[TKOSINM] 160 - Kreisen Castle (2)

Time passed as fast as the speed of the carriage. The whole crew arrived at Kreisen Castle in the late afternoon on the fourth day as scheduled. When the carriage stopped after going a little further into the castle’s forecourt, the butler, who had been waiting in advance, politely opened the carriage’s door.

“Thank you for coming all the way here.”

The butler reached out his hand to Irene. Originally, the owner of the place was supposed to escort her, but since the owner of the castle was the Grand Duke, who was absent, it was right for the butler to escort her in his place. However...

“I will take care of it.”

Before Irene could take the butler’s hand, Noel quickly got off the carriage to tell the butler to move aside and then extended his hand toward Irene.

Irene’s eyes widened at his sudden action. Irene was not the only one who was astonished. The butler, who was abruptly pushed out, and the servants standing in line, also looked at Irene and Noel in surprise.

Is that really the infamous, cold Duke?

They were familiar with Noel. Not only did Noel stay in this castle as a child, but they often heard news about him after he left. The Noel they knew was cold and heartless. He always had a cold and apathetic expression on his face, and he never cared for anyone.

Thus, even when they were informed that he was visiting with his wife, they did not have very high expectations. It was because they could not care less to wonder how different he could have been even after he was married.

However, contrary to the speculation, the people of Kreisen Castle were quite stunned to see Noel reaching out to Irene. Only the Grand Duchy’s guards and the mercenaries, who had been accustomed to it throughout their whole journey, nodded as if the shocked reaction was reasonable.

“Wife, please take my hand.”

The people of Kreisen Castle were looking at him in dismay, but Noel only smiled softly at Irene, like he was not interested in anyone else but her. Since the surrounding was dead silent, her voice could be heard clearly.

“Yes.”

Others may be surprised, but for Irene, it was a perfectly normal routine. Naturally, Irene took him by the hand, got off the carriage and looked back at the butler.

What is wrong with him?

However, the head butler was staring blankly at Irene without blinking as if he had caught sight of a peculiar creature he had never seen before. Not only the butler, but all the servants of Kreisen Castle had the exact same look.

“What are you doing?”

Noel frowned slightly at the sight of the household’s butler, who seemed to not be in his right frame of mind. As the butler finally came to his senses, he bowed hurriedly.

“I-I apologise. Duchess, it’s a great pleasure to meet you. My name is Monkel, I manage the Kreisen Castle. Please feel free to call me casually as ‘butler’.”

“Nice to meet you, too.”

“We are tired from the long journey, so take us to a room to rest first.”

“Of course, we have prepared a room for the two of you in advance. I will guide you to it.”

At Noel’s words, the head butler led the couple into the castle.

“This is the room you two will be using while you are here. Please call me if you need anything. Then, I will see you at dinner.”

As the butler left, Irene slowly looked around the room and exclaimed.

“It is quiet.”

The room in Kreisen Castle was not as spacious as the one back in the Grand Duke’s residence. However, it was counterbalanced by the decoration and furnishings, which were of the basic colour tones but still executed with class. There was a dark red rug laid across the floor, a large bed with red drapery embellished with golden tassels, wooden furniture, wine-coloured blackout curtains, and above all, a fireplace filled with wood, creating a cosy and welcoming atmosphere.

“Do you like it?” Noel approached her and asked, as Irene scanned through the room carefully.

Irene nodded vigorously. Her milky tea hair fluttered as she moved.

“Yes. I love it. I think the whole room will be filled with warmth if you burn the firewood in winter. Don’t you think we will have a good night’s sleep?”

Irene spoke as she imagined the best scenario in her head. Cold wind was blowing outside, but the interior of the room would be warm due to the heat from the fireplace. The sound of burning wood crackled quietly, and when she stepped on the rug the soles of her feet would feel tickle. She thought it would be perfect to lie in bed while reading a book. And when she turned her head, next to her...

“...”

Irene’s imagination just stopped there. Soon after, her face began to turn red little by little.

What am I imagining…!

At the end of her imagination, there was Noel, lying in bed, looking at her with warm eyes as usual. It was not much, but she felt embarrassed to have imagined it right in front of him.

He would be offended if he knew I imagined something like that.

With that in mind, Irene glanced at Noel. But Noel did not even notice that Irene was looking at him. He was busy observing the surroundings of the room.

//I wonder if he would be though, Irene…;)

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