Chapter 4

Although it was still early, Brielle’s pregnancy did not show much, but the way she stroked her stomach was full of love.  

Astrid paid close attention, worried that Brielle might have been startled by what happened earlier, but fortunately, there seemed to be no particular problem.

Sensing Astrid’s gaze, Brielle spoke up.  

“Ah, were you looking at this locket pendant? Isn’t it pretty?”  

“……Yes, did you receive it as a gift?”

Astrid did not bother to correct Brielle’s misunderstanding. Instead, she gently asked, and Brielle smiled brightly. It seemed she needed someone to talk to during this tedious journey.

“That’s right, it’s become a keepsake from my husband now.”  

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

Brielle shook her head lightly, but her eyes quickly grew red. With trembling hands, she caressed the locket pendant and then handed it to Astrid.

The engraving on the pendant was faint, as if it had been cherished for a long time. As Astrid looked at the remaining golden crest, her heart seemed to drop.

No way.

When she opened the lid, there was a portrait of two people facing each other. Seeing the rare silver hair and golden eyes, Astrid’s fingertips trembled without her realizing it.

“Your husband…… is quite handsome.”  

“Yes, he was a man of very high status, but he cherished me, even though I had nothing.”

While Brielle gave a sad smile, Astrid could not take her eyes off the man’s image.

No matter how she looked, it was a portrait of Norton Raselles. Astrid bit her lip hard, swallowing the sob that was about to escape.

Norton Raselles, the Young Duke.

She never thought she would see Kaiden’s brother like this.

After that day, Norton had apparently abandoned his family duties and wandered, but to hear now that he had already passed away.

Kaiden had a sharper, more defined impression, but the man in the portrait resembled Kaiden enough to make Astrid recall the face she missed so much.

At the same time, memories that rushed in at dawn surged up, and Astrid’s cheeks flushed.

Brielle would surely find her reaction odd, but she could not control her emotions. Clutching her skirt tightly, Astrid forced a smile.

“I should get going. I’ll change and return the dress right away.”  

“As, would you like to have tea together…….”

It was just then, as Astrid shook her head with effort.

Screeeeech, a sharp metallic sound pierced their ears. The train, which had been rattling violently, screeched to a halt with a tremendous noise. Startled, the two instinctively grabbed each other’s hands.

Brielle, her face pale, staggered and fell to the side.

“Brielle!”

Just as Astrid screamed and tried to catch Brielle’s small, slender body, the train, derailed from the tracks, tilted to one side.

In an instant, the train was engulfed in darkness. Then, sounds of something dropping from above followed, and the glass window shattered with a crash. Amid the pouring stones and shards of glass, the panicked passengers screamed.

“It’s an avalanche! Get out of the way!”  

“Help us!”

Snow and earth mixed together and pushed inwards, and people’s shouts grew even louder.

Soon, a terrible noise rang out as the train lurched with a thud. Astrid, curled up, lost consciousness at that moment.

* * *

The heavy train entered the platform at Duddingston Central Station. After a while, the door near the deluxe compartment opened, and a tall man appeared. The servants standing in line all bowed their heads at once.

“Master, you have arrived.”

Kaiden, dressed in a black coat, stepped onto the platform with a dignified gait.

As Kaiden gave a slight nod, his secretary, Michael, followed behind. Soon, the servants moved in a line, and the people surrounding them hesitated and stepped back.

Kaiden walked down the path that opened naturally before him. He had always thought this was a path only his brother would walk, but in just a few months, Kaiden had grown used to this journey. People could not take their eyes off the duke before his tall figure completely disappeared.

The Raselles family’s symbol, brilliant silver hair and golden eyes, stood out everywhere.

Because of the gloomy weather, Kaiden’s golden eyes shone like stars in contrast to the dark station. When his cool, calm gaze met theirs, onlookers would bow their heads without realizing it.

The Duke of Raselles was such a presence to the public. A handsome man who captured everyone’s hearts and the subject of all the kingdom’s gossip.

