WebNovels

Chapter 8 - CHAPTER 8

"Choo…"

"Huh?"

"…Achoo!"

It seemed like Estel was about to say something, but it was tragically cut short by a sneeze.

"I… I was going to use the fireplace because it's cold."

Only then did Lennox notice a piece of firewood lying in front of Estel.

"I dropped the firewood, and when I bent down to pick it up, I sneezed and fell over—so don't mind me."

Ahem.

As if expressing her coldness with her whole body, Estel sniffled and picked up the firewood.

Hhhhnngh, honk!

To avoid making any more sounds, Estel shut her mouth tight and coughed.

That only made the sound stranger.

Watching her trembling back, Lennox lost interest and closed his eyes again.

Rustle, rustle—

But the sound that kept tickling his ears was starting to bother him.

When he opened his eyes again, he saw Estel putting firewood into the fireplace.

Didn't she just put some in earlier?

Since she couldn't carry much at once, she was putting them in one by one—it was frustratingly slow to watch.

After quite a while, Estel finally managed to get all the firewood in.

Now all she had to do was strike a match.

Tap, tap, tap.

Estel failed to light the fire and broke several matches in the process.

"I'll do it."

In the end, Lennox stepped in.

In no time, the fireplace was lit, making Estel's prolonged struggle seem pointless.

She had been at this for tens of minutes over something so simple.

Or… was she doing it on purpose?

That thought flickered through his mind for a moment.

"Thank you."

But the moment he saw her face, the doubt vanished.

Estel kept her gaze fixed on the fireplace, a small smile on her lips.

The warm glow of the fire reflected on her face made her look inexplicably gentle.

"But, Your Grace."

"…What is it?"

Like a thief startled by his own guilt, Lennox—feeling as if he'd been caught staring—responded a beat late.

"I'm no longer a Bellonsa. I'm Winterlen now. I've signed the marriage certificate, so I'd like you to call me that from now on."

No matter how serious the words, spoken with a reddened nose they carried no sense of intimidation.

Still, Lennox chose not to point that out.

"I was careless. I'll be mindful when I address you from now on."

She truly was a strange woman.

If someone asked in what way, he could only answer, in every way.

Tearing his gaze from Estel at last, Lennox returned to the sofa.

Estel, however, remained in front of the fireplace for quite some time before finally lying down on the bed.

Perhaps still feeling cold, she wrapped herself tightly in the blanket, resembling a small, round bundle.

Lennox watched her like that before belatedly closing his eyes.

The occasional crackle of sparks reached his ears.

Somehow…

It was a quiet night.

Chirp, chirp—

Awakened by the morning birdsong and the warmth of sunlight, Lennox blinked in disbelief.

…I actually slept?

The phantom ringing that had plagued him was completely gone.

Only one thing had changed since last night.

That woman, curled up and asleep in the same room.

Could it be because of her?

No… impossible.

Running a rough hand through his hair, he quickly got up.

Living his second life, he had many things to do—

like crushing in advance anyone who might stand in his way.

Intending to be rid of his lingering thoughts, he stepped out of the bedroom—

then suddenly glanced back.

Would he return to the castle first,

or would that woman give up on married life and leave first?

She couldn't even withstand the spring here, let alone the northern winter.

She couldn't even light a match with her own hands—

how long could she possibly last?

Lennox wagered everything on Estel not lasting long.

***

"Milady, good morning."

The moment she opened her eyes, Estel first checked the sofa.

Lennox was nowhere to be seen.

"…Where is His Grace?"

"He said he had urgent business and would be away for a while."

A night had passed without anyone dying.

For the first time in her life, she had spent her bridal night without killing her husband.

What a relief… truly.

Feeling more at ease, Estel changed clothes while the maids straightened the badly crumpled sheets.

Given how she had tossed and turned from the cold all night, no one seemed to believe nothing had happened between them.

"Milady, I will take you to the place where you'll be staying."

"You mean… I won't be staying here?"

"Yes. For your comfort, His Grace has given special orders."

Puzzled, Estel followed the maid.

