***
***
She feared that Sir Carlz would learn of the insults she had endured. He was a great knight, so he would draw his sword without hesitation. But if he did, he would face the dishonor of fighting for an unqualified woman.
It was disgraceful for a knight to do such a thing.
Besides, if Duke Welch’s daughter was Victor’s true fiancée… would Carlz be on her side?
She tried to smile while suppressing her dark thoughts.
“You’ve been escorting me all day, so please go and dance Carlz.”
“What? I can’t, Madame! The Grand Duke will stick my head on a skewer!”
She eventually had to order Carlz to leave her alone. She also found out that he was not lying when he said he was popular, thanks to a couple ladies standing around waiting to request a dance with him. She was able to get away from Carlz with that excuse.
She went out to the terrace and leaned against the wall. The fresh air felt nice. However, when she was alone, she could hear the ladies’ gossiping whispers more clearly.
–You said Lady Welch and his highness the Grand Duke were lovers?
–Wow! They are both so beautiful, they would’ve made a lovely pair. Besides, the Welch and Morte families have been allied for a long time.
–But because of his illness, she had no choice but to…
–The woman of that kingdom…
She was tired.
She wanted to leave and rip off this dress. She desperately wanted to go back to the mansion, where she felt the safest, and eat delicious food…
No. She missed home. She wanted to chew on a piece of frozen grass* in Siland. It was ironic that she was tormented by homesickness.
[*E/N: I guess frozen grass is a delicacy in Siland? Lol]
She had been sold for her dowry. Bought to put the crazed Grand Duke to sleep…
Suddenly, a rough hand gripped her left sleeve violently. She looked up in surprise. A man in expensive clothes was pulling her sleeve haphazardly.
She understood the meaning of his actions and turned pale.
“What are you doing? Let me go.”
“What makes you so expensive…? They say you’re a witch!”
The thick smell of alcohol wafted off of him. He smirked as he looked her up and down.
An unpleasant sensation crawled over her skin.
“What do you do to make the Grand Duke sleep? I’m curious… how?”
He linked arms with her, forcibly, trying to drag her away.
“Let’s go out, it won’t be your first time…”
Her hands trembled at the outrageous insult. She wanted to draw a sword and cut out the man’s tongue.
But right now, she wasn’t a knight, but a lady at a social gathering. Even the Grand Duke’s name did not protect her, so she was helpless.
The man was roughly jerked away from her. She looked up in shock, surprised that someone would help her.
“Count Minfield. My master told me to escort his wife.”
Carlz, with an ice-cold expression on his face, was pulling the man’s hand away. She could see a lady standing in the distance, bewildered, having lost her dance partner. It was clear that Carlz had dropped everything to run over and help her.
Carlz added bluntly.
“If you want, you can fight me or my master. You probably don’t know who my master is.”
Count Minfield alternately looked between Carlz’s face and the patterns on his epaulets. Minfield immediately sobered up and ran away.
She could barely let out a sigh.
***
The entire carriage ride home, Carlz apologized to her. He said that he ‘shouldn’t have left her side even for a moment’, and that he ‘never dreamed that there would be a man mad enough to try and taint her honor’.
She smiled mechanically and repeated that she was fine. It really wasn’t his fault. She was the one who told him to dance.
Perhaps trying to lighten her mood, he murmured quietly.
“No matter how drunk you are, there’s no excuse for his behavior. Morte’s name has been clearly attached to yours… Madame, did he say anything strange?”
His expression grew more serious. She realized that she was no longer smiling. She shook her head hastily.
“No, I was just a little surprised… and tired.”
“If he was rude to you, please tell me. I’m weaker than you, but I’m still a good knight.”
She shook her head once more.
She didn’t want things to get bigger. She didn’t want to cause concerns to those around her because of stupid rumors. She had always been the type of person who carried her pain alone. She just wanted to sit quietly and let this all blow over.
Meanwhile, the carriage arrived at the Grand Duke’s residence. Sir Carlz apologized again and again as he helped her out of the carriage.
As she entered the mansion, Sumona and Diederick rushed to her.
“Madame, you came home early.”
“How was the banquet? Did you have fun?”
Sir Carlz tried to say something with an uncomfortable look on his face, but Amarion subtly nudged his side and smiled.
“She said she had fun and that there were a lot of good people.”
