IBWMD 74

~Chapter 74~

I let out a small sigh to myself.

‘My girl wasn’t this muscular before…’

At this rate, she was about to turn into an upside-down triangle shape.

Before we came here, she’d never even picked up a broom. What happened?

I looked at my poor, overworked maid Beth with nostalgic affection.

While I was thinking that, Beth—clearly caught up in her own worries—suddenly whispered, sounding anxious:

“What if the maids at the Grand Duke’s estate treat you badly?”

“Huh?”

“If they do, then I’ll just—”

“Let’s not worry about it before anything even happens.”

After calming Beth down, I wrote a quick note to the skewer vendor.

I told him to go through Jeremy if he wanted to contact me in the future.

‘Saying “I’m the Grand Duchess now, so contact the estate” would just shock him.’

Now, the next issue was the pickpockets.

‘Come to think of it, the older pickpockets worked with the blacksmith.’

I could have the kids contact the blacksmith, and the blacksmith could go through the skewer guy…

“Everything’s packed.”

“Mmm.”

“Shall we go?”

Just as I was finishing my note, the coachman from the Grand Duke’s estate politely asked.

I handed the note to a messenger and nodded.

“Alright. Let’s go now.”

It had been a while since I’d been back to the Grand Duke’s estate, but it didn’t look much different.

Aside from a few things—like makeshift walls for snow protection and a huge tent over the training grounds.

But somehow…

“…”
“…”

The atmosphere felt strange.

“Did something happen here?”

I asked Jeremy and Clark as I stepped down from the carriage.

“Nothing bad happened while I was gone, right?”

Both of them just rolled their eyes awkwardly.

Jeremy avoided my gaze, and Clark kept nervously staring at the ground like he’d done something wrong.

‘Did something happen?’

“What? If you messed something up, just tell me now.”

“Please… speak more comfortably, Your Grace.”

“Now you want me to?”

“…It’s true we’ve been disrespectful up to now, Grand Duchess.”

That voice cutting in naturally was the head maid—the same one who always sent me back to my room.

Among the three, she looked the most composed and calm.

“You’re free to criticize us for suddenly changing our attitude.”

“You seem to know yourselves well.”

“Beth.”

Even at Beth’s sharp tone, the head maid didn’t flinch.

Of course. She was always cold and expressionless, even when I stood right in front of her.

“But once we heard the Grand Duchess had been in danger, we had to seriously reconsider.”

“…”

“Before, we thought we shouldn’t take action until His Grace returned…”

The head maid looked at me with clear eyes.

“But now that it’s happened, we can’t ignore it.”

What? That’s an odd way to talk about an assassination attempt.

Cough cough!
Ahem!

Why was Clark suddenly coughing? Why was Jeremy’s face red?

Even the head maid’s eyes seemed unfocused, like she was remembering something she couldn’t believe. I thought I heard her mutter, “I didn’t raise her like that…”

“Miss, aren’t these people acting a little weird?” Beth whispered next to me, clearly suspicious.

“Yeah…”

The head maid stiffened when she overheard us.

“…We’ll assign a maid’s room for your maid and explain the layout of the estate.”

As she said that, another middle-aged woman stepped forward and greeted us.

She was probably the one in charge of all the maids.

She smiled warmly at Beth and said, “Come with me. I’ll show you your room first.”

Beth mouthed, I’ll be back, then waved at me before following her.

I waved back and turned around—to see the head maid still standing stiffly, waiting for me.

“I’ll guide you, Grand Duchess.”

“Take care of her, Meryl,” said Clark, then quickly walked off with Jeremy.

I tilted my head and asked:

“You’re close with Clark, huh?”

“…Pardon?”

“Isn’t the maid chief usually ranked higher than a monster hunter? You two speak very casually.”

The head maid looked slightly flustered.

“…Ahem. Yes. Clark is my senior, after all…”

“Hm.”

