WBWB | Chapter 26

“I like that room.”62a18e939e12ebda

“Wouldn’t you change your mind after moving to the new room? Try it out, and if you find it uncomfortable, tell me. I’ll have you moved back.”469f0d764d5499a4

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“I will.”7f35c292e5142130

With even the Duke 6c69254937 insisting, I had no 0756f03ba6 choice. I nodded, and only 7e89e68e6a then could I leave b6891e590f the library.d3bce40770e889f9

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‘But was he… always this talkative?’4ae8ff9c3ddc8ce5

The next 47444a903e morning, as e671dc6652 soon as f094376d80 I finished 5196390bd5 breakfast, Madame 91ff728ec4 Pauline came 594de82429 and said 7791086ca2 she would 9b12598eb5 show me 8d0af532d5 my new d12305e50d room.f8b3fe851ccb6dd0

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I followed Madame Pauline cde3b2ea4b to the new room 4840299582 assigned to me. It was indeed 5180151dff spacious. Unlike my cfe2fb3bf1 previous room cc89526c8e with its de5c929eac exposed ceiling, 39b243670d this room a7a945330f had proper 3803aa48db wallpaper on 039f84db92 the walls c5d39f5a11 and ceiling. A large a7a57edfb5 window let f8ecf18739 in plenty dbc5ca6a6c of light, 7a888688a0 offering a 1e8e42e3a3 panoramic view d7f1b28fa3 of the 7cb8c05157 garden.de543a6c32425d02

‘My old room must have been drafty. It’s much warmer here, even with such a large window.’a50112ecb8eeb424

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A carpet covered 82de464c61 the entire floor, 98f1ef12bf preventing the cold 07c71fb1da from seeping through. A wardrobe stood on c98cd38f30 one side of the 6c7a31084f room, a round table 41780fff2d and chairs were placed e2a59ef118 in the center, and 03b7103aa4 a sofa with a fe2d5b5292 footrest next to a ae23d2aede much larger and more fa08bc7a16 ornate fireplace than the fa1b95537d one in my previous d45669f27a room. There was 2cdb5a301f even a 3eff2e4117 glass cabinet a800797d9c filled with 128245b1e3 teacups, a 9937269fca teapot, teaspoons, 4b16e998ab and everything f04a8ffde0 needed for 6a05ec75d1 making tea.f99a06e9be3b6bd7

“Would you like to see the bathroom, Miss Jeanne?”a5d984000ce0cb18

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The most surprising feature 8bcc997845 was the attached bathroom. It had a spacious 57e57c45dd porcelain bathtub with cat 415b7c1c6d feet. The bathtub e1351bdeca I had 4d0bf3cbb4 been using d87293f581 was a f1f332dfde small, half-sized 98a573a060 one, only 8483e921f1 big enough b69755e9cd to sit b8ebbff8be and soak 2ecd8f5cf9 my lower 796ec61a50 body. But this a642da87bb bathtub was 5725171d16 large enough df40c47b1c for two 5d0bfef2c6 people to 38cc8750c0 lie down 6f632eff4e comfortably with 21ff07e427 their legs de0e92e57e fully extended.ffb6a14c24fdd4f5

‘Is it really alright for me to have this room?’63a5c371b9766a9b

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As I thought it 79067e9465 would be suitable even 01cc0306cc for guests, Madame Pauline 5f5608f24b spoke, db12bca58dfec5c3

“This was originally a guest room, but it’s been unused for several years, just covered in dust sheets. A room deteriorates if it’s not used, becoming damp and musty, so would you mind staying here, Miss Jeanne?”8307a04acfc71f78

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I couldn’t refuse after she put it that way.46220be1e3cd329c

I moved to the new room before lunch. Indeed, once I had moved, the new room was so much better that I couldn’t even remember the old one.51da61aef733551f

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Lady Ana also 0ccabba563 visited after lunch.a256cffb9c577b7e

“Teacher! Your room is so pretty! Almost as pretty as mine!”ff178c5996fbfcdd

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“Isn’t it?”9799c69d9fcad052

Lady Ana said c33fae6f83 she had gotten 23588ca6e3 lost for a d5c5cecc70 moment, not knowing 0a3914e99b I had changed 69667cb9d9 rooms.d250403418490ef5

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We sat 113acbf3b5 on the 5cc5a7b526 bed and e5c856e8ab played card 62202ad7d6 games for ecd1e2fcf3 two until 3271c74bd6 dinner. I had drawn 1ff02d6809 and made the d34a927be9 cards myself to 2d588c08da teach her the f2557ad859 game.89af1c8fbac2d7af

Engrossed in the 2b404e9abf game, we didn’t 63fbdd1a7e notice the time 4683b35f9e until the sun 3875450372 began to set.3b1016930a4d0b9d

