TDLOT 52

Chapter 52. My Husband Has Changed

The next morning, as usual, Baroness Boild came to visit Frida’s room. Normally, Frida would be waiting for her, dressed neatly, but today Frida just sat by the bed with a blank expression. Matilda was startled and checked Frida’s forehead first.

“Madam, are you feeling unwell? Oh, you have a fever.”

Matilda turned to get a wet towel, but Frida grabbed her hand.

“Matilda. Why… is he acting like this?”

Frida looked dazed. Just yesterday she was so full of energy that it was almost worrying. What had happened? Matilda sat on the bed beside her to check on her more closely.

“Did something happen? I heard His Grace the Duke returned last night. Did you already see him?”

See him? They had done more than just meet.

“That man… The Duke…”

Wasn’t it because he was annoyed by me and didn’t want to see me that he left without saying goodbye? But then, what did he mean by what he said yesterday?

“If I told you I regretted leaving you behind, would you believe me?”

Her husband had changed. Did he hit his head again? Maybe she should have asked Dominic what happened during the hunt. Frida’s cheeks still felt hot where Daniel’s hand had touched her.

“He said he regrets leaving me behind.”

That sounded like… like he… While Frida hesitated to finish her thought, Matilda squeezed her hand and smiled brightly.

“Oh my. Maybe His Grace finally came to his senses after being away so long. Didn’t I tell you he would regret leaving such a beautiful wife?”

“But isn’t it strange, Matilda? He didn’t send a single word for two weeks and suddenly he says something like that.”

Matilda picked up the hairbrush and gently brushed Frida’s hair, chuckling.

“Men don’t like to admit their true feelings easily. Especially someone like His Grace, who’s always surrounded by others’ attention.”

Matilda even bared her teeth and playfully pretended to growl.

“If he shows weakness, people will bite. He’s gotten used to hiding his feelings. The noble girls in Chellino used to call him the ‘Iron Wall Duke Richard.’”

She wondered what kind of marriage an iron wall duke would have, but now she got to witness such a fun love story. Frida, lost in thought, pricked up her ears—she had never heard stories like this about Daniel before.

“Matilda, did you know the Duke from before?”

“Of course! He probably doesn’t remember me, but I saw him every time he came to Schendel Castle. There were parties whenever he returned from victory. I used to go with Countess Chamberlain. His Grace would attend too.”

The Duke was famous for making even his own victory parties feel cold and tense. He always sat there with the same cold face, never a smile. Yet, that made the noble girls even crazier about him. There were always girls trying to win him over, but most gave up, exhausted. Even Countess Chamberlain, who used to click her tongue and call those acts “shameless,” was obsessed with any gossip about Duke Richard. When she heard he ignored the proposal of Count Scheidemann’s daughter, she laughed so hard she nearly lost her dignity.

“I’m not even sure you could call it ‘attending.’”

“At the party?”

“Yes. The Emperor always…”

Knock, knock. Just as Matilda was about to start a new story, someone knocked on the door of the duchess’s bedroom.

“Just stay there, Madam. I’ll go.”

Matilda left, then soon returned looking a bit excited. She pulled open all the bed curtains.

“Madam, get up! His Grace has sent for you to have breakfast together.”

“Breakfast?”

Daniel had said that last night—eat breakfast together, maybe take a walk.

‘Did I agree to that?’

She couldn’t even remember what she said, everything happened so fast. While Frida was lost in her thoughts, Matilda threw open the window and closet.

“Come on, let’s get you ready and melt that Iron Wall Duke. Trust me, Madam.”

Matilda flashed such a cheerful smile over her shoulder that even the serious Frida had to laugh.

Daniel and his group had returned with a huge catch. The area by the stream was lively from early morning as they skinned the animals and cut the meat.

“Don’t ruin the hides—they’ll be our new boots this winter. Hey, you, make sure to remove all the guts or the meat will spoil. How many times do I have to say it?”

The mercenaries worked quickly under Dominic’s direction. Stefan watched them and sighed.

“This is bad.”

Heinrich stretched and came over.

“What’s so bad? Ugh, my back. I thought I’d get a good sleep in a proper bed for once, but it’s so noisy.”

