CH 11

Ellen flopped onto the bed as soon as she entered her room.

The smell of floral soap wafted from the comforter.

When she breathed in deeply, she could smell the drying sunlight and the faint scent of flowers breezing through the open window.

Things she had missed her whole life.

Carrying her luggage in, Sally headed for her dressing room as soon as she entered.

“Do you have something you wanted to do when you arrive?”

Sally asked her loudly from a distance.

“Well, I don’t know. Just relaxing at home for now?”

Ellen replied, also raising her voice.

“I saw someone transplanting flowers in the garden recently. How about going to see it once?”

“Yes, I’m curious. It’s a beautiful day, and I think we should have our tea there today.”

“Sure. I’ll have it ready for you in no time, and I’ll be right back.”

She quickly finished storing the last of the dresses and left the room with a cheerful clatter.

Sally returned shortly afterwards and led her outside to a garden of late-blooming camellias and plum blossoms.

“You still have camellias.”

“Yes. The ones we just moved in are plums. I can’t tell you how hard it was to get the red plum trees airlifted in.”

“I know. You must have had a hard time getting them.”

Sally said as she picked up the tattered plums and branches on the ground.

“You did the hard work, and we saw the results. That’s how it is.”

Sally tucked the branch into the side of Ellen’s head and giggled, ‘You look so pretty, my lady.’

As they were talking about this flower and that flower, they heard a trolley rolling up behind them.

The two turned around, side by side.

“Harry!”

“Oh my, Butler!”

Sally exclaimed, jumping to her feet.

“Harry, I can’t believe you’ve come out here. You ought to be at my father’s side.”

“My lord wishes to keep me at your side.”

With a gentle touch, Harrison set a teacup down in front of her.

The fragrant tea filled the cup, and the sound of the three peoples’ conversation echoed through the garden.

However, a wound from a whip hurts more when washed with warm water than with cold water1

The affection. The cozy warmth.

Every time she felt that warmth in her chest, she was reminded of wounds she’d rather forget.

The first conjugal party she attended after her marriage.

The name of the party, a gathering of the nobility of the capital’s center, had a way of making her both excited and nervous.

But the moment she set foot in the halls, Ellen realized it was even more cold than she had feared.

A place where manor and business talks were exchanged, where gossip was far more intimate, and where words aimed more at checks and balances than fellowship were constantly on the loose.

And yet, in these places, her husband was a confident presence.

He greeted people casually and was unperturbed when people he met secretly commented on their union.

In retrospect, she realized that she admired that about him, Ellen thought with a bitter smile.

This man is a wonderful man, and she wish she could blend into his society and be of use to him. At least that’s what she thought at that time.

Thankfully, Gillian didn’t ask much of her.

He asked only one thing: to stay by his side.

That seemed to be his idea of consideration, and she’d thought he could be quite a willful husband, despite his blunt face.

And so, Ellen was traveling around greeting people with him.

From the group of nobles he had just begun to converse with, a familiar topic of conversation began to drift through Ellen’s mind.

Someone somewhere was building a new machine. Some family had invested in it. They’re setting up some kind of institute.

As she listened, she realized that this was her chance to blend in.

[Oh, a new machine, I’d love to see that].

The man in the middle of a conversation looked up at the sudden interruption of a woman’s voice.

It was the Viscount Wilton, whom he hadn’t seen here before, but whom he’d been introduced to.

[Ah, Mrs. Krembel, are you also interested?]

[Yes. There is an institute that my family is investing in].

[Speaking of your family, are you referring to Leto, by any chance?]

[You know him? He’s a talent that my father discovered].

[Haha, I wouldn’t be in this business if I didn’t know about Leto of Kryant. We use Leto’s spinning wheels, too. But what I’ve found is not a spinning wheel that’s already established by Leto, but something new that’s going to lead the next generation].

[Now that you put it that way, I’m really curious].

[In that case, can I send you an invitation sooner rather than later? Because from the sounds of it, you’re not going to be able to walk away without investing].

[Okay, I’ll look forward to it].

She had blended into the conversation, and it was only when she spoke next that she realized she had gotten off to a good start.

[Speaking of which, I’ve heard that Viscount Wilton is quite dabbling in the arts as well…]

[Viscount Wilton, if you’ll excuse me].

Gillian suddenly interrupted, cutting off Ellen’s sentence.

[Duke?]

When Ellen looked at him questioningly, he put his arm around her shoulders and told her.

[Gill.]

[Ah… Gill.]

It’s a nickname, I guess, and I can call you that from now on.

When he corrected her with a slight flutter of excitement, he turned his attention back to the other nobles.

[I’d like to show the lady the gardens of this castle before it gets too late, so you’ll have to excuse us.]

[Haha, the gardens of the Stadtfeld family are famous. It’s nice to see your good marriage, my lord].

[If you’ll excuse us, then.]

[Until next time, Viscount.]