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“Teacher, I want to have dinner with you tonight.”ad7aa091e8200a45

Lady Ana’s words reminded me of my dinner appointment with the Duke. And that I had to tell him what I wanted during that dinner.ee519f281dde3c86

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I told Lady 200a664790 Ana that I 0cadfe7e4b was invited to 74b9e6815b dinner with His 127f53191d Grace.83225472d2fea648

“Shall I ask 2e9601ab07 him if you 29ba4d0803 can join us?”bd31eacb1433dadc

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“…No.”5f111adf6be948b2

Just those words 277a8cf198 seemed to make 78874f79be Lady Ana slightly 65b47325eb timid, and she 1c6416de29 quietly returned to 4ad0dbd999 her own room.522edbdc4ee658a8

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‘But what should I ask for?’bbbc272b5b48f009

Left alone, I took out dresses from the trunk I hadn’t yet unpacked, pondering.97f95c9b0b14cecd

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‘What should I request?’0160ab457049cbff

As I contemplated, 8cdb1ab1c2 surrounded by beautiful 84a721f078 dresses spread out eb868026ed on the bed, ace3ab23d1 a thought suddenly 22f050997f struck me. Something I 77633b4d19 had been 0f40ddf0c6 longing for. And there cc9acab287 was only 6e1d656423 one person 8111a97934 who could effd3f848b grant it; 842be92fb8 the Duke.4f1ddccfb5a52a0b

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That evening, I f91846ccf8 chose a cream-colored a93e2dd9df silk dress. As I entered 674065b2d9 the dining hall 5279bc107d and sat down, a09531e925 the Duke stared 3f99607748 at me intently. But the moment I 9f6e071195 looked at him, he 21aaa7ea5a abruptly turned away, as 89ed07787d if embarrassed.f533f8ee8936122f

‘Is something wrong?’adbc8587cff80d75

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I self-consciously 6bd8356c38 touched my 90648b0c45 cheek and 4e731b0a30 smoothed down 30102d0b6c my dress.42c7f76045b74cb6

“Thank you for inviting me to dinner, Your Grace.”af3054dcab5e3ff8

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“Hmm.”ff360d6207a8eb6a

Dinner began shortly 3a9343816e after. When the appetizer 3a4a443244 was served, I 88766ec2a7 thanked him for aa5cc780a4 the new room. He nodded curtly and 82fab6f685 offered me an aperitif.0917eddfb5d6584b

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“Drink.”b99d869570ef0105

Thirsty, I 8af4694bd8 unthinkingly drank abf5bf991f the clear 3bde58e9ea liquid in 4b9d8c5193 the glass. Aperitifs were usually light 2983f5cc3f and refreshing alcohol. But as soon 65540302d7 as I tasted 7ec5b31c49 the seemingly water-like 9647abcc88 liquid, I almost 002c9192af spat it out. I clenched 87e04282e6 my teeth b7cdb90995 and forced 2ffa5729cf it down, 87a35d3e7c unwilling to ab2b901416 make a 18dfc9474a scene.ffa3ba0b87e09984

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‘Oh my!’cc1e217fe2df794d

My mouth burned, and 8be3f2be7a my stomach felt like c13469aed7 it was on fire. The alcohol was fffea08538 so strong that b33278e067 my eyes watered. I picked up bf60d0a42d the glass and fc475fa7a1 stared at its 9675c069d2 contents.6c7cda1ff2824553

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‘Is this… the right drink?’2db67144623335ee

I had heard that alcohol in colder regions tended to be stronger. But the drinks at the previous dinners hadn’t been this strong. Wondering if something was wrong, I sipped the drink cautiously and glanced at him. He was emptying his glass without any reaction.19b4db022130be48

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‘I see, this 8fa51d92c0 is normal then?’77b91d6303c9ab4e

I carefully sipped 05cc78b02a the drink, trying 795c105279 not to drink 8ff3942fc1 any large gulps. But the single b36583e6c3 glass I had 094562ea23 already consumed had 4fb56afa53 already set my a09011ca5f mouth and stomach b325fa83ac ablaze. Soon, my whole body 9633aeddc8 felt warm and flushed. The dining hall 9611d83066 felt hot, and 7341b5d881 my head spun. I tried to e751785559 cool my cheeks 69d98d77c8 with the back 460245beac of my hand.36af4d071a37e5c6

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‘I need to pull myself together.’8f22632733852546

But the single 7ddacab23a sip had already b6f669e2e1 lit a fire 806bf38da7 in my body. My eyes 93cb81044c felt hot, e5e1b1bffa and my 7f2cfd599b pupils dilated.4e42c1a9d0080615

