The Price of Breaching the Contract - Chapter 35

The long winter, which I had predicted since the autumn rains dragged on, had truly arrived. Clouds, pregnant with endless blizzards, filled the sky with a blackness that seemed to swallow the estate whole.

Yulania looked up at the sky, where no trace of blue could be seen. Ice crystals fell, leaving a cold sensation on her face. She blinked at the touch, feeling her eyelashes become damp.

But it was soon firmly blocked. Yulania turned to Bihann, who had pushed the umbrella in front of her view.

Did he read reproach in her gaze? He opened his mouth as if to excuse himself.

“You’ll catch a cold if you get too cold.”

“It hasn’t even been a minute.”

“You can look around under the umbrella.”

Like master, like knight. His stubbornness was just like Santia’s. Snow piled white on Bihann’s head as he held out the umbrella with an emotionless expression.

“If you get sick, who will protect me?”

“…I’m fine with this much.”

“Don’t do that, come in with me.”

“Absolutely not. I’ll be beaten to death by my lord.”

Bihann, who had been punished for Yulania’s encounter with the demon last time, had not taken his eyes off her since returning to his post as a guard. Santia, who had said he would protect her directly by her side for the time being, went on another expedition before a month had passed.

When the demon entered the castle, he couldn’t blame the weather anymore. And Yulania would come outside and get snowed on like this whenever Santia was away. She would vaguely imagine, is this how he feels right now?

“Princess.”

“Not yet.”

Bihann urged her familiarly. He meant to go inside.

“Your whole face is red.”

“But it’s peaceful here.”

Yurban and the royal investigation team were slow to adapt to the cold. When they came outside, they holed themselves up in the castle as if they would get frostbite from the cold. It meant that there was no one in the outer garden at all.

Unlike the Makari knights, who crossed the walls every day since the demon entered the castle, the royal investigation team did not budge from the safe castle. It was ironic, considering the name of the investigation team that came to investigate the actual condition of the demons.

“We came for major subjugation, so there’s no need to get involved in these minor battles, right?”

The excuse was good. Yurban put off participating in the expedition day by day, using the excuse that it was not yet time for the royal family to step in.

Yulania was becoming increasingly tired of the troublesome things Yurban created every day. As if he had forgotten his short quarrel with her, he sought her out without a care.

“Princess! Ahem, Princess!”

No sooner had she thought of him than an ominous call came. Maya skipped through the snow, holding up her skirt. She watched Yurban and acted as Yulania’s little messenger in the castle. So there was only one reason for her to run like that.

She asked, hoping that Maya would deny it.

“Be careful. Is it that urgent?”

“Princess, the prince is making a fuss in the dining hall! He suspects the head chef and wants to investigate the kitchen!”

“…Haa.”

It wasn’t even surprising anymore. It was amazing how Yurban created new things every time. Yulania stared blankly at the white breath that came out with a sigh.

She really hated the cold, but something she hated even more had appeared.

She had no choice but to look at the detached palace and utter a word like a sigh.

“Let’s go.”

Her frozen legs felt even heavier.

“Princess, your face is as red as an apple! Waa, Vanessa told me to stop you. Your hands are cold too, right?”

“I have to feel the cold sometimes. Winter will be sad.”

Maya kept fussing and nagging all the way to the detached palace. It was understandable that everyone who saw her talked about her face. When she moved her lips to speak, her face felt stiff from the cold.

“Oh my gosh, what are you saying! If you keep doing this, I’ll tell the… Duke!”

It seemed like only yesterday that Maya was intimidated by her when she first saw her, but she quickly adapted by following Vanessa and even made cheeky threats.

Yulania, knowing that she couldn’t say a word to Santia, just smiled and said.

“Oh my. Be sure to tell him as soon as he comes back. I should tell him that you had something to say.”

“Huh? You don’t have to go that far…”

Yulania felt mischievous for the first time in a while at the cute sight. She pretended to be stern and hardened her expression.

“How dare you threaten me with my husband.”

“…I’m sorry. I was too presumptuous.”

See? Maya was startled and bowed her head. Yulania looked at the young maid with a smile that quickly spread across her face.

“I’m glad you seem to have adapted well.”

“Aaa, Princess…”

With Maya’s complaint, her nagging finally came to an end. Only the sound of crunching snow echoed, and as she approached the detached palace’s dining hall, the commotion began to be heard. Even from a distance, they were shouting at each other.

Yulania closed her eyes tightly, opened them, and steeled her heart before entering the dining hall.

“…going to happen! Hup, Princess…!”

The head chef was shouting something loudly, but when he saw Yulania, he looked surprised. Yurban, who had his back to her, immediately turned his head.

“Sister! You’re just in time. I can’t take this anymore.”

In the dining hall, various people were gathered, including the head chef and Yurban. Head Maid Merrilyn and Butler Alban as well. It seemed that they were the people who had been called to resolve the situation before Yulania arrived. As she took a few more steps, she could see that the head chef’s cheeks were red and swollen.

Everyone except Yurban bowed with apologetic faces as she entered.

She glanced at her brother, who was standing proudly in the center, and opened her mouth.

‘Again.’

And she tried her best to swallow the first syllable and spoke.

“What’s going on?”

“Sister, look at the state of the food they’re serving here. They’ve been serving me this kind of thing for days, and I finally said something. It’s freezing, and even the food is like this, so I can’t live.”

On the table that Yurban was pointing at was a smoked meat dish with various roasted vegetables. Next to it, steamed potatoes were still steaming. In fact, it was the best feast in Makari Castle, which was isolated on a snowy mountain. Yulania, who had grown up just as pampered as Yurban, knew that he would complain about this.

Yulania massaged her dizzy head and said to Yurban as if to appease him.

“Look outside. This isn’t a warm capital. You know that everyone is having a hard time.”

But Yurban looked around, grumbling as if he wasn’t listening.

“Still, as a duke, I should at least have some courtesy. I’m trapped in the castle, and I have to eat this kind of food, and the room is cold and damp, so I can’t breathe. I want to go back soon.”

He acted like the owner, taking advantage of the fact that Santia was often away. And as the days went by, he often talked about wanting to return to the capital, let alone supporting the expedition.

Yulania swallowed a deep sigh and barely raised the corners of her lips.

“You’ll be able to go back as soon as the blizzard stops.”

Yurban looked at her sullenly, nodded reluctantly, and turned away. After he left, Yulania felt even more tired and looked out the window at the blizzard. The endless snowfall reflected her frustrated feelings.

At the same time, Santia was having a serious conversation with Deputy Commander Diego.

“If the blizzard continues like this, we may run out of supplies. Moreover, the royal investigation team is here, so the consumption is higher than expected.”

Santia rubbed his eyes and nodded.

“Report immediately if you need anything. But we have no choice but to hold out as much as possible.”

“Yes, I just hope there won’t be any fights.”

Diego added a word mixed with annoyance. They were also fed up with Prince Yurban. It was much better to climb the mountain in a snowstorm.

However, they couldn’t ignore the demons, who seemed to be in league with the weather and were wreaking havoc together. Santia sighed softly as he walked through the rough blizzard.

He hoped that Yurban or the demons would disappear as soon as possible.

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