Chapter 20

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The voice that echoed through the ridge was Viscount Rylent’s.

“Your Graaa~ce Where are you!”

“Duke Walten! Can you hear me!”

“Madaa~me! Where are you!”

The urgent voices of the herbalists and Emily’s crying voice were heard mixed together, but they seemed to be getting closer.

The silver-haired man paused, then turned and disappeared.

“W-Wait please!”

Kathleen felt that she shouldn’t let him leave, so Kathleen tried to catch him, but he had already moved quickly and disappeared.

“Let him go.”

“But…….”

“They are dangerous.”

Kathleen was speechless as Alexis cut off her words. For the first time in her life, she saw a person with the same appearance as her and thought that it was a shame to miss a chance like this. However, it was understandable that he, the Duke of Walten, was wary of foreigners.

“Don’t let your guard down just because you have the same hair and eye color. It’s their nature to aim for such gaps and rush to stab the vital points.”

He wasn’t wrong about what he said, having fought many battles with foreigners at the Southern border. Kathleen reluctantly nodded her head.

“There you are!”

“Duke!”

Someone seemed to have finally found them. Alexis started walking towards the loud voice without hesitation. As she followed him, Kathleen glanced back.

Only a cold wind blew in the white snowy field.

***

Everything became chaotic when Alexis appeared before them with a blood-stained shoulder. Viscount Rylent’s looked ashen as he brought Dr. Cabel to check on him. The wound was deeper than expected, and it was diagnosed that only first aid was possible here.

Viscount Rylent insisted that he return to the capital immediately, but Alexis refused.

“Don’t be so dramatic.”

“Duke!”

Viscount Rylent tried to persuade him, but Alexis was adamant. Reluctantly, Viscount Rylent went to the room where Kathleen was staying and asked.

“Madame, please convince His Grace. Is Count Hopewell really important right now? His Grace may have damaged his shoulder muscles.”

“Viscount, can’t you see that Madame is resting now?”

Joseph denounced him for being ridiculous.

“The Viscount, who is the lieutenant, should deal with that. Wouldn’t the problem be solved if you give His Grace a sleeping pill and then put him in the carriage? How can you make Madame argue with him after all the hardships she has been through.”

“…Priest.”

Kathleen, who was thinking hard about something, said to Joseph.

“Please take a look at the Duke’s condition. If it’s the priest’s healing power, you can help, right?”

Speaking with a pale face, Joseph could not refuse her request.

“Of course, yes, but…”

“Then please help. For my sake.”

“Sigh. Yes, I understand.”

He was weak against the weak as he was born with a calling to save all things in God’s stead.

“The Madame sent me. She said you hurt your shoulder.”

But that did not mean he would show a docile attitude.

“Show me where you got hurt.”

No matter how new the priest was, Viscount Rylent could only open his mouth to the disrespectful behavior.

“Kathleen sent you?”

But Alexis didn’t seem to care much about the priest’s rudeness.

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Naturally, she asked me to heal you.”

“Unexpected.”

“Huh?”

He stretched out his right arm without answering. The shoulder torn by a sharp stone had damaged muscles.

Joseph was a little surprised.

‘Do you not feel pain?’

The Duke looked fine, so he thought the people around him were exaggerating, but it wasn’t like that at all. A normal person would scream that his shoulder was broken.

No wonder this person treated his wife so coldly, he was this brutal.

Joseph healed his shoulder with divine powers. In an instant, his muscles reattached and the bleeding stopped.

“Oooh! It’s almost completely healed. Now go back to the capital quickly and get medicine so there’s no risk of infection.”

Dr. Cabel was delighted.

But Alexis spoke without a change in expression.

“Ask Kathleen. Whether to return to the capital right away.”

“You want me to ask?”

Joseph pointed at himself with his index finger. Without looking back, Alexis tucked his arm back into his shirt. Viscount Rylent sent him away.

“Go and get permission. Then we’ll leave.”

“Oh, I understand.”

As if being pushed away, Joseph went out with Dr. Cabel, leaving only Alexis and Viscount Rylent in the room.

“Your Grace, why are you doing this in my room instead of going directly and asking Madame? Even if it’s not small, people keep coming and going, I think I’m going to die of exhaustion.”

“I found it.”

“What?”

Viscount Rylent abruptly picked up the wad of cloth that Alexis had thrown and unfolded it.

“Huh!”

“Fortunately, the place where we were and the ice flower colony were close. That should be enough.”

He quickly checked the condition of the flower.

“Yes. It’s a little wet with blood, but it hasn’t gone bad yet. We can make medicine.”

“As soon as we return, contact the pharmacist you mentioned before. It will take some time to get to the capital, so do it as soon as possible.”

“Alright.”

“And that avalanche.”

As he buttoned up, Alexis remembered the valley that collapsed.

“It’s not normal. Investigate whether there was an earthquake in the vicinity.”

“But in the North, they’ve never been struck by an earthquake until now, haven’t they?”

“If it’s not an earthquake, we’ll have to approach it from a different direction.”

Alexis said, recalling the silver-haired man he met on the snowy field.

“First, let’s start by making medicine from those flowers.”

“Yes. I heed your orders.”

The Duke of Walten rarely gave reasons. Viscount Rylent decided to just take care of the ice flowers.

After a while, Kathleen had agreed to return to the capital.

On that day, the Duke and Duchess of Walten packed their bags again and quickly returned to the capital.

