TCDSS 07

Chapter 07

“I often have to leave on short notice when work comes up. While you’re in the estate, you may do whatever you wish.”

Even though he had just woken up, his movements were incredibly smooth. He seemed like someone trained in physical activity, yet there wasn’t the slightest hint of stiffness.

Sasha, who had been staring blankly for a moment, suddenly sprang to her feet as well. Stretching her shoulders lightly, she followed his movements with her eyes.

Should I stay? Should I leave…? Do I wait until he tells me to go?

While her thoughts spun noisily in her head, Kayler had already changed his clothes and casually left the room.

“…What?”

He just left without saying anything?

She sat there blankly, staring at the closed door for a while, unable to move. Thinking about how he had left so abruptly, making her earlier hesitation meaningless, Sasha finally gathered herself and got up.

The Duke’s day in the ducal residence had just begun.

Kayler didn’t wander around much.

After finishing his meal, he went into his study on the first floor and didn’t come out for a good two hours.

For about the first hour, Sasha had been sitting in her room reading a book, but for some reason, she kept getting distracted. She wasn’t sure whether she was curious about the man named Kayler Ignote, or about the contract between him and herself.

When she stepped outside for a walk, she exited through the back door. Instead of having tea by the fountain, she decided to walk a bit and took a long route toward the main gate of the estate.

Soon, the grand front gate came into view—and it looked unusually chaotic. Several carriages were lined up, and a crowd had gathered.

This is uncomfortable…

With so little information about this world, she felt a twinge of unease at the thought of running into these people. But before she could turn back, their eyes had already found her.

They were clearly looking at her, yet instead of greeting her, they only whispered among themselves.

Caught in an awkward moment—neither able to turn back nor proceed forward—a woman suddenly gathered her courage and stepped forward.

“Duchess Ignote, it’s a pleasure to meet you like this. I am Miliya of Lennon.”

Her voice was bright and lively. Unmarried noble daughters were called “young ladies,” right? Since she didn’t know their names anyway, Sasha simply approached and bowed in return.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

But the moment she responded, curious gazes poured in from all around.

W-What? Why is everyone staring at me like that?

She couldn’t tell whether those looks were curiosity, goodwill, or displeasure—but all of them were fixed on her.

“I’m Lily of Demina.”

“I’m Aron of Seovis!”

As Sasha greeted them politely and calmly, even those who had been watching from afar began to crowd around her.

Then, one after another, they started speaking all at once. Their voices overlapped so much that she had to focus entirely just to catch anything.

“I didn’t know you were this beautiful!”

“We only heard you were sick for a long time—who knew you were such a beauty?”

“Exactly! When you suddenly appeared, Lady Sasha—no, Duchess—everyone was whispering!”

As someone with a loud voice threw out a topic, the conversation gradually took shape.

The people who had seemed hesitant before now eagerly spoke over one another.

“So there was a reason that the dignified Marquis Ibern never introduced his eldest daughter.”

“But still! I visited the marquis’s estate several times at Lady Elina’s invitation—how regretful that I never met you sooner!”

“You’re truly so beautiful! I thought it was just because of the wedding, but my goodness—you’re simply naturally pretty!”

Sasha perked up at the mention of the Marquis Ibern—her family—but the chatter of excited women quickly buried the topic.

They were praising her appearance, so she simply responded with indifferent glances, though she couldn’t help feeling disappointed at how the conversation drifted away.

More importantly—why were all these young women at the ducal estate?

There were plenty of male nobles, which made sense if they had business. But the women… why?

And then, quite naturally, the memory of those fancy invitation letters she had seen in his study surfaced.

Her gaze suddenly turned cold.

Contract or not, the idea of people flocking to a man who already had a partner—her husband—made her uncomfortable.

“Why has everyone gathered here in front of the estate?”

She meant it as a simple question, but perhaps her discomfort showed—because everyone flinched.

Oh? So they do feel guilty… But why are the men startled too…?

With too little information, her assumptions veered off course.

As she narrowed her eyes, the tightly shut main gate behind her opened smoothly without a sound.

The hopeful gleam in their eyes instantly dimmed when they saw who it was.

“Lady Sasha, were you out for a walk?”

It was the butler, Pavan. After greeting Sasha first, he didn’t spare even a glance for the crowd behind her.

“Ah… yes. I was just about to head back in. What brings you here, Pavan…?”

Speaking politely still felt more natural when dealing with nobles.

Pavan then shifted his gaze slightly toward the nobles behind her.

“I heard there were uninvited guests outside, so I came to see.”

His calm, composed voice carried a sharp edge.

Sasha couldn’t help but let out an awkward chuckle. She might not need to mind them—but he was the Duke’s butler.

The atmosphere shifted immediately.

Pavan stepped slightly past Sasha and addressed the gathered nobles.

“I will deliver the Duke’s words. Hmm… Since when is it proper etiquette in any empire to visit without an appointment? If you have business with me, make an appointment.”

Murmurs erupted louder than before.

“We came because there was no reply to our letters!”

“There was no response to the invitation from the Demina family either!”

What were they all hoping for, gathering like this without even waiting for a reply?

Pavan listened calmly before speaking again.

“Receiving an invitation does not mean an appointment has been made. Unless it concerns the fate of the empire, if it is not urgent enough to warrant such a visit, then leave. Otherwise… during the next campaign, your entire family will be conscripted.”

The response was polite—but terrifying.

Even Sasha flinched slightly.

A campaign… that meant war, right?

She didn’t fully understand what kind of punishment he meant, but judging by the nobles’ pale faces, she could guess.

Some women looked at her with pleading eyes, but Sasha quietly turned away.

What power do I have? The Duke himself is that firm…

“Lady Sasha, I will see off the uninvited guests.”

“…Alright. Thank you for your hard work.”

Despite being just a butler, Pavan spoke with such authority that the nobles reluctantly withdrew, their faces full of lingering regret.

No—they were definitely being chased away.

He seemed cold, but why were they so desperate to meet Kayler in the first place?

This world was truly hard to understand.

It would have been easier if she had really entered a romance fantasy novel like the ones she’d read during orientation.

“Since your marriage, they’ve been coming like this quite often. They must have thought they would be received now. Before, they were too afraid to even approach.”

Watching the carriages depart, Pavan spoke casually.

What had they expected to change just because of a marriage?

“The front gate isn’t strictly guarded. As long as the Duke is within the estate, no one can threaten the House of Ignote.”

She didn’t fully understand what he meant, but at least her curiosity about how people could gather right in front of the estate was resolved.

Passing through the door Pavan opened, Sasha stepped back inside.

Watching him disappear somewhere within the estate, she turned to walk—then suddenly stopped.

Slowly, she made her way to the drawing room and sank into the sofa.

That uncomfortable encounter had given her more information than she expected.

Among it was something she had been especially curious about—her family.

But the impression wasn’t good.

“The dignified Marquis Ibern… and his sickly eldest daughter…”

From their tone, it seemed not only had people never seen her—they hadn’t even known she existed.

How sick must she have been, for her very existence to be hidden?

Sasha’s body felt only slightly weak at worst. Her limbs were perfectly fine, her appearance beautiful, her movements unhindered—and in the past ten days, she had felt no internal pain at all.

Did my illness disappear when my soul entered this body?

Or… was there never any illness to begin with?

“…Family.”

And yet, the first thing that came to mind was that word.

Something she had never had before.

The moment she repeated it, the word echoed deeply within Sasha’s chest.