“By the way, Your Highness, who lives next door over there?”
The place Bianca pointed to was the building right next to my mansion.
"Well. I haven't seen the owner of that mansion yet, so...”
Since signing the contract for this mansion, construction work has been underway on the site next to it, and it appears that the mansion was recently completed.
The scale was larger than my mansion, and the architectural design was quite sophisticated.
'There must be only a few families in the northern city center who can build a building of that size? It's also a residential building, not a commercial building.'
I was quietly observing the window of the mansion out of curiosity.
'...Uh?'
An overly familiar silhouette was seen outside the window of the mansion next door.
Tall height, square shoulders, stocky body outline, and above all...
Short honey blonde colored hair.
Strangely familiar figures caught my eye in an instant.
At the same time, a person's face clearly appeared in my mind.
The man who told me that only I was his eternal master.
Even then, I couldn't take my eyes off the familiar silhouette across the window.
'...No way. There's no way that person is in the human world right now.'
Thinking like that, I shook my head and then quickly looked away from the window.
“Then come visit me again next time, Bianca.”
It was a little after three o'clock in the afternoon when the carriage for Bianca's return home arrived.
“Of course, I’ll definitely sleep in then!”
Bianca showed signs of disappointment, but she eventually returned with a bright smile.
'Mina said she went to the market, and I'm bored alone... Ah, it's been a while, should I go to the welfare foundation?'
It was close enough that it took less than 5 minutes from my mansion to the foundation building, but in fact, I haven't been able to go there once since I moved.
It was because I had been busy with all sorts of things, such as moving, reorganizing, and handling administrative matters.
When I finally entered the foundation's garden, I saw someone rushing out.
It was Devon, the foundation's secretary-general and the chief of Gray Zone Village.
“Your Highness, you are here! I've been waiting for you to find me. Did you finish your move successfully?”
I smiled happily as I saw him bowing politely.
“It’s been a while, Devon. I’ve been too negligent about the foundation’s work, haven’t I?”
“It’s okay, Your Highness. I’m sure you will spend a lot of time with us from now on.”
Devon held his back and walked slowly towards the entrance of the foundation building.
As I naturally walked next to him, he pointed straight to the third floor of the building where the investment agency was located.
“Hey, can you see the people lined up near the window?”
As Devon said, people were seen lining up in front of the investment agency office door on the third floor, waiting for their turn.
“At first, it seemed like the number of customers was not increasing, but now it seems like there is often a waiting line waiting for consultation. Really, I never imagined that an investment agency would do this well.”
It was all thanks to Anton.
After the masquerade ball, business at the agency began to boom day by day as people who benefited from Anton's agency investment spread the word.
Then one day, an article about Anton was published in the Imperial Newspaper, and his popularity grew so much that people came from far away places.
I immediately handed over all practical aspects of the investment agency to him and stepped down to the position of shareholder.
'As expected, finding Anton and bringing him to the north was a godsend.'
I stood in the middle of the garden for a moment and looked up at the third floor of the building, raising the corners of my mouth.
“It’s all thanks to Anton.”
“It is also thanks to the visionary’s excellent insight in recognizing that talent.”
In any case, it meant that the investment agency was doing its job as well as the Half-Blood Demon Welfare Foundation.
When I realized that both of my projects were achieving successful results, I couldn't help but smile.
"Haha. Do you like it, Your Highness?”
I playfully glanced at the handsome old gentleman who smiled kindly.
“By the way, are you telling me to give you a secret? It’s already been a few weeks since I quit my job as Grand Duchess and returned as a single person.”
"Ah....”
Devon's expression slowly became bitter as if he had just realized that Cedric and I were getting divorced.
However, as he is good at everything, he quickly returns to his normal attitude.
“Then what should I call you from now on?”
“Ah, I guess we really need a new title.”
I tapped my lips with my index finger.
“Hmm, I think it will be okay, Director...”
“...”
“But I think it would be best to just call me by her name, ‘Rebecca.’”
"Haha... Yes, Rebecca. I will tell that to my employees as well.”
Devon's mouth, which had been laughing quietly, slowly hardened.
He remained silent for a long time with an expression full of what he wanted to say.
Finally, his lips opened.
