Chapter 11 (Part 1)

The onset of the Madam’s condition began during that year’s rainy season.

She couldn’t sleep well, so the next day her eyes were dark as they had been when she first came to Tarnu, and she couldn’t eat properly.

And sometimes, in the midst of the thunder, the sound of her sobbing and praying could be heard from Madam’s room.

“L-Lord… I’m sorry, I’m sorry… How dare someone as lowly as me desire a place to stay. Born from the misfortune of my mother and Nux, how dare I seek any happiness…”

It was like the confession of a girl locked in a chest on a rainy night at the bishop’s residence in Nux.

In the morning, there would be bruises somewhere on Madam’s body, and her hair would be disheveled as if she had been pulling at it all night, but only Leni and Greta knew about it.

Thinking Madam was suffering from homesickness due to the gloomy and noisy nights of the rainy season, the two maids took even greater care of her.

Though it didn’t particularly yield any results.

When the rainy season ended and spring came with dry days, Madam finally regained her vitality.

It was as if she had suffered from a severe cold all winter.

They knew it wasn’t the case, but Leni and Greta kept Madam’s condition as their secret. They thought it was a cold of the heart, and once she became fully accustomed to Tarnu this year, it would no longer be an issue.

Though the young lord of Tarnu worried about her pale complexion throughout the rainy season, he had no way of knowing about the harsh nights or the injuries on her body, as only those who bathed and attended to her knew. Leni and Greta devoted themselves even more to the Madam, who brightened up again with the arrival of spring.

There was no one in Tarnu who didn’t like the lively, lovely, and somewhat forlorn young Madam.

And that included her husband as well.

Ellenia had transformed from a skinny girl to something between a girl and a young lady, and at some point, she became his wife.

“I knew the young lord of Tarnu was old-fashioned.”

“Hey, don’t go saying that carelessly.”

“The Madam isn’t an adult yet, is she? He’s going to spend another year in celibacy.”

“There won’t be any need to heat water in the lord’s room.”

The men working outside the castle laughed loudly.

Whether in the banquet hall or when they happened to meet in the yard, the young lord’s gaze never left his wife. Even though he adored her so obviously, he couldn’t easily approach her.

“These gold silk dresses are all the rage in Graphel.”

“Make one with that first, and what’s the most luxurious design?”

“Um, young lord, I’m always in the castle anyway.”

“If it’s for indoor wear, there are also those made with mixed silk from the western mountains.”

“Alright. Make two of each. And match the appropriate accessories as well.”

“Young lord!”

The servants’ cheeks twitched as they watched the young lord’s clumsy expressions of affection.

Even if the servants served him with care, it was quite different from the affection of family. It was unlikely he still remembered the feeling of his parents’ touch from over a quarter-century ago. The memories of his parents, who had such a loving relationship, were so faint that it was hard to recall what conjugal love was like.

The servants mixed feelings of pity and satisfaction, supporting his awkward efforts.

Their sympathy for the young lord, who must have been lonely all his remembered life, and for the equally lonely Madam, melted Ellenia’s heart.

Thinking again about happiness due to the endless kindness of Tarnu’s servants and the taciturn care of her husband, Ellenia felt a sense of gratitude.

On the day the tailor from Graphel, the center of the east, returned after completing the generous order of the Tarnu lord.

Ellenia, in a golden dress, quickly caught up with her husband who was about to disappear down the corridor.

He, a man with no sense of style, had paid the bill and sneaked out of the drawing room, avoiding the atmosphere of trying on new clothes.

“Um, young lord.”

“…Have you already tried everything on?”

Ellenia suddenly grabbed Edarson’s hand as he turned around, speaking in a calm voice. His thick hand filled both of her small, delicate hands.

Under the headband that was fashionable in the capital, her bright blonde hair was braided into a single plait, with a velvet scrunchie at the end. A pearl necklace adorned the high collar of her dress, and earrings of the same size pearls decorated around her face.

Ellenia’s cheeks shone like peaches as she looked up at him.

“Thank you so much. Thanks to you…”

Saying that, Ellenia stood on her tiptoes and gestured. There was no one around, so it seemed she wanted to whisper something.

When he lowered his height to bring his ear to her level, a soft touch landed on his cheek.

“Thanks to you, I am truly happy.”

