WBWB | Chapter 20

“Huh…”

Thinking positively, I could say I had become… voluptuous. 

All the ladies of the court mocked and ridiculed Duchess Ventadour’s figure, yet on the other hand, they secretly strived to resemble her. Force-feeding oneself and severely restricting movement was all the rage among court ladies.

But I wasn’t going to become the King’s mistress, nor did I desire to. Moreover, gaining weight like this presented a problem.

‘I won’t be able to fit into my clothes.’

I would have to buy all new winter dresses. 

Even in the palace, I only had five dresses to rotate through, which I had purchased with great expense when I first arrived. Clothes, made by seamstresses and tailors, were expensive items, and I wasn’t in a position to spend money like water on new dresses every time the fashion changed, like the court ladies.

I had already spent a considerable amount of money on clothes here because the weather changed with each season. And now, to buy new clothes just because my body has changed? I couldn’t afford that.

‘I have to lose weight.’

I kneaded my flesh, feeling the new curves that had appeared on my body, and made up my mind.

‘There’s no other way.’

What did I have to do to lose weight? It was simple. Do the opposite of what I had been doing to gain weight. I had to eat less and move more.

* * * 

Winter in Skadi was a long, cold, dark, and tedious season. When a snow squall hit, they had no choice but to shut themselves inside the castle like they were under siege and wait for the blizzard to pass.

Since this happened repeatedly throughout the winter, everyone had their own way of coping.

The maids would sit by the fireplace, gossiping while making blankets, bedspreads, and winter outerwear. The servants would repair farming tools, and the soldiers would enjoy a rare leisure time in their barracks, preparing for the summer’s battles.

The reason the Skadi ducal residence possessed a well-stocked library, rivaling that of the royal palace, and the reason Baldr, despite being a warrior, had the knowledge and refinement of a scholar, was the same. The harsh winters, during which there was little to do but read when a blizzard raged.

With the arrival of winter, Baldr chose books from the library and spent time reading by the fireplace in his office. He actually enjoyed winter the most. His office was warm and cozy, and the blizzard outside, though it howled and clawed at the windowpanes, couldn’t penetrate its walls.

Then, one day, after a heavy snowfall, the sun peeked through the clouds, albeit faintly. Even though the snow had stopped, the knee-deep snow hadn’t melted yet, and the wind whipped it into a ground blizzard. 

The courtyard had been roughly cleared for passage, but it was certainly no weather for a stroll. Unless you were a fool who wanted to lose their nose, ears, fingers, toes, or contract lung disease.

And as the Duke leisurely read, he saw that very fool. 

Baldr glanced out the window, then put down his book and rubbed his eyes.

‘What is that? A bear?’

At first, he thought it was a bear. A bear that had wandered from the forest to the courtyard in search of food. If so, he had to drive it away for the safety of his household. But as he approached the window for a closer look…

‘Could it be…?’

The figure shuffling through the swirling ground blizzard in the courtyard wasn’t a black bear, but the tutor, wearing a bear fur hat and coat. He unconsciously pressed his hands and nose against the frozen windowpane.

‘Is she insane?’

He couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

‘What is that woman doing?’

The tutor spent a good thirty minutes doing her bizarre act of pacing back and forth in the courtyard before disappearing. The spectacle was so far beyond his expectations that he didn’t even think to stop her.

Even after she was gone, he couldn’t understand what she had been doing.

‘Is she really insane?’

He could only conclude that she was out of her mind.

* * * 

The black bear hide was truly a magical item. Although the strong wind scooped up frozen snow and lashed it against my face like a whip, making my cheeks, eyes, and nose sting and ache from the cold, once I pulled the hat down over my ears and put on the coat and fur boots, the parts covered by the fur were surprisingly warm. 

Even though I lost feeling in the exposed areas, I was exhilarated by the fresh air and the thrill of being outside.

‘I feel alive!’

The coat was heavy, and the ground was partially frozen, so I couldn’t run, but I could still walk. I circled the courtyard as much as I could. Swinging my arms and legs as I walked, I felt the stiffness in my body loosen and it lifted my spirits.

‘Phew! I have to do this again tomorrow!’

Before entering the mansion, I shook off the snow from my coat and boots. As soon as I finished my walk, an unbearable chill swept over me, and I shivered violently, my teeth chattering. Still, it had been a satisfying outing. 

I went back to my room, brushed the snow off my wet coat and boots, and jumped up and down to warm myself and thaw my frozen hands. Then I heard a knock on the door.

“Miss…”

I opened the door to find a maid standing there, holding a large tub used for bathwater. Steam rose from the tub, but it wasn’t bath time.

“What is it?”

I quickly took the tub and asked, and the maid replied, “His Grace has asked you to take a warm bath and come to his office immediately.”

“His… Grace? Asked me to take a bath?”

“Yes!”

Even though I wasn’t cold, the word “bath” sent a shiver down my spine.

“At this hour… he wants me to take a bath… and come to his office?”

What kind of ominous command was that?

“He wants to see me urgently?”

I might be an old maid, but I wasn’t completely ignorant of the ways of the world. The maid, seeing my expression, seemed to have an inkling of what I was thinking, and her expression turned peculiar.

‘Could it be? What should I do if it’s what I think it is?’

The warm bathwater soothed my frozen body, but my heart froze instead. I continued to tremble even as I submerged myself in the water. I prolonged my bath as much as possible, but if my suspicions were correct, delaying wouldn’t change anything.

‘I didn’t think he was that kind of man.’

Fear of what was to come mingled with a sense of disappointment. As if I had harbored some grand expectations of him. Perhaps I had been secretly relieved by the Duke’s lack of overt kindness towards me, believing it meant he didn’t see me as a woman.

Furthermore, Duke Baldr de Skadi was unmarried. He was at an age where it wouldn’t have been strange for him to be married with children, and yet he had even gone so far as to adopt his brother’s daughter.

‘But he’s just like other men after all.’

I heard something shatter inside me. 

I squeezed my eyes shut.

‘I don’t want this, but can a rabbit escape a wolf just because it doesn’t want to be eaten?’

…If he were just an ordinary employer, I would have left immediately. But Duke Baldr de Skadi was my guarantor, and I was a prisoner, bound to him. If I couldn’t escape… perhaps it was best to just close my eyes and accept it. Even if it meant soaking my pillow with tears for a few days.

After finishing my bath, I walked towards his office, feeling like an animal being led to the slaughterhouse.

“Are you insane?”

And I was met with the Duke’s furious face.

“Are you mad?”

“Pardon?”

“I’m asking if you’re insane! Do you know what you did today?”

He growled, his angry face like that of a wild beast. The person yelling at me was none other than the Duke of Skadi. His completely unexpected behavior made my heart stop, and at the same time, the memory of what I had done that day vanished from my mind, leaving me unable to remember.

‘What did I do?’

As I stood there, frozen with fear, he strode towards me, his green eyes flashing. I closed my eyes tightly as he drew near.

‘Here it comes!’

“Hold out your hands.”

He said.

“Pardon?”

“Are you deaf?”

At that, I cautiously held out my hands. He glanced at them once and then enveloped them in his own. His hands were so large and thick that mine looked like a mouse’s paws caught in a bear’s paw. I trembled like a vibrating bee’s wings.

‘Finally!’

I thought, finally, something was going to happen. But the Duke, after examining my hands closely, let go.

“Consider yourself lucky! You wouldn’t know, being a foreigner, but exposing your skin in this weather is like begging for frostbite!”