“...The entire foundation family was very surprised by the news of the couple's divorce. It’s the same for me too.”
“...”
“Just from what we saw in Gray Zone Village at that time, we felt reassured and thought that you two would live happily ever after.”
Devon licked his lips a few times and slowly furrowed his brows.
“By the way, the divorce between you two may not be the fault of our Gray Zone villagers who were disrespectful to Your Highness ”
I quickly grabbed his hand.
Devon must have been startled by the sudden touch and he looked at me.
“Don’t ever think like that. I can’t tell you in-depth about the divorce process or what happened afterward, but I can tell you one thing for sure.”
“...”
“The time we spent in Gray Zone Village was the most important turning point in Cedric’s and my life.”
A small ripple appeared in Devon's eyes.
He stared at me for a while, and a faint smile appeared on his lips again.
“Then, using those words as comfort, can we dare to erase the guilt we feel about you two?”
“Of course, Devon. Not only are you not responsible for our divorce in the first place, but I want you to always feel at ease.”
“...”
“Just like how I felt when you all forgave me and accepted me back.”
“Your Highness”
I carefully let go of the hand I was holding, took a deep breath, and smiled slightly.
“Actually, I was a little surprised too.”
"Yes? What do you mean?”
“I thought the people in the Gray Zone village would quit the foundation as soon as the divorce was announced. As the Grand Duchess, I couldn't overcome my persuasion, so now that I have stepped down from my position as Grand Duchess... I don’t think they would want to stay at this foundation.”
I continued speaking, slightly raising the corners of my lips.
“So actually, I intentionally didn’t stop by the foundation for a while after the divorce was announced, hoping that everyone would feel at least a little more at ease with my resignation.”
“...”
"However... Not a single person left the foundation and waited in silence.”
Devon lowered his head as if suffocating at my continued words.
How many steps did we walk in silence?
“Of course, Rebecca is no longer a member of the Twins family that we half-blood demons respect.”
Devon, who had been speaking calmly, looked at me and slightly raised the corner of his mouth.
“But actually, the people of our Gray Zone village are no longer part of the Twins family. To be honest, we are now...”
“..."
“We are Rebecca’s people.”
At Devon's words, both eyes slowly opened wide.
I couldn't believe what he was saying was true.
Of course, it was true that they had changed a lot compared to the hostile past.
Even so, I never thought I would hear something like this, so I was speechless for a moment.
“Of course, the reason I accepted the apology in the first place was because, at the time, Rebecca was the Grand Duchess of the Twins family, respected by our half-blood demons. There is no way the resentment and suspicion that has built up over the years will disappear with just one apology.”
“I guess so...”
“It’s embarrassing to say this now, but even after we accepted Rebecca’s offer and signed a contract to work for the Foundation, we thought we could just take advantage of the Twins Grand Duchess’ whims.”
Devon is an old gentleman who has lived closely with the Grand Duke for a long time and is therefore accustomed to hiding his true feelings.
Words so honest that it was almost shocking came out of his mouth.
But I couldn't fault that statement.
I also thought it was ridiculous that their resentment toward Rebecca could disappear so easily.
I looked at Devon with soft eyes and nodded at him. I hope that I can convey that I completely understand what he is saying.
At this, a comfortable smile immediately spread across Devon's lips.
“But once I came to this foundation and started working with Rebecca, everything changed.”
A small sound of air escaping from Devon's lips came out as he smiled.
“Rebecca truly cared for the mixed race demons more than anyone else. You personally dug into the difficulties experienced by mixed-blood demons in the human world, which even we didn't know about, and did not spare any support accordingly. In every step of the process, Rebecca’s sincere interest and affection for our mixed race demons was evident.”
“Devon..."
“And it probably has been since then.”
“...”
“How we all came to respect someone who was not the Grand Duchess of the Twins, but simply Rebecca.”
A handsome smile appeared on his mouth, which had a gray beard.
I was speechless for a while, my eyes fixed on Devon's face.
I was afraid that if I opened my mouth like this, I would end up crying like an idiot.
“That’s why we, the people of the Gray Zone, want to continue to stay here and protect it.”
When our eyes met again, the gray-brown eyes and wrinkled eyes were extremely warm.
