"You should go to Rowan, Irena. If you like it, you can stay there forever."
"Really? Are you truly allowing this?"
Irena was so delighted by the Duke of Vermont's words she hardly knew what to do.
"Yes. How can a father say two different things with the same mouth?"
"Oh, Father! Thank you so much!"
Irena seemed so moved that she walked around the desk to where the Duke of Vermont sat, knelt down, hugged his waist, and made an adorable gesture.
"I thought you would never allow it."
The Duke of Vermont smiled warmly and patted the head of his daughter, who was behaving like an affectionate puppy.
"When have I not kept my word? Have you ever seen this father make empty promises?"
The story goes back to when the Duke of Vermont returned from Rowan Castle to Valmonde Castle with thirty wagonloads of provisions. At that time, Irena had greeted him with joy, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.
*"Will you tell me about your visit to Rowan tomorrow?"*
*"Yes. Let's have lunch together."*
The next day, the Duke of Vermont had to field a barrage of questions from Irena throughout lunch with his wife and three daughters—with no time for food to even reach his mouth.
*"Do people in Rowan really dress so scantily?"*
*"It was hot, so they wore undignified clothes that revealed their bodies."*
*"Are there really many flowers in Rowan?"*
*"They bloom here and there, but they're not particularly beautiful flowers—mostly just flowering weeds."*
*"I see. I want to see it in person, at least once."*
For Irena, who loved flowers, the Duke of Vermont had even built a small greenhouse in the castle. The transparent, thick glass was a luxury item as expensive as diamonds. A tremendous amount of money had been spent building a greenhouse the size of a room, made of thick glass with a strong, unbending cast iron frame to withstand the weight of winter snow.
Irena, gifted with her own greenhouse, grew trees and flowers in it. However, growing plants in limited sunlight was inevitably different from cultivating them naturally in open air.
Having grown up gazing at imported paintings of flower gardens, Irena wanted to see such landscapes herself—something Valmonde's climate made impossible.
Vermont was the King of the North. Looking simply at accumulated assets, it was at a level that surpassed even the Oberon royal family. So much so that when a daughter was born to Vermont, she would never participate in the debutante balls held in the capital's social circles.
Vermont's daughters were envied by everyone—suitors were anxious to have them as wives. There was no reason for them to travel a week by carriage to the capital to be presented like a merchant displaying his wares.
Instead, when his daughters came of age, the Duke held grand balls at Castle Valmonde, which nobles called the "Northern Debutante." Vermont's daughters received a dedicated debut season.
Until a Vermont daughter married, she would never leave Castle Valmonde, where she held such power. This had been the custom since the ancestors who first built the castle, and there was no reason to change it now.
The Duke of Vermont was satisfied that he didn't have to give his beloved songbird away in marriage to a distant household. Even if his son-in-law hadn't died so wastefully, he'd planned to continue the prosperity he'd enjoyed with his lovely daughter and a well-raised son-in-law from another house.
Of course, the atmosphere on the estate wasn't as favorable as before due to the ten-year drought, but there were signs the drought would finally end. With Claudel's marriage putting out the most urgent fires, it was only a matter of time before Valmonde regained its former glory.
However, after Irena lost her betrothed and became like a lonely wild goose, his worries as a father had deepened. Among the candidates for his daughter's husband, he'd chosen the very best, yet the man had died. He wondered if she would have survived had he chosen someone else.
Irena, still young and naive, persistently urged the Duke of Vermont to let her visit Rowan.
*"Claudel went too. Father also visited. I want to go too, please?"*
*"It's too dangerous there."*
*"What's dangerous about a flower garden? I want to see the flowers too."*
*"You have plenty in the greenhouse, don't you? What more can I get you? Roses? How many whole trees would you like me to dig up from the south?"*
*"I don't like greenhouses. I want to see flowers blooming outdoors!"*
After this exchange continued for some time, the Duke of Vermont—exhausted by talk of flowers and Rowan—began avoiding his lovely daughter. Yet as he avoided her, he suffered the agony of missing Irena, who was so precious to him he wouldn't mind if she were placed directly in his eye.
"I'm allowing it with a generous heart. But you must be careful."
"Yes, Father. I'll never do anything dangerous."
"You must never sneak out of the inn where you're staying at night or anything of that sort. You know that if you do, you won't even reach Rowan—you'll end up back in Valmonde halfway there."
"Why would I do that? I never break promises to Father."
"Then will you make a promise to your father?"
When the Duke of Vermont held out his little finger and thumb, Irena smiled and hooked her little finger around his, pressing her thumb against his in a pinky promise.
"Are you satisfied?"
"Is it that wonderful?"
"Absolutely. I've really wanted to travel."
The Duke of Vermont gazed at his daughter fondly, helpless against her charm.
*That Temnes brat—his hatred for Vermont knows no bounds. Yet he's gotten along well with Claudel. Then there's no reason I can't have Temnes as my son-in-law.*
The Duke of Vermont smiled contentedly as he watched his daughter immediately begin planning her trip.
---
The atmosphere at Rowan Castle was shifting.
The reason was that Kaian, head and Lord of Temnes, went to Claudel's bedroom every night.
"I thought he'd get rid of the Vermont girl right away."
Some who'd expected something more dramatic were disappointed.
"It was a marriage ordered by the King, but I didn't think the Lord would soften so easily. Do you think if Vermont and Temnes produce an heir at this point, the old resentments will simply disappear?"
Others reacted positively, saying they'd known this would happen.
"By the way, the Lady—isn't she quite pretty?"
"That's right. With that red hair, I do think she's beautiful."
The young maids who still retained their girlish innocence chattered.
