Rolf, the butler who had managed the Lyussenford castle for over twenty years alongside the head maid, was a viscount without a fief.
Before Peon arrived and the estate was elevated to a Grand Duchy, this place had been nothing more than a countship. The butler position had simply been passed down through generations of viscounts—a purely honorary title—while they managed a county that didn’t even have a Count.
However, once Peon became a Grand Duke and massive tracts of land and castles befitting a Grand Duchy were incorporated into Lyussenford, Rolf and the head maid Doris somehow felt like they had become figures of importance. Even if most of those lands and castles were ravaged by the minions of the Evil Dragon and were nothing but snow-covered wastes where not a single blade of grass could grow, the sentiment remained.
Because he was a Grand Duke and the son of the Empress, supplies and gold coins sent separately by the Empress poured in. To a Grand Duke, the amount was paltry, but to those who had fought the Evil Dragon and the cold in this barren land, it was an enormous fortune. They couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride. No matter how much Peon was disparaged for being an illegitimate child, he was a precious bloodline in Lyussenford, a member of the Imperial family who protected them.
“Did you call for me, Your Highness?”
Rolf had raised Peon alongside Doris, who had been banished this time. When the boy would roll around in the training grounds with the knights, suffering injuries or coming down with a cold, they had nursed him through the nights, celebrated his birthdays, and rejoiced whenever his academic achievements grew. Peon was not a man of Krain; he was a man of Lyussenford. He possessed the spirit and strength of the North.
But he had suddenly married a Southern noblewoman.
“Where is the key that the head maid should have in her possession?”
“I have been keeping it temporarily.”
“Bring it here now.”
“Right now? Yes, I understand.”
Of course, marrying a wealthy Southern noblewoman was something to be welcomed. When the new bride arrived in Lyussenford, her massive procession was, frankly, larger than when the young Peon had first arrived. That was natural, as Peon was a grown man now. But honestly, both Rolf and Doris had hoped that Peon would marry into one of Lyussenford’s prestigious noble families. Because Peon was the Grand Duke of Lyussenford.
“Here it is, Your Highness.”
“Is this all?”
“Yes, that is correct.”
Rolf explained where each key belonged, one by one.
“There are quite a lot.”
“Yes. The head maid has managed a great many things. The responsibility is heavy.”
“A position with such heavy responsibility should no longer be occupied by a servant who treats their master’s words as a joke.”
The Grand Duke was still furious. Even so, Doris had been too foolish. It was said she was currently stuck at an old hunting lodge an uncle had kept near the border—how frustrating.
The person she had crossed was none other than Lady Ostain. She was also the next Duke of Ostain. If a child were born between her and Peon, that child would be an incredible existence—the Grand Duke of Lyussenford and the Duke of Ostain. Yet, she had dared to touch such a noblewoman?
Rolf, who had quietly stepped out of this incident, conveniently erased the fact that he had secretly supported and turned a blind eye to what Head Maid Doris was doing. He also conveniently forgot that his silence had only fueled her actions.
“Your words are absolute, Your Highness.”
The five nobles who had looked down on and pressured the young Grand Duchess alongside the head maid in the banquet hall had been dragged into the dungeons one by one. They were all executed without exception. Rolf thought the Grand Duchess was quite naive. What was the point of sparing the head maid’s life? Her existence would continue to be so miserable that death would have been a mercy. In Lyussenford, such clumsy pity only invites resentment.
“From now on, the Grand Duchess will be in charge of all internal management. Hand over all the rights you have been holding that should be governed by the Grand Duchess.”
Rolf flinched in surprise. Peon’s violet eyes were staring straight at him, unwavering.
“Take this incident as a lesson and set an example. Show that there are those in Lyussenford who hold respect for their master and possess outstanding loyalty.”
That was right. The butler, Viscount Rolf Anderson, was—for now—’someone who held respect for his master and possessed outstanding loyalty.’ For now, at least.
“Yes, Your Highness. I will do my best.”
Peon did not take his eyes off the butler until the moment the bowing man turned and walked out.
･ ｡ﾟ✧: *. ꕥ .* :✧ﾟ. ･
The doctor, Darinka, who had come to treat the Grand Duchess, was a cheerful, stout woman—one of the few female doctors who traveled for house calls while unmarried.
She had been ordered to continue caring for the Grand Duchess until she was back on her feet. Thus, she was currently commuting to the castle in the morning or staying there to monitor the patient’s condition.
“Shall I cover you with another blanket? It’s colder today.”
