The most wealthy man in the empire was the Duke of Philemon. There was nothing that the duke could not have and no one could match him with money.
It’s always been like an immutable law. People said that they were lucky because they didn’t have many things that the Philemon family wanted.
Edlade, the head of the Philemon family, the duke was the one who will be greedy if he likes something very much.
There is no way anyone can take away what he wants.
“He never failed to get what you wanted. He’s greedy.”
“Ummm.”
“So everyone wondered. Why would the Grand Duke and Your Excellency the Duke want to own the estate of a baron whose name is not well known.”
I was curious about that too.
This is a story I have never heard before in my previous life.
Obviously, from the beginning of our marriage to the first year of our marriage, I didn’t have much of a memory. I just shed tears in the room and tried to avoid Edlade as much as possible.
However, I had eyes and ears. It was not that I knew nothing.
I remembered about the big things that happened this year, so I was meticulously memorizing it in the hope that it might be of some help to Edlade.
It was also something I was thinking about for a long time these days as I only knew about the implied incidents and how to help.
I’ve never heard of a great duke and Edlade’s confrontation.’
Not much was known about Archduke Buffken. In his past life, he had never made a big deal, and even if he met at an official event, most of them just said hello and passed by.
He didn’t seem to be on good terms with Edlade, but I thought it was probably because I heard that Duke Buffken and Duke Philemon were not on good terms from generation to generation.
The reason why he instinctively dislikes Archduke Buffken is probably that the Marchioness Semele is the Archduke’s younger sister.
“So I asked your Excellency.”
“Did he answer?”
“He got annoyed.”
“Why is that?”
“The land should be owned by those who are not interested in the land.”
“Why?”
“He said it was a land that should not be touched easily. If it falls into the hands of Archduke Buffken, he would rather get it back.”
Leto chattered and drank the champagne on the table as if she was thirsty.
She wet her lips and spoke again.
“So in Congress, there was a fight over who should stand in line. His Majesty, the emperor is the head.”
It would be too much a clash of power for a young emperor.
The Grand Duke and the Duke.
Just thinking about it gave me a headache.
However, it was strange behavior for Edlade, who didn’t actually put much importance on a place like a manor.
He’s not the kind of person to be greedy about that.
I was skeptical.
“Is the baron’s estate special?”
“Not at all. It’s a baron’s land. The land is so small that there is only one manor.”
“A little… I don’t understand.”
“Right? But even if I asked Your Excellency, again and again, he didn’t tell me anything.”
Leto was so curious that she shook her feet as if she was about to die of curiosity.
She was a little cute because she looked like a puppy whining to herself.
It would be all the more so because she was curious.
Leto has always been like that.
“Ah! By the way, feel free to speak. You are the wife of the master that my husband serves.”
Her smile was still cheerful, so just looking at it made me smile.
She had a smile that made those around her feel comfortable.
“The relationship between My husband and you have nothing to do with us… So shall we be friends?”
“Yes Yes?!”
“I never had friends. It’s a bit embarrassing, isn’t it? But… if it’s the Marquis of Renaldi, I think we can become good friends.”
With such a smile, she had held out her hand for me in the past.
Leto was a warm fire that came to my lonely life.
A small member was introduced by Edlade.
Even if that gentle kindness was Edlade’s request, I was always cheered by this smile.
I was encouraged and cheered up.
So this time I have to reach out my hand first.
Because I hurt him. Because I hurt the person that I shouldn’t have done.
“I want to be your friend.”
She raised her lips shyly.
She may not hold my outstretched hand.
I was a little nervous, unable to hide my trembling fingertips.
‘I’ve heard a lot from you! You’re the wife of my husband’s master… Hmm, that may sound rude, but is it okay if I can be your friend? No, I want to be friends!’
Beyond my memory, I remembered what she had said.
I was a little afraid of what the reaction would be.
I thought again that Leto was a woman with great courage.
“I think it’d be nice if you could call me Lily when we’re alone.”
“Oh my god.”
Leto opened his eyes wide and looked around the line. After confirming that there was no one around her, she held my outstretched hand roughly with both hands.
I was even more surprised by the hand held tightly.
“Can I truly be your friend? Are you giving me such honor?”
“…Of course. I am more honored.”
“Nope! It is an honor for my family!”
Leto smiled widely as she held my hand as if it were really precious.
Her cheerful and sweet laugh made me laugh without realizing it.
Two empty champagne glasses were placed side by side on the table. Even though I had a low alcohol content, I felt fortunate to be able to speak out, giving me a little courage to drink.
So I was able to have a very precious friend. Instead of waiting for someone to give me a hand like in my last life, I reached out my hand first.
An undeniable feeling of guilt lingered around my heart, it was because I wanted to keep the person I wanted to protect as close to me as possible.
‘It sounds like an excuse…’
Swallowing my self-helpful words inside, I heard stories from Leto.
In the end, the archduke and the duke faced each other to acquire the Baron’s land, and the battle is ongoing.
