WHM | Chapter 67

~Chapter 67~

However, contrary to her expectation that she would easily have the opportunity to talk to Cedric again, Eileen found it increasingly difficult to even catch a glimpse of his face.

“…The more I think about it, it feels like he’s doing this on purpose.”

No matter how many times she went to find him, his office door was either firmly closed, he was absent, or he was in the middle of a training session with knights.

In short, there was no way to find a gap to speak to him.

“I’m sorry. I’ll make sure to tell His Highness that Lady Eileen came to visit.”

“Do you know you said the same thing yesterday?”

Even his assistant, Cassel, looked helpless.

“I’ve been telling him not to overdo it, but he’s too eager.”

“That’s since the Baron arrived.”

“Seems like he doesn’t want to look insufficient.”

The tension in the air was palpable. He probably preferred this situation.

So, Eileen realized that it wasn’t just her not being able to meet Cedric—his avoidance was also intentional.

“I don’t think it looks insufficient at all. Just tell him to spare some time for me.”

Sometimes Eileen wondered if she was underestimating the pressure Cedric was dealing with. After all, she had never been in his shoes.

‘It’s not a given that he should make time for me.’

She had already grown used to him splitting his time for her, thinking of it as something normal.

But it wasn’t. It hadn’t been like that in the capital, and she had started to take it for granted.

There must have been many things Cedric had put off back then, and he was probably still trying to catch up on them.

‘Sometimes…’

She wondered if he was tired of carrying her worries and problems, not wanting to burden him even more.

Maybe that was part of the reason why he was avoiding her.

After all, her conversations with Cedric often gave him a lot to think about. Even if it wasn’t always like that, her initiating talks might make him want to postpone even more.

Maybe he was wondering if she was about to lecture him again.

“…Forget it. I’ll just stop bothering Cedric.”

Of course, it was an important matter, but simply bringing it up didn’t mean there was a clear solution.

It was a matter that could shake Cedric’s fundamental trust in his uncle, and Eileen didn’t have any cards to play in that situation.

“Of course, His Highness doesn’t consider you a bother.”

“Unlike me, who has nothing to do, he’s swamped with work.”

“Well…”

Cassel hesitated for a moment, then finally spoke up.

“The Baron did say it would be best to leave things to Lady Eileen, but His Highness thinks it’s unnecessary…”

The way Cassel trailed off made it clear that Cedric was stubbornly insisting on handling everything himself.

There were times when insisting was necessary, and other times when it wasn’t. Cedric seemed to think he could manage everything alone.

“What’s going on?”

“Follow me.”

Cassel turned and led her toward the castle’s storage. Specifically, the entrance.

For some reason, there were piles of items stacked near the entrance.

“What is all this?”

There were small boxes that seemed to contain tea leaves, long boxes that could have swords in them, and heavy chests that looked like they were filled with gold and silver.

The boxes were all quite luxurious.

Eileen quickly deduced that these must be gifts sent for Cedric’s birthday.

“Could this all be for Cedric’s birthday…?”

“Yes. They’re gifts from influential families.”

“It’s all so disorganized.”

“They keep arriving.”

Normally, the head of the household should be the one to organize and keep records of these gifts.

This wasn’t just about wealth—it was a social duty to strengthen relationships between noble families.

“We need to sort them out before they get mixed up. We’ll need to send return gifts too.”

As they spoke, two servants struggled to carry a huge chest and set it down with a loud thud.

“…Get me the list. Let’s start now.”

“Are you sure you want to do this?”

“If I leave it to Cedric, he probably won’t start sorting it until spring.”

While it wouldn’t cause major problems, Eileen couldn’t ignore the state of disarray.

And she knew that sorting everything out would take at least a week.

“Well, this is something the Duke’s wife should handle.”

Even though she was Cedric’s fiancée, with the head of the household absent, it would look strange if nothing was being done.

It was odd to have someone with the authority to handle it just standing by.

“Can you ask my maid to bring some writing tools and paper? I’ll need to make a record.”

Eileen quickly sat down, taking a chair and starting to carefully check everything.

***

“Hmm…”

She had been bending her head down for so long that her neck was starting to ache. She decided it was time to stop for today.

“Mary, please keep this paper separately…”

“Who asked you to do this?”

Just then, a voice unexpectedly cut into her thoughts, and she felt a hand on her neck.

