episode_0105
by fnovelpiaInside the carriage heading towards the Bearen family estate.
Since Dimitri didn’t have the courage to ride in the same carriage as the family, he sent Eleonore ahead to the carriage in front.
When Dimitri descended from the northern grand castle to the capital, he boarded the train alone without any attendants.
In fact, the focus was not on the fact that the Grand Duchess Hildegarde was angry with him for secretly going down to the capital without telling her, but rather on the fact that a grand duke like himself was wandering alone without any attendants.
Of course, even though there was no one in the Galatea Empire who could harm Dimitri, the protector of the northern lands, and no one was eyeing the barren lands in the north, so there was no real danger in traveling alone. However, it was certain that people would gossip if a grand duke of the empire wandered alone without any followers.
Although Dimitri didn’t care as much about himself, in the eyes of Hildegarde, who cherished him, his actions seemed quite significant.
However, when Dimitri left the capital this time, it was different.
In the carriage heading towards the Bearen estate that he was currently riding in, a girl with crimson hair sat opposite him with a complicated expression.
“Aelie, is something bothering you?”
Dimitri cautiously asked Aelie, who had a dark expression.
Dimitri had experienced through his younger sister Hilda how sensitive girls of her age could be. Although there was no reason for Dimitri to be cautious around a mere commoner girl from the countryside, his voice inexplicably softened.
“Oh, Your Highness…”
Startled by the voice calling her, Aelie looked up at Dimitri with surprise.
“You haven’t seemed very cheerful all this time.”
In fact, her expression had not been good since she boarded the train heading west. However, at that time, Dimitri had a problem to focus on, so he didn’t pay much attention to her.
“No, it’s not that…”
“If it’s difficult to talk about, it’s okay.”
Perhaps feeling burdened, Dimitri nodded with a kind smile.
As the protector of the north of the empire, he was not as intimidating as the syscoth who protected this land. When he saw girls of this age, he couldn’t help but think of his younger sister Hilda and become kind.
Seeing Dimitri’s smile, Aelie seemed to make up her mind and faced Dimitri with a straight posture.
“Your Highness, am I now one of your people in the north?”
With a somewhat heavy voice, Dimitri gently lowered his head.
“Aelie, I have no intention of keeping you here. If you want, you can go back to your hometown, or I can send you to the townhouse of the Bearen family in the capital. Or I can let you stay by Eleonore’s side.”
“No, no. It’s not that…”
Aelie said, waving her hands. She was a girl who had fallen in love with the glamorous life at the Bearen townhouse, but more than that, she wanted a place to show off her talents.
“Your Highness, what I want to ask is if I truly belong to you now.”
Although it was a somewhat heavy question coming from a girl, Dimitri nodded in response.
“That’s right. If you want to serve the north, you are now one of my people.”
After hearing his answer, Aelie leaned towards him and spoke in a low voice.
“Your Highness, do you remember the day you brought Lady Eleonore to our house?”
At the abrupt change in the conversation, Dimitri looked puzzled, but the serious look in the girl’s eyes made him nod in earnest.
“On that afternoon, there were two men who brought the antidote for Shilov to our house.”
“Is that so?”
Dimitri changed his gaze seriously and looked at Aelie.
“Aelie, do you remember what they looked like?”
“I’m sorry. My grandfather was the one who dealt with them, and I only secretly watched them from behind the wall. Both men had their robes turned inside out, so there wasn’t anything memorable about their appearance, but…”
Even though there were only Dimitri and herself in the carriage, Aelie carefully looked around and continued speaking.
“On the day of Lady Eleonore’s kidnapping incident, the knight who rescued her, Balati, said something about the men who brought the antidote to our house.”
At the mention of the name that flowed from her small lips, Dimitri’s mind began to whirl with complexity.
“That day, a knight standing by the duke seemed to overlap with the man who brought the antidote to our house.”
“Are you sure?”
“As I mentioned before, the man who came to the house had his face covered with a robe… However, his imposing figure and voice were clearly those of the same person.”
“Is that so…?”
Dmitri spoke, wrapping his smooth, beard-free chin with his hand for no reason.
“Eilie. Have you ever told anyone about this fact?”
“No. I’m telling you for the first time, Your Grace.”
“Good, well done.”
Soon, Dmitri’s rough and large hand reached towards Eilie’s orange hair. He gently stroked Eilie’s head as they faced each other.
“Eilie. While staying by the side of my sister, the Grand Duchess Hilda, you will see and hear many things. And after that, Eleanor will also need your care.”
Feeling the gentle and warm touch of his hand, Eilie nodded quietly.
“Although it’s unlikely… if you want to live a long and healthy life, it’s best to forget the information that has come to you immediately.”
