My Husband was Switched - Chapter 32

 “The door won’t open.” 

She turned pale at Vahalla’s words. Whether due to an avalanche or the heavy snow in front of the door, it wouldn’t budge at all. 

 “What about the knights outside? Aren’t there people training?” 

 “Even if there are, they’re located outside the mansion walls, so it would be difficult to get here. Above all, since the training building is lower than the mansion, it will take longer for them to get out.” 

 “Something must have happened.” 

 This was her intuition. Though she thought Isabelle wouldn’t stay quiet after suffering such humiliation, she didn’t expect her to act so recklessly like this. 

 Going up to the second floor of the mansion to look outside, she could see that pure white snow had swallowed everything around. 

 “Has there ever been this much snow in the North?” 

 “Never. Above all, Lindel was safe because it’s far from the mountain range, so avalanches don’t occur.” 

 The Grand Duke’s residence was located in Lindel, the center of the North. With the Codran Forest there, it was impossible for snow to collapse directly from the mountains and cover this place. 

 That meant it was impossible without deliberately creating an avalanche. She placed her hand on her forehead and fell into thought. 

 ‘First, I need to check if Isabelle is in the palace.’ 

 Father wouldn’t have let her run wild as she pleased. She must be trying to avoid marriage with the King of Narankas, but she won’t get what she wants this way. 

 ‘I wonder if the animals in the garden are alright?’ 

 She immediately turned and headed to the back of the mansion where the garden was visible. She went out to the terrace to look outside. Fortunately, thanks to the magic stones’ protection, snow hadn’t accumulated in the garden. 

 “Whistle!” 

 Since it was difficult to send letters, she had to rely on the animals’ help. They would surely complain about being used, but she couldn’t just stay still like this. 

 “Tweet tweet.” (It’s chaos! Chaos!) 

 “Are the other friends alright?” 

 “Tweet tweet.” (No one’s hurt. But we can’t see Cedric.) 

 The birds flew over and chirped, reporting the situation to her. The situation outside didn’t seem good either. 

 “Can you look for Grand Duke and Zeno? If there are any animals that can move, could you ask them to help too?” 

 “Tweet tweet!” (Leave it to us!) 

 Several birds flew away first. She hurriedly made her request before the rest left. 

 “Snow has piled up at the mansion entrance so we can’t get out. Is there any way?” 

 The birds chirped quietly among themselves, flying up to the sky and landing back on the railing repeatedly. Soon, as if they had a good idea, they flapped their wings and said,

 “Tweet tweet! Tweet!” (Ah, there is! That brute with just strength! That one could dig through the snow in no time!) 

 “Tweet!” (But it takes a lot of energy.) 

 Since she had taught them that nothing in the world is free, she immediately offered what they wanted. 

 “In exchange for helping me, I’ll give you rice from the South. Plus plump earthworms and grains as special treats once a week!” 

 The birds’ eyes suddenly changed. Apparently, the taste of grain grown in good sunlight was different. They flapped their wings with enthusiasm and quickly disappeared toward the forest. 

 ‘Will it be alright?’ 

 Though she was worried, these were the only ones she could ask for help. She watched the direction where the birds had flown before going down. 

 The butler and maids were still fidgeting helplessly at the door that wouldn’t open. Having done everything they could, now they just had to wait. 

 Vahalla rolled up his sleeves as if he couldn’t just stand by and watch. The servants also seemed to have made up their minds as they brought shovels from the storage and started moving busily. 

 “Butler, is something happening? Why does everyone look so busy?” 

 “Your Highness the Grand Duchess. First, the servants decided to go out through the first-floor windows to dig the snow.” 

 “……You’re going out through the windows to dig snow?” 

 They nodded with expressionless faces. She looked at the first-floor windows. It seemed they were planning to climb up the ladder, tie themselves with ropes, and go down….. 

 ‘That’s too reckless!’ 

 However, these people were serious. Looking at their passionate expressions, they seemed ready to sacrifice themselves to give freedom to the trapped mansion. 

