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Chapter 14
“The border genuinely is cutthroat these days.”
Ethan had intended to casually tell her a few embellished war stories, but the Princess’s reaction drew the raw facts out of him automatically.
If she had received a proper education and been treated right, she would have been in a position to easily access information like this.
Ethan felt pity for the Princess, who had been married off to the Duchy as if being sold. But there was no way for him to help.
“Word is that the line of succession in Tritan will change soon. The moment the current king, who is practically on his deathbed, passes away, a civil war will break out immediately.”
Ivanna widened her eyes to put on a surprised face, but her mind worked rapidly.
Whether he was excited by her surprised reaction, Ethan spilled story after story about the battles that occurred at the border.
He claimed it was information anyone could know, but from it, Ivanna read the political situation of both the Kingdom and the Empire.
“Still, is it really fine to proceed with the inspection of the territory under these circumstances?”
If possible, she wanted to hear that it was dangerous. Ivanna spoke with a tone laced with concern.
She didn’t want to go down to the ducal territory using the excuse that she didn’t want to move around during a dangerous period.
After all, there was no need to drag someone who was supposed to live quietly all the way to the ducal territory, was there?
Half of her wanted to remain in the capital to look after the trading guild, while the other half wanted to see regions other than the capital.
However, a Duke who handled everything by principles would undoubtedly bring even a nominal Duchess along to the territory.
“Of course it’s possible! The Reynolds Knight Order is the best in the Empire, after all.”
“Even more so than the Imperial Knights?”
Her expectations shattered to pieces.
Ethan gave a sly wink and proudly declared that, while it was a secret, no one could match the Duchy’s Ebony Knight Order—excluding the divine powers of the Imperial Family, of course.
“Hmm. Still, if there’s a risk of war…”
“No matter what happens, we will protect the Duchess. Please do not worry.”
Faced with his brimming confidence, Ivanna had no choice but to nod.
Ivanna recalled the Duke.
When she first saw him, she thought he was merely a cold and distant person.
That had certainly been her assessment before she received his apology.
After receiving his formal, courteous apology in the garden, her evaluation of him had changed.
Cold and distant he may be, but he was a man who knew how to admit his faults.
Even so, she had no intention of going back to the Duke to tell him she didn’t want to go to the territory.
After all, acting submissively meant having to follow his wishes as well.
“I shall trust in your skills. And surely, nothing will happen within the Empire.”
* * *
It happened.
Ivanna resolved that she would absolutely fix her habit of jumping to hasty conclusions.
Of course, it wasn’t that a problem had arisen within the Empire.
“Are you… really going to ride in the carriage with me?”
She asked the Duke in a very faint voice.
The problem was that her plan to rest comfortably in the carriage had gone awry.
She had never imagined the Duke would actually share the same carriage with her.
“Is there a problem?”
The words there are plenty rose right up to the tip of her tongue, but Ivanna barely managed to shake her head.
Anthony and Sola had already packed her luggage.
When she looked for them, they were already at the servants’ carriage, watching her with intrigued eyes.
Help me! Save me! she wanted to scream, but there was no one who could resolve the situation for her right now.
“Please board.”
She had deliberately worn comfortable clothes to get into the traveling mood, too. Ivanna forced the corners of her lips to rise.
At the Duke’s gesture offering his hand for an escort, as if asking what she was waiting for, she had no choice but to take his hand.
Click.
Once the carriage door closed and she took her seat, he opened his mouth.
“Please bear with it even if it feels a little uncomfortable. The ducal territory is somewhat sensitive about these matters.”
These matters?
Ivanna tilted her head at his expression.
“It is an old-fashioned place. The discrimination there may be even worse than at the Duchy in the capital.”
Seeing his reluctant gaze and tone, she could understand what he was trying to say.
“So we must appear close, if only on the surface.”
“That is correct.”
It was unexpected.
At the word quietly, she had assumed he would pretend to ignore everything. Yet this man was paying attention to her situation far more meticulously than she had thought.
Was he not just leaving her be after all?
Ivanna suppressed the urge to ask what his idea of quietly actually entailed. She wasn’t in a position to be asking him such things, after all.
She was in a situation where she should be grateful whenever the Duke looked out for her.
“Thank you.”
“It is only natural. Even if it is uncomfortable, please bear with it until we arrive at the Duchy.”
