The End Of Winter (6)

Dideric guided me to the Grand Duchess’s study. The room was on the same floor as the Grand Duke’s study. I had known it existed, but I had never once set foot inside.

Although no one used it, the study was spotless, without a speck of dust. A soft carpet covered the floor, and a tapestry bearing the same lion emblem as the one in the Grand Duke’s study decorated the wall.

After pulling out a chair for me, Dideric approached the bookshelves and took down several thick ledgers. The leather-bound books had been polished smooth by years of handling, but it was obvious they had been well maintained.

He respectfully placed the ledgers before me.

“Until now, I have managed the mansion on your behalf, my lady.”

I opened one of the ledgers.

Like everything else in this mansion, the ledger was utterly perfect. Every purchase and every person entering or leaving had been recorded meticulously, and the handwriting was as neat as print, making it easy to read. As I went through the contents, I marveled again and again.

“This is truly remarkable. It could serve as a model for household bookkeeping.”

“You honor me, my lady.”

Dideric respectfully bowed his head.

The more I looked, the less I understood. Why would anyone leave such excellent work to an inexperienced person like me when they already had someone as capable as Dideric? Even if I studied for another ten years, I doubted I could manage it this well.

Noticing my grave expression, Dideric reassured me.

“You need not concern yourself with trivial matters, my lady. I will continue handling the purchasing, calculations, and entries. You need only make the selections.”

“…….”

“Summer is approaching, so the curtains must be replaced. What color would you prefer?”

For a moment, I was left speechless.

“I…… do not know much about such things.”

My speech became stiff from embarrassment.

Curtains were an unimaginable luxury in Amari. Hanging several layers of gathered cloth before a window was something that would have been unthinkable even in the lord’s household.

When winter came, the people of Amari wedged scraps of glue-stiffened cloth into every gap in the window frames to block the wind. They layered on whatever cloth or leather they could find and nailed wooden boards over the glass to keep it from breaking. I had seen curtains only a few times in my life.

As I faltered, Dideric quickly asked another question.

“Then is there anything you feel ought to be purchased? Anything at all. Food, furniture, or even jewelry. You are the lady of the house, so surely something will come to mind if you consider it.”

My thoughts became even more tangled. I tried my best to think from the perspective of a noblewoman.

After racking my brain, I suddenly realized that I had no clothes to wear outside. Noblewomen usually dressed properly even when stepping out nearby, did they not?

But I did not want to appear extravagant immediately after receiving the ledgers…….

After watching his reaction, I cautiously asked.

“Um, may I purchase a dress? I do not own any…….”

“Pardon?”

Confusion appeared on his face.

Did I already seem extravagant?

I was about to hastily withdraw my request when the butler asked in bewilderment.

“You do not possess an outdoor dress?”

I gave an awkward nod.

The worn dress I had arrived in had been discarded, and I usually rotated through a few house dresses. At night, I wore the trousers and shirts I had received from the maids.

I hurriedly added.

“It is not particularly important. I can manage without one…….”

“That cannot be allowed, my lady. You are the mistress of this household and the Grand Duchess.”

Still unable to hide his dismay, Dideric stroked his beard.

“To think that we failed to notice, even though you had remained inside the mansion all this time…….”

After muttering as though blaming himself, he straightened his back.

“I will consult Madam Sermona and summon a dressmaker immediately.”

Before enough time had passed to empty a pot of tea, a dressmaker was summoned to the mansion.

The woman, whose hair had been stylishly swept back with perfumed oil, lifted her skirt and performed an elegant court curtsy.

“It is an honor to meet you, Your Highness.”

When I awkwardly nodded, she set down her bag and immediately began bustling around with her assistants to take my measurements.

I was embarrassed to expose my scarred, hardened body, but she paid it no mind and made a great fuss while measuring the width of my shoulders.

“Your Highness has perfectly straight posture. And this hair…….”

She lifted my platinum-blond hair and exclaimed in admiration.

“What a beautiful color. Very few people in the Empire possess hair like this.”

I had never heard such words before, and my face flushed involuntarily.

The woman, who supposedly made nearly all the clothing for the grand ducal household, smiled with satisfaction.

“You will look truly wonderful standing beside His Highness the Grand Duke.”

I naturally thought of the Grand Duke.

