SBHD 2

Episode 2

“The beautiful lady before me—our brave, heroic mother-in-law!”

I said it while cupping my flushed cheeks in both hands without even realizing it. Mother’s gaze slid down to the rings glinting on mine and Demius’s hands, intertwined together.

“Ugh!”

In the next instant, Mother clutched the back of her neck and collapsed.

“Your Grace!”

Rinburton, who had been standing behind us, dashed forward just in time to catch her before she hit the floor.

He gently lowered her down, checked her condition with a grave expression, then turned sharply toward Demius and shouted furiously,

“Do you see now? Do you finally understand what you’ve done? What kind of sin you’ve committed by coming back like this?”

Demius stared at his fainted mother in disbelief and finally whispered,

“…Why has she grown so weak?”

“You truly don’t know?” Rinburton’s reddened eyes glistened with anger. “Have you never once considered what might have happened after you disappeared? Not even once?”

His voice cracked as he shouted,

“Do you have any idea how desperately His Grace the Grand Duke and Lady Nathalian searched for you? After Young Master Asellion passed away—if something had happened to you as well…!”

“Rinburton!”

I jumped in surprise.

Demius was shouting—his face twisted in a fury I had never seen before.

“How dare you speak such words! Who do you say has passed away?”

The atmosphere turned murderous in an instant, the air itself trembling. I held my breath, frozen in place.

Then, a commotion echoed from outside.

The front doors burst open, and a squad of knights stormed in.

Their faces were pale, their voices urgent.

“M–Monsters have appeared!”

“…Monsters?”

Demius repeated blankly, disbelief clouding his features.

“Monsters, in this season?”

“You really haven’t been paying the slightest attention to the territory, have you?”

Still supporting the Grand Duke’s limp body, Rinburton shot him a venomous glare.

“Of course, you never have. You never cared what His Grace was doing, what burdens he bore in your absence! But His Grace is different. All this time, he has single-handedly held the monsters at bay. All while you, my lord, abandoned your duties and fled!”

“…!”

Demius flinched. Rinburton’s words grew harsher, his tone like a whip.

“After he died, you left! Yes, I could understand that much. You two shared an unbreakable bond. But you are still a member of the Grand Duke’s house—of Eisenhardt! You who have enjoyed every privilege of that name—shouldn’t you also bear its responsibilities? That is the pride of Eisenhardt! How could you, of all people, forget it?”

His voice trembled, his eyes red.

“Now that you’ve returned, it’s time you take back the burden you cast aside.”

“…”

Demius’s lips tightened, his face drawn tight with anguish. Slowly, he turned toward me.

His eyes—darkened by sorrow and guilt—lowered slightly.

“I am sorry, my wife,” he murmured. “You shouldn’t have had to see this side of me.”

“It’s alright.”

I quickly shook my head.

“Go take care of what you must first.”

“…I’m sorry.”

When I smiled, Demius’s expression twisted with pain.

His hand twitched, as if he wanted to touch my cheek, but it fell back down before even brushing a strand of my hair.

He clenched his fist tightly, his cloak fluttering as he turned away.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes, sir!”

The knights answered crisply and followed after him.

Watching them march out in perfect order—seamless, practiced, elegant—I couldn’t help but be impressed.

Those who were good at their work always looked magnificent.

Just then, a cold voice came from behind me.

“His Grace has collapsed, and the young master is occupied. It seems we cannot properly host guests today.”

I turned and saw Rinburton holding the unconscious Grand Duke carefully in both arms.

He shot me an icy glare, then turned on his heel.

“Escort her out.”

“Yes, sir!”

Oh my.

I blinked as several towering knights approached me, their shadows long and heavy.

They looked down at me with sharp gazes.

“Please, come quietly.”

Before I knew it, I was outside in the garden, and in front of me, the enormous iron gates slammed shut.

Clang!

I blinked, tilting my head slightly.

“…Well, what now?”

I muttered seriously.

It seemed hosting guests was difficult for them today. Well, in such a big castle, they were probably short on help anyway.

And now even Mother had fainted—surely they were overwhelmed.

‘If there aren’t enough hands to take care of her, that could be bad.’

Clearly.

‘I’ll have to help.’

Decision made, I tapped gently on the iron gate.

“Um, excuse me?”

The guards beyond the gate didn’t move an inch.

I raised my voice a little.

“Hellooo—?”

Still no reaction.

So dedicated! They must be focusing hard on their duty.

‘What excellent guards.’

I couldn’t bear to interrupt such devoted men at work.

So I decided—I’d climb over instead.

With a determined nod, I started walking along the wall, looking for a good spot.

As I walked, I admired how practical and solidly built the fortifications were. After quite a while, I spotted a small protrusion sticking out from the wall—just about one and a half times my height.

“This will do nicely!”

I said cheerfully, kicking aside the hem of my cumbersome skirt and placing one foot into a small crevice.

Using the rebound, I sprang upward and grabbed the little bump in the wall.

Then I pushed off, found another foothold higher up, and reached for another jutting brick.

“Oh my!”

My hand slipped for a moment, but I quickly found another groove to cling to.

Hand over hand, foot over foot, I climbed rhythmically up the wall—and the motion brought back old memories.

My home village, at the end of the mountains.

It sat deep within a valley, surrounded on all sides by cliffs. Even the rock faces were covered with moss and poisonous plants, and the slopes were crawling with beasts and snakes.

No one ever approached willingly. Even leaving the village was difficult.

But the real obstacle to going out to the city wasn’t the beasts or poison or cliffs—it was the barriers and traps set by our parents.

Each one was carefully woven from magic and sigils, layered so intricately that breaking one only made the next twice as hard.

Slippery rocks were nothing compared to those enchantments. Every time I snuck out of the village as a child, I nearly got caught or fried.

But over time, I got good at it. Sneaking someone else out with me became no big deal.

All those near-death experiences had turned into useful skills.

“Our village really is the best!”

I hummed happily to myself as I climbed the wall with nimble hands.

Finally, I reached the top. A cool breeze brushed my bangs aside.

“Wow!”

What a breathtaking garden!

Balancing on the narrow ledge between the sharp spikes of the wall, I gazed down in awe.

Then, from far below, a booming voice made my ears ring.

“I’m telling you, I’ve never seen a horse that wild before!”

Startled, I glanced down. Beneath the wall stood a large wooden building, and in front of it, two men were deep in heated conversation.

One of them—a half-bald man—waved his arms dramatically.

“That black devil nearly tore the entire stable apart, I’m telling you!”

“But it’s calm now, isn’t it?”

“Calm? Nonsense!”

The half-bald man snorted loudly, the sound echoing.

Paaang! He blew his nose so hard it made my own nose tingle, then threw his arms out wide.

“You didn’t see it! Do you know how long it took to calm that beast down? It ran circles around the training field—multiple times!—and still had enough strength left to kick poor Hans when he tried to put the bridle on. Broke his leg clean!”

“Ah, that’s why Hans has been hobbling around on a crutch lately! So that was the culprit, huh?”

“I’m telling you, yes!”

The half-bald man nodded furiously, spittle flying in his passion.

Wow.

My eyes widened as I leaned forward to get a better look at the building below.

That wooden structure was the stable? I hadn’t expected that at all.

‘Everything in this castle is enormous, huh.’

The castle, the gardens, the people—and even the stables were massive.

‘Maybe I can get a peek at the horses, too?’

I stretched my neck out, hoping to see inside the stable.

“Oh?”

That’s when something caught my eye—something that made them go wide with surprise.