MPRA 10

Chapter 10

“Gasp.”

Thinking this was a completely empty space, she had relaxed without realizing it.

“I heard before that almost no one comes to the floor where the library is located, except for the Duke.”

Anthony reassured Ivanna, who covered her mouth in shock. The Duke was a man far too busy to stay around the mansion.

“Phew, what a relief.”

Going up one more floor, Ivanna let out a faint breath. In the mansion, even making a loud noise made her feel self-conscious.

Had it been her own imperial palace, she could have stayed more comfortably, but since the adjacent room was the Duke’s, she always had to use her divine power to block out sound.

What was the point of giving her a room right next door while telling her to stay quiet?

Although she rarely ran into the Duke, who was busy with work, she still had to maintain an elegant posture without making even a sound of breathing whenever she walked through the hallways, just in case.

While there were convenient aspects, it also felt like being trapped in a cage smaller than the Imperial Castle. Still, unlike the Imperial Family, it was an open cage, so she could endure it.

As long as the Duke didn’t demand a divorce, she wouldn’t have to return to the Imperial Family.

Just as he said they should strictly stick to the contract, she likewise expected nothing from the Duke.

As long as he didn’t break the contract, she would remain faithful to it as well.

I won’t give anything to the people who abandoned me.

She was grateful to Justin, but she had more than repaid that debt through marriage.

Crying while looking at the items he sent as if giving alms had only lasted a brief moment.

They should have just left me to die; they should have just abandoned me altogether.

In a situation where she couldn’t meet them and couldn’t even voice her resentment, her disillusionment and hatred toward her family accumulated layer upon layer within Ivanna’s heart.

The smile faded from Ivanna’s face.

Once the library door closed and Ivanna’s figure vanished, a massive figure appeared in the hallway.

So she knows how to smile like that.

A man with pink hair and ash-grey eyes stared down the hallway with a thoughtful face.

It was a face she had also seen at the Princess’s palace last time. It seemed the Princess only revealed her true self when no one else was around.

The clear, ringing voice echoed through Cedric’s mind.

The drought in the territory was dragging on.

Having found no solution, he had visited the library to clear his head, and was just about to head back.

The moment he was about to leave the library, a clear laugh echoed from the floor below.

It was the Princess.

For a woman who was always tense with a stiff face in front of him to laugh so unreservedly like that.

Cedric closed the door he had opened without realizing it. There was no reason for him to hide in his own mansion.

Yet he couldn’t open the door.

The conversation between the Princess and her maid in the spot he had avoided did not suit her laughter.

To be able to laugh like that while being mistreated—Cedric could not understand the Princess’s reaction.

Were the words the Princess spoke last time actually true? That they were disobeying his orders?

Cedric knitted his brows. No such details had been written in the reports he had received so far.

“I heard the head maid had dismissed some of the servants who caused trouble. It wasn’t handled properly.”

It was indeed his oversight for not verifying after assuming it was resolved. This time, it had to be set right.

It wasn’t for the Princess’s sake.

While he didn’t demand absolute loyalty from the servants, he could not leave those who disobeyed orders from above unchecked.

His massive body moved soundlessly.

Arriving at the office, Cedric opened his mouth.

“Bring me the report on the Princess.”

Though it was an empty room with no one present, a black figure suddenly dropped from midair along with a thick bundle of reports. He prostrated himself in front of the Duke.

Flip.

Cedric’s hand roughly turned the pages of the report.

[March 15th, Imperial Year 2432 Breakfast – Warm vegetable soup, salad, bread. Lunch – 1 sandwich. Dinner – Salad, a lump of lamb steak. ……. March 20th, Imperial Year 2432 Soup containing 2 small bits of meat served for breakfast. Lunch – 1 potato. Dinner – A lump of cold meat, a piece of bread.]

The look in Cedric’s eyes grew increasingly grim as he read through the report. The Princess’s words that there was a problem with her meals had been true.

“Why haven’t you informed me of the Princess’s affairs until now?”

“I deemed there was no threat to her personal safety. The Princess’s attendant had been procuring food from the outside.”

Cedric remained silent at the shadow’s response. At this rate, he had no excuse to offer the Princess.

At the beginning of the marriage, the reports from the shadow and the butler had aligned.

