CH 13

A cold, old hut, quite far from Winter Castle.

The warmth between them was the only warmth of the night. Lily and Blake clung oddly to each other as they hugged under the same covers.

‘It’s like a pure city aristocrat.’

Blake intended to pick on her. 

He was going to let her know the fact that she shouldn’t be alone with a man in a closed room, shouldn’t have any contact with him, shouldn’t tease him with the scent of peaches.

Because otherwise it seemed that one day he would cross the line……………

But in reality, a thrilling current flowed.

And frankly, Lily was the same. Blake, with the sharpness of a beast, read the emotion in her widening eyes.

“Hey, Lady.”

He whispered softly with a hot breath.

‘I know it’s a strange question, but why don’t we kiss?’

‘It’ll be fun. Maybe you’ll like it.’

Without any facts or grudges…….. It was the moment Blake was about to say …….

“Oh, it’s wet….”

Lily nervously pushed Blake away.

It was because all the snow that had been sticking to their clothes had melted.

Her ears were also red, but she was good at hiding them. Lily had to pretend she was fine to get out of this situation. She thought.

‘I shouldn’t get stuck in this weird atmosphere………..’

On the subject of a divorced married woman, how dare she with a single Duke?  Besides, isn’t she in a situation where she is a guest in his Castle?

‘I can’t make the slightest mistake.’

With that, she stood up, forgetting her earlier sensations.

“I should go back to the mansion and wash up. If you allow it, of course. Water is also a precious resource, so I’ll just go to bed if you complain.” (Lily)

“Wash up, wash up. Wash all day long. I’ll also add gold powder to the water.” (Blake)

Blake, who did not know the situation, burst into a sigh of vain laughter.

Time to return to the Winter Castle.

***

Since then, Lily and Blake had grown closer.

Blake no longer ignored Lily and would greet her when he saw her.

The promise to ignore each other for a year has long since disappeared. But a much bigger change…

“It’s time for breakfast, Lord Blake.”

“I’m going to eat in my office.”

“No, you can’t. The maids have already prepared two servings. Chef Alex said he got some frozen lamb.”

It was the fact that Lily had pulled Blake out of the dining room.

The Winter Castle employees realized that it was secretly their fault that the man was eating alone.

Of course, they weren’t responsible for the former Duke being poisoned, but they were beginning to understand Blake’s rejection of them.

“Master!”

The employees were more than happy for Lily to bring Blake in.

When was the last time they saw their Master really laugh?

As expected, they met the right person. A cute Lady.

Another lively meal was served today.

They still gave up strong drinks and favored only Lily.

“Here, try this, Miss Lily.”

“These blueberries were secretly flown in from a village at the foot of the mountain. I won 5 poker games. I took the blueberries while the gardener lay on the ground begging. What do you think?”

The maid lifted the fork and shouted loudly.

“It’s for Miss Lilly!

“Can I have my fork back, please? Now, it’s my turn to take the fish…”

Lily couldn’t smile much out of politeness, but her face was bright red.

“Thanks to you guys, I’m having a lot of fun.”

“We’ll have more fun at the regular banquet.”

Lily’s face stiffened as she smiled.

The servants had recently encouraged her to attend the banquet.

“We’ve prepared the dress for you as well. We don’t have a lot of buttons and lace or colorful ribbons like the ones in the capital, but ours is beautiful too.”

“I’m sorry. I just thought that if I met a lot of people, maybe my husband would hear… .”

“You still don’t believe in our axes? The best defense is attack! We’ll cut off his bare neck very easily! If we cut it off, Lily won’t have to hide!”

Lily’s gaze met Blake’s as he sat across the table from her.

He made the gesture that the servants were crazy, as if he had never thought of such a terrible thing.

“That’s why we get cursed at for being barbarians. Don’t you agree?”

The exchange between Blake and Lily was as brisk as if nothing had happened.

“Well….”

Lily blurred the end of her sentence.

The Castle people call each other barbarians and even demean each other.

That was all it meant, as much as ‘you b*stard’.

But if Lily, who was from the capital, said such words to the people here, the meaning would change.

