Griselda smiled softly. The child’s posture reflected in her eyes seemed to represent his character. Though too young to understand inheritance rights, he likely felt in his bones that his position was less than desirable.

Nevertheless, he pretended to be confident and composed, as if his bloodline was no less than his elder brother’s. While Johannes, the actual heir, didn’t particularly flaunt his pride, this child took the initiative to display it. However, he couldn’t hide his timid heart, shrunk from never fully gaining the attention of parents or siblings. What to do? The blue eyes of the child hiding in the shadows were always anxious and impatient.

“Let me remove the deerskin for you.”

Griselda said, beckoning to the maids standing at the entrance. Two girls approached and began clearing the dishes, while the remaining three supported Inette and led her to the mirror.

“What are you talking about?”

Winfrid frowned without even glancing at Griselda. She lifted the boy’s waist and sat in his place, placing the child sideways on her lap.

“We’ll gather the parchments you’ve copied and bind them into a book. We’ll use soft deerskin for the cover with gold embossing. We’ll use silk for the bookmark and call an artist to add colorful illustrations.”

“Is that possible?”

Griselda smiled at the child looking up at her with doubtful eyes.

“I don’t know. We’d have to try it to find out. We’ll commission the scribes in the library or nearby monastery priests to make it. Valdemar would even pretend to die at her nurse’s command, so how could this be impossible? If they still resist and say it’s difficult…”

Griselda tilted her head deeply. Winfrid’s face came fully into view as she looked sideways into the air. Meeting his gaze, she told a white lie.

“I’ll tell Sir Winfrid, and then you can directly reprimand and deal with their incompetence.”

Winfrid’s eyes widened round. He seemed quite dumbfounded. His cheeks, initially just bewildered, gradually brightened until he wore a completely elated expression.

“It’s just one book after all.”

Who am I, he seemed to say, even shrugging his shoulders. Yes, Griselda responded enthusiastically.

“After that, you can order them to brew wine from water.”

“Should I?”

“Yes.”

“What if I tell them to make armor from cotton?”

“That would be fine.”

“Hmm. Maybe someday when I feel like it.”

“Yes. Whatever and whenever Sir Winfrid wishes.”

Seeing the boy’s unprecedented excitement, his expression etched in her eyes like a painting, she couldn’t help but smile. She stroked the poor child’s head. The unseasonable midday sun gently warmed the nape of her neck.

And then.

“My lady…!”

The short scream came from one of the maids tending to Inette’s grooming. Griselda’s gaze immediately turned to the mirror. She saw Inette, who had recently become as colorless and odorless as garden flowers, barely making a sound, suddenly stand up. The eldest daughter had even straightened her back fully, bowing her head so deeply it almost touched the floor. Griselda saw Inette’s headdress sprawled at her feet, with one maid hurriedly reaching out.

“Are you uncomfortable?”

“Would you like a different headdress?”

Voices asking for their mistress’s wishes poured out in a fluster. Inette covered her mouth with both hands. As if hearing the maid’s words, she shook her head briefly, but it wouldn’t stop. The head shake that started at her neck spread into full-body tremors. There was no scream. Only her completely shattered gaze seemed to fear her own headdress terribly.

“My lady?”

“Ugh…”

As the maid’s anxious calls continued, Inette finally widened her eyes like oil lamps. Her complexion turned so pale it was almost blue. She grabbed the bedpost with fingers that looked ready to break and staggered.

“She’s at it again.”

Winfrid sighed deeply. Griselda couldn’t even respond as she set down the second son. She rushed to support Inette.

“Didn’t I tell you to be careful with your words?”

“Yes…? Yes?”

Griselda’s voice was unavoidably sharp. The maids, who seemed more shocked at their lady’s unsettling state, looked at Griselda with tears welling up in their eyes. Those gazes were restless as one body, as if asking what to do about this.

Griselda shook her head as she rubbed the back of Inette, who had collapsed on the floor and was continuously dry heaving. How many times had she strictly instructed them not to even mention things that might remind her of marriage, nor bring such things before the young lady? How could they cause this trouble by failing to remember even such a simple request?

“Young lady.”

“……”

“It’s alright, young lady.”

Griselda bent her waist deeply. She embraced the entire shoulders of Inette, who was now almost prostrate on the floor. The vibrations of the small body, shaking without sound or tears, were spreading to her chest.

“Let’s not go out today and rest instead. You don’t need to wear a headdress. There’s no need for formality if you’re just staying in your chambers, is there? Not at all, right? So put your mind at ease. It’s alright…”

“……”

“Forget horseback riding, she doesn’t look fit even for a palanquin.”

