ICM Chapter 142

The carriage procession heading toward Talion territory came to a halt. When the carriage showed no signs of moving, Ashika opened the carriage window and looked outside. The sound of hoofbeats thundering across the ground was gradually approaching from the distance.

“What’s happening?”

“Your Grace, please wait just a moment.”

In the direction Aegonite was pointing, a group of armed riders had stopped their horses.

They must have ridden in great haste—their once lustrous, well-maintained armor had faded in color and their cloaks were covered entirely in dust. Due to the fluttering cloaks and the restless movement of the horses, dust rose hazily from the ground as well.

The neighing of horses and the joyful voices of knights filled the surroundings with noise. Ashika’s eyes, which had been carefully observing outside, widened in surprise.

“Rushia!”

Ashika threw off the thick blanket covering her and flung open the carriage door. Before her feet could even touch the ground, a horse that had urgently galloped over stopped in front of the carriage. Drushia leaped down from his horse.

“What’s so urgent that you’re running around everywhere? I’m out of breath trying to chase after you.”

“Rushia! Are you hurt anywhere? Are you alright?”

Her round, dark eyes examined Drushia carefully.

His short golden hair, usually neatly combed back, was disheveled by the wind, and his face was dusty in places. His boots and cloak were also covered in dust, just like the other knights.

“Stop looking at my body and look at me, Ashika.”

Though his appearance was a mess, his face was brightly smiling. It was a face he was seeing again after a whole month since they had parted on their wedding day. Having longed for her desperately, just seeing her face made him smile.

Ashika stepped down from the carriage and ran to Drushia. While he hesitated, Ashika quickly threw herself into his arms. She could smell the dust from his cloak and feel the cold touch of metal. Beyond that firm texture, Drushia was there.

“I’m a mess right now.”

Even his gloved hands were covered in dust, stopping awkwardly in midair. However, Ashika didn’t mind and pulled Drushia’s waist even closer to her.

“What took you so long?”

“The troops sent by the imperial court requested cooperation, so I had no choice.”

After Marquis Maiheller was taken into custody by the Imperial Guard, it had taken considerable time just to organize the private soldiers hiding in Maiheller territory and hand over the aftermath to the imperial court.

Drushia removed his dust-covered gloves and pulled Ashika into his arms.

“Be careful of your face. You might get scratched.”

He didn’t forget to warn her as he spoke. Having rushed over in such haste, he hadn’t even thought to remove his armor. Having abandoned his luggage and rushed over with just his body, he had no clothes to change into. The state of Drushia and the other knights was truly pitiful.

Ashika leaned her face against the cold metal armor and caught her breath for a while before lifting her head. Rough hands wound through her jet-black hair, fidgeting with it. He couldn’t dare touch her bare skin with his dirty hands.

An excited voice flowed from Drushia’s lips, matching his expression.

“I missed you. I wanted to see you so much. You don’t know how much I searched for you in my dreams every night.”

“You saw me in dreams? If you saw me every day, you wouldn’t have missed me.”

“Are those the same thing?”

At his sullen complaint, Ashika burst into laughter. Her dark eyes curved gently and the corners of her mouth lifted high. Ashika, who had been laughing, continued with her eyes shining brighter than ever.

“I think we have something to talk about.”

The hand that had been fidgeting with her hair stopped. Drushia’s face seemed to harden, then his lips moved slightly.

“That’s also a talent.”

At Drushia’s words, confusion appeared on Ashika’s face.

“You shake me up with innocent eyes pretending nothing’s wrong, then catch me off guard. That’s why I can’t handle you.”

Her slowly blinking dark eyes curved beautifully once more. Somewhat hesitant, yet a sigh like an exclamation escaped.

Ashika’s voice sank heavily. It was a voice tinged with moisture.

“I… have never tried to beat you?”

“Still, you always beat me.”

Along with his answer, Drushia’s lips descended upon hers. He carried the scent of bitter winter. The fragrance of a season that had finally returned after traveling a long, winding path.

****

Bright light streamed in through the large window that occupied the entire front of the reception room. The furniture, as old as the family’s history, gleamed with antique luster. The tapestries on the walls were decorated with bright colors and graceful carvings, making the atmosphere of the reception room even more comfortable.

‘It feels brighter than I thought.’

Like Drushia’s sun-like hair. Whether Ashika’s thoughts showed on her expression, the butler cautiously spoke up.

“Do you like it? His Grace has no particular taste to speak of, so I decorated it myself.”

‘Ah, it was the butler’s taste.’

For over ten years, there had been no mistress in the ducal house, so it was the butler who had been in charge of the castle’s internal affairs. Neoren’s wife, the last duchess, had died within half a year after losing her children and falling into sickness.

Perhaps because of this, the butler had been seeking out Ashika whenever he had a chance since she arrived at Talion territory. Even now, the butler was doing work that should have been done by a maid. At first, she had wondered if he was monitoring her to show territorial behavior.

‘He doesn’t seem to dislike me.’

It was quite the opposite. The elderly butler’s face was constantly adorned with a smile at the fact that there was finally a mistress.

‘There’s really no middle ground.’

The reactions of the castle people were polar opposites. While there were those like Aegonite who openly showed dislike, there were also those like the butler and Mia who displayed curiosity and welcome. Those who showed favor were mostly people who had been close to Neoren.

“When will the old duke return?”

“He’ll return before spring arrives. He said there’s much to oversee since he’s been away for so long.”

“Shouldn’t Rushia originally be the one to go?”

Monitoring the border region was Talion’s duty. Originally, it should have been Drushia’s work after inheriting the ducal title, but Neoren was still handling that responsibility.

“If he returns to the territory now, there would be nothing for him to do. For him, that would be more torturous.”

