Chapter 46

Karina got off the carriage. By now, the familiar guard greeted her. As she stepped inside the castle gates, a migratory bird flew overhead. It was already nearing the end of winter.

“Are the two of them inside?”

“They probably are.”

The guard answered casually, leading her into the castle. With such free spirits, it was a question that didn’t hold much meaning.

As soon as she entered the entrance hall, Karina was reminded once again of how true that was.

“Lady, you’re here.”

Kaya, who was hanging from the chandelier, greeted Karina cheerfully. The precariously swinging crystals looked as if they might fall at any moment.

The guard was already pale and fidgeting nervously. Karina, whose soul had momentarily left her body, finally snapped back to her senses and opened her mouth.

“Kaya, be caref—”

“Oops!”

Before Karina could finish her sentence, Kaya spun her body and jumped onto the railing nearby. The hearts of the two people watching dropped along with her.

“I was trying to get this thing down. But you’re late today, huh?”

Kaya waved a small fork in her hand as she descended the stairs.

Karina gave up and nodded. There were many questions she wanted to ask, but she decided not to.

“Yes. Where’s Noah?”

“No idea. Haven’t seen him since yesterday.”

“I haven’t seen him either.”

Kaya, with the fork in her mouth, and the guard both shook their heads in turn.

For some reason, Karina felt uneasy. She stepped further into the castle. Ever since the hunting competition ended and she returned to the capital, she had been visiting this place often.

The reason was simple. It was to check on Noah, who hadn’t fully recovered yet—or, more specifically, to keep an eye on him. It was moments like today that justified her vigilance.

“Noah, Sir!”

Just as she reached the second floor, a shocked cry echoed from below. Rushing back down the stairs, she saw the guard standing in the entrance hall, looking flustered. Beside him, Kaya was clutching her stomach, laughing hysterically. Karina slowly approached them.

“Miss Karina, you’re here again today.”

Noah greeted her, but his face was covered in ridiculous drawings. A mustache, an extra eye drawn above his real ones—his face was a strange mess of doodles.

“Where have you been since this morning?”

“I just went to the market for a bit.”

Noah replied with a troubled expression to the guard’s question.

What on earth had he done at the market to return in such a state?

Karina couldn’t even begin to imagine. Without realizing it, she reached out toward Noah’s face. Fortunately, she stopped herself before touching him. Tilting his head, Noah touched his own face.

“Ah, it’s because of the doodles, isn’t it?”

It seemed he was aware of his own state.

Kaya, who had been rolling on the floor laughing, suddenly froze. Her gaze was fixed on the freshly baked bread cradled in Noah’s arms.

“I saw some kids at the bakery on my way back. They looked bored, so I played with them for a bit.”

“Then those doodles are….”

Noah nodded nonchalantly, ignoring Kaya, who was salivating, and headed inside.

‘At least there’s a reason for it. I guess that’s a relief.’

Following behind him, Karina mulled over the situation.

She had been imagining that he’d been treated like a fool by the neighborhood kids and teased mercilessly.

“The bakery owner was kind enough to give me some bread, so I brought it back.”

If you think about it, lending his face to a child who dreams of being an artist wasn’t the worst thing he could’ve done.

Still, it was pitiful all the same. Karina let out a small sigh. Noah, tilting his head in confusion, held out the bread.

Karina, who wasn’t particularly hungry, declined. More than anything, Kaya behind him was eyeing the bread with too much intensity. Meanwhile, the guard, who had been inspecting the items Noah brought back, soon carried them outside.

“It seems he’s going somewhere.”

“Probably to repair the castle.”

“Repair the castle?”

“Water has been leaking from the ceiling for a few days now.”

Noah, speaking as if it were someone else’s problem, pointed to a bucket placed in one corner of the entrance hall. Now that she looked, water was dripping from above, filling the bucket halfway.

It seemed like there wasn’t a single intact place in this castle.

“Maybe it’s because the weather is warming up a bit.”

Watching the cheerful man speak as if it were no big deal only made her feel that way even more. She should’ve been happy that spring was approaching, but for some reason, she wasn’t.

‘At least he didn’t try to fix it himself.’

Thinking this, Karina glanced at Noah. He looked fine on the outside, but there was likely not a single part of him that wasn’t still healing.

Especially his fractured right ankle. What was the point of having such astonishingly fast recovery abilities when he was walking around like this, having lost his crutch? The bones that were starting to heal would just separate again.

“Can’t you just stay still for a while?”

“Sorry?”

“Nothing.”

