Baby Prisoner of the Winter Castle

Quentin looked at the two crying women with uncomfortable eyes, then accepted the letter Maximilian handed to him. 

“Yes, Duke.”

The Duke pulled out another letter and handed it to him.

On the outside, in Brielle’s handwriting, was written “To my dear mother.”

“Give this to Mrs. Woods.”

“Oh… So, you mean the Duchess’s mother, right?” 

“Yes, whoever it is, you must be very polite.”

“Duke, you’re really, it’s obvious.” 

Quentin smiled as he also put Brielle’s letter in his arms.

“Originally, it was said that the daughter should resemble her mother. Mrs Woods must be a beautiful and elegant person like the Duchess, the queen of snowflakes. Isn’t it?”

“…I guess so.”

Maximilian gave an awkward answer and then looked away.

“Duke, are you really embarrassed right now?!”

It wasn’t.

Absolutely not, Maximilian couldn’t answer anything like someone who had been stabbed in the middle.

“Oh my, knights, look here! Our Duke— heup! Don’t stare at me like that! My life span is shortened… i, it’s nothing.” 

Quentin spotted Clarisse rubbing her eyes with the Duchess in the distance and quickly shut her mouth. 

“Stop it and go.”

“Phew, I understand. I’ll see you in the capital then.”

“Yeah. “

The waiting soldiers pushed Asela and Bessie into one carriage.

With Quentin in the lead carriage giving a signal, the procession departed for the County.

* * * 

Clarisse watched it from the side of the garden, holding a broom.

‘It’s really fortunate.’

When he realized that the Duchess was lying to him, she was worried that some dark clouds were gathering over Sheridan. 

‘But it was fine. That’s because the Duke and Duchess love each other with all their heart.’

And Clarisse was very grateful for the inner wall that had been observing them.

‘I’m glad the inner wall informed me of the situation.’ 

Clarisse thought that she would have to pay more attention to the story of the inner wall in the future.

Even to repay the Duke and Duchess.

‘No, it’s not just the two of you that I’m thankful for.’

In this mansion, there were many other people who did their best for Clarisse.

In addition to Rosalie and Sir Benson, who always take care of her close by, the chefs who cook delicious food, the gardener who introduces her to new trees and grass whenever she plays in the garden, and even the servant who brings her firewood—.

Clarisse wanted to return the favor to them all.

Although she is a prisoner and won’t do anything great.

“Is it outdoor activity time?”

Soon, Maximilian approached her.

“Hello, Duke!”

Clarisse quickly greeted him politely.

“I was learning how to sweep the snow. They say all Sheridan’s children should be able to do this.”

Clarisse tried to remove the hat that covered her ears as a courtesy to the Duke.

But somehow, he pulled the ribbon on the hat to keep it firmly in place. The fur on her hat wrapped around her cheeks, making it even warmer.  

“You shouldn’t catch a cold.”

Clarisse fiddled with the knot in her hat and answered bravely.

“I’ll never get sick.”

“That’s right.”

And Maximilian glanced behind Clarisse.

Brielle was there, so Clarisse thought it would be best to give them some room at this point. 

“You know. I found a very long branch over there, is it all right if I go pick it up? I mean… all by myself!”

Clarisse insisted on being alone. If she didn’t do this, she felt that the kind Duchess would follow her.

“Yeah, did you say that you were recording the length and shape of the branches you picked up every day?”

“Yes, maybe I will find the longest branch!”

“There should be no leaving the garden.”

“Of course. Thank you for your permission.”

Clarisse greeted the two of them and quickly turned around and started running.

She looked at the two people standing side by side from a distance—.

Coincidentally, Maximilian was wearing a hat and Brielle was wearing a ribbon in her hair.

“As expected, they resemble that snowman.”

Thinking so, Clarisse rushed under the outer wall again.

* * *

Clarisse moves away, and there is an awkward silence between them as they are suddenly left alone.

“Ah, that.”

As if the silence was unbearable, Brielle spoke first.

“I asked the gardener’s grandfather to teach her how to sweep the snow. Clarisse said she wanted to do so.”

The fact that she had chosen a good teacher was evident from the neatly cleared snow pile.

