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“Money Envelope, I’ll Take It Once – Chapter : 10”
Huh, someone collapsed?
“Duke, did you just hear that?”
“Yes. I heard it.”
Even after hearing the shout that the Duchess had collapsed, the Duke only smiled brightly.
“She must be so happy that I finally brought home a fiancée, right?”
Th-that doesn’t seem to be the case though……
I swallowed nervously while looking at the people rushing toward the collapsed Grand Madam.
‘At this rate, will I even be able to safely take my money envelope and leave?’
A strong feeling of impossibility washed over me.
“Ugh……”
“Grand Madam!”
“Can you hear me?”
The physician quickly examined the Grand Madam, who was blinking weakly. Soon after, he let out a sigh of relief.
“Other than some weakness, there’s nothing serious. I will prescribe some medicine soon, so there’s no need to worry too much.”
“She’s been suffering from headaches since this morning. Please check that as well.”
“Has the Grand Madam been complaining of headaches again? Let me see……”
“That’s enough.”
Dr. Graham tried to examine her further, but she weakly raised her hand, signaling him to stop.
When she asked for water, Olvia quickly brought lukewarm water.
After taking a sip, she leaned against the headboard, her body still drained. But her eyes remained sharp.
“Where is Elkiers? Where is that brat right now?”
“He… I believe he is in the Iris Hall with a guest.”
“So he saw his own mother collapse, yet didn’t even come to check on me?”
The Grand Madam pressed her forehead in disbelief. In her mind, the scene before she collapsed replayed like a painting.
Bringing home a so-called fiancée who was a commoner—Grand Madam thought this must be nothing more than a reckless act of rebellion aimed at her.
‘Marrying a commoner? Of course that’s not sincere!’
Even if Elkiers had pretended to be a commoner during his academy days, that was all it ever was—an act.
The blood flowing through him was noble Rudian blood. No matter how much resentment he held toward his neglectful parents, once he inherited the duties of Rudian, he should at least understand not to taint that blood. He had to.
‘How old is he now? How dare a duke rebel against his mother like this?’
Up until then, the Grand Madam had only intended to firmly lecture Elkiers.
The uneasy feeling that something was seriously wrong began when a servant guided her to Iris Hall.
“Wait, when were iris flowers planted in that garden?”
As the residence of the future duchess, the annex was maintained even when it had no owner.
However, right after Elkiers inherited the dukedom, when someone suggested renovating Iris Hall since he would soon welcome a wife, he had scoffed.
“Why waste money on a building whose owner might not even come? It would be better to renovate the park instead.”
As if it were not a joke, Elkiers took all the maintenance budget for Iris Hall and used it to renovate the old park, replacing benches and magical streetlights in the plaza.
The citizens of Pennington were delighted, but the Grand Madam was furious.
Iris Hall was practically the symbol of the Rudian Duchess. To her, who had once lived there, it held even deeper meaning.
Yet Elkiers had drained every last lucre from its maintenance budget. At this rate, Iris Hall would be abandoned.
A mansion without care would quickly deteriorate. In the end, the Grand Madam had no choice but to use part of her own allowance—meant for maintaining her dignity—to fund Iris Hall’s upkeep.
The allowance given to the Rudian Grand Madam was by no means small. But buying dresses and accessories while also maintaining a four-story mansion was another matter entirely.
Thus, she could barely maintain the exterior. The garden had to be abandoned.
The garden filled with blue iris flowers had been the symbol of Iris Hall. But seeing it reduced to a barren field, she had long stopped visiting.
But then—
“The Duke ordered a full renovation of Iris Hall two weeks ago. The flowers were also replanted then.”
“Why wasn’t I informed?!”
The servant bowed deeply, unsure what to do.
“The Duke issued a gag order……”
“A-ah……”
At that moment, as dizziness overwhelmed her, a scene like a hammer strike flashed before her eyes.
“Iri, my love.”
Her son was holding the hand of a woman whose back was turned, placing a ring on her left ring finger.
Even from afar, she could recognize it—the gemstone was Red Peril, the symbol of Rudian.
“Right now, this is all I can give you—this Iris Hall. But someday, I’ll place the Lazuli Key around your neck.”
Even the Lazuli Key.
That was one of only two keys to the Rudian vault, owned only by the Duke and Duchess.
It was also the first thing Elkiers took from her on the day he inherited the dukedom.
‘And now… he’s giving that to her?’
Iris Hall, the Red Peril ring, even the Lazuli Key.
No matter how much this might be a staged act to provoke her, would Elkiers really go this far?
Even the stubborn Grand Madam could no longer deny it.
‘This isn’t acting… He truly intends to make that woman the Duchess?’
As if reading her thoughts, Elkiers looked at her and smiled.
Then he kissed the ring he had personally placed on the woman’s hand.
—Yes, that is my intention.
A voice seemed to echo in her ears.
And immediately after, the Grand Madam fainted.
And now, having opened her eyes again,
confirming it had not been a dream, the Grand Madam ordered Olvia to bring cold water.
Even after drinking it, her frustration did not ease, so she swallowed the medicine Dr. Graham prepared.
Of course, it had no effect.
How could she calm down when Elkiers—the source of her headache—was acting so boldly in front of her?
“What sin did I commit to deserve this……”
“Please calm down, Grand Madam. At this rate, you may develop heart illness.”
“I already have heart illness! Because of that brat!”
Despite her status, no one reacted to her insulting words toward the head of the house. Everyone pretended not to hear.
Only Olvia tried to soothe her.
“Grand Madam, please breathe deeply. In times like this, you must stay composed as the elder of the family.”
“Composed… yes. You’re right. You’re right.”
If she did not keep her composure, the Rudian family might, for the first time in history, end up with a commoner woman as Duchess.
Hadn’t the current Empress herself proven what happens when an unqualified woman sits in a position beyond her station?
“I don’t know how bold she must be, daring to step into this place and claim she’ll become Duchess. Olvia, I need to know about that woman first.”
“I will investigate everything from start to finish.”
“Yes. And… didn’t a servant say earlier that someone among the staff recognized her?”
The Grand Madam gave an order.
“Bring them here. I need to hear it myself.”
I was worried about the Grand Madam who had collapsed, but since I hadn’t even formally been introduced yet, I couldn’t just follow her.
“You don’t need to worry about Mother. The doctor is very skilled.”
“But it feels like it was because of me that she collapsed……”
“It’s not because of Iri. It’s just that she couldn’t control her temper. She often collapses because she holds too much anger in her heart.”
So in the end… it was because of me, wasn’t it?
‘Hmm… thinking about it, maybe I shouldn’t visit her after all.’
If I showed my face unnecessarily, it might only make her angrier.
“Let’s take a look around where Iri will be staying. There are people I want to introduce you to.”
“People to introduce me to?”
“My friends. They’ll help Iri live comfortably here from now on.”
“The Duke’s friends?”
“Yes. Friends I’ve known since my academy days. They came here with me when I suddenly became Duke.”
Ah, then they must be very close friends.
“Then… they also know about me?”
“Of course they do.”
I nodded, feeling the Duke’s tension, and strangely, my own nervousness eased.
That meant they knew I was a fake fiancée… so I wouldn’t have to keep pretending in front of them, right?