“Rebecca, the Grand Duchess we loved more than anyone else, and someone we still respect.”
"Well. I haven't seen the owner of that mansion yet, so...”
Since signing the contract for this mansion, construction work has been underway on the site next to it, and it appears that the mansion was recently completed.
The scale was larger than my mansion, and the architectural design was quite sophisticated.
'There must be only a few families in the northern city center who can build a building of that size? It's also a residential building, not a commercial building.'
I was quietly observing the window of the mansion out of curiosity.
'...Uh?'
An overly familiar silhouette was seen outside the window of the mansion next door.
Tall height, square shoulders, stocky body outline, and above all...
Short honey blonde colored hair.
Strangely familiar figures caught my eye in an instant.
At the same time, a person's face clearly appeared in my mind.
The man who told me that only I was his eternal master.
Even then, I couldn't take my eyes off the familiar silhouette across the window.
'...No way. There's no way that person is in the human world right now.'
Thinking like that, I shook my head and then quickly looked away from the window.
***
“Then come visit me again next time, Bianca.”
It was a little after three o'clock in the afternoon when the carriage for Bianca's return home arrived.
“Of course, I’ll definitely sleep in then!”
Bianca showed signs of disappointment, but she eventually returned with a bright smile.
'Mina said she went to the market, and I'm bored alone... Ah, it's been a while, should I go to the welfare foundation?'
It was close enough that it took less than 5 minutes from my mansion to the foundation building, but in fact, I haven't been able to go there once since I moved.
It was because I had been busy with all sorts of things, such as moving, reorganizing, and handling administrative matters.
When I finally entered the foundation's garden, I saw someone rushing out.
It was Devon, the foundation's secretary-general and the chief of Gray Zone Village.
“Your Highness, you are here! I've been waiting for you to find me. Did you finish your move successfully?”
I smiled happily as I saw him bowing politely.
“It’s been a while, Devon. I’ve been too negligent about the foundation’s work, haven’t I?”
“It’s okay, Your Highness. I’m sure you will spend a lot of time with us from now on.”
Devon held his back and walked slowly towards the entrance of the foundation building.
As I naturally walked next to him, he pointed straight to the third floor of the building where the investment agency was located.
“Hey, can you see the people lined up near the window?”
As Devon said, people were seen lining up in front of the investment agency office door on the third floor, waiting for their turn.
“At first, it seemed like the number of customers was not increasing, but now it seems like there is often a waiting line waiting for consultation. Really, I never imagined that an investment agency would do this well.”
It was all thanks to Anton.
After the masquerade ball, business at the agency began to boom day by day as people who benefited from Anton's agency investment spread the word.
Then one day, an article about Anton was published in the Imperial Newspaper, and his popularity grew so much that people came from far away places.
I immediately handed over all practical aspects of the investment agency to him and stepped down to the position of shareholder.
'As expected, finding Anton and bringing him to the north was a godsend.'
I stood in the middle of the garden for a moment and looked up at the third floor of the building, raising the corners of my mouth.
“It’s all thanks to Anton.”
“It is also thanks to the visionary’s excellent insight in recognizing that talent.”
In any case, it meant that the investment agency was doing its job as well as the Half-Blood Demon Welfare Foundation.
When I realized that both of my projects were achieving successful results, I couldn't help but smile.
"Haha. Do you like it, Your Highness?”
I playfully glanced at the handsome old gentleman who smiled kindly.
“By the way, are you telling me to give you a secret? It’s already been a few weeks since I quit my job as Grand Duchess and returned as a single person.”
"Ah....”
Devon's expression slowly became bitter as if he had just realized that Cedric and I were getting divorced.
However, as he is good at everything, he quickly returns to his normal attitude.
“Then what should I call you from now on?”
“Ah, I guess we really need a new title.”
I tapped my lips with my index finger.
“Hmm, I think it will be okay, Director...”
“...”
“But I think it would be best to just call me by her name, ‘Rebecca.’”
"Haha... Yes, Rebecca. I will tell that to my employees as well.”
Devon's mouth, which had been laughing quietly, slowly hardened.
He remained silent for a long time with an expression full of what he wanted to say.
Finally, his lips opened.
“...The entire foundation family was very surprised by the news of the couple's divorce. It’s the same for me too.”