"Maybe because she was ill? She's small and delicate, but so lovely—she looks like a fairy."
"What fairy? She looks more like a fairy who'd freeze to death in a cold wind."
Friendly comments about Claudel were met with harsh criticism from Vermont hardliners, but gradually more and more people in the castle began thinking favorably of her.
"I came to check on the lunch preparations."
A spirited voice echoed through the kitchen.
"Hannah!"
"You came?"
The maid who'd praised Claudel as fairy-like moments ago immediately rushed over.
"Today the chef is making your favorite."
"Hannah, what do you like? Don't you want to eat what you used to have at Valmonde? I heard the food is quite different."
A maid with brown hair and brown eyes spoke casually.
"Well, Rowan food suits my taste quite well. If you transplanted what grows here to Valmonde, it would all wither and die. I think anyone would say Rowan's food is the finest in the Kingdom, no matter where they're from."
"Oh!"
"Absolutely. Rowan's food is the best in the Kingdom."
Hannah, who loudly praised Rowan in the middle of Rowan Castle, easily won the maids' favor. Some who'd been openly mocking Claudel and Hannah glared from the corner with crossed arms in disapproval, but the general sentiment at Rowan Castle was shifting in her favor.
As affection for Claudel grew and people watched Kaian treat her as his wife, those who'd initially expressed such strong dislike of Vermont were losing ground. Some of them began speaking to Hannah while placing dishes on trays.
When they discovered this maid had a fiery temperament yet overlooked past slights and didn't hold grudges, people flocked to her. They began asking questions about the nights between the Lady and Lord, causing quite a stir. Now those who still spoke against Vermont found themselves huddled in the corner of the kitchen, relegated to biting their nails in frustration.
*Look at them with all that wounded pride.*
Hannah secretly laughed at the servants and maids who glared from their corner.
When Hannah returned to the room after confirming a hearty lunch had been prepared, she found Claudel sitting by the window reading a book.
*My Lady.*
Once her consumption was completely cured, Claudel had regained her former self. Her red hair glowed bright scarlet in the sunlight filtering through thin curtains. Her flawlessly pale face had grown noticeably fuller and lustrous, and a sparkle had returned to her bright golden eyes—as if lit by divine grace.
Hannah hadn't realized Claudel was truly dying from illness. She'd mistakenly thought she was simply withering from stress, believing she'd marry into Temnes and face persecution.
When Hannah recalled that time, she felt her blood run cold and her whole body tremble. But in the end, Claudel was doing well and thriving now. Hannah's plan to flee Rowan Castle with Claudel had been temporarily shelved.
"My Lady, it's time for lunch."
"Already?"
"What do you mean 'already' when you've been reading all morning?"
Claudel smiled at Hannah's words and closed the book.
"How can I help it when there's so much to learn?"
Claudel was reading records left by past Duchesses of Temnes. They detailed how each had organized annual festivals and provided relief during disasters or calamities on the estate. As the new Lord's wife, Claudel would oversee everything from now on and personally record it herself.
"Take it easy."
"There's no time to take it easy. The autumn festival is coming up."
"The butler is preparing the autumn festival under the Lord's orders."
"I should be doing it."
Claudel had known that shortly after her marriage, she would die. As a result, she'd taken no interest whatsoever in estate affairs or the Duchess's duties. But since the great Lord had saved her life, she was now working frantically to fulfill them, as if her feet were on fire.
*So earnest, really. Why is she working so hard?*
Hannah thought Claudel's sincerity was part of her charm. In any case, she was so relieved that her beloved Lady—whom Hannah loved dearly—had returned as lively as before. And she was grateful she'd sworn allegiance to Temnes, for nine-tenths of this was thanks to Kaian. Hannah praised him generously.
"Even if you don't push yourself, the Lord still cares for you. You can learn slowly and begin properly next year."
"The Duke is a good person. He probably doesn't even notice someone like me."
"What are you saying? My Lady is so beautiful and intelligent. The Lord may not know how clever you are yet since you haven't had the opportunity to show it, but I'm certain he knows you're beautiful."
"What are you talking about, Hannah? I'm not beautiful. Irena is beautiful."
Claudel had been saying this frequently since receiving the telegram announcing Irena would visit Rowan. It was as if she believed that once Kaian saw Irena, he would fall in love with her.
Watching Claudel like this, Hannah sighed inwardly.
Objectively, both Irena and Claudel were beautiful, but their beauty and charm were quite different. If Irena possessed the classic beauty and aura of a typical noble lady, Claudel was distinctly unique.
Whether it was because she hadn't been raised as an aristocrat in her early years, or because Claudel simply possessed an innate, singular charm—Hannah couldn't pinpoint the reason.
Hannah was confident that people seeing Claudel for the first time would definitely think her far more beautiful. However, since Irena was the biological daughter of the Duke of Vermont and mistress of Castle Valmonde, everyone in the castle praised Irena's beauty while never speaking of Claudel's. It seemed Claudel didn't realize how lovely she truly was.
Claudel herself seemed to have been conditioned by living her entire life hearing that Irena was beautiful. One didn't need to witness a contest between beauties—the answer was obvious just from seeing Kaian come to her bedroom every night.
"The Lord will arrive soon. I'll bring your meal."
What could Hannah say? The fact that Claudel didn't realize her own beauty might also be part of her charm.
---
Kaian, who was just passing through the hallway at that moment, wore an uncomfortable expression.
The reason was that moments ago he'd overheard servants talking as he passed down the corridor to Claudel's room.
"Hey, do you know something? About the Lady."
"The Lady? What about her?"
"Doesn't the Lady smell incredibly good? Like a woman's perfume."
---