Although it was late in the evening, the Crown Princess's palace was bustling.
“You must be tired from the event, but you are still busy, wife.”
“I’m busy whenever you stop by very rarely, so please come more often from now on and talk when I'm not busy.”
Doris responded coldly to Crown Prince Bardenaldo's words. The maids of the Crown Princess's palace were grinding charcoal, mixing it with medicine, and applying it to her hair. Doris, who was lying on the long couch with her head sticking out, glanced at Bardenaldo with her eyes half-open.
“Yesterday and today, everyone unanimously praised the excellent hospitality of the ambassadors. I came to say thank you to my wife for doing her best.”
Doris, who had raised her head for a moment as if to show respect, lay back down and laughed softly. The people who had decorated the venue and the Elacone she had prepared could not have been unaware of who had helped them.
“That kind of praise is fine. If it’s about effort, the Empress put in more effort, and I just imitated. You already know who got more credit, right? It’s embarrassing to say something like that.”
“My wife can have someone by his side who can do such things. It is because my wife has a good eye for people.”
“Well, that’s not wrong, so I appreciate the compliment.”
Doris laughed, thinking that to be true.
“My adjutant said that the lady’s reputation was not very good... I was secretly impressed by the way she managed the Grand Duke’s residence and this incident as well. I mean, my wife's discernment.”
The reputation of Blie. Insolent. Foolish, not even aware of one’s own shallowness. That kind of thing. It was obvious even without hearing it.
“Madam, the estate manager sent a letter.”
I read the letter Jonah handed me without feeling. It was quite predictable. The river below the cliff was swollen by the rain the day before, and when they searched the day after the accident, they found nothing but the remains of a carriage that had fallen nearby. They sent a search party downstream, but Count Acacia’s body was nowhere to be found, and it seemed to have floated out to sea.
"Lady!"
My legs gave out, and I slumped down on the chair. Even my groundless hope of finding the body was shattered. Since there was nobody, the funeral was held simply in the backyard of the mansion. Collateral and distant relatives mourned him separately in their estates, and I was the chief mourner in the capital. He didn’t even have an heir. I called the priest and prayed to the Lord to guide the count to Abadelia, where there was paradise.
“You must be tired from the event, but you are still busy, wife.”
“I’m busy whenever you stop by very rarely, so please come more often from now on and talk when I'm not busy.”
Doris responded coldly to Crown Prince Bardenaldo's words. The maids of the Crown Princess's palace were grinding charcoal, mixing it with medicine, and applying it to her hair. Doris, who was lying on the long couch with her head sticking out, glanced at Bardenaldo with her eyes half-open.
“Yesterday and today, everyone unanimously praised the excellent hospitality of the ambassadors. I came to say thank you to my wife for doing her best.”
Doris, who had raised her head for a moment as if to show respect, lay back down and laughed softly. The people who had decorated the venue and the Elacone she had prepared could not have been unaware of who had helped them.
“That kind of praise is fine. If it’s about effort, the Empress put in more effort, and I just imitated. You already know who got more credit, right? It’s embarrassing to say something like that.”
“My wife can have someone by his side who can do such things. It is because my wife has a good eye for people.”
“Well, that’s not wrong, so I appreciate the compliment.”
Doris laughed, thinking that to be true.
“My adjutant said that the lady’s reputation was not very good... I was secretly impressed by the way she managed the Grand Duke’s residence and this incident as well. I mean, my wife's discernment.”
The reputation of Blie. Insolent. Foolish, not even aware of one’s own shallowness. That kind of thing. It was obvious even without hearing it.
Blie Acacia. A beautiful lady who had been strangely noticeable since the early days of the debutante. A face that resembled Adrienne Piretta. She gave off the impression of a highly educated and noble lady who was surprisingly well-educated whenever she opened her mouth, but the moment she opened her mouth, she became a blind woman. Even if the evaluation of such a woman was good, it was still fun to see her with Adrienne’s face and roll around like a tongue in her mouth. She was also helpful.
It was Doris who gave up the beautiful Rhodnes and chose Bardenaldo, who had a bright future ahead of her, and it was she who decided to take Blie, leaving behind the many noble ladies who lobbied to become her maid, so what Bardenaldo said wasn’t wrong.
“The Duke of Castagna contacted me to say that the welcoming ceremony for this delegation was quite successful and that Ephero might even return home.”
“So, that’s why you came here, you don’t like it?”
Doris threw her head back again and accepted the service. Her voice and actions became sharper.
“Have you finally realized what kind of person Your Highness’s father-in-law is capable of?”
“I guess you didn’t tell me that the timing wasn’t good, wife.”
Doris closed her eyes and smiled as if to say, "Well, that's right."
