CH 85

13. The Duchess and Strangers

On a night with thick darkness everywhere, Canaren’s door opened silently. A shadow that seemed to have jumped out of the darkness sneaked out through the crack in the door. It was Canaren, who wore a royal blue cloak over her head like a robe.

Roana was there to soothe her since the morning, and she somehow fed her, so she was exhausted and fell asleep sitting on her sofa.

She came out of the room alone, hoping that the noise would calm down a bit if she got some fresh air outside. Whatever she did, it’s better than lying in bed and sighing or taking a deep breath.

The corridor of the ducal castle was dimly lit, so it wasn’t too scary even at night.

Which garden did she want to go to?

After a moment’s contemplation at the crossroads, Canaren headed to the tiny garden that the Roana called the vegetable garden.

The garden had a glass ceiling so one could see the sky clearly, and it was in a remote place, thus there were few people. It was a nice place to sit quietly alone.

The door to the garden was not locked. As she was about to open the door and enter the garden, she heard a small whisper behind her back.

「Canaren.」

“…Muasa?”

The man took off his hat. The moonlight coming through the glass ceiling hit his face.

It was really Muasa. Canaren recalled the last time she had seen him on her wedding day. It might have been because of Yulif, but at the time, the momentum was so ferocious that he didn’t look sick, but now he was noticeably emaciated. She was surprised by the sudden appearance for a moment, and all kinds of worries came to her.

“Why is your complexion so bad? How did you get here? Has something happened to the village? Is that what has happened? Yes?”

「You look worse than me… Let’s go ahead and talk.」

Canaren let Muasa in first and closed the door. Muasa looked around the small garden and stopped in front of the sign. ‘Caution! This is where the flower seeds are planted.’ The crooked writing was Canaren’s. People misunderstood that it was an abandoned place and put up a sign in fear of ruining the flower garden.

Muasa squatted and touched the soil with his hands.

「The soil is a little dry. It needs plenty of water. How long have you been planting seeds?」

“Why did you come? How did you get into the castle? Does Yulif know you’re here too? Did you say hello to Yulif?”

「Now it seems that the imperial language is more convenient than our language」

At Muasa’s words, Canaren stiffened slightly. She didn’t even notice that he was speaking in Hwira and she was replying in the imperial language until he said so. She felt as if Muasa’s eyes were rebuking her, saying how she could do that.

Canaren avoided his gaze and rolls her eyes down.

「I can’t help it. Because there is hardly any use of the Hwira language in the castle…」

「I wasn’t angry. It’s okay like that. If you want to use the imperial language, use it. As long as we can communicate.」

「Very well … Why are you here? What happened to town? Is my mother ill?」

It was frustrating to have to ask the same question the third time. If Muasa, who didn’t like humans or Yulif, came to the castle, it wouldn’t be just a visit.

Muasa straightened his crouched body and stared into Canaren’s eyes, whose corners were soaring. When he didn’t answer, Canaren became even more anxious. Did something so terrifying happen to the village that it was hard to say anything?

「Don’t look at me, answer me!」

「If you’re going to worry like this, then you shouldn’t marry that person and stay in the village.」

Words that had nothing to do with the question came out.

Did he think she was here because she wanted to live in a foreign land? She also wanted to go back to the village. Don’t speak without knowing anything.

She tried to shoot like that, but no voice came out willingly.

Was she really forced to stay in Pionia? Wasn’t this her choice because she wanted to be by Yulif’s side more than she wanted to go back to the village?

「…Sorry. I didn’t come here for this.」

Muasa quickly apologized, taking Canaren’s silence in a different way. Canaren didn’t say anything, just stared at the ground.

「There’s nothing wrong with the town. Anera is also in good health. What’s the next question? Why did I come? Or how did I get here?」

He brushed the dirt off his hands as he continued speaking.

「Haven’t a lot of humans come from other cities recently? I snuck in, pretending to be a worker. I thought I would get caught and kicked out because I was asked questions, but I was lucky.」

「How did you hide the fact that you were a Hwira? Are your ears covered with hair? Or a hat?」

「Ah, that. Did I need to hide it?」

Canaren tilted her head, looking at Muasa’s ears that were covered by his hair. Muasa’s ears were not as elongated as Canaren, and his hair was long enough to cover the nape of his neck. If he had the will, his hair could cover it well enough. But he didn’t hide that he was a Hwira.

