She quickly went in, closed the door, took off her cloak and hung it on the wall. As she approached the bed, the Grand Duke lifted one side of the blanket.
“It’s cold. Come in.”
Before she could even sit down, he wrapped one arm around her waist and pulled her towards him. As soon as she lay down in his arms, a pleasant sigh passed her forehead.
“My witch, no. How am I going to sleep tonight without my beauty doll?”
She raised her head and met his eyes. There was a languid smile on the Grand Duke’s lips. When he smiled like that, he was like a grown-up Grand Duke, no. He looked like a boy holding Toto. So she buried her head in his arms and closed her eyes.
“Good night.”
“…Are you tired?”
“Uh…”
Shewas oblivious a little while ago, but she wasn’t so oblivious that she didn’t even know the gist of this question.
“That’s not it…”
Her face started to get hot again.
“I mean, I ran into His Holiness on the way.”
“So?”
“What should I do if she has a strange suspicion? I’m embarrassed.”
She wanted to kick the blanket, but she held back because blankets were innocent.
“You haven’t forgotten that Giselle knows we’re lovers, have you?”
“No, anyway… It’s embarrassing to show everyone going into the bedroom at night.”
She wanted to hide in a mouse hole. Instead, as soon as she was caught, she pulled up the hem of her pajamas from the nape of her neck and hid with only her eyes exposed.
The Grand Duke looked down at her with his chin resting on his face, smiled, and reached out to touch her face. He muttered softly, playing with the button of his pajamas over his lips with his fingertips.
“Either you feel wronged because of unfounded suspicions. Or be happy instead of raising grounded doubts. I’d like you to choose the latter.”
That thought occurred to her as she looked up at the face illuminated by the firelight.
‘…Is that what you heard?
So again tonight, she was taken in by the Grand Duke’s words. As she held him in her arms and listened to his heartbeat, she unconsciously muttered to herself.
“It looks like a teddy bear made of hot stone.”
A chuckle sounded above her head and his arms wrapped even tighter. As always, they didn’t fall asleep right away and talked about small things.
“Tomorrow morning, I have to tell Luna that I arrived safely using the sense transfer magic.”
“I just hope they haven’t sent your sagebrush to heaven already.”
He was talking about pepper seedlings. When she told him that it was growing steadily, he called it that.
“Ah, my mouth is watering.”
She was excited to think about it again.
“Is it that delicious?”
“Sure. So delicious. You can eat it as a green pepper when it is fresh. When it ripens red, you can dry it, grind it well, and then add it to cooking…”
If you make it with red pepper paste, you can also make tteokbokki. Unfortunately, as an ordinary Korean office worker, she had no way of knowing how to make red pepper paste. It’s delicious to eat it this way and it’s delicious to eat it that way. As she continued praising it, the Grand Duke asked in a tone of disbelief.
“Are all the people where you live strong like you?”
“In general, I’m good at eating spicy food.”
She was a Korean who was immune to spicy tastes, so she guessed she could still use magic even after eating red peppers.
“But the food here isn’t that spicy, is it? Is it just spicy enough?”
“What? It wasn’t that spicy?”
It was a voice that said it was tired.
“I only ate one bite of it in the imperial palace, but I couldn’t use my holy power for half a day…”
“Oh no, I guess I’ll have to give up the fun of eating spicy food together.”
…together? How long would the word ‘together’ last? The happy feeling settled down and stuck to her heart like wet hair. No. She shook her head and snuggled further into the Grand Duke’s arms. This was a fairy tale. So the rule was to be happy for a long time. A fairytale-like ending would be waiting for them.
“Then in your world, with your family…”
The Grand Duke was about to say something, but then stopped. Was he asleep? Then there was no word.
“Good night.”
She wished that she could be held in his arms and say ‘together’ for the rest of her life. Even here in Billund, there was a shaman who used the same fundamental powers as holy power and magical power, although their beliefs were different. Maybe they knew something? She would wake up early tomorrow and look for the castle’s library. She should meet the shamans too. She closed her eyes again tonight, strengthening her will.
* * *
Killen Castle, ruled for a time by the Duke of Monette, had a workhouse for those who had lost their homes or children who had lost their parents in the war.
“In a place like this where so many people live together, if you don’t pay attention to cleanliness, infectious diseases can spread quickly.”
Hazel was astonished upon visiting the workhouse and rolled up his sleeves.
“Let’s start cleaning now.”
