Chapter 36: 35

“That… that is not it.”

He made excuses in a bewildered voice.

“It’s my nephew, how can I say it’s interesting news? It’s a story I brought up because I was worried.”

“Nephew… Yes, it was. The Chancellor is your nephew.”

“Yes.”

“By the way, you sent your young nephew into exile to keep this position.”

Hearing those words, he could hear the chief attendant, who was standing behind him, inhaling and exhaling.

Everyone in the Kingdom knows this, but what fearless person would expose that political weakness in front of the King? So, it was the first time that the chief attendant had seen him bring up the topic after serving the King so closely—especially directly from the King’s mouth.

“Ah…”

The father-in-law did not know what to do. Defending himself would sound like he could make his nephew like that at any moment, and he couldn’t even criticize the King.

The King watched him with eyes like a viper that could bite at any time. Only the sound of saliva being swallowed filled this place.

“Then… Is Kentrail okay? Brielle?”

The Queen asked in a surprised voice if she had just heard the news. But, the reply was cold.

“You didn’t know about this until now? You want me to believe it? I heard that you had a big tea party recently, and the ladies didn’t say anything there?”

Her husband’s frosty tone was already certain.

She bowed her head silently. Caveran sent a good look to his daughter before getting up hastily to get out of there.

“Your Majesty… This humble person has an urgent business… I’ll leave for now.”

“I bet my wife would, too, so get going.”

Her husband, whom she has not seen in a long time, has sent herself out from there.

Seeing the Queen come out after a short time, the maid chief secretly sighed in her eyes.

 

***

 

The time has come for Barry to go back to the Knights Academy.

The child hesitated to leave his elder and younger sister here. When he saw his sister who had passed out following the attack of a mysterious person, he wondered if he had been too greedy.

He sat in his room, alone, pondered deep in thought. The moon was really bright today.

After he sighed, Barry glanced away and the window opposite the mansion from his room caught his eye.

“Uh…”

For some reason, he could see the Count staring at him.

He bowed his head to greet. The Count raised one of his hands and pointed to the garden below. Perhaps it meant to walk together. Barry nodded his head boardly, indicating that a yes.

‘What’s going on?’

As he went down the stairs, Barry got a little nervous.

There were very few cases where the two of them were alone. Barry, unlike his older sister or Ellie, was a little awkward with the Count. It may have been a while since he left the mansion, but it seems that he was like that from the beginning.

“You’re here.”

As he approached the garden, he saw the Count arriving first, so he hurriedly walked over to him and said, “Forgive me for being late.”

“It’s only natural since my place is closer to the garden.”

Kentrail, who spoke indifferently, gestured for Barry to walk with him and took a step forward.

“You must not have been able to sleep.”

“…Yes.”

“I see, well, it’s time to go back to the academy again.’

After saying those words, he was silent for a moment. When he saw the flowers blooming in the garden, Barry wondered if this was something Kentrail should see with the one who would become the Countess, not himself.

And then, even after a brief pause, he remembered what Ellie had said.

She mentioned that the relationship between the Count and their sister wasn’t serious. She also said she liked the Count and Yujes, who was the tutor, too. Though Barry warned her not to talk nonsense.

“I know it won’t be comfortable to leave here because of what happened to your sisters.”

After thinking about it for a moment, the Count continued.

Barry hurriedly came to his senses, and approached Kentrail, where the gap had widened before answering.

“Yes, Ellie is still immature and I am worried that my older sister is not feeling well.”

Kentrail patted the child’s shoulder at the candid reply, “Ellie is a smart child. To her older brother, she may still look like a child, but to me, she felt mentally mature already.”

Kentrail remembered Ellie, eagerly waiting by Marie’s side.

“I will protect the nanny from collapsing again. So, don’t worry about it and go back to the academy and focus on your studies.”

Barry, now the second-largest physique among his academy classmates, still had to look up to the Count’s face. There was a firm will in his eyes. Seeing it, the boy felt a little relieved.

“Thank you. And, I’m sorry to have always bothered the Count like this…”

“Don’t say that.”

Kentrail raised his large hand and stroked Barry’s head.

‘When was it… I never had my hair stroked like this.’

At the academy, even if the professors praised him, they had never done anything with such intimacy.

Barry guessed he was still young. Seeing his heart flutter at the fact that the Count stroked his hair once.

“Yes.”

Barry barely answered in a watery voice. And, perhaps, the unreasonable expectations were rising.

He wanted someone like this by his older sister’s side.

 

***

 

“Marie.”

“Young Master. Where have you been?”

Two hours have passed since Brielle, who she thought would be by her side all day today, had to do something and then disappeared with another maid.

Whatever he was doing, he was wet with sweat up to his forehead.

“Look at this sweat.”

Raising her handkerchief and wiping away the sweat, Marie asked him to change his clothes.

“Wait a moment.”

However, Brielle started to grab Marie’s hand and drag her as if there was something else.

“Where are we going?”

Unknowingly, thanks to Brielle’s height currently, Marie no longer had to lean her waist and hold his hand. Upon realizing this, she was overcome by a mysterious feeling and was dragged into the hands of the child.

They passed through a hallway studded with white marble and descended a staircase with a chandelier.

“Isn’t this the dining room?”

