Chapter 8 (Part 6)

When she woke up in the morning, Brienne looked around.  

She was sure she had fallen asleep holding Cardin’s jacket, but now it was nowhere to be found.  

‘Where did it go?’  

A jacket couldn’t have grown legs and walked off. She thought it might have slipped under the bed, but all she found was dust—no sign of the jacket.  

She searched every corner of the room, even looking out the window, when suddenly there was a knock at the door. Shortly after, a maid she hadn’t seen before entered. 

“Madam, did you sleep well? Breakfast is ready.”  

“The formal dining room, right?”  

“Yes.”  

She hurriedly put on a robe and left the room. She felt she had to talk to Cardin about this. After all, she had brought the jacket back yesterday, but now it was gone.  

It was such an absurd situation. Frustrating, even.  

When she entered the dining room, Cardin happened to look up. The moment their eyes met, he smiled warmly.  

“Did you sleep well?”  

“Yes, and you?”  

Cardin only smiled without saying more. Now that she thought about it, his eyes looked a little tired. Even so, his neatly styled hair and perfectly pressed uniform were impeccably tidy, without a speck of dust.  

As she watched the servant carve the meat, she finally spoke.  

“Cardin, your jacket… I’ve searched my room thoroughly, but I can’t find it. Did you take it by any chance?”  

She asked because it was strange that the perfectly fine jacket was missing. She hadn’t expected such a definitive answer.  

“I took it.”  

“What?”  

She was taken aback. Cardin took it? Seeing her reaction, Cardin chuckled softly as he sliced his meat.  

“Why are you so surprised?”  

“Oh, I just didn’t think you’d come into my room.”  

Now that she thought about it, this estate belonged to Cardin. He could come and go as he pleased, but she hadn’t considered the possibility of him entering her room.  

“Does it bother you?”  

“No, it’s not that….”  

“Sometimes, when I think of you, I go into your room.”  

“…….”  

“Even when I’m with you, I still miss you.”  

Her heart surged like waves crashing. She felt like she should say something, but she didn’t know what. Her hands grew clammy as her thoughts tangled into a mess.  

A brief silence fell. Cardin watched her quietly before speaking first.  

“The play is tonight. I’ll send a carriage for you at the right time. Also, the herbs from Romseed and Peroy will arrive today.”  

“Why the herbs?”  

“You seem to like them. You could use them to make herbal pills or something.”  

“…….”  

“You used to be good at making cold medicine and ointments for wounds.”  

Cardin seemed to remember their time living in the cabin vividly. It was a past she had almost forgotten.  

Lost in thought, she stood still as Cardin approached her. He bent down to meet her gaze and gently kissed her cheek. The soft sound of his lips parting from her skin lingered as their eyes met.  

He smiled warmly and said, 

“I thought doing something familiar might help you adjust better here. But if you really don’t want to, you don’t have to.”  

“No, it’s fine.”  

She felt grateful for how much thought Cardin had put into this. A smile naturally spread across her face, but Cardin suddenly froze.  

His expression hardened for a moment.  

‘Maybe it looks awkward since I don’t smile often.’  

But it was a genuine smile. When she looked at him curiously, Cardin had already stepped back.  

“I’ll be going now.”  

Oddly, Cardin’s smile seemed strained. He used to always appear so relaxed.  

***

After finishing breakfast, she was resting for a while when a maid suddenly approached her, speaking breathlessly.  

“Madam, the herbs have arrived. Where should we put them? Should we store them in the warehouse?”  

She vaguely remembered seeing the warehouse when she first came here. It was slightly smaller than the estate but still sizable.  

“Are there that many?”  

“Yes, would you like to take a look?”  

Following the maid outside, she saw six wagons lined up. Servants were busily unloading boxes of herbs.  

The familiar scent of herbs filled the air, and her thoughts grew heavy.  

‘What am I supposed to do with all these herbs?’  

She hadn’t planned on making herbal pills.  

‘You used to be good at making cold medicine and ointments for wounds.’  

