Chapter 30
That question was immediately buried under the commotion caused by the rest of the maids, who came rushing in breathlessly.
âMadam! Are you all right?!â
A group of maids appeared all at once, their faces unusually solemn and shadowed. Like doctors conducting a health examination, they began inspecting me from head to toe.
Weâd already seen each other at our worst, but I still couldnât get used to this level of fuss.
Sweating nervously, I asked,
âW-What? Whatâs wrong?â
But even that seemed to plant the seed of another misunderstanding.
Betty suddenly widened her sharp eyes and cried out,
âMy goodness, Madam! Youâre sweating cold sweat like this! Just as I thoughtâHis Grace the Grand Duke is far too much for such a delicate little baby rabbit!â
Aaaah! What are you even talking about?!
Something was wrong.
Not just wrongâcompletely, utterly wrong!
A sudden headache struck me, and when I grabbed my head with both hands, the maids panicked even more.
âDoes your head hurt? Shall I bring medicine?â
âYour face is so pale⊠Madam, this wonât do. You need to regain your strength!â
N-No, itâs because youâre all making such a big deal out of thisâŠ
But once the maids entered their âstrict, serious, solemnâ mode, no one could stop them.
Honestly⊠even I still got nervous sometimesâŠ
To prove how healthy I was, I raised both arms and tried to show off my strength.
âN-No! Itâs not that my head hurts, I was just practicing a cool muscle-flexing poseââ
But my arms, still as thin as dry branches, only made things worse.
âMy goodness! Look how much weight youâve lost overnight!â
âAre you feeling unwell? Is there anything troubling you?â
âIâll just go get medicine! Thatâll be faster!â
âYes, Dora. Bring ointment, potions, pillsâeverything. Just bring it all.â
Aside from married Mary, the rest of the maidsâwho were probably all singleâwere making a huge uproar, as if theyâd heard some ridiculous rumor.
Before things got even worse, I shouted loudly to calm them down.
âS-Stop! Everyone, calm down! Iâm perfectly fine! I slept well! I donât even understand what youâre talking about! Iâm exactly the same as always!â
Only then did everyoneâs eyes go wide.
Hesitating, Garnet asked,
âT-Then⊠nothing happened last night?â
âLast night?â
At my question, the maids, who had paused for a moment, opened their mouths again and began pouring out words all at once.
âThe entire Grand Ducal Castle is buzzing with rumors!â
âThey say His Grace spent the night in your annex residence!â
âAnd as soon as he returned to the main building, he ordered the room meant for the Grand Duchess to be cleaned!â
âThe one thatâs been used as the Grand Duchessâs chamber for generations!â
âWhat?!â
Only then did I fully understand their panic.
This was much bigger than I thought!
âDamn it⊠so it wasnât a dream?!â
The scene from last night, which Iâd dismissed as a dream, suddenly resurfaced.
The Grand Duke shining under the moonlight.
His strangely gentle tone, his unusually honest and bizarre behaviorâŠ
âWhat on earth is going on?â
Could this be the beginning of something from the original novel?
But I donât even know what novel this is!
All I want is to live quietly!
I said I didnât want to be the Grand Duchess. Iâm not going to do it!
So why do they keep bothering someone who was living peacefully?!
A chill spread through my chest.
Only one thought came to mind.
âOh⊠I think Iâm doomed.â
ââŠâŠâ
HaaaaaâŠ
Why was I, someone whose biggest concern had been planting cabbage and chicory seedlings in the yard, being put through this kind of ordeal�
Tears almost welled up.
But if I cried now, things would get even stranger!
Even someone as clueless as me could tell that much.
So, stumbling over my words, I tried to clear up the maidsâ misunderstanding.
âDonât get weird ideas! Fine, I thought it was a dream, but I guess the Grand Duke really did come here. But I swear, nothing happened! We just slept separately! What kind of relationship do you think we even have?!â
âThe Grand Duke and the Grand Duchess⊠youâre husband and wifeâŠâ
Nina added awkwardly after my passionate explanation.
