Chapter : 08
“You are to accompany Raindart and take part in the Winter Flower Harvest immediately.”
“…Pardon?”
Winter Flower Harvest?
It was a term I’d never heard before.
I hurriedly searched through my memories of the novel, but nothing came to mind.
“Urania’s memories have yet to fully return. Besides, I’ve handled the Winter Flower Harvest by myself for the past several years, so there’s no need to worry.”
What? What’s the problem?
“Didn’t you just say with your own mouth that there is nowhere in the Grand Duke’s castle where the Grand Duchess cannot go?”
“That was—”
Bang!
Grandmother slammed the tip of her cane against the ground.
The sheer force made the earth tremble, and everyone nearby instinctively lowered their heads.
“The nobles have already submitted a petition. They refuse to acknowledge Urania as the Grand Duchess.”
A petition?
Wait…
I’d only arrived yesterday. How had word spread this quickly?
Does news travel at lightning speed around here?
“And I, too, cannot acknowledge that child as the Grand Duchess.”
“It doesn’t matter. Once we find the mage, everything will be resolved.”
“And do you think the nobles will simply wait until then?”
Grandmother glared straight at me.
“This is an order. Prepare for the Winter Flower Harvest together with Urania.”
With those final words, she turned and left the training grounds.
“…Whew.”
The moment she disappeared from sight, I unconsciously let out the breath I’d been holding.
“Are you alright?”
I turned to find Raindart looking at me with concern.
“I’m fine. More importantly… what are we going to do?”
“About what?”
“The nobles. They oppose me, don’t they?”
No matter how powerful the Grand Duke was, he couldn’t completely ignore the opinions of the nobility.
“You don’t need to worry about that. I’ll handle it.”
“If you say so… Though, your grandmother is really terrifying.”
“She was a little more sensitive than usual just now. Don’t take it to hea—”
“She’s incredibly cool!”
“…What?”
She was exactly like the kind of character you’d only see in a novel.
No wonder she’d made such a strong impression despite appearing so briefly.
“Did you see that? The way she stared me down and spoke so confidently?”
“…You think that’s cool?”
“Of course! Even after all these years, she still has that overwhelming presence! That charisma that only comes with experience! Anyone would think she’s amazing!”
As expected of a knight who had once dominated the battlefield.
She was on an entirely different level.
At that moment, Raindart suddenly began laughing.
Unlike his usual composed demeanor, it was an innocent, genuine smile.
“What? Why are you laughing?”
“Even though she clearly doesn’t like you, you still think she’s admirable?”
“If I were in her position, I’d dislike me too. A strange woman suddenly became the Grand Duchess, after all. Honestly, I like her even more because it shows how deeply she cares about the North.”
It was only natural.
Who could possibly accept a situation like this without any reservations?
“Besides, she gave me an excuse.”
“An excuse?”
“An excuse to stay here.”
If anything, she’d given me an opportunity.
The contract was for me to remain in the North until the mage arrived.
Until then, I had to build a place for myself here.
Of course, even if I did nothing, Raindart would do everything he could to make sure I could stay comfortably.
But that would make me uncomfortable.
He might not have been my favorite character in the novel, but I’d still cried over his heartbreaking past.
I didn’t want to become another burden for someone who was already carrying so much.
“So… what exactly is the Winter Flower Harvest?”
“…Monsters?”
I was certain I’d misheard.
No—
I had to have misheard.
“That’s right. It’s the hunt for the monsters that become active during winter.”
But Raindart’s explanation left my mouth hanging open.
“Why would you give something as terrifying as monster hunting such a beautiful name?!”
When you said Winter Flower Harvest, I thought we were going to gather herbs or something!
“It’s because the monsters resemble flowers.”
“…Ha…”
Seriously?
Of all things, monsters?
In this novel, monsters only existed to demonstrate how powerful the protagonists were.
Sure…
For the protagonists.
As an ordinary person, I’d obviously end up as Extra #1 who gets killed by a monster.
“So… do I actually have to hunt monsters myself?”
“No.”
Huh?
I don’t?
“Then what does the Grand Duchess do?”
