WBWB | Chapter 26

“I like that room.”65f787201ed9845b

“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.”d029a0eec91cd413

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“I will.”2e4badbef6bb2ada

With even the Duke c349bc8ef5 insisting, I had no aac831c7b4 choice. I nodded, and d4e9293592 only then could 7a7af641ea I leave the 3bf4777727 library.a96c4cc7d2086326

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‘But was he… always this talkative?’6ee12496b7f8fac2

The next morning, a81d955d46 as soon as d9591dff0e I finished breakfast, d4a60738a4 Madame Pauline came b669d9956f and said she 8999928088 would show me 6c46359344 my new room.25000cf3c8be5af2

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I followed Madame 9dbdfd9bff Pauline to the d8afeb8f46 new room assigned c55507db35 to me. It was indeed spacious. Unlike my previous room 8a0ddfb1d1 with its exposed ceiling, 58914b11b0 this room had proper b2d3917360 wallpaper on the walls 6641d224c0 and ceiling. A large window let ede50b5edd in plenty of light, b24b1e3f54 offering a panoramic view b7c673717c of the garden.aaeb02436fcc5811

‘My old room must have been drafty. It’s much warmer here, even with such a large window.’b8a7e0b31455d06c

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A carpet covered the ddbee5f047 entire floor, preventing the b92ca07e74 cold from seeping through. A wardrobe stood on 8179f405b6 one side of the 9bd8fe78de room, a round table af37736671 and chairs were placed 36b4c7fd9f in the center, and 27b877457e a sofa with a cff041c0e8 footrest next to a 0a18c33835 much larger and more bbc35bf435 ornate fireplace than the 6ea8a96daf one in my previous 832e747693 room. There was fe2129fd26 even a 6a51fbae17 glass cabinet dcf57f5c9f filled with 233d50e16a teacups, a f6141a2eec teapot, teaspoons, 0dcfd67984 and everything 6b80e715e3 needed for ed0319a734 making tea.9c3d05d89138d6c6

“Would you like to see the bathroom, Miss Jeanne?”f7d98befcd5af4fe

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The most surprising feature 1b363d1520 was the attached bathroom. It had 0489a14738 a spacious 4a85b8a3d2 porcelain bathtub c8ee42041e with cat 49a3c97a5b feet. The bathtub I 229e56e06e had been using e52edde228 was a small, b49ac20cf9 half-sized one, only 5e6e6d04a0 big enough to db810ac10d sit and soak d51a2a38a7 my lower body. But this bathtub 0491b12390 was large enough 0f24bf672e for two people 482292fec7 to lie down f49929a98a comfortably with their a4ba846e95 legs fully extended.60e865c8520311b3

‘Is it really alright for me to have this room?’59d253bb203bcc06

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As I cefafec5a8 thought it 403943dffe would be b00471d4f8 suitable even 2178f26708 for guests, e580b5245f Madame Pauline a030100820 spoke, 8042946e4dbd90cb

“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?”5e2d3393d52e52fa

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I couldn’t refuse after she put it that way.2744e71b5ec33134

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.f0d6e464031f8ba1

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Lady Ana also 35d0550cd1 visited after lunch.dcd8ad2560947154

“Teacher! Your room is so pretty! Almost as pretty as mine!”eea5046b0578c887

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“Isn’t it?”03c4e673f4c5c0b8

Lady Ana said 485f4d4dbc she had gotten 6173a3e3d0 lost for a b447590107 moment, not knowing dae281ad9e I had changed 678f054b41 rooms.dc870136194bb632

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We sat on 014a7bab30 the bed and 5be09496b7 played card games 0f4ed0f984 for two until e8b1d5636d dinner. I had f05bf743b0 drawn and 5f63a5a587 made the c2b5c1f0e0 cards myself 6bbd42f416 to teach 1e28a61e9d her the 1d259821c8 game.b8affdef1dfc1d08

Engrossed in the game, d9215bc89a we didn’t notice the 247e3efa24 time until the sun 01b250dd15 began to set.fd8fdc1ecd040572

