Chapter 3
Favorite.
She didn’t know when she’d fallen asleep, maybe it was the relaxation after Julienne had left the room.
ebony had fallen asleep as soon as she had taken off her dress.
Julienne Leonard was very sweet and well-mannered.
She hadn’t had her wedding yet, but from the looks of it, she was in good shape.
healthy. However, the fact that she was away for a couple of days to receive medical treatment
I’m sure she’s injured somewhere, but it would be rude to ask where.
She could only keep her mouth shut.
Just then, there was a knock on the door, and Rachel entered with a maid, carrying a basin of water and a small snack.
and a small snack.
“Madam. Did you sleep well?”
“Ma’am?”
The title change made ebon stop running a hand through his hair and glance up at her.
“I know it’s still before the wedding, but since you’ll be staying at the ducal residence, I thought we should change our titles.
since you’ll be staying at the duke’s house.”
“Just call me lady. Mrs. Wen?”
“It’s not polite, even in the eyes of the people downstairs. By the way, yesterday, out of the blue.
the Duke came to visit, and I couldn’t even wake you up.
She fell asleep without eating…….”
“When did the Duke come?”
Ebony wondered how long he had been watching her sleep.
She wanted to ask him him directly, but he didn’t want to be ugly in his sleep.
ugly in his sleep.
“You’re here before the moon is up, and I’m trying to wake you up, and I know it’s hard for you.
Please don’t wake her up……
By any chance, nothing bad happened to you? I’ve been waiting outside the door
outside the door for a while…….”
Rachel, who was just as worried as ebon about his temper, asked him anxiously, “What if he’s fierce?
She asked anxiously, and ebony held up her face for the maid to wipe.
“I found your veil had fallen off in your sleep.”
“Oh, dear! I was going to go in first, for fear I might do that……. So, as soon as you wake up
Did you put it on right away?”
“No. I didn’t realize it had come off until I was talking to the Duke for a while, and then I realized
afterward.”
Then both Rachel and the young maid, who was carrying the bell beside her, looked aghast.
astonished.
“So, then, the Duke has seen the bride’s bare face?”
“Yes.” ebony, who had just finished washing her face and was popping a biscuit into her mouth, replied meekly.
replied meekly.
“Well, well, that’s a disgrace to the House of hilliward, how could the bride be married before she was even married?
I’m sure the duke’s going to have something to say about it later!”
Rachel said, glaring fiercely at the young maid, a person of the Duke’s household.
Her glare warned her that no words were to be spoken. The young maid
nodded hastily in understanding.
But ebony, unlike Rachel, was not amused.
“I don’t think the Duke would have any quibbles. He told me to put it back on, and he took it off himself.
it off himself.”
“The Duke?”
This time, both Rachel’s and the maid’s eyes widened.
A husband who covered his wife’s shame.
a husband who covered his wife’s shame. It was unheard of.
“I said Julienne Leonard.”
ebony muttered as she pulled off her nightgown. The maid acted as if she hadn’t heard her.
and slipped her underwear on her naked body without a word.
“I like it.”
Ebony’s words startled the young maid, and she pulled the laces tight. The tightening felt
slightly uncomfortable, but ebony said nothing.
The dining room they were ushered into for breakfast was not fancy, but it was clean.
The large the table was surprisingly set with only her meal.
Behind her seat, two young knights in full uniform, either attendants or knights of honor, stood in front of her.
And bowed at the sight of her, one of whom she recognized as the man she’d met yesterday.
Henry, whom she had met yesterday.
“Isn’t the Duke eating?”
I asked the maid carrying the food, and Hayley, who was standing behind me instead of the maid, answered.
Replied.
“He didn’t sleep well last night, so he’s sleeping now. We’ll eat later.
later. Madam.”
At Hayley’s words, ebon nodded, picked up his cutlery, and then looked back at her again.
back to her and asked.
“Have you eaten, Lord Hanley?”
For a moment, Hayley looked surprised to be asked if she had eaten.
for a moment, then straightened up and replied politely.
“Yes, sir. I have, ma’am.
Ebon nodded in acknowledgment of her words, then scooped up the warm soup.
Spices the mild flavor, so unlike the strong northern flavors, seemed off-putting at first,
but as I ate it, it became savory.
She hadn’t eaten well all trip, and she hadn’t eaten last night.
emptied the entire bowl.
Normally, noble young ladies are expected to leave half of their food, but her attitude was such that the knights and maids
The knights and maids all looked surprised, but quickly recovered their expressions.
their expressions.
Rachel understood what their expressions meant, but she had already lived so long in difficult conditions that she could not but she had spent so much time in difficult circumstances where there was never enough food to go around.
Ebon’s eating habits.
She was just glad he was eating well, she thought, given the strangeness of the place.
***]
Hearing a creak, Julienne instinctively grabbed for the knife under the sheet and soon realized it was Hayley.
It was Hayley, she realized, and released her grip, speaking in a cultured voice.
“I thought I told you to escort the Duchess.”
“Richard is escorting her. It’s time to go to the Lukner people.”
“Yes. …… Have you packed enough supplies?”
“Yes.”
Julienne dried her face and rose from her seat. The ribbon came undone, revealing the hem of her
The hem of her nightgown slipped off her shoulders, revealing a mottled, gray-scaled back.
was revealed. Rough and hard, they looked like the scales of a dragon.
“Your Majesty. This…….”
