LCWD 37

~Chapter 37~

Lady Claire wasn’t able to be a good mother to Apollyon. Instead, she plotted to make her own son the next Duke. She went to a witch in the Kingdom of Karon and paid a huge amount of money to curse Apollyon.

The witch warned Claire that casting a curse on someone would come with a heavy price. Especially curses from black magic, like the one she wanted, would always have a terrible consequence, and the person who ordered the curse would pay the price in the worst way.

But Claire didn’t take the warning seriously. She thought that the price would just be losing a limb or something small like that. She couldn’t have predicted what would happen.

Two years after Apollyon was cursed, her daughter, Melissa, started to lose her mind. Melissa’s madness got worse every year. Claire called famous doctors and fed Melissa all sorts of foods she thought might help, but nothing worked.

Finally, when Melissa was 10, she took her own life, chasing hallucinations and falling out of a window. The family claimed it was an accident, but the pain from losing Melissa wasn’t the end.

Not long after, Matteo, her son, fell seriously ill. Claire, now realizing the curse was real, rushed back to the witch, but by then, the witch was gone. Apollyon had been cursed for seven years, and Matteo had been bedridden for four.

Claire spent her nights regretting her actions, but she never felt sorry for Apollyon. When the former Duke died in a carriage accident, she wasn’t happy. It was impossible to put Matteo in charge, as he could barely move.

Her daughter, who had died from madness, her son who couldn’t leave his bed, and her late husband. The current Duke, Apollyon, was also cursed. Rumors about the Teabridte family being cursed spread throughout the empire, with some even saying that the late Duke had made a deal with the devil.

Despite all this, Claire was portrayed as an angel. She always appeared kind and gentle and often participated in public events. Nobles praised her, saying that the Teabridte family could still stand thanks to Claire. But no one knew that she was the one who cursed her own family.

Remembering all this, I couldn’t help but feel a chill when I saw Nosier Mansion. Claire seemed almost like a psychopath—someone who was hard to understand. It was like trying to deal with someone whose true intentions you could never read.

For a moment, the carriage stopped and jerked. We had just passed the gates of Nosier Mansion. I couldn’t shake off the uncomfortable feeling I had, especially knowing that Claire was the one who cursed Apollyon.

As I thought about everything, I stood up and made sure to pay attention to every little detail. I stepped out of the carriage, escorted by Creedman, who had been my guard more often ever since the drunken lunch.

When I got out, I saw the heads of the servants bowing to me in greeting.

“Your Grace the Grand Duchess,” the head servant, a middle-aged man with dark brown hair and a neatly kept beard, stepped forward. He looked very handsome and was well-maintained for his age, not showing a single gray hair.

“I am Jaden, the butler of Nosier Mansion. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you.” I replied calmly, trying to hide my surprise. I almost blurted out, “Wow, handsome!”

Jaden, with a warm smile typical of a handsome man, led me inside the mansion. As I followed him, I couldn’t help but glance around, taking in the surroundings. The mansion had a very different atmosphere from Pontus Mansion.

Nosier Mansion sat on a high ground, allowing a clear view of the lower, more bustling area of the city. The colorful rooftops of the district looked like a beautiful painting. Behind the mansion was a lush birch forest, just like Claire had described—vibrant and alive.

Compared to Pontus Mansion, which was often windy and gloomy, Nosier Mansion had a much brighter vibe. However, I still couldn’t shake the unease I felt. I realized I was being greatly influenced by the original story.

Following Jaden’s lead, I entered the reception room where Claire was waiting, sipping tea.

“Ah, you’re here, my dear,” Claire stood up when she saw me.

“Mother, greetings. I hope you’ve been well,” I said with a polite smile.

“It’s only been a few days. Nothing’s happened. I’m doing well. How about you? How have you been?”

“I’ve been adjusting well. I’m sorry it took me so long to visit you.”

I said these words, though I didn’t really mean them. I had no desire to visit, but I couldn’t say that out loud. In the past, I had heard that it was better to stay away from your in-laws as much as possible.

I’d prefer to communicate with Claire without meeting her face-to-face. There were plenty of ways to send messages, but I didn’t have the courage to say that aloud. So, I just continued with the small talk.

After a few more formal pleasantries, we put down our teacups and began the real conversation.

“Apollyon is such a capable child, isn’t he? His sense of responsibility as the head of the family is remarkable. He’s trying so hard to protect all this land and people at such a young age. I’m really proud of him.”

“That’s true,” I replied, nodding.

Just like Claire said, Apollyon was indeed a competent Duke. He made sure that the budget was used wisely and always tried to listen to the voices of the people.

“I feel bad for him, though. He’s working so hard all by himself.”

“…”

She wasn’t being sincere. She probably didn’t know that I was aware of her frustrations with Apollyon. I didn’t believe a word she said, and I couldn’t hide the disapproval on my face as I sipped my tea.

“I’ve been handling everything myself, but the workload has been so much, and the rumors… well, they’ve been very difficult to deal with.” Claire continued.

“…Yes,” I answered, barely holding back a smile at her exaggerated performance.

She had the face of a person who was pretending to be humble, but I wasn’t fooled. She was the one who had cursed her family, after all.

“I know that the true responsibility for managing everything falls to the lady of the house. Managing the staff, deciding where to place them, and even setting their salaries. These are things you’ll need to think carefully about.”

“…Yes.”

“The Nosier Mansion is under my management, but you’ll need to manage Pontus Mansion and Lunatia Mansion from now on.”

“…Yes.”

The responsibility of managing Lunatia Mansion, the largest estate in the Duchy, was now on my shoulders. It felt like a heavy burden. Managing the staff and planning the events was already stressful enough. The thought of dealing with the staff’s wages made my head ache.

“Events like the harvest festival and the New Year’s celebration will be your responsibility as the lady of the house.” Claire added, sipping her tea.

“I’ve heard you’ve always been interested in welfare policies,” she said, suddenly.

“…What?” I was surprised and almost dropped my teacup.

I knew that whenever she mentioned something like that, it usually meant something unpleasant was coming.

“I’ve heard from Count Incle Dob that you love reading and learning new things.”

Lady Claire had mentioned the Count’s praises of me, which made me realize that my father had told her about me.

“…Really?” I said, forcing a smile.

I didn’t know how to respond to this.

I was thinking to myself, “I wish I were anywhere but here.” My lips dried up as I tried to hide my discomfort.