TPWA 11

Chapter 11

“I will order a salary reduction for all the staff and correct their mistakes.”

Agnes immediately changed her words.

The servants of the ducal household were highly loyal and took great pride in serving the Duke’s family. They would understand the seriousness of the situation if she went this far.

“Those who cannot properly carry out their master’s orders are unnecessary.”

Cedric shook his head at Agnes’s troubled expression.

Even a small action could become the seed of discord. The Imperial Family was constantly looking for an opportunity to bring down the Duke’s family.

Cedric had no intention of letting this matter pass without consequences.

“Howard. Investigate exactly what happened to the Princess.”

“I will carry out your orders.”

Howard gestured for Agnes to remain quiet.

He could not allow her to get caught up in the trouble and suffer the consequences because of an unnecessary mistake.

Cedric was not a difficult master to serve.

However, he was not lenient, either. He was not the kind of master who would tolerate mistakes for long.

No. They had not even realized that they were making a mistake. They had practically thrown away their chance to correct it.

“I will dismiss everyone involved.”

Agnes, who had been carefully watching Cedric’s reaction, finally realized that the matter was now out of her hands. In a situation like this, the only answer was to bow her head without making excuses.

“Just because the Princess has become the mistress of the ducal household does not mean she has ceased to be a member of the Imperial Family.”

Cedric’s calm voice echoed through his office.

He had told her to live quietly in the ducal household, but that did not mean she should be treated with disrespect.

“Nor does the Duchess’s authority disappear simply because she keeps a low profile within the family.”

Members of the Imperial Family possessed authority simply by virtue of who they were.

The Princess had been ridiculed for failing to receive a divine power, but she had still retained the elegance and nobility unique to the Imperial Family.

“I will not provide letters of recommendation for those who are dismissed this time. This is the price they must pay for treating my orders lightly.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

Agnes finally understood her mistake.

She had thought of the marriage as nothing more than a contract, but the Duke was paying far closer attention to the Princess’s treatment than she had expected.

She had foolishly assumed that showing the Princess a reasonable amount of courtesy would be enough.

“I will hire new staff to take charge of every aspect of Her Highness’s daily life.”

After ending the conversation, Agnes returned to her private office and immediately summoned the maids to question them about everything that had happened.

The maids had not even informed the Princess that the knight assigned to protect her would be delayed because he had been given another mission.

In the end, more than a hundred servants were dismissed from the Reynold Ducal House just a few days later.

Many of them were kitchen staff and maids in particular.

The incident heightened the anxiety among the remaining servants.

When they learned that the Duke had not completely withdrawn his attention from the Duchess, they began to tread carefully once again.

“To think they insulted a member of the Imperial Family. This was far more serious than a simple dismissal.”

Cedric clicked his tongue as he read the report Howard had brought him. For more than a month, the servants had neglected not only the Princess’s meals but also her personal needs.

The remaining servants, afraid that the blame might fall on them as well, honestly confessed what the dismissed servants had done.

Cedric clicked his tongue again as he reviewed the Princess’s diet. Every meal had consisted of nothing but thin soup.

“Howard, is the Reynold Ducal House poor?”

At their master’s grave question, Agnes and Howard lowered their heads.

They had warned the servants to behave appropriately, but they had never imagined things would go this far.

“No, Your Grace.”

“The mistress of a household where even the servants eat their fill was left to starve.”

Neither of them could raise their heads at the Duke’s cold voice.

“You will both have your salaries reduced for the next six months.”

“Thank you for your leniency.”

Howard bowed deeply. Agnes also clenched her fists tightly.

She had thought a simple warning would be enough to make the servants stop, but they had gone far beyond what they had any right to do.

She felt the full weight of her own failure.

She could not even begin to guess why the Princess had chosen not to inform the Duke of the situation immediately.

“I will visit Her Highness, confess my wrongdoing, and beg for her forgiveness.”

“Do that.”

This should be enough to make both of them more cautious in how they treated the Princess.

Cedric believed that he had now taken care of everything he could do about the matter.

“They really hate me now.”

Ivanna let out a small sigh as she walked through the garden.

It had been a long time since she had experienced such open hostility and rejection.

Somehow, the Duke had learned about her situation, and a large number of servants had been dismissed.