One by one, people who had been mesmerized by the broom sweeping the floor and the bedding flying into the laundry bin were busy looking for something to do. Once the house was clean, it was time to clean the people. Hazel washed the women and children here. The children, who looked completely different from when she first saw them, gathered together at a table set up in the workhouse cafeteria.
“Wow! It smells good!”
“Can I eat this?”
“I’ll bake it and give it to you. You just have to eat it.”
The children stood next to Hazel making the cookie dough and gulped their mouths. When the cookies were fully baked, the children decorated them with colorful icing and candy pieces. Half always ended up in the mouths of hungry children.
“Wow, the cookie is moving!”
Hazel started a puppet show with a small cookie house and human-shaped cookies in front of the children with cookies in their mouths.
“…Wouldn’t a house made of cookies appear?”
“Looks delicious.”
“I also want to own a snack shop.”
The children, who had no other entertainment, had a lot of fun. Hazel looked blissfully happy as she looked at them.
‘How can I ask you to give up your child and choose me?’
Elliot felt sad watching Hazel like that. Hazel stayed in the workhouse until the sun set. In the morning he stayed in the library. He also heard that he gathered together famous shamans and met them. Then he said nothing to him, which means that he failed to find a way this time too. That was why he spends all day in the workhouse. When Hazel has a hard time on her mind, his body moves even busier. It was a habit he had learned after observing for about five years.
“People’s hearts are so treacherous.”
Elliot remembered how Hazel had confessed her true feelings to him a few days ago after she had had a glass of wine.
“I wasn’t this desperate before, right? But the more I think about never seeing children who look like you and me, the more I want it.”
“They say if you really want it, it will come true.”
“If an unholy being called a witch makes a wish, will God grant it?”
“Those who have magical powers are defined as blasphemous because they are those with sacred powers, not gods. To God, anyone is a child made by his own hands, so he will grant their wishes.”
Hazel, smiling like a child, was pretty. She would have been just as pretty if it weren’t for the shadow of that smile. If she married him, would that shadow be on her smile for the rest of her life? Elliot remembered Hazel’s cautious words not long after the commotion of his proposal.
“You know. Actually, I’m okay with not having children. But you…”
‘It’s okay even if I don’t have children. But you…’
Elliot believed that what she said with the power of wine would be closer to her sincerity than when she said it was okay with her clear mind.
“The more I think about never seeing children who look like you and me, the more I want it.”
The more he watched Hazel happy surrounded by the children of the workhouse, the more his conviction became stronger. She could be happy even without children. She could love him even if they didn’t have children. But could they be happy even if he forced her to give up what she loved just for him? Hazel probably felt the same way and was hesitant.
* * *
Tonight, like last night, an intelligence operation was carried out. She even made an appointment with the Pope for tonight. Yesterday she kicked the blanket because she was embarrassed, but today she was happy because she felt like an accomplice in secretly doing bad things. The more she looked at the Pope, the farther he was from the solemn Pope she had imagined. She would say he was generous and easy-going. So it feels more emotional. In fact, even before leaving for the trip, she was worried that the Pope would be disapproving of her for having an affair with her lover, but she was unfounded.
“Hazel.”
As she continued to think incoherently with a hazy head, the Grand Duke suddenly called her.
“Yes?”
“What are you thinking about?”
“Ah, I thought His Holiness seemed like a fun person.”
“Are you thinking about another woman in my arms right now? You did too much.”
She couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
“Hazel.”
He hugged her closer and called me again.
“What?”
“If I ask you to tell me about the family I left behind… Is this a very immature and cruel request?”
She could hear in his voice that he wanted to get to know her better, but was hesitant because he was worried it might irritate her wounds. Now that she thought about it, was that why he brought up the family story last night? He was curious, but he was afraid it would be rude, so she thought it was cute and laughed when she imagined the Grand Duke suffering alone.
“It’s just like I said before. My parents weren’t there and I lived with my grandmother, but she passed away.”
She was afraid that if she continued to say this much, it would seem too heartless, so she went into more detail.
“My mom left home when I was nine and I never saw her again. My dad…”
Why her parents weren’t there, how she lived with her grandmother, and when she passed away. It was a story that was not often told to others. Because people used to think lightly of her or look at her pitifully. Either way, it’s not pleasant. But there was no way this man would take her lightly.
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Translator Note:
Next week I will take a little vacation so let me wisht you now:
Merry Cristmas and Happy New Year!
Hello there! This is RJR. I hope you liked it <3
If you like my work please support me with Ko-fi or Patreon. Next post will be released on January, 6
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