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Chapter 67
I sat up, resisting.
“I’ve rested well enough. I can get back to work now!”
“Viola. You collapsed from overwork before; you just woke up.”
“I’ve recovered my strength. I should be moving again.”
“Goodness, it’s like you’ve got a work demon attached to you.”
He lightly tapped my forehead.
“You don’t need to push yourself so impatiently.”
His cold fingers cooled the heat on my forehead. Instead, warmth surged to my cheeks.
“I feel uneasy if I’m not doing anything. Being told not to work for a while feels like a punishment to me.”
“I never imagined I’d marry someone who feels uneasy when they’re not working.”
Ezekiel grumbled quietly, holding my hand tightly for a moment before letting go.
“Since you’ve already recovered, I suppose I can tell you the story I had postponed for later.”
Seeing the sparkle in my eyes at the mention of work, he clicked his tongue.
“I’m talking about the Information Guild I oversee. Haven’t you ever wanted to know more about it?”
“I’ve always wanted to know.”
Though you never told me, he seemed to anticipate my thoughts and continued.
“I plan to grant you access to the Information Guild.”
I had assumed he would just share a few things, but this unexpected revelation left me stunned.
“B-But that guild… it’s your lifeline, and secrecy is everything to them. Are you saying I’ll be helping run it with you?”
Though called a “guild,” it was essentially an intelligence unit directly under the Duke’s command. Sharing authority over such an organization meant trusting someone completely.
“While you were bedridden, I felt how deeply the people of this estate respect you.”
As he spoke, Ezekiel gently rubbed my palm with his fingers. Though it was just a palm massage, my toes curled inexplicably.
“If you are to be the consort of the Duke who rules the Vetra territory, then you must operate the Information Guild alongside me.”
“Are you sure that’s okay?”
“The late Duke and Duchess always made important decisions together.”
He stopped tickling my hand and interlaced our fingers completely.
“Together in everything—even running a guild that handles the highest level of secrets.”
“It’s revealing everything about yourself.”
“I’m ready to give you all of me.”
He squeezed our clasped hands; our fingers entwined and wouldn’t come apart.
“You are the first person outside of Vetra’s residents that I’ve given my heart to.”
The people of Vetra had always united against external threats. I had earned their trust.
“Please become the deputy guildmaster.”
Seeing Ezekiel’s unwavering determination, I agreed. From that day, I became the deputy guildmaster of Vetra’s largest Information Guild.
Somehow, I ended up at the top of the information network that my cousin Zenobio had coveted. He’d probably be jealous.
“This is good. It means I’ve infiltrated the core of the estate,” I thought.
Ezekiel informed me that morning that he had discreetly summoned the informants.
“I told them to reveal their identities to you one by one and greet you.”
It was officially surprise time. Even the butler, Alfredo, who had been pretending to hide his abilities, would probably reveal himself soon.
“I’m curious,” I admitted to myself.
I already knew a little about the Information Guild, but it was hard to grasp the full scale. In the original story, the author didn’t list every informant or extra character, so it was impossible to know precisely. Even I didn’t know how many people in and around the estate were part of the guild.
“Who could they all be?”
Exactly ten minutes later, my curiosity was answered.
“Let me introduce you to the new deputy guildmaster.”
As expected, Alfredo, the butler, revealed himself first. He had taken care to dress neatly that morning, then knelt solemnly and disclosed his identity.
“I am Alfredo, the Duke’s loyal informant and the honored elite. My official position in the estate is butler.”
He confessed to me with raised eyebrows and perfect posture, lifting the corners of his mouth gently.
“I apologize for the delayed introduction.”
“Oh my…!”
I acted surprised, even though I already knew. I shook my head in astonishment, as if hearing something unimaginable.
“You were… an informant?”
“My introduction was late.”
Alfredo, kneeling, pledged his loyalty to me. He insisted that as an informant, this ritual was necessary to serve his master.
“When the Filippos Yustis incident happened, I was impressed by how you cleverly gathered information. I hope that your wisdom will guide you as our deputy guildmaster.”
His dramatic oath left me no reason to refuse. Though I was a little flustered by such fervent attention, I maintained my composure as the Duchess. I straightened my back and gave him brief praise. Alfredo beamed with gratitude.
“You’ve worked hard keeping this secret,” I thought.
“You are the best agent,” I sincerely complimented him. He responded with an embarrassingly grand title, “the greatest dogaresa,” which made me blush.
“Please take care of me.”
Soon, other informants continuously came to my room to pledge loyalty.
“You are….”
It was surprising to see Matilda, who had been scolded by a merchant during the royal competition while fetching drinks, was also a guild member. I wondered if Anna knew her new maid was an informant—she surely didn’t.
“My lady, I apologize for the unpleasant incident back then. Now that you are deputy guildmaster, I will serve you even more diligently!”
Matilda was also responsible for my protection.
“Actually, that merchant who acted rudely toward you that day? I dealt with him myself.”
“Dealt with him…?”
“I immediately drove him away and fined him. Nothing to worry about.”
Somewhat worrying, yet she had acted calmly afterward?
Besides them, there was a kitchen assistant friend, a few cleaning maids, a gardener tending the trees by the fountain every morning, and even some merchants along the canal who worked as informants for Ezekiel.
“All of them spread throughout the city and beyond, bringing me news from every area.”
“I heard you have informants in other cities too.”
“Their list is here.”
“There are already more than thirty.”
With such a powerful network spanning the region, Ezekiel’s skill impressed me even more. I couldn’t believe I had tried to trick and manipulate someone like him. It was sheer luck I hadn’t been attacked by a “fire poker.”
“Has the Duke of Vetra always managed this guild?”
“The previous Duke created it, but I expanded and organized it.”
“So it’s essentially you who made it fully operational.”
No wonder the Emperor feared him. Exercising this much covert influence over the empire required careful checks.
“But I want Vetra to prosper,” I thought.
Being the wife of a hidden mastermind shaking the empire felt like this, perhaps. I read through the details and scale of the informants carefully.
“You will learn the basic signals for handling informants and methods for decoding encrypted letters.”
“Sounds like there’s a lot to learn.”
“I’ll teach you. I’ll come to your office for two hours every day.”
Except for the day I went to his office on Michele’s advice, we hadn’t visited each other’s offices often. I had recently renovated my office, so it made more sense.
“Some staff aren’t informants; they might find it odd that we’re suddenly so close.”
“We’re married. If we handle things privately and close the door, no one will think it strange.”
“…That’s true.”
He gripped my hand tightly. Smiling at each other, we immediately began studying. He always came to my office. I learned many things alongside him, picking up new skills.
Having received a letter from the Crown Princess telling me to rest, I felt at ease. Ezekiel revealed his final secret to me, and feeling relaxed in both body and mind, time flew.
Even in early September, when the late summer heat lingered, I devoted myself to study. Around this time, Michele, who had spent his entire vacation at the estate, cheerfully announced his new decision.
“I’m not going back to the academy.”
He was refusing to attend school.