It wasn’t even time for a meal when Brielle had brought her here, so Marie asked if he was hungry. Brielle shook his head and opened the door without explanation.

There stood the Chef.

“What’s this?”

On the table next to him was steaming food.

“Go ahead and check it out.”

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At Brielle’s urging, Marie came closer and confirmed the identity of the food. It was samgyetang.* She never imagined she would see this here, so she stood still with a puzzled look.

“How do you do this…?”

“Before, you said that you wanted to do this when the Young Master was sick. So, just then, the Young Master asked if there was anything that could be done for you, so I remembered and tried it.”

“Marie, I helped, too!”

The Chef couldn’t have the noble Young Master cook, so he asked Brielle to watch the fire, but in front of that hot fire, he instructed the kitchen members to do it together as well.

It was then that Marie realized why Brielle’s clothes were so sweaty. The Chef’s clothes were also soaked with sweat.

“Thank you.”

The words were simple, but tears welled up. Seeing this, Brielle was restless.

“Marie, don’t cry. Yeah?”

“I’m so happy…”

At the chef’s urging to eat it, she sat down. Brielle pulled up the chair next to where Marie was sitting and sat down.

“What do you think?”

Brielle, in anticipation, asked when Marie has yet to even bring the food to her mouth. She grinned, forked the flesh of the chicken leg with a fork, and brought it to her mouth.

To be honest, the taste wasn’t as she remembered it. There was no ginseng or jujube added, so it was very bland. But, maybe because Brielle and the Chef’s heart enter into it? Her legs felt lighter than ever and her body felt healthier.

“It’s delicious.”

Dipped in salt, it made it more edible.

Marie scraped off the flesh and brought it to Brielle’s mouth.

“Marie needs to eat it all.”

Though Brielle was drooling next to her, he refused, saying that if Marie was to be a little bit healthier, she had to eat it all.

“I can’t eat it because it’s too much for me to eat alone.”

“But.”

As Marie continued to place the fork in front of his mouth, Brielle reluctantly put it into his mouth.

“Delicious.”

“Right?”

“Hmm.”

He smiled brightly and said it was the best. The Chef looked at them happily.

‘This must be the reward of raising a child.’

The image of Brielle who was standing in front of the fire, saying she would make Marie healthy, came to mind.

“Isn’t it very hot?”

“It was bearable.”

The Chef remembered the Young Master flapping his clothes because it was hot and rolled his eyes. Brielle pretended to be ignorant of it, and fixed his gaze on Marie.

“Marie, don’t let it get cold, so eat quickly.”

“Yes. Chef, it was really delicious.”

Marie, not forgetting compliments to the Chef, forgot her face and took the opposite chicken leg and began to eat it with her hand.

 

***

 

Kentrail and Marie were together in the garden. It was the place he walked with Barry. Wanting to see the flowers that he had seen at that time, Kentrail offered Marie a walk after finishing dinner.

Brielle wanted to follow her, but he changed his mind after hearing what Ellie had whispered.

The scent of flowers from the garden was so sweet, unlike the current situation.

“Does the Count come here all the time?”

“Yes. I keep it the way my mother made it.”

The garden created by the predecessor Countess was prettier and warmer than the gardens of any noble family despite the passage of time.

“She must have liked flowers.”

“Yes. It wasn’t just flowers. It’s still clear that she pruned others herself in a few childhood memories.”

“Pruning?”

“It was that tree.”

Her gaze shifted to follow the finger as he pointed. It was a large tree hanging from Brielle’s treehouse.

“Every time she went up there and pruned it, I was watching from below with anxiety.” He said as a faint smile hung on his lips as he remembered that time.

“My brother and I were standing next to her, feet trembling. My mother was the only carefree one.”

She could feel how much he loved his family and how he grew up in such a happy family.

“But now, Brielle is up there.”

His smile turned into sadness when he finished saying those words.

“I wish my brother was here.”

“Ah…”

Marie put her hand on his arm. She didn’t know what to say to comfort him.

“You must have been having a hard time telling me everything.”

“No.”

Just him believing in her gave her a lot of strength.

The two started walking again, arms and hands in contact. After confirming that there was no other presence, Kentrail opened his mouth again.

“I have the greatest doubts about the Queen and my uncle.”

“Is there a reason?”

“There must be a profit in making my parents and my brother and sister like that. They are the ones who benefited the most from that.”

“I see…”

It was a typical reason.

There have been many in history, but most of them happened because of those gains. Marie didn’t know what to say. Although she did not grow up in such a happy family, she never assumed that her relatives were such a threat to her family.

‘There’s nothing I can do, but hope they aren’t…’

If his family really did something like that, it must have been a shock to him and Brielle as well.

“But, I’ll be sure to protect you and the children. So don’t worry.”

In Marie’s silence, Kentrail thought she was frightened.

“The Count, too.”

“What?”

“You have to protect yourself as well.”

“…Ah.”

He hadn’t thought of it. Kentrail only thought that he would protect them, even if he sacrificed himself. However, Marie was also concerned about his safety.

‘If it wasn’t for you, maybe I would…’

Swallowing the weak words he couldn’t bear, he opened his mouth with firm strength.

“Yes.”

It was an oath under a large tree that had taken root and maintained its position for decades.

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