Cardin’s words from breakfast came to mind.  

Looking around again, she noticed the servants struggling with the heavy boxes, some patting their shoulders or groaning.  

Now that she thought about it, the servants in Devok rarely used herbal pills and instead applied strange powdered stones.  

Since she didn’t have much to do here anyway, she decided to head into the warehouse.  

The servant placing boxes down looked startled when he saw her.  

“Madam.”  

“Could you bring me a scale?”  

The servant quickly nodded and left the warehouse. Soon after, the maid who visited her room daily approached, seemingly having heard the news.  

“Madam, are you planning to do this alone? If you tell me what you need….”  

“It’s fine. I’ve done this kind of thing a lot.”  

When she smiled and spoke, the maid didn’t say anything further. Instead, she diligently weighed the herbs or fetched anything needed.  

As the maid worked beside her, she suddenly asked, 

“Madam, are you planning to turn these into pills?”  

“Yes.”  

Now that she thought about it, some of the herbs were ones Cardin liked. She considered making a sachet for him….  

But the idea didn’t sit well with her. While these herbs had excellent medicinal properties when used in remedies, placing them in a sachet conveyed a different meaning.  

It symbolized death, often used for the deceased.  

After a moment of thought, she asked the maid, 

“Do you have any pretty red ribbons?”  

“Ribbons?”  

She held up a bundle of herbs.  

“Something to tie these herbs together nicely.”  

The maid’s eyes sparkled as she responded quickly, 

“I’ll get them for you right away!”  

Her lively attitude brought a smile to her face. Handling the familiar herbs seemed to make her smile more often than before.  

***

The heavy iron gates opened. A twin-horse carriage sped across the vast sandy grounds, stopping directly in front of the estate.  

Rodain, the Messerode family’s butler, quickly opened the door. The person who stepped out wore sleek blue shoes.  

Her hair was elaborately styled, and her sky-blue dress shimmered with a striking sheen.  

The nearby fountain sprayed water high into the air, making her presence dazzling at first glance.  

Despite this, her face was clouded with darkness. Her eyebrows were furrowed so deeply that her bad mood was apparent.  

“Lady Foyne, we’ve been expecting you.”  

Foyne cast an annoyed glance before turning sharply toward the estate. The butler, Rodain, followed her as if nothing were amiss.  

When Foyne entered the drawing room, Hernes looked up. Her expression softened slightly.  

“Lady Hernes.”  

Even as she spoke, Foyne’s voice trembled oddly. It wasn’t from nervousness but from anger, making her seem uneasy.  

Hernes gestured to the servant beside her, who promptly served steaming tea.  

Foyne ignored the tea and spoke.  

“You summoned me, so I’ve come. Have you been well?”  

She forced a smile, but the corners of her lips quivered. Hernes observed her indifferently and let out a faint sigh.  

“You must have had a hard time.”  

Her tone was so detached it lacked any emotion. To an outsider, it might have sounded mocking.  

“Yes, my heart has been quite troubled. I’ve been bedridden for some time. Even when desserts from the most famous bakery arrived, I didn’t bother to get up.”  

In truth, if it were from Lee Bakery, Foyne would have immediately gotten up to taste it.  

Though she thought she’d lost her appetite, the desserts and bread from Lee Bakery had an oddly rich flavor.  

Lowering her gaze slightly, Foyne allowed her pitiful emotions to show.  

“Won’t you drink your tea?”  

Contrary to her expectations, Hernes’ words irritated her. Still, she replied in a deliberately subdued voice.

How Hernes spoke could be interpreted as a subtle way of asking Foyne to calm down and show proper manners now that her emotions had settled. After all, it was customary to begin a conversation with tea after a simple greeting.  

“I’m sorry. I must have been too caught up in talking about my feelings.”  

Hernes responded with a slight lift of her lips, as if to say she would overlook it just this once.  

Foyne recalled the etiquette drilled into her by her family and slowly lifted her teacup. Somehow, being in front of Hernes made her even more nervous than usual.