The dismissed servants had felt wronged, but being fired was still better than being executed for insulting a member of the Imperial Family.

She had thought the matter would end there, but among the remaining servants, resentment toward the Duchess had taken root alongside their fear of her.

They believed that innocent people had suffered because of a useless Duchess who held a prestigious title but did nothing.

Would it be better if they simply cursed me openly, like they did in the Imperial Palace?

Now, no one even looked at her. All she could sense was the malice directed toward her.

Complete disregard.

It was what she had wanted, but not like this.

“Should I just tell him that I want to leave the mansion after all?”

In reality, she was already living as though she had left.

Her meals had returned to normal, but there was an unmistakable lack of care in the way they were served.

She was not the only one who noticed it. Sola and Anthony felt the same way.

Since then, Ivanna had been spending every day at the merchant company under the pretext of going out.

She worried that leaving the mansion altogether would attract unwanted attention, so she occasionally returned to take a walk in the garden or shut herself away in the library.

The Reynold Ducal House, which she had visited after several days away, felt suffocatingly oppressive and cold.

“Where are you planning to go?”

“Eek!”

Lost in thought, Ivanna was startled by the sudden question, and her body swayed unsteadily.

“Be careful.”

A firm hand caught her before she could fall.

Ivanna quickly collected herself at the touch of the warm hand supporting her body.

“Are you all right?”

“Y-Yes.”

Ivanna nodded with a bewildered expression as she looked at Cedric, who had suddenly appeared in front of her.

Why is this man here?

This was the first time she had encountered the Duke while taking a walk.

“What did you mean when you said you wanted to leave the mansion?”

After waiting for Ivanna to calm down, Cedric questioned her in a probing tone.

“No!”

Ivanna quickly shook her head at his question.

If she told him that she wanted to move out, she had no idea what this man, who was so fixated on their contract, might do.

“I just meant that the city is so interesting that I want to go out more often!”

She had almost said that she wanted to live outside the mansion, but the words never left her mouth.

A Duchess who was supposed to live quietly according to their contract would never say that she wanted to live elsewhere.

“The person I have chosen to serve as your escort is still away on a mission. Please be patient a little longer. He will return soon.”

Seeing the Princess watching him cautiously, Cedric softened his attitude a little.

He was now certain that she had no intention of violating their contract.

Despite being treated terribly, she had never complained to him.

He already knew from his shadows’ reports that she frequently went out.

She probably thought she had no escort, but the Duke’s shadows had been protecting her.

According to their reports, she visited the same merchant company every time. Unfortunately, it was one of the merchant companies mentioned in a previous report concerning smuggling.

She went there almost every day, and on some days, she did not even return to the mansion.

Cedric could hardly bring himself to say anything about the Princess’s escapades. Even he, a man who placed great importance on rules and principles, had a conscience.

“Did you simply become interested in going out?”

“Yes. It’s my first time outside the Imperial Palace.”

Ivanna had been anxiously studying Cedric’s expression, but she finally felt relieved.

As expected, this man had no idea that she had been living outside the mansion all this time.

Even the Duke, who was bound to her by contract and had become her only family, was indifferent to her.

Ivanna no longer wanted to continue living that way.

Accepting the marriage with the Duke had been the first step toward making a change. It was her first leap toward escaping both the Imperial Family and her current reality.

She had anticipated that the Duke would pay her no attention, just as he was doing now, and had been preparing a way to escape.

She could not return to the Imperial Palace, so she could not sever all ties with the Imperial Family. However, she wanted them to live as though they did not exist in each other’s lives, just as their agreement stipulated.

That was all the more reason she could not afford to give the Duke anything to use against her. For now, she had to remain quiet and unobtrusive so that he would continue to pay no attention to her affairs.

“Is there a particular place you like?”

The unexpected question made her breath catch for a moment.

Could he have already assigned someone to watch me and be trying to sound me out?

The suspicion suddenly crossed her mind, making her heart ache with anxiety.

Come to think of it, he was the one who had already chosen a knight to escort her, yet had postponed the appointment because the knight was away on a mission.

Considering their contract, that was rather strange.

There was no way a man who had insisted on the terms of their contract would simply disregard the safety of a member of the Imperial Family.

How could I have treated that as something unimportant all this time?

Realizing her mistake so late, Ivanna licked her dry lips.