 “No, everyone calm down. There’s no need for that.” 

 She showed her palms trying to calm the mansion’s people. If she didn’t stop them, they looked ready to climb the ladder right away. 

 “But if we don’t open the door right now, we have no way to check what happened to His Highness the Grand Duke. We’ll be fine! If there’s any way we can find a path to save His Highness……” 

 Though the loyalty of the Northern people was admirably bright, it was too dangerous. She shook her head and grabbed the ladder. How could people move so quickly? 

 “I have a good idea so please wait just a little!” 

 At her desperate voice, everyone stopped what they were doing. Vahalla’s eyes sparkled as he asked her. 

 “Your Highness the Grand Duchess, do you have some good solution?” 

 She nodded at Vahalla. Would it be alright to tell them she had asked the birds for help? Since she had told Cedric, perhaps it would be fine for the mansion’s people to know? 

 Her internal conflict continued. But if she asked them to wait without explaining the plan, it would seem too irresponsible. Though she wasn’t sure if they would believe her plan even if she told them….. 

 “I asked my friends for help.” 

 “……Your Highness had friends?” 

 Ah right. I don’t have friends. 

 “Though I might not look like I have friends, I do. Quite many of them here actually.” 

 “That……” 

 Vahalla showed a somewhat surprised expression at her words. It would seem strange to say she had many friends when she had never left the mansion. Or he might be wondering if she had been sneaking out through some dog hole he didn’t know about. 

 “……My sparrow friends said they would help.” 

 “Your Highness, what did you just say……” 

 Thinking he had misheard, he trailed off with an awkward laugh. She cleared her throat and spoke with clear pronunciation. 

 “My sparrow friends said they would help, so we just need to wait a little.” 

 Though embarrassing, she had to get through this. Friends don’t necessarily have to be human! She held her head high proudly. 

 “Ah…… Sparrows, you mean sparrows?” 

 Vahalla made wing-flapping motions with his arms, wearing a disbelieving expression. Everyone pressed their lips together, unsure how to react to her words. 

 The silence lasted only briefly before dull sounds started coming from outside the door. One of the servants watching through the window shouted with an unbelieving face. 

 “Sp-sparrows! A group of sparrows and Northern polar bears are approaching the mansion like crazy!” 

 The mansion’s people watched with disbelieving expressions as white bears frantically dug through the snow. 

 “Northern polar bears are very fierce and difficult to tame….. Are they really digging snow in time with the birds’ commands?” 

 “I’m seeing it too. It’s like the first time in my life seeing polar bears move like this.” 

 “And it’s not just one, but several of them gathering to dig the snow in front of the door.” 

 The servants had dumbfounded expressions at the scene visible through the window. 

 Vahalla said he had never seen anything like this living in the North, and was taking detailed notes saying this needed to be recorded. And that wasn’t all.

 The knights quietly put away the ladder too. Butler Vahalla finished his notes diligently and quietly asked her. 

 “Your Highness the Grand Duchess, your friends really came to help. But how did bears come instead of sparrows?” 

 “I told you, didn’t I? That friends would come to help.” 

 “Come to think of it, last time too, sparrows seemed to catch Your Highness to prevent you from falling. To think this is really possible……” 

 She laughed awkwardly at the butler’s amazement. It was possible because she had an ability, but she would explain that later. 

 “Animals just seem to follow me well strangely. I guess they know how to return favors.” 

 “Indeed……! I knew it from when you took care of animals every day.” 

 “It looks like the snow in front of the door will be cleared soon. Please start the search as soon as we can get out.” 

 “Of course.” 

 Vahalla couldn’t take his eyes off her. It must have been her imagination that his eyes seemed to sparkle with admiration. 

 Not long after, knights could be seen in the distance. They were coming with shovels but hesitated when they saw the polar bears frantically digging snow. 

 Well, it would be scary to approach when five bears are simultaneously digging snow with their paws. 

 “Butler! I can see the knights over there!”