TPTM 37

Chapter 37

If this had been the first day after possessing this body—no, even if it had been this very morning—I would have been scared stiff and my eyes would have been spinning in panic.

But for some reason, the Grand Duke’s gaze didn’t feel frightening.

And there was one more thing I only realized belatedly.

‘I guess I need to be honest too.’
‘I can probably say this much.’

All throughout the carriage ride, I had these thoughts while talking with the Grand Duke.

Without even realizing it, I had come to trust Grand Duke Asis Fresier this much.

Strangely.

Oddly enough.

Even though I never expected it.

There was still a power in Asis Fresier’s dark green eyes that overpowered his surroundings like a predator.

And yet, on a vast grassland, don’t deep greenery and newly sprouting shoots coexist?

Just like the dark green of the Grand Duke’s eyes.

From that vast field, gathering only the small and soft green, a single thread of longing rose up—something that had been hidden away for a long time.

“…I see.”

The face that recalls someone already gone is much like honoring an old star.

With that kind of expression, Grand Duke Asis Fresier answered slowly.

“Like your grandmother.”

“….”

It felt like his sense of longing had spread to me as well.

From deep within my chest, like a bell slowly resonating, a strange feeling of yearning spread.

“My grandmother must have been really happy to have your grandfather.”

So the words I spoke next were sincere, neither flattery nor pretense.

Just as fleeting longing can spread to another person, can sincerity also be recognized by others?

Grand Duke Asis Fresier smiled.

A smile I had never seen before in my life.

He looked me up and down and said,

“Throw away that dress from earlier when you return to the estate.”

“Yes, sir.”

At my answer, for some reason, he let out another short laugh.

[System] Benefit acquired!
[System] Reached over 90% favorability with ‘Asis Fresier’. Special benefits granted!
[System] Coins obtained!
[System] 1,000 coins awarded for achieving over 90% favorability with ‘Asis Fresier’!
[System] Importance of Asis Fresier: ★★★★

‘Huh? How much?’

The benefit, the 1,000 coins—none of that even registered.

Among the colorful text before my eyes, the most shocking number was—

‘90% favorability?’

Wh-what?!

I stared with my eyes wide open, even my mouth hanging open in shock, at the Grand Duke Asis Fresier, who was leaning back with his arms crossed, preparing to sleep.

‘This is the kind of favorability you can barely reach at the end of a full playthrough in Corecore!’

“…Grandfather?”

I called out to him without thinking.

The Grand Duke immediately opened his eyes and looked at me.

“What is it?”

“Ah…”

“If the carriage is uncomfortable, shall I have you ride separately?”

“No, it’s fine.”

I quickly shook my head. Even with 90%, he didn’t seem that different…

But still, it felt as if a soft, supportive wall had formed behind my back, like cotton.

I had no idea such a feeling could exist in this world.

“Just… good night.”

“How dull.”

Grand Duke Asis Fresier closed his eyes again and said,

“You too, have pleasant dreams, Tullia.”

The Fresier ducal estate was built in a peculiar structure.

Dozens of separate buildings, each with its own purpose, surrounded the main estate like a fortress. The main residence itself was enormous, containing as many as 500 rooms.

The Duke’s chambers were at the very center.

Next to it were the rooms officially reserved for the Duke’s spouse, and like many high-ranking nobles, there were multiple bedrooms owned by the household.

The first central layer surrounding the Duke’s quarters was called the “Sun Rooms.”

Beyond that were the “Moon Rooms.”

After that came rooms named after clouds, glass, rubies, and so on—common naming among nobles.

Naturally, the closer a room was to the Duke’s quarters, the more prestigious it was, reflecting the owner’s status.

The Viscount couple of the Lilius family, who managed internal affairs, had been staying in one of the “Moon Rooms.”

Though called a room, it was larger and more beautiful than most luxury townhouses, with three living rooms, four terraces, eight rooms, six bathrooms, three powder rooms, and seven dressing rooms.

However, their son Tederic had been exiled to a storage building, and his wife, Aubrey, had lost her authority over household affairs and was no longer entitled to the Moon Rooms.

Thus, she had been literally “cast out.”

To a room in a corner of the main estate.

Even though it was still inside the estate, it was farther away than Tullia’s room.

But Aubrey could not accept this reality.

“What if our poor son freezes to death in that shabby storage?! I—I must take care of him up close!”

But without control over the household funds, Aubrey could no longer freely purchase firewood or feather blankets.

The storage building where Tederic had been exiled—the very place where Tullia had stayed until recently—was a massive castle-like structure without proper heating.

Even if they lit a fire, the cold would quickly swallow the warmth.

To burn firewood there every day would be like cutting down an entire mountain each month.

All just to keep one man warm.

The two servants assigned to care for Tederic were also shivering in the cold, but neither Aubrey nor Lilius cared about their well-being.

They had no kindness to spare for firewood either.

Their only concern was Tederic—and the enormous heating costs required for him.

Normally, such expenses would not have bothered them in the slightest… but—

“You failed to turn the Statis Plains into a demon land! Do you know how much loss we’ve incurred, Lilius?!”

Nigella, his second older brother and the Grand Count of Fresier, sent a furious letter.

That’s right.

The previous plan to turn the Statis Plains into a demon domain had failed miserably.

If they had succeeded, they would have purchased royal horses from the Imperial Empress Carmi, bred them, and sold them at a huge profit.

To make that happen, they had already spent a considerable amount in advance.

Privately, they had sent lavish gifts to the Empress, and officially, they had invested heavily in lobbying to secure rights to the demon domain business.

But this ambitious joint venture between Lilius and Nigella had collapsed due to Tullia.

The money they had spent?

Of course, it had vanished into thin air as well.

“Damn it… damn it!”

Lilius slammed his mahogany desk in frustration, but only his hand hurt.

‘Leaving Tullia alone is dangerous.’

It was an instinct as a Fresier.

No, it wasn’t even instinct anymore.

He had already suffered defeat at Tullia’s hands multiple times!

Now Lilius was like a falcon with its wings thoroughly broken.

In contrast, Tullia Fresier was thriving.

“So she went to the imperial palace with His Grace…”

The fact that she had not gone all the way to the palace, only stopping at the White Tower, didn’t matter.

What mattered was that Grand Duke Asis Fresier had personally decided to take Tullia to the imperial palace.

Moreover, at the White Tower, Tullia had met Empress Carmi.

And even received a golden hairpin from her.

That was a level of honor that neither Tederic, Aubrey, nor even Lilius himself had ever received.

Lilius paced frantically in his office, his mind in turmoil.

“…This cannot continue.”

Lilius still believed that the one giving orders to Tullia was her father, Marquis Aster Fresier.

Because the Tullia he knew could never come up with such clever, cunning schemes.

‘But I’ve already lost to her so many times. What am I supposed to do?’

He had grown afraid to threaten or slander her recklessly.

If he himself were to be cast out of the Moon Rooms, he would be beyond recovery.

Lilius Fresier had ambition.

One day, he intended to surpass his older brothers and inherit the title of Duke Fresier.

Ultimately, he aimed to take the position of Grand Duke Fresier himself.

But as that ambition began to shake, he felt a deep sense of crisis.

‘Absolutely not.’

Deciding he could no longer handle Tullia alone, Lilius sent a letter to his second older brother, Grand Count Nigella Fresier.

And he had just received a reply.

And Nigella Fresier said something unexpected.

“You idiot! Just call all the people who hate Tullia into the estate! Create new enemies to harass her!”

Lilius’s eyes snapped wide open.