~Chapter 20~
Christan was about to scold Gerard but stopped himself, remembering they had a guest. This only made Gerard act bolder.
“I overheard the servants earlier, and Lady Winterpull’s reputation is great. Some even said they wish she would become the lady of the Grand Duke’s castle!”
“Are you insane? Lady Winterpull is only nineteen.”
“She’s an adult, isn’t she?”
“I’m twenty-five!”
Christan finally lost his patience and threw his pen. Gerard, dodging it with a slight movement, shamelessly continued,
“You’ve seen Lady Winterpull’s abilities. If you marry her, her power will immediately become Bellerophon’s power.”
He picked up the pen from the floor and kept talking,
“And Lady Winterpull likes you, so it’s killing two birds with one stone.”
Even though witches were still discriminated against in the empire, those who saw a witch’s power firsthand couldn’t help but desire it.
If witch powers became more mainstream over time, more people would surely want Amelie. Securing her before that would help the family grow.
And since she already liked Christan, cooperation would be easy.
But Christan shut it down firmly.
“That will never happen. I plan to send her home as soon as possible.”
“You’re being so cold. You weren’t always like this… Is it because you failed once and now you’ve closed off your heart?”
“I told you not to bring that up!”
Thud! This time the pen hit Gerard right in the chest. Knowing he deserved it, Gerard only scratched the spot and said nothing.
Christan, suppressing his boiling irritation, ordered him out.
“Leave for the day. I’ll handle the rest myself.”
“Yes, my lord.”
His aide quietly closed the door behind him. Christan slumped into his chair, suddenly exhausted.
“Some even said they wish she would become the lady of the Grand Duke’s castle!”
A hollow laugh escaped his lips.
“Ridiculous.”
It was laughable—almost maddening. He used to be the kind of man who would beg a woman he didn’t even love to become the lady of this castle.
And now here he was, feeling unsettled at the thought of someone else…
‘I have no right to be upset.’
Christan straightened up and glared at the report on his desk. But he couldn’t focus at all.
Meanwhile…
Gerard was walking through the hallway when he ran into an unexpected person.
“Oh? Hello, Sir Siard.”
“It seems this is the first time I’ve seen you since we returned to the castle, Lady Winterpull.”
It was Amelie Winterpull. She was walking down the hallway with a small owl perched on her shoulder.
He asked with a stiff expression,
“Did you… bring the owl with you as well?”
“Oh! No. This is the monster we captured this time! Its name is Kamaritanes, but you can call it Kamarin.”
『I never said that was okay!』
“A spirited monster, I see. Hello, Kamarin.”
『I’ll show you what spirited really means!』
Kamarin flapped his tiny wings furiously but was quickly stopped by Amelie. Gerard, amused, said,
“It really can understand me. Is this also thanks to you, Lady Winterpull?”
“Yes, I made a translation potion and gave it to him. And now I’ve officially made him my familiar, so he’ll obey me well.”
“That’s truly impressive, Lady Winterpull.”
Amelie blushed slightly at his compliment. Then Kamarin, still perched on her shoulder, suddenly remembered something and flapped his wings.
『Didn’t you say you had something to ask Sir Siard?』
“You mean me?”
“Oh, right! Yes. Um, I do have something to ask…”
Amelie looked around. There wasn’t anyone nearby, but this wasn’t a question to ask openly in the castle.
Sensing her hesitation, Gerard quickly suggested,
“Shall we go to the garden to talk? The gardens at Bellerophon Castle are actually quite well kept.”
“Oh, yes! That sounds good.”
The two stepped out into the garden.
Night had already fallen. The sky was filled with stars, beautifully complementing the unexpectedly vibrant garden.
Amelie admired a bed of clematis flowers and said,
“It’s so beautiful. I didn’t expect His Highness to tend the gardens so well.”
Gerard chuckled softly.
“Are you implying that my lord has no sense of aesthetics?”
“No! That’s not what I meant! I just… this land is a bit barren, so I thought it would be hard for flowers to bloom here. But seeing it so well maintained surprised me!”
“Haha, I’m sure that’s it.”
When Amelie waved her hands defensively, Gerard simply laughed lightly and let the teasing go. She was a fun person to tease, but he decided not to push further.
Instead, he changed the topic.
“Actually, my lord isn’t the one who tends this garden.”
“…?”
Amelie blinked at his words.
‘How will she react?’
His black eyes fixed on her.
As Christan’s only aide, Gerard knew everything about his master’s personal relationships. Christan himself often joked that Gerard could even dig up hidden ties in the demon realm.
But Amelie Winterpull was someone not in Gerard’s database.
‘Useful or not, I need to know why she suddenly appeared in our lives.’
Of course, she was the only witch born a noble and was specially selected by the Emperor to be sent here, so nothing about that was suspicious.
But something still didn’t add up.
‘She acts as if she’s liked him for a long time.’
It hadn’t even been a week since she met Christan. That wasn’t much time to develop the kind of affection she was showing.
And…
“I thought His Highness was married. I just worried because I hadn’t seen his wife. Is she unwell?”
Amelie had thought Christan was married. Yet she still followed him so openly it was almost embarrassing to watch.
‘Could she have been after the position of his mistress?’
…No. That was too much of a leap. She only began openly pursuing him after the misunderstanding about his marital status was cleared up.
“…Sir Siard?”
Noticing Gerard’s complicated expression, Amelie called to him curiously. He met her gaze.
‘…Alright.’
He decided to just ask her directly.
And to get the information he wanted, he would give her the one piece of information she was likely most curious about.
“Lady Britney…”
Gerard’s lips curved slightly as he spoke,
“No, Countess Britney was the one who tended this garden.”
A small gust of wind blew, rustling her hair. Amelie’s sharp gaze stayed locked on Gerard. Even the so-called top-class monster Kamarin kept silent, simply watching his master’s reaction.
After a moment, the silence was broken.
“Countess Britney…”
Amelie had a pretty good idea who it was. She remembered the woman standing next to Christan at a ball around this time last year. Her name was Cynthia. She hadn’t heard the family name, but anyone with sense could guess.
This Countess Britney, Cynthia, must be Christan’s former fiancée—the very one who had tended this garden.
‘…Why bring her up all of a sudden? It doesn’t seem like a pleasant subject.’
Still, there was a lot Amelie didn’t know about her. And if she planned to win over Christan, information about Cynthia Britney was essential.
And standing right in front of her was Christan’s walking encyclopedia—his aide. Of course he would know everything about Cynthia Britney.
‘If I ask, he’ll probably tell me, right?’
Amelie swallowed once and opened her mouth.