Afterward, reports on the Princess submitted by the shadows came in once a week, but assuming they would match the butler’s reports, he had not bothered to look through them.

Pushed aside by other complex matters, he had not prioritized the Princess. He had plenty of other affairs to process besides her.

True to the contract, the Princess had stayed quiet without causing any trouble.

A faint groan leaked from Cedric’s lips.

“How did the Princess leave the Duchy?”

“She disguised herself as a servant and slipped out through the secret door used by the staff.”

Ha.

Cedric finally realized that there wasn’t just one or two problems within the Duchy.

“Leave all the reports concerning the Princess here.”

The shadow pulled out a bundle of reports from a magic pouch, placed them all on top of the desk, and withdrew.

He read through all the reports in one breath.

Cedric immediately rang the bell to call the butler. There was business to settle before apologizing to the Princess.

“Your Grace? Is there something you need?”

“Howard. Dismiss all the servants in the mansion and hire new ones. You will not be able to escape responsibility either.”

Head Butler Howard, who had rushed over at the Duke’s summons, blinked his eyes.

“E-Everyone? Do you mean all of them?! Me as well?!”

“Yes. There is no reason to employ those who work in my mansion yet refuse to follow orders.”

Howard swallowed nervously at the Duke’s icy voice.

“I am terribly sorry. Whatever the issue may be, I shall take measures right away.”

Howard bowed deeply, trembling before the Duke’s razor-sharp aura.

“Do not make me repeat the same order twice.”

“…”

He could not understand what on earth had made the Duke so furious. No separate reports had reached him at all.

“I was lacking. I shall dismiss all the servants and recruit new ones.”

The head butler immediately stopped arguing. It seemed someone had crossed His Grace.

No, rather than crossing his mood, failing to uphold principles would be the more accurate description. And his own neck had gotten caught in the crossfire.

It was a bolt out of the blue for someone who had served the Duchy his whole life. However, prioritizing not crossing the Duke’s temperament came first.

“Call Agnes.”

“Yes. I shall move immediately.”

The young Duke of Reynolds was rational and cold. That was precisely how he had elevated the Duchy to its current standing.

He had no need for limbs that did not obey orders.

There were more than enough people eager to form ties with the Reynolds Duchy, the second most powerful house after the Imperial Family.

Even someone like himself, who had served the Duchy for a long time, could be cast aside.

Watching the Duke’s departing back, Howard swallowed nervously.

Agnes won’t take this sitting down.

Howard squeezed his eyes shut at the bloody storm brewing over the Duchy.

​* * *

I should never have let in a woman who lacked qualifications from the very beginning.

Stepping hastily into the Duke’s office, Head Maid Agnes kept her eyes lowered with a polite expression as she thought to herself.

She had already anticipated why the Duke had called her.

The Princess’s maid had come looking for her several times. Because of that, she had turned a blind eye a few times and scolded the maids a few times.

She held no personal grudge against the Princess. The problem was simply that she was useless to the Duchy.

Although the Reynolds Duchy gained massive benefits through the marriage, that was only natural.

A marriage between nobles was a transaction of mutual benefits, after all.

Yet the Princess conducted no social activities as the mistress of the house, nor did she engage in any activity that might benefit the family.

No matter how frail her health was, she ought to have carried out the bare minimum of activities as the mistress of the family.

Therefore, while Agnes issued warnings to the maids, she paid no attention to the new mistress.

Inwardly, she was even pleased with the Princess for knowing her place.

Because there was no room in this Duchy for a powerless duchess.

She had hoped she would live quietly like that, but of all things, the maids had made a mistake.

“I deeply apologize for showing negligence in management.”

Biting her lip hard, Agnes bowed her head to the Duke. A useless princess must not catch the Duke’s eye.

That was why she had commanded her subordinates to be even more thoroughly careful.

To bring harm to the family—she had no intention of letting the issue slide easily either.

“If you inform me of those who acted impolitely toward Her Highness…”

“Agnes.”

Tense from the Duke’s call, Agnes froze as she was absorbed in thoughts of cleaning up the mess.

At his quiet reprimand, she bit down hard on her lip. There was no longer any room for negotiation.

If she mispoke a single word here, she herself would be in danger.

“Did you take my command to serve the Princess well so she could live quietly as permission to ignore it?”