「Then what will you do if you get caught?」

「Everyone was amazed and liked it when I said I was Hwira. They asked me if I knew you, so I said we were close friends, and from then on, they didn’t even question me.」

Canaren blinked slowly, not understanding Muasa’s words this time.

As the ducal castle was large and there were many people coming and going, security was thorough. Recently, Yulif raised the standard so unreasonably that everyone thought they were going to die, but Roana giggled, saying, “It’s just them.”

But they let him into his castle just because he was her friend. They didn’t even doubt.

「I’m not lying. The humans in the castle seem to like you. Since I’m a friend, they annoyed me with questions, like what does the duchess like, what color she likes, and what kind of food she likes to eat.」

「Oh really…」

The people in the castle were busy avoiding her whenever they encountered her, or appeared startled by her. Didn’t that happen when she carried a bunch of nets to give as a present? Somehow, everyone disappeared before she could even say her greetings.

She was about to tell you that Muasa was mistaken, but he took a step towards her. Maybe it was because she was facing the moonlight, his shadow covered her.

「Canaren, are you happy now?」

Canaren held her breath. The word of happiness that came out of Muasa’s mouth felt strangely unfamiliar and distant.

Happiness. It was a feeling that always came to her whenever she was with Yulif. She was happy to see him in the dining room every morning. She was happy to see him drinking tea, and sometimes her toes tickled when their eyes met. Even if it was a promise pushed by her own stubbornness, she made herself happy by silently coming out to keep this promise.

But now… She did not know. Recalling Rena who appeared this morning, Canaren had a hard time answering Muasa’s question easily.

“I knew it would be like this. That human, even though you are here, they said that he brought a new woman.”

「…Muasa, How do you know?」

「When people in the castle gather, that’s all they talk about. That he gave her a lot of outfits and jewelry, and he even gave her a room.」

Canaren gripped the cloak tightly. Yulif was doing the same to Rena as he had done to her. Had he prepared a room for Rena, which he had decorated according to her taste? Did he present a dressing room with dresses in bright colors like flowers? Did he say this to her as she looked around her room in surprise?

—It’s for you. Entirely.

「……No.」

「It’s said that humans have multiple wives. In particular, savages, no matter whether they’re nobles  or not, say that they take all the women they like as their wives. Did you know?」

「Stop it, Muasa. I do not want to hear it.」

「That man will make that woman his second wife. Didn’t that person say anything to you?」

「I told you I don’t want to hear it!」

Canaren covered her ears with both hands.

She hated to hear it. She didn’t want to hear it. Why was he suddenly showing up and talking to her like that? Did everyone in the castle say this? Would Yulif take Rena as his second wife?

Eventually, she lost her strength and fell to her knees. A chill rose from the cold floor, seeping faintly into her skin. She was chilled down to her bones in the chilling chill.

「Canaren, you… I know you like that person.」

Leaning over her body, Muasa carefully grabbed Canaren’s wrist and pulled her hands away from her ear. Canaren looked at Muasa with trembling eyes.

「But I think that person doesn’t like you.」

「…Please stop. Stop it, Muasa.」

Her heart hurt so much to the point she felt so sick like she was going to die. Even if he didn’t have to tell her, she knew it the best.

「People are curious about us. The appearance, language, behavior, and customs are all different. Curiosity becomes interest, and interest can become love. But what you want from that person is not curiosity.」

「…Yulif has never wondered about me. Not once.」

「That’s right. What do you need these words for? I just thought, if you’re happy, that’s it. When you came to town with that man, you looked happy, so I gave up. So, Canaren, be honest.」

—Are you happy now?

「Do you think you can live happily ever after? Even if that human abandons you and makes another human woman his duchess?」

The focus disappeared from Canaren’s eyes, which were shaking like crazy. It was as if the light of her soul had gone out in an instant.

Credits goes to Anon for raw providing + translating, and Selene for proofreading.