Why the Northern Duke Wanders the Snowfields - Chapter 43

“Um, Sir Sion?”

Razen glanced around nervously, then whispered into Sion’s ear.

“Is this really the right thing to do?”

Sion furrowed his brow deeply, then jerked his body back and spoke in an irritated voice, “Why are you whispering?”

As news of the trial spread, not only the people of the city but even those in the ducal castle flocked to the plaza in front of the gates. Because of that, the inside of the gates was eerily quiet, in contrast to outside.

Looking around at the empty surroundings, Sion brushed his ear as if displeased.

“What do you mean?”

“No, I mean….”

The plaza in front of the gates buzzed with a wave of people. From the highest tower of the ducal castle, Razen looked down at the densely packed crowd, his voice filled with concern.

“There are far too many people. It looks like everyone in the city has gathered.”

“The more witnesses there are to prove the duke’s safety, the better.”

Sion decided to kill two birds with one stone.

First, he had people post flyers throughout the city announcing a public trial.

In front of the many people who came to watch to see the witch who bewitched the duke, Aubrianna would be unable to escape being branded as a witch.

‘The duke will only be seen as having fallen for a witch’s trick, so he’ll gain sympathy instead. At the same time, we can prove that he’s safe, so it’s a very good opportunity to gather public support to drive out Cedric.’

Sion looked at the gathered crowd with sharp eyes. Not only the territory’s residents, but also traveling merchants who had come to do business for the spring could be seen.

“What about the duchess?”

News of Kaeloc’s return should have reached her, yet Eloise remained quiet.

“She hasn’t left her chamber at all.”

“That’s suspicious.”

Sion knew that the relationship between the duchess and Cedric had not been good lately.

‘She must be angry that the Cedric she brought in, thinking him foolish, is acting on his own.’

If Cedric had only been foolish, that would have been better. But he was vile, insidious, and self-righteous.

Above all, he was suspicious by nature and never took anyone’s words at face value.

‘Perhaps it’s the duchess’s own doing for trying to bring down the Tennant family.’

Sion looked at the crowd swarming like a hive of bees, then drew the curtain.

‘I wonder if he understood what I said yesterday.’

In any case, the stage had been set.

Everything was a gamble. Even if it failed, Aubrianna would become a subject of gossip for a long time, and Kaeloc would be recognized as a strong duke who survived the snowfield.

Either way, it would be a satisfactory outcome for Sion.

***

“Madam. The trial will be held today.”

Hearing movement from the bed, the maid standing outside the canopy bed’s curtain reported.

“I’ll get ready, so prepare everything.”

“Yes, Madam.”

Eloise remained lying down and bit the tip of her finger.

‘Why is Aubrianna still alive?’

Even after feeding her poison, she didn’t die, so she had turned a blind eye and let her flee to the snowfield, yet after winter passed, she returned perfectly fine, even bringing the duke with her.

‘And that fool Cedric has no plan and only indulges his own desires.’

When she heard of Kaeloc’s return last time, she summoned Cedric from the brothel.

“Kaeloc is coming back? So what?”

“We need to prepare for it.”

“The noble council has already appointed me as the head of this house.”

“You’re only the acting head, Cedric. When Kaeloc returns, you must step down.”

“What kind of nonsense is that!”

Cedric looked furious. He even kicked over a table she cherished.

“Cedric. Do I have to explain what ‘acting’ means to you?”

There was no reasoning with him. On top of that, he even threatened her, claiming it was her responsibility.

“My responsibility?”

“Of course it is. You’re the one who put me in this position, aren’t you, Aunt?”

At the absurdity, Eloise stared, and Cedric raised a finger with a crazed look in his eyes.

“There is someone who can testify that you put poisoned food in that maid’s room.”

“What?”

Eloise’s eyes widened in shock.

There was no way that fool could know such a thing.

“W-What are you talking about?’

“That maid aside, isn’t the baby of ducal blood? They say someone who tries to harm a noble threatens royal authority, don’t they?”

Cedric was right. Even if the baby was illegitimate, if Kaeloc made an issue of the poisoning, the royal family could confiscate not only her assets but all of the Coville family’s wealth under charges of treason.

But that wasn’t why Eloise was shaken.

“Cedric, you foolish idiot!”

It was obvious someone had been feeding that fool nonsense.

“If I am taken away on such charges, what about you? You are also part of the Coville family. Do you think you will be safe?”

