Chapter 14
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: That Day, the Young Lord's World Collapsed
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Crack.
A breaking sound came from the entrance to the mess hall.
It came from the hand of the boy who had frozen like a statue while gripping the door handle—Kairun von Northguard.
The young lord's red eyes shook violently, as if struck by an earthquake.
And his gaze locked precisely on the spoon in my mouth and Kara's hand feeding it to me.
'No way... Is that kid jealous right now?'
I chewed the stew in my mouth, chuckling inwardly.
Kairun clearly hadn't even properly seen Kara's face yet.
She was facing away from him to feed me stew, with her mask hanging on her chin.
Just from the atmosphere alone, he was already reacting.
The instincts of the original novel's male lead were truly fearsome.
But my admiration ended there.
"Attention, everyone!"
The guards following behind Kairun burst into the mess hall, shouting.
"The young lord of the Northguard Grand Duke's house, Lord Kairun, has arrived! Show proper respect at once!"
The boisterous mess hall fell silent as if doused with cold water at the resounding cry.
Soldiers who had been slurping stew stared blankly at the entrance, spoons still in hand.
"What? The Grand Duke's house?"
"Why's the young lord here?"
They wore expressions like this was some ridiculous interruption to their meal.
Some put down their spoons and stood up hesitantly.
But veteran soldiers remained lounging casually, tilting their cups.
At the sight, one of the guards scowled and yelled.
"You there! How dare you smoke in front of the young lord! Put it out now!"
The singled-out soldier adjusted the cigarette in his mouth at a jaunty angle and snorted.
"Ah, smoking one after eating is my one pleasure, and you're making such a fuss. Is this a noble banquet hall? This is our turf."
Whoosh—
He deliberately blew a cloud of pale smoke toward Kairun.
"Y-You insolent...!"
As the guard reached for his sword, Kairun raised a hand to stop him.
"Enough."
Kairun pinched his nose with a handkerchief, frowning.
He hadn't expected discipline in the borderlands to be this lax.
'Baron Eisen definitely said the border soldiers were free-spirited yet ignited something hot in people's hearts...'
But the cigarette smoke blown at him now was just rude—free-spirited, but not hot.
Rather than anger at the brazen rudeness, he felt bewildered by this raw underbelly atmosphere he was experiencing for the first time.
Above all... the spicy, murky air was unbearable.
But Kairun didn't back down.
His red eyes fixed solely on one spot—our table in the corner.
Thud, thud.
Kairun strode forward furiously.
His guards fidgeted, wanting to stop him, but the young lord's momentum was too fierce for them to intervene.
Finally, Kairun stood before our table.
Ignoring Baron Eisen, who was scanning the situation, he glared at me and slammed the table.
"You insolent cur!"
"......?"
I looked up at him innocently, spoon still in my mouth, feigning ignorance.
Kairun pointed accusingly and shouted.
"How dare an escort like you receive personal service from the noble daughter of Baron Eisen! Are you in your right mind?!"
'......Pfft.'
I barely swallowed a laugh.
Daughter?
Baron Eisen's daughter?
Ah, I see.
Since Baron Eisen was guiding us.
He must have naturally mistaken Kara for Eisen's daughter or relative.
Well, a young woman in her twenties with a middle-aged baron did look that way.
"As expected of a rootless barbarian who doesn't know manners! Lapping up food from your master? Have you no shame?!"
At Kairun's tirade, Kara blinked wide-eyed at Baron Eisen.
"Baron? Is your daughter here by any chance?"
"Pardon? No, my daughter is back at the estate..."
The baron waved his hands in flustered denial, but he couldn't stop my mischief from kicking in.
Kairun's wild misunderstanding was just too adorable.
This little guy was so blinded by jealousy he couldn't tell heads from tails.
I grinned and opened my mouth wide toward the spoon Kara held in her dazed expression.
"Ahhh~."
"Huh?"
While Kara hesitated, I snatched the spoon from her hand and devoured it.
