It was a story about a princess who lived in the north, surrounded by cold and terrible wolves and icefields. Not knowing what spring was, she lived her life contentedly in this harsh environment until one day, she met a prince from the south and discovered love. It was the first fairy tale that Jeremy, who has no interest in love stories, wrote just for his young niece.

Did the princess in that fairy tale end up happy? 

Rowena, who had been looking back at her memories for a while, simply shook her head, fairy tales were fairy tales, and reality was reality. And then, Melissa broke through her reverie just in time.

“If you go there now, you’ll stay for a long time, right?”

“Yes. I’m going to spend the spring in the capital, then in the summer we’ll go the island.”

“The island?”

“The one we’ve been to before.”

Melisa’s complexion clouded at the bland response. Hesitantly, she hesitated for a bit and then asked in a serious tone.

“Will you be okay with that?”

“Of course. Whatever happened before, it’s all in the past now.”

Melissa quietly lowered her eyes as she looked at Rowena, who was smiling despite her incurable wounds. It reminded her of the night at the Christmas eve party; Rowena smiled, looking more glamorous and more beautiful than anyone else. Since then, four months had already passed, and little by little and spring was on its way, the snow melted, and the Duke’s Castle was more lively than ever.

Although she was in the position of the mistress, unlike five years ago, the people in the castle were gradually becoming attracted to Rowena. After all, she was managing the entire internal affairs of the castle, while treating the servants and maids with care and respect.

The nobles living in the neighboring estates also began to like Rowena, who was different from the past when she was somewhat gloomy and had low self-esteem. Now, two or three times a week, Rowena would be invited for teatime with other noblewomen, and would go out in a carriage stamped with the Duke’s seal. Whenever she was a little late in coming back, the Duke would personally arrive to pick her up. Melissa, who was always at Rowena’s side, had a clear sight of the astonished faces of the other ladies.

“I didn’t know the Duke was such a romantic man.”

“I know, right! He’s like a completely different person. He was so unapproachable and so cold that you couldn’t even talk to him…”

They whispered from behind their fans, their words filled with surprise, some envy, and recognition for Rowena. 

Everything was stable and peaceful. Melissa could only hope that these days would continue like this for as long as possible.

At the same time, however, an uneasiness lurking deep in her heart irritated her. The cause behind this was not only the overly lively Rowena but also the Duke, whom she had no idea what he was thinking.