“How lonely it must be for someone who wants to return home to have a brother who says, ‘The timing is not good.’”
“Ephero must simply fulfill his duty as a Prince.”
The voice was affectionate, but the meaning was cold. Ephero Ronta was the son of a new Empress who had only been on the throne for a few years. He had grown up under the original Empress and had gone to study abroad in Elacon.
“The 9th Prince should also start looking for a fiancée. If he stays only in Elacon and makes eye contact with a woman there, the Empress will not be pleased.”
“I didn’t know you and your father thought so much of Her Majesty the Empress.”
“Then you should know from now on.”
In the cold silence, the maids carefully rinsed Doris's hair. Bardenaldo's eyes were silently watching her as she was served.
'You didn't even come here to say thank you.'
What could one expect from a person who wouldn't even come near the Crown Princess's palace if he had no business? Bardenaldo glanced at Doris, who was smiling subtly, and then quietly opened his mouth.
“You used to have blonde hair for a long time, but now you have black hair.”
“Thank you for your interest.”
Doris replied, seeming happy to receive the attention she had received after a long time.
“But, wife, the more I look at it, the more it seems to me that Countess Acacia resembles the dead Archduchess.”
“I told you at Your Highness’s birthday party, didn’t I? You pretended not to know then.”
“So this time, are you going to follow that lady?”
“...What did you say?”
“Just like you did with Adrienne Piretta a few years ago.”
“...What did you just say?”
Doris completely corrected her posture, with black water dripping from her head, which had been tilted back at a 45-degree angle. The maids were horrified and put a towel around her shoulders, but the black water running down her neck was soaking her shoulders and chest.
“Ask others. It wasn’t me who first suggested it. My maids suggested it.”
Doris twisted her lips as she spoke, incensed at the name Adrienne Piretta. Bardenaldo smiled and shrugged his shoulders, regardless of her mood. His strange appearance provoked Doris even more.
“If you know very well why Father had to act that way, why are you trying to turn my insides upside down like this?”
“...”
Doris looked at Bardenaldo who didn't answer and spoke in a more irritated voice.
“Do you know that everything the Grand Duke, Your Highness’s right-hand man, does is to hinder my father, and I am suffering greatly in the meantime?”
The law of wife inheritance. The outrageous law that states that if a head of a family dies without an heir, the wife inherits the family. Usually, if the head of a family dies without an heir, the closest relative of that family inherits the family. Even if they are collateral.
“The Duke of Castagna contacted me to say that the welcoming ceremony for this delegation was quite successful and that Ephero might even return home.”
“So, that’s why you came here, you don’t like it?”
Doris threw her head back again and accepted the service. Her voice and actions became sharper.
“Have you finally realized what kind of person Your Highness’s father-in-law is capable of?”
“I guess you didn’t tell me that the timing wasn’t good, wife.”
Doris closed her eyes and smiled as if to say, "Well, that's right."
“How lonely it must be for someone who wants to return home to have a brother who says, ‘The timing is not good.’”
“Ephero must simply fulfill his duty as a Prince.”
The voice was affectionate, but the meaning was cold. Ephero Ronta was the son of a new Empress who had only been on the throne for a few years. He had grown up under the original Empress and had gone to study abroad in Elacon.
“The 9th Prince should also start looking for a fiancée. If he stays only in Elacon and makes eye contact with a woman there, the Empress will not be pleased.”
“I didn’t know you and your father thought so much of Her Majesty the Empress.”
“Then you should know from now on.”
In the cold silence, the maids carefully rinsed Doris's hair. Bardenaldo's eyes were silently watching her as she was served.
'You didn't even come here to say thank you.'
What could one expect from a person who wouldn't even come near the Crown Princess's palace if he had no business? Bardenaldo glanced at Doris, who was smiling subtly, and then quietly opened his mouth.
“You used to have blonde hair for a long time, but now you have black hair.”
“Thank you for your interest.”
Doris replied, seeming happy to receive the attention she had received after a long time.
“But, wife, the more I look at it, the more it seems to me that Countess Acacia resembles the dead Archduchess.”
“I told you at Your Highness’s birthday party, didn’t I? You pretended not to know then.”
“So this time, are you going to follow that lady?”
“...What did you say?”
“Just like you did with Adrienne Piretta a few years ago.”
“...What did you just say?”
Doris completely corrected her posture, with black water dripping from her head, which had been tilted back at a 45-degree angle. The maids were horrified and put a towel around her shoulders, but the black water running down her neck was soaking her shoulders and chest.
“Ask others. It wasn’t me who first suggested it. My maids suggested it.”
