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“Money Envelope, I’ll Take It Once” Chapter : 09
2.
Christina Rudian.
That was her original name, but now the title “Grand Lady” had replaced it. She pressed her throbbing forehead with her index finger.
“Come here and give me a massage.”
Today, the Grand Lady seemed unusually low in spirits. One of the maids who had been standing silently approached her carefully.
Even while massaging the back of the Grand Lady’s neck, the maid made no sound at all.
In this bedroom, the only person allowed to speak before the Grand Lady addressed them first was Olivia, her personal maid brought from her family home when she got married.
“You seem to be suffering from a prolonged headache today. Shall I call Dr. Graham to prepare some medicine?”
“Forget it. If medicine could fix it, it would’ve been fixed long ago.”
The Grand Lady let out a short sigh and waved her hand lightly, sending the maid away.
“You also know what the source of my headache is, don’t you?”
Instead of agreeing openly, Olivia silently brewed a fresh cup of mint tea, the Grand Lady’s favorite.
The Grand Lady didn’t drink it; she only enjoyed the refreshing aroma through her nose. But even her satisfied expression didn’t last more than ten seconds.
“That boy… when on earth is he going to grow up…”
It was a muttered complaint—but not really just a mutter.
Whenever she suffered from a chronic headache that medicine couldn’t relieve, the Grand Lady would ease her discomfort by badmouthing her son.
And only Olivia could respond to that.
“It has only been two years since His Grace the Duke inherited the title. He must still be overwhelmed by the sudden responsibilities.”
“Overwhelmed? Do you think Elkiers looks that incompetent and weak to you?”
Of course, he didn’t.
Who was Elkiers?
At just nine years old, he left home alone, traveled to the capital, concealed his identity, took the entrance exam, and entered the Royal Academy as the top scholarship student—a true prodigy.
Even after graduating, he never revealed his family name and continued living as a commoner. Even when he was selected as a knight escort for the Crown Prince after taking the Academy swordsmanship exam.
From the Royal Academy to the Imperial Palace.
No one without ability or mental strength could have endured the aristocratic hostility and disdain.
But what was the use of being so accomplished?
From the day Elkiers returned to Pennington, he had been deliberately aggravating his mother’s nerves.
“That ungrateful child. Did I ask for something unreasonable? His father already had two children at his age!”
“……”
“Ever since he went to the capital, he’s become completely reckless. How long does he intend to live so irresponsibly?”
After sighing repeatedly, the Grand Lady put down her teacup and held her forehead.
And in the silence that followed, everyone in the room only watched her mood carefully.
Knock knock.
“Grand Lady, may I disturb you for a moment?”
“What is it?”
Her voice was sharp, reflecting her already irritated mood.
The servant, realizing the timing was terrible, hesitated nervously, hoping not to be caught in the crossfire.
“His Grace the Duke has brought a guest…”
“A guest?”
Any official visitor to the Rudian ducal residence should have been reported in advance.
But she had heard nothing.
So it must be one of Elkiers’ personal guests.
“Obviously. Probably someone from his academy days…”
“T-they say it’s someone he’s promised a future with.”
“…What?”
The Grand Lady was not the only one shocked.
No one made a sound, but the atmosphere in the room visibly stirred. Several people even widened their eyes in disbelief.
“Say that again. The Duke—Elkiers—brought what kind of guest?”
“A marriage partner…”
“That’s not a joke, is it? You’re not trying to fool me, are you?”
“It didn’t seem like it… however…”
“However what? Stop stalling and speak clearly!”
Elkiers’ marriage.
That had been the Grand Lady’s long-standing wish ever since he inherited the dukedom.
But Elkiers had always slipped away, saying he wasn’t ready, that he would choose his own partner.
Her frustration had long rotted into exhaustion. No wonder even now, instead of joy, suspicion came first.
‘Still… he brought a woman?’
Even if it was just a performance to escape nagging about marriage, it didn’t matter.
No—better yet.
She could use this chance to install that woman as the Duchess and secure the family line…
“The lady His Grace brought does not appear to be a noble young lady.”
“…What?”
“One of the servants recognized her. They say she is diligent, polite, and has an excellent character…”
“So she’s a commoner!”
The servant nodded heavily, and the Grand Lady’s vision went dark.
“That damn boy…”
So he was causing trouble after all.
She stood up abruptly, eyes burning with anger, and snapped at the servant.
“Take me to them. Now!”
* * *
For a moment, everyone was shocked by the Duke’s statement about a “promised future lover.”
But soon, the servants quickly regained their composure.
They bowed politely toward me, who stood beside the Duke.
“Greetings to the prospective Duchess.”
“P-prospective Duchess?”
At the completely unexpected title, my jaw dropped. The Duke let out a soft laugh.
Then, gently lifting my chin, he allowed the servants to rise.
“From now on, my fiancée will stay in Iris Hall. I trust everyone understands what that means.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
The servants, already perfectly disciplined, bowed once more even more respectfully.
The Duke then extended his hand toward me.
“Shall we go?”
“Go where?”
“I told you already. Iris Hall.”
Many servants followed behind us, but the Duke personally guided me through the ducal estate.
“To explain, the building in front of us is Lapis Hall. It’s the main residence where the Duke’s family traditionally lives.”
We walked around an enormous five-story mansion.
About ten minutes later—
“That over there is Iris Hall.”
Where the Duke pointed was a four-story white mansion surrounded by blue iris flower gardens.
“Wow… it’s so beautiful. It looks like something out of a fairy tale!”
“I’m glad you like it. Iris Hall is traditionally where the prospective Duchess stays.”
“A separate residence for the prospective Duchess?”
“Yes. Look over there.”
He pointed toward Lapis Hall.
“See that balcony sticking out from the center of the fourth floor? That’s my bedroom.”
“Ah…”
“And that balcony over at Iris Hall will be your bedroom.”
Following his finger, I quickly realized something.
“They’re facing each other?”
Although the distance made it impossible to jump between them, it seemed possible to talk to each other from balcony to balcony at night.
“It was designed that way intentionally. Since we’re not married yet, we shouldn’t live in the same building—but apparently, some ancestor couldn’t give up the idea of midnight conversations.”
“An ancestor’s insight?”
The Duke smiled and leaned closer, whispering into my ear.
“Thanks to this, I can openly provoke my mother.”
He explained why my presence here would provoke the Grand Lady.
“Not every fiancée of a Duke has lived in Iris Hall. But every fiancée who entered Iris Hall eventually became Duchess. Including my mother.”
“Is it really okay for me to go there?”
Breakups among nobles weren’t common, but they weren’t unheard of either.
But every fiancée who entered Iris Hall became Duchess?
That meant past Dukes only brought women there when they were certain of marriage…
“Exactly because of that, you must enter Iris Hall.”
Suddenly, noise came from behind.
Just as I tried to turn around—
The Duke bent down, plucked an iris flower from the garden, and gently placed it behind my ear.
“Don’t turn around. Stay still.”
He held my cheek and looked down at me quietly.
His eyes were dripping with warmth.
“Iris… my love.”
Even though I knew it was acting, my heart still thudded painfully.
While I was flustered, he slipped a ring onto my left ring finger.
“What I can give you right now is only this Iris Hall, but someday I’ll place the Lapis Key around your neck.”
He lifted my hand and kissed the ring he had just put on me.
His lips touched the gemstone, but I could almost feel the warmth of his breath travel through my hand.
Before I could even process my embarrassment—
Crash.
“Aaaah! G-Grand Lady!”
“Call Dr. Graham immediately! The Grand Lady has collapsed!”