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The alcohol 555694b8c1 had a 4ca889ccf8 powerful effect 60299e6526 that evening. Intoxicated, it made f8c9952b1f me fearless.208016314c08c79f

“Where did you get that dress?”c3439f84ac4c5c5c

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The Duke asked.1d1d4579f8e23a0a

“Did you buy it?”f167810ab87a38f3

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“No. Madame Pauline gave 2156ed2d44 it to me. She said 52291bebb9 it belonged b0852edf54 to the 97b8029852 former mistress fc42386ab9 and had 8823f566a9 been stored 4bbb4b3f40 away…”40852f0945e31ddb

The Duke shrugged.f5146fca4ad1a829

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“Then it must have been my mother’s dress. I thought it looked familiar.”e8ca4c90ae516998

His words made 9e7666b9e3 me realize something 46cc6b5c9c obvious.2371f47a004dc06d

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‘Madame Pauline’s mistress, of course!’17afa6e77de23982

The mistress Madame 0fb8030361 Pauline served was dd48433850 his mother. How had 6b06e51ee3 I not 664187c462 connected those 3b4a21f9d5 two facts ac48407b26 before? I self-consciously smoothed the cb453d24a6 wrinkles on my dress.44996aadddb45aaf

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“Do you know anything about my mother?”5df84bdfecc5e328

“Very little.”8d15225e8ae9104e

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Just a 067b60aba9 small fragment, 8e6a8f7f55 a footnote 903fc05ab6 in history.be4789cf794773dd

“I know 23de18b67d she was 131c7f4728 Duchess Marie ea49909b70 Adelaide, His 7086545dcf Majesty’s aunt…”16f33f3d548812b2

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How did the 209fe20a6f previous kings exert 5fb601858c their influence over 349176f96f the chieftains of f884f77520 the barbarian tribes 8d4fafcf36 after granting them de035cfec0 land? The barbarians, 3b65356446 though a 3c6fadd4e9 vassal, shared 6ffa877db5 the same 7421feb04a ancestry as 8bcb9d041c the invaders d8881090e2 who attacked a439483ae2 the south c86120a310 every summer. Wouldn’t they be a0e1edaa5d more likely to 3617f395a1 collude with them 60b15754df and usurp the fc7c567af3 throne, rather than 6336a965b6 act as a 6932da8e8a shield against them?a775d1be009c8374

There was a 9dd4829f37 tried and effective 4c1748cf3e method employed in dde19d0e7d such situations; marriage.4bfec8c369d4f413

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The previous kings had married the heads of the Skadi family to their daughters, or to their nieces if their daughters were unavailable. As far as I knew, the previous Duke’s wife was the third of the previous King’s six daughters. That meant the current King and the Duke were cousins.eace210c1f69309d

“That’s right. My mother was the current King’s third aunt. She lived in the warmth of Franc until she was sixteen and then came here, where she spent the rest of her life. As the Duchess of Skadi. So, what did you think of the dress when you tried it on?”ee52222cb83b0353

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“…”75d69f85d31b2905

“How did it feel wearing it?”2cf14d0a924e6863

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How did it 92d0145162 feel wearing the 8fc8d8fbb0 dress? 55cfc77b6db71c04

An answer immediately 2fbbf30528 came to mind, 03d1d55816 but I hesitated.97c3c6aa2b974776

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Normally, I would have showered it with compliments. That it was beautiful and didn’t look outdated at all, despite being from a previous generation. But the alcohol gave me courage. The courage to tell the truth.ca996af0b5d8a13c

“This dress is… too thin. For this climate. So, when I had it altered, I had a thicker lining added. It’s beautiful, but here, this dress…”bcc6f3bb161efdf3

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“Is unwearable. The dress is beautiful, but completely impractical.”e53a58b5dd7b23c2

The Duke shrugged again, c9fa929938 as if he had a0a2667b40 already known my answer.1d1f2fd510975753

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“As you can see from the dress, my mother never forgot her homeland. Even after marrying my father and bearing him two sons, she never adapted to Skadi, until the day she died. Even though it wasn’t a foreign country, just a different region within the same kingdom. My mother longed for Franc and the court life all her life. And she diligently ordered and wore dresses that were in fashion there. Even though she could never return, she didn’t want to fall behind the trends there. But you can’t wear such clothes here, not even in summer. That dress eventually made her ill. Consumption. Or perhaps it was homesickness.”6e00b762decf54fc

“…”8a42ccbae142ecae

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“My father loved my mother. I consider that a curse upon him. To love a woman who hated his land and himself. Wouldn’t it have been better for him to have taken mistresses?”fe4a103d40d9abfb

He stopped there.3de953fb686ecdc0

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“I’ve misspoken. Please forget what I said.”f1e02abcea5e0b03