A Tale of One Lady and Two Men - Chapter 22

Chapter 22

The weather was getting hotter and hotter, and it was a different kind of heat compared to the capital. Perhaps because there was a river nearby, the humidity was thick and hot air stuck to the skin, so no matter how much you’d fan yourself, it wouldn’t be any colder.

Mila comforted Nadia, saying that the monsoon season would come after two weeks, and the heat would finally abate.

The monsoon season… Even so, in the past few days, he heard that it’s better to build higher banks than to repair the banks along the Asharam River before the monsoon season would begin in earnest.

A season where it would rain all the time—this piqued Nadia’s curiosity enough, but it was terrible that she’d have to endure this heat for the next two weeks.

She couldn’t adapt easily to the weather that was different from the capital, and so she either stayed in bed all day or immersed herself in a bathtub filled with cold water. It was enough to cool off her body for a while, but it soon wore off.

The scorching heat that continued was something that she could endure enough, but as she tried to adapt to it, she somehow began to lose her appetite.

Because her mouth was parched and it tasted bitter no matter what she ate, she couldn’t swallow any greasy food. Nadia began to lose weight noticeably after a few days of just eating a few pieces of fruit or drinking only iced fruit tea.

Her troubles didn’t end there. Even at night, the heat wouldn’t subside, so she couldn’t sleep. Her nerves became sharper and sharper, and her irritation increased as she had mood swings. It wouldn’t be until midday that she could find sleep as if fainting into it, her body not being able to take the exhaustion and drowsiness.

The maids didn’t know what to do. Throughout this entire time, they stuck to her side to fan her or wipe her down with cold wet towels, but the comfort was only for a moment.

As if the worried murmurs for the Madam of the estate reached his ears, Edwin sent a mage to her room one late afternoon.

The mage Nadia imagined in her mind was either a man who had a long white beard that would go until his waist, or an old woman, but when she saw a young woman who was about thirty years old, her eyes went wide. The woman appeared in a navy blue robe with a hood over her head, and she greeted Nadia politely. It didn’t seem like she was feeling hot in that robe.

“It’s my first time greeting you, Madam. My name is Tasha.”

“Nice to meet you.”

Nadia stared at her but tried not to be too obvious about it. The hair cascading behind her back was black and her exposed hand was pale.

Perhaps because of her introverted personality, Nadia chose consideration more than her curiosity.

Taking out a transparent blue pendant from her sleeve, Tasha handed it to Nadia. As soon as she accepted the item, a cold feeling spread through her as though a cool wind breeze was wrapped around her body. Nadia felt like she could live now.

Seeing her expression change, Tasha gave her simple instructions on how to use it, saying that she would feel cool as long as she had it on her body. Though the spell wasn’t grand, it was such an amazing magic tool that could make her suffering disappear at once.

Tasha also mentioned that if it stopped working, it meant that it’s out of mana, so all Nadia had to do was to bring it to Tasha, not any other mage. Then, she bowed towards Nadia and left before Nadia could reply.

She didn’t know if the mage’s personality was shy or just cold.

The existence of mages was so amazing that she wanted to ask many things, but if the mage’s personality was like that, it’s a pity. However, since she was staying in the same castle, Nadia would have many opportunities to talk to her.

Nadia quickly wore the pendant on her neck. During the summer, she could just wear this all the time.

About three days later, her appetite returned to normal. She managed to sleep more, but strangely, she still felt drowsy and her body still felt heavy. She wasn’t doing anything strenuous, but exhaustion followed her around and she just fell asleep the moment her head would hit her pillows.

It was so strange. While she was suffering from the scorching heat, she wondered if her body had become very weak. It became a constant cycle—she just ate or slept all day, and when she woke up again, she’d do the same thing.

She was worried that the servants might think that she was a lazy hostess and speak ill of her about it, but as she would collapse into sleep at midday, these thoughts soon vanished.

· 

Asheel, who had left for the capital, returned just before the monsoon began.

Nadia wasn’t there to greet him. This was because she didn’t want Edwin to say anything about it and for anything else to happen. Even if it wasn’t for that reason, it would be excessive if the Lady of the household was going to do that much for Asheel, a mere knight.

Half hidden behind the curtains on the balcony, she only peeked at him secretly. She was confused. In the past, she ran away because she couldn’t bear to see him, but it seemed like she’d returned like a boomerang.

Suddenly, she remembered that he told her to make her actions clear. Just thinking about it gave her a headache. She didn’t know what to say. What actions should she take? She couldn’t decide anything clearly.