The Grand Duchess was a significant beauty. Perhaps because she had heard she was pretty ever since she was a child, she brushed the compliment off calmly, as if it were a mere fact of nature.
She had icily clear blue eyes, a well-defined forehead, clear skin, and blonde hair so pale it shone white in the light. However, her eyebrows and eyelashes were thick, short, and firm, deepening in color toward the roots. It suited her.
Still, Lady Lavalle was prettier.
Yes. She laughed much more and was more energetic, wasn’t she?
While the Grand Duchess was ill, Darinka had seen and heard quite a bit while going in and out of the castle. Inside, which the head maid had once held in a tight grip, people were openly lamenting her arrest. Darinka, who knew who Lady Lavalle was and that she had stayed in this castle, noticed that even those who had spoken out were closing their mouths and being careful the very next morning. Even the laundry room gossip about who was prettier had been strictly clamped down by the Grand Duke.
From Darinka’s perspective, the Grand Duke cherished the Grand Duchess, who was much younger than him, immensely. While the Grand Duchess held a political status incomparable to Lady Lavalle, that didn’t explain why he had been by her side for the entire three days she had hovered between life and death.
The Grand Duke hadn’t taken his eyes off her for a single moment, yet he couldn’t bring himself to touch her. He, who had single-handedly procured the Retilin—a medicinal herb said to be found only in the Evil Dragon’s territory—hardly came near her side after she opened her eyes.
‘Are they being distant now of all times?’
Well, that aside, the real problem was actually the Grand Duchess.
“Look at this, Your Highness. Isn’t the pattern pretty? They say it’s unique embroidery from Lyussenford.”
No matter how much the maids fussed and brought new things to show her, the Grand Duchess would only offer a faint smile and leave it at that. Perhaps it was because she had faced such a major ordeal immediately after her marriage. The concern Darinka had voiced to the Grand Duke was becoming clearer.
“You have recovered very quickly. I am truly relieved.”
“That is thanks to your diligent care.”
The Grand Duchess, who didn’t forget to thank her subordinates, was objectively a good master.
“I haven’t done much. It was the Grand Duke who obtained the medicine.”
Of course, Darinka kept silent about exactly where that medicine had come from. The fact that the Grand Duke had procured it was something only the doctor, the Grand Duke, the Grand Duchess, and her maids knew.
“You were the one who prescribed the medicine.”
The Grand Duchess displayed an attitude befitting a woman of her station, and it wasn’t strange at all; it was quite natural.
“Thank you. Your Highness, you may resume your daily life now, but you must be careful. Watching your diet is the most important thing, and no matter how cold it is, you must take light walks as exercise.”
Patients usually loved it when Darinka said things like this. No one disliked hearing that a tiresome illness had passed. But the Grand Duchess did not seem particularly happy. Though she praised Darinka’s efforts, those who seem indifferent to their own recovery often have a deeper root of illness.
“You must not work all the time either. You must rest often and take it easy so your body can stabilize.”
“I understand.”
Kaella nodded. In any case, even without the doctor’s earnest requests, she was in the most slothful state of her life. She had no will to go on. She already knew everything that would happen in the future. Nothing was new, and experiencing it again was merely painful. However, her past experience of having faithfully fulfilled the role of Grand Duchess made her mind run unconsciously.
‘I have to look after the people in the castle, and since the banquet ended that way, I’ll have to meet the nobles again, but the head maid would have taken care of that anyway, so why should I do it?’
Hadn’t she been treated like a young, ignorant girl whenever she went out anyway? Kaella, having ruminated on that shame for a few seconds, realized belatedly, “Ah.”
‘The head maid is gone.’
She was gone. Then could she move around a bit more freely? Her shoulders, which had lifted for a moment, sagged again. What of it? Even without the head maid, there would continue to be those playing the role. Moreover, wasn’t the butler still going strong? The staff would surely calculate their own interests and choose someone to their liking. It was not a matter for Kaella, an ‘outsider,’ to concern herself with.
“Please do only one important thing and then rest again, Your Highness.”
“Yes. All right. Watch us embroider, and please look at the snow flowers. It’s fascinating because it snows so much here.”
Lyussenford was not a place worth putting effort into. In a few years, the Grand Duke would eventually be unable to avoid the charges of treason the Emperor would frame him with, and Lyussenford would be trampled under the hooves of the Imperial army.
‘Before that, I must send those innocent maids to the warm south.’
