Chapter 20

When I opened my eyes, the ceiling wasn’t unfamiliar.

The bed was still so soft that I wanted to lie in it forever – of course, if I did, Catherine would come running in shock – and the luxurious and calm burgundy wallpaper remained flawless.

Hmm, it’s Adriana’s room, big enough to leave you breathless after running ten laps.

As I tried to think about what happened last night, a headache came on so intense it felt like my head was about to crack. It felt as if a hammer fairy was fiercely beating my head at 130 bpm, which was a signal when trying to touch sealed memories-

“Ah, I’m going to die…….”

Could it be? It’s just a normal hangover.

If I just pulled the bell rope by my bedside, the servant would bring washing water and clean clothes, but I didn’t want to do that. For some reason, I put on the chemise I had thrown next to the bed the day before and recalled last night.

Hmm, I drank makgeolli. The makgeolli was really delicious, of course, it can’t be compared to the taste of the ones sold in the market, or is it? Could this be more delicious? It was impossible to make an objective judgment as it was makgeolli that I tasted after a year. Anyway, anyway, I drank makgeolli.

Well, it’s no fun drinking alone so I poured a few glasses for Callian. Pouring and drinking, laughing, then Callian suddenly started to go into romance mode-

……Did I hit my head with the liquor bottle?

Ah, no, that’s not it. Thank goodness, thank goodness. I reflexively touched my head but there were no broken parts in front or back. And then-

Madam, may I come in?-”

“Ah, yes. Please do. Catherine. Good morning.”

“Yes, madam. ……Should I tell the maid to clean the room again?”

“Clean what-”

Ah.

I was able to recall what happened last night only after getting out of bed and going to the door. Again, the problem was that I drank makgeolli without considering Adriana’s alcohol tolerance. But it was makgeolli, you know?

“Uh, um, that, I can do it,”

“For such tasks, it’s enough to delegate them to children. Would you like to have your meal in your room?”

“No. I’ll just change my clothes and go down to the dining room. Uh, there’s no need for you to attend to me.”

I tore at my hair as I moved to the toilet room. My mouth was hanging open in fifteen different directions and I had nothing to say. Even while putting on a sturdy and unadorned deep green dress, I wanted to dismantle this dress and make a mask out of it. I’d even wear a mask upside down.

“Ah, sister. Ah, teacher…….”

It was fine to drink makgeolli. It was fine to bicker with Callian. It was fine even when he tried to rub his lips against mine. Because my head flew off first instead of my lips.

Then the atmosphere calmed down again and I just hummed a song and drank alcohol,

– Hmm, somehow, doesn’t the room look empty?

– Buy new furniture, damn it,

– No, it’s not like that. Hmm, I mean, it looks a bit empty.

– There’s something I don’t like,

– Ah, just stay still for a moment. I need to concentrate. …Ah!

– Huh?

– I think we should fill this here.

……If you ask where the crazy guy playing Tetris with room furniture is, I’d like to say he’s right here.

Damn it.

Damn it!

– Ah, it’s really heavy. Hey, Grand Duke husband! Come over here and move this for me.

– What are you doing now,

– If you fit this exactly like this, it feels like it will pop! I know exactly, because I’ve done this a lot.

What the hell do you know!

The empire’s top soldier – not a real soldier though – Callian de Winter, who developed the harsh and barren north to this extent, fought monsters on the front lines, and achieved peace for the empire, is being used to play furniture Tetris! Is this a talent donation? A waste of manpower?

In a drunken stupor, I fervently moved furniture around and filled the walls without a gap, which was quite discordant. Except for the bed and chandelier, everything was pushed to one side. The thought of the servants moving the tightly packed furniture back to their places made my hands really, really cramp up.

This is why people shouldn’t drink… I’m going to drink though. I mean, it doesn’t matter as long as I don’t vomit somewhere like last time,

– Ah, not there! A little higher, there, there!

This is kind of cute,

– Eek! That’s not it. Go back, go back! Ah! Why isn’t it resetting?

At some point in life,

– Ah, why isn’t it popping? …Can you pop it?

“The weather is particularly nice today!”

I should go and apologize…

***

Callian’s office was quite far. While the main building was designed for maximum efficiency and minimized movement, it was still a noble’s master bedroom. No matter where you go, it’s consistently tiring.

The corridor was so slippery that I could have gone speed skating. To digest and sharpen my reflexes, I shook off the servant who was trying to accompany me and ran as fast as I could.

“Madam! Where are you going!”

“To the study!”

But he didn’t even pretend to catch me anymore.

Life is full of surprises, I never knew I would be running around the castle, dress flying, as the wife of the Northern Grand Duke and daughter of a duke. And I’m not even a ninja…

“Callian!”

While turning the corner in the hallway, I twisted my ankle spectacularly, but it was a pity that no one was there to see it. Ah, this amazing drift. The skill of running to the cafeteria by jumping down two steps at a time during my school days shone for the first time in a while.

Of course, Adriana’s body was unsurprisingly flabby.

“- Where did Callian go?”

“Ah, His Grace the Grand Duke went to inspect the castle walls.”

“The castle walls?”

