TCDSS 09

Chapter 09

Night had fallen.

Sasha, dressed in her nightgown, paced in front of her bedroom door.

Whenever he returned to the estate, she had always spent the night with him—except for yesterday. The night she had asked whether sharing a bed every three days was part of the contract.

Had he taken her roundabout questioning as her saying she didn’t want to sleep with him?

Aside from fidgeting slightly to avoid touching each other, there had been no major movement between them.

“So… what do I actually want?”

Did she want to fulfill her duty? Accept it and avoid it? Or… did she actually want it?

Even without reaching any conclusion, night had come as always. She had put on her nightclothes because she needed to sleep, but her feet wouldn’t move easily.

Still—

Sasha gathered her resolve and opened the door.

She walked through the dim hallway and stopped in front of his bedroom, knocking softly.

Before the echo of her knock faded in the empty corridor, a voice from inside told her to come in. Its low resonance carried through the door.

When she entered, the Duke’s bedroom was illuminated only by bluish moonlight. The room felt cool, almost cold. Kayler was leaning back in a large armchair.

“What is it?”

As if he already knew it was Sasha, he spoke without even opening his eyes. Without taking her gaze off him, she walked quietly toward the bed.

“Aren’t you going to sleep? You should sleep in the bed.”

Trying to sound as casual as possible, she spoke. Kayler slowly opened his eyes. In the blue-toned room, his blue gaze seemed even colder.

As she studied his sculpted features, he frowned slightly and rose from his seat. With each step he took toward her, Sasha’s heart pounded in rhythm.

“Yes. I have a long journey tomorrow, so I should sleep early.”

Just watching him climb onto the bed made her recall the nights they had shared, tightening her entire body with tension. It felt as if he might pounce on her at any moment.

But instead, Kayler quietly lay down beside her and closed his eyes immediately.

The only contact between them was the faint warmth radiating from his firm arm.

Sasha lightly bit her lower lip.

Should she be relieved?

After glancing at him once more, she lay down beside him, staring at the ceiling.

“…You’re leaving tomorrow?”

Her voice arced softly through the air toward him.

“Yes.”

His reply came just as quietly.

“…Will you be back soon?”

She didn’t even know what answer she was hoping for. Maybe she simply wanted to know when he’d return. Or maybe… she was thinking about enjoying her freedom while he was gone.

Whatever he thought, his answer came without hesitation.

“No. There’s no longer a reason for me to return.”

His answer was even more puzzling than her question.

Had there been a reason he visited the estate every three days? Why was there no reason now?

As if preparing for tomorrow, Kayler soon fell asleep. Listening to his steady breathing, Sasha remained lost in confusion, blinking slowly at the ceiling.

Morning came, and when she woke, the Duke was already gone.

He’s really diligent, she thought, blinking her sleepy eyes.

What kind of work kept a Duke so busy that he would leave home for days at a time?

She had many questions, but for some reason, she couldn’t bring herself to ask him directly.

Instead, starting today, she would begin learning about the affairs of the ducal estate from Roze and Pavan.

After a quiet, uneventful morning routine, Sasha immediately called for Roze. She didn’t want to waste any time.

“Very well, Lady Sasha. I’ll begin by explaining the House of Ignote.”

“Okay. Please start.”

She had been worried about learning—mainly because she knew almost nothing about this world, and she feared that would be exposed.

But perhaps someone had already hinted something to Roze, because she began from the very basics: the power of the Ignote ducal house within the empire, even information about the imperial family.

She didn’t seem bothered at all by Sasha’s lack of knowledge.

“Managing the household includes everything from overseeing the estate to handling its finances. However, you don’t need to take on all of that yourself.”

“Finances… I see.”

“The House of Ignote possesses many long-standing assets accumulated over generations, and their management is quite complex. Therefore, His Grace oversees them personally, with Pavan assisting.”

She had almost ended up taking on something enormous without knowing anything.

I want to learn properly and manage it all myself someday.

It wasn’t greed—she didn’t want to claim all that wealth as her own. Though she hadn’t lived a particularly abundant life before, she wasn’t the type to be driven by that kind of desire.

Maybe… I just want to be acknowledged.

After the basic explanation, Roze spent a long time going over the estate’s assets and sources of income before finally concluding the lesson.

“It would be difficult to cover everything in one day, so we’ll stop here for today. If you have any questions, feel free to ask anytime.”

By the time Roze finished, it was already past their usual lunchtime. Between them lay pages of notes Sasha had diligently written with an unfamiliar quill, and Roze’s slightly hoarse voice from all the explaining.

As Roze seemed ready to leave after tidying up, Sasha suddenly spoke.

“Ah, Roze… I’d like to invite the Ibern family to the estate. Could you tell me the proper procedure?”

She had decided to invite her family, just as she had planned.

Kayler’s lukewarm reaction still lingered in her mind, but since he had given permission, she was convinced that meeting them would be the best way to gather information.

They were people who knew the Sasha from before she had arrived in this body.

And… they were her “family”—something she had never had before.

“Yes, Lady Sasha. We can proceed as you wish. First, you’ll need to send an invitation. As for the invitation…”

Carefully listening to Roze’s instructions, Sasha couldn’t suppress the faint excitement in her chest.

“About a week from now would be best. Both the marquis’s family and we will need time to prepare.”

“So it takes that long… Alright. Then I’ll start right after lunch.”

With that, the day’s lesson ended. The two naturally rose and headed to the dining room.

Even during lunch, the notes she had taken lay beside her.

It felt like she could finally start doing the things she had been holding back from—or unable to do.

Resting was nice, but being idle didn’t suit her.

Starting with inviting the Ibern family, she resolved to truly become the Duchess of Ignote—and took a bite of the steamed fish served for lunch.

The week that had seemed long at first passed quickly.

It was her first time inviting guests, and everything felt unfamiliar. It was as if she were hosting important people in someone else’s house—there were countless things to worry about.

Because of those tense days, she completely forgot that Kayler hadn’t returned home for the entire week.

On the long-awaited day of the invitation, Sasha was almost afraid.

People who knew her—but whom she didn’t know.

Her “family,” whom she would meet for the first time.

“I heard all the preparations are complete. We’ve worked very hard too, so I’m really looking forward to it.”

Instead of the busy Roze, it was Connie who stayed by Sasha’s side, chattering as she helped with her appearance.

“It’s quite rare for guests to be invited to the ducal estate. A lot of people are secretly excited.”

When Connie had first arrived, she had shyly greeted Sasha before immediately starting on her hair.

Her cheerful chatter helped calm Sasha a little, but time seemed to pass too quickly. Before she knew it, it was already the appointed hour.

They’ll arrive, we’ll have lunch, then tea… and if they wish, a tour of the estate…

Repeating the simple schedule in her mind, Sasha headed to the front gate.

When she arrived, Roze came to stand beside her. As Sasha clenched and unclenched her trembling hands, Roze seemed to notice and spoke softly.

“Please relax. You’re simply inviting your family.”

That only made Sasha more nervous—but no one else seemed to realize it.

Just then, someone hurried over, whispered something into Roze’s ear, and quickly left.

Sasha knew instantly.

They had arrived.