Chapter 44

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 44

Chapter Title: How to Survive as the Wife of the Monster Duke

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Ilrin and her group arrived at the Biplten mansion just as the morning sun was rising.

The mansion staff who saw the group entering with the slowly brightening dawn were all horrified.

It was a common reaction, regardless of which house they belonged to—a rare sight indeed.

And for good reason. The four of them had raced there during Biplten's coldest month of April, specifically in the chilliest hours before dawn.

"Oh my God!"

"Madam!"

Even so, the first to rush over were the maids of Crimson Delroz.

They didn't even think to consider rank or status as they grabbed blankets and dashed out of the mansion.

"Oh dear, Madam! What in the world happened?!"

As Ilrin dismounted her horse, three or four blankets were draped over her.

Hands bustled carefully to brush the snow from her eyes without disturbing the blue cloth.

The rest of the group looked much the same as Ilrin.

There wasn't a single spot on their heads, shoulders, or clothes with even a bit of space left uncovered by snow.

This was despite Aden using his power to control the blizzard and the temperature.

It had been that grueling a journey.

Aden, who should have been the most exhausted, looked the freshest of the bunch.

"Knight Commander of Crimson Delroz?"

"Didn't the head of Delroz go out with Madam?"

They had heard that the head of Delroz had left with Madam, but the one returning instead was the Knight Commander.

The servants from other houses whispered upon seeing Den's face.

Meanwhile, those from Crimson Delroz who knew his true identity gazed at him anew.

Truly the Winter Duke, our lord.

Awe-filled stares poured onto the man who had galloped across the continent's coldest expanse at its coldest hour, without even a carriage.

"Escort Madam to her room at once."

Aden issued the order while brushing snow from his own hair.

With people from other houses present, he gave it as Den, Knight Commander of Crimson Delroz.

Ilrin waved her hand as if to say she was fine.

But her gesture vanished under the thick blankets.

"Oh, Madam, you're freezing cold."

The maids' pleas played their part as well.

In the end, Ilrin was half-carried into the mansion.

She turned back to Aden and said,

"Uh,"

She wanted to tell everyone around that Den was injured, but she closed her mouth.

She had realized this wasn't a space just for Crimson Delroz.

It would be trouble if Aden's identity was revealed here.

"Knight Commander!"

As proof, the knights of Crimson Delroz were all treating him as Den, their Knight Commander.

"Our lord commanded that Madam's health comes first."

It was his usual routine.

Relaying his own orders as Knight Commander Den.

But somehow, in front of Ilrin, it felt awkwardly embarrassing.

He glanced subtly at her.

Ilrin's face was lost in thought.

It was plain as day what she was pondering.

Should she say he was hurt? Or not?

She was hesitating.

"……."

Aden met her eyes and pressed a finger to his lips with a smile.

It meant to keep it secret here.

Understanding his gaze, Ilrin turned her troubled look forward.

And let go of her worries.

The one person in Crimson Delroz who could scold Aden was rushing over.

"……."

Not daring to call him "lord" or "Your Grace" in front of other houses, Crimson Delroz's chief physician Beth could only glare fiercely with his eyes.

Ilrin glanced back briefly.

Predicting what was coming next, Aden averted his gaze from Beth.

It wouldn't be true to say it hadn't been cold.

She had spent quite a long time in winter already, but her body—accustomed to twenty-odd years in the sunny lands—wasn't fully adapted like a true winter folk.

As the tension melted away upon entering the warmth, Ilrin found herself down with a slight fever.

The maids, naturally, flew into a panic.

The Madam from the sunny lands—no less a delicate lady from there—was running a fever!

"Careful, gently now!"

"Bring thicker carpets!"

The maids on the 7th floor of Crimson Delroz bustled about.

Among them was Etra, who had just returned with Madam.

She was directing the efforts.

Her stamina was befitting of winter folk.

In fact, Etra wasn't tired at all. She was grateful for their lord's power, which had let them race through April's dawn so warmly.

Thanks to that, she felt little fatigue.

"Is the water not too hot?"

"Bring colder water!"

Madam's body was too chilled for an immediate warm bath.

The maids decided to thaw her slowly.

"Etra, is Den all right?"

Now that they were on the 7th floor, she could ask.

Amid the flurry of care, Ilrin's first question was, predictably, about Aden.

"He'll be fine."

Etra smiled.

But the phrasing—not "he is fine"—suggested she wasn't entirely sure.

Ilrin's face grew a bit heavier as she spoke up.

"Could you tell them to check carefully in case the arrow was poisoned?"

Etra knew Madam's worry was unfounded.

At least none of the poisons from the Winter Lands would work on Aden de Biplten.

No matter the combination.

Even poisons from the sunny lands were the same.

The Esid Merchant Group discreetly procured poisons among their key items from Milo.

The purpose of those small quantities was obvious.

Aden had resistances to most poisons.

