Why the Northern Duke Wanders the Snowfields - Chapter 50

“Ahem.”

At Agnes’s pointed cough, Aubrianna pushed Kaeloc’s hand away and gave an awkward smile.

“That’s enough.”

“Why?”

Kaeloc lifted his hand again and brought a fork to her lips.

Looking down at the small piece of meat, Aubrianna raised her brows.

“I said stop.”

When her tone grew slightly firmer, Kaeloc smoothly brought the fork to his own mouth instead.

Letting out a sigh, Aubrianna placed a properly cooked vegetable into her mouth.

“You liked meat.”

Kaeloc, sounding sulky, frowned at her plate, which was filled only with vegetables and fruit.

“I just don’t have much of an appetite.”

Her voice was slightly hoarse from being worn out by him all day.

“You should eat well.”

Saying that, Kaeloc stuffed his mouth full of food and began chewing.

“By the way, Aubrianna. You look especially beautiful today.”

“Thank you, Countess. The dress is very beautiful.”

She was grateful for the compliment, and grateful for being given the clothes.

“It’s a bit out of fashion, but it suits you well, so I’m pleased.”

The layered cream-colored skirt moved gracefully with each step, and the black lace decorating her neck and chest, along with the jewels set into it, looked elegant without being excessive.

Her hair, styled neatly up, and the black pearls adorning it gave her a refined appearance.

She was even wearing sparkling shoes for the first time. Her ankles hurt a little and her feet felt uncomfortable, but it was bearable.

“Thank you as well for sending a maid to help me get ready.”

Kaeloc scraped his fork across his plate with a harsh sound. Agnes shot him a glance.

Because a maid had suddenly appeared, cutting their enjoyable time short, Kaeloc bit his lip in dissatisfaction.

“Kaeloc? What do you think? Isn’t Aubrianna beautiful?”

His gaze swept over her quickly before he turned his head away.

“Yes.”

At that perfunctory answer, Aubrianna’s brows furrowed. But could he really say that she looked most beautiful when she was wearing nothing at all?

Shrugging, Kaeloc stared blankly at the round dining table.

Once he was somewhat full, he wanted to take Aubrianna back to the room again.

As the candle flames flickered on the golden candlestick atop the table, Agnes, sitting across from him, glared at him with a frighteningly sharp gaze.

“Kaeloc!”

Just as Agnes was about to say something, a servant approached from behind and handed her an envelope placed on a tray.

“Hm? Who would send something at this hour?”

Since it had arrived after sunset, it was clearly urgent.

Agnes opened the envelope with a paper knife and carefully took out the letter to read it.

As she read through the words, drawing in a sharp breath, her hand began to tremble.

“Kaeloc!”

At the ominous tone, Kaeloc straightened his posture.

Agnes was furious. Something that could have been resolved easily had become complicated and tangled because of Kaeloc’s desires.

“What is it?” Aubrianna asked anxiously.

“It’s because of you. Because of you….”

“What do you mean it’s because of me again?”

The paper fluttered down and landed in front of him.

“Read it yourself.”

With an indifferent expression, Kaeloc read through the letter, then let out a small laugh.

“It can’t be helped.”

“What is it?”

Aubrianna’s clear eyes trembled like candlelight. Worry began to show on her face, afraid that something serious had happened.

“It’s nothing.”

At Kaeloc’s words, Agnes pressed a hand to her forehead and lamented.

“You call this nothing.”

Aubrianna hesitated for a moment, then pulled the paper Kaeloc had tossed toward herself and read it.

After reading the letter for a moment, she suddenly stood up and moved toward the gas lamp on the dining room wall. It was much brighter than candlelight, making it easier to read the text clearly.

Unable to believe what she was seeing, she read the same lines two or three times before the contents of the letter finally sank in.

“Y-You were trying to adopt me?”

Aubrianna’s trembling voice echoed through the room.

Agnes shook her head. “I wanted to surprise you… but Kaeloc ruined everything.”

“How is that my fault again?”

He pointed toward the upper floor where Theo was sleeping and gave a crooked grin.

“It’s because of that brat.”

The Bellone family, upon Agnes’s recommendation, had reviewed the possibility of adopting Aubrianna Morel, but they had replied that, regrettably, it could not be approved because she’d given birth to an illegitimate child.

Agnes bit her lip and trailed off. “Even if I wanted to bring you into my family…. You almost became Aubrianna Maric.”