He was polite.
Was this also because she had become his wife?
She shouldn’t give away her feelings too easily. After all, wasn’t she just a wife in a contract?
Assuming the Duke was done speaking, Ivanna turned her head toward the window.
Riding in a carriage with someone other than Anthony and Sola was a first since the Day of Divine Power.
She felt nervous, but since he mentioned they would be using a teleportation magic circle to get to the domain at the entrance of the ducal territory, it would be over quickly.
There’s no need to worry in advance.
She had to spend a month with the Duke, but as long as she kept her mouth shut and sat quietly, it would be fine.
That was what she did best.
Gazing at the passing scenery, Ivanna earnestly prayed that this schedule would pass by quietly.
* * *
“Lady Ivanna, it seems you will have to wait a little longer.”
Ivanna nodded at Ethan’s troubled face.
It hadn’t been like this from the beginning. The Baron of the first territory they visited had welcomed them grandly.
Though he found the Duke a bit intimidating, he proudly boasted that their territory still had a smooth supply of drinking water.
Indeed, following the Duke’s orders, he had gathered water in a reservoir, managed it, and steadily distributed drinking water through purification magic.
Whenever it rained, each household was instructed to collect and use rainwater.
Thus, Ivanna could feel relieved even amid the Baron’s bragging as he looked out for her while showing off his achievements.
However, the problem began after that.
“Is water scarce here as well?”
“Yes…”
It was the same answer as in the previous village. Seeing Ethan bowing his head, Ivanna swallowed a sigh.
Only the territories closest to the capital were intact; the closer they got to the south where the ducal territory was located, the more severe the drought became.
The water in several territories had dried up completely, leaving even the fields scorched and dry.
If I make it rain right now, my divine power might get exposed.
Ivanna gazed out the carriage window with a helpless expression.
She could see Cedric speaking with the village administrator.
“Is it impossible to find blocked springs or underground water?”
“The drought has persisted for so long that even if we dig into the ground, no water comes up, they say.”
Since those were the words spoken by Ethan, who was by the Duke’s side, it couldn’t be a lie.
Sigh.
Telling Ethan not to mind her and to go help the Duke instead, Ivanna sent him out.
Sharing a carriage with the Duke wasn’t difficult.
He held not a shred of interest in her. Throughout the journey, he was busy processing the documents he had brought along.
To think he possessed such diligence as to work even inside a carriage. Though she couldn’t make even a sound of breathing, Ivanna couldn’t help but occasionally steal glances at him working.
She was curious about how he handled business, having likely received extraordinary education since childhood.
I wonder if we’ll sleep separately today.
Ivanna watched the Duke issuing directions to people here and there.
The biggest problem of the itinerary lay in the bedroom. After arriving in the ducal territory, they ended up sharing the same room.
On the first day of the trip, Ivanna had been appalled to see only a single bed in the room.
“Why is there only one bed?”
“That is how things originally are in the south.”
The Duke had answered casually, and Ivanna had no choice but to lie down barely clinging to the edge of the bed.
On the other hand, he lay down beside her without a care and closed his eyes.
Ivanna hadn’t been able to fall asleep for a long time.
It was just as the Duke had said.
Sigh.
Ivanna let out a long breath.
It felt like she was the only one conscious of the Duke.
Ivanna had not forgotten what she had to uphold. The reason they were together was due to the contract, without any affection or interest involved.
She simply needed to exist as the connecting link of the contract exchanged between the Imperial Family and the Duchy.
“Still… the common people are far too pitiful.”
She shouldn’t be sticking her nose where it didn’t belong. Yet the gaunt-eyed children who couldn’t eat properly kept weighing on Ivanna’s mind.
Originally, the south was a fertile land embracing vast plains and the ocean. Yet to think the place that suffered the greatest damage from the drought was also the south.
Seeing the children reduced to skin and bones without exception, Ivanna bit her lip hard.
How long could she keep hiding this?
She simply wanted to run away from her fate, yet it felt as though something were telling her she was in the wrong.
I’m not some benevolent saint who bestows everything upon the people who abandoned me.
Biting her lip hard, Ivanna glared up at the cloudless sky.
If the Duke fails to find a solution, let’s make a secret move then.
Watching the people carrying water buckets brought from the capital, Ivanna pulled down the window curtains.
