The Murderous Duke’s Family Circumstances

Ch. 11

Ch. 10

Ch. 09

Ch. 08

Ch. 07

Ch. 06luntly. Yet Jasmine kept smiling. She had worked in this mansion before. People who had known him since childhood were difficult to deal with. Aster exhaled sharply. “She seems like a good person. Since she became the duchess, I thought she might want something more extravagant, but everything she chose was modest. I even had to remind her to consider her status as duchess. Though she seemed unaccustomed to being served, she accepted it with composure.” Jasmine lowered her head. The young, beautiful woman with black hair and pale violet eyes had remained calm even in situations where anyone would expect anger. Her judgment was remarkable. Jasmine’s smile deepened. “In my eyes, she is already a perfect duchess. Her elegance and dignified demeanor lacked nothing.” “So you liked her.” “Yes.” Aster took another sip of liquor. Jasmine had a good eye for people. If she said that much, he could trust it. “It seems Garnet brought the report.” Jasmine spoke while looking at the documents on the table. Aster didn’t respond, but she paid no attention. As though it were an everyday occurrence. “I thought Your Grace would’ve finished investigating long ago.” “…If you mean the investigation into the person herself, that ended long ago.” Aster set down his glass. His gaze moved toward the woman whose yellowing hair was streaked with gray and tied up neatly. There was already something in Garnet’s report bothering him. Jasmine, more than anyone, might be able to solve it. After a brief silence, Aster rubbed his face with one hand. “When do you think the duchess’s dressing room will be fully prepared?” “She said she dislikes overly extravagant things, so it won’t take long. Her clothing will be our highest priority—about a week should suffice.” “I see.” The timing was convenient. Aster selected one page from the report and handed it to Jasmine. Her brown eyes, faintly tinged green, moved across the text. Resting his head against one hand with his elbow on the desk, Aster quietly watched her. “…Can you find it?” Her greenish-brown eyes, deeply furrowed, looked at him. Aster pretended not to notice. Of course, he knew worrying over something like this wasn’t like him. Yet it kept bothering him. Perhaps because he felt indebted. As Lauren herself had said, she was a capable administrator. She could point out mistakes made by both Letty and him just from briefly reviewing documents. For someone like Aster, who had never properly learned anything and had only survived on battlefields, Lauren was truly valuable. Maybe he simply didn’t want to owe her emotionally. Probably… that was it. Aster traced the rim of his glass with empty fingers. “I’ll do my best.” Aster merely nodded. Jasmine took out a notebook, wrote down what seemed important, and returned the report. Though he had no need to receive it back—its contents were already in his mind—he accepted it and slipped it among the pages. Jasmine bowed and left the room. The office was once again ruled by darkness and silence. Looking down at the report, Aster sipped his liquor. Garnet’s report kept pricking at his mind. There were countless other matters to handle. Why was he even bothering with this? He couldn’t understand himself. And yet he kept wondering: *What would make this report stop bothering me?* After emptying his glass completely, Aster leaned back and closed his eyes. For some reason, his chest felt heavy. Without meaning to, he released a long sigh.

Ch. 05

Ch. 04

Ch. 03

Ch. 02