TGLWM 19

Chapter 19

Thanks to his exploits, the Emperor, who now wielded strong imperial authority, insisted, “Edelston is my brother,” and everyone nodded in front of him, but behind his back they never stopped doubting. After all, he bore no resemblance whatsoever to either the late Emperor or the current Emperor—starting from the color of their hair.

Moreover, she knew well from Edelston’s hound-like work that forming the wrong alliance could bring down an entire house.

The Viscount Leroy family, once part of the neutral faction, was a prime example. They had been reduced to ashes by his hand for plotting treason—all because they had formed a marital alliance with the Marquess of Elton, the head of the noble faction, and fell overnight.

Florence looked at Danya, who still seemed to have much to say, and added.

“Remember the Viscount Leroy family? Their whole household was sent off as mine slaves. The Grand Duke did that.”

How could she trust such a terrifying person and accept him as her life partner? She couldn’t continue a marriage with someone she couldn’t trust. Even Clark, whom she had known since childhood and interacted with for over a decade, had betrayed her—and now marriage to a Grand Duke full of suspicious elements!

Danya, despite her simple-minded personality and gentle appearance, seemed to burn with worldly ambition. Truly, the saying “you can know the depths of ten feet of water, but not the heart of a person” was fitting.

“Oh, I’m relieved the Leroy family fell. That viscount’s daughter was always picking fights with milady and treating you so badly! And the Grand Duke isn’t a divorcee, so why call it someone else’s place? I don’t think you need to think of the Grand Duchess position that way. Think of the honor of having your name entered into the imperial family registry!”

“…Enough. Go pack your things.”

Danya seemed utterly impressed by the title “Grand Duchess.” Unable to hide her disappointed expression, she picked up her luggage and trudged out of the Grand Duchess’s chambers.

Now, in the large and luxurious chambers, only Florence and the troublesome ledgers remained.

“Ah… what am I going to do with this.”

She was afraid that if she touched it, there would be no turning back. But not touching it also felt uneasy.

As she was alone in her difficult internal conflict, someone knocked on the door.

“This is Miranda. There are people who wish to see Your Highness—shall I let them in?”

“Let them in.”

She wondered if they were people related to the ledgers, which made her uneasy, but she gave permission with the intention of at least hearing what they had to say. To her surprise, however, people in neatly pressed maid uniforms flooded in behind Miranda in a crowd. What was this now?

Florence stared blankly at the large crowd filling the Grand Duchess’s chambers, then recognized the dark-skinned woman standing politely with clasped hands beside Miranda.

*Isn’t that the one who wanted to do the castration race?*

Looking at each one carefully, she realized they were the very people who had been playing with terrifying knives in the clearing in front of the quarters.

“You all are—”

As she stood up in surprise, they, with the most somber expressions imaginable, knelt down one after another like a receding tide. Even Miranda, who hadn’t even been there at the time, knelt as if caught up in the atmosphere.

*Why are they doing this, really!*

Truly, this Grand Ducal castle was a place where incidents and accidents never stopped, leaving no time for boredom. As Florence stepped back hesitantly, the maids’ moved, tearful voices rang in her ears.

“Your Highness! We heard that you tearfully pleaded with the Grand Duke for leniency on our behalf!”

“We will swear loyalty greater than any knight for our benevolent Highness!”

“We will give our lives for you!”

Tearfully pleading for leniency—wasn’t that a bit too embellished?

Florence thought she had simply made a fair exchange with him. It wasn’t done out of any noble spirit. She had just called his name once, and in return, many people could keep their jobs—anyone would have done the same.

“No, it wasn’t that much…”

Florence felt the words rise to the tip of her throat: save your loyalty for the real Grand Duchess, I don’t want your lives, so just go away. But their tearful, kneeling earnestness was so serious and solemn that she ended up nodding with a completely drained expression. This was the very definition of “peer pressure.”

Clap, clap, clap—

Florence turned her head toward the sound of thunderous applause that erupted at just the right moment, and her face went cold. There stood the head butler, unable to contain his emotion, tears streaming down his face, along with a crowd of employees who had gathered, wearing proud expressions.

“We will serve Her Highness the Grand Duchess with all our hearts!”

Head butler Dale, overcome with deep emotion, knelt along with them. Even the employees who had followed him, and Danya who had returned wondering what was going on, all knelt together, swearing loyalty in a bizarre, touching little scene.

*…Let’s get out of here fast.*

Once again, Florence steeled her resolve.

—

* * *

—

Contrary to the Grand Duke’s words that he would see her at night, he did not appear in the bedroom until late.

It was her second night with him. Since she hadn’t drunk any alcohol this time, her mind was clear, and she had entered the bedroom quite nervous, but the day had been so tumultuous that her tired brain kept trying to drag her body into sleep.

Still, her distrust of him remained unchanged. She pinched her thigh to keep herself awake, determined to draw a clear line so they would never share a bed. Then Danya cautiously entered with news.

“Your Highness, the head butler said the Grand Duke is too busy and will be late. You look tired—please go to bed first.”

“Really? Good. Come in.”

At the news that the Grand Duke would be late, Florence felt wide awake instead, and she let Danya into the bedroom. She wanted to ask about what Danya had seen and heard outside on the wedding day.

“Danya, do you remember how I sent you out of the bridal waiting room to find out what was happening outside? Tell me everything you saw after that, without missing a single detail.”

But contrary to her expectation that she might find some big clue, Danya gave a disappointing answer.

“Well, I ran around trying to find Lady Mariann. But a passing priest told me the ceremony had started, so I hurried back to the waiting room—and no one was there! So I went to the hall where the ceremony was being held, and the Grand Duke was lifting Your Highness up in his arms. It was so romantic!”

Romantic, my foot—she had passed out from stress. Letting out a short sigh, Florence had to refocus the purpose of her questioning to Danya, who was clasping her hands together with a dreamy expression.

“So you found no trace of Mariann at all?”

“No. She must have left the waiting room not long before, but there was nothing—like she’d vanished into thin air.”

Florence became a hundred percent certain from Danya’s answer that Mariann had an accomplice. Her uncle, who had cried out loud like a child, seemed unlikely. If that chest-beating, agonizing performance had been an act, he should quit being a merchant and become an actor.

*Aunt Talia. Who else could it be?*

It must have all been orchestrated from the start, from the letter asking her to be the bridesmaid. She learned from the letter left behind that Mariann’s situation had been desperate. But to drag someone else into it and twist their life just to save herself—what a thoroughly rotten character.

After sending Danya out, Florence couldn’t do anything with the fierce anger that surged up, and for a while she only clutched her skirt tightly. Then, as if splashed with cold water, she came to her senses. She realized that getting angry over things already past would change nothing.

*Becoming the Grand Duchess is now irreversible. Mariann doesn’t seem likely to return, so the only way out is divorce.*

But divorce was hardly something the Grand Duke would be eager for. He had only recently become Grand Duke, and marriage was an important means of solidifying his title. Even the Crown Prince position could only be obtained after at least an engagement ceremony in the Astricen Empire.

*He needed marriage itself. So it wouldn’t matter if the bride changed, and he would have no reason to go looking for Mariann.*

Otherwise, there was no way to explain Edelston’s behavior in insisting she was the Grand Duchess.