TGDHC Chapter 10

Chapter 10: A Hard to Meet Face

The next day, I walked toward the training grounds with a light step.

“Finally, I’m going to meet the Grand Duke.”

The day before, when Norton returned to the garden:

“Sir Norton, I’ve got good news. I figured out where the Grand Duke’s room is—third floor, west wing, the far end. Am I right?”

“…No.”

“Liar. You hesitated.”

Though Norton denied it outright, his delayed reaction gave him away. He eventually confessed, under the threat of me barging into the Grand Duke’s room or ‘accidentally’ bumping into him, that the Grand Duke would be participating in a training session the next morning.

---

Following the noise, I found the expansive training grounds where knights sparred in pairs. Even though I’d met some knights before, seeing so many in one place gave the atmosphere a unique intensity.

“Wow, northerners really are built differently,” I mused.

Among the elite gathered here, one stood out—his commanding presence, sharp eyes, and the fluid elegance of his movements as he swung his sword.

“That must be the Grand Duke!”

I watched in awe, my tension easing slightly. Just then, a familiar voice called out:

“Your Grace!”

“Sir Leon?”

Leon, who had been standing nearby, ran over to me with a wide smile.

“Someone I know!”

His wagging-tail energy was almost visible. Around him, a few other familiar faces popped into view, including Johas. Though busy sparring, they seemed to recognize me, their expressions hinting at a warm welcome.

“Why are you here, Your Grace?” Leon asked with a bright grin.

“I’m here to see the Grand Duke.”

As I turned back toward the training grounds, I realized something—he was gone. The Grand Duke had disappeared.

“Where did he go?”

Looking around, I couldn’t find him anywhere. Leon seemed puzzled, too.

“The commander was here just a moment ago…”

I let out a bitter chuckle.

“Did he seriously just run away?”

Ha. Could it be that he ran away after seeing me?

He knew I was coming to meet him, but he ran off?

Feeling a mix of exhaustion and embarrassment, I stood up and shook my head.

“No, it’s nothing. I was just passing by. I think I might have disturbed the training. I’ll leave now.”

The knights’ stares were blatantly obvious, but surprisingly, they weren’t as hostile as the ones I had received at the chapel.

There were even a few knights who seemed to welcome me.

It would be nice to greet them while the atmosphere wasn’t so bad.

But since the Duke hadn’t formally introduced me, I couldn’t just go up and greet them first.

I awkwardly smiled and turned to leave.

---

Sitting down on the stairs of the mansion, forgetting all about my dignity, I muttered silently to the Duke.

‘What a cruel person!’

No matter how much I’m the daughter of the enemy, isn’t he even curious about what kind of woman his wife is? How can he avoid facing me even once?

‘Just one year, I only need to get along for one year.’

One year.

In a year, I planned to leave Blenheim.

That means I have to stay here until then, no matter what.

In the original story, Marquis eventually starts a rebellion.

He plans to eliminate the Crown Princess for the empress he supports and the third prince. But the rebellion fails, and the Frais family is destroyed.

By that time, Annette will have remarried the second son of Count Raymond, so she will survive under a different name. But strangely, she will appear at Heroin’s wedding and end up causing her own death.

‘She was said to have gone a little mad from being oppressed by the count’s family.’

Therefore, I must not divorce the Duke until the Frais family falls. I have to stay attached to the Blenheim mansion to survive.

‘I’ll stay quietly hidden for a year, and after heroin’s wedding, I’ll divorce the Duke and leave.’

That was my plan.

Now, I just need to inform the Duke that I have no intention of staying at Blenheim forever, and if I handle the negotiations well, everything will be solved.

‘Why won’t he meet with me? Why?!’

If he ran away after seeing me, he would probably do the same if I went to his room.

I wanted to go out, see how the northern villages looked, meet the people, and try some street food.

Frustrated, I stomped my foot on the ground and then suddenly stood up.

‘It’s fine, I can just go out. No one is stopping me.’

I had saved about 100 coins as emergency funds.

‘What difference will it make if I spend a little of that money?’

I could easily go shopping in the village with that money.

I immediately called for Whitley and requested a carriage.

This would be my first outing since arriving at Blenheim.

---

From late winter to early spring, the monsters were less active.

It was a short break for the Blenheim knights, but for some reason, the knights attending the regular meeting today seemed unusually energetic.

As Loic sat down, he felt a bit uncomfortable with the gleaming eyes of his subordinates.

Suddenly, the leader of the first knight division, Dmitri, spoke up.

“Commander, when will we formally meet with the Grand Duchess?” asked Dimitri, the captain of the First Division.

“What?” Loic’s brow twitched.

“Surely a proper introduction to such a fine lady is overdue.”

“Well, do you really think someone like us would be worthy of Her Highness’s attention?” Dmitri said with a smirk.

Another captain chimed in, “Even the rookies have shared meals with Her Highness. Surely we, the captains, deserve at least that much?”

“You’re mistaken,” said Vermus, the leader of the third knight squad, scoffing.

“You don’t know. Johas kept bragging about how ‘Her Highness knows my name.’”

Dmitri, wearing a serious expression, rested his chin in his hand.

“The youngest, too, was boasting about how she had meals with Her Highness. At least we, the squad leaders, should have a proper introduction, right?”

The squad leaders, who had spent a long time together on the battlefield, were usually very comfortable with Loic, but today, it seemed like they had all made up their minds to push him.

Loic’s lips pressed into a hard line.

Ever since Annette arrived, the quiet castle had become strangely lively. Wherever he went, people whispered about her.

Even today, news of her visit to the training grounds spread quickly, stirring up a mix of curiosity and excitement among the knights.

“Sir, the knights who were at the training ground were calling Her Highness a manifestation of the goddess. Is that true?”

When Loic remained silent, one of the squad leaders turned to Hedrick for an answer.

In the end, even Hedrick, his strict lieutenant, joined the conversation:

“She’s certainly a rare beauty,” he remarked, almost casually.

“See! Even the lieutenant thinks so!”

Loic’s patience thinned as the captains began debating when and how they’d hold a proper introduction.

‘These people used to hate her,’ he thought bitterly. ‘Now they act like she’s a goddess.’

It seemed it all started from the moment Leon started sharing stories of Annette’s kind and unpretentious nature, since then the table had turned. Now, Loic was the one on the defensive.

And he couldn’t help but wonder—what was it about her that captivated them all so easily?

‘Or maybe it was when Hedrick nodded in agreement to the knights’ claim that she was a charming and lovable woman, completely different from her reputation.

After all, the fact that the usually emotionless deputy commander—someone as detached as myself—showed favor toward someone was already hard to believe.

‘Bright, lovable, and warm like sunshine.’

Loic recalled the embarrassingly sentimental descriptions the knights had used to talk about her.

For her to even sway Hedrick…

Honestly, at this point, Loic couldn’t help but feel curious about what kind of person she was. One thing was clear: she had a talent for winning people over.

Why is she trying so hard to meet me?

She must know that I dislike her.

Unable to admit in front of the overly excited knights that he hadn’t even gotten a proper look at the duchess’s face, Loic kept his mouth shut.”