CH 69

She had been curious about the building process of the castle walls since she hadn’t seen anything like it back at Townsend estate. ‘It would have been nice to build a wall like this back home…’ The overbearing high walls even made Elena start to feel regretful about the fact that she hadn’t worked hard enough to protect the people back home.

“Everyone’s working so hard despite the cold weather…” Elena noted.

“The weather’s nothing once you eat something delicious,” Giggs replied with a smile, then glanced at his surroundings. He was sure Gareth had been here earlier, but the man had disappeared and was nowhere to be seen. “Why didn’t you make any clothes with those materials, Lady Elena? It was really difficult for me to choose them, you know.”

Elena simply forced a smile at Giggs’ words.

“Winter here is really cold. You won’t be able to live through it with a coat like that. Please let Madel make a coat for you before you get sick,” Giggs said, looking away from Elena when he saw the scar on her face. He felt terrible just looking at Elena’s face; it wasn’t that he couldn’t understand Gareth, he just thought that Gareth had definitely crossed the line this time.

Giggs wondered from time to time about Gareth’s undisclosed past, but he had never been interested enough to persistently ask around about it. Nevertheless, he had begun to hear some things from the people of the estate. This was the first time he had the chance to hear what the villagers were talking about, as it was the first time he was collaborating with them like this. The word was that Gareth was the son of Duke Garcia, and that the duke’s family had been exterminated a long time ago. However, Giggs only listened to those words and didn’t take them seriously, since it wasn’t Gareth who had said it. This was also how the rest of Gareth’s men took it as well.

At that moment, Elena approached the villagers and started offering them food as if she wanted to flee from her spot. Giggs watched her for a moment, then realized something was strange. For some reason, Elena looked out of place.

Giggs approached Madel and spoke quietly as he picked up a plate and some bread. “Madel, you should help and follow Lady Elena even if she doesn’t give you orders.”

“You want me to do better than this?” Madel replied with an overly brusque voice.

Giggs glanced down at Madel with an amused look on his face. ‘Madel’s still just a fat nanny who only looks after Gareth, so why does she sound so irritated? Does she still not know why Gareth brought Lady Elena here?’

“It’s not like she’s our lady. What more can I do?” Madel muttered to herself at that moment.

Giggs was speechless. Feeling bitter for some unknown reason, Giggs dipped the bread in the chicken stew and chewed on it for a long time. Swallowing, he opened his mouth again and said, “I think you should at least make some clothes for her.”

Madel snorted and replied, “Give me some fabric and I’ll think about it! How am I supposed to make clothes when you don’t give me anything?”

‘Why is this cursed old woman being so inconsiderate?’ Giggs clicked his tongue and muttered, “Madel, no matter how much I think about it… you’ve lived for too long. You’re acting like a child now.”

“Giggs! What did you just say?!” Madel shouted, then glanced at Elena who was standing far away touching the castle walls which were being built.

“People are talking, Giggs,” Madel whispered.

“About what?”

“They’re saying Lady Elena is being rude to Princess Lydia.”

Giggs stopped eating and looked at Madel. “What in the world are you talking about?”

‘What a rude man. He has no respect for his elders at all,’ Madel thought, but quelled her anger and explained, “I didn’t think so at first, either. But that’s what everyone’s been saying. They say that Lady Elena was the reason why Princess Lydia was locked up in her room. I heard that Lady Elena acts nice in front of others, but I guess she does things like that when no one’s looking. I also hear that Lady Elena is questioning Princess Lydia’s pregnancy, asking if she is really carrying Lord Gareth’s baby.”

Giggs’ eyes widened. ‘Lady Elena…? There’s no way she would…’

“Well, I kind of thought she would be like that when I first saw her arguing in the hall with Princess Lydia,” Madel said.