22 - How to Survive as the Wife of a Monster Duke
How to Survive as the Monster Duke’s Wife
Chapter 22“Aden?”
He, who usually would have answered right away, remained silent.
The persistent darkness still made her uneasy.
Was this another dream?
“Aden? Are you there?”
“Yes, I am.”
When she called again, his reply came quickly.
His deep sigh stirred the hot air.
Strangely, the room was warm.
Much warmer than Arlen Fief.
It felt like stepping into a windowless room in the middle of summer.
“……This is Biften, right?”
Aden belatedly realized she was asking about their location.
“Yes. This is Illyin’s room.”
“But……”
Illyin fanned herself with her hand.
“It’s…… incredibly hot.”
“……Ah.”
In an instant, the surrounding air turned cool.
Illyin blinked.
Did Aden do that?
“I apologize for not knowing the temperature of the Sunlands.”
His words confirmed it was indeed his doing.
The small voice that escaped him was uncharacteristically timid.
Illyin blinked quietly.
Ah, right. The Lord’s Authority.
Understanding the situation, Illyin let out a small laugh.
A dry cough escaped her tight throat.
“It’s alright.”
Illyin exhaled briefly and closed her eyes.
Whether her eyes were open or closed, the same darkness remained, but she wasn’t afraid.
“I’ve really woken from the dream, right?”
Illyin asked softly.
It wasn’t really a question for someone outside the dream, but she needed confirmation.
“Yes.”
This side felt much more real.
Illyin smiled.
“Aden, have you never been to the Sunlands?”
“No.”
His reply came immediately.
Well, if he had been to the Sunlands, he wouldn’t have made the mansion this hot under the pretense of its temperature.
“Then, have you seen summer in Biften?”
“Biften has no summer, Illyin.”
Aden’s voice was calm yet clear.
He was holding Illyin’s hand tightly.
“What about during the succession ceremony?”
Aden’s reply was a beat slower this time.
“Did you see something during the succession ceremony?”
“Yes.”
I’ve seen it until now.
Illyin let out a short breath.
Though she had nightmares, at least the initial scene she saw was definitely from the succession ceremony.
The mansion in a brilliant summer landscape, the beach where white foam crashed.
“I saw Biften’s bright summer.”
How wonderful it would have been if Mobile had been there.
Every time she saw that scene, Illyin searched for Mobile.
What she had always wished wasn’t there at Arlen Fief, she desperately hoped to see in that landscape.
“It was a place where you could see a distant cliff. Did you know Biften has a beach too?”
Though she didn’t know where, that place was definitely Biften.
Illyin spoke while recalling the vivid seaside scenery.
Unlike the nightmare of Arlen Fief that was already fragmenting, this memory was clear.
The nightmare was the scary part, but yes, that was just a dream.
Illyin tightly grasped Aden’s hand.
This is reality.
“This is my first time hearing of it.”
“There was a vast sea.”
Illyin spread her other hand, the one not holding his.
“It was a long, wide beach.”
It was an incredibly beautiful landscape.
It would be nice to see it again.
It would have been wonderful if I had been standing with you on that beach with Mobile.
Illyin felt a deep sense of regret.
“Summer…… If we hold the succession ceremony again, could I see it?”
Aden was silent for a moment.
She felt his hand tapping the bedside.
Illyin quietly listened to the sound, like a heartbeat.
“Do you wish to see summer.”
Aden asked after a long while.
His voice was somewhat quiet.
Only then did Illyin realize, oops.
Seeking summer might be an unpleasant remark for him, the Winter Duke.
“Cold Biften isn’t bad either.”
It truly wasn’t bad, but it would likely sound like consolation to anyone.
Fortunately, Aden let out a small laugh.
Gently stroking Illyin’s hand, he whispered.
“My father also liked summer. No, I think he yearned for it.”
Illyin tilted her head slightly at his words.
“So he wanted to give summer to my mother.”
‘Father was a person who yearned for summer.’
‘Father was satisfied with showing Mother Elo’s Light, but that isn’t real sunlight.’
Huh……? That sounds familiar.
Illyin’s eyes widened.
“Of course, he couldn’t give her real summer.”
Illyin’s heart raced.
“If you wish it, I will restore summer to this place.”
It was what Den had said in the precognitive dream.
\\
Bess, the physician of Delos, had been having very difficult days lately.
It wasn’t something to say in a neighborhood where thin ice didn’t even form, but those days truly felt like walking on thin ice.
“You’ve become much healthier.”
She didn’t know how long she had waited to say these words.
The Duchess of the Sunlands, who had unknowingly made the Delos people run ragged, was fortunately among the healthier Sunfolk.
Once she woke and began moving, she recovered at a rapid pace.
“Still, you must be careful.”
Of what? Is there still something wrong? Aden’s cool gaze turned toward Bess.
“You must be careful at night.”
“…….”
It was clear that, while she might listen to other advice, she had no intention of heeding this one.
Aden gestured.
It meant for her to leave.
“This really won’t do. Alright? Please let her rest a bit more.”
Bess spoke more firmly for the Lady who would suffer.
But the Duke remained unmoved.
After all the searching he had done, now he didn’t even want to say a word to tell her to leave, resorting only to gestures.
Still, if told to leave, she had to go—such was the sorrow of a subordinate.
As Bess sighed and left, Aden let out an even deeper sigh.
If he had said he spent the night with Illyin when she woke, Bess would have laid down right in front of Illyin’s room.
‘Is there a secret I shouldn’t know?’
Last night, Illyin’s question was somewhat special.
‘There is none.’
He answered without a moment’s hesitation.
Throughout the long night, he wondered about the meaning of that question, but Illyin never told him.
