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Chapter : 06
Early in the morning, my eyes opened on their own.
The daily routine I repeated every day was starting to feel tiresome.
“The Grand Duke has already entered the palace.”
The moment I woke up, I heard news about Luciano—news I hadn’t even asked for.
As I frowned at the mention of him, Cassia handed me an envelope.
“What is this?”
“The Grand Duke instructed me to deliver it to you, Madam.”
When I opened the envelope, inside was a banknote labeled 1,000,000 marks.
‘One million marks?!’
I already knew Luciano was wealthy, but seeing him give such a sum in cash was still shocking.
I looked further inside the envelope and found a small note as well.
[ I will bring up the matter of the orphanage with His Majesty the Emperor. This is merely a small token of my sincerity.
—Luciano ]
At first, I wondered if he didn’t trust me the moment I accepted the money.
I thought perhaps he hadn’t believed me when I said I didn’t need private funds, and that was why he’d given me a million marks.
But the more I thought about it, the more my feelings changed.
The message was blunt to the extreme, but I still felt quite grateful to Luciano.
“What am I supposed to do with this?”
Shopping felt pointless when Estellin already owned far too many things.
Besides, I had asked Luciano to reduce my allowance if necessary and instead establish an orphanage….
‘If I go shopping in a situation like this, that would just be indulgence.’
I was on the verge of divorce—there was no way I could squander the ducal family’s budget.
“Madam, worrying over something like this is surprising. With one million marks, you could go to Madam Floria and spend it all on just a few dresses.”
The maids laughed lightly, speaking as though it were obvious.
‘One million marks for just a few dresses?’
Of course, Madam Floria’s dresses were the most popular and prestigious in the Empire, so they were worth their price—but still, a million marks for only a few gowns?
‘And dresses are something you wear once at a grand banquet and never again.’
“I don’t want to buy dresses.”
At my words, the maids tilted their heads and stared at me blankly.
“I’ll just… not use it.”
I placed the envelope into my desk drawer.
“Madam. An invitation has arrived from House Seledina.”
At that moment, another maid entered and handed me an invitation.
It bore a purple seal stamped with the crest of House Seledina.
In the Empire, invitations were always sealed with a family crest, and the color of the seal represented the family.
The imperial family used gold, House Winfoste blue, and House Seledina purple.
‘An invitation to a banquet.’
When I opened the envelope, I saw neatly written calligraphy.
“Bring me paper and a pen.”
I wrote a reply.
“Send this to House Seledina.”
At the same time, Luciano was in an audience with Emperor Khalid.
“You intend to establish an orphanage within your territory?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Maintaining an orphanage will require considerable funds.”
Khalid looked at Luciano as though the plan intrigued him.
To Khalid, Luciano was the very model of a perfect noble.
He collected fewer taxes than other nobles out of consideration for his people—but that was as far as it went.
No matter how much he cared for his subjects, Luciano was still a noble, and not just any noble, but one of imperial blood.
That was why he had never engaged in charitable endeavors that brought him more loss than gain.
One such endeavor was the establishment of an orphanage.
“It won’t be a problem.”
“Very well. Do as you see fit. I do not involve myself in the management of your territory.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
“And have you found out what I asked you to look into previously?”
At Khalid’s words, the atmosphere in the audience chamber shifted completely.
“Here it is, Your Majesty.”
As Khalid read the documents Luciano handed him, he let out a bitter laugh.
“A slave market, in an empire where I reign.”
“Count Sven tried to hide it, but filth like that never stays buried.”
“With this, we can cut off one of Marquis Dottaina’s close associates.”
What Luciano and Khalid wanted was to eliminate House Sven, one of the close allies of Marquis Dottaina, the head of the aristocratic faction.
Although slave markets were illegal in the Empire, nobles continued to buy and sell slaves in secret.
The largest of these markets was operated by House Sven.
“When do you plan to reveal this?”
“We should give them a chance first. But if they bring up the matter of the imperial consort sharing the Emperor’s bed again, I will have no choice but to make this public.”
“How is the Imperial Consort behaving?”
“She’s quieter than expected. I thought she’d cause trouble after another failed consummation.”
“You should keep a close eye on her. She isn’t someone to underestimate.”
“Indeed. She took over high society while the Empress was absent and became Imperial Consort because of it. That alone makes her quite a schemer.”
“Since her rise, many women have tried to become Imperial Consort through social circles.”
Khalid pressed a hand to his temple, as though the thought gave him a headache.
“Your Majesty. As you know, an heir must be born within the year.”
“Yes….”
“If Her Majesty the Empress continues to fail to produce an heir, even the matter of the former Empress’s miscarriage will resurface.”
“I know.”
“If there is no heir, even the imperial faction will argue for bringing in another consort.”
“Enough. No more talk of heirs.”
“My apologies.”
“You may leave.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
After leaving the audience chamber, Luciano was heading toward his office when he caught the scent of heavy perfume.
‘Disgusting.’
“Oh my? Grand Duke Winfoste.”