Every time she saw the maids, she renewed the vow. This time, she would ensure all three of them escaped the war without exception. If there was a goal to this powerless life, it was only that.
So, this time, too, Kaella intended to do nothing. Honestly, she had no will to, and she didn’t intend to go out onto a stage that was already set, just to act as a puppet. She didn’t have the ability to do anything properly anyway.
･ ｡ﾟ✧: *. ꕥ .* :✧ﾟ. ･
“The head maid must be chosen by the Grand Duchess.”
Peon said clearly, looking at Kaella.
“It is best to handle personnel issues first. It will be easier the more people you have to help you.”
She stared blankly at her husband, who rarely visited her and usually told her to rest. In the past, she had been mindful of every expression, every attitude, and even the placement of her hands in front of him, but now she didn’t even bother to mask her expressions.
“Then, is there anyone you have in mind, Your Highness?”
Since the next head maid would surely already be internally decided, she would just have to go through the motions of choosing. Kaella waited for the answer.
“……Is there any reason there would be?”
Peon looked at Kaella as if he were puzzled. He even seemed a bit flustered.
“I apologize. I don’t know much about those things……. I will leave everything to you, so please do as you wish. In any case, it is an area I will always be ignorant of. Isn’t it your domain, my wife?”
Kaella thought for a moment and asked again.
“Then shall I discuss it with the butler?”
“That would be fine, but.”
Peon paused for a moment and looked directly at Kaella.
“I trust your judgment. I believe you will find someone wiser than the butler, someone who possesses qualities that the people of Lyussenford have overlooked and passed by.”
Who are you?
Kaella looked at Peon with an expression that asked who on earth he was. Did God, pitying her, put someone else inside Peon’s shell this time?
“It is your inherent right, so please do it yourself.”
Peon did not avoid her gaze. Rather, he met it head-on.
“You must choose your own people.”
She had to find someone who would be a pillar of support in this lonely, cold place. She had to bring in someone who would become her hands and eyes.
“It might actually be for the best. Isn’t it good that you, the Grand Duchess, choose your own head maid and make a new start together?”
“A new start?”
“A start here in Lyussenford.”
How much of a change would it make just by replacing one person? Kaella was skeptical. It was all the more so because she had never met a decent person in Lyussenford.
“I heard that a meeting will be arranged soon for the noblewomen of Lyussenford to meet you for the first time.”
That was a scheduled event whenever a lord or royalty married. It was a place for the ladies to pay their respects to the new Grand Duchess, introduce themselves, and promise cooperation and loyalty.
“That meeting will proceed at an extremely natural and sensible level.”
His voice, cutting off as if to settle the matter, remained flat throughout. It was neither cold nor menacing. But Kaella knew very well that this was Peon’s way. Within Lyussenford, things invariably rolled exactly as he said they would. Those who ignored the Grand Duchess naturally obeyed the Grand Duke. Because Peon was their pride, their sturdy shield, and their sword.
“Since it is a place hosted by you, it will naturally be safe.”
Above all, Peon had a strong will that would not be broken. He would sooner break than bend. That was why, before she died, Kaella had fallen for him helplessly. Because he was a person who possessed from a very young age everything she, as a weak person, wanted to be. He was a person who protected his resolve even in dire circumstances, continuously cultivating the power to maintain it. Even when the enemy was too strong, he never gave up.
But that was an old story. Having given up on life the moment she arrived here, Kaella watched Peon take something out without much excitement.
“And this is what I showed you as a raw stone last time. I am sorry it took until now to show you the finished product. I hope it pleases you.”
Peon held out the box quite courteously. Kaella looked at the box, then back at Peon.
“Please open it.”
The brilliance visible as soon as she opened the box was dazzling. It was a ring cut in the shape of a teardrop; a large stone filling a whole joint of her finger.
Kaella, whose thoughts had stalled, realized belatedly that this was a ring crafted from the smallest diamond among the twelve mined from the Kervan mines.
“How is it?”
If she said she didn’t like it, he planned to have it improved. He wanted everything to be to Kaella’s liking. Peon waited for her reaction with an anxious heart. However, Kaella looked flustered, glanced around, and began to rummage through her belongings.
“I’m sorry. Just a moment.”
He waited with a puzzled expression, watching Kaella bring over a box she had taken from a vanity drawer she had kept locked.
“Is this mine?”
“Yes. Of course.”
“Then I’ll return this to you.”
With a blank face, Kaella returned the Empress’s ring, her engagement ring, back to Peon. As if it were the most natural thing in the world.