novel
| ← Ch.009 | Ch.011 → |
She showed Sienna and Chelsea the room. Though not large, the room looked warm, and there was a window overlooking the garden. There was a hint of care to every little thing, such as the vase full of red flowers on the bedside table, the picture hanging in front of the bed, and the gold candlestick.
"This line is connected to the maid's room below, so if you need anything, you can pull it."
"Thank you for your care. I wish I could've visited to Aunt Kelly sooner. I don't know if she remembers me because it's been so long."
"Clearly, Kelly will be happy to see you, too."
Jane took Chelsea out, saying that she would show her another room.
Sienna sat on her bed without changing her clothes.
She was now eighteen years old, but she couldn't act like she was eighteen. Five years. In that short, short period, Sienna had experienced too many things. Many things were certainly different from what they used to be.
Although she was acting naturally, she was nervous about someone thinking that she might be acting strange. Chelsea, in particular, had been around since Sienna was born. It was obvious that Sienna's change would be the most acute for her.
Chelsea, however, did not seem to have noticed, and that was because of all the excitement. But, how much longer could Sienna think of herself as the woman who had gone through those five years? Even if she seemed a little different from usual, others would think it was just the whims of an adolescent girl.
"Have I really come back?"
Sienna sighed deeply, alone in the room. She was glad to be back before her marriage to Carl, but she was afraid that would all turn out to be an illusion, and that what she saw when she died by Carl's sword had been true.
*
Sienna followed Jane to Kelly's room. The candlestick in the room was red, but it was dark. Even the air was heavy and stuffy.
Kelly was confined to her bed. There was a peculiar smell of sick people in the air, the smell of a woman tired of suffering.
Come to think of it, Sienna seemed to have been extremely reluctant to go into Kelly's room because of the smell. She had only been eighteen years old at the time. For a girl standing on the threshold of becoming an adult, it would have been difficult to overcome the instinctive fear she had felt when she had been with someone facing death.
But now, it was different. She had the body of an eighteen year old, but she was not young as she was to fear it anymore.
"Sienna..."
Kelly stretched out her hand helplessly. Sienna sat by the bed and held the woman's hand in hers.
"Hello, aunt Kelly."
"Yes, Sienna. Do you remember me?"
"I don't remember perfectly because I was so young, but I do remember that when I was young, I sometimes visited you with my mother when she was still alive."
After her mother died, Sienna had thought it to be because of the environment of the North that aunt Kelly never showed up, so she didn't come to blame her father for it, but...
"Looking at you and your red hair reminds me of Sera."
Tears streamed down her cheeks. Sienna comforted Kelly by rubbing the back of her hand against her cheek.
"Do I look a lot like my mother?"
"Yes. You look exactly like her. Your lovely cheekbones and thick lips look very similar. Still, your forehead looks like that of your father, Duke Waters. Is your father healthy and well?"
"Yes, he is still healthy. Just like always, he goes out early in the mornings to train the knights and look over the soldiers who stay on guard until late at night. My brother's still upset that he can't beat our father with swordsmanship."
"Yes. He's a knight to the bone. He's not like the women who shout chivalry or the capital's knights. He's a real knight who stands on the battlefield. You must be proud of that kind of father."
Sienna nodded.
"Cough, cough!"
Maybe because she talked a lot, Kelly coughed. Jane, the butler who was standing next to her, grabbed a spoonful of water and gave it to Kelly. Sienna felt the need to do that for her aunt herself, so she got Jane to hand the spoon and the glass of water over to her, saying she would do it. Sienna carefully poured water into her mouth.
Kelly seemed to want to talk about her father and brother some more. Only fifteen days had passed since she had left Heidel, but for Sienna, it had been quite a long time ago. Sienna retraced her memory.
"You remember my brother? Jamie Oliver. He's grown a lot. He goes around bragging that he's going to be taller than our father soon. His dream is to become a sword master like our father, but I'm not too sure if he has talent for the sword. He's no match for Old Lord Kale. Sir Kale is said to be the senior sword expert, and the person who's held a sword for more than thirty years, but in my eyes, I see a grandfather who would find holding a sword difficult."
"Cough, cough! If he's a senior level sword expert, that's a big deal. These days, it's hard to find any sword experts in the Royal Knights."
"Really? There are a lot in Heidel..."
"That's Heidel, so..."
It was like she had said. With the town being located in front of a black forest where people fought battles big and small every day, the swordsmanship of the knights there was bound to grow rapidly.
I wonder what happened to Heidel after Arya's rebellion...
"Sienna. Cough, cough! Your facial expression doesn't look so good."
Kelly's words awoke Sienna from her daydreaming.
"Oh, I miss my father and my brother. I haven't seen them in about fifteen days, but I feel like I haven't seen them for five years."
"Sienna..."
In the past, Sienna hadn't been able to return to Heidel Castle because she had received a proposal by the Imperial Family as soon as her coming-of-age banquet had ended. She had been missing Heidel quite a bit.
The beautiful scenery of endless snow fields that stretched out from the windows. No, more than that, it was the people of Heidel who she missed even more. Sienna, who was the daughter of the Lord of Heidel Castle, missed the warm greetings, but more than that, she missed her father and brother.
Sienna had missed that warm feeling that she did not get from the people of the Imperial Palace, who were colder than Heidel's snow.
"It's OK. Maybe it's because it's your first long trip. It's not like you'll never see each other again."
This time, she was going to make a different choice from her previous one. She didn't think she'd accept the proposal because she was not going to fall in love with Carl again. If she hadn't married Carl, those terrible five years wouldn't have happened. Sienna planned to go back to Heidel and live quietly after her coming-of-age ceremony.
It's not that she didn't have the heart to take her revenge on Arya. What Arya had done was simply unforgivable, and Sienna wanted to tear her up and kill her.
However, she was afraid that, if she involved herself with Carl like she had done in the past, the past would repeat itself. And for Arya, who was greedy for power, that, in a way, might be the greatest revenge. Without Sienna and Joseph, she wouldn't have the chance to make a play for the crown.
"Yes. Don't be so disappointed. You can go back to Heidel Castle after the ceremony. In the meantime, time will go by quickly if you look around. Is there a place you want to go to?"
There was one place that came to her mind when Kelly said that. The place of the black cat named Coco and the priest who had called her his life's savior. He had asked her to absolutely come find him at the temple and had said that they would be waiting at the temple's gate until she came.
"I heard there is a temple inside the city. A temple dedicated to the Goddess of the Earth."
"Oh, it's a small but beautiful place. It's too late today, so go there tomorrow. Jane will guide you."
Sienna nodded.
"Other than that, aunt and Jane look very close. I feel affection when you call Jane's name. You know, Jane even calls you Kelly and not master..."
At Sienna's words, Kelly smiled softly. Her smile oozed affection for Jane.
"She's a very kind and loving child. She's the same as any child by blood."
Sienna nodded. It was clear that Jane had become a huge support for Kelly, who had lost her husband early and had lived alone in the capital with no children.
"Thanks to this child, the business has been able to continue without any problems..."
At Kelly's words, Sienna asked with a tilt of her head, "The business?"
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