Then, smacking my lips demonstratively.
"Delicious. Nothing beats being fed."
"Y-You...!"
Kairun's face turned beet red at the blatant insubordination right before his eyes.
Anger and jealousy aside, the shock outweighed even the soldier's rudeness earlier—he was speechless.
As the atmosphere grew tense, Baron Eisen, now grasping the situation, rose calmly.
He bowed politely to Kairun.
"I greet the young lord of the Northguard Grand Duke's house. I am Eisen."
"Ah, Baron Eisen?"
Only then did Kairun properly notice Eisen and flinch.
"However... my family did not accompany me on this border inspection. It seems there's been a misunderstanding."
Baron Eisen glanced at us couple.
"Please, you two, wipe your mouths and stand to pay respects to the young lord."
"Understood."
Kara, clueless, stood up.
Even mid-meal, as newlyweds, she was so focused on feeding me.
Before marriage, when we lived like siblings, she tried to care for me as the big sister, but I was too shy to accept much.
But after marrying and starting to receive her care, she'd been spoon-feeding me absentmindedly more and more lately.
Today too, she'd forgotten the herbal leather mask from Baba the Elder hanging on her chin and was feeding me stew.
Kara turned her head to show proper etiquette.
Then, belatedly noticing the mask on her chin, she untied the strings and lifted her face toward Kairun.
Slip.
The rough leather mask came off.
In that instant.
The mess hall lights—and the world's lights—seemed to converge on Kara.
Kara's bare face, hidden beneath the mask.
A beauty as cold as a snowfield blizzard, yet equally transparent and noble.
Sharp nose bridge and red lips.
And her mysterious sapphire eyes fully revealed.
"......!"
Kairun's breath caught.
The fury he'd been venting evaporated.
His mind went blank.
Even masked, she was beautiful.
The fleeting first impression of her was lovely.
But facing her bare face head-on left him breathless.
'Ah....'
It was fate.
The irresistible "love at first sight" magic forcibly granted by the original novel.
Kairun staggered back, entranced.
Thud.
He bumped into a following guard's armor but paid it no mind.
Only the woman before him, Kara, existed in his world.
I clicked my tongue inwardly at the sight.
'Look at that guy? Completely lost it.'
I stood behind Kara, subtly bending my knees.
Revealing my full two-meter frame might scare the kid into fleeing.
It wasn't time to intimidate with size yet.
Now was the moment to savor this tangled love triangle's opening act.
Then.
The mess hall filled with food smells and soldiers' cigarette smoke grew thicker.
Finally, the acrid air irritated Kairun's underdeveloped lungs.
"Cough! Cough! Ugh...."
Kairun frowned, covering his mouth with his hand.
He'd tried to shout but choked, and the coughing wouldn't stop.
His face flushed red, tears welling physiologically in his eyes.
"Y-Young lord! Are you alright?"
"Open the windows! Now!"
The guards panicked, flustering about.
Watching, Kara fiddled with her leather mask in hand.
She glanced between the mask and the coughing boy, then subtly looked up at me.
'......'
No words, but her eyes said it all.
'Is that kid okay? Should we help?'
My wife, through and through.
Cold beauty on the outside.
Warm and affectionate within.
And that thoughtfulness—knowing even toward a greenhorn, handing over something she'd used to another man might displease her husband, so seeking permission first.
'Good girl.'
I signaled approval with my eyes.
But it was awkward for me to step forward directly.
If I gave it, he'd freak out over a "dirty barbarian item."
And above all, I was bent at the knees for a surprise prank—couldn't move rashly.
Then.
Baron Eisen, catching our eye exchange, smoothly extended his hand.
"Miss Kara, if you don't mind, may I deliver it for you?"
Kara nodded at the baron's low question and handed over the mask.
Eisen pulled a clean wet cloth from his pocket and meticulously wiped the inside.
Thoughtful care to remove any possible residue.