Perhaps it was because the ducal estate was so vast.

It was only after walking for quite some time that they finally reached their destination.

"This is the place."

"…This is it?"

"Yes, it is."

Startled, Estel double-checked just in case, but they hadn't come to the wrong location.

This place is far too…

It was hard to believe this building stood within the well-maintained ducal estate.

Vines clung messily to the exterior walls, rust spread in patches, and cobwebs hung in corners—at a glance, it looked like an abandoned house.

Inside, it was no better—perhaps even worse.

Cough, cough.

Dust made her break into a fit of coughing.

Creaaak, creak—

The floorboards groaned like someone screaming.

Without a doubt, it was the worst.

"If you have any objections, you may speak to His Grace directly. And if you need anything, just call."

Even if it was by Lennox's order, it was hard to accept such a situation.

She was the duchess, yet he was telling her to live in a place barely different from a ruin.

The maid squeezed her eyes shut, bracing herself in case Estel lashed out.

From here on, she would surely start raging and try to grab her by the hair…

"I don't need anything."

…Huh?

But Estel's voice was far too calm.

Startled, the maid cautiously opened her eyes—and almost rubbed them in disbelief.

Estel… was smiling.

"This is nice. Very nice."

"…Pardon?"

Was she serious?

It's perfect. I was worried before, but there's no place better for me to stay.

She meant it.

Lennox will never come anywhere near here.

A man with a cleanliness obsession would never willingly approach a place like this.

There was no better location for her to plan out her new life.

It had been exactly one week since Lennox married Estel.

Today again, sporting even darker under-eye circles than before, Lennox's aide, Pippin, arrived at the castle.

Yaaawn.

Exhausted, he let out a yawn—then noticed that the atmosphere inside the castle was different from usual.

"…Huh?"

It didn't take more than a few steps for that suspicion to turn into certainty.

"…What on earth is going on here?"

Pippin rubbed his eyes.

Normally, Winterlen Castle was quiet.

The servants rarely showed themselves and went about their duties in hushed tones.

But now, everyone was bustling about like a noisy village market.

Even more surprising was—

"Shouldn't we stock more firewood in the annex for Milady? She seems cold."

"We're already preparing warmer clothes. Remember, Milady came up here in a hurry without even packing a single change of clothes."

"Come to think of it, Milady…"

"Milady…"

Here, there—everywhere—people were talking about Milady.

Didn't His Grace specifically order them to treat her coldly?

Wondering what on earth was going on, Pippin stopped a passing maid.

"Milady seems to be doing well."

"Pardon? Oh, yes! Of course!"

"But didn't His Grace make it clear that you didn't need to treat her well?"

"…Milady is such a good person, we simply couldn't bring ourselves to do that."

Just in case, he stopped other servants and asked them the same question.

But the answers he got were all similar.

It wasn't that they had forgotten Lennox's order—

it was that Estel had won them over enough for them to defy the commands of their frightening, exacting master.

Could something like this really happen in just a week?

The Winterlen territory was a land where miasma flowed like a river.

Worse yet, because of rift-like natural disasters, no one knew when or where the miasma might surge forth.

Many had died in Winterlen, and many had fled.

It was only natural that the temperament of those who remained had grown closed-off.

The castle servants were no exception.

Among their own, they would share even a single bean—

but outsiders were lucky if they weren't cursed at.

And yet, now they're stocking her firewood, making her clothes… at this rate, they'll be giving her their hearts, too!

It was far too suspicious.

All the more so because the person in question was Estel.

She was a woman on her fifth marriage, and three of her previous husbands had died.

In fact, back in the capital, people were even betting on whether Lennox or Estel would meet an early grave first.

It was a fitting wager—both were said to bring death to their spouses.

This won't do. I have to see her immediately.

As it happened, he also needed to deliver a revised contract to Estel.

Pippin decided to take the opportunity to keep an eye on her, bringing along a version of the contract that now included several toxic clauses.

And finding Estel at the annex wasn't difficult.

"What on earth are you doing?!"

Though, the moment he saw her, he was utterly appalled.

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