Seeing them rejoice at those words made her sad.
She had gotten used to their kindness.
No matter how kindly the servants treated her, it didn’t change the fact that she was basically a slave, sold for a dowry to serve the Duke.
She was so excited that she thought she could act like the hostess of the Duchy…
Unable to shake off her melancholic thoughts, she slowly trudged back to her room.
***
Victor came back later than her.
She had locked herself in the bedroom since she had returned, and when she saw him, she didn’t know whether to smile or cry. She had been wanting to see him as well as avoid him all day.
As soon as Victor saw her, he greeted her sweetly.
“How was the banquet?”
“It was fun.”
‘I lied.’
“Really? I heard you came back early.”
He examined her with worry in his eyes.
‘Did you have a fiancée?’
She struggled to suppress the question that was about to spill out of her mouth.
Immediately, her pessimistic reasoning kicked in.
‘What right do I have to ask such a thing?’
‘I just married him because of his illness. I can’t even manage the mansion, and I’ll never be called an elegant lady. My usefulness is limited to a couple of hours at night.’
It was hard to look at his face, so she pretended to be interested in her sword.
“Are you lying to me? You look very sad.”
“No. It’s just that I’m tired. Who would dare say anything to the wife of the Grand Duke?”
Victor approached her and smiled a sickly sweet smile. He began to run his fingers through her flowing hair.
“I’m glad.”
“…”
“I was worried about you all day. Even in the Imperial Palace, I only thought of you.”
Victor’s eyes were so sweet. Even if he was lying to her, she wanted to be deceived.
She closed her eyes to break the spell he had cast on her.
“Then… can you go to bed early? For me.”
Victor smiled and nodded his head.
“Of course. You’ll have to wake up early tomorrow, too.”
As she watched his back retreat towards the bed, she swallowed her guilty conscience. She leaned her forehead against the cold handle of her sword and murmured.
“But Victor, I was not the Grand Duchess there.”
***
Her schedule was packed. She attended a series of banquets and dances every single day. She went to a banquet, came back tired, and took a nap. When Victor returned, she woke up and greeted him. This became her daily routine.
Sleep was a good escape. Neither Victor nor the servants talked to her for very long after she woke up, so she just had to wait for Victor to get into bed so she could put him to sleep.
But after that, she couldn’t fall back asleep, which was painful.
Victor’s ailment was getting weaker, and in less than five minutes he could be put back to sleep.
Whenever she saw Victor sleeping, a slurry of new emotions turned her heart upside down.
She felt betrayal, sadness, and strong self-hatred.
She skipped breakfast with the excuse of fatigue, and left the mansion withered, like a plant that hadn’t been watered. The maids simply thought she was utterly exhausted by her schedule.
Diederick comforted her, as if he felt sorry for her.
“Madame, you only have to suffer a little the first week. From the second week onward, you only have to attend meetings with close friends, so it won’t be very hard.”
She smiled helplessly.
She knew that she would be able to take a break next week, as she had no close friends.
***
The pain in her body was nothing compared to the pain in her mind.
Rumors about her spread faster than wildfire. Lady Welch’s friends gathered like a pack of wolves and spit vitriol. Their tone was pleasant, but the content of their words was toxic.
After several days of banquets, she became the Grand Duchess in name only, the harlot who took the rightful place of Nanael Welch, the Grand Duke’s soul mate and lover.
She couldn’t deny anything. She couldn’t deny the existence of their engagement. She was not shameless enough to deny the truth.
Sometimes she got choked up and angry, but she closed her eyes and endured everything.
If she got angry, it would be held against the Grand Duke. She didn’t want to see Victor being insulted because of her. Victor was a kind, friendly, and good person who didn’t deserve the kind of ridicule she received.
As she endured the ladies’ abuse, she naturally ate less. Carlz was very worried about her, who visibly withered day by day. He told funny stories during their carriage rides, and pointed out shops while he looked out of the window. Occasionally, he went down to the market and bought snacks.
Seeing him work so hard made her sick to her stomach. He probably didn’t know how she became the Grand Duchess, and he was doing this just because she was the lady of the master he served. She kept feeling ashamed that he had to be put through this.
But the only person she could talk to was Carlz.
So finally, she asked him cautiously.
“Is it true that Lady Welch was the fiancée of the Grand Duke?”
***