All three brothers of the Raselles family were outstanding in appearance and famous for their achievements in their respective fields. However, since the eldest, Norton, died in a carriage accident, and the youngest, Patrick, was at the Academy, people in Duddingston focused only on Kaiden.

Before long, Kaiden stepped outside the station. The snow was turning into thick raindrops, falling little by little, but his stride did not falter at all, and the driver opened the door immediately.

As he leaned back in his seat, Michael recited his schedule. Kaiden nodded silently, then spoke.

“What about Mother?”  

“The Dowager Duchess is having tea at the mansion with Marchioness Douglas, who came to visit, and Her Highness the Princess.”  

“So, the news I heard just a few days ago has already reached the princess.”

Ha. A sigh, like a lament, escaped.

He felt like there were rats everywhere, and it seemed even the duchess’s residence had Princess Sophia’s informants.

After a moment’s pause, Michael began to report on the Dowager Duchess’s health, but Kaiden raised his hand to stop him.

As silence fell inside the carriage, Kaiden caught his breath. Still unable to calm himself, he ran a restless hand through his hair.

Damn it.

His disheveled silver hair made him look even fiercer. Soon, his dry gaze fixed on Michael, causing the secretary to flinch unconsciously.

“Let’s go to the hospital where Miss Brielle Selinger is admitted.”  

“Yes, I’ll send the carriage with the luggage to the mansion.”

Kaiden gave a slight nod and turned his gaze out the window.

The rainy streets were quiet. Between the tightly packed buildings, he saw a snowman dirtied by muddy water. If not for the branches stuck in its body, it would have been hard to tell it was a snowman, so misshapen was its form. For some reason, that image stuck vividly in his mind.

Maybe he had overdone it lately.

There was no time to indulge in pointless sentimentality, yet his mind wandered to something as trivial as a snowman.

Kaiden pressed his aching brow with his palm in disbelief.

Sensing Kaiden’s mood, Michael continued his report on various businesses.

“Marquis Andrew Hamilton will be coming to Duddingston soon. He says he’d like a private meeting with you to discuss his new business ideas.”  

“Arrange the schedule as the Marquis wishes.”  

“Yes, Sir.”

After receiving the telegram from the estate, Kaiden had dealt with work right up until his departure. Even after boarding the train, he hadn’t let go of his work, and now exhaustion hit him all at once.

If he faced Princess Sophia in this condition, he wouldn’t be able to treat her pleasantly.

Even when Sophia was his brother’s fiancée, she clung to Kaiden as if she were madly in love, and when he ignored her, anger would flare in her dark brown eyes.

Not long after his brother’s secret wedding to Brielle Selinger, news of his death spread, and the King and Queen, almost as if to show off, brought up the royal family’s promise with the Raselles Duchy and pushed for Sophia and Kaiden’s engagement.

Fine, he thought, better to go to the hospital.

He didn’t want to think about anything else. Kaiden closed his throbbing eyes. Not being able to see actually made him feel a little better.

In truth, Brielle Selinger, who had been in the accident, had not yet regained consciousness, so there was no urgent need for Kaiden to visit the hospital immediately. But rather than have tea with Princess Sophia, it was preferable to play the role of a caring family head and show his face at the hospital once.

Anyway, the princess would dawdle until he arrived.

The gossip magazines circulating in town wrote at length about how the beautiful, gentle Princess Sophia had fallen in love with the Duke of Raselles.

Some called it a fated love and made a fuss, but Kaiden himself was suffocating under the pressure from Sophia and the royal family.

He had survived the battlefield only to find himself in the midst of another war.

Not long after Kaiden graduated from the Academy, a war broke out between the Humber Kingdom and the Grafton Empire. Kaiden volunteered for the military, and although the Dowager Duchess cried and tried to stop her son, he ignored her and donned his uniform.

If he could not be under the same sky as Astrid, he would rather die honorably fighting the enemy.