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Chapter 3
“Thank you for traveling all this way.”
The Duke of Liliwood murmured softly, holding a wine glass instead of cutlery. Lauren shook her head. The smile directed toward her twisted ever so slightly. It was a faint change, almost imperceptible, yet oddly clear to Lauren’s eyes.
“I should have sent someone from my end, but…”
“No, it is really quite alright.”
Lauren had set out from a shabby inn, not the baronial estate. Had the Duke dispatched men to such a place, it would have been quite burdensome. Besides, she had little baggage and no reason to mind the gazes of others, making it a relief to have traveled alone.
“How is your room? Is it to your liking?”
“Yes, thank you for your thoughtful care.”
The room was far too magnificent for her. To have a private chamber fitted with a dressing room and a bath—even the baronial manor lacked such luxuries. On top of that, she had been provided two personal attendants. Yet what pleased her most was that the room was not overly flashy. Floral wallpapers and gilded decorations were never to her taste to begin with. The simple, warm cream-colored room complemented the natural wood-grained furniture beautifully. Though she had stayed there only briefly, it was a space that put her heart at ease.
The Duke of Liliwood quietly watched Lauren eat. As soon as she set down her cutlery and dabbed her lips with a napkin, he placed his empty glass down—which had somehow been drained—and stood up. The way he ran a hand through his hair felt somewhat restless.
“I apologize for bringing up business right after a meal, but I believe it is best to settle things clearly.”
Lauren nodded and followed him out of the dining room. Glancing back subtly, she noticed the food at his seat remained entirely untouched.
He only drank a bit of alcohol on an empty stomach… Is he really alright?
While lost in thought for a moment, he had already pulled far ahead. Lauren hurried her pace to catch up with his long strides.
“Apologies for the mess.”
The place he led her to was his study. Calling it a mess was an understatement; it was completely disorganized. Documents were stacked high and scattered across the desk and tables, while empty liquor bottles and glasses lay abandoned here and there. How could anyone possibly work in a place like this? It was almost mind-boggling.
“Just sit roughly over there.”
Stacking papers on the low table, the Duke gestured with his chin toward an armchair opposite him. She felt the urge to nag him about the clutter, but she hardly had the authority to do so just yet. Lauren kept her lips pressed tightly together and sat down obediently. Throwing the documents onto the desk, the Duke of Liliwood glanced into a cabinet before ringing the bell on his desk. Calvin appeared from beyond the door.
“Bring some tea and liquor, please.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
Calvin prepared the beverages in an instant. A bottle of golden liquor and a beautifully cut, luxurious glass were placed before the Duke, while a gold-rimmed teacup and teapot were set in front of Lauren. The butler deftly gathered the scattered empty glasses and withdrew. Once again, only the two of them remained in the study.
“I rarely drink tea, so I wouldn’t know what is good. I hope it suits your palate.”
Seated on the long sofa, the Duke of Liliwood poured the liquor into his glass with his own hand. Holding the glass in one hand, he leaned deeply back against the cushions—a stark contrast to Lauren, who sat with immaculate posture.
Awaiting his next words, Lauren held the teacup with both hands and took a sip. A soft floral aroma tickled her nose. Thanks to the warm tea, her tension eased slightly, and an unconscious sigh escaped her lips.
“As you can see, in a state like this, I am in desperate need of a capable administrator.”
With a twist of his lips, the Duke shrugged his shoulders. The state of the study was indeed atrocious. It was hard to even tell where to begin. Still, surely he didn’t work entirely alone? As if reading the thoughts behind her tilted head, he continued speaking.
“I will introduce my adjutant to you tomorrow. Though he won’t be of much help either. He’s a fellow who rolled around the battlefield right alongside me, after all.”
The state of the study alone made that abundantly clear. Lauren merely nodded in silence. There would be a great deal of work to do—starting with organizing these abandoned documents. She could only hope the Duke’s adjutant was someone reasonable to speak with; working alongside an incompatible partner would only guarantee a rough path ahead.
“And regarding the marriage.”
At last, the topic Lauren had been waiting for emerged. More than anything, settling the paperwork with the Duke was urgent. The time for Lauren to return home was fast approaching. Everything had to be concluded before her uncle realized she wasn’t coming back and dispatched men after her. Otherwise, her entire plan would crumble into dust. Lauren set down her teacup and straightened her posture. There was no need to reveal her impatience and hand him an advantage, yet her heart was undeniably racing.
“It seems holding a proper ceremony immediately will be difficult. I looked into it on my end, but there are far too many preparations required.”
A ceremony wasn’t necessary at all. She had no desire to delay matters over useless formalities. Lauren bit the inside of her lip subtly. Unaware of her inner thoughts, the Duke simply continued sipping his drink.
“If you are alright with it, I believe it would be best to submit the official documents first.”
At his words, Lauren felt a profound sense of relief. That was precisely what she desired. Yet she had no intention of letting the Duke notice her relief. Keeping her expression neutral, Lauren nodded slowly. This was, after all, a marriage born of his need for her abilities. That arrangement suited Lauren far better.
“It cannot be helped. That seems to be the best course of action.”
