Chapter 11
Russell agreed when I said I would do my duty as the Grand Duchess. To do that, I first needed to memorize the layout of the entire Glacies Castle.
“This is the guest room, Lady. Be careful—the door sill is a bit high.”
“Okay, thank you.”
Creak—the hinges squeaked. As I stepped over the threshold, following Asha’s advice, I smelled the relaxing scent of citrus wood.
‘It shows they really care about making guests feel comfortable.’
I realized that hosting guests requires careful attention, from manners to room preparation.
While I was thinking this, Asha hesitated beside me.
“I’m sorry. If Butler Frater were guiding you, he could explain more. I only know a limited amount.”
“It’s okay. This is enough.”
Memorizing the layout of Glacies Castle wasn’t easy.
I had to remember how many steps from the entrance to the corridor, where the guest rooms were, where my room, Russell’s office, and the dining room were.
‘Normally Asha would guide me, but I should still memorize this much.’
I could feel Asha’s sincere guilt. But she didn’t need to feel that way.
“When you become the Grand Duchess, you’ll have a dedicated maid following you instead of me. So don’t worry.”
“Thanks. That’s reassuring.”
“Shall we move to the next location?”
“Yeah.”
Asha… there’s something I haven’t said.
What I truly want to know isn’t just the building layout.
I kept those words to myself as I held Asha’s hand and walked.
When my memories came back and I fell into despair, the first thing I did was go to the tree.
Of course, there were limits. I couldn’t reach the forest by myself, so I needed someone to help me. But the servants avoided me because they were wary of my sister and the Duchess.
Still, the only way to learn about my situation in this life was to ask the tree.
I could ask what my parents were like in this life, about the family, and the history of this land.
‘Not that it changed anything.’
Even with that knowledge, my situation stayed the same. My sister and the Duchess despised me, and my father treated me like I was invisible.
But things were different now.
“You want me to wait at the forest entrance? I can’t do that.”
“I just want a moment alone for fresh air.”
“Then I really can’t leave you alone!”
This was tricky.
Back home, they didn’t care whether I ran off or not. They thought I couldn’t go far anyway, only as far as the forest.
‘Should I just call it an order and leave her?’
No, that’s not like me. And I didn’t want to treat Asha like that.
While thinking of an excuse, I remembered the stick I held in my hand.
“Asha, could you give me just ten minutes? I want to check how the stick works.”
“Lady…”
Asha sighed in disapproval. She probably still wanted to follow.
“Fine. But I’m coming to get you exactly in ten minutes.”
Since the tree would guide me, I wouldn’t get lost. But for safety’s sake, I decided not to refuse her.
I smiled brightly.
“Thanks, Asha.”
“Watch your step!”
I turned toward her voice and gave a small nod.
I pulled my coat closer and started walking slowly.
Tap, tap. Only the sound of the stick poking the snowy ground filled the quiet forest.
‘Strange. I’ve gone out before, but I’m still nervous.’
After I was reincarnated, I lived in the duke’s house, ignored and abandoned.
No one cared when I left the house. But now, being cared for by people at Glacies Castle made going out alone feel awkward and unfamiliar.
Even though I’ve only been here a short time. Maybe I’ve already changed.
Then, the stick hit something—thud. It was a tree root.
‘Perfect.’
There was no one around. I had walked straight from the forest entrance, so Asha wouldn’t be able to see me.
It should be safe to use the stick now.
I calmed my breath and gripped the stick with both hands, lifting it up.
Then I struck it into the ground.
I did it three times, just like I was told. The stick dug into the snow with a soft crunch.
I closed my eyes, waiting for the vision to appear—but everything stayed dark.
“Huh?”
I was told hitting it three times would activate it. But nothing happened. I tapped it again in panic, but still no response.
‘Russell wouldn’t lie about something like this…’
Not sure what else to do, I planted the stick on the ground and started walking again.
I sighed.
With Russell not here, and the stick not working, I figured I might as well look for the tree myself.
Besides, this forest felt strange.
It was the forest east of Glacies Castle. There weren’t many things to trip on, and the snow was shallow—meaning someone had probably cleared it or visited recently.
‘But who manages this forest?’
Glacies Castle also serves as a border fortress, so it wouldn’t be odd for them to manage the forest. Still, something felt off.
My instincts, sharpened in the slums, warned me:
There’s something here I shouldn’t ignore.
I pulled off my glove with my lips and crouched down. I measured the snow depth with my bare hand. The ground was frozen, and the snow was shallow.
‘I don’t feel any weeds or grass. So yes, it’s definitely frozen.’
There were so many questions about this forest.
I brushed off my hand and stood, grabbing the stick from the ground.
I’d just ask the tree when I found it.
I turned back to where the stick had bumped into something earlier and carefully stepped over the tree root.
Then—thunk. The stick hit something hard. I rushed over and touched the tree’s bark with my gloved hand.
Rough, hard surface. The cold of winter soaked into the bark. As I focused to talk to the tree, a sharp chill ran through me.
I instinctively pulled my hand away.
“Ah…!”
This tree was dead.
It felt like touching a corpse.
When I lived in the slums, I once searched a dead body for something valuable because I was starving.
‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry…’
I whispered apologies with trembling lips. After that, I never touched a corpse again.
But now, that same soul-piercing cold came from this dead tree.
‘I thought I’d never feel that again…’
Trying to shake off the memory, I shook my head hard. I needed to think clearly. Why was the tree dead?
‘Pests? No, not likely in the north. A species weak to cold? If so, it wouldn’t have formed a forest.’
I stood up and tapped the ground with my stick as I moved to the next tree. Then, I again felt a chill shoot up through my palm and quickly pulled back.
No way…
Suddenly, a bad feeling came over me, and I touched every tree around me. As I did, I felt a shock, like my soul was being drowned in endless darkness.
The trees in this forest were almost all dead.
Dead trees never respond, no matter how much you talk to them. It’s the same as when a person dies.
“That’s strange. How could the trees in such a well-maintained forest be dead?”
My breathing began to tremble. Two possible explanations came to mind.
One was that the trees had died in a very short time—so fast that the person managing the forest hadn’t even noticed.
The other was that the person managing the forest had killed them on purpose.
As I continued touching tree after tree, suddenly, I heard a voice from one of them. It was a very young and sharp voice.
“W-Who are you?! Who are you and why are you here?!”
“You… can hear my voice?” I asked.
“What are you talking about? You can hear my voice?”
It was a boyish, high-pitched voice. I was surprised and placed both hands on the tree from which the voice had come.
This tree’s surface was smoother, as if it had been less affected by the northern wind.
Also, the trees I usually spoke to were middle-aged voices, but this one sounded very young.
Nervously, I swallowed and replied:
“I… I have something I want to ask you.”
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• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •By Freya• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •
If you want to support the translation and the translator, you can buy a coffee~
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