Chapter 30
As the soldiers lined up began to jog in unison, Hermia squinted her eyes to see better without realizing it, and Emily whispered, “Binoculars.”
Once she confirmed that no one was watching her, Hermia slowly raised the handle.
“…I can’t believe this.”
“It’s more fun than an opera, right?”
“How… grotesque… heaven.”
Beyond the round lenses was a new world. The heaven that one could only reach after a lifetime of prayer existed within this small telescope.
She felt like cursing if she opened her mouth, so she pressed her lips together tightly to hide her amazement.
As she became entranced by the dynamic movements of the bronze David statues, she suddenly gasped. She recognized a familiar figure descending the steps of the command post.
In the midst of a flesh exhibition, the man dressed in dark clothes stood out unmistakably as Walter Rockford. At that moment, her mouth went dry.
The maids who also spotted him began to sigh dramatically.
“Oh! Why is he here again…!”
“Oh dear! We barely got to see anything! He’s ruined our fun early today.”
Then they started grumbling and headed back down the path they came from. Hermia, flustered as she alternated her gaze between the running statues and the maids, looked around in confusion.
“What’s going on? Why is everyone leaving already?”
“We got caught last time and were scolded. They say if we watch, the soldiers can’t focus on their training.”
Emily shook her head with a look that said there was nothing to be done.
“You should get up too. We need to leave before he notices us.”
Through the lens, she saw the Duke come out onto the parade ground, twisting his ankle as if preparing to join in on the running.
Wasn’t he hurt? Seeing him walk fine made her realize she had worried for nothing. That was a relief.
As Hermia watched quietly, scratching her chin, she asked,
“Do you think the Duke will take off his clothes too?”
“Who knows? We’ve never seen until the end. Maybe if it gets too hot while running, he will?”
“…That seems likely?”
As the maids quickly folded up the tent and lifted the table to move it, Hermia refocused on the parade ground.
Walter, having warmed up lightly, seemed to contemplate under the intense sunlight while fiddling with his collar.
Is he really going to take it off? Could it be that even the Duke would undress?
As she swallowed hard in anticipation, Emily urged her impatiently.
“You’ll get caught, I’m telling you. The master has excellent eyesight.”
“Wait a second! He’s unbuttoning his shirt!”
“Save those kinds of requests for after marriage.”
Emily snatched away the binoculars and began dragging Hermia away.
If she wanted to see after marriage, she would first need to catch hold of the author—when would that ever happen? She had caught a glimpse of his collarbone through his clothes…
It felt unfairly precious and made her feel like she might die from regret.
“Just one minute… no, thirty seconds… damn it.”
—
In the end, Hermia returned without having seen Walter undress and greeted Nora with a gloomy face.
Unaware of what had happened, Nora calmly smiled as she took out her usual ointment from her bag.
“Are you feeling unwell? There’s probably nothing worse than muscle pain for those who aren’t used to exercising.”
Nora said this thinking Hermia looked bad because her body hurt. In fact, she had completely forgotten about how sore she felt all over.
Hermia rubbed ointment onto her bruised arm in the shape of handprints and then casually asked,
“Excuse me, but are you married?”
“I’m not.”
“Oh…”
Even though it was a question based on seeing no ring on her hand, it surprised Hermia that Nora was indeed unmarried.
“Another question if you don’t mind—how old are you?”
“I’m twenty-six.”
“Twenty-six…”
Hermia pondered what being a twenty-six-year-old noblewoman in the Müller Kingdom would look like.
In poor neighborhoods, there were women who didn’t marry until nearly thirty, but among nobles?
There were quite a few noblewomen who married young only to become widows and live elegantly off their inheritances.
In cases of divorce, most entered convents; if they disliked that option and returned to their families, they were soon sold off as second wives to other men. Such arrangements often involved older men with money but little else.
Noblewomen or nuns or new wives for older men—these were roles Hermia could easily imagine for a twenty-six-year-old noblewoman. It was unimaginable for her that there could be more roles beyond these three. Hence why she planned to secure alimony and return to living as a commoner.
“Excuse me, but Miss…”
“Just call me Nora. You can also call me Lieutenant Wilson if you prefer.”
Nora gently interjected to correct how she was addressed. It felt too awkward for her to be called “Miss” by someone engaged to a commander.
Realizing this late, Hermia exclaimed “Oh!” before continuing with her questions.
“How could you manage to go to college and enlist without getting opposition from your family? Didn’t they object?”
At those words, Nora paused for a moment in surprise.
“What? College? What do you plan to do at college?”