Eileen nearly jumped out of her chair in surprise. If it hadn’t been for the familiar voice, she would’ve been terrified.

“Cedric. What’s going on?”

“You’ve been looking for me, haven’t you?”

His hand started to press down on her shoulder, rubbing the back of her neck with considerable pressure.

“Ouch. That hurts.”

“You’ll be stiff if I don’t do this. I know from experience—you’ll suffer for a few days.”

“Still, you don’t need to press that hard.”

Cedric’s grip was surprisingly strong. As Eileen frowned, he quickly loosened his hold.

But his hand didn’t leave her shoulder. The sensation of his warm thumb pressing against her skin, rubbing back and forth, felt strangely intimate.

“…I have to help with something, even though I’m too busy to meet with you.”

“Well… yeah. I’ve been a bit distracted. Especially yesterday and today.”

Eileen could feel his deep sigh. He leaned closer, and soon she felt his warm breath on the back of her neck. She couldn’t help but feel tense.

“A noble who used to manage a large estate died, and his second son was favored. The second son wanted to inherit everything, but he hadn’t made a will, so the two sons started fighting over the inheritance.”

Cedric started to spill out the messy details of the situation he had been dealing with. It sounded like a tense and volatile situation.

“So?”

“I told them to divide it. Use the lake on the estate as the boundary—upper and lower.”

“That was a smart move.”

“If they didn’t like it, I said I’d take everything back.”

“Did you really argue about something so simple for an entire day?”

“He was an old lord. The second son was close to his father. He kept trying to persuade me, saying his father would’ve helped him.”

It had taken Cedric some time to cut through that.

“Shoving the father’s name in my face—it was ridiculous. If he was the Duke, I would’ve just cut him off immediately…”

“If you inherit the title soon, it would be better, right?”

It was clear that Cedric was dealing with a delayed inheritance situation. Eileen suddenly thought about what might have happened if she wasn’t around.

If Cedric had inherited the title right away and formed a solid position, would he have been able to strengthen ties with other northern noble families by marrying an aristocratic lady from the north?

Maybe his situation would have improved much more if she hadn’t stepped in.

“It’s just a matter of time. It doesn’t really matter. Even with the title, that chaos would’ve happened anyway. My father was too firm.”

“You’re not weak, Cedric.”

“I know. I’ve been doing intense training in the mornings.”

Eileen noticed that his under-eye area looked tired. It didn’t make sense—he wasn’t going off to war or participating in a sword tournament, so why was he overexerting himself?

Since she had him here, Eileen decided to get to the important topic. She had something serious to discuss.

“About the incident where I got hurt… have you made any progress in finding the culprit?”

“Oh, right. The report is delayed. Dane’s not the type to be this slow.”

Cedric seemed to have grown complacent, thinking that the attempt on her life was directed at him, but he was ignoring the actual threat.

So, Eileen decided to make him fully aware of the situation, even if it meant being a little harsh.

“I think those people were after me, not you.”

At those words, Cedric’s hand froze on her shoulder. He seemed to tense up, almost as if about to explode…

“What? Why didn’t you say this earlier? Really? How?”

“I had a feeling they recognized me.”

“So why are you telling me now?”

“I was too distracted. Too much was going on.”

“Still, you should’ve told me sooner!”

“I’m telling you now.”

“This isn’t the time for this. I need to go ask Dane immediately. No, I need to interrogate him. Why hasn’t he reported it yet?”

His reaction was far more intense than Eileen expected. It was positive, but…

“If they were after you, wouldn’t it make a difference?”

“Of course it would. You’re weak. You can’t do anything. If they were targeting you, they’d shoot arrows, set ambushes, or do whatever. But not you. Why are you—”

Cedric started pacing back and forth in the narrow storage entrance, running his hands through his hair in frustration.

“Who is trying to hurt you? Why?”

He suddenly stopped, looking up at Eileen as if searching for an answer. It seemed like he was ready to storm any noble family if she even mentioned a name.

But unfortunately, Eileen didn’t have an answer either.

She still had no clue who was behind the plot, but she was certain someone was obstructing her investigation.

There was a person who didn’t like her being in the spotlight.

“Let’s report to Dane first. I need to ask why he hasn’t shared anything.”

This time, weak evidence wouldn’t be enough. Eileen had to make Cedric doubt, to lead him into realizing the truth.