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“Teacher, I want to have dinner with you tonight.”1fb908e7a5569e60

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.e69aac249db8b124

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I told d9a85b138a Lady Ana f7911c54f7 that I 972b407062 was invited cc4fea533e to dinner 1bbd898ad4 with His 439d7d332f Grace.17b95ff16cc4dec6

“Shall I ask him fbf7674d83 if you can join 698b87dace us?”9ace4839cf48d569

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“…No.”3cadbaedb44e77e8

Just those c8413c464a words seemed 6c6d8a3569 to make b97720603f Lady Ana ef4d58d862 slightly timid, e36e715b3a and she 743f8f8eae quietly returned 9f48176001 to her b7895b2b2b own room.fd718633b7cc011a

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‘But what should I ask for?’d22efb689cca5298

Left alone, I took out dresses from the trunk I hadn’t yet unpacked, pondering.96116f398193a7ed

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‘What should I request?’5ed6d48d6c95ebfa

As I contemplated, c1ab989059 surrounded by beautiful adfdc4b8ac dresses spread out fbcf46de0a on the bed, ed6f1d5010 a thought suddenly 580fb8c156 struck me. Something I 1871e905bf had been 17402a6555 longing for. And there ebf90676ad was only d8eee3e5eb one person f05f590dd8 who could a0eb42784e grant it; 5cd2eca9db the Duke.c5d37ee4d8df7fe6

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That evening, I fcb521d07f chose a cream-colored b8ed51770b silk dress. As I a108b957fc entered the 04ab5d4891 dining hall d4ab3e10e8 and sat 09d2c1fcc8 down, the 73971661e0 Duke stared 85e82e9ecf at me c01e6581b1 intently. But the moment I 84abd29521 looked at him, he 0a1d7814b6 abruptly turned away, as 359d7c22aa if embarrassed.d48c1e40954f04c1

‘Is something wrong?’251ba23a8a42c465

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I self-consciously touched my be26bc8e5c cheek and smoothed down 6b40471b94 my dress.531b8f7621d32f6a

“Thank you for inviting me to dinner, Your Grace.”05c19d4e63dbdb1a

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“Hmm.”f43e3187c281bc55

Dinner began eb0b691d36 shortly after. When the appetizer d780da11fb was served, I 8d1c618a14 thanked him for c045a04727 the new room. He nodded curtly 0506e92f18 and offered me cb61bd2e98 an aperitif.37358760e39d9d1c

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“Drink.”5ceca1b569515bd8

Thirsty, I 440b6fc266 unthinkingly drank c4bdfd601b the clear c9ff1de15e liquid in 704957ee7d the glass. Aperitifs were usually light 3e94471471 and refreshing alcohol. But as soon as 4644e30ddf I tasted the seemingly 60bfbf4f70 water-like liquid, I almost ddc675d956 spat it out. I clenched 741877b9c4 my teeth 06b59140cc and forced 012d4de383 it down, 22df1506e1 unwilling to 1ce0f19d19 make a 89ebdc0d92 scene.deb6661de755756e

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‘Oh my!’4905f88cc233136c

My mouth burned, 9249bdba06 and my stomach b83ce808fd felt like it 18730925fc was on fire. The alcohol fe608b36b9 was so 5ed3d0a6aa strong that 5273fe1768 my eyes 9ab679b5c9 watered. I picked up 3b9b11bdc4 the glass and c2a4cc9e4e stared at its 9053241838 contents.9ad656f049ba2c56

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‘Is this… the right drink?’e003c330b12fbbbe

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.e737b6879745136b

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‘I see, this is c2fc647b24 normal then?’61e002922ba1c591

I carefully sipped f2c1aa3164 the drink, trying 223e3e5517 not to drink fe73c08a40 any large gulps. But the 869f755f5f single glass e3a433db15 I had c8f635fbb3 already consumed a3ea1f6460 had already b08a446654 set my bc535803cf mouth and 6a43014b31 stomach ablaze. Soon, my 6f4ab2ceaf whole body a6a2cf880c felt warm f0cb39a7eb and flushed. The dining ece05d0119 hall felt fcda8521fa hot, and cdb0fb7c45 my head dc39bede26 spun. I tried to 6ac43e8a8b cool my cheeks bcbe84c3e7 with the back c2cd6619ef of my hand.3c007d34d37e8c23

