CH 30

IlDexter and Lily opened their mouths when they saw the magic stones filling the room.

Lily thought it was a supplement because she had used all of the stones for the treatment last time, but it wasn’t. 

IIDexter lifted the receipt.

“Mostly processed magic stones… … … . It’s also designed to generate heat. A product of Otis.”

It was ordered by Blake with the intention of making all Lily’s paths warm.

“Lord Blake wants to treat all the walls to heat?”

Lily opened the box and checked the back of the magic stone.  Shegrew up seeing expensive things, but this made her speechless.

“The emblem of Otis. It is a company that produces only the highest quality. The stone itself is here duchy. He paid for it, but it must have cost a huge amount.”

Lily and IlDexter looked at the magic stones with tired expressions.

She shook her head and said,

“It would have been better off doing something else with this money. Rich people.”

“For example, what else could you have done, Lily? Buy a title?”

“If I were Lord Blake. I should have bought another duchy. It’s not impossible.” 

“It’s good. Looking at his temperament, one day he’ll lose the dukedom, so it’s for insurance purposes.”

“That’s correct.”

Lily shrugged and joked.

For such a high-end company product, there was no need to inspect it, but anyway, Lily had to do what she had to do.

The two sat quietly and began to check the magic stones.

The method was simple.

If you inject a little force and it glows, it’s normal. There was no need to get tired as the magical energy returned to the body as it is.

IIDexter was bored with repetitive work, so he raised his head.

He wanted to say something, but Lily was already dazed.

‘She’s like that again.’

“….”

It had been like that for several days, but at this time, he couldn’t hear anything from Lily. He thought it might have gotten a little better for joking around, but Lily still seemed out of it.

Besides IlDexter, the rest of the winter family were also worried. 

Didn’t she try chamomile tea from the south a hundred times and served it to perfection?

“….”

“…..”

Even if the two of them worked quietly, the amount of work far exceeded that.

In the end, IlDexter and Lily decided to gather in the small room at a fixed time every day.

So after a week.

Lily lifted her head while working while thinking of her ex-husband. Huh?

Her hand rummaged through the box, but nothing was caught. It was the moment when 7 days of simple repetitive labor came to an end.

“Mister…….”

“Kkkkkk…”

IIDexter was sitting and sleeping. His head was tilted back, he even snored, which he had never done in his life.

‘Oh my goodness. You don’t want to break a fracture like that.’

Lily got up carefully so as not to wake him up.

She was thinking of asking someone else where to move these magic stones. Of course to Blake’s office.

During this time, he would always sit in his office and do his work. Lily, who expected it this time too, stood in front of the office and spoke in a soft voice.

“Lord Blake, are you inside?”

As usual, she expected an answer of ‘No, I’m not.’

Then Lily would open the door at will and gracefully enter. She was thinking of doing that again.

But there was no response.

Does this person play with ‘no’ and then ignore her now?

“Is it okay to come in? Oh, yes, of course. Thanks for the kind suggestion.” 

But when the door opened, only the extinguished candles on the desk and the chilly fireplace greeted Lily, and only then did Lily remember that the man had left on patrol yesterday.

‘Me too. I misunderstood.’

She was going to turn around thinking that she would have to come back next time… but something caught her eyes.

The office table was made of natural wood with the simple and rough texture characteristic of the duchy.

Then she saw a letter … along with a used fountain pen, crumpled paper, and a pile of documents that had been roughly thrown over it.

At that moment, she felt her heart stop.

It was a very familiar red seal. A seal adorned with silver imitation fur and affixed with cheap silk.

It must have been a letter from the Fox family, where Lily had lived for a year.

Lily couldn’t move until she realized she was still alive.

She wanted to vomit anything and it actually led to nausea.

“Woooooo…”

But because she hadn’t eaten anything, only painful noises came out.

Lily thought. This was clearly a dream.

It was because she had been thinking too long about Count Fox.

However, the red wax seal remained unchanged. Lily didn’t come closer to the desk until after a really long time.

IIDexter’s words a while ago came to her mind.

“Sir, the third letter has finally arrived! I delivered it to the office earlier, but I think you didn’t see it. You’re going to tell Miss Lily after you sent your reply, right? You promised, right? You would say you don’t remember?”

Did those three letters come from her ex-husband?

It couldn’t be. Because Lily never knew. Lily began to read, covering her nauseated mouth.

<Dear, great Duke Blake Upus…… >

<… Since there is no reply, I have no choice but to say that it is not my will, but this case should be referred to the court… >

<… As I have asked before, I ask you one last time, please open the door to the duchy.>

<… … I sincerely hope that your non-response is not evidence of the fact that you kidnapped my wife.>

<I look forward to the day when I will find my beloved wife again, Count David Fox.>

Count Fox also circumvented threats, such as the possibility of reporting it to the Imperial Palace. Lily found out that her ex-husband had finally found her hiding place. He was so angry that even his handwriting was a mess.

When Lily found in the drawer the two letters from before…… IIDexter woke up just in time and rushed to the office.

He wished Lily wasn’t the only one here, so the moment he saw the letter in Lily’s hand, he grabbed his forehead.

Lily asked IlDexter first.

“What is all this?”

She looked like she was going to pass out at any moment, but her voice and accent were as elegant as usual.

“That……”

“I need an explanation. I don’t even want to say goodbye to Lord Blake and want to run right now, I don’t know.”

At her confused expression, IIDexter eventually chose to tell the truth.

“His Excellency does not plan to send Miss Lily back.”

“It is a fact that I, as a party, do not know.”

“He must have felt sorry for Miss Lily…”

“I didn’t know!”

Lily’s eyes were filled with fear and despair.

Her voice trembled even more, and tears fell from her eyes at the same time.

Still, she kept her posture straight. She couldn’t even lower her head to hide her tears, how much manners her parents had instilled in her from an early age.

“His Excellency’s heart is a little soft. And he has the power and money to protect Miss Lily. Can’t you consider this an opportunity?”

“Did you think I would be grateful for this kind of consideration? At someone’s will?”

The feeling of being discovered by her ex-husband was not Lily’s illusion.

It was the truth.

Count Fox was looking for her. He will surely find her.

Lily would rather die. She wanted to stop breathing under the cold winter sea.

“How much winter people like Miss Lily. This will be a good place to live. Even people from the capital city like me were accepted into the castle.”

“My husband is not someone who gives up on me easily. Is he the only one? My parents… … . Oh my gosh, this is real.”

At any moment, Lily just wanted to jump and escape.

Just in time, Blake could be seen riding back on horseback with the night background behind.

Lily went down to the first floor with the letter in her hand.

Blake was shaking off his cloak on the porch. Snow and debris fell from the rainwater as if he had rolled in the mud.

“You are here.” (Lily)

“Oh, don’t come near me. I’m dirty from rolling in a pit. It’s so invisible at night, and it’s hard to tell the weaker areas because of the snow piled up.”

The man roughly removed the mud stuck in his hair.

He was so busy that he didn’t realize that Lily’s voice was cold. On the contrary, as soon as he came back, he had an expression that was always stiff, whether he was subconsciously happy to see Lily.

“It’s all right, Miss. The processed magic stones that came in this time. Actually, I’m thinking of putting them up on the walls in the lady’s room to use instead of the fireplace.” (Blake)

“…”

“Don’t worry too much. It’s just not for girls, it’s just a hassle if a weak pure-blooded imperial person gets sick.”  (Blake )

Blake was talking nonsense to relieve Lily’s burden. 

“The construction date is probably two days later… What’s wrong with your expression?”  (Blake)

Finally he raised his head to face Lily.