A dimple appeared on one side of Ellenia’s shyly smiling face. His young wife, with her cheeks blushing deeply, soon turned around and went back the way she came.

Edarson stood still for a while, thinking about that sensation.

During that rainy season, a strange rumor circulated.

It was said that a ghost wailed and wandered around the castle on stormy nights.

Though it was a well-known rumor among the servants, oddly enough, it didn’t reach the Madam’s ears.

Just like during the previous rainy season, the Madam became pale again, her complexion worsened, and she couldn’t eat properly.

The young lord ordered Leni, Greta, and the head maid to take proper care of the Madam and rushed to the bustling Anzra nearby, to a southern forest village known for its folk remedies, and to the port at the continent’s edge, where eastern magic could be obtained.

It was to find a miracle for someone who lost their appetite during the rainy season when the sun barely shone, or the air was damp, or outdoor activities were difficult.

Tonics from the eastern continent, mana stones that created artificial sunlight, and temperature-regulating robes worn by northern pirates flooded into Tarnu.

Despite this, the Madam only grew weaker throughout the rainy season, but once it ended and dry days followed, she began to brighten up as if nothing had happened.

Everyone, including her husband and the servants of Tarnu, was relieved… but they all knew something was wrong.

From the end of that summer, Tarnu became quite busy.

The Madam’s twentieth birthday was approaching, and they were preparing for her coming-of-age ceremony.

This was also to prepare for the belated consummation of the lord and lady.

“Young lord, the Madam’s twentieth birthday has finally arrived.”

“…Indeed.”

Edarson, stamping some documents with his signet ring in the study, pretended not to notice the butler’s subtle inquiry.

Oh, look at this frustrating young man.

Having watched Edarson since he was a newborn with the umbilical cord still attached, the butler still saw the thirty-four-year-old Edarson as an inexperienced youth. Without a wife of his own, he spoke, thinking of him like a son.

“I thought we should prepare new bedding for the Madam’s room. And spruce up the bathroom a bit.”

The butler handed over a delivery note for new bedding, fragrant oils, and bubble soap.

“Bedding? Why?”

“Well, there’s only one pillow in the room now. For the two of you to share…”

“…”

The hand that was inking the signet ring paused.

The servants, knowing how much the young lord cherished the Madam, and for the young, delicate Madam who had found a place to lean on for the first time in her life, put their hearts into the preparations.

They were more excited than anyone, decorating the room the Madam had used for a long time as the bridal chamber, and buying aesthetic undergarments for the couple’s night.

On the morning of the day, Leni and Greta were also busy. To make the star of the day, the Madam, look her best, they soaked her already alabaster skin in a bath filled with fragrant oils from the morning to make it even softer.

They gently massaged her stiff shoulders, pressed her legs and feet thoroughly as she would be standing all day, and brushed her hair endlessly.

“You’ll receive a big gift for your birthday today.”

“What gift, you two are my gift.”

“Oh, Madam. You’ve finally come of age, haven’t you?”

“…Yes, I have.”

Ellenia’s mind drifted far away as she mechanically responded to the maids’ whispered words.

She had never imagined turning twenty.

On the evening she meticulously copied scriptures in a solitary room filled only with a chair and a desk, when she was locked in a chest and terrified by the lightning that pierced her tightly closed eyes, when she heard the sound of the whip, more frightening than the lightning, when she barely managed to follow the etiquette she had learned in passing and stuffed food into her mouth without knowing if it went through her nose or her mouth during those meal times.

Living every second in the bishop’s residence in Nux, Ellenia had withered to the point where she couldn’t even imagine a different time and place.

She was merely told she had to bear the duty in her mother’s stead and was shoved into the carriage heading to Tarnu like a piece of luggage. Who could have known that such an abundant life awaited her?

She had already received all the gifts.

Unaware of this, Leni and Greta exchanged mischievous glances.

“Now that you’ve come of age, you’ll become a true couple with the young lord, won’t you?”

“A true couple?”

“Well, there are marital duties, you know? In other families, the consummation of the marriage is very important.”

Ellenia’s face turned bright red upon hearing this.

We’ve prepared some very pretty lingerie for today, they said. The two maids, busy exchanging glances and laughing, didn’t notice the uneasy look on the Madam’s face, which seemed to be tinged with shame.

With her face red with embarrassment, there was a certain uneasy expression beyond Madam’s countenance.