Chapter 146: A Beautiful Day
Morning soon came in the capital. Faerwyn and Nymira were seated around a large table, sharing a fine breakfast as Faerwyn’s attendants arranged their luggage back into the carriage in preparation for their journey back to Tellon.
"Won’t you move back to the south with me ?" Faerwyn said to Nymira, smiling as she took small bites from her food.
"I told you already, mother— I might not have anything against your choice of lifestyle—"
"But that doesn’t mean I want to see or hear you playing with your toys."
Nymira retorted, calmly eating her own breakfast while Faerwyn’s rosy lips drew into a cheeky smile.
"That’s all in the past now, dear. I think—there’s no longer a need to."
Nymira paused in her action as she stared at Faerwyn in shock, watching her mother smile as she ate her breakfast in a carefree manner after saying something so monumental.
Now that she thought about it, she realized the mistress hadn’t once spoken about anything concerning her hobby to her anymore, right about the time that person showed up.
’Could it be?’
Nymira thought incredulously. Her mother’s hobbies were known to her and a trusted few.
It felt less like a whim and more like an obsession in search of something ever since the duke had abandoned them. And since everyone of them was adjusting in their own way, Nymira had a choice to either accept her mother for who she was or resent her. The choice was easy.
Even though she couldn’t delve into Faerwyn’s mind or know half of what she was thinking, she knew this was very important to her. Over the last two years, there’s been at least fifteen candidates in total who had sought to please the mistress, and while most ended up in the slave mines or dead, a few were allowed to serve in the estate.
None had been able to cause such a change in her—until now.
And this person just so happens to be the same one she too has come to want to possess as her own.
’What have I done?’
It so dawned on Nymira that she had taken a step she certainly shouldn’t have, and beyond herself, it wasn’t one she regretted, but one a part of her yearned to see just how far it could go. But now her guilt was building as she watched the mistress who had been no different from a mother to her. The thought of having to vie for the same young man as her mother, who had apparently finally found someone who had met a need of hers that even she didn’t know about, was a difficult position to be in.
"Are you okay, dear?"
Faerwyn suddenly asked her daughter, who had been acting strangely not just now but even before they had left their estate. Though her reaction now was louder than the others, she could still understand as she’s shared something that would indeed come out as shocking to her, but she didn’t imagine she would ever see such a look on her daughter. Seeing her smile and nod, Faerwyn simply returned the smile as they carried on with their breakfast,
Done with breakfast, Faerwyn left instructions for the mansion’s staff as well as some much-needed funds as she and Nymira hopped into the carriage while the entourage rode from behind. They began their journey back, encountering a few wild beasts along the paths close to the forest, which were swiftly dispatched by the escorting troops.
As for bandits?. They do have their operations around these parts that lead to the imperial capital, and there are some particularly notorious, infamous groups. However, with the Wolfe Duchy flag hoisted by the entourage as well as the intimidating aura of the escorting troops, no bandit group would dare to try their luck and risk their lives. Unless there is an impossible grudge, no bandit group would want to go all out and put it all on the line; such was the situation with bandits and other ragtag groups in the human kingdom.
Of course, every trip deserves the utmost preparation for any eventuality, considering a noble representing an entire duchy was making a trip, and there were not just bandits out there to fear; there were other, more heinous groups and factions chasing their own goal. With reports of even nobles missing from time to time on seemingly safe journeys, their entourage was prepared for any eventuality, matching with the best of the best the army still under the duchess’s control could deploy.
As for those inside the carriage, the activities on the outside, or whatever threats may linger, were beyond the notice of these noble ladies, who both had their thoughts centered on different things but with a similar subject of a particular young man on their minds.
Faerwyn, having received much-needed advice from her friend, was thinking about how best to set up and begin running this business by giving directives to Hardwood, all the while keeping Dongwhispers’ influence from it. She also wondered if the young man would be able to meet the soon-to-be mountainous demands from his supplier of the product. A lot depends on the success of this business, and she couldn’t take any chances. But most importantly, she needed a way to completely bind him to her—both body and soul. She knows her appeal is strong, but Faerwyn isn’t convinced that she would be able to keep this young man by her side if she doesn’t go the extra mile—he is just that important.
Nymira’s thoughts, on the other hand, were about what it would be like when she sees that person again, and how exactly she should act. She’s always been known as the stoic and rigid one even before that person left her and ran off; she only became more so over the last two years, and she’s been clearly setting a line with him. Now she’s worried that line might rob her of the chance of getting to see where this might lead, and of experiencing again the young man who had caused her to bloom.
As the two gorgeous women journeyed back in the carriage, back in the west wing of the Wolfe estate, Ben was rousing from his sleep inside the cloudy bed, yawning at the warm glow of sunrise; he intoned—
"What a beautiful day."
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