Chapter 38
“Nata—lieee!”
After returning home together with Julius,
the somewhat awkward, heated atmosphere that lingered between them vanished in an instant—thanks to her father’s overly enthusiastic welcome.
Once they were back at the mansion, Natalie’s mother smiled warmly, looking quite pleased as she murmured, “Oh my, oh my,” while watching Julius and Natalie together.
Her father, on the other hand, bombarded her with an endless stream of questions—mostly to confirm that nothing had happened.
It was exhausting to handle him, but even so, Natalie truly felt happy to have gone out again—to the familiar streets she had missed for so long.
(Mother, Mina… thank you.)
While her father’s rapid-fire questioning continued under the name of “worry,” Mina intervened with, “Now, now, my lord,” helping to calm him down.
Julius’s expression also softened a little as he exchanged parting greetings before heading to his room.
“My lady… yes, Mina understands everything perfectly!”
As Mina prepared her for bed, Natalie braced herself—expecting to be questioned thoroughly once her father was gone.
But Mina seemed to have already sensed the situation.
“I’ll escort His Grace to the door—”
“Yes, yes, please don’t worry!”
“O-oh… all right.”
It didn’t really look like everything was fine, but the comfortable fatigue and the feeling of having untangled the knots in her heart lulled Natalie into a deep sleep that night.
◆◇◆
The next day after her outing with Julius, cheerful voices echoed through the Petigrew mansion.
“Julius! Looks like you’ve recovered, huh? Man, that’s a relief!”
“…Sorry to have worried you.”
“Seriously! You should at least tell me before you go off somewhere!”
“…My apologies.”
Just as mentioned in his previous letter, it seemed the post-war duties had finally settled down.
The deputy commander, Mark, had come to visit the Petigrew estate.
The moment he saw Natalie, he warmly took her hand in greeting—only to suddenly glance over her shoulder and, in a flustered tone, blurt out,
“Ah! Lady Natalie! It’s been so long! You’re as radiant as ever!”
Then he quickly released her hand.
After Natalie returned his greeting and turned around, she realized Julius was standing right behind her.
(Sir Mark… what was that about?)
Judging by his behavior, nothing seemed wrong, so Natalie merely smiled politely in response.
After that, Julius and Mark began chatting—at first lightheartedly, but then their tones grew more serious.
At some point, the air between them turned heavy.
Since they were speaking by the entrance, Natalie couldn’t hear what was being said.
Thinking it rude to make them stand there talking, she opened her mouth to invite them into the parlor—but Julius turned toward her first.
“…It’s sudden, but something has come up. I have to leave immediately.”
“Ah—! I-I see.”
“According to Mark, the knights are already waiting outside. Later, I’ll properly repay the expenses and your hospitality—”
“Oh! N-no, please, that’s unnecessary!”
Apparently, something urgent had arisen during their conversation—Julius had new duties waiting for him.
He was leaving the mansion to return to the Knights’ Order.
It was only natural—he was a knight, after all.
She knew that once he recovered, he’d have to return.
Still… after spending so much time together over the past few weeks,
Natalie found herself unexpectedly saddened by the thought of him leaving.
“Are you sure your body’s all right?”
“Ah, yes. I’ve fully recovered… and, well… thank you, truly. For everything.”
As Mark urged him to prepare, Julius began getting ready to depart.
When her parents heard he was leaving, they too came to see him off.
The servants bustled about, helping him pack what little he had brought.
Since he had almost no luggage, preparations finished quickly.
“Please, take care on your journey.”
“Thank you.”
Together with Mark, Julius expressed his gratitude to the Petigrew family and stepped out the door.
Watching his back disappear, Natalie felt a twinge of loneliness.
It must simply be because they had spent so much time together—
a feeling akin to parting with a tame animal that had grown attached to you.
Though she had sorted out her darker, more confusing feelings toward him,
she whispered to herself that this sadness was nothing improper.
(Huh—?)
As Julius left through the door, Natalie caught a glimpse of him pressing a hand to his chest.
His face looked slightly pale—as if in pain.
But the moment passed quickly.
He straightened up, composed as always, so she wondered if she had imagined it.
“Oh, my lady! This coat—it’s His Grace’s, isn’t it? Wait—oh?”
“Ah!”
Mina came running, slightly out of breath, holding Julius’s black cloak and a few of his belongings.
But by that time, Julius had already vanished from sight beyond the estate gates.
Only now did Natalie remember the clothing she had completely forgotten to return.
Feeling exasperated at herself for always being so scatterbrained, she thought, Good grief!
Since her father might make a fuss if he found out, she asked Mina to quietly put the cloak away.
(This time for sure… next time, I’ll definitely return it!)
Unaware of Natalie’s flustered determination, Julius—leading the Black Knights—departed from the Petigrew territory.
◆◇◆
“Hmm…”
“What’s wrong, Father?”
“Ah, Natalie.”
A few days passed since they had seen Julius off.
Life had returned to peaceful normalcy, yet one morning at breakfast, Natalie noticed her father still sitting at the table, lost in thought even after finishing his meal.
Her mother, too, looked worried and asked gently, “Dear, are you all right?”
“I don’t want to alarm you two… but it’s better to be cautious.”
“Huh?”
After hesitating for a moment under their gazes, her father finally spoke.
“It seems there have been reports lately… of suspicious individuals sighted within the kingdom.”
