However, he couldn’t go alone.
No matter how outstanding Louis’s abilities were, he was currently a small craftsman with limited resources.
It was already a stretch for him to have visited the North a few times.
So, going there unexpectedly like this was something he couldn’t even dream of.
Therefore, Louis used a trick.
Margaret Chesworth.
He used her.
Her engagement to the Duke of Winternox was a well-known fact in the metropolitan social circles.
Just in time, Louis’s family, the Dean family, who were about to invest in the tourism business, were able to find out faster than others that the Duke stayed indoors and did not go out even in the North.
[I’ve heard about the accident. It’s very regrettable.]
[That’s right. So, the engagement wasn’t canceled, it was just postponed.]
[That’s not why I wanted to see you. The business will be valid, and so will the engagement.]
[Then why did you look for me?]
[People who are sick won’t forget the person who stayed by their side.]
[But the North… it’s too far for me to go alone.]
[My hometown is also in the North. If you go, I can escort you.]
[…In that case… I’ll have to talk to my father.]
Louis impulsively persuaded Margaret to come to the North.
Unlike the image he showed to Carol, Louis had a cunning and crafty side.
Thanks to that, despite his age and his entry into the metropolitan social circles, he was able to naturally blend in.
It was a necessary skill to survive, but it was not the image he wanted to show to Carol.
Since he couldn’t enter the Duke’s Mansion with his own status, being with Margaret Chesworth was the best choice for Louis.
At first, she was swayed, but by now, she must have realized that she was somewhat wrapped around Louis’ fingers.
It was distasteful to be in debt, but he had no choice.
‘Carol can’t even tell me the reason why she’s here.’
He thought he would know why she came here just by looking at her face.
Because he thought Carol would naturally tell him.
But that was his misconception. Carol didn’t tell him.
It wasn’t the first time they had been far apart, but this time he felt a sense of crisis. The distance between the two had grown further than ever before.
If he hadn’t come this time, the distance between them might have become irreparable.
Fortunately, it didn’t seem to be the worst situation. There were few servants in the Duke’s Mansion who knew about Carol.
‘Is it really a relief?’
Carol lives a different life from ordinary servants. The person she has the most contact with is the Duke.
When he found out about that, he thought ‘Could it be the Duke?’ but soon shook his head. It seemed like Margaret’s thoughts had transferred. But the Duke, who had been at the top of the nobility since birth, would never be interested in Carol, a commoner.
‘Even if he is, it won’t be serious.’
When he got to that thought, Louis’s jaw dropped.
“What are you thinking?”
“Nothing. Anyway, I felt bad for not coming for a few days, so I brought a gift.”
Louis quickly composed his expression and handed over the gift he had brought.
By not imposing any sanctions on Carol, the Duke had imprinted her existence on Margaret.
Is that all? After that, Margaret was greatly upset by the notification that there wouldn’t be any more private meetings with Margaret.
In front of her, it wouldn’t be good to bring up Carol’s story for no reason.
“All this…”
“It’s a small token, please accept it.”
Although it was small, the expenditure was considerable. A cloak made of sheep’s wool from the North was a luxury item that was worth calling for even in the capital when winter came.
“I didn’t ask for this.”
“Of course. I just hope you’ll accept it.”
Margaret wore a gracious smile, having roughly estimated the price of the gift.
“…I’ll gratefully accept it. Since you’ve been busy, I should understand.”
“I’m living on your generous heart.”
While pretending to be cheeky as if he hadn’t slept a wink, Louis sat across from Margaret and made a gesture of wiping his forehead.
“I thought you were also upset with me because I was a bit rude to the Duke.”
Despite her calm tone, her gaze was still cold.
“There’s no way.”
Louis lied without even wetting his mouth. Soon, the servant who had opened the door brought tea. It meant she wouldn’t send him away right away.
Louis took the teacup and naturally brought up the purpose of his visit here.
“I stayed longer than I thought because of the snow, but when I asked the coachman, he said we could leave soon.”
“Ah.”
“When will…”
Before Louis could get to the point, she cut him off.
“Unfortunately, I think I’ll be here a little longer.”
“…Yes?”
His expectation that she would want to leave as soon as possible, even a day earlier, completely missed. At the moment Louis’s unfiltered expression was revealed, she laughed.
