Why the Northern Duke Wanders the Snowfields - Chapter 60

‘It must have started that day.’

After Aubrianna rejected Ethan’s invitation to be his partner, Kaeloc began actively pursuing her.

He sent her books and flowers, and at some point, the head attendant told her she no longer needed to work as a maid.

She was surprised and afraid, but she also felt a trace of hope.

‘In the end, all of it was meaningless.’

Aubrianna shook her head.

The past wasn’t what mattered now.

No matter how she thought about it, she fell far too short compared to Lady Lott.

In beauty, freshness, and confident vivacity.

She envied her and felt jealous. What were they talking about in the drawing room now?

As Aubrianna’s mind filled with unpleasant imaginings, she grasped her necklace.

As always, the familiar sensation of it fitting neatly into one hand calmed her.

‘I even crossed over death.’

Aubrianna sat up again and opened the door connecting her room to the next.

Theo was sleeping soundly inside.

‘My baby.’

She heard the nursery maid’s quiet breathing from across the room. To let her rest properly, Aubrianna only looked at Theo, then soon returned to her room.

‘Fine. Even if he likes Aileen, there’s nothing I can do about it now. I’m the one who chose a man capable of holding two people in his heart at once.’

She tried to face reality. She knew people who loved only one person were actually rare.

Although seeing Kaeloc disappear with another woman right before her eyes hurt terribly, sadness was sadness, while a matter involving her life was something else entirely.

She took out paper and a pen beneath the candlelight.

She enjoyed a brief taste of peace after moving to Agnes’s villa, but she hadn’t forgotten.

The assassins who suddenly appeared in the snowfields when she went to search for Kaeloc.

‘Since they failed to kill Theo and we returned alive in this life, they might attack again.’

She wrote the suspects’ names in Blanc Gore.

Sion, Lady Lott, the Duchess of House Tennant.

Aubrianna circled Sion’s name, remembering how he imprisoned her in the underground prison and tried to have her exiled. Then she circled Lady Lott’s name as well.

She shuddered when she recalled the vicious look on Aileen’s face as she muttered that Aubrianna was a whore.

Aubrianna heard that Aileen became extremely angry when she learned of her pregnancy with Theo.

‘Lady Lott must want to marry Kaeloc, right?’

After all, Kaeloc was the most desirable marriage prospect in the Kingdom of Trilan.

From the beginning, every young lady mentioned as his potential fiancée came from a wealthy and prestigious family.

‘I must have been a thorn in her side.’

“Hah.”

Then what was Aubrianna supposed to do now that so much had changed from her previous life?

Aubrianna thought of Agnes. The noblewoman who cared for Kaeloc, her friend’s son, was unexpectedly very fond of Aubrianna.

‘Should I tell her honestly about what happened in the snowfields?’

Even if Aubrianna told her that someone was trying to harm her and her baby, Agnes seemed like someone who would hear her out rather than dismissing it as nonsense.

‘But one reason she’s so fond of me is that Kaeloc calls me his lover and keeps me by his side.’

If Kaeloc’s heart turned toward Aileen….

Would Agnes still try to help her then?

Aubrianna stared down at the paper covered haphazardly in Blanc Gore and the Trilan language. With a sigh, she held it to the candle and set it alight.

She tossed the paper, slowly turning to ash, into the fireplace and gazed out the window with a gloomy expression.

A sudden sense of dissonance came over her.

At this hour, when the moon was waning and the night sky sinking into deeper darkness, Aubrianna would usually be entwined with Kaeloc in bed, sharing ragged breaths.

But tonight was utterly quiet.

‘He didn’t come.’

This was the first time since they arrived here that Kaeloc hadn’t come to Aubrianna’s room in the middle of the night. A sharp sense of fear, anxiety, and jealousy gripped her heart relentlessly.

Aubrianna slowly raised a hand and grasped her necklace.

***

“Good morning, Miss Aubrianna. Did you sleep well?”

Renee, the nursery maid, entered the room carrying a brightly smiling Theo.

“Young Master is in a wonderful mood again today.”

After affectionately smoothing his dark blond hair, Renee placed Theo in Aubrianna’s arms and handed her a clean handkerchief.

“I’ll go bring breakfast. Is there anything in particular you’d like?”

Sixteen-year-old Renee always asked for Aubrianna’s preference kindly each morning.

“No. Thank you.”

And Aubrianna always gave the same answer. After Renee went downstairs, Aubrianna opened the front of her nightgown and nursed Theo.