Tch⊠right.
But it was only a marriage in name.
To me, this sudden progression was absolutely unwelcome!
How was I supposed to clear up this misunderstanding?
Noâwas it even something I should clear up?
I was floundering in confusion whenâ
âWe greet Her Highness the Grand Duchess.â
At that moment, the head butler, Karl, arrived.
His calm face looked no different than usual, but somehow his voice sounded slightly excited.
âDonât tell me you believe the rumor too?â
I couldnât bring myself to ask, but it was obvious.
Karl believed it. One hundred percent.
He mightâve even helped spread itâlook how happy he seemed!
âHer Highness, His Grace commands that you leave the annex and move your residence to the main building.â
ââŠâŠâ
Seeing the faint upward curve of Karlâs lips only made my resistance stronger.
No! I donât want to! Why would I leave my beloved little cabin?!
But I couldnât exactly throw a tantrumâŠ
Holding back tears, I asked,
âUm⊠is it really impossible for me not to go?â
âIs there something that troubles you?â
âIâve grown attached to the cabinâŠâ
Acting as pitiful as possible, I watched Karl hesitate before trying to persuade me.
It seemed they were quite desperate too.
âIt is not that you are forbidden from using this place. However, moving your main residence to the more comfortable main building would bring you greater peace. There you will have a library you enjoy, a grand bath that you may use entirely alone, and a beautiful garden awaiting only your touchââ
âLetâs go.â
The words slipped out before I could stop myself!
But⊠a grand bath and a beautiful garden. And easy access to the library.
How could I resist?
âExcellent! You wonât be disappointed. Please follow me. Maids, pack her belongings and come along.â
Karl didnât miss my impulsive answer and immediately accepted it, striding ahead.
I followed after him, pretending I had no choice.
Hmm⊠Iâll look at the new residence first and decide later.
Itâs not like Iâm abandoning my cabin right away!
Iâm just⊠curious.
* * *
âWow⊠this is really my room?â
The Grand Duchessâs chamber, which Karl led me to, was far more magnificent than Iâd imagined.
My mouth fell open at the sheer luxury.
Now this finally felt like a proper romance fantasy novel with noble ladies.
Yes⊠my cute little cabin, thank you for everything.
From now on, I shall live a life where every day feels like a luxury hotel vacation!
Sure, I looked like a shameless opportunist, but so what?
No one was here to criticize me anyway!
Karl, noticing how much I liked it, suppressed a smile and excused himself, telling me to rest.
I rubbed my cheek against the sparkling silk sofa, savoring extravagance with my whole body.
âNow I understand why the Grand Duke thought I was being mistreated.â
HonestlyâŠ
If my cabin was barely worthy of being called an inn, this room was a five-star private villa suite.
After running around inspecting everything, I threw myself onto the unbelievably soft bed.
I was pretty sure I, along with the entire maid squad, could all sleep here comfortably.
Well, this was the Grand Ducal Castle, where it was easy to get lost. Of course even a single room would be enormous.
The attached bathroom alone was about the size of my old cabin.
âIf the Grand Duchessâs room is this grand⊠how incredible must the Grand Dukeâs room be?â
That thought made me freeze.
Was I gradually getting entangled with him?
The more I thought about it, the less I liked it.
The biggest problem was that I still didnât know what story this was, who Iâd possessed, or what role the Grand Duke played in the original novel.
âI promised myself not to get involved if heâs a villain⊠but what if he really is one? What if I get dragged in too and end up with my head rolling?â
No, thank you!
ButâŠ
The bedding against my back was so comfortable.
Just lying down made me sleepy in the middle of the day.
âCapital really is powerfulâŠâ
No, at this point, itâs not capitalâitâs authority.
As someone from a capitalist society, I couldnât help but surrender to this sweet temptation.
Just as I was about to enjoy my drowsy napâŠ
âHuh? But whatâs that sound Iâve been hearing?â
Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.
The heavy footsteps that had been announcing their presence from afar grew louderâŠ
Then suddenly stopped right in front of my door.