[The invitation will be sent to Krembel, my lady].

Gillian’s brow furrowed slightly at the words.

Ellen saw his face twist as soon as he turned his back on the viscount.

Behind her, she heard the sound of boisterous laughter, accompanied by men’s jokes about newlyweds.

The lights of the party streamed past her and behind her.

When they were far enough away that the gardeners were dimly visible in the moonlight, Gillian turned to face the more secluded outskirts, his face frighteningly stony.

Sensing something was wrong with him, Ellen opened her mouth to speak.

[What suddenly happened…]

[You.]

[…?]

[Who the hell are you to tell me where to invest my money?]

A frown of deep displeasure. A stoic face, different from the one at the party.

[Ah. Speaking of that, of course the final decision is yours, but you just said…]

It was just some sort of socializing activity, and one of us can look into it and decide if it’s actually worth the investment or not.

That’s what she wanted to say.

But Gillian didn’t let her finish.

[Your job is not to stick your nose in my business, but to do your job as the Duchess of Krembel. Isn’t that what you like, the status].

[…]

[What you need to do is to show our solidarity, and deal with the affairs of society that I don’t care about].

[But…]

[Don’t pay attention to the crap, just laugh in moderation and have fun, okay?]

But Gillian was having none of it.

Ellen sipped her tea, smelling the lingering aroma.

‘Okay. I suppose he didn’t want to make a big deal about where my money was going, and we’ve only just gotten married.’

Gillian Krembel, third in line to the throne, a man who dreamed of rebellion.

As soon as he ascended the dukedom, he drew up a ten-year plan for the rebellion, which required an enormous amount of money.

As with any nobleman, the easiest way to do so was to marry.

He chose her from among the offerings on the marriage market.

The easiest source of money.

Ellen set her teacup down quietly.

“Sally.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“When I come in later, I want you to pack me some light things to wear in the South.”

“Yes, ma’am. But you mean the South, not the middle of the country?”

“Yes. Oh, and you’ll be coming with me, so you’ll need to pack your stuff too.”

“I see. If we happen to visit another lord’s castle, should I pack a couple of party dresses?”

“It can’t hurt to pack. Just do me a favor.”

“… Yes, ma’am.”

Sally stared at her for a moment, unable to speak, wondering if she was worried about her sudden trip to the South, where she had no connections.

But neither she nor Harrison, the butler, said anything about Ellen’s decision.

They simply trusted her. Whatever she did.

“Let’s all live here together for a long, long time.”

Ellen said, smiling broadly.

“Gosh, I’d still like to get married.”

“Then bring your husband here. When Sally has children, I’ll take care of them like they’re my nieces.”

“Does that mean you’ll take care of my dowry?”

“Let’s call it a child’s tuition rather than a dowry. I actually don’t want Sally to go off and get married with a dowry.”

“Well, since you say so, I suppose I should remember.”

“Butler!”

The garden echoed with merry laughter, and the three said nothing of her sudden return and her incomprehensible journey south.

* * *

That evening, Ellen went straight to Daniel and told him of her resolution.

“I’m going to go to Belenios for a while.”

Daniel, of course, looked very puzzled by this sudden declaration.

“No, as soon as you arrive? And besides, Bellenios? Why are you suddenly going to a foreign country, not a foreign territory?”

“Because I have a promise to His Highness the Prince.”

“If it’s a promise with the High Highness… You mean the situation?”

“Yes. I’m going to Vienna to import some crops.”

“The Vienna territory of Bellenios, I see…”

Daniel paused for a moment, then asked in surprise as if he had just remembered something.

“You mean, you’re thinking of importing potatoes?”

“Yes. With the few seed potatoes we have for crop research, we can’t do anything about it. Of course, if possible, you should also bring wheat or corn flour.”

“Ho-ho… Potatoes. I suppose it would work, but would people like it?”

“It’s better than a rumbling stomach.”

Ellen said calmly.

When it comes to survival, there are no words like best or next best. There are only possibilities and impossibilities.

Indeed, when Istacio had been rocked by the previous sudden wheat famine, Bellenios, a country with a reputation for being a relative backwater, had weathered the event unscathed.

“Yes. I see. Be safe.”

With a heavy sigh of approval, Daniel rummaged in his pocket for something and slipped it into her hand.

“You’re going to need this, so I’m giving it to you now.”

“This is the family…”

“Yes, it is. It’s the family seal. You’re the head of the family, if you know what I mean.”

“Yes, Father, and I’ll leave you to prepare for the social season.”

“I see. But as I’ve said before, it’s really only an initial supply. They say that if food goes out of fashion, they donate it to the slums in His Highness’s name, but if the dress goes out of style, it’s a loss. Please understand.”

“I do. That’s enough.”

And indeed, it was enough.

In seizing opportunities faster than others and taking the lead.

a proverb that suggests that sometimes it is better to leave a wound alone rather than trying to fix it in a way that makes it hurt more