“That’s true too.”

At the butler’s words, Ashika nodded. Someday, whether he liked it or not, he would have to be confined to the castle. Neoren seemed to want to postpone that time as much as possible.

The butler’s gaze turned to Jeanne, who was standing right behind Ashika.

“When will Sir Berth’s family arrive?”

“Ah, I…”

The question arose because he knew Jeanne had children and a husband. The residences of the closest knights needed to be prepared with care, but there had been no instructions yet.

Jeanne looked troubled. It was Ashika who answered instead.

“I didn’t tell you in advance. Jeanne won’t be settling here.”

“Is that so?”

The butler looked somewhat surprised. He had heard that she had been with Ashika as her closest aide for several years.

“Come to think of it, I’m sorry to Jeanne. We should have completed the handover in the capital.”

Originally, Jeanne was a knight who had only taken on escort duty while Ashika stayed in the capital. Her husband, who primarily cared for their two children, couldn’t leave the capital.

“This much is fine. Even without me, my husband will take good care of the children. I’m the one who should apologize.”

“I chose Jeanne knowing this from the beginning. Please bear with it for a while. When Mia receives her knighthood, I’ll have Jeanne return to the capital.”

“That won’t do. You can’t entrust the protection of the young lady entirely to a newly knighted knight.”

“There’s Pelburn. Once the situation here is sorted out, Pelburn will bring more people from Igraine.”

Unlike other noble ladies, Ashika often traveled outside her mansion or castle. Since she would be with her closest escort knight day and night, she preferred her escort to be a woman if possible.

Outstanding female knights were rare, and finding a replacement was not easy.

A knock came from beyond the closed door, along with a maid’s voice.

“A guest has arrived.”

“Tell them to come in. Jeanne and the butler, please step out.”

“Um, I need to serve tea…”

The butler hesitated at being told to leave when a guest had arrived.

“Don’t let anyone come until I call for you.”

Ashika gave the instruction again to the hesitating butler. As the reception room door opened and the visitor entered, the butler’s eyes widened greatly.

“Uh, uh…”

The polite butler stammered, unable to find words.

The noble lady in a black dress definitely felt familiar from somewhere. With red hair and brown eyes, she seemed unfamiliar yet someone lingered at the edges of past memories.

Meanwhile, the visitor entered with slow steps. Ashika rose from her seat and smiled brightly.

“Welcome.”

“Ashika. It’s been a long time.”

At the shadeless smile, Iben smiled back as well. Despite the unresolved problems that remained, Ashika’s smile was radiant. She seemed happy enough to be felt even amidst the anxiety.

Iben passed by the frozen butler’s attitude indifferently.

“Good day, Lady Siclaire. Well then, please have your conversation, you two.”

Jeanne gave a light greeting and then gestured to the butler. When the surprised butler showed no signs of moving, she nudged his arm. Only then did the butler come to his senses.

“I’m sorry. My eyesight has gotten quite poor, so there must have been some mistake.”

It had been decades ago, and the hair and eye color were different from what he remembered. Gathering his confused memories, the butler left the reception room with Jeanne.

Only after the two had left did Iben look back toward the door. She wore an expression of slight frowning as she pondered her memories. Though she had acted nonchalant, Ashika was a little surprised. She wondered if perhaps the butler had recognized her.

“Do you know Talion’s butler?”

“I don’t remember, but I would have had opportunities to see him.”

The territories of Arkpella Grand Duchy, Talion, and Igraine were adjacent to each other. There was a possibility they had encountered each other in some way. Iben sat on the sofa while observing Ashika’s expression.

“You seem anxious.”

“Yes. I don’t know what might happen next.”

It was her honest feelings. Iben was someone who could turn the empire upside down just by her existence.

“I came precisely because of that problem. I’ll be entering the grand ducal castle soon.”

“Ah.”

So it had already come to that. After the emperor’s proclamation, the capital had been turned upside down for a while. Surprisingly, it was the grand duchy that didn’t show much agitation.

“Did the nobles of the grand duchy make their move?”

“They’ve been preparing for a long time already.”

The fact that all the knight families had been massacred didn’t mean their lineage had been completely cut off. During their 40 years of confinement, the nobles of the grand duchy had cultivated both hostility toward the imperial family and self-preservation strategies. If the blockade had continued like this, it would have been a problem that would have eventually erupted greatly.

Instead of standing at the forefront of the problem with Ashika, Drushia had requested that Iben control the situation in the grand duchy. He hoped for the most peaceful resolution possible so that sudden changes wouldn’t become a disaster. Neoren, who had been protecting many of the grand duchy’s bloodline, also actively cooperated in this.

Now only one thing remained. To settle all situations and provide stability, the grand duchess had to reveal herself. Fortunately, many people in the grand duchy still remembered the unfortunate grand duchess from 40 years ago.

“Once grandmother enters the grand ducal castle, the grand duchy will become turbulent too.”

“I’ll make sure Talion and Igraine suffer as little damage as possible.”

That’s why she had come all this way. She wanted to give Ashika advance notice about what was to come.

“Have you spoken with grandfather?”

“I’ve finished talking with Weive about excluding you from this matter.”

They had decided to keep Ashika’s birth secret for the time being. It was a situation where many were wary of the union between Igraine and Talion. If it became known that the two ducal houses, which were like pillars of the empire, were connected by blood to the grand ducal house, the empire’s power could be greatly divided.

There was no need to increase hostile forces during an unstable period. The secret might leak out someday, but not right now.

“By now, doesn’t the emperor know too?”

If the emperor had attempted to have a conversation with Marquis Maiheller, that is.

Iben’s eyes darkened. It was a complex state of mind that was difficult to define simply.