Feigning innocence, Karina pulled out a handkerchief from her pocket. Standing face-to-face with the confused Noah, she wanted to quickly erase the bothersome doodles. Noah obediently lowered his head.

“The kids… must dream of becoming artists.”

Muttering to herself as she wiped the doodles off his forehead, Karina saw Noah smile faintly. Erasing the extra eye drawn above his real ones required extra care. A star and heart drawn in the middle of his cheeks, a big dot next to his nose, and finally the hastily scribbled mustache on his philtrum.

Once everything was wiped clean, she felt satisfied. Karina nodded and lowered her hand. At that moment, Noah grabbed her hand and brought it to his chin.

‘What’s this now?’

Underneath his chin, a name—presumably belonging to the young artist—was scribbled crookedly. Karina let out a small sigh and pressed harder with her fingers to rub it off.

As their gazes briefly met, Noah’s eyes shifted upward. His lips seemed to curve slightly upward as well. Avoiding his gaze, Karina pretended nothing was wrong and diligently erased the doodle.

***

Cornell woke up and approached the window. What was supposed to be a short nap after lunch had turned into evening, and it was already dark outside.

“Miss Cornell, it’s past dinnertime.”

“It’s fine. I’m not very hungry.”

The maid left the room with a worried look.

Cornell appreciated her concern, but she truly wasn’t hungry. If anything, her heart felt empty. She stared blankly at the wall of her room.

‘Should I go see Phyllis?’

It was the only name that brought a bit of life back to her.

Cornell immediately stood up. It was her first time leaving the room that day. Climbing the stairs, she hesitated slightly in front of Phyllis’ door before knocking.

After a moment of silence, the door opened slightly.

“Cornell. It’s you.”

Seeing her face, Phyllis opened the door wider. Resisting the urge to throw herself into his arms, Cornell stepped inside.

Judging by the teacup on his desk, he must have just finished dinner.

“What were you doing? Did you eat dinner?”

She felt a bit embarrassed asking something she already knew the answer to.

“I had something light. What about you?”

“I’m thinking of skipping dinner today.”

“You’ll be hungry.”

Phyllis, sitting at his desk, looked at Cornell with concern. That single comment made her feel full. Cornell smiled shyly and shook her head.

“No, it’s fine. I have a meal appointment tomorrow anyway.”

“Oh, right. You said you were meeting that professor.”

Tomorrow was an important day. It was the day she would meet Professor Eiren, as promised by Earl Herwin.

It was a meeting she had long anticipated, and Cornell was excited. What made it even more special was the context of that meeting. During the hunting competition, Cornell had completed her research.

“I’m so excited. I’ll tell you all about it when I get back.”

Phyllis smiled faintly as he listened to Cornell’s excited chatter. Somehow, he seemed a bit subdued.

Realizing this, Cornell carefully observed him. Since he had returned injured from the competition, she didn’t want to appear overly cheerful.

“Phyllis, don’t you have anything to tell me?”

“Huh?”

“About what happened at the competition. You even won, didn’t you?”

Cornell deliberately asked in a brighter voice.

But Phyllis’ expression didn’t improve. In fact, he even avoided her gaze.

“Well… I guess I was just lucky.”

His brief response brought an awkward silence. After a moment, Phyllis added more words.

“I did catch a white deer, though.”

“Really? A white deer? That’s amazing.”

“They say it’s a rare animal. You should’ve come to see it too.”

“Yeah. Hearing about it now makes me regret not going.”

She couldn’t quite imagine a pure white deer.

After thinking for a moment, Cornell shrugged.

“Well, I can just go see it next time. Three years from now, I mean.”

Her casual remark caused Phyllis’ expression to stiffen slightly. Cornell didn’t miss that small change.

The atmosphere in the room shifted instantly. It seemed Phyllis noticed it too. His hand, which had been fiddling with his teacup, moved to close the book lying on the desk.

“Yeah. Let’s do that.”

It wasn’t a clear affirmation, but it was positive enough. Cornell smiled and held out her pinky finger.

After making their small promise, Cornell stood and headed for the door. Phyllis naturally followed her and opened the door for her.

“Your appointment is at lunchtime tomorrow?”

“Yes. The professor said that’s when he’s available.”

Phyllis, looking slightly tired, smiled faintly.

“Alright. Sleep well, and I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Waving until the door closed, Cornell turned around. Her smile disappeared in an instant. Her heart felt heavy.

‘Something’s changed.’

It might have been a change so small that no one, not even the person involved, could notice. But she could feel it.

Phyllis had changed. Undoubtedly, since the hunting competition.