“Then… Grand Duchess, you should speak comfortably too.”

“Uh… should I? I guess?”

I knew I should act more formally as the Grand Duchess, but it still felt weird to talk down to people.

After a few awkward tries, I finally started using less formal speech.

“This way is your room.”

“Got it. I mean… alright then.”

The head maid walked up the stairs ahead of me.

As I looked around the tall mansion in awe…

“Ah.”

I ran into a large portrait in the hallway.

The clothes and size of the people in it made them look very important.

But their faces were covered by a big cloth.

I tilted my head, curious, and the head maid explained:

“They’re the previous Grand Duke and Duchess.”

“Why are their faces covered?”

“…Because they looked too similar— I mean, ahem.”

She looked back at me with a slightly pained expression.

“They passed away under tragic circumstances.”

Right. A carriage accident.

‘But…’

“Wasn’t that carriage accident a long time ago?”

“His Grace is still deeply hurt.”

“To the point where he can’t even look at their faces?”

“…Yes. That’s right.”

Even as she said it, her voice was filled with doubt.

I rolled my eyes and thought:

‘Isn’t he a little too sensitive?’

He still can’t look at his parents’ faces, even after all these years?

‘They call him the Monster Grand Duke, but he sounds super soft-hearted.’

In the original story, he was cold and emotionless—a total jerk.

Even the letters he sent me showed that kind of personality.

‘Maybe he’s secretly soft inside?’

I wondered… then thought about my own past and sympathized.

Just like how I had understood Caillen’s pain during the New Year’s festival when he talked about the carriage crash.

‘Yeah. Stuff like that always leaves scars.’

…But still. Not being able to look at their faces even now?

Suddenly, I remembered Karl—how calm he had seemed even when talking about the same incident.

Unlike the Grand Duke, he seemed like someone who had healed and moved forward.

Then I froze in place.

‘Crap.’

I was starting to compare Karl and the Grand Duke in everything. What do I do?

While I frowned in frustration, the head maid must have misread my expression and quickly added:

“It was all so sudden.”

“Hm?”

“It happened without warning, so…”

She sounded like she was trying to defend him.

I was about to say she didn’t have to—when—

“…And since the Temple was involved, he must be even more upset.”

“…The Temple?”

That was new.

“The Temple had something to do with their deaths?”

The head maid hesitated, unsure whether she should tell me.

“The former Grand Duke and Duchess had no plans to leave the estate.”

Then, deciding to speak, she continued calmly:

“But the former Grand Duchess’s health had gotten so bad, it couldn’t be treated easily.”

“…”

“The Temple offered to heal her.”

“They did?”

“Yes. But the healers were outside Saint Portou, so the Temple asked them to go to a monastery they designated.”

That was shocking.

Even back then, the Pope would’ve been the same as now.

“Weren’t the Grand Duke and the Pope not on good terms?”

“That’s why it was surprising. Many people were against it.”

“And they still went?”

“The former Grand Duke cared deeply for his wife.”

“…”

“He didn’t want to give up even the smallest chance to save her.”

He had even accepted help from the Temple—just to save his dying wife.

‘The former Grand Duke was quite the romantic.’

I remembered the story about the dragon’s partner, too.

Maybe all Grand Dukes with dragon blood are romantics at heart.

Even if the current one, Silence, seemed cold and emotionless.

The head maid’s face turned somber.

“They left the estate together in a carriage, and… well, you know the result.”

“Hm…”

They got into a fatal accident while following the Temple’s instructions. No wonder it left bad feelings.

‘And then there was that thing about the previous couple…’
‘Clark, let’s not go that far—’

I remembered how Clark had reacted—he definitely seemed suspicious of the Temple too.

‘Honestly, I would’ve been suspicious too.’

“Since then, the relationship between the Temple and Saint Portou has only gotten worse.”

“…”

“It’s practically the worst it’s ever been.”

…Even my hidden identity felt heavier after hearing all this.