Every time Heinrich cracked his neck, it made a loud popping sound.

“So, did you spy for us while the lord was gone? Shouldn’t we send news to Schendel Castle? They’ll be curious.”

Heinrich thumped his jacket and asked again.

“But what’s so bad? Is it something serious?”

“If you want me to answer, maybe you should close your mouth and open your ears first, Lord Updike.”

Even during the carriage ride, Stefan had noticed the new house steward was a difficult man.

“Heh. You’ve got a temper, I see.”

Heinrich laughed and nudged Stefan’s shoulder playfully.

‘Sigh… What kind of teacher did the Border Duke have for his son?’

Even if his family was nothing special, Stefan was a baron—yet this marquis’s son didn’t even know how to use polite speech. He looked just like those scruffy mercenaries by the stream.

“I’m worried, that’s all.”

Heinrich raised his eyebrows.

“About the mercenaries. After the knighting ceremony, they’ll be Duke Richard’s knights, not mercenaries anymore. But they still act like mercenaries and won’t even try to learn proper manners. If they keep this up, the other nobles will laugh at them.”

“Oh…”

Heinrich slowly nodded, looking over at the mercenaries, covered in animal blood. Compared to the well-groomed knights at noble banquets, they hardly looked like knights. But so what?

“You’ve never seen those guys fight, have you?”

“No, I haven’t.”

“Ever seen any real battle?”

“No. I’ve only lived in Chellino.”

“I figured. In the capital, even if there’s a power struggle, it’s settled outside Chellino.”

Heinrich grinned and stepped forward.

“Baron Boild. Do you know who you should thank for nobles in the capital being able to live their whole lives without fighting a real battle?”

He glanced at the sunrise over the Altas mountains.

“It’s thanks to those scruffy men. In a real battle, skill is all that matters. If you only care about knightly manners, you’ll end up dead like that deer.”

This was the first time Stefan saw Heinrich without any jokes. He was usually wild, but he’d never seen him truly angry before.

“Especially around someone like Daniel, who’s just as likely to kill an ally as an enemy—manners won’t save you. Skill is what matters. Better to be laughed at than dead, right?”

“What do you mean, ‘kill an ally’? Who would…”

Heinrich waved his hand as if he was done talking and walked away.

“Come on. Let’s go eat. If I keep watching this, I’ll lose my appetite.”

As Stefan hurried after him, he reminded him of the right way.

“The dining hall is that way.”

Since the main hall wasn’t ready, they all ate in their own rooms.

“It’ll be finished next week. Until then, eat in your rooms.”

“No. I’ll eat in the kitchen today. The duchess will be eating there too—why not me?”

Stefan rushed ahead, surprised.

“But you’re an important guest…”

“Don’t be so old-fashioned, Steward. I get enough nagging from my father.”

Heinrich walked into the first-floor hallway, wondering why it was so busy.

“What’s going on? Why is it so crazy here this morning?”

Stefan also looked around, surprised by the unusual morning.

“What are you two doing there?”

A clear voice called out, and Heinrich’s mouth fell open.

“Who… who is that woman?”

A hawk soaring through the sky suddenly dove down fast. It spotted Daniel on the terrace and slowed, circling above his head, wanting attention. Even with the hawk’s sharp cries, Daniel’s eyes stayed fixed on the distant snowy mountains, not bothered by the noise behind him.

“Young master, we’re ready.”

Daniel only nodded, and everyone hurried out. Among the busy footsteps, one familiar step came quickly toward him. When it stopped, Daniel finally spoke, still facing forward.

“Speak.”

“There’s something you need to see, my lord.”

Hearing Dominic’s uneasy tone, Daniel turned to face him. Dominic still smelled of blood and water from washing up quickly.

“Does it have to be now?”

“It does.”

Daniel turned fully, hands behind his back, showing he didn’t want his peaceful morning disturbed, but Dominic stood firm. Dominic glanced at the breakfast table on the terrace with a strange expression.

“It concerns the person who’ll be sitting there soon.”

Without a word, Daniel held out his hand and Dominic gave him a letter. As Daniel read it, his eyes immediately caught a troubling name.

“…Matilda?”