Chapter 77
No one dared to make a sound.
The emperor has authority and influence over civil servants, and the emperor himself is backed with a strong army. If they agreed with Noah’s declaration that he was the most powerful man in the country, that would mean he was above the emperor himself!
Wouldn’t the king cut off their necks then?
Seeing them being so terrified, Noah clicked his tongue and picked up a folder. It was the document summarizing a report of the duke’s territory.
He unhurriedly gave rough scan over the contents.
「Although not on a large scale, landslides do occur frequently at some places including…
…trees that have been uprooted should be handled as soon as possible to address the flooding issues that reach 1.5 meters in height…
…there is no cause for alarm for this mountain’s volcanic tendencies. However, a monster has recently been acting up, affecting the hills behind the duke’s house. It’s getting worse by…」
“Come here.”
The servant standing near the wall quickly skittered over.
Without taking his eyes off the paper, he asked, “Where is my wife now?”
“Ah?” Why would he mention the madame all of a sudden? The servant thought to himself. “Milord, Her Ladyship said that she wanted to take a walk by the hills—”
Noah cursed out loud and grabbed his sword, abruptly leaving the office.
***
The Harus Hills is connected adjacent to a dormant volcanic mountain, which is why this place was so fertile and full with fields of diverse flowers that blossom beautifully during spring.
“Milady, look at all these flowers! They’re so pretty!”
On the green fields on the hill, numerous cosmos flowers were radiantly blooming. Lina went on a picnic with Adele and was really enjoying herself as she admired the flowers. However, Adele’s mind was elsewhere as she absentmindedly touched a cosmos flower.
“Mn. Right, they are.”
“…”
Lina was initially very excited to see the flowers, but her mood dampened at Adele’s unenthusiastic reply and became silent.
Right, didn’t Her Ladyship say that after she married the new lord, she had frequent mood swings?
Lina thought that it was difficult for the duchess to get used to living with the new, cold-blooded lord when the former lord was such a kind-hearted man. Even if she didn’t say it, Lina knew how she feels.
Lina watched her mistress with a sympathetic gaze.
It was two years ago. When Lina’s mother contracted tuberculosis, they said she only had one day left to live. But then she remembered Adele sending for a doctor and purchasing expensive medicines to extend her life.
Lina felt deep gratitude towards Adele, the person who had helped her, and only wanted her to be happy. She gave a soft smile.
Adele smiled back weakly, not knowing what Lina was thinking about. “I want to sit. Can you find a place where we can spread the mat?”
At Adele’s words, Lina glanced sneakily at the man behind her.
Philip, this big burly man, was actually carrying a pink mat on his back. Lina sniggered inwardly at his comical appearance. Even Adele tried to hold back her laughter.
“I’m sorry, Philip. I made you come here.”
“Milady, I should be thanking you! This is so much better than being in scorching plains with those stinky knights.”
Philip was sincere. This was already heaven compared to training troublesome knights who don’t even listen to him. It’s like he wasn’t assigned to escort Adele but instead was having a vacation.
“Help Lina for a little while, would you?”
“Hmm…” Philip had been following Adele and so far, there was no trouble. He thought it was alright to be separated from her for a few moments. While Philip was silent, Adele thought he wouldn’t agree to let her be so she shook her head.
“I have a lot in my mind. I’ll be near here, so you go and help Lina.”
Having made up his mind, he nodded. “Yes ma’am, please wait for a moment.”
“Mn. Don’t worry about me.”
As soon as Adele finished speaking, Lina beckoned him to go near her. Philip didn’t want to trample on those little flowers, he walked quite carefully that he almost fell.
Lina gave him a disdainful look, “How can a knight be this slow? Hurry!”
He snorted, “Coming.”
As Philip had been following the lady everywhere she goes, he became a little close with the little maid. Adele burst into laughter thanks to the silly banter between the two. She had been feeling blue these days, so it was a good distraction.
Left alone, she stared at the stream in front of the fields with a bitter expression. As she listened to the rippling water, she recalled Noah from her memory.
‘Do you hate me?’
Recalling what Noah had said not long ago, Adele shook her head. She didn’t hate him. He may be scary person, but sometimes…
‘I thought I was freezing to death.’
He has a cute side to him.
‘Live with me forever, Adellia.’
His sad eyes made her heart race. But he…
Adele slowly took a ring out of her arms. It was the wedding ring she had with Enon that a servant gave back to her.
Her face was filled with guilt.
To appease her troubled mind, she walked aimlessly until she reached a brook. Feeling thirsty, she bowed her head to scoop some water and saw that there were countless forget-me-nots blooming nearby. She was happy to see this flower she hadn’t seen for a long time.
She reached out and touched the leaf when an unfamiliar memory came to her mind.
‘Marry me, Adellia.’ In the dark-haired boy’s hands was a forget-me-not. His face, Adele couldn’t see it clearly. Adele shook her head and frowned.
Where did this memory come from? Who was that child?
Adele thought hard, but couldn’t come up with an answer.
I’ll probably remember it soon…
My head hurts, I need a little rest.
She hurriedly walked to where the others were. Lina had already pulled out food from the basket and meticulously arranged them on the pink mat she, she was just waiting for her mistress to show up. Seeing her figure getting near, Lina stood up and elatedly waved her hand.
Adele grinned. But as she was approaching them, a very loud noise echoed.