Doris twisted her lips as she spoke, incensed at the name Adrienne Piretta. Bardenaldo smiled and shrugged his shoulders, regardless of her mood. His strange appearance provoked Doris even more.
“If you know very well why Father had to act that way, why are you trying to turn my insides upside down like this?”
“...”
Doris looked at Bardenaldo who didn't answer and spoke in a more irritated voice.
“Do you know that everything the Grand Duke, Your Highness’s right-hand man, does is to hinder my father, and I am suffering greatly in the meantime?”
The law of wife inheritance. The outrageous law that states that if a head of a family dies without an heir, the wife inherits the family. Usually, if the head of a family dies without an heir, the closest relative of that family inherits the family. Even if they are collateral.
However, Noevian Trovica, the man who was blinded by love and wanted to give everything to his wife, proposed the crazy law called the law of wife inheritance and eventually succeeded in legislation with the support of the Crown Prince. It was content that the wife would manage the family for five years and then find a suitable heir to succeed her, but the fact that such an idea came out of the head of the Grand Duke, a great nobleman, was a hot topic.
As soon as the law was confirmed, all the newspapers and gossip magazines called him the greatest romantic in Ronta. When all the artists talked about true love, they praised Noevian Trovica without fail. Doris frowned as she recalled that behavior. It was an incredibly ugly sight.
“In the end, he was not able to die before his wife, but he gained fame. He must have been a very special person to the extent that he was drafted to Elacon and did not attend the meeting to repeal the law.”
“That bill is a story that ended two years ago, wife.”
“Yes, it’s been years since I had a hard time because of the false rumors that I copied Adrienne Piretta. So don’t criticize me for something so trivial.”
“It is done, Your Highness.”
“It’s okay to stop.”
Doris got up from her seat, twisting her hair that the maids had sufficiently dried with a dry towel. Doris, sitting in front of the dressing table, snorted at Bardenaldo, who was still staring at her, and looked in the mirror. Long, straight black hair. To make it like the curly hair of Blie Acacia, a hot iron skewer was needed. Bardenaldo reflected in the mirror and came closer and closer to Doris, who was stroking her jet-black hair.
“Doris.”
Bardenaldo's large hands wrapped around her shoulders from behind as he called her name affectionately.
The Crown Prince's face, looking at her in the mirror, was filled with a worried smile as always.
“I don’t like to waste my energy on things I can’t have.”
“...”
Doris stared into his deep blue eyes as he spoke strangely.
“In the end, he was not able to die before his wife, but he gained fame. He must have been a very special person to the extent that he was drafted to Elacon and did not attend the meeting to repeal the law.”
“That bill is a story that ended two years ago, wife.”
“Yes, it’s been years since I had a hard time because of the false rumors that I copied Adrienne Piretta. So don’t criticize me for something so trivial.”
“It is done, Your Highness.”
“It’s okay to stop.”
Doris got up from her seat, twisting her hair that the maids had sufficiently dried with a dry towel. Doris, sitting in front of the dressing table, snorted at Bardenaldo, who was still staring at her, and looked in the mirror. Long, straight black hair. To make it like the curly hair of Blie Acacia, a hot iron skewer was needed. Bardenaldo reflected in the mirror and came closer and closer to Doris, who was stroking her jet-black hair.
“Doris.”
Bardenaldo's large hands wrapped around her shoulders from behind as he called her name affectionately.
The Crown Prince's face, looking at her in the mirror, was filled with a worried smile as always.
“I don’t like to waste my energy on things I can’t have.”
“...”
Doris stared into his deep blue eyes as he spoke strangely.
"I think it's better to focus on what you can have rather than spending time and energy on what you can’t have.”
“...Why?”
Doris quickly shook her shoulder, resenting the thought that it was an attack on her, but his hand did not fall.
“You can have them all.”
Upon hearing those words, Bardenaldo's expression changed subtly. Doris stared straight into his eyes as if she would not give in.
“If you can have it, take it all.”
At her subsequent words, Bardenaldo laughed sincerely for the first time. He patted her still-wet shoulder as if to encourage her.
“I guess it is God’s will and blessing that I have a wife like you.”
Bardenaldo nodded to the maids watching from the corner.
“Wouldn’t it be a shame if my wife catches a cold?”
And she urged them on with a sweet and affectionate voice. The maids, accustomed to talking indirectly, hurried to Doris' side, diligently combing and drying her hair. Doris watched Bardenaldo's back as he left through the mirror, and was disgusted by his habit of speaking vaguely and uneasily.
“...Why?”
Doris quickly shook her shoulder, resenting the thought that it was an attack on her, but his hand did not fall.
“You can have them all.”