“That’s not my problem! So handle it yourself, Aunt!”

After that, he slammed the door and left, and she hadn’t seen his face since.

“He’s probably messing with some young maid again or going to the brothel to indulge himself.”

Eloise let out a sigh of lament, wondering how such a depraved man could have been born into the Coville family.

“If only there had been one more nephew, I wouldn’t have to deal with that one….”

Whether fortunate or unfortunate, her cousin Theobald Coville had only one child, Cedric.

‘No. I should have had a child. Not a nephew, but the duke’s child born from my own womb.’

Eloise clenched the thin bedsheet as if she would tear it apart. Suppressed rage seeped through her fingertips.

‘Then I wouldn’t have to endure this humiliation….’

The more she thought about it, the more nothing went her way, driving Eloise to the brink of madness.

Clutching her throbbing head, Eloise spoke, “Is anyone there?”

“Yes, Madam. It’s Mila,” answered another maid.

“Yes, Mila. I didn’t sleep well, so my skin feels rough.”

“Shall I prepare a milk bath?”

“Good. Make sure it’s lukewarm like last time, or I’ll have you whipped.”

“Yes, Madam.”

Eloise rose, blaming the late duke, who went first, and the goddess for not giving her a child.

‘I should call Aileen. If I keep relying on Cedric, I’ll suffer for it.’

Since their last meeting, she had claimed she was ill and hadn’t even set foot near the ducal castle, but now that Kaeloc had returned, she would be overjoyed.

“Go and bring paper and a pen! I need to write a letter to Aileen.”

If she wanted to keep the family intact and retain the position of the former duchess, it seemed there was no choice but to push forward Aileen’s marriage to Kaeloc again.

***

Aubrianna was moved somewhere with a hood over her head. With each step she took, the murmur of people grew louder and louder.

“A witch? Didn’t they disappear three hundred years ago?”

“They say she came in as a maid and bewitched the duke to become his mistress. Does that even make sense? She must have crawled in from somewhere to ruin our North.”

“They say if you look into her eyes, you’ll be bewitched, so they put that hood on her.”

Unable to gauge how many people there were or where she was, Aubrianna tried to turn her head, but a frightened child burst into tears.

“Waaah.”

“Oh my! Children should be taken away! What if they get cursed?”

“They say even our duke lost his memory because of that witch’s curse. Honestly.”

Aubrianna bit her lip tightly.

‘Is this what Sion was aiming for?’

Sympathy. Blame Kaeloc’s memory loss on me, gain sympathy, and brand me a witch to get rid of me?

No matter how she thought about it, he was clever. If not for his blind loyalty to Kaeloc, he would have been someone very useful….

‘He hates me so much.’

She didn’t know why.

She quickly organized her thoughts.

‘I need to find a weakness.’

Sion’s weakness.

Just like Kaeloc in her previous life, Sion was cold and expressionless, with no flaws in his actions or private life, so nothing came to mind.

‘No. There was something.’

In her previous life, Aubrianna had heard quite a lot while imprisoned.

People treated her, who had lost her baby and sat in a daze, like a pile of straw in the corner of the prison.

‘There was something about Agnes and Sion’s relationship….’

Agnes, a member of the royal family, fell in love with Count Bellone and married into the distant, harsh northern lands far from the capital.

‘No. Not Agnes. I definitely heard something about Sion….’

As anxiety grew, her mind began to be swallowed by fear. The memories of her previous life began to tangle.

Regardless, her body continued to move forward, led firmly by soldiers binding both her arms.

‘Where are they taking me?’

They said there would be a trial, but the verdict might already have been decided without her knowing.

‘Are they taking me straight to the execution platform?’

Fear of death began to consume her. It felt like walking on sharp shards of glass leading toward death.

Her steps began to falter.

‘Kaeloc!’

She pleaded.

‘Save me. I don’t want to die again.’

The cold sensation of stone against her cheek came to mind. Instinctively, she tried to grab the keepsake hanging at her neck, but her hands were bound behind her, so she could do nothing.

Her shoulders began to tremble, and soon her whole body shook like a leaf.

Even as people muttered that Aubrianna was a witch, they couldn’t take their eyes off her swaying slender body and long white neck.

Curiosity about the face hidden beneath the hood began to rise.

Sion and Razen, who had come down to the square, watched her closely.

“There are too many people. We should send the guards.”

Razen looked around with concern. More and more people were gathering to see Aubrianna. If anything happened, it could become difficult to control.