IWDGD 03

Chapter 03

“What more must I do for His Majesty to be satisfied… Do you know, Marquis?”

At the sarcastic question, the Marquis answered in his usual tone.

“I wouldn’t know. If you were to have a child with my daughter as soon as possible and produce an heir, perhaps His Majesty might recognize Your Highness’s loyalty.”

Fernan’s well-defined brow furrowed slightly.

In other words, he was being told to produce an heir as soon as possible and lay down his title.

If he retired, they would use that opportunity to disband the Grand Ducal house’s private army and manipulate the heir to their liking.

The Marquis, seeing Fernan’s displeasure, began to coax him gently.

“If you produce an heir, you and my daughter can go off on a retreat somewhere far away. You would no longer be hounded by His Majesty, so wouldn’t that be a good thing?”

“…….”

“Think carefully. This isn’t asking you to appoint some unrelated scoundrel as your heir. It’s asking you to pass your title to your own flesh and blood. Is that truly so unfair?”

Fernan raised his deep, brooding eyes and glared at the Marquis. The face of the Marquis, filled with greed and ambition, seemed more repulsive than filth.

After a moment of silence with furrowed brows, Fernan slowly opened his mouth.

“If that is truly His Majesty’s will, I cannot defy it.”

*At last, we understand each other.* The Marquis’s face split into a grin as if about to tear, and he was about to say something more when Fernan muttered in a venomous tone.

“As long as it’s a child of my blood, it doesn’t matter who.”

At those words, the Marquis’s eyes nearly popped out of his head as he sprang to his feet. Trembling, he raised his hand and pointed accusingly at Fernan.

“W-What do you mean by that? Are you saying you’ll bring in some bastard child?”

His agitated, babbling outburst was quite amusing. Fernan leisurely leaned back against the sofa and chuckled.

“I just don’t think I’ll be able to have a child with your daughter, no matter how I think about it. Every time I see her, I’m reminded of her father, and I simply can’t bring myself to feel anything.”

“Th-That’s…!”

The Marquis panted heavily, as if about to clutch his neck and collapse at any moment. Fernan watched the scene for a while before rising from his seat.

“It seems we’ve said everything that needs to be said. You should be on your way now.”

Leaving the trembling Marquis behind, Fernan exited the study.

“Y-You insolent…!”

Left alone, the Marquis slammed his hand on the table. He had thought him a sinister man, but he hadn’t expected to be outmaneuvered like this.

As he had said, as long as Fernan laid down his title as soon as possible, the Emperor would be satisfied with anything—whether the heir was from the lawful wife or not.

If Fernan actually brought in a bastard child, there would be no greater disaster. Think of all the dirty work he had done for this marriage.

The Marquis gnashed his teeth, unable to quell his rage for a long time.

It seemed he would need to find another breakthrough that could definitively tame Fernan.

—

*

—

“Greetings to Her Highness. His Highness the Grand Duke is already seated.”

A servant bowed deeply and opened the door. Yulia entered the dining room with a sense of tension.

The usual quiet atmosphere greeted her. Fernan didn’t even look at her as she entered, keeping his gaze fixed on the documents in his hand.

“Good evening, Your Highness.”

Yulia offered a low-voiced greeting, but as always, no reply came.

Perhaps he hadn’t heard because her voice was too quiet. Comforting herself with that meaningless thought, she quietly took her seat.

Soon, servants placed warm soup, fresh salad, and well-done lamb steak on the table in turn.

“Your Highness, shall I pour you some wine?”

“No, thank you.”

Yulia smiled faintly and shook her head, then began her meal. Only the occasional clatter of cutlery filled the dining room.

It was none other than Fernan who broke that uncomfortable silence.

“I’m planning to go to the capital soon to pay my respects to His Majesty.”

Yulia, about to eat her salad, froze with her fork in midair and looked at Fernan. Without taking his eyes off the documents, he continued.

“You will come with me.”

Yulia blinked, momentarily dumbfounded.

“I-Is it alright for me to come along as well?”

“Yes.”

She could feel her heart pounding. This was the first time Fernan had ever proposed doing something together.

“Yes, yes… I will.”

Fernan offered no further conversation, as if that was all he had wanted to say.

Even so, Yulia couldn’t suppress the corners of her mouth twitching upward.

Going to the capital with him. And to have an audience with His Majesty the Emperor.

She felt as though she was finally becoming truly married to him, and her heart couldn’t help but flutter.