Upon hearing those words, Bardenaldo's expression changed subtly. Doris stared straight into his eyes as if she would not give in.
“If you can have it, take it all.”
At her subsequent words, Bardenaldo laughed sincerely for the first time. He patted her still-wet shoulder as if to encourage her.
“I guess it is God’s will and blessing that I have a wife like you.”
Bardenaldo nodded to the maids watching from the corner.
“Wouldn’t it be a shame if my wife catches a cold?”
And she urged them on with a sweet and affectionate voice. The maids, accustomed to talking indirectly, hurried to Doris' side, diligently combing and drying her hair. Doris watched Bardenaldo's back as he left through the mirror, and was disgusted by his habit of speaking vaguely and uneasily.
***
The day after hearing the news of Count Acacia’s death. The funeral proceeded incredibly quickly. The servants’ faces were clouded with anxiety about the future, and especially the old butler and Marge barely managed to greet the mourners with faces even more blank than mine. In the morning, the wheels of the carriage Count Acacia had ridden were loaded onto a cart. The thick wooden screws at the joints were corroded and snapped off. It was a common accident. An unexpected accident was caused by the Count who had gone to the cliff and the old carriage that had been neglected in its maintenance.
“Madam, the estate manager sent a letter.”
I read the letter Jonah handed me without feeling. It was quite predictable. The river below the cliff was swollen by the rain the day before, and when they searched the day after the accident, they found nothing but the remains of a carriage that had fallen nearby. They sent a search party downstream, but Count Acacia’s body was nowhere to be found, and it seemed to have floated out to sea.
"Lady!"
My legs gave out, and I slumped down on the chair. Even my groundless hope of finding the body was shattered. Since there was nobody, the funeral was held simply in the backyard of the mansion. Collateral and distant relatives mourned him separately in their estates, and I was the chief mourner in the capital. He didn’t even have an heir. I called the priest and prayed to the Lord to guide the count to Abadelia, where there was paradise.
For today, the lobby on the first floor would become a huge chapel, and the mourners would join in short prayers amidst soft music.
“Sir Neil, did you report this to His Highness the Second Prince?”
“Ah, I’m so nervous... I’ll report now...”
“Don't do it.”
I couldn't let Rhodnes, who was already busy, worry about something like this. Rather than making a fuss by inviting Rhodnes to a funeral that would only last a day, I needed some time to quietly think about how to proceed.
"Lady!"
Jonah, who occasionally took the coats of visitors at the entrance, came running towards me.
“My Lady, His Highness is coming!”
Indeed. The eyes of the few visitors turned to Noevian, and their heads bowed respectfully. This was because most of the people in this mansion were the Crown Prince or Noevian’s people. I quietly approached the entrance, receiving worried looks from Jonah and Neil. Noevian, who calmly ignored the butler’s hand that was trying to take his coat, looked at me with a seemingly gloomy and depressed face.
“I greet you, Your Highness, the Grand Duke.”
I bowed slightly and looked at the hand that Noevian silently extended. Black gloves. Black uniform. The sensitive and ascetic face was that of Noevian Trovica, known to all the Empire.
"...Thanks..."
“I told you.”
In an instant, I had the illusion that only Noevian and I existed in that space. Noevian, who had politely asked for a handshake, pulled me closer as soon as we touched, and a sinister voice poured out mercilessly into my ears and head.
“...I told you you’d regret it.”
“Sir Neil, did you report this to His Highness the Second Prince?”
“Ah, I’m so nervous... I’ll report now...”
“Don't do it.”
I couldn't let Rhodnes, who was already busy, worry about something like this. Rather than making a fuss by inviting Rhodnes to a funeral that would only last a day, I needed some time to quietly think about how to proceed.
"Lady!"
Jonah, who occasionally took the coats of visitors at the entrance, came running towards me.
“My Lady, His Highness is coming!”
Indeed. The eyes of the few visitors turned to Noevian, and their heads bowed respectfully. This was because most of the people in this mansion were the Crown Prince or Noevian’s people. I quietly approached the entrance, receiving worried looks from Jonah and Neil. Noevian, who calmly ignored the butler’s hand that was trying to take his coat, looked at me with a seemingly gloomy and depressed face.
“I greet you, Your Highness, the Grand Duke.”
I bowed slightly and looked at the hand that Noevian silently extended. Black gloves. Black uniform. The sensitive and ascetic face was that of Noevian Trovica, known to all the Empire.
"...Thanks..."
“I told you.”
In an instant, I had the illusion that only Noevian and I existed in that space. Noevian, who had politely asked for a handshake, pulled me closer as soon as we touched, and a sinister voice poured out mercilessly into my ears and head.
“...I told you you’d regret it.”
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