Chapter 2
“A letter has arrived from the Belum family, saying they cannot lend us any money.”
Ironically, the letter bearing that reply was quite beautiful. Diastha wondered if she could get some money by selling even the stationery.
“There are no more pieces of furniture left to sell, milady.”
With those words, the butler left the house. Diastha sat blankly, pondering what was left that she could still sell.
“You’ve gotten a fair price, considering it’s a worn-down old mansion.”
Were the realtor’s words true? While she had been falling, the North had also been falling. Even Diastha, busy trying to find a way to survive, could not escape the rumors.
“The North? Don’t even go near it. I hear it’s swarming with monsters.”
“They’ve failed another subjugation, I hear. The rumor is they’ve run out of food to give their soldiers.”
“They either flee from taxes and die, or die at the hands of monsters… The North is no place for people right now.”
The old black forest had burned, epidemics had spread, and bandits ran rampant.
The rumors were all ominous. Diastha couldn’t believe her ears. She thought it couldn’t be true, that it was just idle gossip.
But not long after… news even more unbelievable struck the capital.
“The North has fallen! The North has sunk!”
Children holding freshly printed newspapers ran through the alleys, shouting.
In a discarded newspaper, it was written: misfortune had piled upon the North. Epidemics had spread, monsters had overflowed, and debts had mounted to a level where no one could rescue the North.
“…His Great Majesty the Emperor has commanded: Seal the border that leads from the North, and guard it so that no Northerner may cross.”
It was a cold winter that some called a downfall, others a sinking. The proud Belusians became the most wretched people in the empire in an instant.
“That can’t be. It’s a lie. It must be a false rumor.”
One day, as Diastha desperately denied it, she saw a beggar in a dark corner of the capital. The two seemed to be a mother and daughter, huddled together against the cold winter, reaching out their twig-like hands.
Something stopped Diastha in her tracks as she was about to pass them. It was the knotted bracelet hanging from her wrist. A unique Belusan tradition, praying for health and blessings.
When Diastha stopped involuntarily, the mother and daughter also recognized her.
The woman pulled down her tattered robe and met Diastha’s eyes. Then, with her thin body, she knelt and kissed Diastha’s feet.
“So the hope of Belum still remains. I am so relieved you are safe, young lady. Truly relieved.”
She came face to face with the reality she had turned away from. It was not a false rumor. The North had truly fallen. That mother and daughter must have crossed the border illegally, as refugees.
If only they had cursed her. If only they had grabbed her by the collar and spat on her instead of kissing her feet.
“I… I…”
As Diastha stood there in a daze, the knotted bracelet caught on her wrist.
“This is all I have to give. This object brought me safely this far, so I am sure it will help you as well, young lady.”
A knotted bracelet had a fixed knot shape, but the materials varied.
The one Diastha had worn as a child was woven from gold thread, painstakingly made by a master artisan. The one now hanging from her wrist was made of common cloth used by commoners. So it could not be heavy.
Gazing at the bracelet, Diastha gave everything she had to the mother and daughter. She forced it into their dry hands that tried to refuse. Her purse containing what little money she had left, and even her only coat, she took them off and handed them over.
Then she turned and ran away in a frenzy. She had no coat, no money, but it was fine. This level of cold could not compare to the North.
Diastha thought she might as well go mad.
How long did she wander like that? Running frantically, Diastha collapsed as if fainting inside a dark alley. In the darkness, only regret remained for Diastha.
“If only I had been braver, if only I had been wiser… If only I had become Belum’s successor…!”
Then wouldn’t things have been at least a little different? Couldn’t she have prevented the fall of Belusa?
Time passed in the darkness, filled with regret. Through her heavy eyelids, she saw a strand of white snow. The first snow.
Diastha was thinking, I wonder if snow this white is falling in Belusa too.
That was when a faint shadow fell at Diastha’s feet. An impossibly gentle voice spoke to her.
“…You can save the North.”
Diastha clenched her teeth.
“Really? If I am truly given another chance… I will devote everything to Belum. Even if it costs me my life.”
A voice descended from above her resolute stance.
“That chance will come now.”
Somehow, the voice sounded as if it were on the verge of tears.
If this is not a dream, then have I truly been given a chance?
Just as Diastha was biting her lip, her attending maid, Marianne, spoke to her.
“Milady, your tea seems to have gone cold… Shall I bring you a fresh pot?”
“Yes, thank you, Marianne.”
At that, Marianne prepared fresh tea. Then she draped a soft blanket over Diastha’s knees.
It was a kindness that Diastha did not feel worthy of.
Marianne looked at the three-tiered dessert plate that Diastha hadn’t touched.
It was clearly filled with the snacks Diastha had loved most before she fell ill, yet Diastha hadn’t laid a finger on them.
It wasn’t just today. Since rising from her sickbed, Diastha ate very little beyond what was necessary. Even when urged to eat, she would take only the smallest piece and then share the rest with the maids.
