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“Your Highness, I apologize for the early hour. The Kingdom of Caria has sent a proposal for a trade merger. It seems that you need to consider it as soon as possible.”
Inside the Grand Duke’s castle. Lloyd, who had hurried into the office, approached the desk and held out a letter.
Without looking at Lloyd, Fernan took the letter.
“Your Highness, on a different note, what are your plans for the Empress’ birthday banquet this time?”
Lloyd looked at him and asked cautiously.
So far, Fernan had not participated in any of the major events held in the capital.
However, since this banquet was only for the royal family’s birthday celebration, it was necessary for him to attend.
As Lloyd swallowed his spit, Fernan replied by writing his signature on the letter.
“Tell them I will be there.”
“Yes, yes!”
It was a surprisingly straightforward reply. Lloyd breathed a sigh of relief.
After finding out about Julia’s whereabouts, Fernan began to dabble in political affairs outside the estate.
That was a relief, but…
Six months had passed since he had found Julia and left her there.
However, Fernan was still spending his time as if he was missing something.
So far, the castle has been piled high with marriage proposals from all over the world.
If he didn’t bring Julia back with him, he would have rather considered a new marriage partner.
But Fernan simply ordered all the marriage proposals to be burned without touching a single one.
He even went so far as to officially declare that he would not accept any more marriage proposals.
Lloyd looked at Fernan, whose eyes were fixed on the papers, and posed a question to him.
“Your Highness, are you really not planning to see Her Highness?”
Fernan, who had been madly searching for Julia, did not even try to go to her now.
If he had abandoned his feelings for her, he would not have said anything.
However, his nerves were still entirely focused on her.
For half a year, he had been distributing donations to the small monastery where Julia lived.
He even went so far as to impersonate his second-in-command as a member of the congregation there to receive regular updates on her condition.
The other day, he just received the news that she was sick, and he sent a doctor directly to her there.
“….. Your Highness, we can’t leave the position of Grand Duchess vacant forever. Wouldn’t it be better to bring back Her Highness now?”
To be honest, there were enough good reasons for him to bring Julia back.
The Grand Duchess ran away and abandoned her duties, that fact alone was enough to force her back to where she belonged.
It was certainly the right thing to do to meet and talk to her first before doing so.
However, it was just frustrating for the aide as he was just watching out of sight. As Lloyd sighed faintly, Fernan handed him one of the documents with an unknown expression.
“Leave.”
Lloyd stood hesitatingly even when Fernan ordered him to leave coldly.
But as soon as the cold gaze touched him, he had no choice but to bow silently and leave. And so, when Lloyd was gone, Fernan just looked at the papers for a long time.
It wasn’t until dawn, when the moon was shining, that he suddenly looked up. The snow that had not fallen for a while was scattering.
He stared at the snow, which only made him feel depressed. Then he got up from his seat and slowly approached the window.
It reminded him of Julia, a natural thing to do after a crazy day of work.
“I’m continuing my visit to the monastery as you said. She’s been better since taking the prescription medicine, so don’t worry too much.”
Not long ago, he communicated with the doctor whom he sent to Julia at the Holy Land.
He was glad Julia was getting better, but he was still concerned. The doctor said her heart was not good.
He wondered how long it had been that way. Maybe…maybe it started when she was living in this castle?
Fernan lowered his gaze and let out a heavy breath. Then he threw his gaze to the window again.
“It’s nice to have a lot of snow here.”
Julia’s voice sank like a phantom. Winter, snow, and Julia disappeared.
Still, he had no intention of breaking her routine.
But he couldn’t help but feel the urge to go see her sometimes. Just not executing it was a task he couldn’t handle.
That was because he didn’t want to be Julia’s misery again.
The only thing he could do was just pretend not to see her and hold his breath.
Fernan held his hand still as it began to shake out of habit.
The tremors in his hands that had formed after the loss of Julia still hadn’t gone away.
His life was still like thin ice. Without Julia, there was only a chill in the air every day here.
Now he deeply realized the true nature of his feelings for Julia.
And that heart grew helplessly even in this time when he couldn’t see her.
