I turned away from him and began to walk deeper into the forest path. The path was well-paved as a walking path, so it wasn’t hard to walk.
Sir Maicher followed behind me.
After about three minutes of walking, I saw a large open space.
There were some spots to sit around the edges, but fortunately, there wasn’t a single person in sight.
As I looked around, I suddenly had the urge to do something and turned to Sir Maicher.
“Um, Sir Maicher.”
“Yes, what is it?”
“Can I ask you for a small favor?”
“What is it?”
“Just… would you mind listening?”
He looked at me with a puzzled expression.
“Listening to what?”
I smiled gently and slowly began to speak. The morning air was a bit chilly but refreshing, and I took a deep breath, letting the sound escape.
The leaves rustled. My hair brushed against my cheeks. I began to sing, using that as my rhythm.
It was an old love song about longing for someone. There were no explosive high notes or flashy techniques, just a gentle voice filled with affection.
Indeed, my throat felt much more relaxed. I thought I could finish at least the first verse.
Unconsciously, I smiled as I sang. The song grew more and more poignant, expressing the longing for a loved one, but I couldn’t help but smile.
The sound moved exactly as I wanted it to. It vibrated, broke off, and reconnected just the way I wished.
The sky seemed clear. The world looked beautiful. This moment, where I could freely produce sound, made me incredibly happy.
Flap-
When the song ended, I heard the sound of birds flying from the trees. I watched the shadows of the birds as they flew away.
“How was it?”
I turned to Sir Maicher and asked. Even though I had finished the first verse, I hadn’t coughed up blood. This proved that my voice was gradually improving.
Sir Maicher was quietly watching me. His eyes were wide open, and I felt a bit awkward, so I kept absentmindedly fixing my hair.
Was it a mess? Well, my throat wasn’t completely healed, so I couldn’t sing like I used to.
B-but still, it wasn’t bad this time. As I fidgeted nervously, Sir Maicher finally spoke.
“…It was beautiful.”
“Really?”
I asked again, but Sir Maicher didn’t repeat himself. However, I had heard it clearly, and I couldn’t help but feel proud.
Last time, Carlothian had said that my singing wasn’t good enough to share with others. But hearing this acknowledgment made me feel like I was on cloud nine.
As I smiled, I felt warmth rise to my ears. I giggled, unable to help myself from grinning like a fool.
“Thank you.”
Sir Maicher didn’t respond, but I could tell. There was no falsehood in that statement.
“Alright, let’s head back now.”
With that, we returned to our lodging together.
Sir Maicher went to rest in the knights’ quarters, and I began to wake the still-sleeping Carlothian.
“Carlothian, are you going to sleep more?”
“…I’ll get up.”
“Rest more if you’re tired.”
“No, I have paperwork to finish.”
He ran a hand through his hair and got out of bed. Then he called for a servant to prepare a new shirt.
“Have you had breakfast?”
“No, not yet.”
“Let’s eat together.”
“Ah, that sounds good!”
After he changed clothes, we went down to the dining room on the first floor and took our seats. I wasn’t picky about what to eat, so I let Carlothian choose the menu while I playfully swung my feet.
“Then I’ll prepare this for you.”
The waiter who took our order left, and I hummed happily. Carlothian raised an eyebrow at the sound.
“What’s got you in such a good mood?”
“Oh, was it that obvious?”
I smiled at him.
“I don’t think Sir Maicher is a bad person.”
“…Of course he isn’t. But why bring that up all of a sudden?”
He asked. I nodded, resting my elbows on the table and chin on my hands.
“He said my singing was quite good.”
“…Singing? You sang for Pierne Maicher?”
“Yes, just once during our walk. And unlike someone, he actually said it was pretty good.”
I held my head high like a child who had received praise. However, Carlothian’s expression was strange.
It was the look of someone who didn’t like the situation at all. Exactly that.
“I…”
He mumbled something. But the table was quite wide, so I couldn’t hear him well. I leaned toward him and asked again.
“What did you say? I didn’t catch that.”
“…Forget it.”
Carlothian cut off his words sharply, almost like someone who was sulking. I blinked at him in confusion, unsure of what had just happened.
