If one were to name the safest carriage to ride on a snowy path, it would undoubtedly be the Duke’s carriage. It was the best not only in the North but also throughout the empire.
Since the coachman who drives such a carriage said he couldn’t do it, there would be no movement of the carriage this dawn.
“Instead, I’ve told them to prepare the carriage as soon as the sun rises in the morning.”
“Yes?”
“It would be best if you stayed here tonight. We’ve prepared a separate room for you…”
“Ma’am, I… need to go back.”
“You said you have siblings, right.”
“Yes.”
Carol nodded heavily. The mask that had been well maintained, unlike her young age, broke. Carol was more flustered than she thought.
“But your siblings aren’t very young children, are they?”
“Well, that’s true, but…”
“Oh. Children grow up faster than you think. They’ll be fine for a day.”
She spoke as if scolding a stubborn parent, but Mrs. Wells was wrong. The reason to go back was with Carol herself.
“You can rest comfortably until tomorrow’s class, or you can leave as soon as the sun rises. If you’re going to be here until the evening, I can even deliver a message to your siblings in the morning.”
Mrs. Wells said she would do her best to accommodate Carol, but her expression did not seem to relax.
“So… you’re saying we can’t go anywhere until the sun rises?”
“Is there a problem? If you need anything, just let me know.”
“No.”
Unable to overcome her anxious heart, she bit her nails. She couldn’t insist on leaving here anymore. Carol forced a smile.
“I’m sorry I can’t help more.”
“Could you show me to my room?”
She was taken aback by the sudden situation, but she couldn’t just stand there dumbfounded.
“Sure.”
Following Mrs. Wells, she tried to calm her pounding heart. Carol glanced at the time. It wasn’t even time to leave work yet.
So, there was plenty of time.
‘Once I get into the room, check if I can block the door…’
She had to think of a suitable excuse. It should go well. Carol exhaled deeply to suppress her anxiety.
Thump!
Then, she heard a sound like someone hitting the door. She couldn’t help but stop thinking. Only a few lights were on, and there were no servants, which made her feel eerie.
“…What was that sound just now?”
Startled, Carol shrank her shoulders. Unlike her, Mrs. Wells looked calm as if it was part of her daily life.
“When you’re in the highlands, you often hear such sounds when the wind is strong.”
“…I see.”
It was when she had walked to the lobby following Mrs. Wells.
Thump!
Again, she heard the sound of someone knocking on the door. Thump, thump. It was a regular knock. It was a sound that couldn’t naturally occur.
“It doesn’t seem like the wind, does it?”
Mrs. Wells, who had sensed the strangeness a little earlier, was already walking towards the door.
Usually, a knight sworn to the Winternox family guards the front of the castle.
But the weather was so severe that it was difficult for anyone to come unexpectedly and suddenly. Being outside in this weather was nothing short of torture. So, there was no one guarding the outside.
“Who is it?”
Mrs. Wells asked without unlocking the door.
“—!”
The sound was muffled due to the humming wind, but it was not difficult to infer that it was a human voice.
“My goodness, God. Of all times…”
Having heard the other party’s words clearly unlike herself, Mrs. Wells called out to God in a small voice. Her complexion turned pale as if she had heard a ghost’s voice.
What could be the reason for climbing this hill on a night when it’s snowing like a storm?
‘In this weather…’
Is it because she became a beastman? Occasionally, Carol felt a sense close to intuition. It was like that now.
A snake slithered up her leg and coiled around her chest, giving her a suffocating feeling. Beyond discomfort, goosebumps rose on the back of her neck.
But it was a sense without a known source or reason.
“Is it okay?”
Just before Mrs. Wells opened the door, Carol asked in an urgent voice.
“Oh my.”
“Ma’am?”
Mrs. Wells looked back in surprise.
“I’m sorry. This is the first time in my life…..to just leave you there, Miss Carol!”
Mrs. Wells trembled her lips as if she was quite surprised by her mistake. Carol responded kindly to her confession that she had completely forgotten.
“Don’t worry about me.”
“Norman said he would prepare the ingredients for breakfast since he was already awake.”
“Is that so?”
“So he’s probably in the kitchen on the first floor. If you ask him to show you to the guest room, he will.”
“Yes, I’ll do that. Is it okay if I don’t call anyone else?”