Eilie took a deep breath. The words that came out of Dmitri’s mouth felt like they were straight out of a noble family intrigue from a novel, making her heart beat faster.
“But don’t worry too much. At least in my northern lands, there won’t be anyone to ask you about that information, nor will such a thing happen.”
Dmitri lowered his hand from Eilie’s red hair and looked at her with a serious gaze.
“And let’s keep this recent matter between you and me, just the two of us.”
“Understood, Your Grace.”
Receiving Eilie’s firm response, Dmitri leaned comfortably against the back of the carriage again.
“When you go to the north, you will have a lot to do. First and foremost, it will be Hilda, but there are many sick people in that land. So at least rest to your heart’s content on the lands of House Beorn, as a guest.”
Having said that, Dmitri responded dryly to Eilie’s understanding and shifted his gaze outside the window.
“I really have no talent for dealing with these kinds of matters…”
Looking at the distant Beorn Manor revealed in the distance, he muttered to himself.
“So, are you injured anywhere? Your complexion doesn’t look good.”
Despite being a repetitive and tedious question, it still came across warmly to Eleanor. Eleanor smiled and nodded towards her mother who was sitting beside her.
“I’m fine. Just a little tired from moving around.”
Looking past the hand she held, Eleanor gazed out the window at the scenery beyond her mother. Despite a considerable amount of time passing through the green summer fields, the carriage was still running through vast plains.
Eleanor, who had become accustomed to motion sickness from the long train journey, still felt dizzy on the swaying carriage.
“If you’re tired, lean on your mother.”
“Thank you, Mother.”
In response to those words, Eleanor gently leaned her body against her mother’s shoulder.
Feeling the warm weight on her shoulder, Etienne cautiously held her daughter’s hand. Just a short while ago, when they met in the capital, she was so shy. But now, calling her mother affectionately.
She was the eldest daughter who brought a man to her parents, but in their eyes, she still looked young.
“So, what happened with the Grand Duke, Ellie?”
A soft voice that intruded into the affectionate mother-daughter relationship. The topic that had quieted down after the earlier statement resurfaced from Etienne’s mouth.
Eleanor opened her eyes wide and looked at her younger brother.
Although she didn’t like how he casually referred to her man without any honorifics, she decided to overlook it because he was her brother who always showered her with affectionate looks.
“What happened? I told you. Dmitri and I… have feelings for each other…”
Eleanor stumbled over the last word. Perhaps because she was in front of her parents, the word ‘love’ didn’t easily come out of her lips.
All eyes inside the carriage turned to Eleanor at that statement. It wasn’t just Etienne who was curious about the progress in their relationship.
Seated next to Etienne, Aubert had been frowning at Eleanor since earlier, and Etienne, who had been holding his daughter’s hand, also looked at her with curious eyes.
“Well… yes. Weren’t Mom and Dad aiming for that too?”
Eleanor stuttered at the last word. Because she was in front of her parents, the word ‘love’ didn’t easily come out of her lips.
All eyes inside the carriage turned to Eleanor at that statement. It wasn’t just Etienne who was curious about the progress in their relationship.
Seated next to Etienne, Aubert had been frowning at Eleanor since earlier, and Etienne, who had been holding his daughter’s hand, also looked at her with curious eyes.
“Ha… I see. Mom and Dad were aiming for that too, weren’t they?”
“Um, well, it’s just that. It was so sudden. When I last saw him, he was so distant, you know?”
Speaking in place of the silent Obert, Etienne said.
Eleanor quietly recalled.
The moment she confirmed her feelings for Dimitri was when she was embraced in his arms, under the influence of the Shilov potion. In his warm and sturdy embrace. Eleanor realized that the emotions she held were excitement, and love.
However, it was only after facing her inner self that she realized that those emotions were her own.
But she couldn’t bring up the story of the mine. Especially when two people were already watching her closely due to the kidnapping incident, she had to seek permission to spend the summer in the north.
“Dimitri was always by my side when I was sick.”
“But still, it’s not a lie!”
Her slightly blushing face was due to a guilty conscience, but to her family, she appeared as a lady in love.
“So there was nothing between you and the Duke?”
“Anything else?”
At her mother’s words, Eleanor tilted her head. With a puzzled expression asking what she meant, Etienne realized.
Her daughter had lost her memory after a fever, forgetting not only manners and etiquette but even the basic knowledge of a lady.
There was much to teach her about relationships with men. It was truly fortunate that it wasn’t too late. Looking into her sky-blue innocent eyes, Etienne thought so.
“Elli. Come into the mansion, we need to have a talk.”
“A talk?”
“Yes. There are things that this mother must tell you.”
Etienne squeezed her daughter’s hand and said. Educating an adult child about sex, she too began to blush as much as her daughter.
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