“...”
“Just from what we saw in Gray Zone Village at that time, we felt reassured and thought that you two would live happily ever after.”
Devon licked his lips a few times and slowly furrowed his brows.
“By the way, the divorce between you two may not be the fault of our Gray Zone villagers who were disrespectful to Your Highness ”
I quickly grabbed his hand.
Devon must have been startled by the sudden touch and he looked at me.
“Don’t ever think like that. I can’t tell you in-depth about the divorce process or what happened afterward, but I can tell you one thing for sure.”
“...”
“The time we spent in Gray Zone Village was the most important turning point in Cedric’s and my life.”
A small ripple appeared in Devon's eyes.
He stared at me for a while, and a faint smile appeared on his lips again.
“Then, using those words as comfort, can we dare to erase the guilt we feel about you two?”
“Of course, Devon. Not only are you not responsible for our divorce in the first place, but I want you to always feel at ease.”
“...”
“Just like how I felt when you all forgave me and accepted me back.”
“Your Highness”
I carefully let go of the hand I was holding, took a deep breath, and smiled slightly.
“Actually, I was a little surprised too.”
"Yes? What do you mean?”
“I thought the people in the Gray Zone village would quit the foundation as soon as the divorce was announced. As the Grand Duchess, I couldn't overcome my persuasion, so now that I have stepped down from my position as Grand Duchess... I don’t think they would want to stay at this foundation.”
I continued speaking, slightly raising the corners of my lips.
“So actually, I intentionally didn’t stop by the foundation for a while after the divorce was announced, hoping that everyone would feel at least a little more at ease with my resignation.”
“...”
"However... Not a single person left the foundation and waited in silence.”
Devon lowered his head as if suffocating at my continued words.
How many steps did we walk in silence?
“Of course, Rebecca is no longer a member of the Twins family that we half-blood demons respect.”
Devon, who had been speaking calmly, looked at me and slightly raised the corner of his mouth.
“But actually, the people of our Gray Zone village are no longer part of the Twins family. To be honest, we are now...”
“..."
“We are Rebecca’s people.”
At Devon's words, both eyes slowly opened wide.
I couldn't believe what he was saying was true.
Of course, it was true that they had changed a lot compared to the hostile past.
Even so, I never thought I would hear something like this, so I was speechless for a moment.
“Of course, the reason I accepted the apology in the first place was because, at the time, Rebecca was the Grand Duchess of the Twins family, respected by our half-blood demons. There is no way the resentment and suspicion that has built up over the years will disappear with just one apology.”
“I guess so...”
“It’s embarrassing to say this now, but even after we accepted Rebecca’s offer and signed a contract to work for the Foundation, we thought we could just take advantage of the Twins Grand Duchess’ whims.”
Devon is an old gentleman who has lived closely with the Grand Duke for a long time and is therefore accustomed to hiding his true feelings.
Words so honest that it was almost shocking came out of his mouth.
But I couldn't fault that statement.
I also thought it was ridiculous that their resentment toward Rebecca could disappear so easily.
I looked at Devon with soft eyes and nodded at him. I hope that I can convey that I completely understand what he is saying.
At this, a comfortable smile immediately spread across Devon's lips.
“But once I came to this foundation and started working with Rebecca, everything changed.”
A small sound of air escaping from Devon's lips came out as he smiled.
“Rebecca truly cared for the mixed race demons more than anyone else. You personally dug into the difficulties experienced by mixed-blood demons in the human world, which even we didn't know about, and did not spare any support accordingly. In every step of the process, Rebecca’s sincere interest and affection for our mixed race demons was evident.”
“Devon..."
“And it probably has been since then.”
“...”
“How we all came to respect someone who was not the Grand Duchess of the Twins, but simply Rebecca.”
A handsome smile appeared on his mouth, which had a gray beard.
I was speechless for a while, my eyes fixed on Devon's face.
I was afraid that if I opened my mouth like this, I would end up crying like an idiot.
“That’s why we, the people of the Gray Zone, want to continue to stay here and protect it.”
When our eyes met again, the gray-brown eyes and wrinkled eyes were extremely warm.
“Rebecca, the Grand Duchess we loved more than anyone else, and someone we still respect.”
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