“And after that, please come to the lobby.”
Mrs. Wells smiled awkwardly.
“Is that all I have to say?”
“Yes. I’m sorry to ask you this.”
“It’s on my way.”
The reason there were no other servants was because of her. There was no need to feel responsible or guilty, but there was also no reason to ignore a request that was not difficult.
She had just passed the kitchen on the first floor, when Carol retraced her steps.
Creak. The heavy door opened and a strong wind blew in.
Carol didn’t hear who it was, but Mrs. Wells must have heard the other person’s words. Thus she was even more flustered.
‘Who was it?’
Who would be in such a hurry to open the door without even waiting for someone else?
If the door is opened directly for a guest, it means they are a valuable guest.
Carol was at the end of the hallway and could only see the first person who came in.
Carol stopped and stared at the person who came in.
As soon as she saw that person, her breath choked.
Why is an uneasy premonition never wrong?
“I’m sorry for the late hour.”
The unfamiliar voice was incredibly elegant.
As if she knew well the rudeness of coming unannounced at dawn, she apologized first and Mrs. Wells nodded heavily.
“You’re always welcome. With so much snow falling… Was it hard for you to come?”
“It was incredibly tough.”
“It was a long journey.”
“I originally planned to arrive a little earlier.”
As she took off her hat, she brushed off the snow piled on it.
She explained that she had arrived in Cardiff later than expected and tried to find a suitable accommodation, but the accommodations were all full, so she left for the Duke’s Mansion a little late at night, excusing her rudeness.
However, the snow was falling so heavily that the carriage couldn’t move at all, so the carriage stopped halfway.
If she went down as it was, there would be no accommodation, so after a lot of thought, she started walking aimlessly.
After hearing the whole story, Mrs. Wells greeted her party in the reception room with hurried steps.
“Oh dear. It must be cold, so please come in first.”
An unexpected, uninvited guest had come to the closed Duke’s Mansion.
A guest who, although uninvited, had a reason that could not be driven away.
“Lady Margaret Chesworth.”
The fiancée of Edward Winternox.
****
Her hair was not as shiny as her younger sister and the female protagonist, Elisha, but it was well-maintained dirty blonde.
It was dark because it was wet with snow, but when it dries, it will probably have a brighter color.
The face she saw from the side was incredibly elegant.
As long as she doesn’t stop her, she is the trigger for the Duke.
The moment she thought that, Carol started running.
She wanted to run away.
She was scared.
…And she wanted to check if the Duke was okay.
“Huff, huff…”
She ran until she was out of breath.
The wheel of tragedy was slowly starting to roll, but it should have been at least a few months later.
When the year changes and the founding ceremony begins.
It was right for her to visit here when the Duke was most lonely.
Did one flap of her wings bring about this result?
This can’t be.
“Carol?”
When she reached the kitchen, Norman was busily moving around, cooking.
“Norman!”
“What’s the matter that you’re running like that?”
“There’s a guest downstairs.”
“At this time of night?”
“Mrs. Wells asked me to call Norman…Are you busy?”
Carol asked, looking around the kitchen.
“I’m almost done. I was making porridge to serve to the Duke. I just need to deliver it. Is it urgent?”
“Maybe… I’m not sure. I didn’t hear who the guest was.”
Norman pondered for a moment.
It was strange for a guest to come at this time, but if it wasn’t an important person, Mrs. Wells wouldn’t have entertained them regardless of the weather outside.
But not only did she entertain the guest, she also called Norman.
With little information, Norman assessed the importance of the guest, put the porridge in a bowl, and quickly set it on a tray.
“I’m sorry, but could you deliver this to the Duke instead? I don’t want to serve it after it cools.”
“Yes, I will.”
“Thank you.”
Norman, who had wiped his wet hands on his apron, hurriedly walked towards the lobby.
“Oh, right.”
Carol remembered belatedly that she should have asked about the guest room where she would stay, but first, she had to deliver the porridge she had received.
She looked at the clock. There was still time until morning, so she calculated that it wouldn’t be too late to ask again after delivering the food to the Duke. Carol picked up the tray.
‘If he can eat, does it mean he has calmed down a bit?’
The Duke was so tormented on the day Margaret Chesworth arrived.
Upon learning this fact for the first time, she put strength into her hand holding the tray.
Thank you for the chapter ❤️