FWTR Chapter 42

Chapter 42: The Young Duke of Winchester

‘Judging by the footsteps, it wasn’t Anna…’

Estelle, who had been admiring the portrait for some time, turned her head toward the door, which had suddenly burst open without so much as a knock. The one gripping the doorknob was none other than the Duke of Winchester.

“Do you have something to say?”

His lips were tightly pressed together, his face flushed red.

His expression was complicated, as if he was barely suppressing his rising anger, yet his emotions still managed to seep through.

Estelle closed the pendant and set it down.

The Duke of Winchester had always disliked her holding onto traces of her mother. He had even forbidden only her from entering her mother’s room.

‘Surely, he hasn’t seen it.’

Fearing he might take it away, she subtly slipped the pendant into her sleeve.

“What is that?”

“…A gift from my grandfather.”

Even so, the Duke of Winchester stepped closer, as if he had indeed seen the pendant.

“Are all these gifts on the table from that old man?”

Despite their strained relationship, referring to his late wife’s father—who was also the grandfather of his children—as ‘that old man’ was astonishingly rude.

“Did you come here just to insult my grandfather?”

Already displeased, she had no desire to prolong their conversation. Her voice was cold, as if urging him to get to the point quickly.

“…The ruby ring you gave to your maid—do you have any idea what that is? It once belonged to the Queen of Leon. It is such a priceless treasure that one could hardly put a value on it. And yet, you gave such a thing to a mere maid?”

Estelle finally understood why the Duke had come. He was here to express his outrage over the ruby ring she had given to Anna.

“If it belonged to the Queen of Leon, which no longer exists… then it must indeed be valuable. I should take it back from Anna and give her something else instead.”

She had been so preoccupied with getting rid of the ruby ring, which reminded her of Leonov, that she had failed to examine it properly.

“You cherish that old man’s worthless gifts, yet you completely disregard what I gave you?”

“I’ll take it back. So please, don’t call my grandfather ‘that old man’ anymore. Regardless of whether he has returned to the embrace of the divine, he was still the rightful lord of Madel and Luenbien.”

At Estelle’s unexpectedly docile response, the Duke’s demeanor softened.

“…I spoke rashly in a moment of anger. Do not take it to heart.”

Even if the first instance was a slip of the tongue, everything beyond that had surely been his true thoughts. Now, he was just trying to cover it up. It was almost amusing.

“Was that all you came to say?”

A polite way of telling him to leave if he had nothing more to discuss. Yet, as if he didn’t catch the hint, he sat down across from her.

“Your wedding date has been set. It will be announced at your coming-of-age ceremony, and the ceremony will take place in the coming spring. Once married, the prince will be granted a new surname and a grand ducal title. The arrangement is for you to reside in the castle he will receive.”

“Is that really something that needed ‘arranging’?”

The Empress had always wanted to get rid of Michael, whom she saw as a thorn in her side, and marriage served as the perfect excuse.

Once a prince or princess was married, they were generally not permitted to reside in the imperial palace except under special circumstances.

“At least it’s settled neatly while I was away in the South. I thought I’d have to keep fighting opposition.”

Since the wedding preparations would be handled within the imperial household, she didn’t have to concern herself with it.

“And you’re fine with being treated like this? Even low-ranking nobles have engagement periods before marriage. Yet… this is just—”

Indeed, the situation was ripe for rumors—people might assume she was pregnant out of wedlock.

‘But the Empress believes I’m infertile, which is exactly why she’s marrying me off to Michael. If anyone would be most wary of him having a child, it’s her. There’s no way she would let such rumors spread unchecked.’

Because of that, there was nothing to be particularly concerned about.

“In return, as part of your dowry, you will receive the Lumiette Mine, the Lunael Mine, and…”

But Estelle had no need for the Duke’s generosity.

‘It’s all going to revert to Winchester anyway if I get divorced. And the inheritance my grandfather left me is more than enough.’

Luenbien’s borderlands alone were a dowry that overshadowed everything else.

“Just give me the mines you mentioned earlier. I don’t need anything else.”

“That’s hardly excessive. If all you take is a few mines, how will that reflect on Winchester’s dignity?”

He was now talking about dignity—when previously, he had only given her the bare minimum for a dowry.

‘And yet now, mines alone aren’t enough…?’

How was she supposed to interpret this?

