Chapter 9: Chapter 5.2

Winter had arrived and Lennon, who took care of the gardens, brought a portable stove he had invented, to the greenhouse. It had been made for ladies’ tea parties, and the family took pride in a stove that had no smoke, didn’t burn flesh, and did not smell!

“Your gardens are beautiful any season,” Marchioness of Selby spoke with a smile. “It’s much smaller than the Duchess’s gardens though.”

“Yes, I heard that she prefers flowers over people!”

“I tend to agree with her in these turbulent times.”

The two women spoke in a prearranged manner, and other ladies could only smile. The Marchioness of Selby looked at her daughter running around the garden. She would have told her not to do so, but the lady could only smile since she was playing with Princess Rosina.

“It’s snowing!” squealed the princess.

Everyone looked at the glass window and it was indeed snowing.

“Marilyn, shall we go out?” Rosina asked excitedly.

“It’s too cold, and I can’t run anymore.”

Rosina narrowed her eyes at Marilyn, who did not look a bit tired. “The young duke will come out from the library soon,” she teased and Marilyn blushed at that. Rosina spoke with confidence, “I asked my brother not to stay in the stuffy library. They will start hunting nearby soon.”

Marilyn acted like she could not refuse and readily agreed. The ladies forced a laugh at the girls’ conversation. Everyone knew that Marilyn, the Marquis of Selby’s daughter, had a crush on the young Ihar. Since the Vales did not have a daughter, there was a good chance that she would become the next duchess. Therefore, the ladies who wanted to marry their daughters into the Ihar name would not like the situation.

“Who is that child? What is he doing?” Rosina pointed outside as she put on the coat her maid had brought her. A small child, who wasn’t even wearing a coat, was standing outside. He shuddered as he stared at the sky with his mouth open and seemed to taste the snowflakes as they fell into his open hands.

“He seems to be tasting the snow.”

Marilyn turned her head towards her mother as if to confirm, and the Marchioness of Vale shook her bell with a rigid face and the maid came running in immediately, “Take Canillian to his room.” She instructed.

The maid bowed and went away, and a lady asked, despite the heavy atmosphere, “Is he the child who is staying due to an illness?”

The Marchioness of Vale smiled despite knowing that the lady knew why the child was there. “He’s still weak, and that’s why he’s so small.”

“How old is he?” Rosina asked.

“He is twelve, princess.”

“He is so similar to Kieran. Is he a boy? He’s so pretty.”

“Your question is interesting, princess,” the Marchioness smiled, and Rosina stared at Canillia with sparkling brown eyes. A maid had come to the child, but they saw Kieran wave her away and he gave Canillia a coat he held in his arm. Then the other boys, along with the young Duke, appeared. Rosina blushed while Marilyn spoke. “If he was a girl, I would have been jealous. He’s pretty, isn’t he?”

Canillia now faced Claude and other boys, and Kieran was too close. She didn’t know what to do in this situation.

“Why are you alone, Lia? Let us go together.” Kieran pulled Lia’s hand, and she saw that other boys did not look at her favorably. However, only Claude was indifferent as they walked. Lia found it difficult to meet Claude’s eyes, so she was grateful that he led her.

“Kieran, I have classes,” Lia lied, but Kieran would not let her go at that.

“No, you’re mistaken. Sir Theodore is scheduled to come tomorrow.”

Lia knew she couldn’t lie anymore and watched as her breath turned white in the air. She arrived to see that the servants had prepared hunting guns on velvet cushions, and she began to tremble as she said, “I don’t like targets that do not move.”

Claude sat on a black sofa after eating a grape from a crystal fruit bowl. Lia couldn’t raise her head as his blue eyes stared at her. Each boy now had a servant holding an umbrella over them.

“You promised that you would teach my brother how to hunt, Claude.”

“I did,” he replied.

The boys standing near Claude were smiling for no reason, and Lia avoided one of them who was glaring at her, from what she’d heard he seemed to be named Tolin.

“I have a question,” Claude took a step towards Lia, who had been staring at the scary guns. She fisted her hands as he took a pistol that suited Lia’s height and frowned, “Why did you taste the snow?”

Lia blinked but answered as best she could, “I was curious.”

“Curious about how snow tasted?”

“Yes,” Lia felt anxious even before Claude sneered.

“Don’t street kids do that instead of eating sherbets?” He arrogantly remarked.