Why the Northern Duke Wanders the Snowfields - Chapter 40

“You were always a man of few words, Your Grace, so this method will work well next time too,” Razen said as he walked ahead.

The office in the main building of the ducal castle could only be reached after turning through corridors and climbing several flights of stairs.

“It’s quite complicated.”

As he walked, Kaeloc tried to remember the entrances to the reception room and the dining hall that Razen had explained.

The door to the office opened, and Kaeloc slowly stepped inside, looking around.

“Hmm.”

Kaeloc stopped walking and ran his finger along his chin, and Razen asked, “Do you feel like you might remember something?”

“No.”

The bookshelves lining the walls of the office were filled with thick books and ledgers standing in rows. Looking at the pile of documents stacked on the heavy oak desk in the center, Kaeloc replied in an indifferent tone.

Razen told the attendant standing by the door to go find Sion, then closed the door.

“Recently, Sir Sion has been handling Your Grace’s duties together, so the documents are probably a bit mixed up.”

Looking overwhelmed by the sheer volume of paperwork, Razen handed him the tea the maid had brought.

He took the cup unconsciously and drank a sip, then set it down in front of the pen holder on the right side of the desk.

Seeing that, Razen’s eyes widened in surprise. “You may have lost your memory, but your habits remain.”

Kaeloc lowered his gaze. The duke that this man was talking about was a stranger to him. He felt irritated, as if he’d become someone imitating the duke.

Clenching his fist and striking it into his palm, Kaeloc asked, “Fine. When is Sion coming?”

“He should be here soon.”

“If it’s not more important than me going to see Aubrianna, I won’t let either of them off.”

At the threat, Razen’s face turned pale as he stared at the door.

‘Please hurry, Sir Sion.’

The only one who could save him here was Sion. He decided that the moment Sion arrived, he would run straight to the training grounds.

Soon, the door opened and Sion arrived.

He looked at Kaeloc, sitting at the desk, with a deeply moved expression and shouted, “Your Grace!”

At that, Kaeloc rose to his feet. “I saw you yesterday, but it’s good to see you again today.”

“Seeing you here, in this place, makes my chest swell so much my eyes burn.”

Sion was sincere. Seeing Kaeloc seated properly in the ducal office…. It felt like all the anxiety he had endured through the winter had disappeared.

“Is that so? Your loyalty is quite something.”

Grinning, Kaeloc stepped closer. His eyes flashed sharply, and bending his arm, he twisted his waist and struck Sion in the stomach with force.

Thud!

A dull sound rang out, and Sion’s body folded forward and was thrown backward.

“Ugh!”

Sion, who had been knocked away, clutched his stomach where the punch had landed.

“Wh-why are you doing this all of a sudden?”

As Razen asked in shock, a man who had followed Sion into the room hurriedly ran to him and supported him.

“Sir Sion! Are you alright?”

“Who is this guy now?” Kaeloc shook his hand and asked with an arrogant expression.

“I am Edmund, the attending physician, Your Grace. To think you have truly lost your memory….”

With a sorrowful face, Edmund turned his head to look at Sion.

“I will treat Sir Sion first.”

“Hmph!”

Kaeloc sat back down and took a sip of the still-warm tea.

‘The tea suits my taste perfectly.’

“So what is this important matter I need to know?”

At Kaeloc’s question, Razen stood beside the desk, sweating nervously, while Sion only groaned.

The physician, who had pressed around his abdomen, shook his head. “It’s not broken, but it seems there is a crack in the rib. You should refrain from strenuous activity for the time being.”

“I’m fine. Examine the duke now.”

Sion sat down on the sofa with the physician’s support.

“Shouldn’t you be examined first? Considering what lies ahead, it’s important to recover your health and your memory first.”

“Setting the memory aside, I’m healthy.”

“Your fists have weakened. You only managed to crack it, didn’t you?”

At Sion’s provocation, Razen’s face turned pale. “No, why are you doing this? Hahaha.”

Forcing a laugh, Razen looked at Kaeloc. His eyes were so blue they looked sharpened.

‘Wow, it feels like blades are pouring out of his eyes.’

Not just any blades, but ones coated in poison.

Razen rubbed down his goosebump-covered arms and tried to calm Kaeloc. “W-We should hurry and have you examined to check your condition, shouldn’t we? Then you can go see Miss Aubrianna….”