***
“Gabrielle, I’m going to the Lord’s residence tomorrow.”
Julia opened her mouth in a crisp voice.
Not long ago, Julia had just gotten a small job at the Lord’s residence in the village.
It was because the wife of the lord, who visited the monastery to see the people of the estate, saw the flowers that decorated the chapel and asked Julia to decorate the reception room of the mansion.
Although she was not an expert, her unique and quaint decorations seemed to be very much to the liking of the lord’s wife.
Gabrielle looked worried that Julia was overworked, but eventually nodded.
“Yes, the Lord’s wife is a nice person, so spending time with her will be good.”
The distance between the lord and the people of the land here was not far.
It was a small land, and the lord was not too concerned about high and low status.
“I’m looking forward to it. I’ve heard the mansion is very nice.”
Julia smiled. She had been making an effort to keep things the same lately.
So she didn’t avoid taking on new jobs and meeting new people.
The children had been spending time with her every day, and she hadn’t missed her evening walks with Cedric.
Not long ago, Cedric had been away. So in the evening, Julia walked by herself. As the chillier weather permeated her skin, she realized that winter had come again.
‘Winter. Another year has passed since I came here.’
As she walked along, lost in thought, Julia suddenly looked up and stopped.
“It’s snowing…..”
Julia stared at the snow falling like petals on her head. It was the first snowfall that greeted her here. She reached out and the snowflakes fell coldly into her palm.
She stood there for a long time, like a child looking at the snow. Suddenly, someone’s voice went faintly to her ear.
“There is a legend that if you see the first snowfall with someone you love, your love will come true. Have you ever heard of it?”
It was someone’s voice, familiar and gentle. Then, just like the reply, a young voice also came to her mind.
“Mother, how do you know what love is?”
“Hmmm.”
The little girl’s words were long and troubled, her gentle gaze looking at her mother…. The warm chest that hugged the child whose ear tips were red from the cold.
“I want to protect you, I want to be with you, that’s what love is.”
“Then, does mother love me?”
It was a memory of a childhood day under the falling snow, being held in her mother’s arms.
“Of course I do. Mother will always love you, Julia.”
Without warning, Julia’s mouth lifted faintly as she remembered that day.
Why did she forget about it all this time? Those precious days she spent with her mother, that loving voice she used to tell her she loved her.
Julia stayed with her mother until she was seven years old. Until the age of seven, when her biological father suddenly appeared and took her away.
Perhaps it was because she thought her mother had abandoned her at a very young age. Maybe that was why she forgot all the good memories that she had.
Julia looked quietly at the snow piled shallow on the floor.
After recalling her mother after a long time, even the faces she didn’t want to remember came to her as an extension of her memory.
The Marquis and his wife, steeped in greed and evil. She wondered how they were doing now.
It was certain that they had suffered no small amount of damage since she disappeared.
Julia’s eyes fluttered expressionlessly.
She didn’t want to curse them, but at least she hoped they wouldn’t live as luxuriously as they had before.
***
“This is different. This is not what it looks like. Your Majesty, you can’t do this to me. ….”
Marquis Elody threw the bottle of liquor in his hand on the floor. At the sound, the servants who were standing by the door, looking at each other, bowed their heads, shaking.
A year has passed since Julia’s disappearance. The Emperor had withdrawn the Marquis from his hand and foot position and had never called him in.
Up until six months ago, he was called in several times to investigate Fernan’s current situation, but since he couldn’t get any useful information, the Emperor considered the Marquis useless.
The Marquis, who had enjoyed the wealth and honor of having Julia as the Grand Duchess, could not fully enjoy everything without her.
In the meantime, the power that the Marquis had built up was quickly crumbling.
“Julia, that ungrateful girl must have run away. Yes, definitely….”
“Didn’t you say earlier that she’s dead?”
Grayson, sitting across from the Marquis, replied in a calm tone.
Grayson Elody, the eldest son of Marquis Elodie, who had recently moved to the capital.
“No, she’s not dead. She ran away and made me suffer. How dare she repay me for the grace and nurturing I had shown her so far with this….!”