“I know it’s better to go back.”
“…”
“I’m going to stay until I can show the Duke my face, or until I can show my sincerity.”
“I see.”
The obstinacy glimpsed between her laughter showed how firm her determination was.
“I don’t want to spend the founding day alone in the carriage going back.”
“…Your opinion is the most important.”
Louis didn’t bother to persuade her. It was a refusal to interfere any further. Margaret stared at him drinking the slightly cooled tea.
Margaret had been debating whether to say this or not.
‘But it’s probably better to give this much advice.’
Margaret opened her mouth, feeling the soft touch on her fingertips.
Every time she thought of the small-bodied commoner woman with brown hair, a bitter taste came to her mouth.
“Since she’s your special person, I think it’s better for me to say something.”
“What do you mean?”
“You should hurry, it’s better to leave as soon as possible.”
Margaret warned. If he left now at her warning, she intended to be generous and not disregard what happened with the Duke before.
“Take your cute friend with you.”
She gave him a chance to run away, albeit for a very short time. With this, she had done enough.
Contrary to her sparkling gaze, she elegantly put down her teacup with a graceful gesture and issued a dismissal order.
“I need to rest now. The cold weather makes people lazy.”
“…Thank you for your kind words.”
Louis stood up from his seat without hiding his stiff face.
****
The door, left alone for a long time and rusted at the hinges, opened with a creak.
Carol stopped mopping and turned towards the door.
“Don’t open the door so roughly!”
“Sorry. The door is fine.”
Before long, Kevin, who had regained his health, came rushing in with a lively face.
He didn’t look like someone who had just managed to get up from his bed yesterday.
On the contrary, he looked more energetic than before. Kevin looked around the inside and asked Carol.
“Did you clean up everything inside?”
“Yes.”
Carol put her hand on her waist, looked down at the clean floor with a satisfied face, and said.
“I also swept outside.”
“Already?”
Instead of answering, Kevin flung the door wide open to show her outside.
“You haven’t forgotten that we took care of everything when sister couldn’t come because she got a job, have you?”
“You’re really fast…”
Carol said in a surprised voice.
Before long, the weeds that had bloomed through the winter and the snow had been cleanly swept away.
“The house we’re living in now is uncomfortable, but I wonder how we really lived here.”
Dylan, the last one to enter the house, grumbled as he brushed the snow off his shoulder.
Carol, who had washed her hands, wiped the moisture on her apron and instructed the two.
“The soup is ready. Sit down.”
“What kind of soup?”
“The usual potato soup.”
A pot of soup that had started boiling before cleaning was bubbling on the stove.
Carol had returned to the place where she lived with her parents and siblings.
It was the last day of her sick leave.
[It’s growing pains.]
[…Growing pains?]
The reason Kevin suddenly collapsed was due to growing pains.
The answer made their worries fade away.
“Most of what we learn is tailored to humans.”
“Yes.”
“Swordsmanship, magic, and so on. That’s why it’s hard for beastmen to reach a certain level.”
“…I know.”
“But that’s not absolute. Occasionally, there are cases where that wall is broken.”
Only then could the doctor’s point be understood.
“What do you mean…?”
“It would be certain when you wake up, but probably that’s the case.”
The doctor disappeared, saying that even if it wasn’t, a high fever was not a worry.
To make matters worse, Dylan also fell the next day, so he had no choice but to ask for the Duke’s permission and rest.
And fortunately, as the doctor said, the two soon got up.
“The vacation, thanks to us, ends tomorrow.”
“You have to rest on vacation. And it’s not a vacation, it’s a sick leave.”
“You’ve been fine since the day before yesterday.”
“What if you let your guard down and get sick for a longer time?”
“Sister, you worry too much.”
She had thought before that her siblings had a great appetite, but now their stomach was back to what it was then.
Thanks to that, Carol, who used to be smaller than her siblings, now looked like a little kid between them.
It was natural that Carol, a sparrow beastman, was not similar in size to the two horse beastmen.
It was when Carol, with a newfound look, was looking at the two and picked up a spoon.
Kevin and Dylan, who were exchanging glances, glanced outside and opened their mouths.
“Sister.”
“Hmm?”
“How about with Brother Louis?”
