CH 39.1

He was a problematic man in many ways for her to actually admit that he was her husband.

It didn’t matter how kindly he had treated her or how he sided with her now. It was bound to be forgotten as soon as he tried to be her again, especially when she overlapped with his body and faced those cold eyes.

“You said something nonsensical.”

After hesitating for a long time, the Grand Duke let out a breath and strode forward again. As his long legs stepped open, Anne followed him diligently, clutching at her skirt.

* * *

By the time she returned to her room after touring the greenhouse, quite some time had passed.

“Madam, why don’t you ask the gardeners to do this?”

Anne smiled awkwardly watching Emily, who was practically nagging. The new soil in the greenhouse was so soft that she touched it with her fingernails, leaving dark dirt on the tips of her fingernails.

“I heard that it was soil brought from the capital, so I wanted to touch it.”

“I heard that they changed it very nicely. Do you like it?”

“They seem to be paying close attention. You won’t know it, but this used to be like an abandoned building.”

The greenhouse she visited in the afternoon was completely changed, to the point where it was rather difficult to believe that it was the same space as before.

The glass walls, free of cobwebs, were polished so clear that people might bump into them if they weren’t careful, and the abandoned indoor fountain was spouting clean water. The greenhouse was no longer empty, thanks to the few seedlings that were able to grow naturally in the north and were planted together with flowers in bloom.

However, throughout the tour of the greenhouse, the Grand Duke’s face remained stiff.

“Take me with you next time. Oh, look at me. I will prepare the bath water.”

She was unwilling to respond due to the fatigue that had settled in her body. Ashton entered the room after a knock on the door.

“His Grace ordered you to come to the courtyard behind the west wing.”

His high-class speech and well-educated accent were always polite, but at times like this, he was nothing but a loyal servant who conveyed his master’s will. It was Ashton who came to call Anne last time too, so his face wasn’t really welcome.

“At this hour . . . The courtyard behind the west wing?”

“Yes. He told me to bring you right now.”

She had never stepped behind the west wing before, so she felt anxious. Anne sighed and nodded, giving an affirmation, and Ashton, who had finished speaking in that polite manner of his, waited at the door, saying he would guide her.

His expression was a bit strange earlier . . . He’s going to take out his anger on me, is he?

Thinking of the Grand Duke over the past few days, he had been like the calm before the storm. It filled her with unknown anxiety again. There were people willing to play along with others but the Grand Duke was in no way such a person.

Anne left her room in the negligee she was wearing. She followed Ashton, who went in front, down the spiral staircase that met at the end of the hallway, and arrived at a wooden door.

“You can go from here.”

Ashton, who had finished guiding her, walked away with his back to her. Anne took a deep breath and grabbed the handle. As soon as she opened the door, a cold wind blew at her. Her hair, which had been loose for a while waiting to be washed, swayed like it was about to be swept away.

Opening her eyes, which had been temporarily closed by the bitter wind, Anne cautiously opened the door wider.

“Outside?”

Sure enough, the wind was cold, so it could only be a door leading to the outside. Anne’s eyes widened in amazement as she belatedly confirmed the view outside. The large space, like the back garden, was an open space facing the snow-covered Pinere Mountains.

“Here . . .”

Needle leaves were placed between the coniferous trees surrounding the branches, creating beautiful scenery. Anne drew in a breath at the splendid view of the slender spruce trees that stretched out before her eyes, then walked out, folding her arms around her body in the chilling cold.

Right in front of her, there was a large hollow in the square, and hot steam was rising over it. On the surface of the water in the cold outside air, a hazy water mist disturbed her eyes.

And in it, a blurry person was soaking his body.

“Angroanne.”

Hearing the bold tone, Anne widened her eyes even more to take a closer look. As her eyes gradually got acquainted, she could clearly see the Grand Duke sitting languidly with his bare forearms resting on the railing.

“Daymond, what is this place?”

Every time she took a step, hot steam hit her face. The steam was hot, but the cold air still stung her flesh like ice, so she couldn’t loosen her arms.

“This is my personal space in the Grand Duke’s castle, the Northern Hot Springs. Hot spring water comes from the Segra River Gorge across the Pinere.”

“Hot spring water? This is the first time I heard of it.”

It was the first time that she knew there was a hot spring inside the Grand Duchy. The regions with hot springs in the empire were extremely limited. It was open only to the Imperial family or high-ranking nobles, so Anne had only heard of them, but never actually encountered it.

“I wanted to rest together with my wife, who must have been tired from looking at the greenhouse today.”