***

“What? No, you mean Master made such a promise?”

Emily sighed regretfully as she stopped brushing Kathleen’s hair.

“I’m sorry. If it wasn’t for the avalanche, it was an opportunity to make Madame’s wish come true.”

“There’s no helping it.”

Kathleen smiled bitterly and unconsciously stroked her belly.

“Still, just in case, you never know. Take the opportunity and try it out. Anyway, it is Madame who saved Master’s life, so he might accept and agree.”

“Okay.”

Emily earnestly asked her to do so several times, then left the bedroom to bring her letters that had arrived in the morning.

She failed to bring the herbs requested by Count Hopewell unharmed from the Carmine Mountains, so her reward would be forfeited.

Kathleen couldn’t insist on it. Since an avalanche had already occurred, there was no way of knowing that it would not happen again. Alexis was injured. His muscles were reattached with the help of Joseph’s divine healing powers, but it was not a perfect treatment.

During that situation, she was also physically overworked, so it was best to return to the capital.

‘There will be another chance next time.’

Kathleen tried to soothe her disappointment by thinking so.

It had been a month since they returned from the Carmine Mountains.

The husband, whom she thought she had gotten closer to in the cave, had moved away again.

Alsdorf checked his condition for a few days, but as soon as his shoulder was completely healed, he discussed something with Viscount Rylent and left the mansion. He did not return for a long time.

He returned late yesterday evening, but this morning he had left for the Imperial Palace as soon as dawn broke.

‘Why are you so busy?’

She couldn’t even bring up their child.

There was a lot of time left before she was to give birth, however, her heart felt like it was on fire.

‘You might think I’m a monster.’

There were a few people from the empire mixed with foreign blood, but Kathleen had never heard of such a long pregnancy.

In particular, the daughters of the vassals whom she met at the Winston Estate were all childless, and they all had mixed Winter Fairy blood, a foreigner from the North like her.

So she couldn’t find a similar case.

‘How am I supposed to explain it?’

What should she do if he suspects infidelity?

Her mind was too complicated.

“What are you so worried about?”

Joseph, who was sitting in a corner reading a book, got up and said with a displeased face.

“If His Grace talks nonsense that it is not his child, I will bring the High Priest of Delafos.”

“Instead of the High Priest, will Joseph grant my request?”

She was grateful to him for trying to alleviate her anxieties, but she was worried about seeing him talking big.

“Yesterday, you got a summons from the Temple, saying that if you don’t attend this training, you will lose your priesthood.”

“There are very few people who have healing powers as divine as mine. If they kick me out, it’s Delafos’ loss. You’ll see. They can’t kick me out.”

“Really, I’m fine, Joseph.”

Perhaps the letter Emily brought was Delafos’ last warning. She was indebted to him so she couldn’t ruin Joseph’s future.

“You may return to the Temple.”

“God has told me not to turn away from the little one in front of you.”

“What?”

“There is no way I can leave when I can see that the young life in your womb could be trampled on.”

“I don’t mean to chase you away. It would be nice if the priest would help me until the child was born, but I don’t want to do that if it will get you expelled from the Temple.”

Joseph could not refute her resolute words and scratched the back of his head. It’s true, but he didn’t know why he kept wanting to refute it.

“Madame, another letter has arrived from the Temple of Delafos.”

“Look at that.”

Emily came in through the door and waved a letter stamped with red wax. That really was a warning sign.

“Huu, I understand.”

Joseph was forced to surrender to the Temple that was taking strong actions.

“Then I’ll see you in a month, Madame.”

“Yes, hurry up and go.”

The Temple of Delafos might not send Joseph back for a while if he returned this time. She thought that she should send more donations so that he could be dispatched for a longer time next time.

“Oh, and Madame. A guest has arrived.”

“A guest? Who?”

“Well, I don’t know. First of all, the person doesn’t look like a nobleman. The guest said that they were looking for Master.”

“Take him to the drawing room. Perhaps he is an acquaintance he met on the battlefield.”

Alexis, who frequently appeared on the Southern Front, was often visited by people of all ranks. Alexis accepted them as private soldiers, and sometimes recommended them as Knights to the Imperial Family.

But Emily hesitated and answered.

“It’s a woman.”

“……What?”

“She doesn’t even look like a soldier.”

She was speechless. Because a woman had never visited the Duke.

– Oh my, didn’t you know? The fact that Prince Walten has a mistress?

The Empress’ voice rang in her ears.

‘It can’t be.’

It must have been some misunderstanding, she said to herself. Kathleen got up from her seat, calming her trembling heart.

“I should personally check. Take the lead.”

“Yes.”

Emily checked her expression and led her to the annex.

After the death of the nanny, the annex, which was used to entertain guests, was rarely occupied by women. So it took a while to prepare the tea for the reception, so the woman who came looking for Alexis sat staring at the empty table.

“The Duchess of Walten is entering.”

As soon as she heard Emily, the woman jumped up. She was a beautiful woman with red hair that curled up to her waist.

“Where is the Duke of Walten?”

She asked Kathleen as soon as their eyes met. The moment she heard the hastily spoken words with an exotic accent, Kathleen became unsure of what she had previously denied.

“What rudeness is this?”

Emily screamed, but she didn’t care.

“I heard the Duke hurt his shoulder!”

“I should see him now, where is he?”

Her bright red eyes, like rubies, boldly urged her.