“Gardener’s grandfather has been feeling a bit down lately, but today he feels a little better after teaching Clarisse.”

“That’s a relief. Maybe it’s because of wife’s fifth anniversary. Uhm, and… Hmm.” 

Maximilian cleared his throat for no reason and told her another story first.

“That… Didn’t you have one last thing to say?”

“Are you talking about the Lady?”

Maximilian was a little uncomfortable at the title of the still unchanged Lady, but answered without expressing it.

“I heard you’ve been bullied for a long time.”

“That… that’s true.” 

Brielle finally looked at Maximilian properly as she straightened her grip on the broom she was holding.

“But I’ve also been helped with my mother’s medical expenses. I didn’t want to come out and brag just because things had changed a bit.”

“That’s respectable consideration.”

It was his sincere compliment, but she smiled faintly and shook her head.

“If you know my true feelings, you won’t be able to tell me that much.”

“True feelings?”

“Me too, Duke.”

She paused for a moment and took a deep breath.

“Pretending not to know, I just knew that showing how well I’m doing hurts the Lady the most.”

“….” 

“So, let alone respect, shouldn’t it be criticized for being very vicious?”

In response to the roundly pursed lips of the question, Maximilian quietly looked away.

He saw Clarisse whimpering from a distance as she lifted a long branch. 

“…I.” 

He fixed his gaze on the child and gave an answer.

“I think your way is cool.”

Finally, Clarisse held a branch longer than her legs high over her head. 

The excited child jumped up.

“Miss Brielle.”

When he carefully called her name, the answer came back with a flinch. 

“Y, yes?” 

“Yesterday, I received a call from the Capital Central Hospital. A hospital room has been prepared for Mrs. Woods.”

In the letter the Duke sent to the Count’s family, the treatment of Mrs. Woods, Brian’s adoptive mother, was also written. 

She will now be treated as the ‘Duchess’s mother’ and will be treated at a hospital in the capital. 

“Thank you very much. I don’t know how to repay this favor.”

“No, we shall soon be going to the capital and see her in no time.”

In fact, Maximilian had even considered bringing Mrs. Woods to Sheridan. 

However, the weather here was too harsh for patients from other places to live.

‘…Besides.’

He glanced at Brielle. 

‘With her mother as an excuse…It would be like holding her back.’ 

That wouldn’t be too different from the horrible things the Count of Darrington had done. 

This time, Brielle was able to escape her long agony.

But that didn’t change the fact that she accepted an unwanted marriage.

‘I have to let her go someday.’

He forced himself to repeat this fact.

What he always thought of casually feels particularly painful—.

“Wow!”

Clarisse’s clear voice flew between the two who had been silent.

It seemed that she had found something in the spot where she lifted the long branch.

The child carefully set down a branch beside him and picked up something from the floor.

“Grandpa! I found a treasure in the garden!”

And the child waved her arms wildly at the gardener sweeping the snow in the distance.

What does it mean by treasure? 

The Duke looked at the child with a puzzled gaze. He didn’t know there were treasures buried in his garden.

Clarice lifted the object she had picked up.

“Ta-da! It’s a cute thimble!”

It’s just a treasure with a thimble…? 

Maximilian’s questions were quickly resolved.

When he heard the story of the thimble, the gardener threw away the broom he was holding and ran to pick it up quickly.

He treats it very preciously, like a real treasure.

“Oh my! I thought I would never find it!”

He carefully brushed off the dirt from the thimble and held it close to his chest.

“Thank you, thank you very much.”

“Hihi.” 

“How on earth did you find this? No matter how much I searched for it, I couldn’t find it, so I was sighing while looking at the wall every day…” 

“Um, I don’t know either. But I’m glad I found his grandfather’s treasure. Aren’t you going to sigh while looking at the wall now?”

“Of course.” 

“That’s a relief. Wow!”

Clarisse lifted the long branch again and let out a laugh.

The Duke, who watched this quietly, recalled what Brielle had just said.

‘Did Clarisse come forward first and say she wanted to learn how to sweep the snow from the gardener…?’

And that by ‘accidental’, the gardener found his wife’s missing thimble and returned it, calling it a ‘treasure’?