Why the Northern Duke Wanders the Snowfields - Chapter 34

“Sir Sion. Welcome.”

Rogavio, the designer and owner of Rogavio, the most famous and most expensive menswear shop in Tennant City where the ducal castle was located, greeted Sion Valian calmly without surprise even as he rushed in.

“R-Rogavio!”

“Yes, what brings you here in such a hurry?”

Rogavio accepted the ledger handed to him by an employee and opened it as he asked.

“I, I need clothes for the duke.”

Rogavio’s hand paused, then he quickly raised his head.

“Has the duke returned?”

“Of course. He’s returned safely, completely unharmed.”

“May the goddess of mercy grant her blessing.”

After offering a prayer, Rogavio went to the back of the shop with an employee and came out carrying a pile of clothes.

“From everyday wear to the latest ball attire, we have everything.”

“H-How did you make all of this?”

“Whenever fine fabric comes in, I always prepare the duke’s clothes in advance.”

Saying that the one who would wear them had finally returned, Rogavio gently stroked the clothes with tearful eyes and asked which ones to pack.

“Give me everyday wear. Nothing too flashy, but elegant and with a strong masculine appeal.”

“Of course. Shall I send them to the ducal castle?”

Sion shook his head. “I’ll take them myself.”

“Yes, understood.”

A short while later, Sion left the shop carrying a package of clothes and broke into a run.

***

“They came quickly.”

Aubrianna said as she wiped the baby’s mouth with a napkin. At that, Kaeloc, who had been cutting meat, was about to put down the knife but adjusted his grip again and muttered.

“It’s that guy again.”

“He’s your aide. The most reliable person you have.”

“That bastard?”

“Kaeloc.”

She frowned, telling him not to use such language in front of the baby, when Sion stood beside them with a dumbfounded expression.

“Your Grace?”

“You’re here at the right time. Would you like to eat with us?”

Usually, the woman who would stand silently by the duke’s side without saying a word now spoke to him with a bright smile, and Sion felt a strange sense of unfamiliarity as he called her name.

“Aubrianna?”

“Yes.”

Clatter.

Sion watched the knife move deftly over Kaeloc’s hand for a moment, then first held out the envelope.

“Here are the clothes you requested….”

“Ah! Thank you.”

Aubrianna accepted the envelope with a bright smile. Then she gestured to the empty seat beside Kaeloc.

“I ordered quite a lot since I wasn’t sure how much we’d eat.”

Sion hesitated, glancing at Kaeloc, and Aubrianna added a word.

“The one who’ll pay has come, so it would be a bit much to just send him away.”

“That’s true.”

When Kaeloc gave a reluctant nod, Sion carefully sat down.

“Abbu, aa.”

Still in Kaeloc’s arms, the baby seized the moment when the adults weren’t looking, quickly grabbed food from the plate with its hands, mashed it, and started flinging it.

Splat.

Sion slowly looked down at the brown, sticky sauce splattered across his white uniform.

“Oh my! I’m so sorry!”

As Aubrianna handed him a napkin, Sion accepted it with a sullen face and slowly wiped his clothes.

“But it seems you were badly hurt.”

With a bitter expression, Sion fiddled with the bandage on his neck, then looked at Kaeloc.

“Then will you be returning to the castle now? And your memory….”

“His memory hasn’t returned yet.”

“What?”

Sion recalled the duke’s signature on the paper.

“But the signature….”

“Ah! That. It just wrote itself.”

Chewing his steak, Kaeloc spun the knife.

“Y-Your Grace. On the table, the knife….”

“Why? Want me to stick it in your neck again?”

Sion’s complexion turned pale.

Aubrianna smiled faintly and brought up the matter.

“We’re planning to stay here for a few days.”

“Here?”

“Since we’ve been in the snowfield for so long. We thought that if we move around the city a bit and look around, his memory might come back.”

“No, wouldn’t it help more to stay somewhere familiar? For example, the ducal castle?”

As Sion spoke with a hint of sarcasm, Aubrianna set down the spoon she had been using to eat porridge and clasped her hands.

“Do you really think so?”

Sion swallowed.

In truth, no. If they went to the ducal castle now, he would be torn apart immediately. A duke with his body intact but his memory gone.

The duchess would welcome him with open arms and keep Cedric in the position of interim head of the house.

Sion crossed his arms and pressed his lips together. Then he looked at Aubrianna feeding the baby beside Kaeloc and asked, “By the way, you two.”

The duke’s blue eyes and Aubrianna’s red eyes turned to him at the same time.

“How did you end up together there?”

“Kaeloc saved me.”

Sion’s face turned cold. “Aubrianna. I’ve been watching, and you keep calling His Grace by his name.”