Swish—swish—
Even fanning inside just in case.
'Baron Eisen... must've been jealous like me in his youth.'
As I watched his care, Eisen approached Kairun, whose face was red from coughing.
"Young lord, pardon the intrusion. The air here is murky—please use this."
Baron Eisen offered the mask politely.
Amid coughing, Kairun lifted his head at the familiar voice.
"Cough... Hack! Ah, Eisen...?"
Then Kairun's guard reacted first.
"Baron Eisen! Even so, a barbarian item to our noble young lord...!"
The guard eyed Kairun holding the mask with worry and displeasure.
Baron Eisen shot the guard a cold glare.
"'Venerated foreigners.'"
"......Pardon?"
"Not barbarians—venerated foreigners."
Baron Eisen cut in firmly.
And declared in a clear voice for all in the mess hall to hear.
"They are the Northguard Grand Duke's invited northern allies and warriors deserving respect. Mind your words and actions carefully."
Silence.
The soldiers and guards alike were dumbfounded.
With Baron Eisen, the duke's closest aide, stating it so emphatically, no one could object.
I admired inwardly.
'Oh... As expected of Eisen.'
Venerated foreigners instead of barbarians.
Just one word change turned contempt into respect in an instant.
Sensibility to elevate status with a single phrase.
The empire's top administrator indeed.
The scene overlapped with a moment from the original novel [Bastard's Snowflower Path].
The grown Kairun, inferiority complex at its peak, insulting Kara as a barbarian.
Baron Eisen shielding her, rebuking the duke's own son to protect her dignity.
'Truly one of the few male characters I liked in the original.'
Suddenly, I recalled what I'd said at the clothing store earlier.
『Not good for prenatal care. Or like that guest said, 'venerated foreigners.' Sounds much better, right?』
I'd used a similar tactic then.
Switching words to reframe and point out rudeness.
Probably unconsciously referencing that original scene.
Hoo.
As the guard shut up under Eisen's presence, Kairun, now masked, mumbled.
"Enough. ...No nagging. Sir Eisen is right."
He pressed the mask—Kara's mask—tighter to his face.
Mingled with faint herbal scent came her unique bodily fragrance.
A cool, sweet smell.
Kairun's ears flushed red.
'This... is a barbarian's scent?'
Not unpleasant at all.
His mind cleared, heart raced.
And the one who delivered it was Baron Eisen.
Who'd cleaned up after him since childhood.
More approachable than his father, sometimes scarier—an uncle figure.
Daring to contradict him when serious? The young lord lacked the guts.
Hoo—hoo—
Kairun's breathing steadied as he caught his breath.
Meanwhile, Baron Eisen naturally introduced us.
"Forgive the late introduction. These are the family of Winter Claw Chieftain Gorgon—now Wintersword Baron—and set to enter the academy at the Northguard Grand Duke's invitation."
He gestured palm-up toward Kara.
"This is Lady Kara Wintersword, daughter of Baron Gorgon Wintersword."
Kairun's eyes peeked over the mask at Kara.
'Winter Claw Tribe... chieftain's daughter...'
The legendary Gorgon's... own daughter...?
The protagonist of countless heroic tales from Baron Eisen in his youth.
His eyes mixed curiosity, admiration, and inexplicable excitement.
The thrill that this meeting was fate.
But.
Eisen's hand turned to me.
"And this is the baron's heir..."
"...."
'Hm?'
Was it my imagination?
Felt like he paused slightly introducing me as Gorgon's heir.
Grateful he didn't call me adopted son, though.
And the time to straighten from my awkward prank pose—to tease Kairun—arrived.
"...Lord Barg, husband of Lady Kara."
"H-Husband...? M-Married...?"
Kairun's eyes shook.
And I straightened, revealing my massive build.
Swoosh—
"Eek!"
My shadow darkened the black-haired Kairun's face.
Even amid it, Kara's pale skin and silver hair escaped my shadow.