Winfrid, who had been waiting for her all this time as he was to accompany his sister on her memorable first outing in place of his elder brother, seemed utterly deflated.

“Hey. I’m going first.”

The boy spat out in a sulky voice and left the women’s quarters.

***

It had been a while since Winfrid’s last outing as well. It seemed his condition wasn’t bad, so he had helped with the excursion, but that night he ended up coughing severely and his body burned with fever. Griselda couldn’t close her eyes for a moment as she tended to the child’s sickness.

It was well past midnight when Winfrid, who had been groaning in pain, finally fell into a deep sleep. The night was deep. It was time for Griselda, now as exhausted as Winfrid, to wash up and go to bed.

Griselda let out a long sigh as she went to fetch water for her bath, thinking how none of the three siblings, said to be the most precious in the fortress, were in good health. She thought this too was the sin of the Duke’s wife. Yes. She was truly a woman of many sins.

She descended the stairs in the dark night. Without encountering any guards, a silent atmosphere that didn’t even cry through the night enveloped her surroundings. As the faint light she held and the burning torches alternated, brightening and darkening her path, she suddenly stopped in her tracks. There, in front of the devil’s bedroom.

I’m sorry.

She thought she heard such words faintly.

Griselda stared intently at the door shrouded in night shadows. I… I’m sorry. The apology with no clear purpose continued once more. Hearing the child’s voice, close to a groan straining with all his might, somehow sent chills down her spine. Perhaps this devil was feeling unnecessary guilt over the incident at the recent hunting banquet.

Even then, the eldest daughter had covered her mouth, shuddering as if about to let out a long scream at any moment. Strangely, it didn’t seem like an outburst exploding outward, but rather like a shiver forcing even her soul deep into her bones.

And Griselda couldn’t forget Johannes’ expression as he stood motionless before the disemboweled deer, staring at his sister in such a fit. Was it like the eyes of a human witnessing the world crumbling before them?

“…I’m sorry.”

Johannes seemed to be pacing near the door. His voice was clearer than before. Griselda felt somewhat at a loss. She wanted to pretend she hadn’t heard and leave, but her feet wouldn’t move. It was a strange feeling. While she was unable to make up her mind, the gasping apologies continued several more times. I’m sorry. I’m sorry… Then.

“…Shut up.”

Did she hear wrong? Goosebumps ran down Griselda’s arms.

Johannes’ voice changed abruptly. Though the trembling hadn’t stopped, no, rather his voice was more pained than before. It had become terribly low, making her heart sink. The drop was like the difference between this world and the next. It seemed that this must be ‘that voice’ she had heard about from Johannes’ page before.

“Do you think I didn’t want to be a good brother to her?”

“……”

“Please shut up. Even if the world curses me, you have no right to blame me.”

“……”

“You, I can now say with certainty that you absolutely cannot be… What exactly are you? What do you want from me? Why do you shake me like this…”

“……”

“Be quiet. Shut your mouth. I wasn’t like that from the beginning. Ah, I didn’t know how…!”

The low cry that burst out was suddenly cut off. The atmosphere was as if he had swallowed it himself. After a long silence, the name he shortly spat out was mixed with tears. Inette.

“…I’m sorry.”

Johannes now seemed to have completely stopped in one place. The chilling aura had vanished without a trace. And only then did Griselda’s consciousness finally snap back like lightning. She couldn’t leave this monster alone. She grabbed the doorknob in an instant. The sound of movement from inside the bedroom ceased as if it had been a lie. Griselda took a deep breath, then pressed her forehead close to the door crack.

“The young lady just needs time.”

Did he hear? She didn’t know. No. He must have heard. Because he’s a monster. Her jaw tightened. She continued speaking.

“Some wounds… remain not in the human flesh, but in the soul. Those wounds don’t heal easily at all. But they are bound to get better eventually. What’s needed is completely quiet time to oneself.”

“……”

“The young lady wasn’t just a delicate person, so she will get better even if it takes a long time. As long as we don’t stir things up unnecessarily. So postpone your apology until then. When the young lady overcomes this… That’s when.”

There was no response from inside. As Griselda waited for a long time, the strength gradually left her fingertips. As time passed, the thought that she had been overly meddlesome came crashing down. What good would it do to reach out to such a devil? What was she thinking? Griselda even felt a slight sense of shame. Just as she was about to release the doorknob…

The door opened.