Chapter 19
“You met with him?”
The Countess asked.
“Yes. I happened to run into him one day when I went down to the village for a bit of fresh air.”
Danian made no effort to hide his mischievous grin as he continued.
“He seemed to have business nearby as well. Thanks to that, I was able to pay my respects, brief as they were.”
By now, his teacup was completely drained.
“What an honor it was, running into someone of the Marquess’s stature by chance. When he said he’d like to speak with me, I was simply….”
“So what is it he wanted you to pass along?”
Sophianne cut in. Danian’s eyebrow twitched.
“Sophianne. I’m sorry, but this concerns a matter with the Marquess, so I must deliver it to Yustina directly.”
After gently reproaching his younger sister, Danian turned to face Tina.
“In any case, Yustina. The blizzard seems to have let up, so why don’t the two of us go for a walk?”
“A… walk?”
This time, even Tina could not keep silent. The words coming out of Danian’s mouth made her doubt her own ears.
“Yes. It’s been a while since I’ve been home, so I thought I’d take a stroll around the grounds. You’ve lived at the estate longer than anyone here, so you’d know the paths best.”
“Well…”
Tina trailed off. It was not the threat of the blizzard returning that gave her pause. What mattered was that they had never once gone for a walk together. Not even once, from the very day Danian had walked through the estate’s doors holding his mother’s hand.
“First you go looking for her the moment you arrive, and now you’re dragging her on a walk?”
The Countess voiced her displeasure once more.
“I’m sorry, Mother. Once the weather clears properly, I’ll escort you on an outing to the capital.”
Danian soothed his mother with practiced ease, then looked squarely at Tina and raised one eyebrow as if to ask, ‘Why are you just standing there?’
“I’ll have her ready at once.”
Before Tina could so much as reply, the head maid answered on her behalf. Rough hands ushered Tina into an adjacent room to prepare.
“I-I’m sorry for keeping you waiting.”
Thrust outside as though ejected, Tina bowed her head to Danian, who was already waiting. She was so tense her words came out in halting fragments.
“Not at all. I just stepped out myself.”
Contrary to Tina’s expectation of some reprimand for being slow, Danian only curled his lips into a smile.
Tina studied that smile for a moment and tried to recall whether there had ever been a day like this one. As far as she could remember, this was the first time a gaze without contempt had lingered on her for so long.
“Let’s talk while we walk.”
Danian jerked his chin toward the snow-covered mountain.
“…..”
Tina followed quietly behind as he led the way. She wore boots that should not have sunk into the snow, yet somehow her feet kept plunging through. His stride was far too fast for her to keep up.
In the strange, drawn-out silence, unease seeped into her skin like cold settling into flesh.
“Lanov Military Academy is stuck out in the southern countryside, but if you head a bit further down, there’s plenty of entertainment. The kind of stimulating atmosphere soldiers go looking for after drills.”
Danian, who had been walking briskly ahead, suddenly slowed his pace and began to speak.
“When a decrepit old man shows up at a place like that with a whole entourage of servants and that clunky walking brace of his, well, it’s harder not to notice him.”
For some reason, Danian found this amusing enough to shrug his shoulders and laugh.
“I figured an old man who’d come that far must have some business worth hearing about, so I struck up a conversation on a hunch. And would you believe it, he turns out to be a marquess, and on top of that, my own sister’s fiancé!”
Tina watched Danian throw both arms up in theatrical delight and felt goosebumps rise across her skin. Something felt off.
“You. It seems you committed quite the offense against the Marquess.”
His voice dropped without warning, and he turned. Cold eyes bore straight into Tina.
“He was absolutely furious.”
It was at this point that Tina realized she had walked quite far from the estate. She looked around in a rush, but all she saw was snow-laden trees and boulders.
“So I made the Marquess a proposal. Told him I knew just the way to soothe his anger.”
“Brother, please wait a moment—”
Tina stepped backward on instinct.
“If you got frostbite and had to have something amputated, can you imagine how delighted the Marquess would be?”
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