Hayley approached him with a serious look on her face, and Julienne touched his shoulder.
Julienne looked back at her shoulder and gasped, “This?
“Hasn’t it been a full month yet?”
“This month seems to have a short cycle. You haven’t even been back for a week, so why would it be
again……. What should I do? The wedding is the day after tomorrow. Are you feeling okay?”
“I don’t have any symptoms yet, haha…….”
Julienne sat back on the bed and let out a long sigh.
“I shouldn’t have listened to the Emperor, I shouldn’t have gotten married.”
“But you refused, and now you’re challenging the Emperor’s authority again.
Even the priests.”
He paused in thought for a moment, then rose to his feet.
“Let’s just go to Lukner’s as soon as possible.”
“Are you sure you don’t mind?”
“There’s still time. Get Ian and Herringer ready. Tell Mark to double-check the outbuilding jail
the outbuilding jail again.”
“Oh, you’re going back in today, then the wedding is…….”
“If nothing changes, it’ll go on as scheduled, but if it does…… have to be postponed.”
Hayley nodded, looking anxiously at the gray scales that covered every inch of his naked body.
gray scales that dotted his naked body.
Luckner was a home for orphans and widows on the estate. Unable to work
orphans and widows who are unable to provide for themselves.
It was not uncommon for them to be trafficked for cheap labor.
Unlike the other lords, Julienne took it upon herself to take care of them. A lord
No lord dared to use, buy, or sell those who cared for them.
With her knights, Herringer and Ian, she assessed their situation and provided them with the supplies they needed.
and provided them with the necessary supplies, Julien was just about to mount his horse when several orphans and widows came to him with wreaths and bundles of flowers
and bunches of flowers.
“We hear you are getting married, my lord, congratulations.”
They bowed, offering him their shabby but carefully crafted bouquets and wreaths.
and wreaths. Julien accepted it with an embarrassed expression, and they clapped their hands in congratulation.
in congratulations.
“I think they’re all glad you’re married.”
Ian said to him on the way back to the castle.
“Why?”
“Because they were all worried about what would happen if you didn’t get married.”
The lords were not unmoved, but they all knew that their lord had been wounded in the war and that he had been
and that he had been wounded in the war and had been barred from the palace. What if they made a mistake and the land they lived in
The lord was more protective of his territory than they thought.
They were fortunate that the lord had protected the territory better than they had expected, and that he would occasionally make inspections.
I was.
But now that they were getting married, the lord would finally have a stable family.
to finally have a stable family.
Julienne and the knights knew that the bouquet they presented was no mere congratulatory gift.
They knew that the bouquet was not just a congratulatory gift. It was an expression of comfort, encouragement, and trust and an expression of trust.
That they trusted him to protect them.
“Fortunately, my lord hilliward is not, as you feared, a shadow sent by the Emperor.
as you feared. Our shadows report that he has no contact with the Emperor at all.
with the Emperor at all, and besides, the north is a neglected part of the country.
to plant a shadow, he would rather send a noble in the capital.”
At Ian’s words, Julienne replied with an expressionless face.
“I have heard.”
The investigation into her had been completed before she had even set out from the north. And
in person, she was far too innocent and innocuous to be a shadow sent by the Emperor.
and sunny.
She was almost like a child when she realized the veil had been lifted. All she wanted was
to marry a faceless woman to restore her family and estate,
Julienne vaguely realized that she should be taken care of like the Lukners.
To Julienne, Ebony hilliward is not just another orphan or widow to be protected and cared for.
Ebony hilliward was to be protected and cared for like Lukner’s orphans and widows, nothing more, nothing less.
***]
In the small chapel built for prayer within the castle, preparations for the wedding were in full swing.
Due to Julienne’s health, no outside guests were invited, except for the priest and priests who were to perform the ceremony.
No outside guests were invited, except for the priest and priests who were to perform the ceremony.
It was rumored that he was not merely injured, but might have contracted a foreign plague.
and rumors that he might have contracted a foreign plague, so no one dared to ask to attend.
Only the people of the estate were given gifts of bread, milk, and fruit in honor of the duke’s wedding.
bread, milk, and fruit in honor of the Duke’s wedding.
Dressed in a pure white gown and veil, Ebony hilliward looked a little different than she had when she first arrived from her homeland.
when she first arrived from her homeland.
The only thing that had changed was her long, dark hair, which had hung down when she arrived at the ducal residence.
was now up in an elegant bun.
She also wore jewelry from her hometown. Remembering her father
who couldn’t make it to the wedding, she adorned herself with the things he had given her.
Soon, Ebon entered the temple, accompanied by the choir. On the dais were the priests and priestesses
and the priest who had come to officiate, and before him stood the bridegroom.
in a red velvet cloak.
It wasn’t that cold, especially in the temple, but his velvet cloak felt a little hot.
The furry collar of his velvet cloak came up almost to his ears.
almost to his ears.
It was the way southern grooms were supposed to dress, but it didn’t look very natural.
It was not what it seemed.
He held out a gloved hand as ebon stepped up to the platform.
I took his hand.
I sucked in an involuntary breath.
Despite the gloves, his hand was surprisingly cold.
\
surprisingly cold. I wondered if it was human body temperature.
His face, visible through the embroidery on his veil, was no whiter than it had been the night before.
It looked bluish.
Regardless of the groom’s condition, the priest began the ceremony.
