CH 12

I failed.

“It’s morning.”

“…”

“My lady, you have to get up now.”

Hearing the familiar voice, I opened my eyes. Betty was standing next to the bed. Damn it. I promised myself I’d stay up all night, but at some point, I fell asleep. I glanced at the spot next to me. The man who hugged me last night already disappeared. When I touched the bed sheet, it was clear he woke up early and left, or I overslept.

“My lord has already eaten in his office. You must also get ready.”

I suppose the latter happened. At Betty’s command, the maids waiting outside the room rushed in. Just like yesterday, they began to bring in clothes and jewelry.

“This is the dress for the morning. This one is for the afternoon and this one is when you go on your afternoon stroll. Here’s the dress for dinner.”

It somehow got worse. As I stared at the dress in front of me, my gaze drifted to the one at the end. It was a beige dress rather than the blue one I wore before, but it was more eye-catching because of the golden embroidery. The same could be said for the shoes. My heart sank seeing the high heels.

“Today is when you’ll receive Carcalos, right? Usually, you’d get it after the wedding…” Betty murmured as she prepared my bath. She didn’t choose that dress because the ceremony was simple. “I chose the beige one because it reminded me of a wedding dress.”

“You didn’t have to.”

“Traditions are important, my lady.”

I noticed there was a hair ornament with a veil attached to it. I slid it back under my bed.

“Beige suits you, my lady.”

“I know. However, I don’t wear clothes in that color because I’m worried the fabric might look like it’s blending into my skin.”

“Do you have any makeup that makes your skin paler?”

“I do, but…” Although there was a method to create such makeup, I had never done it before. Witches with pale skin didn’t need those products in the first place. “I’m not sure if we have everything necessary to make it.”

A list of herbs popped into my mind. I thought I saw some around Havel Castle, but there were still others.

“We can look for them together!”

“Ah, right. We can buy them from the apothecary.”

There was an apothecary in a nearby town. There were all kinds of shops in the city, but an apothecary allowed one to see what herbs were available in the area. The maids were excited about the new makeup.

“Why don’t we wait until those outsiders leave the castle?” said Rhonda who was carrying a jewelry box.

I agreed.

***

“Good morning, my lady.”

After I finished dressing up, I left the room. Two men approached me and bowed. It was Jade and Alan. What a strange combination.

“…Are you waiting for my husband? In the morning, he…”

“No, we were waiting for you.”

“My lord told me that I cannot be away from you even for a second.” Jade gestured to his sword.

Even the butler nodded with a stern expression.

“Are you sure there’s an enemy in the castle? Maybe he’s overreacting.”

Jade and Alan shook their heads.

“My lord has survived many assassination attempts since he was a child. He’s quite knowledgeable about these sorts of things.”

“…Did he have a rough time growing up?”

“He’s been through a lot.” The butler nodded. “Last year I was poisoned during my lord’s visit to the royal capital. It was a good thing someone was there to help me at the time.” He shook his head as if to show that thinking about the incident was terrible enough.

“Do you know who’s behind it all?”

“Who else?” Jade replied. “The Mad Prince himself.”

“Sir Luen!”

“What? I’m not wrong.”

“Yes, however… Someone might overhear you!” The butler’s face turned pale. Meanwhile, Jade grinned.

“Now His Highness is aiming for my lady’s life. That’s why my lord isn’t taking any risks.”

The Mad Prince. Everyone may agree, but no one could say it out loud because it can be seen as slander against the royal family. Jade’s courage was admirable.

“Don’t worry, my lord isn’t called the Black Reaper for nothing. He will protect you.”

I was surprised by his brazen attitude, and Jade mistook it for me being concerned about assassins.

“I’m curious… Why is he called the Black Reaper?”

“Care to take a guess?”

I could see the butler’s expression change, but I ignored it. Based on my observations so far on Jade Luen, it seemed he was always like this.

“I’m not sure. Is it because his hair’s black?”

“That would make me the Red Reaper and you the White Reaper, no?”

Oh? I was certain it had to do with Lukas’s hair color. I looked to Betty for help, but she shook her head. She didn’t know either.

“Then what’s the reason? Why is he even called a reaper?” The image of a cloaked figure wielding a scythe didn’t fit him, and the word “reaper” itself bothered me.

Jade nodded as if he read my mind. “At a glance, my lord is nothing like a grim reaper. However, unlike his appearance, his personality is far from being pure…”

“I can see that.”

“Sir Luen!” The butler’s complexion worsened at the blatant disrespect.

“You’re not going to play a trick on me, are you?” I asked.

Jade’s laughter resounded through the hallway. In the end, the knight, after being kicked in the shin by the butler, coughed and became uncharacteristically serious. “When my lord was thirteen, the previous duke and his duchess passed away from a sudden illness.”

“An illness?”

“Yes, there was an epidemic in the Edelin Empire at the time. When the Kingdom of Byrne heard of the previous duke’s death, their army crossed the border and invaded Havel. There was no better chance than this. The Guardian of the North who prevented their conquest of the Edelin Empire was dead. It occurred during the funeral of the previous duke and duchess.”

“My lord had no time to think,” Alan added, perhaps realizing he couldn’t stop Jade from telling the story. His expression also implied I had to know about it eventually.

“As the new Duke of Havel, my lord led the Order of Phyllia to the battlefield. Since he was still in mourning, he went out in his mourning clothes. His appearance was like the scythe-wielding figure one would see before dying. Thus, my lord earned the title of the Black Reaper.”