“Yes, in the winter, monsters sometimes enter through the gaps in the weakened castle. He said he was going out for an inspection with Lord Seo.”

“When did he leave, no, when will he return?”

“He won’t be out past nightfall.”

“Is that so? Understood, thank you for your time.”

I thought he was just passing his work onto his aide, but as expected of the Northern Grand Duke. To meet the needs of the readers who could not tolerate a male lead who was as incompetent as he was ugly, Callian was very handsome and competent. The time when he handed over his documents to Seo saying he was going to the capital with me-

Let’s just think of it as a typical tyrant’s abuse of power.

The empty study without its owner had not changed much from when I had knelt here before. The long, deep bookshelves, the wide wooden table adjusted to the owner’s seated height, the thick carpet that kept out the cold. On one side, there was a landscape painting that seemed to have been generously painted with expensive colors.

The west-facing window allowed the afternoon sun to penetrate deeply. The chilly and dry sunshine, typical of late autumn to early winter, poured down directly.

Without even drawing the curtains, wouldn’t the color of the paper fade? What are the main characters in romance novels so busy with? I picked up the documents on the table to get a gist of their content.

The sentences, although written in unfamiliar characters, could be naturally interpreted and were listed in a boring manner. On the corner of the document, there was fluid and sleek handwriting that seemed to be Callian’s.

It was a confession that I had never imagined since I came here.

***

– You need to love.

The only daughter of the greatest witch said so. To love like in a novel. Does it mean I should engage in light, cheerful, and utterly passionate love fitting for this genre of the novel?

Although there was an age difference of eleven years, if the words written on the corner of the document were sincere, if they were true, it was worth reconsidering.

First of all, I was lonely, and in order to somehow keep this mundane and vague daily life rolling, I needed a purpose of my own. I had procured rice and even made rice wine.

If I continue like this without a sense of purpose, I’ll get used to managing people without effort and only get used to letting days pass by. Living like that, I could even forget that I have to go back.

So, in some sense-

I needed Callian. Whether it’s a disastrous love affair or a grotesque romance, I had to hear Callian’s explanation first.

This typical Northern Grand Duke-though he had been quite ruined while being with me-I had to find the sincerity in his language that he omitted with words like ‘hmm’, ‘I see’, ‘I suppose not’.

So I-

Decided to write a reply. It was an answer to a confession that the other party had not conveyed.

***

It was bothersome to go back and forth, so I just sat in Callian’s chair and leisurely wrote a response. I dipped my pen in blue ink and transferred my feelings and curiosity onto the blank paper.

“……Why are you here,”

“Good evening, Callian.”

Seo, the representative of a life without dinner, seemed to have gone straight home after work, leaving Callian alone. The thick coat he wore carried the cold scent of winter. It wasn’t quite a deep winter by the calendar, but the ends of his black hair were slightly frozen.

“I have something I want to ask.”

I got up from my seat and shook the documents that Callian had written. The raw truth next to the stiff words arranging the calculations, phenomena, and the budget of the fiefdom.

“Is this true?”

Callian opened his eyes a bit wider and nodded slightly. It was indeed the minimal reaction befitting the Northern Grand Duke.

“……I could never have imagined. No, I did imagine, but I never thought I would find out so directly……”

I stood up from my seat, holding the paper I had written, and stood in front of Callian. A distance where, if Callian took a stride, our lips could touch; a distance where, if I took a stride back, I could harmoniously read his eyes, nose, and lips.

“Were you planning to hide it?”

“No.”

“Then why did you hide it?”

“……I just couldn’t say it, that’s all.”

“You couldn’t say it? Even though you have free will? Are you being controlled by some evil force?”

“Something like that.”

“……Huh? Anyway, I can’t understand this world view. Never mind, anyway, if this is true, I don’t care about that. Those actions you showed, well, I need to explain properly. But listen to what I have to say first.”

After arranging the papers I had prepared in order, I looked straight at Callian. When I took a big step back, I could see him better. I flipped through the papers I held in my arms, one by one.

“Love, Love, Love-‘”

[I was very surprised to see what you had written in the corner of the document]

“Love, Love, Love-‘”

[I never thought you and I would have something in common]

“Love, love, love-‘”

[I’m not sure how I ended up here, and I guess we should talk more about it, but I have no doubt that it’s true]

“Love, love, love-‘”

Ah, my throat is getting scratchy. I wonder if the hangover from the day before is still lingering. Maybe I should have buried my face in the snow to sober up.

[I admit it, I’m the person you’re looking for]

“There’s nothing you can-‘ uh uh, hoo-la-la-lang, woo-roo-lok-ki, yum-yum-yum.”

Ah, I can’t remember the lyrics now. I just hummed along to the vaguely remembered tune.

[And you’re also the person I’m looking for]

“All you need is love-‘”

And then came the part I know.

[You]

It was the last page. I stopped singing. The window rattled, perhaps due to the strong wind.

[You’re Korean, right?]

Subtle gaze, a tone of voice as if holding something back, awkward lips. Shattering all of that, Callian de Winter smiled brightly like an orange chandelier in the middle of the night.

“That’s right.”