Observing Lauren quietly, the Duke of Liliwood pulled something from the table drawer. What he drew out from a plain white envelope was an official marriage certificate. In the slot for the groom’s name, his name and signature were already inscribed.
The Duke turned the paper around and slid it toward her. Biting her lip tightly, Lauren pulled a fountain pen from her breast pocket, filled in her name in the blank space, and signed it. Though it was merely writing her own name, her hands trembled so much that she had to hold her breath to keep them steady. Only after dashing off the final stroke did Lauren release a long, heavy exhale.
After ensuring the ink had dried, Lauren returned the document to the Duke. Gazing intently at the paper, he folded it back into its original shape and slipped it into the envelope. Standing up, he rang the desk bell to summon Calvin, then handed the envelope to the butler.
“Have this processed immediately.”
It was a brief command. Calvin bowed politely and withdrew.
There’s no way official documents can be processed at this hour…
Lauren tilted her head, watching him in confusion. The Duke’s lips twitched into a faint, amused smirk. From what she gathered, it seemed he had acquaintances at the government office who owed him favors.
“The sooner, the better. Is it not?”
Lauren nodded in agreement with his words. The Duke buried himself back into the long sofa. Crossing his arms, he tapped his fingers rhythmically against his sleeve.
“Word that I have married will reach the Emperor before long. Given how abruptly it was done, it is bound to cause quite a stir.”
His brow furrowed deeply. His vivid green eyes flickered like poisonous herbs. Lauren silently pulled her lips inward. She had already anticipated as much from the moment she resolved to marry the Duke. He was, after all, a figure grand enough that the Emperor wished to marry him off to an Imperial Princess.
“It would be wise to align our stories beforehand.”
They would simply have to act the part of foolish lovers hopelessly in love. She had already steeled herself for that much. His gaze returned to her, carrying an unreadable depth.
“Are you alright with that?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
Lauren pulled her lips into a smile. He possessed striking looks and held immense renown as a war hero. As for the rumors of him being a bloodthirsty monster—well, whatever the truth was, they seemed utterly absurd. Though she had been worried at first, the Duke standing before her had neither wielded violence nor drawn a blade.
The Duke’s lips twisted at Lauren’s response. Sweeping his hair back with one hand, he crossed his legs.
“I may not know much, but people generally tend to care deeply about the gazes of others.”
“Would two people so desperately in love that they rushed into a secret marriage care about what others think?”
Releasing a low hmm, the Duke of Liliwood swirled his glass. The golden liquid rippled within the crystal. Watching it, Lauren quietly raised her teacup to her lips.
* * *
The following morning, Lauren met the Duke’s adjutant in his study. Though the Duke had casually described him as a ‘fellow who rolled around the battlefield,’ the fact that the estate and ducal affairs functioned at all was likely thanks to Calvin and this very adjutant.
“I am Letti Torres.”
Featuring red hair and blue eyes, the tall adjutant with an easygoing impression offered a bright smile as he extended his hand to Lauren. Normally, men did not offer handshakes to noble ladies, yet both the Duke of Liliwood and his adjutant reached out without a second thought. Lauren clasped his hand. The firm grip was quite rough—indisputably a hand accustomed to gripping weapons rather than pens.
“I heard about you from Aster. I look forward to working with you.”
Last night, the Duke of Liliwood and Lauren had agreed to address each other by name. They had concluded that terms like ‘Your Grace’ or ‘you’ hardly suited two people supposedly madly in love. Eyes widening in surprise at the fact that she addressed Aster so naturally by name, Letti quickly broke into a broad grin.
“I heard My Lady is a highly capable administrator. Please, I beg of you, save me from this mountain of paperwork.”
Lauren couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh at Letti’s joke. He guided her to sit at the Duke’s executive desk. She cast a swift glance toward Aster, but he paid them no mind whatsoever. Dressed casually in nothing more than a shirt, lounging on the long sofa with his legs stretched out, Aster picked up a document spread across the table and began reading. It seemed he truly intended to stay out of her way regarding how she chose to work.
“Normally, I should be showing you around the estate or summoning merchants so you could enjoy shopping fitting for a Duchess, but…”
“With things in this state?”
Lauren narrowed her eyes as she surveyed the chaotic study. Then, asking the dryly laughing Letti for help, she gathered all the documents scattered across the room. Her brow furrowed as she scanned through them. The vast majority were records regarding estate taxation and support funds. Not only that, but administrative documents regarding post-war cleanup—from a war that had ended years ago—were still mixed into the pile.
“Well… as we rushed to address the most urgent matters first, things ended up in this state,” Letti offered hesitantly under Lauren’s scrutiny, a bitter smile fading from his face.
Lauren tilted her head in confusion. A document requesting aid from a flood-damaged region sent two months ago remained completely unprocessed. What on earth could have been more urgent than this?
“There’s something I need to verify. Where are the completed documents stored?”
“Ah, I will fetch them right away!”
Letti slipped out of the study and reappeared a good while later carrying a massive wooden crate. A heavy thud echoed as he set it on the floor. Looking up at the sight, the Duke wore an utterly exasperated expression. Suppressing an urge to laugh, Lauren pulled documents from the box and began reviewing them one by one. Both Aster and Letti watched in silent awe as her hands moved with astonishing speed.