It was Marquis Rayburn who sided with the Archduke in such a fight. The Marquis of Rayburn was a family of ties to both the Grand Duke and Duke.
Because his wife was the archduke’s sister, and although I was an illegitimate child, his wide was the daughter of the duchess.
However, Marquis Rayburn did not hesitate and gave the Archduke’s hand.
I didn’t even laugh at those words.
It was only natural that there would be no way to raise the hand of the duke Philomen. Because the real power of Marquis Rayburn was not the marquis, but the mistress Semele.
“Did he lose the fight?”
“It will never happen! Because I raised my hand for Your Excellency.”
“Oh.”
“So the fight is equal. Now it’s going to be a mud fight.”
I was a little worried about Edlade.
Why did he want to own the baron’s estate?
‘If the Archduke took it, he said he would rather bring it back.’
He said he would get it back. It was originally used to bring back one’s own things.
Edlade was a person who was not very greedy. However, he did not want to lose to anyone because he had a strong desire to win.
It was very rare for him to genuinely want something like that.
“I don’t know what the hell is in Capella. To be honest, he should have said something to me for standing by his side. But, your Excellency…”
“Yes? Where?”
“Um? Yes?”
I doubted my ears at the familiar place name.
“Where exactly did Edlade say he’d take back? What’s the name of the baron’s estate?”
At my urgent words, Leto had a surprised expression on her face and spoke again clearly.
“It’s the Capella estate.”
***
The story of the Capella estate was the first thing I had to do for Edlade.
But I didn’t know when it started. The details were discovered very late.
At that time, even if only Capella was not taken away……
In my past life, I have often heard such stories.
At first, I didn’t know what a capella was. As the story continued to ring in my ears, I was curious and asked Halbert, who I could talk to comfortably.
what is Capella
Halbert looked hesitant and glanced at Edlade’s office and said.
‘Capella is a realm. From the outside, it looks like an insignificant estate, but it is a land that Your Excellency has protected for a long time and it is a land that he absolutely needs.’
I wanted to ask more why the land was absolutely necessary, but I couldn’t hear it because Edlade came out of the office.
I couldn’t solve my curiosity like that, and the story hasn’t been heard from my ears since the next day.
After such a long time passed, I was able to hear the story in an unexpected situation.
Before I knew that Edlade also loved me, it was around the time I was in love with him.
By that time, my social phobia had improved a lot, and I was attending small, albeit rarely, parties without Edlade.
I met Scotty there.
Scotty, as usual, chirping and arrogant towards me, said haughtily.
‘I know, the loss of Capella two years ago made Your Excellency very weak. My uncle is a wonderful person than a husband like yours. I know everything. that the Capella is tainted.’
I thought she was making a strange noise again.
However, if I thought about it a little deeper, I realized that they weren’t bizarre words.
The Duke of Philemon was a family of guardians.
A guardian who was given the power of protection by the Creator God to protect the fairies in the distant past.
The family succeeded that blood was the Philemon family. Guardians had to protect the fairies.
According to the founding myth of the Servilia Empire, a fairy who was married to a human emperor and an agent of the god’s creation made a pact with the guardian.
‘Please protect me until the day my blood runs out’
‘I will protect you until the day this blood runs out.’
A pact was firmly sworn between the elves and the guardians.
That is why the Duke of Philemon was called the family that protected the emperor from generation to generation.
Failure to keep the fairy will result in a loss of power.
So I didn’t quite understand. Why did the power of Edlade weaken when Capella was taken and the place was contaminated?
I was able to find out without even thinking deeply about the answer to that question.
‘In Capella… some have inherited the blood of fairies, or there is something about fairies.’
Edlade’s power was weakened by the loss of Capella to the Archduke. Afterward, he often lost in battles with the Archduke, and he who had the strong power was often injured.
It started with Capella.
And it was true that no one else was the reason for the loss of Capella.
‘But it was useless to beat around the things. If you didn’t bring your big brother to the mansion, he wouldn’t have taken it away. But you helped the Rayburn family, so it’s a good thing for you, right?’
The moment I heard that everything made sense.
Married life was lonely and afraid. For nearly the first year or so, I took Conzel home and was comforted.
Even though the space was my personal drawing-room, I certainly brought him into the mansion.
As Conzel was free to enter and leave Philemon’s mansion, where no one could easily enter, it was likely that he could easily obtain advantageous information about the Capella estate.
When I first brought him in, I remembered Edlade, who went out in a fiery rage.
He screamed, but it was terrifying to see him soon suppress his anger and leave without saying a word.
In the end, it was because of me.
The fact that Capella was taken away and that he was weakened.
But Edlade didn’t say a word telling me not to bring Conzel into the mansion.
Maybe he knew everything and ignored it.
Did he know that Capella was stolen by me?
If he knew, why didn’t he say anything to me?
Shaking his hand, he sprinted out of the place.
Scotty’s smirk followed closely behind him.
I love him for doing this. I want his love. It was a moment when my unrequited love never blossomed.