A foreigner, an orphan, had nearly become part of a royal lineage in the Kingdom of Trilan.

Smiling faintly, Aubrianna folded the paper, placed it on the table, and approached Agnes.

“Thank you for thinking of me.”

Life in the orphanage had not been one of starvation or utter misery, but it had been poor, lacking in both material things and affection.

Sometimes, she would watch children who were adopted into good families with envy. People wanted to adopt very young babies, and Aubrianna had been too old for adoption, so the opportunity never came.

But hearing this news just now made the days she had spent in that dark orphanage feel a little lighter.

“I’m happy. Today is a really happy day.”

The fact that someone had wanted her filled her with overwhelming joy. At the same time, her eyes began to redden.

“I truly… someone really wanted me….”

After her mother died, Aubrianna had never believed that there was anyone who genuinely wanted her.

As for Kaeloc….

He was the only person in the ducal castle, aside from Lien, with whom she felt in tune.

When the duke, handsome and impressive, showed interest in her, she was overjoyed.

Because she’d loved him in secret.

She thought they had comforted each other like wounded animals, carefully touching each other’s pain bit by bit.

But Kaeloc hadn’t seen it that way.

Kaeloc had only needed a mistress to warm his bed before marriage.

But the fact that Agnes, and from the wealthy Bellone noble family at that, had wanted her made her heart brighten like a blooming flower. Even if it hadn’t worked out, she was grateful.

Afraid her silk gloves might get wet, Aubrianna took them off and wiped her tears with her bare hands as she smiled.

“I’m sorry.”

“Come here.”

Kaeloc approached and pulled her into a tight embrace.

“I’m not crying because I’m sad. I’m so happy.”

“Yes, I know.”

The large hand that had been teasing her all throughout dinner now stroked her warmly, as if apologizing.

“You’re really beautiful today.”

It was true. It was the first time he’d seen Aubrianna wearing a dress. It was also the first time he’d seen her with her hair up and wearing makeup.

‘Why didn’t I ever think of giving her clothes before?’

At the very least, he could have called in a dressmaker like Eloise did….

At the same time, he didn’t want anyone else to see her.

If someone were to see her like this, all dressed up, and harbor even the slightest impure thought, he felt like he might lose control and reveal a rough side of himself.

“I know.”

Aubrianna read the sincerity in his tone.

But Agnes, still upset, lit a slender cigarette that was currently in fashion.

“Theo is a truly lovely baby, but Aubrianna. I really wanted to make you my daughter.”

Agnes, who had no children with Count Bellone and had always longed for a lovely daughter, spoke.

Then she heard that Kaeloc, whom she had raised like a son, had taken a mistress, and she met her out of curiosity.

She had imagined a young woman like the typical mistresses of nobles, arrogant or swayed by vanity and luxury, but Aubrianna shattered every expectation and was entirely different.

“You can read Blanc Gore?”

“I learned a little when I was young.”

Blanc Gore was the language of the ancient Blanc Empire that once ruled the continent. Now it barely survived, learned only by Blanc royalty and historians.

“How did you come to learn it?”

“I suppose it happened because I liked history.”

At first, it was simple curiosity. A person from the Kingdom of Blanc who had settled in the Kingdom of Trilan before the border closed and grew up in an orphanage?

Despite being a maid, she carried herself with composure, spoke with elegance, and even possessed deep knowledge.

So when she heard that Kaeloc was pushing forward an engagement with Aileen, she began to wonder.

What would it be like if she were my daughter?

As that thought began to grow, she heard the sudden news of Aubrianna’s pregnancy, and before she could do anything, Agnes’s health deteriorated rapidly, forcing her to leave the North to recuperate.

“The timing wasn’t right.”

Hoo.

A long stream of white smoke broke apart as it seeped into the dining room window.

“I truly regret it as well.”

Aubrianna looked at her with sincerity.

The image of her beautiful mother from childhood had always lingered in her mind. But since she had passed away early, if she could have chosen her mother, she would have chosen Agnes.

“And I’m truly grateful.”

Still in Kaeloc’s arms, Aubrianna reached out her hand.

Agnes took that hand firmly.

Seeing the young lovers looking so happy, Agnes prayed to the goddess that nothing would happen to them anymore.

And the very next day.

Aileen Lott, the daughter of Count Lott and Kaeloc’s fiancée, arrived at the Tennant ducal castle.