“What is it? What’s wrong!”
“Never mind, you don’t need to know.”
“How petty!”
“I’m always petty.”
He was an impenetrable shield, and I was a toothpick! Grumbling to myself, I picked up my spoon to eat the freshly served dish.
Carlothian was so stubborn that he didn’t say anything until the meal was over.
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
In the early afternoon, the carriage began heading to Anrize. Ariadeline was dozing off in the carriage.
Carlothian, who had been carefully looking over documents despite the bumpy ride, quietly moved to sit next to her when he saw her.
As soon as Ariadeline felt him sit beside her, she promptly leaned against his arm.
Carlothian chuckled at the sight but soon returned to his documents. However, his mind was preoccupied with the earlier events.
‘He said my singing was quite good.’
When she said that, Ariadeline’s eyes had sparkled with genuine joy. At that moment, Carlothian thought,
‘I clearly told her not to sing unless I was around.’
Her singing had a way of stirring people’s hearts. He had no doubt that the person she sang about was him.
Crumple.
The document in Carlothian’s hand crumpled slightly.
Thinking about other men hearing that, honestly, it bothered him. She sang as if she were someone deeply in love.
He didn’t want anyone to see that face, that expression, that gesture of hers. Yet Ariadeline, without a second thought, shared it with others and smiled with delight.
‘…Should I have praised her then?’
Ariadeline was quite obsessed with her voice. Carlothian knew this well.
Perhaps it was due to her “singing.” The expression she showed whenever she sang was a clear indicator of that.
He wasn’t sure how much singing occupied her life, but it seemed to dominate most of it.
As Carlothian pondered this, a question suddenly crossed his mind.
‘How significant is my presence in Ariadeline’s life?’
In truth, there was no doubt that Ariadeline loved him.
He could tell just by seeing her desperately crying and begging him to love her whenever she suffered from madness.
However, once she came out of that madness, Ariadeline had never once told him she loved him.
That fact weighed oddly on his mind. He briefly took his eyes off the documents and looked at Ariadeline.
She was soundly asleep, unaware of her surroundings. Her downturned golden eyelashes were the only ones visible. Carlothian suddenly felt strange about himself.
What difference did it make if she didn’t love him?
He lightly shook his head and began to focus on the documents again.
As time passed and the sun began to set, the knights started preparing for camp. Several of them helped set up tents and build a fire, while the servants busily took out food to prepare dinner.
Pierne, who was tending the fire, glanced at the carriage. Even after arriving at the campsite, the two had not exited the carriage.
There was even a command from Carlothian forbidding them to approach it.
Pierne felt like he was going crazy over it. Fortunately, the inside of the carriage was quiet, but the scene he had seen before wouldn’t leave his mind. And then,
‘The sound of singing.’
Whenever he was alone, the song Ariadeline had sung kept echoing in his head.
It was a song he had never heard before, but he understood one thing: Only someone who loved someone deeply could sing like that.
And the person she loved—it was obvious.
Carlothian Denaves. His lord and her ex-husband.
The villainess, driven mad by jealousy and her deep love for him, resorted to black magic. Pierne knew this well.
However, the Ariadeline he saw up close was so different from what he had imagined. No, she had changed too much from before.
As he stared at the carriage while tending the fire, a knight standing next to him spoke up.
“Why are you staring at the Duke’s carriage like that?”
“I’m not.”
“No? You’re practically boring a hole through it.”
That was the guy who had gotten punched by Pierne yesterday for talking nonsense.
Phil Greint. He had a friendly personality, but he was a bit too cheeky and sometimes crossed the line with his comments.
That’s why no one stopped Pierne when he swung his fist yesterday.
He really should control his mouth. The other knights would sometimes playfully scold Phil for his behavior.
After all, most of the banter among men was just common teasing.
“What happened yesterday?”
“Nothing.”
“I heard you even escorted Ariadeline on her morning walk today.”
“That’s none of your business. And it’s Miss Ariadeline.”
At Pierne’s words, Phil gasped and grabbed his shoulder, shaking him.
“Hey! Pierne, have you really fallen under black magic? That woman is a villainess!”