What had she wanted to say?
He thought of the deep summer scent he had breathed in at night.
“Your Grace, it’s Aegis.”
Lately, the busiest person in the mansion was his adjutant, Aegis.
Because he stayed only in Illyin’s room, all major duties had fallen to Aegis.
Unlike Milo, Aegis never looked at people with resentful eyes.
Still, having him as an adjutant for so long, he couldn’t possibly miss the subtle changes in his expression.
So he had told him to take a short break.
There was no reason for Aegis to visit.
“Come in.”
Aegis, who opened the door and entered, hadn’t even finished brushing the snow off his clothes.
“A messenger from the Yester race requests an audience.”
\\
“Will this much water be enough?”
Illyin smiled with an awkward expression.
Beside her, the maids of Delos stood in a row.
Each held massage tools or creams, etc.
The maid holding the cream was promptly stopped by Etra.
The reason was that it wasn’t a cream used in the Sunlands.
“But it seemed fine when you used it before……”
The maid holding the cream protested softly, but Etra wouldn’t accept it.
She insisted they only use items confirmed safe by consulting the physician, just in case.
The two maids bickered in low voices.
“Isn’t this too hot?”
“They use warmer water in the Sunlands.”
“Get out.”
Etra sternly chased out the maids who were conflicting.
Illyin smiled with an awkward expression.
“It’s alright.”
The maids hesitated, neither coming in nor leaving.
Etra finally gestured to them.
It meant, since the Lady says it’s fine, come in.
The maids were so careful they even worried about the water temperature, using only cloth made from Sunlands materials for bathing attendance.
They intended to use only items from the Sunlands until the Lady fully recovered.
“Please tell us if you feel uncomfortable.”
It was clear the Delos maids perceived the Lady, who often fell ill, as an extremely fragile young woman even by Sunlands standards.
When she stepped out of the bathtub, a soft cloth was spread beneath her feet.
A maid, who had wrapped a towel around her arm to prevent slipping, even assisted her walking.
Perhaps from lying down so long, they applied all sorts of ointments even to her somewhat lusterless hair.
The maids continued brushing without stop until her hair became silky.
The food brought in was the same.
“This food is too cold.”
Bess inspected each and every dish.
When Illyin seemed burdened, he showed such meticulousness, even whispering his inspections in a low voice at the end of the hallway.
But there was no way Illyin wouldn’t notice that.
Illyin ended up laughing.
“I’m not that sick.”
“Still, we must be careful with each thing.”
“But it’s fine……”
As Illyin repeatedly tried to dissuade him, Bess grabbed her hand—no, he couldn’t bring himself to hold her hand, so he clung to the bedsheet beside her.
“Otherwise, we will die, My Lady.”
Illyin had no way of knowing how chilly the mansion had been while she slept.
She had only thought he was worried since she often saw Bess, the physician.
“Then, please call me only if absolutely necessary.”
The maids, who seemed to have the same phrase stuck in their mouths, disappeared in a line along with Bess.
As always, Illyin was left alone in the now-quiet room.
Illyin silently looked up at the ceiling.
The well-maintained, clean ceiling cast no strange shadows.
Here, even if the door opens, it’s not scary.
The reason she ultimately couldn’t refuse the maids, who tried to attend to every little detail to the point of burden, was because they were so different from the maids of Arlen Fief.
Though she wondered if it was right to accept each and every bit of such attention, seeing their desperate eyes saying, ‘If we don’t, we will die,’ she couldn’t refuse.
It was sorry, but thankful.
Still, what eased her guilt-that-wasn’t-guilt was that they too seemed to enjoy it.
“…….”
Illyin lowered her gaze from the ceiling.
‘Father was a person who yearned for summer.’
As it grew quiet, Den’s voice kept coming to mind.
‘My father also liked summer. No, I think he yearned for it.’
Aden’s words too.
Come to think of it, their names were very similar.
‘Is there a secret I shouldn’t know?’
That was the only thing that bothered her.
She was now right before the answer.
He had answered without a hint of hesitation that there was no such thing.
Illyin looked out the window.
She saw a horse entering the mansion.
The person sitting on it had a familiar appearance.
Even in the intensified blizzard as April approached, the black hair illuminated by the light stood out.
‘You’re probably the only one who asks the Winter Duke if he’s cold.’
She recalled that statement while staring intently at his seemingly very light clothing.
He would be here soon.
Illyin trembled as if on her wedding night.
She had gained a sliver of certainty yesterday.
It was a puzzle piece she had obtained but didn’t know she possessed.
The relationship between Den and Aden.
[If you meet the Duke of Biften’s eyes, you freeze.]
That must be an exaggerated rumor.
Regardless of its truth, the fact that such a rumor existed was important.
Because of it, the Duke of Biften became a very difficult person.
It must have been quite helpful in keeping the other three powerful families in check.
After all, no one would want to test meeting his eyes on a whim, right?
Like me.
The problem was the other knights of Delos.
The maids were the same.
The Duke of Biften was a very elusive person.
People from other families couldn’t properly ascertain how he moved between the 7th floor, or even whether he was inside or outside the mansion.
That would only require passing through Delos’s domain.
But there was also a problem when passing through Delos’s domain.
Since the Duke wasn’t faceless, nor did he wear a mask, they had to consider even when he suddenly appeared in a corridor.
Wouldn’t it be troublesome if maids, unaware of his arrival, met his eyes and froze on the spot?
Of course, there were ways to cover his face with clothing, etc.
But judging from the succession ceremony and other schedules at the mansion, that method had its limits.
“…….”
Then there’s only one answer.
The possibility of a public-facing identity.
Thud.
Just then, with the sound of the light going out, the room was plunged into darkness.
