Chapter 25
In truth, Ninia didn’t know how much tea was in this castle either.
Tea was an indispensable part of a noblewoman’s daily life, and it should have been the same for the Grand Duchess, but she was far from a typical noble.
‘I didn’t know a noble young lady would be coming.’
She had expected only a few authoritative figures to visit; a young lady was unexpected. Ninia instructed the maid to continue what she was doing.
“It’s alright to continue.”
“……Yes.”
The maid’s hands trembled, but she succeeded in pouring the tea without incident. However, her complexion was still not good. It seemed better to send her out.
“You may go back and help the others now.”
At Ninia’s permission, the maid nodded. The maid hurriedly took the tray and went out.
Miernelle, unable to hide her bewilderment at the maid’s sloppy attitude to the very end, said.
“The maids here are a little…… peculiar.”
“We are employing those who lost their places during the war. They have their clumsy points, but they also have their strengths.”
Ninia lifted her teacup first. Miernelle, as if she had no choice, brought the tea to her lips and then scowled fiercely. And for good reason, as the tea was incredibly bitter even to Ninia’s palate.
Miernelle, unable to spit out the tea, forced herself to swallow it. She pressed her forehead with a handkerchief as if her head ached and said.
“It must be very inconvenient for you to live here……”
Miernelle trailed off her words as if in pity. If she had been a noble like her, Ninia might have shed a tear and expressed her agreement, but this too did not apply.
“I am living more comfortably than you might worry.”
Ninia took another sip of the tea. It had been excessively cold during the winter, so she had not refused the tea the maids brought her. It was even the same tea she was drinking now.
‘It’s better than I thought. Is the taste really that terrible?’
As Ninia swallowed the tea, she thought that perhaps the only tea leaves available in this castle were really just this one kind.
“You truly are the former saintess. You are amazing.”
Miernelle seemed genuinely impressed as she watched Ninia continue to drink the tea. It might have seemed like blatant sarcasm, but Miernelle was truly looking at Ninia as if she were a curious creature.
She didn’t know how the bitter tea and the former saintess were related, but Ninia just smiled without saying a word.
Seeing her smile, Miernelle, as if she had become much more comfortable with Ninia, began to pour out various stories.
“Actually, it was a bit difficult coming here. Can you believe it, the knights who came to meet us gave us the wrong directions, and I don’t know how many times we encountered a pack of beasts.”
“Count Troyd must have sent the wrong knights.”
Ninia played along with her words and thought of Marquis Villian. It seemed this was the reason he had mixed irritation in his greeting.
“Were they men of someone other than His Excellency’s knights? No wonder!”
Miernelle lamented how incompetent the knights were and how much they had wandered in the forest because of them.
It was customary for a knight order to meet and escort nobles coming from afar. Tarahan, who knew this fact, also had to prepare a courtesy for the central nobles.
‘I have to use my knights for something like that?’
Instead of sending his own knights, he had Jerome instruct the count’s private soldiers to be dressed similarly to knights and sent to meet them.
The men who had been doing hard labor in the mine Tarahan had seized from the noble were suddenly disguised as knights, and it was perhaps natural that they had botched the job.
“Phew, I feel a bit relieved after talking about it.”
“I’m glad.”
Miernelle, thirsty from talking so much, fumbled for her teacup. Then, as if she didn’t have the courage to drink the remaining tea, she moistened her lips with water.
As she drank the water, she glanced at Ninia. To be precise, it was the ends of her hair.
“By the way, Your Highness. You have peculiar hair.”
As Miernelle said, the ends of Ninia’s hair were white. She had debated several times whether to cut them off before the guests arrived, but she hadn’t, so they remained.
“I was a little unwell once, and it became like this.”
“I see.”
Miernelle looked at the ends of Ninia’s hair with curious eyes.
It was a rude attitude, but it was just as honest. Nobles, even while insulting their opponent, speak in metaphors or roundabout ways. It doesn’t matter if they are young or old. It was their way of packaging themselves elegantly.