So she failed to notice that Fernan’s mood was more subdued than usual.

—

*

—

The carriage carrying the Grand Ducal couple departed at dawn, just as the sun was beginning to rise.

Having been too nervous to sleep well the night before, Yulia had planned to catch up on sleep in the carriage.

But now that she was seated across from Fernan, any drowsiness she’d had seemed to completely vanish.

“…….”

He was reviewing documents even during the carriage ride. She felt a slight pang of regret that his lowered eyelids obscured his eyes.

Fernan had beautiful golden eyes, as if molten sunlight had been poured into them. It was a warm hue that softened his sharp gaze.

In contrast, his hair, as dark as ebony, gave off a somewhat cold impression.

Today, his hair was neatly swept back, revealing his well-defined forehead, which made his sculpted face stand out even more clearly.

She felt she could stare at his face all night and never tire of it.

“If you’re going to keep staring, why don’t you sleep if you have nothing else to do?”

Fernan muttered lowly without lifting his eyes from the documents. Startled, Yulia quickly answered.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize I was…”

Fernan raised his gaze, looked at her flushed cheeks, and furrowed his brow slightly.

She openly stared at him, and then put on that innocent face.

He couldn’t tell if she was genuinely shy or just pretending. She was a woman who irritated him in a different way from the Marquis.

If not for the Emperor’s message, he would never have taken this woman all the way to the capital.

The Emperor’s letter brought by the Marquis contained the content that a dinner banquet would soon be held for members of the imperial family, and that he must attend.

With the additional instruction that he must come with Yulia.

Normally, he would have declined, but if he refused the Emperor’s command any further, he would surely be pressured again with talk of disloyalty.

Everything was tiresome and annoying. Even that woman, who kept sneaking glances at him.

Fernan buried his gaze back into the documents, completely blocking her from his field of vision.

—

When they arrived at the imperial palace, it was already dusk.

While servants moved the luggage from the carriage inside, the two were guided to their respective assigned quarters.

Yulia felt exhaustion wash over her the moment she stepped down from the carriage.

She desperately wanted to throw herself into bed, but first, she had to pay her respects to His Majesty the Emperor.

“Greetings to Your Majesty. Have you been in good health?”

“Yes, come in, both of you. You must have had a long and tiring journey.”

The Emperor’s warm welcome continued. After exchanging a few formal pleasantries with Fernan, the Emperor soon turned his gaze to Yulia.

“This is the first time I’ve seen you since the wedding. Your complexion looks well, which is truly fortunate.”

Yulia hid her rising tension and answered with proper decorum.

“Yes, thanks to Your Majesty’s concern, I have been living comfortably.”

“That’s good to hear. The Grand Duke is such a brusque man, after all. I was quite worried that the Grand Duchess might be neglected.”

At the Emperor’s words, tinged with a joking tone, Yulia answered with a slight smile.

The Emperor was a fairly approachable and warm-hearted person, but there was something about him that made her vaguely uncomfortable.

Somehow, he reminded her of how she felt when facing her father.

“Now, don’t just stand there—please sit.”

The dining table set up inside the banquet hall was spacious enough to comfortably seat over a dozen people.

Seated at the table were the Empress, the Crown Prince and his wife, and several princes and princesses.

Yulia tried to adapt to the unfamiliar atmosphere and listened to the Emperor’s words.

“It’s truly heartwarming to gather like this after so long.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. Thanks to the new addition to the imperial family.”

The Empress smiled kindly and looked at Yulia. With her red hair elegantly pinned up, the Empress had a gentle, warm impression.

“Yes, the Empress is right. It’s truly fortunate that the Grand Duke has found such a virtuous wife.”

Smiling, the Emperor continued.

“The Marquis of Elodie has raised his daughter well. Having grown up watching her loyal father, his daughter must also have deep loyalty to the imperial family. I have no doubt that the Grand Duchess will bring great fortune to the imperial household.”

At the Emperor’s words, everyone’s eyes turned to Yulia. She felt the weight of their gazes for a moment, but forced herself to speak calmly.

“I will do my utmost… to live up to Your Majesty’s expectations.”

“Yes, thank you.”

Yulia felt that the Emperor was praising her excessively. She should have been grateful for his favorable regard, but instead, she felt more uncomfortable.

Swallowing a sigh, she glanced briefly at Fernan seated across from her. His expression was strangely twisted.

Just as she was about to wonder at that, he opened his mouth.

“I had no idea Your Majesty held my wife in such high regard.”