Is she deeply shocked? Or could the rumors be true…?
While Diastha had been bedridden, her only remaining blood relative and the master of this castle, Nontel, had come to see Diastha only once. After that visit, he never came to Diastha’s room again.
Nontel had always been cold toward Diastha, but when he didn’t even show his face while his granddaughter was hovering between life and death, even the servants began to whisper.
The Duke has abandoned the young lady.
The rumor was that the Duke, who had once worked so hard to make Diastha the successor of the North, had finally given up on her.
The rumors grew flesh, and soon even tales of unknown origin began to circulate: that the Duke would send Diastha to a convent, that a child from a collateral line would take the position of successor.
Some even went so far as to utter seditious remarks that Diastha had never been successor material in the first place.
No, what do they know about the young lady? Fools! Marianne muttered inwardly.
Marianne had watched over Diastha since she was an infant.
As a child, the young lady used to smile brightly. But after the young duke and his wife died, she became increasingly withdrawn. She was always watching the Duke’s eyes, even afraid to hold a sword.
Marianne herself had begun to think that perhaps, for the young lady’s happiness, it would be best if she didn’t become the successor after all.
But the young lady has changed! No one else knows, but I do!
The young lady who used to whimper at the smallest scratch hadn’t let out a single scream even with a large wound that would make even an adult cry.
And look at her now. The way she lifts her teacup, the way she speaks to Marianne herself—she’s every bit as composed as a seasoned noble lady.
It was a near-fatal accident. The young lady must have changed.
Unlike Marianne, who was inwardly fussing, Diastha simply drank her tea in silence.
If only the Duke could see this dignified manner!
Feeling inexplicably impatient, Marianne opened her mouth.
“Milady, how about you go see the master? If you show him how healthy you are, I’m sure he’ll be pleased.”
And in that moment, Marianne saw it. At her words, Diastha’s eyes flickered slightly.
Ugh… Stupid Marianne! The young lady already knows everything. She’s the one who suffers the most. Fool, idiot Marianne!
Marianne reproached herself and fell silent. As Marianne suspected, Diastha was aware of the rumors in the castle.
Unlike in the past, Diastha had experience living as the mistress of a noble house, managing servants.
So she knew that not all the servants looking at her were as kind as Marianne, and she knew that rumors were circulating that she had been pushed out of the position of successor.
There was so much I didn’t know back then. At that time, I was just happy that I wouldn’t have to hold a sword anymore…
Thinking of her immature past, Diastha let out a small sigh.
If I don’t take up the sword as I am now, the rumors will become true. My grandfather will give up on me.
Marianne’s guess was only half right. Contrary to Marianne’s thinking, Diastha was not merely suffering.
Diastha was looking at the situation coldly. It was just an unfortunate accident. And it was just that the Duke had not come to see her.
But the fact that rumors had spread this far was the result of her own actions up to now.
If I had built a solid position for myself back then… would such rumors have spread after just one accident? Probably not.
Diastha took a deep breath.
For some reason, she had been given a new chance. If so, she didn’t want to let this chance go, no matter what. She wanted to protect this place, these people.
If her position was weak, she would build it from now on. Build it so solidly that no one could touch her.
Just as Diastha set down her teacup, there was a knock on the door, and a young servant entered to deliver a message.
“Milady, the swordsmanship instructor requests a lesson.”
The one who answered was Marianne, now thoroughly angry.
“A lesson? It’s barely been any time since our young lady rose from her sickbed!”
Marianne had every right to be angry. A large scar still remained on Diastha’s side. Even if she looked fine now, it had been a serious injury requiring a healer, a physician, and even an herbalist all working together to treat her.
“It’s alright, Marianne. She’s not angry at you.”
Diastha approached the young servant, who was on the verge of tears. Then she picked up one of the snacks from the plate, pressed it into the child’s hand, and said,
“Please tell him I’ll be there. But also pass along that it might take some time to prepare.”
The young servant nodded eagerly, bowed respectfully, and left. Watching the door the child had exited through, Marianne puffed out her cheeks in frustration.
“Milady…”
“I’ll be fine. Marianne, could you bring me paper and a pen?”
“But… Even the doctor said you should rest for the time being. You even had a fever yesterday.”
“Marianne, this is not a request.”
Diastha’s voice was soft but firm. And at those words, Marianne’s entire body tensed. Not a request. At the young lady’s first-ever command, Marianne’s eyes began to gleam.
A short while later, Diastha finished writing the letter and handed the envelope to Marianne.
“Deliver this letter. And…”
Diastha whispered something in her ear, and Marianne nodded, then opened the door and ran out excitedly.
“Yes! This Marianne shall carry out the young lady’s command!”
At the sight of her oddly over-enthusiastic personal maid, Diastha tilted her head. But soon she turned her gaze toward the training ground visible in the distance and murmured.
“Being able to hold a sword… I suppose I’ll have to prove that first.”