“Wait, he was thirteen? How… How can you send a thirteen-year-old boy to fight? Was there no one to stop him?”

The butler sighed. “The Edelin Empire is only safe when the Guardian of the North has his sword stained with blood.”

In other words, regardless of what anyone said, Lukas must bear that fate, for he was born as the next duke.

“Well? My lord is a scary person, right?” The knight smiled. He wanted me to be unnerved.

Sorry, but I was only slightly surprised. If anything, I was angry the adults sent a child off to war. “I’m a witch. You’re going have to do better than that.”

Humans called me a beast, a monster. A thirteen-year-old boy with a sword who also had no time to mourn the death of his parents was nothing.

“Oh, I just realized something…” Jade chuckled. “A witch and a grim reaper go well together, right? Wouldn’t you agree, my lady?”

“I also realized something.” I smiled. “I think I know why Sir Cross yells at you every day.”

The knight grimaced as the butler nodded.

“Since you understood that, you’re already part of House Havel.”

“Of course my lady is,” Betty replied.

Jade grumbled, murmuring that he was being bullied by the servants and his lord’s wife.

“The people of Havel are far from cultured. I can’t believe the savage is allowed to laugh and walk around in broad daylight. Tch…”

I saw a man approach us from the end of the hall. Before I knew it, Count Dorison stopped in front of me. His gaze flitted between Jade and Alan.

He clicked his tongue. “Have the Havel Knights sworn their loyalty to a witch? Isn’t it a disgrace to be a witch’s dog?”

The butler’s face was red, angry at the blatant insult to Havel. Jade was laughing. What was so funny?

“…Sir Luen, I don’t think you’re in a position to giggle. I’m concerned you’ve gone insane by spending time with a beast.”

“Ah, it seems the count isn’t aware.”

“…”

“I was never normal.” Jade implied he was Havel’s official lunatic.

“This is not the proper decorum of a knight who protects Havel. You’re no better than a rabid dog.”

“You’re His Highness’s dog.”

“Excuse me?”

“Let’s not fight here as mutts, Count.”

In terms of hierarchy, Jade, who was a knight, shouldn’t be disrespectful to a count.

Alan whispered, “Sir Luen is actually the eldest son of his family. His father, the oldest count in the North, owns land in other countries.”

Oh. I was in disbelief this red-haired man was going to be a count eventually. The butler nodded as if he understood my surprise.

“I hear the royal family is in a state of panic. For them not to appear in Havel means they’re hiding something,” Jade said.

“What are you trying to say?”

“I don’t think the count is here to see my lady. I also doubt you want to congratulate my lord on his marriage.”

The butler was glaring daggers at Jade.

“Well, I always put the royal family first. I am a subject of His Majesty after all.”

“Yes, yes. Oh, you got married not too long ago, right?”

As soon as the topic of his marriage was mentioned, the count’s expression changed.

Jade’s green eyes were almost sparkling. “We couldn’t send a letter because we were out on the battlefield. Congratulations, Count Dorison.”

“Ahem, y-yes, thank you.” The count seemed eager to end the conversation.

“Your wedding was just as low profile as my lord’s. I almost thought you married a witch yourself.”

“I wouldn’t marry a beast!”

“I know. She was a baroness with a good background.”

“And?”

I had no idea where the conversation was going.

“You’re quite remarkable to be an ally of the crown prince. Your wife, however. His Highness… He’s very promiscuous. He also has a strange hobby of marrying off his favorite lover to one of his subjects.”

“…What?

“It’s a shame he gives them away. I wonder if she thinks about him while in bed…”

“Sir Luen, please,” the butler warned.

“I’ve talked about something vulgar. I’m deeply sorry.” Jade didn’t look the least bit sorry.

“You have the audacity to mock an aristocrat? You are said to be a future count, but until you inherit the title, I am of higher rank!”

Some passersby stopped to watch how their quarrel would unfold. Worried, I glanced at the butler. He was tugging Jade’s arm.

“Sure, but don’t you despise my lady for being a duchess? Speaking of the nobility, I heard there used to be a gentleman who plowed the fields… Do you think by just wearing expensive clothes, you’ll be a nice person?”

“You rascal! How dare you…” Despite being angry, he didn’t attack Jade who was a knight. The count’s gaze turned to me. “It’s all your fault! Because of you, everyone has gone mad!”

“My lady has nothing to do with this!”

The count grabbed me.

“My lady!”

“Don’t come any closer unless you want to see a witch dead on the floor!” He pulled out something from his inner coat pocket and pressed it against my neck. It was a dagger.

Jade and the butler hesitated to move. I felt a faint stinging sensation; I was bleeding.

“What a wretched beast… You’re nothing but a monster!” He slammed me against the wall and began to choke me.

“Augh!”

I was momentarily stunned by my head hitting the wall. It was hard to breathe. If only I could use magic… I suddenly recalled my husband on the night he strangled me. I was in a similar situation, but Count Dorison actually wanted to kill me.

I didn’t want to die. “S-Stop…”

“Shut up! Shut up!” His grip around my neck tightened. Perhaps he was thrilled to have a witch at his mercy. “I’ll just kill you right here, right now. I’m sure His Highness wants this. No one knows him better than me. I’ll gouge out your red eyes and present them as a gift before burning your body. I’m sure His Highness will—”

“Excuse me.”

“…”

“Let her go. Now.”