Chapter – 22
“L-Lord?”
For a moment, I didn’t understand what she meant.
I tilted my head slightly, trying to make sense of the creaking chaos around me.
“Yes! The Grand Duke! The Grand Duke!”
Grand Duke… Grand Duke…
I repeated the words Mary had said under my breath, and my eyes suddenly widened like lanterns.
“C-Could it be that the person you’re talking about… is my husband…?”
“That’s right. Your husband, Lady—Ashtyria’s Grand Duke—is returning!”
At that moment, it felt as if a hammer had struck the back of my head.
Why is he coming back already?
According to the original story, Sidheron wasn’t supposed to return for another year.
I straightened my stiff body and started running somewhere like a madwoman.
“Milady? Where are you going?”
I could hear someone calling behind me, but I didn’t have the leisure to respond.
My heart pounded violently, and cold sweat streamed down my forehead.
This can’t be happening. It’s impossible!
I tried to deny the situation over and over, but the ominous feeling I had suppressed began to rise uncontrollably.
Why—why now?!
“Milady?”
A few maids gasped at the sight of me running so unladylike, but I couldn’t stop.
I ran up the stairs, through the corridors, and finally stopped in front of my room.
“Haa… huu…”
I exhaled the breath that had built up to my chin and entered the room.
The first thing I saw was a notebook in the drawer.
It was my notebook, where I kept all my information, because I couldn’t trust my own memory. I grabbed it without hesitation.
Did I get the year wrong?
I flipped through the pages frantically.
I remember writing it down around here…
My hands stopped as I reached the correct page.
“Imperial Year 932.”
That was the year Sidheron was supposed to return to the mansion. I didn’t know the exact date, but I remembered this clearly.
But right now, it was 931.
Which meant he was returning a whole year earlier than he originally should.
Thud.
My strength left me, and the notebook fell to the floor, but I didn’t have time to care.
Why…?
Why is he coming back a whole year early?!
The perfect plan I had made was now cracked.
I already knew that the war Sidheron participated in was going very well. I also knew that his fire-element abilities were contributing significantly to the war’s victories.
It was a rumor so famous that everyone in the empire knew it—but up to that point, it had matched the progression described in the novel.
Yes. That was exactly where the problem lay.
I had assumed the “victories” mentioned in the original story were the same as the ones I was hearing about now.
Who would have guessed that he had achieved an even greater triumph than in the original story?
And a whole year earlier than expected…
As I continued thinking, my head started to ache.
Why does he have to be so unnecessarily competent!
“When exactly is Sidheron returning to the mansion?”
“I’m not sure… I only heard from the other maids, so I don’t know exactly. Oh, maybe the butler would know?”
Mary’s words made me think of the butler.
Ken… not really.
Ken had never really liked me from the start, and our relationship hadn’t changed much over the past seven years.
Of course, ever since the Elga incident, he hadn’t openly ignored me—but we weren’t exactly on good terms.
“…I suppose I’ll have to ask the butler directly.”
“Or I could try asking the others a bit more—”
“No, that’s fine. Actually, this works out. I have something to discuss with Ken separately anyway.”
Though I was flustered that Sidheron was returning a year early, it wasn’t a disaster.
Naturally, I had spent the last seven years preparing to leave the mansion.
Except for two things.
The two things were the maintenance funds reserved for minors like me, and the divorce papers I intended to serve Sidheron upon his return.
Of course, these were the two most important things…!
What do I do?
It takes about a month to process the divorce papers. Since I didn’t expect him to return so soon, I hadn’t prepared them yet.
I’ll stop by the butler first and then head straight to the temple.
“Milady, may I ask why you’ve summoned me?”
Ken, the butler, whose white hair was neatly tied up, greeted me with a polite yet infuriating tone.
In truth, only two people effectively managed the Ashtyria estate while Sidheron was away: Ken, overseeing internal matters, and Herden, a steward known as a relative of Sidheron.
Since I was a minor, the household finances were under Ken’s control.
Being the Grand Duchess didn’t grant me much authority. Well, in a way, that was fortunate.
“I heard that Sidheron is returning.”
Ken’s white eyebrows softened as if surprised.
“I didn’t know Milady would take an interest in matters concerning the master.”
A deliberately malicious remark. Ken always found a reason to provoke me whenever he could.
“It’s my husband we’re talking about. Of course I care.”
“I see. It seems I misjudged, as you haven’t inquired once over the past seven years.”
How dare he attack me with facts like that.
But I had little reason to seek out Sidheron, who I hadn’t spent much time with as the Grand Duchess.
Though I had many things I wanted to retort to Ken, today was not the day for a battle of wits. I didn’t have time anyway!
I quickly got to the point.
“Glad the misunderstanding’s cleared up. But do you know when Sidheron will return?”
“…Hmm. I’m afraid I don’t know the exact date either.”
“What?”
“The news just came that he’s about to depart. He should arrive within a month or so….”
A month?!
“I don’t know the exact date. That part would be better answered by Herden. If your business here is done—”
I cut off Ken’s attempt to end the conversation.
“Wait. A month? I thought the distance between Petrian, where the war is taking place, and Asaken was quite far?”
I had thought that even traveling day and night, it would take at least two months.
“That’s correct.”
Relieved for a moment, Ken adjusted his glasses and added:
“That’s by land travel. But since the Grand Duke achieved such a great victory in this war, they are providing an airship for a faster return.”
“…Airship?”
I had heard of it—a technology Petrian had developed, similar to an airplane.
“Normally it would take about a week, but under the condition that he attends the banquet for over three weeks, he will be lent the airship. One week by air, three weeks at the banquet—so roughly a month in total. That’s what I estimate.”
Was it like this in the original story too…?
The more Ken spoke, the more dizzy I felt.
“Anything else you need to say?”
Alright, that’s enough. If you have nothing else, just go.
If I could read his mind, Ken would have surely been saying just that with his gaze.
Before he could kick me out as usual, I hurriedly brought up the next matter.
“…I’d like to receive the maintenance funds owed to me.”
Since I had been a minor, I had only received half of my rightful maintenance funds.
The unpaid portion had accumulated over time, and now, at nineteen, I could confidently demand it.
Normally, upon reaching adulthood, I would take charge of the household finances, but I had refused.
Once Sidheron returned, I planned to serve him divorce papers and flee. Managing the household would have involved far too much learning.
Of course, if I learned the household management, I could siphon the money more efficiently—but if the amount got too large, legal repercussions could follow, Blake had warned.
So, I had lived quietly in the Ashtyria estate as an incompetent Grand Duchess.
Even if I had volunteered to manage things, Ken would’ve stopped me anyway.
Currently, Herden was handling my duties temporarily.
“Maintenance funds?”
Ken’s expression cracked slightly at my request.
See? That’s why I came here.
“I’d like to receive all the funds that have accumulated so far.”
“May I ask what you intend to use such a large sum for?”
I had an answer ready.
“Now that Sidheron has returned and Ashtyria is stable, I want to set an example as a Grand Duchess. There are many ways to use the money, but first, I plan to donate a portion to the temple.”
Ken looked at me as if to say, You?
“You could just use the estate’s funds… why insist on using your maintenance funds?”
“That way, it carries more weight. I intend to donate in the name of myself, the Grand Duchess of Ashtyria, not the estate. And it doesn’t have to be the temple—there are many ways to put money to use.”
“…I’m glad the education invested in you hasn’t been wasted.”
This brat.
Hold it in… hold it in.
They say the one who laughs last is the true winner.
Let’s see how long you can keep this up against me.