Surely this must be a joke about finding a smart husband by going to college!
The question was distinctly different from what childhood friends who had changed their last names and become mothers would have asked her back then.
Since it was her first time being asked “how” instead of “why,” Nora hesitated before answering directly.
“Um… I grew up in a large family. My father is a university professor and my mother taught children at seminary.”
Seeing Hermia listen intently made Nora continue speaking calmly.
“We all studied steadily from childhood regardless of gender. After my older sister and younger sister got married and my grandmother passed away, I entered college.”
“You had many siblings.”
“Had my grandmother lived longer, my enrollment would have been delayed as well.”
Nora said this jokingly and then asked, “Do you want to study?”
“No.”
Without a moment’s hesitation, Hermia shook her head. Nora smiled slightly and asked again.
“Then enlist?”
“Hmm…”
This time, Hermia’s response was ambiguous. When Nora looked at her with a puzzled expression, Hermia scratched her forehead and spoke.
“How much is the salary for soldiers?”
“Salary?”
“Oh. The army might be a bit uncomfortable since the Duke is there. It would be awkward to have his ex-wife as a subordinate, wouldn’t it? Hmm.”
Nora, not understanding Hermia’s mumbling, watched quietly before cautiously asking,
“Do you perhaps not want to get married?”
“No, I will. Marrying the Duke isn’t bad. Honestly, from an objective point of view, it’s more than I deserve.”
“Not bad?”
“Yes. The duke is the most handsome man I’ve seen, he has a lot of money, and he’s very gentlemanly.”
So there was no reason to refuse; this was quite surprising for Nora.
It seemed that while the conditions were good, she didn’t actually like him. Why did she think this lady would like Colonel Rockford?
The answer was simple. Since she was an illegitimate child from a commoner background, being placed in such a high position seemed like something she should obviously desire.
As Hermia said, Walter Rockford was indeed the best match in the kingdom.
He was handsome and capable, and he was also the only heir of a long-established family—unless there were others like him.
Even the two great empires had recently competed to offer favorable conditions for a political marriage with him. It was natural to assume unmarried women would admire him.
Nora realized that her own prejudices had clouded her judgment. Suddenly, her face felt warm.
In front of her, Hermia calmly confessed,
“I have to prepare for life after divorce. I don’t know how much alimony I’ll get, but I want to be ready for it. Oh, I said it again. Damn it.”
“Excuse me, but haven’t you considered the possibility of not getting divorced?”
Hermia had spilled her ambitious plans as if she thought she was alone in them, but Nora didn’t have the luxury to care about that. She quickly narrowed her eyes and said,
“This may be overstepping my bounds, but from what I’ve seen of the Colonel, he’s not someone who would marry out of obligation due to a will. If he didn’t have feelings for you…”
She almost said that he wouldn’t care for you this much but stopped herself. That would have been an incredibly rude comment.
While briefly contemplating how to recover from her slip-up, Hermia nodded thoughtfully.
“I felt that too. At first, I thought he was being nice because of the will, but it doesn’t seem like that’s all there is to it.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
At least she wasn’t completely oblivious; Nora sighed in relief as Hermia chuckled lightly.
“I’ve been used to such gazes since I was young. But no one’s affection ever lasts long. It always ends badly.”
Closing the lid on the ointment and raising her arm to smell it casually while speaking was a girl who had just turned twenty. Yet there was an air of weariness in her blue eyes that belied her age.
‘This lady is always ready to accept a breakup.’
Nora felt a twinge of sympathy and spoke honestly.
“Even if feelings fade over time, if you have children together, you might not get divorced. The Colonel is quite responsible…”
“I’d hate that even more!”
Hermia suddenly shuddered at the thought.
“If my feelings are gone but I’m kept around by responsibility or obligation, that’s even worse. Eventually, he’d leave his wife at home and go meet another woman.”
Looking straight into Nora’s surprised brown eyes, she passionately expressed her opinion.
“If feelings have cooled down, wouldn’t it be more honorable for a gentleman to pay alimony and part ways cleanly? Of course, first and foremost, the wife must want that too. And alimony should definitely be generous!”
“Hermia.”
Nora set down her medical report and pen and crossed her arms seriously.
“According to what married friends say, men can love their wives yet still meet other women sometimes. It can be just for fun or business-related too; it doesn’t necessarily mean their feelings have faded.”
“I absolutely agree.”
“However, I don’t think all men are like that. There must be men somewhere who are devoted to their wives throughout their lives.”
Hermia opened her eyes slightly in disbelief as she wondered if that could really be true while alternating thoughts of her stepfather and biological father.
