurt even more to be whipped when I’m wet from the rain…’

I was anticipating the sharp pain that would pierce my body, but instead of pain, the handle of the whip slipped into my hand.

I opened my eyes in surprise and saw Adrian’s face contorted in agony.

“Claire.”

Before I could answer, the rainwater dripping from his hair fell onto my face like tears.

“Just hit me with this.”

“What?”

“Just lock me up and whip me. That’s less of a hell than this right now.”

Adrian forcefully shoved the handle of the whip into my hand. I couldn’t bring myself to hold it and just raised my hand to cover my face.

“Adrian…”

His unexpected action hurt my heart as if I had been hit by a whip. The trauma of his childhood abuse was not something I could comprehend.

I felt Adrian slowly stand up from me after I finally showed tears.

I didn’t know what to do, so I took my hands off my face and put them around his neck. And when I pulled him closer, he came to me weakly.

“I’m sorry, Adrian. I went out to buy seedlings…”

“…”

“I… I did this to you. I’m sorry.”

‘I’m sorry for breaking you, I’m sorry for leaving you when you were broken.’

As I kept whispering “I’m sorry,” Adrian relaxed his whole body and leaned into me. Our cold bodies were pressed together without a single gap.

I gently lifted his face and kissed his pale lips.

I felt Adrian’s body tense up in surprise, but at that moment, I couldn’t think of any other way to express my apologies. And thankfully, he didn’t push me away.

“I won’t go anywhere until you allow it, I promise.”

As our lips parted, my body started to tremble violently from the cold.

And of course, the first person to feel my shivering was Adrian. My consciousness was already starting to fade from the prolonged cold.

My teeth chattered, and Adrian suddenly stood up from me and frantically began to undress me, one piece at a time.

When my clothes didn’t come off as easily as he wanted because they were soaked, he tore them with both hands.

I also slowly raised my hands and started to unbutton Adrian’s wet shirt. My whole body was trembling, and my hands kept slipping off the buttons.

Adrian, who hadn’t noticed at first, was surprised by my actions and stopped for a moment.

But he soon started taking off my clothes again, and when all my heavy, wet clothes fell onto the floor outside the bed, my white body was completely exposed in the moonlight.

Adrian closed his eyes right before all my clothes were off. He then brought a large wool blanket and wrapped my body, that only had on underwear.

When he pulled the cord, Ben immediately entered Adrian’s room with a lamp.

“No!”

“Yes?”

“Not you. Bring a maid.”

“Yes, yes. Understood.”

I sank into the abyss of unconsciousness as I heard Adrian’s voice.

 

***

 

When I opened my eyes, the sky was a brilliant blue, as if yesterday’s downpour had been a lie. I had woken up in Adrian’s bedroom, wearing a flimsy nightgown.

And next to me, instead of Adrian, only the whip remained. In the light, I could see that it was the same one Claire had used at the count’s mansion. Goosebumps ran all over my body.

I didn’t even have the strength to pull the cord, but thankfully, Jenny came into the room.

The warm steam from the soup stimulated my sense of smell.

“Jenny, nothing happened yesterday, right?”

I pushed the warm soup into my mouth and asked Jenny. My throat was stinging and sore.

“No, don’t worry. After you fainted, His Grace ordered everyone to go back to their quarters.”

“Phew… Ah! What about James and Hobbes? Are they okay?”

“Yes, they’re fine. Other than coughing a lot.”

“That’s a relief.”

“Yes…”

“Huh? Jenny, are you crying?”

“No.”

“What do you mean, no?”

Surprised, I put the soup down on the table and tried to turn Jenny, who had turned her back toward me.

“Sob, everyone was so worried when you didn’t come back, my lady. It was raining, and His Grace came back and was looking for you. It was so scary.”

“I’m sorry, Jenny. It won’t happen again.”

“Yes, when His Grace was dragging you upstairs, it was really scary… Sob.”

I went over to the crying Jenny and patted her on the shoulder. I hadn’t noticed it because she didn’t express herself much, but now I saw that Jenny was indeed a sixteen-year-old girl.

After Jenny left the room, I thought about yesterday’s events.

Could I fix the heart of the guy who was pointing in the wrong direction like a broken compass?

As long as I was wearing the shell of Claire Ianster, I had to abandon the thought of running away from him until I was forgiven for everything Adrian had gone through.

But what were Adrian’s true feelings? Was it just hatred, like in the novel?

I shook my head. Nothing would change from worrying about it.