Winter Bud - Side Story 1

Sermione (1)

Nanna was ironing the Empress’s ceremonial robe. The weasel fur had already been sent off to a servant who managed furs separately, and even though she was only ironing it to preserve its sheen, the task was still quite burdensome. The draping was extensive, and since it was a formal garment used for national ceremonies, even washing it without damaging the embroidery was exhausting work.

Even so, Nanna ironed carefully so that the embroidery she had stitched, one thread at a time, wouldn’t be damaged. When work first began on the coronation dress, which would serve as the ceremonial robe for the coronation, the Empress had ordered Nanna to embroider it herself with gold thread.

That was because Nanna’s skill far surpassed that of most tailors. Though she found it difficult to accept such an order, she knew she couldn’t refuse, and so she stitched with all her heart. The dress, which symbolized the Empress’s authority and power, was not romantic but instead boasted an elegance that was refined to the extreme.

“Nanna.”

She was tracing the lily-patterned embroidery with her fingertips when the door burst open. For someone holding the position of the Empress’s maid, her status was not particularly high, and so the maids didn’t show Nanna any special courtesy. If she had been an ordinary lady-in-waiting… no, if Nanna had possessed even an average temperament, she would have reported them to the Empress and had the rude maids punished. But Nanna was gentle to a fault.

Startled, she looked at the maid who had barged in and placed her hands on her hips.

“What is it?”

Hiding her surprise, Nanna asked. The maid glanced at the elaborate dress in Nanna’s hands and said, “Her Majesty the Empress is looking for you.” Only then did Nanna part her lips slightly.

“…Ah. I see.”

Nanna nodded. The thought that she hadn’t yet finished ironing made her feel slightly uneasy. Ever since becoming Empress, the Empress had become an even more difficult person to deal with. That is, Thea, who seemed as though she had been born to become Empress. She could be bold and commanding like a heroine, yet elegant at banquets, and dignified when meeting the strict members of the Privy Council. Not long ago, Thea had finally become Empress.

Although about half a month remained until the coronation, there was no one in the court who did not acknowledge Thea as Empress. That was only natural, since Thea and her father had played a decisive role in allowing Orestes to ascend to the position of the new Emperor.

Among the factions surrounding the new Emperor, there were those who struggled to push their own daughters into the position of Empress, but even so, many believed that the seat of Empress belonged to Thea.

Nanna thought the same. That there was no one who could become Empress but Thea. And so she was happy as well. But it was also true that Thea, along with her husband and her father, had come to feel like even more difficult people.

“Your Majesty.”

She hurried her steps. In the Empress’s reception room she reached, the Empress’s father, the Duke of Everhardt, was present. Seated across from the Empress, he watched Nanna lift the hem of her dress and bow, and a strange light flickered in his green eyes. Smooth like the skin of a snake yet cold, his green irises were as beautiful as absinthe.

Nanna looked at the long hand holding an exotic teacup. The man, whose age was impossible to guess, stared at her without a word. Since she entered the reception room, he hadn’t once shifted his gaze elsewhere. When Nanna cautiously glanced at him, he seemed to flinch for a moment, then soon returned to his usual composed air.

“Sorry for calling you over in the middle of your work. Father suddenly came, saying he brought medicinal herbs.”

Thea, who glanced at her father staring at Nanna, smiled as she put weight on the word “suddenly.” With both hands neatly folded, Nanna stiffly looked toward the Duke of Everhardt. By medicinal herbs, it meant those to support Thea’s womb.

It wasn’t only her womb. Thea’s whole body was somewhat weaker than others, and since childhood she spent long periods in bed. After passing puberty, her health improved noticeably, but she was still more fragile than most.

Knowing Thea’s condition well, Nanna carefully stored the medicinal herbs sent from her family. They were expensive and rare, not something easily found on the market, so storage itself was not simple. The court physician’s instructions were also extremely strict. Even so, Nanna managed them meticulously without forgetting a single line.

The Duke of Everhardt was someone who filled her with endless fear and sorrow, but his daughter Thea was someone she felt deeply grateful toward. Someone she had to be grateful to, even if she did not feel it….

‘Lady Thea is truly a good person. There is no mistress as kind as she is.’

Repeating the thought she tried to engrave into her heart, Nanna lifted her head. The Duke toyed with Nanna, who was about the same age as his daughter, yet to his own daughter he was a gentle father. To Nanna, he had never once been someone she could feel at ease around, but to Thea he was her only father, and before her marriage, her only family as well.

So no matter how unfair his conduct was, no matter how hard it was to endure, Nanna had to accept it. She gently tightened her clasped hands and gave a faint smile.

“It would be better to entrust the medicinal herbs to someone else.”

“Why?”

“Your maid will be tired enough just handling your other duties.”

“…Ah. I suppose that’s true.”

Thea looked at her father for a long moment, then turned to Nanna and spoke. Nanna looked between the father and daughter in a daze, her lips parting slightly. There was no need for them to consider her so much. It was tiring, but not unbearable.

“Nanna.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“I’ll have Alpines take charge of the medicinal herbs, as Father suggested.”

“Ah. Yes.”

Alpines was one of the imperial pharmacists. She mainly managed the Empress Dowager’s medicines and sometimes assisted the court physician. Nanna was about to say she was fine with continuing, but instead she nodded.

“And?”

Thea turned to her father. There was a faint edge in her bright smile that an ordinary person wouldn’t notice. Nanna stared at her blankly. The Duke of Everhardt watched his daughter for a moment, then took a sip of his tea.

“Is there something more you wish to say about Nanna?”

“There are many daughters of high officials at court who can serve as your lady-in-waiting. It would be better to dismiss that girl now.”

“Oh my.”

Thea parted her lips, her face not showing the slightest surprise. Nanna trembled at the Duke’s words. She was Thea’s maid. She had been since childhood. She had always stayed by Thea’s side. Thea was not someone she felt entirely at ease with, but even so, she was far better than the Duke or the Emperor. And yet, to be told to leave Thea’s service and live as an ordinary servant in the Duke’s household….

Or was he telling her to return to being the Duke’s bedchamber maid, as before? Nanna felt tears threaten to spill from fear. She wanted to bury her face in the bed as dread surged up, but she couldn’t, and that made it all the harder.

“It doesn’t look like Nanna wants that.”

Noticing her agitation, Thea looked at her father with an indifferent expression. Sermione quietly watched Nanna, whose eyes were beginning to redden. He didn’t know how long it had been since he had seen this face again. That deep darkness was hard to measure, and just as hard to break through.

Sermione thought for a long time about what it was he’d traced back, step by step. It was life. The things that had accumulated over time while living. He retraced that weight one by one and climbed, step by step.

And so he was able to begin again. This time, he wouldn’t let it slip. He would hold on tightly to this life he had regained and never let go.

“Nanna.”

He called her in a heavy voice. The woman kept her head lowered, chin tucked in. He saw that her paper-thin body was stiff and unmoving. Nanna was struggling to hold back her tears. He could feel that she never wanted to return.

Rather than anger, sorrow rose within him. Nanna feared him. She didn’t trust him and didn’t want to give him even the slightest bit of her heart. That clear resolve and emotion were something he already knew well. In that way, she was rejecting him.

That was why the thought kept returning.

‘If only that child had lived….’