Among them, there were few who showed their emotions to this extent. At this point, Ninia found Miernelle more peculiar than her own hair.
“By the way…… I have something I’m curious about.”
“What is it?”
Miernelle’s eyes sparkled with curiosity. Even though she hadn’t asked the question yet, Ninia had to swallow a strange sense of displeasure.
Perhaps the feeling of unease that had started from the moment she first met Miernelle’s eyes was growing larger and larger.
“I know that a cleric is chaste for life, so how did you come to marry His Excellency?”
It was a strange intonation, like a smooth ribbon getting tangled up.
Miernelle’s expression was different from before. When Ninia didn’t give any answer, Miernelle curved her eyes and smiled. In her narrowed eyes, the green that had looked so clear shone with a deep color.
“Or is it because you are confident you can remain chaste even after marriage?”
Miernelle muttered to herself as she looked at her well-manicured nails, then smiled as if it were nothing.
“I’m just curious. Really.”
It was malice rather than hostility. Just like the honesty Miernelle had shown earlier, she was showing her emotions as they were.
Before Ninia could even react, Miernelle rose from her seat, looked down at her, and said.
“I enjoyed the tea. Your Highness. I also believe in the gods. I hope that Your Highness is not one to go against the will of the gods.”
Miernelle passed by Ninia. Soon, the sound of the door closing was heard, followed by silence. Left alone, she quietly looked down at her teacup.
‘What could be the reason?’
The types of malice were endless. Amidst the various large and small malices, Ninia always had to find the reason for the malice directed at her.
That process was generally similar to touching the blade of a sword, and sometimes it came back as an arrow that pierced a person.
Ninia brought the teacup to her lips. The light brown tea had already cooled.
🌻🌻🌻
Although it was summer, the day quickly grew dark. Before she knew it, the evening banquet was fast approaching. Ninia and the esteemed guests came down to the banquet hall at the appointed time. Ninia sat in the chair a servant pulled out for her.
‘……The Grand Duchess’s seat.’
The head of the banquet table, the end and center seat, belonged to the Grand Duke, and the seat next to it was where Ninia sat.
It was different from where she usually sat. Perhaps it was a measure to avoid being criticized since the esteemed guests were present.
Marquis Villian and Miernelle took their seats in the guest seats in order, and right next to them, Count Anterno was seated.
“I dozed off in my room. Time passes so quickly. I guess I was a little tired after all.”
Miernelle spoke to Ninia in a friendly manner. She was wearing a different dress from the one she had worn at tea time. Her hair, curled at the ends and tidied, was swept back, revealing her neckline.
The young and fresh beauty, like the sunshine, softened the atmosphere. Marquis Villian smiled fondly as he looked at his brightly smiling niece.
“My dear niece. You seem to have gotten closer to Her Highness in such a short time.”
“Of course. Her Highness is a kind person. I promised to gift her tea leaves when I return to the capital.”
Water brewed from grass of unknown origin was called tea leaves…… it was a way of saying she would graciously bestow her kindness upon the ill-informed Her Highness.
“You have a kind heart. Isn’t that right, Your Highness?”
It was impossible to ignore Marquis Villian’s question seeking agreement. Ninia slowly nodded her head.
“That’s right. If you send them, I will receive them with gratitude.”
“I will send them by type so that you won’t lack for anything. Don’t worry.”
At her answer, pure malice smiled brightly. Ninia smiled back at the marquis and the young lady. That was the best Ninia could do.
Miernelle was testing the waters, picking at Ninia with her fingernails.
For a scratch, it was enough not to show that it hurt. As long as she endured the moment of losing her composure due to the pain, no further incidents would occur.
Ninia slowly blinked her eyes to eliminate her emotions. It was then that she noticed a gaze that had been looking at her all along.
‘Count Anterno?’
When Ninia turned her head towards Reid, he curved his eyes as if he had been waiting. The brown eyes looking at her shone clearly.