A shrill voice pierced his ears.
“I greet Her Imperial Consort.”
A woman with pink hair and pale amber eyes approached.
The overpowering perfume spread even from a distance—the Imperial Consort of the Empire, Perisian Dottaina.
“You’ve come to the palace again today?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
She looked pure and innocent on the outside, but inside, she was as cunning as a viper.
Moreover, Luciano belonged to the imperial faction, while Perisian was the daughter of House Dottaina, leader of the aristocratic faction—so it was only natural that their words clashed like drawn blades whenever they met.
“You must have been quite disappointed.”
When Luciano spoke with thinly veiled sarcasm, a crack appeared in Perisian’s smile.
“About what?”
“That the consummation was canceled.”
Perisian stroked a nearby peony as she replied.
“Consummation isn’t something I can decide at will. I’m perfectly fine, Grand Duke.”
“That’s a relief. His Majesty was quite concerned.”
Seemingly unable to maintain her composure any longer, Perisian lowered her voice.
“You seem very busy, Grand Duke. You should be on your way.”
“Yes, Your Highness. I look forward to seeing you again.”
Once Luciano left, Perisian snapped the peony she’d been stroking.
A maid who had been watching her carefully spoke up in a quiet voice.
“Your Highness, shall we return?”
“Yes. It’s time to go back. Send word to my father—I wish to see him.”
Tossing the broken peony onto the floor, Perisian returned to her palace.
As Luciano exited the palace, the aide walking beside him spoke.
“Your Grace, shall we plant more people?”
“Yes. Be careful not to let the Imperial Consort notice.”
“Understood, Your Grace.”
Meanwhile, I was spending an extremely boring stretch of time.
‘Am I a newborn or something…?’
All I did all day was eat, sleep, and be attended to by maids—it felt as though I’d become an infant.
“Are you bored?”
Seeing my blank expression, the maids fidgeted nervously.
“No… I’m fine.”
“How about going out into the capital streets?”
“That’s right! You have one million marks.”
“I don’t want to go outside.”
“Then how about horseback riding in the ducal forest? You liked it, didn’t you?”
“Horseback riding?”
“Yes. It’ll lift your spirits.”
“Alright. Prepare it.”
When I stepped outside in my riding clothes, a beautiful white horse was waiting.
“Rua seems happy to see you, Madam.”
‘So the horse’s name is Rua.’
Perhaps because Estellin had spent so much time with him, Rua rubbed his head against my hand when I stroked him.
I could feel the long bond they shared.
As I mounted and began riding through the ducal forest, my gloomy mood seemed to vanish.
Since horseback riding had always been my favorite exercise, riding at speed felt natural and easy.
After riding for a while, the forest opened up into a wide plain.
“Wow…!”
A genuine exclamation escaped me.
The vast field calmed my chaotic thoughts, filling my heart with peace.
“When I get divorced, my dream is to build a house here—not too big, not too small—and live quietly.”
After stopping briefly, I patted Rua’s head and muttered to myself.
I continued riding for a long time.
By the time I returned to the estate, having forgotten all my worries, the sun was already setting.
“The Grand Duke has arrived, Madam.”
“So?”
“He wishes to dine with you. Please go inside and prepare.”
Urged on by the maid, I washed quickly, changed into an indoor dress, and headed to the dining room.
“Did you wait long? If you’d told me earlier, I could have been ready sooner.”
I smiled and took the seat across from Luciano.
“Not very long. I hear you went horseback riding today.”
He didn’t look at me.
“Yes. The day was so dull, I needed a change of pace.”
“You should have gone shopping instead, my lady.”
“You, who hate extravagance to the point of death—what’s gotten into you?”
“It’s not about that. Your maids were worried since you didn’t return for so long.”
He wasn’t worried about me—he was worried about the maids who suffered because I came back late.
Without replying, I placed a piece of steak into my mouth.
“I’ll be more careful next time.”
“In two days, Madam Floria will come to the estate.”
“Why?”
“We need to prepare outfits for the upcoming Seledina banquet.”
“Alright. Will you be getting one tailored as well?”
“Yes. I’ve set aside the time.”
Contrary to my expectations, the conversation continued for quite a while.
Then a maid approached.
“Your Grace, Madam. What would you like for dessert?”
“No dessert. Bring wine instead.”
“I’ll have rooibos tea.”
After the meal ended, I brought the day to a close.
Days passed much the same, and at last, the banquet hosted by House Seledina arrived.
“Madam, you must come down.”
When I reached the first floor, Luciano was waiting.
Today, he was flawless.
With neatly combed blond hair and a sea-blue formal outfit, he looked like a masterpiece painted by the Empire’s greatest artist.
“You look beautiful, my lady.”
I nearly nodded in agreement.
Because today, anyone could see how beautiful I looked.
A blue dress matched with Luciano’s, silver-threaded roses embroidered along the hem, sapphire jewelry the same shade of blue—and all of it perfectly complemented my pale lavender hair.
‘I can do this.’
Once more, I steadied my resolve.
