Chapter 78. Voice

This was a fragment he had never seen before.

Fifteen-year-old Theo knew.

This wasn’t his memory. Because he had lost consciousness and collapsed in the snow field.

“My body is so cold…”

In his darkened vision, someone suddenly embraced his body.

That person’s body was incredibly hot. Hot enough to make all the cold circulating through his body disappear.

“Wake up.”

A small flame flickered briefly in Theo’s frozen heart.

“Ah.”

Theo opened his eyes with difficulty. He was alone in the moving carriage.

He swept back his sweat-soaked hair.

“Ulysse.”

Theo stopped the carriage and called for Ulysse who was following behind.

The half-asleep Ulysse got down from the carriage and staggered toward Theo.

“Your Highness! Your body!”

Ulysse was startled to see Theo’s entire body soaked. His body was burning hot as if on fire.

“We should rest for a while!”

“No, just take care of this.”

Theo shook his head and handed Ulysse a leather bag.

The leather bag was a magical item with protective enchantments.

Inside was the lily that Theo had picked from Camilla’s mansion.

“This is…”

It was definitely a bag with protective enchantments. It was made to preserve its contents perfectly.

However, the lily that should have been kept fresh had turned brown and lost all its petals.

Theo spoke with a hollow expression.

“It withered.”

“The-there must have been a problem with the bag. I’m sorry. It’s my oversight.”

“If we go back south now, we’ll be even more delayed.”

“…Yes. It will delay us by a week.”

Theo let out a heavy sigh.

“Let’s first check if there are any flowers in the village we’re about to reach.”

“Yes, understood. But Your Highness, did you have that dream again?”

“Yes. It’s been quite a while.”

Ulysse bit his lip at Theo’s empty gaze and sorrowful voice.

“Your Highness, it must be because you’re uncomfortable sleeping and tired. Please don’t worry too much about it.”

Theo gave a bitter smile to Ulysse who was trying to sound cheerful.

“No.”

It wasn’t because of his tired body, or because his sleeping arrangements weren’t comfortable, that he had the dream.

He simply hadn’t been having the dreams he was supposed to have all this time.

Until Yuelina came to the principality, Theo had quite frequently dreamed of Karenrose.

His younger self who couldn’t save his mother had remained there until now.

Theo’s mood sank considerably.

Why did he have to have that dream when Yuelina wasn’t around, and right when the flower meant for her had withered?

It felt like someone was warning him not to transfer his clinging misfortune to Yuelina.

But that voice…

Though it was a dream he’d had many times, this was the first time he’d heard that voice.

The divine power that was said to remain in his body…

Was it because of that?

Theo clutched his stiff wrist.

“I need a drink.”

“Your Highness! You usually don’t drink while traveling! We’ll arrive at the village soon! Please hold on just until then, okay?”

Theo ignored Ulysse’s worried words and opened the whiskey bottle placed under the chair, swallowing the swirling liquor.

He desperately needed it now since he couldn’t cross the bridge to the study to see Yuelina’s face.

The alcohol made his hot body even hotter but cooled his complicated thoughts.

Theo filled his empty heart with alcohol like pouring disinfectant on a wound.

But now he was at his limit.

He wanted to quickly return to the house where she was.

* * *

Yuelina toured the garden with Maelyn and Raye.

The seasonally planted flowers and well-maintained lawn.

The round table and large chairs placed in the center created quite a harmony.

Moreover, Tea-Pie member Emily had gifted them an outdoor heater used only in Brown territory, saying she had worked hard to maintain the garden.

Thanks to that, even in the increasingly cold weather, warm heat circulated around the table area in the garden.

“His Highness the Grand Duke would like this too, right?”

Maelyn and Raye nodded vigorously at Yuelina’s excited voice.

“The garden is wonderful, but isn’t the Black Mansion itself the most surprising?”

“We might start calling it the Splendid Mansion instead of the Black Mansion!”

As Maelyn and Raye said, the interior of the Black Mansion had changed a lot from before.

The help of the changed servants was significant.

The servants were deeply moved when Yuelina gave them permission to eat desserts.

They were desperate to be of any help to Yuelina.

One of these efforts was their initiative to fix the chronic problems of the Black Mansion themselves.

The servants laid new wooden planks over the old, discolored floors that creaked with every step and installed new magic carpets that maintained warmth.

They also replaced the curtains that retained a musty dust smell no matter how much they were washed with new curtains embroidered by the maids themselves.

Of course, all the costs for these repairs would be billed directly to Theo.

But not a single person raised any issues about the charged expenses.

It was because of the Grand Duke’s more than abundant, overflowing wealth.

Rather, even the head maid and butler welcomed it with open arms.

“Your Highness the Grand Duchess! I heard Armand’s winter collection of plates is out, shall we purchase them?”

“How about laying white fur on every sofa?”

“Your Highness the Grand Duchess! Shouldn’t we replace the tables and chairs too?”

The servants discussed and consulted with Yuelina about all general matters concerning the Black Mansion.

They too wanted the Black Mansion where they worked to be in the best condition.

It was just that until now, they had remained quiet as mice because Theo had shown no interest in the Black Mansion and raised no issues with them.

But now things were different.

They too were strongly realizing the fact that there was a Grand Duchess, a mistress of the Black Mansion.

Finally, someone had appeared who would discuss and fix the general matters of the Black Mansion.

“It’ll be two weeks in two days.”

Yuelina murmured softly as she looked at the changed Black Mansion.

Her expression was flushed. Her soft pink cheeks glowed freshly.

“Um, Your Highness the Grand Duchess. This!”

Just then, Maelyn handed Yuelina a small round container.

Yuelina tilted her head as she received the item.

“What is this, Maelyn?”

“It’s night cream from Franz’s makeup room.”

“Cream?”

What Maelyn had gifted to Yuelina was a cream mixed with ground dena leaves.

The instructions were to apply the cream before bed, wait a few minutes for it to harden, then peel it off.

The cream was known for its excellent immediate effect of making skin bright and glowing until the next day after use.

It was a cream that noble ladies who had important schedules frequently used, and its effects were proven through word of mouth.

Maelyn hesitantly glanced at Yuelina before speaking.

“I felt bad about insisting that you had to go to Lady Emily Brown’s invitation… This is a gift with my apologies.”

Yuelina opened her eyes wide.

“Huh? Why would you be sorry about that?”

“Even though things turned out well with the Tea-Pie gathering now, you could have been put in an awkward position because of me.”

“No, Maelyn!”

“It’s fortunate that Your Highness handled it wisely… If not for that, I wouldn’t have been able to show my face out of shame. So please make sure to use it!”

An embarrassed Maelyn earnestly explained how to use the cream while looking at Yuelina.

Maelyn had been sincerely sorry to the Grand Duchess she served these days.

She felt constantly guilty, as if everything was her fault, including when Giselle came to the Black Mansion and caused trouble a few days ago.

After ruining her debutante, Maelyn had developed even greater illusions about social gatherings.

She wanted to make up for her failed debutante and developed a desire not to be shunned by them.

However, after directly seeing Yuelina speak confidently and honestly at Emily’s gathering, she changed her mind.

She thoroughly realized how pointless it was to wear masks at superficial gatherings.

She now knew that building a strong bond while serving as Yuelina’s maid was more precious than exhausting herself over the calculating social circle.

Maelyn looked at Yuelina with a bright smile.

Yuelina’s face, looking back at her, glowed softly in the bright sunlight.

Did I choose the wrong gift…?

Maelyn scratched her head.