The Grand Castle was silent yet tense.
While Kalion was up, moving again, the entrance restriction Erna had imposed was lifted. However, Vanessa Schulz still couldn’t enter the castle.
The point of Vanessa’s restriction remaining as is while Adelaide and Ruben were released from detainment brought another wave of unrest.
For the past ten years, the grand duke and grand duchess had been more cooperative to the council than their forebearers. The couples before them had moved with the council but hadn’t easily given up the rights they were born with.
But things were different for Erna and Kalion, whose priority was just to survive; all the while resenting their home countries. With that said, the council was a force the couple could rely on.
Fortunately, their friendly relationship continued even after they’d grown up. Because the two didn’t think they had been taken away when they saw the ever-growing council. On top of that, their relationship with the councilman was less that of a Lord and her vassals and more like a parent and her children; again, a friend they could rely on.
But how could they have completely blocked Vanessa from entering?
Those two are trying to bring the power of the council.
That’s what was going around the Grand Castle.
The reason for the turmoil was only because of that: Erna had called Ruben.
The couple suddenly seemed to be getting along so well these days. Right when the people were about to wonder whether this was Erna’s vengeance a new rumor was started:
That Kalion had called Adelaide.
* * *
Adelaide had been in a state of unrest since this morning.
To be frank, she was waiting for a reply to the bouquet and letter she signed with her name. She was the one who had ordered that a water bottle be handed to Kalion, no matter who did it. So, she thought she would be clearly ignored with no reply.
On top of that, Kalion Hessenguard had invited her to the garden in the Grand Castle’s main building.
No matter how tied up she was in the VIP room, its status was different from that of the main building. Adelaide hadn’t been invited there since her first visit to the Grand Castle.
A castle garden is a very important place in Hessenguard and Aether as well as in Haband. As it was spread out in the back of the main building, it was somewhere you couldn’t enjoy unless you lived or worked there. And that was also a place for the castle’s owner.
So, when there was a banquet in the main building it was a very important matter whether the attendees could get out to the garden or not.
Before coming, Adelaide had known that Hessenguard’s garden was beautiful, but it was only open one or two days a year because the grand couple very rarely had banquets. They said it’s a very beautiful place though.
On top of that, the garden was usually regarded to belong to the lady of the castle. So, after purposely coming to Hessenguard she intended to enjoy the garden during her stay in the main building.
Erna, however, was not the old Erna, and as things were unfolding she not only couldn’t enjoy the garden, she couldn’t even look at it…
How could Kalion Hessenguard call me?
This was very offensive to Erna.
One of the owners of the Grand Castle was bringing in an outside woman who was not his wife.
At first, she’d thought it wasn’t a big deal in Hessenguard, but now that the faces of the servants guiding her were frozen stiff, it seemed beyond common sense even within these walls.
Thanks to that, Adelaide’s mood felt even better. Whatever Kalion Hessenguard’s intentions may be, his behavior now would leave Erna feeling unpleasant.
Adelaide studied her neat appearance she’d fixed up from earlier this morning, from her clothes and jewelry to her shoes and fan. The king of Haband had ordered her to make an effort, so she’d brought with her especially flashy, beautiful things. In case a banquet is held in the Grand Castle to greet her, she ought to show her beauty—the pride of Haband—and let everyone know who she was.
As she had been invited to the garden and not to a banquet, she couldn’t put on every single piece she’d brought, but she’d still groomed herself since dawn.
“Kalion Hessenguard hit Madam Erna.”
Adelaide was surprised at those words. The king of Haband, her father, also raised his hands frequently whenever he was in a bad mood.
What surprised Adelaide was not Kalion’s behavior but Erna’s reaction.
They say Erna attacked Kalion when he hit her. Was their relationship in tatters because of that? Adelaide made an effort to guess Kalion’s mood more than Erna’s.
As he was a Hessenguard, no way he could feel good about being attacked by his wife. Adelaide had heard, on top of that, that since he’d fought with Erna in a less-than-stellar condition, he couldn’t counterattack. In other words, it had been a one-sided fight.
Thanks to this, Adelaide’s maids had directly confirmed that there was a bad atmosphere surrounding the servants of the Grand Castle also.
Adelaide recalled that she had never been hit by her father. Her ability to sense other people’s moods was something she had more confidence in than anything else.
She walked with more confidence behind the servant, knowing how to act next to the greatest power to make herself safe and to his liking.
“This way, Your Highness.”
The servant stopped and bowed as if telling her to enter the garden alone.
Adelaide entered not through the main building but the entrance on the opposite side. Thanks to this, she was able to see the magnificent view of the main building and Kalion’s form sitting in the shade of a large tree in front of it.
He was looking at the main building with his back to her. Then, he turned around as soon as she approached him.
Adelaide unknowingly gulped at him turning around.
She had known that he was a handsome man. At the same time, unlike the skinny aristocrats she had seen at the Haband Palace, the rugged appearance of the knights remained the same. A royal, grand duke, and knightly figure.
I thought you looked very handsome in your outfit the last time I met you…
“Lord… Kalion?”
“You came.”
Kalion looked at her with his shaky eyes and could see that her efforts from the morning were not in vain.
He wore a formal outfit when needed, but that was it; he had never really done his face and hair before.
But from yesterday Kalion had been determined to call in the hairdressers and dressers who were assigned to him.
“Lord Kalion, please fix your hair up just this once. My Lord, please put on a new outfit that fits your form just once.” They’d chimed
They’d also bullied him by asking, “Why are knights that way?”
As such, Kalion gave them the order: “Do however you all want.”