His pitch-black hair, healthy complexion, and enchanting, beautiful face.

Yet the mirror before me reflected a pale, gaunt girl whose hair resembled dry winter reeds.

We would not suit each other at all.

I lowered my gaze to the floor and unnecessarily pressed my toes together.

After quickly finishing the measurements, she began an animated discussion with Madam Sermona.

Three house dresses and three formal gowns, a dress for tea parties, a ball gown, one riding habit, and spare shirts…….

Unable to follow their conversation, I secretly flipped through the dress catalog.

The dresses were layered with so much fabric that every one of them swelled like a croissant. A single dress appeared to contain enough cloth to make three of the outfits I had worn in Amari. The thread used for the embroidery seemed sufficient to stitch together hundreds of hides.

As I continued turning the pages, I saw the prices written at the back and hurled the catalog away as though I had touched something wicked.

Impossible. Suddenly, all of this seemed like madness.

Gathering my courage, I spoke to Madam Sermona.

“I-I…… do not need so many.”

“That will not do, my lady. The dignity of the grand ducal house is at stake.”

It was the first time I had seen her speak so firmly. I looked at her anxiously.

In the end, Madam Sermona purchased every one of those numerous dresses. When she told the dressmaker that an additional fee would be acceptable as long as they were delivered as quickly as possible, I nearly fainted.

After the dressmaker left, she bowed deeply to me.

“This was my oversight, my lady. I was so focused on your meals that I failed to attend to what a lady ought properly to possess.”

“N-No…….”

It was strange.

I was the one who ate every day like someone who had starved for three days, so why was Madam Sermona apologizing? She had even spent such an enormous amount of money on dresses.

I felt apologetic instead, but she looked so grave that I could not say anything.

The warm afternoon sun slanted through the decorative windows.

When night fell, I went to the bedroom early. I told the maids that I was tired, but in truth, I was worried that far too much money had been spent and felt I needed to tell Victor as soon as possible.

I had not been sitting curled up at the edge of the bed for long when he entered the bedroom. I tried to conceal my nervousness as I greeted him.

“Welcome back.”

He quietly looked down at me sitting on the bed.

“Were you waiting for me?”

“That is my duty.”

The Grand Duke’s eyes narrowed before turning into an unreadable smile.

He poured himself some wine from the bedside and drank it. I looked up at him uneasily.

“I heard that you ordered some dresses.”

I flinched in surprise. Victor wore a faint frown as he set down the glass. My heart pounded wildly.

I truly spent an absurd amount of money. I should have stopped Madam Sermona somehow. Should I cancel the order even now?

His voice halted the dark imaginings spreading uncontrollably through my mind.

“This was my mistake. I told you that I would buy you everything anew when we came to the Empire, yet……. Dideric and I spent so much time wondering what we could give you.”

Startled, I met his gaze. To my surprise, the Grand Duke looked genuinely apologetic.

“I saw you every day and still failed to notice. From now on, I will regularly summon jewelers and dressmakers to the mansion.”

The catalog I had seen earlier flashed through my mind.

The clothes had been as beautiful as flower petals, and the number of gold coins written beneath them was unlike anything I had ever seen. Purchasing such things once had already been overwhelming, yet he intended to keep buying them regularly?

It was excessive. Far, far too excessive. If money continued to be spent as it had today, my heart might burst.

The words spilled out before I had time to think.

“Your Highness, I…… was raised on the frontier. Every day, I ate cold food and skinned monsters to make clothing.”

Victor’s eyes instantly darkened. He quietly studied my thin neck, visible beneath the edge of my shirt. I tried to appear as calm as possible.

“The only things I ever purchased with money were pickled vegetables and pieces of iron. I neither needed nor wanted anything beyond that. So everything you have already given me is more than enough.”

His amber eyes silently held my reflection. After staring at me for a moment as though seeing straight through me, he came and sat beside me. The man more noble than anything else in this mansion murmured.

“This, too, was my mistake.”

“…….”

“I thought you would be pleased if I gave you anything you wanted. Was this merely for my own satisfaction as well?”

Unable to find an answer, I stared at him blankly.

His gaze slowly examined my face, my arms covered by the shirt, and my still-bony legs. Then, suddenly, he smiled mischievously.

“Then will you grant me a request?”