But when Lily couldn’t help and just smiled graciously, the servants hit Blake on the head.

“Don’t make Miss Lily feel uncomfortable!”

“You crazy maids!”

While they were bickering amicably, the other maidservant spoke to Lily.

“Tomorrow, there will be a lot of people in Winter Castle, and the people attending the banquet will be here soon.”

All of the attendees will come to the Winter Castle, but the servants didn’t seem too worried about it.

‘Regular banquet festival……’

Lily pondered as she gracefully popped her salad into her mouth.

She heard this in advance from the aide, but she didn’t want to attend.

‘Of course, I’m curious about the banquet here, but can I risk showing myself?’

She remembered parties in the capital.

She had always been at the center of the social gatherings, but in reality she wasn’t as flamboyant as she looked.

Before her marriage, she was under the control of her parents, but if she made even the slightest mistake, she was punished greatly back at the mansion.

Did that change after marriage?

The only thing that changed was the fact that her husband was now in charge of her life, and she couldn’t even go freely from the banquet hall to the corridor.

When she thought of the past, she suddenly felt tired. 

‘Let’s go see the horses again, shall we? When is Coco going to have her baby?’

These days, Blake and her interests were aligned.

He didn’t like that Dominic didn’t care about what he said, because from the look of it, Lily was Dominic’s master…

“What?”

After eating, Blake was about to go to the stable and realized that Lily’s movements overlapped.

“Where are you going?”

‘’For a walk. Ladies and noblewomen like to walk gracefully around their homes.”

“It’s a problem because we’re in the same direction.”

“Say hi to Coco.”

“I knew it.”

Lily and Blake chatted peacefully and left the castle. But then it happened.

A boy was coming up the mountain path, wearing a brown hat.

“Master!”

It was a boy Lily had never seen before in the Winter Castle.

A boy who seemed so close to being an adult, but so assertive.

He took a single step between them and immediately hugged Blake.

He didn’t even give Lily a glance.

“I’m here at last. My proud Master!”

The boy was similar in height to Lily. He had red hair and many freckles.

She had never seen him before, so she was curious.

Besides, there were only adults here.

But Blake’s face only grew harder.

“Sebastian, the day of the regular banquet is not here yet, why are you here already?”

Blake showed signs of annoyance.

Sebastian was the boy who followed Blake everywhere.

“I came a few days early to see Master. My proud Master hasn’t changed one bit in a year! He is still as majestic as ever!”

Sebastian was the son of a woodcutter in the Winter Castle.

He had grown up worshipping Blake from the time he started to walk.

However, after his father retired, he could only come to the Winter Castle once a year.

This was because Sebastian had taken on the chore of getting food outside the castle.

The boy’s gaze met Lily’s.

‘Uncle Billy told me that a noblewoman came to live here.’

‘How could there really be a platinum imperialist by my Master’s  side!’

He couldn’t believe it when he heard it, but the sight he could see now was truly shocking.

In the boy’s thoughts, Blake had to be a lone captain wolf. Jealousy boiled up as the imperial woman was by Blake’s side in his absence.

“Hello, noblewoman.”

Sebastian bowed his head lightly as he took off his cap.

“You can comfortably call me by my name.  My name is…” ( Lily)

The moment Lily greeted him kindly, the boy passed by as if he had not heard her words.

He deliberately bumped into Lily’s shoulder and….. That was the problem.

There had been many people who had bumped shoulders with Lily in social circles. The nobles always had enemies.

When that happened, Lily chose to relax instead of endure.

When she did so, she would fall into a dainty position.

Her quarrelsome opponents saw her face turn red and ran away from the sharp glances around her.

“Ouch.”

It was unintentional, but Lily’s body had learned the trick.

Lily fell down before she knew it.

Sitting on the cold snow, she blinked. She thought she made a mistake.

She didn’t have to do this at the Duke’s Castle.

Of course, the boy, Sebastian, had a strong look in his eyes. But Lily was a person who had lived for some years longer than him, and she could see this as a charm.

Lily was moments away from hastily getting up again.

“Oh my god!”

A huge figure lunged at her.

“Are you okay?”