Building those resistances had been his choice long ago, given his many enemies.

"Understood."

But Etra didn't reveal the truth.

Instead, she promised to relay Madam's orders.

"You need to rest well too, Madam. Your fever's rising……."

Rather than unnecessary advice, Etra touched Ilrin's forehead with concern.

It wasn't just that her own hands hadn't cooled yet; Ilrin was definitely getting hotter.

"Otherwise, Beth might come scold you right after His Grace."

Scold her?

Ilrin let out a small laugh.

It was hard to imagine Aden—that man—being scolded.

Of course, imagining Beth, who always burst in wailing "Oh, Madam!" whenever she was ill, with an angry face was equally difficult.

"Got it."

Still, Ilrin smiled obediently.

It was because of the Crimson Delroz maids who became several times busier and wore several times more worried expressions every time she fell ill, rushing to her side.

And above all, she didn't want to worry Aden.

He had enough on his mind already.

Now, at last, she truly felt like she was home.

With all tension released, Ilrin drifted into sleep.

A vast expanse of pristine winter snow.

The blizzard blew relentlessly in one direction.

Whichever way it was, Biplten's April was always battered by north winds, so it was probably that influence.

The wind was fierce.

The north wind whipped the snow horizontally, fast and furious.

Ilrin opened her eyes amid it all.

The bone-chilling cold she should have felt was absent.

"Ah……."

Ilrin realized it was a dream even before looking at the mobile.

And upon seeing a creature she'd never encountered before, she thought it must be a precognitive dream.

Sure enough, glancing around, she spotted a mobile adorned with ten colors of decorations, buried in the snow.

"Kyaaak!"

The monsters scampering about had scales gleaming orange.

Though new to her, she had an inkling of what they were.

They raced to take the lead in their group, facing the north wind head-on.

Some even trampled others to surge ahead.

"Get out of the way!"

They were shouting at each other to move aside.

Their movements were so swift that even Ilrin, watching from afar, could barely keep up.

Orange monsters reveling in April's harshest north winds.

They were the Yester Tribe.

Were they attacking?

Ilrin turned her gaze toward where the Yester Tribe was charging.

In the distance, a yellow hemispherical dome shimmered.

Ilrin's eyes widened.

A yellow hemisphere.

There was no other way to describe it. It seemed to be protecting something.

"What's it enclosing?"

To find out, she'd need to get closer.

Ilrin took a step.

In that instant, the scenery slid swiftly by.

She arrived at the hemisphere in a blink.

Just like in the dream she'd seen during the succession ceremony.

"……!"

Even she froze at the unfamiliar phenomenon.

The Yester Tribe horde thundered past her side.

Of course, dreaming as she was, none of the Yester Tribe noticed her.

Some even passed right through her toward the yellow dome.

And what the yellow hemisphere enclosed was a city of people.

"Ah……."

Ilrin reached a swift conclusion.

The yellow hemisphere protected Luminous Ello's territory.

Proof was in the many inhabitants adorned with yellow decorations.

Knights in particular, radiating tension, all had yellow tassels on their sword hilts.

What she was witnessing was a Yester Tribe assault on Ello.

Ilrin had a rough idea what the hemisphere around Ello was.

'If Ello lacked the power to repel the Yester Tribe, they couldn't have established a base there.'

Aden had said that once.

That "power to repel" must refer to this.

Ilrin looked up at the dazzling barrier.

Each time a Yester claw raked it, it flashed a brilliant yellow, almost blindingly white.

Would it break?

Ilrin watched the barrier anxiously.

Then she spotted a lone figure standing beyond it.

"……?"

Was it really a person? Ilrin stepped forward.

Sure enough, with one step like before, she suddenly appeared right behind the figure.

The person, back to the north wind, had long platinum hair cascading messily.

The translucent cape with a blue sheen draped over them offered scant warmth.

Like the cloth of Azure Noz?

Ilrin examined it closely.

She wouldn't know without touching it.

Not that she could in a dream anyway.

Without thinking, Ilrin reached out.

Just as the Yester Tribe had passed through her unnoticed, she should be the same.

Of course she couldn't touch things in the dream.

"……?"

But this time was different.

Ilrin's eyes widened.

The soft texture at her fingertips was unmistakably the hem of this person's cape.

As the cape hem, whipping wildly in the north wind, stilled, its owner sensed something amiss and whipped around.

"Ah,"

Their eyes met.

"……!"

Ilrin's eyes snapped open.

It felt like she'd been ejected from the dream.

The moment their eyes had met.

"Madam?"

Etra hurried over, noticing her ragged breathing.

Ilrin raised a hand to stop her.

"Is something wrong?"

"No, it's just,"

Ilrin swallowed her heaving breaths with effort.

As she did, she recalled the last thing she'd seen in the dream.

Long platinum hair whipping wildly in the wind.

And between the strands, pupils filled entirely with deep purple, without a trace of white.