While immersed in deep regret, she held a hand over her forehead. When Asheel acted as though he was going to give up, she should have taken that chance maturely and walked away. She shouldn’t have given him that bracelet. She shouldn’t feel so disappointed by his cold attitude.

If he thought she was done, he’d hold onto her, and if he looked to be moving away, she would hold onto him. But it was obviously Nadia who started this.

She shouldn’t have started it from the beginning. It felt like a tug-of-war where no one was the winner.

Everything was her fault. It was only right to have said goodbye to him properly without running away from him in that alley back then. If that happened, in the end even if they met like this, he would have lived his own life, and she would have lived her life while trying to please her eccentric bottles.

Her emotions fluctuated. She didn’t even know why Asheel seemed to be obsessed with her. Even if he was from a humble background, he was now the commander of a chivalric order. He had a position and he had his own territory, at the same time, he was young and good-looking.

There should be a line of good families sending him marriage proposals, so there must be no reason for him to cling to a woman, let alone his Lord’s wife.

It didn’t make sense. However, if it all could have been controlled by rationality, the situation wouldn’t have reached this point. She gave up thinking about it quickly.

* * * 

One day after Asheel’s return, the rain started to pour as though waiting for it. It was the beginning of the monsoon season.

A puddle was formed on the rear garden’s lawn, and not only the pond’s water level had risen but also the river’s. Thanks to the riverbank being raised, there was no damage, but there were too many outdoor activities that decreased. She used to enjoy her walks while enjoying the scent of flowers in the garden carefully cultivated by the landscape gardener, and so her regular walks were limited to inside the castle.

While walking and looking around the castle, she encountered many things she hadn’t seen before. Among them, the most interesting things she saw were the traces of magic.

From small things like bathroom faucets where hot water spilled out any time and lamps that didn’t need oil, and big things like magic that maintained the greenhouse next to Nadia’s room and the defensive spells winding around the Elantz castle, their traces filled the castle, regardless of their size.

Whether it was in the large dining hall or at a corner of the hallway, the mages would gather regardless of the location, and Nadia would often hear them having heated discussions and writing words that she couldn’t understand. Their faces looked gaunt.

Whenever she ran into the mages by chance, she tried to look for a familiar face among them, but even if she couldn’t see Tasha with them, she didn’t actively seek her out—Nadia was only a little curious.

The mages were precious individuals. There were mages not only in the Imperial Palace, but also in the Ingram Duchy, but they were generally closed off while staying at their tower, immersed in research that the general public wouldn’t understand. That’s why it’s not a common sight to see them unless a war would break out.

Hence, Nadia considered it to be extremely rare to meet as she grew up in the Ingram estate. All she knew about them was the fragmented stories she heard reminiscent of a fairytale.

It wasn’t easy to quell her curiosity about these mysterious individuals that she finally encountered in person.

For a time, the number of mages a Lord had in their command was a testament to their power. However these days, as it was a peaceful time, there weren’t many nobles who had mages because it cost a lot of money to have a mage in a household.

The mages looked for Lords who recognized their abilities rather than being loyal to those who could pay satisfactorily for their research interests. The relationship between a Lord and a mage was kind of a deal because the Lord couldn’t expect a mage’s loyalty, unlike it was with a knight.

As it was impossible to choose better conditions, it was natural for mages to flock towards Lords who had more wealth. Now, the times were close again to having mages as a demonstration of wealth, but if there was a change, it was that this investment could draw usefulness.

Marquis Elantz was one of the most affluent people in the Empire and as the household that protects the border, he actively hired mages.

She wasn’t bold enough to approach men, she hoped that she could meet Tasha, a fellow woman, by chance.

It was late in the afternoon that she encountered a commotion. It was wet all over because of the pouring outside and the sky was full of dark clouds, so it looked like it was already dark out late in the evening.

While walking without any special reason as she followed the bright lamp lights, Nadia froze after she heard someone shouting from afar. Only then did she realize that she was near the north annex, where she usually didn’t go.

She normally wouldn’t have been interested in something like this, but the reason she was now was because she heard the faint voice of a woman among the shouting voices. Nadia walked towards the sound.

“…told you! It’s ridiculous…”

“…not! What kind of crude…”

The closer she walked towards the sound, the words got clearer and clearer. Nadia, wondering if something unsavory would happen in the castle, hurried over. It wasn’t that she didn’t feel any fear, but she overcame it by taking comfort in the fact that no one would harm the Marchioness.