“You’ll stay in the rear and oversee the wounded soldiers and the knights.”
“What exactly do you mean by ‘oversee’?”
“There are various responsibilities, but the most important one is directing the maids to prepare meals and deliver them to the knights.”
Oh.
That’s all?
“I can definitely do that! I used to work as a maid, remember?”
Despite my cheerful answer, Raindart simply sighed.
“You don’t have to come.”
“…What?”
“It’s too dangerous. I can’t take you somewhere like that.”
But I’m telling you I’ll be fine!
“Isn’t it practically in the rear anyway?”
“It is, but unexpected situations can arise at any time—”
“Your Grace!”
My raised voice startled him into silence.
“What is it?”
“Do you want everyone here to keep looking down on me?”
The moment the words left my mouth, his expression hardened.
“Who dares look down on you?”
“Isn’t that exactly what’s happening? Like I said before, if I don’t do anything, I’ll have to keep walking on eggshells around everyone here.”
“I told you I’d make sure that never happened—”
“I’m not someone who has to be protected all the time, Your Grace.”
I looked him straight in the eyes.
“I don’t want to dump every problem I can solve myself onto you.”
“…”
“So no overprotectiveness. I appreciate that you’re worried about me, but… you can ease up a little, alright?”
After I finished speaking, Raindart continued staring at me.
Perhaps my words had caught him completely off guard.
For a long moment, he simply stood there in stunned silence.
Then he finally spoke.
“You’re right.”
A smile slowly spread across his face.
“I underestimated you. Protecting you unconditionally isn’t necessarily the right thing to do.”
Seeing him smile, I couldn’t help smiling back.
“It’s enough that you understand now.”
With that, I walked out of the training grounds, already thinking about everything I needed to prepare.
“…So she’s really making preparations?”
“Yes. Since yesterday, she’s been working with the maids to prepare for the Winter Flower Harvest.”
“…”
Rikain pressed a hand to his forehead as another headache came on.
She was actually preparing?
An outsider?
“Does she even know what the Winter Flower Harvest is?”
“Judging by the supplies she’s gathering—food and medicine—it seems she does.”
“So she knows… and she’s still preparing?”
“That appears to be the case.”
“…Ha.”
Winter Flowers.
To the people of the North, monsters were the embodiment of fear.
Nowadays, at least people knew where they lived and how to fight them.
But in the past, they had been disasters beyond human control.
Their attacks froze everything around them, and their incredible speed was enough to wipe an entire village off the map.
And she wanted to go where those creatures roamed?
Rikain let out an incredulous laugh.
At this point, he was genuinely curious.
Why had that girl come here?
Everything about her irritated him.
No matter how much she resembled Lylit…
She wasn’t Lylit.
The people of the North possessed a unique magical aura.
The land itself overflowed with mana, and anyone raised there naturally absorbed that northern magic.
Lylit had lived in the North for less than a year.
Even so, it made no sense for there to be no trace of northern mana on Urania whatsoever.
When Lylit had lived here, he had clearly sensed the North’s magic within her.
That was why he’d given Urania one final warning—to leave of her own accord.
Yet…
“She’s more stubborn than I expected.”
She had ignored his warning and chosen to stay.
Just then, laughter drifted in from outside.
Glancing through the window, he saw Urania and several maids happily carrying supplies together.
“Have the maids and knights completely lowered their guard?”
“…Most of them believe Lady Urania is Lady Lylit.”
“Ridiculous.”
What about that girl resembled Lylit?
If he could, he’d throw her out immediately.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t.
If he did, Raindart would undoubtedly cause an uproar.
It had already been a year since the North lost its mistress.
Rikain had thought it would be better to leave the position vacant.
But Raindart had shattered that hope.
At this rate, that girl would eventually take on the role of Grand Duchess.
That cannot happen.
He would never allow anyone to take Lylit’s place.
“Butler.”
“Yes, Lord Rikain.”
“Prepare my things. I’m going out.”
A chilling smile spread across Rikain’s face as he looked out the window at Urania.
“I suppose it’s time I properly welcomed our guest.”