“The doctor’s diagnosis will be important. If Your Grace wishes to testify at the trial.”

Cold sweat now ran down Razen’s back.

‘No, seriously! Why! Why are you doing this?’

Razen made pleading gestures with his hands and feet, but Sion only let out groans. In the meantime, the physician took out a bandage from his bag and tightly wrapped it around Sion’s ribs to secure them.

“Since there was an anonymous report, even Your Grace cannot recklessly release a criminal.”

“…This is truly ridiculous.”

As Sion spoke in a strained voice, Kaeloc glared at him as if asking whether he was that anonymous informant. At that moment, the physician approached him.

“Your Grace, I will begin the examination.”

Kaeloc glared back and forth between Sion and Razen. If it were up to him, he would run out right now and take Aubrianna with him, but he didn’t know enough at the moment.

With a resigned expression, he looked at the physician.

“Open your eyes and look straight at me.”

The physician examined various parts of his body, pressing and pinching as he checked his condition.

“How is it?”

“You seem slightly undernourished, but overall, you are healthy. The memory loss is likely due to the wound on the back of your head.”

The physician explained while writing something down on paper.

“You must have been seriously injured and collapsed. The wound is quite deep and large. You must have lost a lot of blood, and judging by its shape, it is an artificial wound.”

Edmund looked at the wound once more and muttered, “It may be inappropriate to say this, but it is a miracle that you are alive.”

“Who on earth….”

At Sion’s words, Razen flushed and shouted, “Who else but the Carnu tribe? You must have been captured during battle.”

“A way to recover? He must regain his memory.”

“Well….”

The physician hesitated.

“There is currently no treatment. Occasionally, people regain their memory after receiving a similar injury again, but in the duke’s case, it would be far too dangerous.”

Sion and Razen both looked at Kaeloc at the same time.

“What about medicine? Isn’t there any medicine?”

“…For now, I will prescribe something to calm your body and mind.”

Exchanging glances with Sion, the physician took out a vial of liquid from his bag.

“You should take it once a day.”

As Kaeloc accepted the medicine, the physician looked at him intently and said, “It would be best to take it now.”

Kaeloc looked at the bottle filled with a clear liquid. “You’re telling me to drink this now?”

“That way, you will recover as quickly as possible.”

Kaeloc looked at the bottle suspiciously, then opened the lid and drank it in one gulp.

“Please get some rest.”

After confirming the empty bottle, the physician soon left the room.

Kaeloc looked at everyone and stood up again. “Then I’ll go see Aubrianna now.”

“I’m sorry, Your Grace.”

At Sion’s words, Razen trembled as he approached the duke and grabbed his arm.

“Do you think something like this can stop me?”

As Kaeloc tried to exert force as if it were ridiculous, Razen also spoke in apology, “I’m not trying to stop you, Your Grace. I’m trying to support you.”

“What?”

In an instant, all the strength left his body and his head went blank.

“Wh-what did you….”

Then the medicine he drank earlier…?

He tried to lift his eyes, but no matter how hard he tried, it was useless. Kaeloc soon lost consciousness, as if falling into darkness.

***

Aubrianna paced anxiously inside the prison.

How much time had passed?

There was no window to check outside, so she couldn’t tell how much time had gone by.

A tight pressure began to swell in her chest.

Touching her chest with her hand, Aubrianna roughly calculated the time.

‘Maybe because I haven’t been breastfeeding at night lately, it’s swelling later.’

Since the baby ate weaning food so well, the intervals between feedings had grown quite long. She pressed close to the iron bars and checked the light filtering in from what seemed to be the corridor outside the other cells.

“It seems like it’s already past morning, roughly.”

As far as she knew, the underground prison of the ducal castle consisted of five or six levels, each with around twenty to thirty cells.

There had been quite a few prisoners on the level Aubrianna was in, but Sion, who imprisoned her last night, had moved all the existing prisoners to other levels.

Looking at the empty cells where not even breathing could be heard, Aubrianna lowered her eyes in despair.

‘What exactly is he trying to do?’

She couldn’t understand Sion’s actions. It didn’t seem like his intention to bring her to trial was simply to separate her from Kaeloc.

‘If Kaeloc regains his memory, I still have a chance….’

But if a trial is held, the judge will be Cedric Coville, who was appointed as the acting head of the house.

‘That lecherous bastard.’

She was even afraid that Cedric, who had been eyeing her, might pass an unjust verdict.