When the Bitter Wind Blows

A noble serves the kingdom, they don’t work for money. This was the absolute, unspoken rule of the aristocratic world. However, Jeanne de Toulouse, the eldest daughter of the venerable Toulouse count family, was different. She’d worked as a tutor for young Master Mael, the son of His Majesty’s mistress, for two years. One day, books by Enlightenment thinkers, known for disrupting the order of the monarchy, were discovered in the young master’s study. And Jeanne was immediately accused of being the culprit.

“I’ve never even read that book! I’m hearing the title for the first time!” Despite her claims of innocence, she was sentenced to exile. Her destination; the Duchy of Skadi, a land inhabited by barbarians, where the bitter wind blows. Centuries ago, when barbarians from a frozen land across the sea invaded the capital city, the previous king granted this land as a fief, realizing their goal was simply to find habitable land. Now, the descendants of their chieftain held the title of Duke, recognized for their ancestors’ contributions to protecting the kingdom.

“We’ve arrived at the Duchy.” After the arduous journey, Jeanne remembered nothing. All she recalled was the endless cycle of her whole body burning and freezing at the same time. At that moment, her spirit was as weak as her dying body. After an unknown amount of time, a strange man’s voice, different from the ones she’d been hearing, echoed from above her head. “Did they plan to blame the barbarians again if she died here after being tortured just enough to survive exile? I’ll take charge of her now.”

With these words, laced with incomprehension, Jeanne’s body was suddenly lifted. In the cold, harsh Duchy of Skadi, where everyone works regardless of status, Jeanne must navigate her new life as a tutor for the Duke’s niece, finding purpose and survival in the most unexpected of places.