Daring to do so as a mere maid.

Reading the contempt written across Sion’s face, Aubrianna slowly looked at Kaeloc. Kaeloc bared his teeth and glared at Sion.

“Really? And who are you to say that?”

“Pardon? Your Grace. This is a matter of status….”

Thwack!

A sharp sound rang out as the knife sank into the wooden table.

“It seems you still don’t understand what the problem is.”

Seeing the handle of the knife tremble, Sion swallowed and subtly leaned his head back.

“I’ve been watching, and who are you to keep calling Aubrianna by her name?”

After looking him over from his black hair to his black eyes to his white uniform with clear displeasure, Kaeloc scoffed, and this time Sion looked at Aubrianna with a wronged expression.

It was a desperate look, as if asking her to say something, but Aubrianna only smiled quietly.

“I will never tolerate your lowly blood mixing with the duke’s noble blood.”

“Sir Sion! Please!”

Sion had coldly ignored her when, after Kaeloc went missing and she was confined to her room, she begged for help.

She had pleaded for him to at least send the baby somewhere safe. Sion looked at not only her but also Theophilus with displeasure.

“The duke has black hair and you have light brown hair, but this child….”

With a disgusted expression, Sion sneered as he looked at the baby’s deep blond hair.

“When the duke returns, he will find out about your infidelity.”

Aubrianna, forcing those memories aside, ignored Sion’s desperate gaze and lifted the porridge again.

‘You ignored my plea for help, so I won’t help you either.’

Moreover, Kaeloc took her side without asking anything. In her previous life, that would never have happened.

‘No, back then, I made sure nothing like that could happen in the first place.’

The moment Sion brought up a maid’s duty and the difference in status and rank, no matter how Kaeloc felt, she made sure to address him properly as “Your Grace” every single time.

‘Even in bed.’

She didn’t know whether Kaeloc loved her or not. But thinking that she had addressed the man she shared a bed with not by his name but by a title, she suddenly felt like she had done something she shouldn’t have.

‘This is just me overthinking it again.’

Let’s not think about it. She shook her head.

Now wasn’t the time to dwell on and regret her past actions.

“Kaeloc, should we finish eating this and rest a bit before we leave?”

“That sounds good.”

With a languid smile, Kaeloc pulled out the knife and tossed it onto the table.

“Then pay for the room and the meal and hand over all the money you have before you go.”

Acting no different from a bandit, Kaeloc shamelessly winked at her playfully.

Only then did Sion, with a truly aggrieved expression, empty his pockets and hand over all the money he had.

“Th-Then when will you return to the castle?”

“Who knows?”

As he put the coins he received into a small pouch, Kaeloc looked at Aubrianna, and Sion’s gaze naturally followed to her as well.

“Who knows?”

She shrugged and held the baby.

“It could be tomorrow, or it could be a few days later.”

“What? What do you mean by that….”

Sion, about to raise his voice at Aubrianna’s shameless attitude, flinched as he checked Kaeloc’s reaction.

He didn’t like how Aubrianna was using their master, who had lost his memory, as a shield.

“I’ll be watching just how long you stay so arrogant.”

From behind Kaeloc, who was walking ahead first while holding the fussy baby, Sion grabbed Aubrianna’s arm and muttered in a low voice.

“That’s fine. But don’t forget. I’ll be watching you too.”

“What?”

At the unbelievable words that came from Aubrianna’s lips, Sion widened his eyes in a daze, and at that moment, Kaeloc cut in.

“What do you think you’re doing right now? In front of me?”

Startled, Sion let go of her arm and stepped back.

“Th-Then I’ll be going now.”

Aubrianna watched Sion as he walked away with an indifferent gaze.

‘He still harbors a lot of resentment toward me. Even so, he’s loyal only to Kaeloc.’

He was someone who could be of great help to Kaeloc, who had lost his memory.

But he was also someone who had more than enough intent to put her and the baby in danger.

At that moment, Kaeloc grabbed her chin.

“Stop looking. I don’t like you staring at another man for that long.”

With a sulky mutter, Kaeloc looked as if he wanted to chase after him right now and punch him.

“It’s annoying.”

Looking at the man with the displeased expression, Aubrianna took his hand.

“He’s someone who would do anything for you.”

“Is that why he pushed you and the baby into the snowfield?”

Aubrianna let out a sigh. “I keep telling you, Sir Sion helped me and the baby escape from the ducal castle.”

“That’s why I don’t trust that man.”

On Kaeloc’s face as he watched Sion’s retreating back, wariness and cynicism crossed.

“Someone who’s intoxicated by something is dangerous, Aubrianna.”

The man’s face softened again as he looked back at Aubrianna. But his gaze was still sharp.

“Even if that something is me.”