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‘I need to pull myself together.’909fa63775542207

But the 9e9e40e443 single sip 7829c01809 had already 2a6f8de0da lit a c855dabb8e fire in 2d5b14e0a1 my body. My eyes felt cc2a1856ea hot, and my d2cf93c51d pupils dilated.bed0e57af638efce

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The alcohol had 671b02f311 a powerful effect b5583630ee that evening. Intoxicated, it made c9d611a57d me fearless.1ddf2a6abe455782

“Where did you get that dress?”3e7936b4b1a4e8f3

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The Duke asked.66668e180e64107a

“Did you buy it?”7476a4b04a7af6c4

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“No. Madame Pauline gave 99929a2c93 it to me. She said dca1ec64f6 it belonged 5c78a1e3cd to the 15e19019ff former mistress d16f2f35a0 and had b27c3b5a8b been stored 8019d20d25 away…”befdc98c58457657

The Duke shrugged.5b9dfe476b317647

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“Then it must have been my mother’s dress. I thought it looked familiar.”b05cc8bc3e3390a5

His words 61b597fa5d made me 80aa824f01 realize something 26e9a53e15 obvious.e8cb5e1accff7ae4

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‘Madame Pauline’s mistress, of course!’cf3e84ee2e7bf9ad

The mistress Madame Pauline b089d3275a served was his mother. How had I 72c4834304 not connected those 3844510a15 two facts before? I self-consciously 6733afbff0 smoothed the fcc5479a79 wrinkles on 9600809019 my dress.e1d75003a3f333ac

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“Do you know anything about my mother?”caa950507e32f1d2

“Very little.”53097d87617d2900

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Just a small fragment, 123e92767a a footnote in history.552aa41370d6a8c3

“I know df486f4114 she was 0744e1c7d9 Duchess Marie a8138c2e3e Adelaide, His 54fd438c83 Majesty’s aunt…”dfe2975a660227ac

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How did the 20f939e5fb previous kings exert 9f0c3cee08 their influence over 73bf79ef64 the chieftains of 991ef621d4 the barbarian tribes 1c8b373327 after granting them 16b1b73114 land? The barbarians, ecd5aa44fe though a 58de080ca2 vassal, shared 79d237e144 the same 5876085c55 ancestry as 9f55a6a2d5 the invaders bbc925e830 who attacked 20920a721f the south 4401c293f1 every summer. Wouldn’t they be more cc3fe36095 likely to collude with d16eb130f7 them and usurp the 38d2a3eec0 throne, rather than act 22649628e1 as a shield against 3d1b356211 them?62ffc7f750488ea9

There was a 5fdae2af45 tried and effective ee71b2060e method employed in 467297178d such situations; marriage.ac8f0fb5075c949f

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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.af9998c5f7286510

“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?”ff355278b401545b

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“…”b0108c56f370d6c4

“How did it feel wearing it?”22573ac0f90d2bf7

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How did 56584796af it feel 7033450870 wearing the ca9bd6d4cc dress? 92844f29dccf2925

An answer 346a257aee immediately came dc7e667954 to mind, 90d2b03906 but I e833a28b36 hesitated.876b19ace783784b

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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.25ba3897ccd24372

“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…”0a36524a2564815f

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“Is unwearable. The dress is beautiful, but completely impractical.”c55e6f19b9597fe3

The Duke 824c8f72d2 shrugged again, 5fde703ee5 as if 7f83c3a1da he had 7050c31220 already known dc28097228 my answer.265a876e0c5b4c07

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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.”69be1208cfd54688

“…”a52287c7990c3e23

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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?”5e85c5910d63dc28

He stopped there.01dbd0947cf738c2

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“I’ve misspoken. Please forget what I said.”48ac122a740966dc