In any case, the more she received, the more complicated it would be to sort out in the event of a divorce.

“You’re too naïve! Don’t you understand that the more you take as a dowry, the less likely the prince will be able to ignore you? The longer the list, the better treatment you will receive.”

Michael wasn’t the kind of person to treat someone differently based on their dowry.

More than that—

“So before, you didn’t care whether I was treated poorly or not?”

She couldn’t understand his sudden change in attitude, but since he was offering, it would be more troublesome to keep refusing.

“Then give it to me as personal property. That way, even if I get divorced, it won’t revert to Winchester.”

“You… Are you already thinking about divorce?”

“I simply mean that no one can predict the future.”

If she added that Michael had already agreed to a divorce, the Duke would undoubtedly explode in anger.

“If you dislike the idea, then forget it.”

“…It makes no difference to Winchester either way. And if it’s in your name, the prince will have even less reason to look down on you. I’ll instruct the steward to transfer ownership.”

After a long pause, the Duke surprisingly agreed.

‘Right. I was supposed to spend time with Riri. I nearly forgot.’

This was a perfect excuse to escape from him.

“Your Grace, I’d like to change now. If you have nothing more to say…”

She trailed off, gesturing toward the door with her eyes.

“Are you telling me to leave? You won’t even offer your father a cup of tea?”

“Aren’t you about to have tea with Melody? You can have her serve you.”

Since when did they ever sit and have tea together?

‘I was able to forgive Lucas because I wasn’t sure about his intentions.’

She had understood why he hadn’t cried at the funeral and had seen how he unconsciously protected her.

‘But you… You’re different.’

She had seen everything in his office.

He didn’t see her as his child—he hadn’t even allowed her the chance to clear her name. How could she possibly forgive him?

“If you speak to Melody about it—”

“No. I simply don’t want to have tea with you. You were the one who said that misfortune follows whenever I’m around. That Melody spilled tea and burned herself because of me.”

At Melody’s insistence, she had reluctantly joined them for tea once. It was a memory she had buried deep, one she didn’t want to revisit. Thinking about it again made her stomach churn.

“You said Melody got burned because I was there. And back then, I thought you were right.”

Yet when Estelle herself had suffered a burn on her arm from a fire, he had scolded her for being careless.

“Did I… really say that to you?”

His voice wavered with shock, as if he had no memory of his own actions.

“If I check my diary, I can find the exact date.”

Estelle smiled faintly.

“Would you like me to recite the date for you?”

After a long silence, the Duke finally staggered to his feet and left the room.

The stifling air lifted.

‘I need to change quickly. Riri must be waiting.’

Placing the pale green dress from Count Madel inside her wardrobe, Estelle hurried to prepare.

* * *

“Did you wait long, Riri?”

Feeling guilty for making him wait, Estelle had stopped by the kitchen to fetch some treats.

Expecting to find him on the bench, she instead saw the dog dashing across the garden, leaping into the air to catch a flying disc.

‘…No way.’

She dropped the snacks she had been holding.

“Estelle.”

Rahelrn Winchester.

The Duke’s eldest son and heir.

And the man who hadn’t even attended her grandfather’s funeral…

Her cold, indifferent older brother greeted her as if nothing had happened.

‘How many years has it been?’

He had spent most of his life at the estate and rarely visited. Even when he did, he showed no interest in her.

He was always cold, always distant.

“…When did you arrive?”

“Just now.”

Unsure of how to face him, she felt a cold sweat break out.

She had no difficulty dealing with Lucas. The Duke, she had no desire to please.

Rahelrn was no different, yet somehow, she found him the hardest to face.

She wanted to ask—why hadn’t he come to the funeral? Had he really hated her that much?

“Young Duke.”

…She knew it was pointless to dwell on such emotions, yet her heart still stirred.

“You must have heard the news. Grandfather has passed away.”

“…”

“If you were thinking of visiting Count Madel’s estate, don’t bother.”

“…”

“The funeral is already over.”

Hey guys now you can read advance chapters of this novel on Patreon.
If you liked my work and want to support me then you can visit my page for tips. As I can’t create Kofi because of the unavailability of Paypal in my country, I’ve made this tier which is being updated every week so that you won’t be charged again till you want to donate again by yourself or you can exit the tier after donating 🙂.

Happy Reading 🩷