It felt strange without Kaeloc beside her, watching Theo nurse as he did every morning.

Renee returned carrying some fruit, eggs, soft white bread, jam, and a glass of warm milk. With a slightly awkward expression, she said, “I heard His Grace went riding with Lady Lott this morning.”

Aubrianna almost found it amusing how Renee subtly criticized Kaeloc, but she couldn’t bring herself to laugh.

She merely nodded and gently held Theo’s hand as he drank his fill.

***

The villa belonging to Count Bellone’s family was a villa in name only. In truth, it was as large as the mansions of other nobles, with equally extensive grounds.

The room where Aubrianna stayed offered a splendid view of the rear garden, the broad hill, and even the forest beyond it.

“Young Master will be walking in no time!”

Renee laughed brightly as she watched Theo barely manage to stand while holding someone’s hands.

“I haven’t cared for many children yet, but I’ve never seen a baby as strong and healthy as Young Master.”

The laughter, as light as flower petals drifting through the air, made Aubrianna’s heart feel much lighter as well.

Besides, hearing that he was a healthy baby was the highest praise imaginable.

‘I’m so glad I can watch Theo grow up so strong.’

But Theo’s life still wasn’t safe.

Her gaze naturally turned beyond the terrace. It was nearly time for tea, yet the two of them still hadn’t returned.

Perhaps sensing Aubrianna’s impatience, Renee asked cautiously, “Shall I go downstairs and find out? It’s nearly time for your lesson with His Grace….”

Ah.

She was so preoccupied with their ride that she forgot they had a lesson today.

“Oh, I’ll go and check. Please look after Theo.”

Aubrianna gathered the dishes from Theo’s baby food and went down to the first floor.

After handing them to a passing maid, she wiped her nervous hands against her skirt and straightened her back.

As she passed the drawing room, she saw Agnes drinking tea.

“Did you sleep well?”

When Aubrianna dipped into a slight curtsy, Agnes furrowed her brow and pressed a hand to her forehead.

“Aileen brought some liquor from the capital that I used to enjoy. One glass became two, and goodness, I completely forgot how terrible the hangover was.”

Tarion entered carrying a glass filled with green liquid and clicked his tongue.

“It’s fortunate that I stopped you. Otherwise, you would’ve remained in bed until tomorrow.”

“What’s that now?”

The sight alone seemed to make Agnes nauseous, and she waved it away. But Tarion forced the glass into her hand, leaving her looking ready to cry.

“You need to drink this if you want to come to your senses.”

Watching Agnes pinch her nose and force down the liquid, Aubrianna handed her the glass of water on the table. Agnes retched, then gulped down the water.

“Ugh, thank you, Aubrianna.”

The green liquid seemed effective, as Agnes’s expression eased somewhat.

“This is all because of my age. When I was young, I could drink several glasses and remain perfectly fine, just like Kaeloc and Aileen.”

Bemoaning the passage of time, Agnes muttered sorrowfully and glanced at the clock on the cabinet.

“They certainly have plenty of energy. To think they’re still out riding.”

The moment she finished speaking, cheerful laughter sounded from the drawing room entrance, and Kaeloc and Aileen appeared.

Standing beside Agnes, Aubrianna spotted them and froze like stone.

Aileen wore a dark navy riding habit that cinched tightly around her waist. Her cheeks were flushed red, and her entire face was filled with smiles. Her crooked riding hat hung pitifully from the ends of her disheveled hair, and Kaeloc beside her looked no better.

They looked as though they spent the morning fooling around in the forest.

“Goodness! What happened to the two of you?”

“Lady Agnes! His Grace actually….”

Aileen stopped midsentence, plucked a leaf from Kaeloc’s hair, then burst into laughter.

“Just look at this! I must look even worse, don’t I?”

Aileen examined herself in the mirror, brushing away the blades of grass and flower petals clinging to her tangled hair.

“It seems the delaniums are already blooming.”

Agnes looked at the yellow petals with delight.

“The colony is quite far from here…. You must’ve gone a considerable distance this morning.”

“I’m rather competitive, but His Grace is even worse.”

Kaeloc, who remained silent until then, added a single remark, “It was an enjoyable competition.”

“Goodness! I’ve never met anyone so blunt.”

Aileen’s cheerful laughter made her look healthy and fresh.

Kaeloc strode over, pressed his lips to Aubrianna’s cheek, and whispered, “Did you sleep well?”