Chapter 48: Deep Grudge
Clop, clop.
As the sun began to set, the sound of a knight’s horse echoed in the garden as it headed toward the castle.
Servants walking by blushed as they saw the owner of the golden hair, glittering in the sunset.
It was Tiern Bierri, the captain of the 9th Knight Brigade, known for his cold demeanor as much as for his good looks.
The 9th Brigade was a special task force that carried out important missions separate from the regular knights, and Tiern had just returned after completing a mission to clear out monsters from the mountain range over the winter.
The castle, which he had left two months ago, was much quieter and calmer than he had expected.
He had thought that the atmosphere would be tense due to the Marquis’s troublesome daughter, but it was far from it.
“I report my return.”
“Good work.”
As always, Tiern showed respect to his lord and raised his head to report. His lord’s face didn’t look much different from usual. In fact, compared to the angry expression he had two months ago when he received a marriage announcement in the winter mountains, his face now seemed to be as bright as the spring breeze.
Has the issue with the Grand Duchess already been resolved?
Tiern swallowed the question that almost escaped his mouth and continued his report.
He told his lord about the worsening atmosphere among the monsters, but the captain didn’t seem particularly worried.
“What about the knights?”
“They’ll join the training tomorrow morning.”
“No need to push them too hard. Let them rest tomorrow.”
“…?”
Tiern’s eyes widened in disbelief. Being told to skip training was something he had never heard of during his time in the Blenheim Knight Brigade.
“Thank you. But…”
Tiern hesitated and looked at his lord, who had nodded subtly, as though giving a signal.
“Are you all right?” Tiern asked cautiously.
“What do you mean?”
His lord raised an eyebrow in confusion.
Tiern had heard that the Marquis’s daughter had come to the Grand Duchy and was staying there. Has she already been sent away, or is he making her regret it?
Tiern swallowed the words that were rising to his mouth. His lord seemed to be in a good mood for once, and he didn’t want to disturb that.
“…Never mind.”
Tiern restrained his curiosity and left the room.
“Ora, brother!”
Meisel, his cousin, entered the dining room with a playful tone.
“Meisel!”
Tiern, who had been eating his late meal, smiled at the sight of his beloved cousin.
After his father, the former Blenheim Knight Commander, passed away, Tiern had been raised in his uncle, Count Avoir’s house. Meisel, who had grown up with him under the care of their nurse, Marzella, was like a younger sister to him, even though she sometimes did mischievous things.
Though she acted tough around others, she was always sweet and spoiled when it came to Tiern.
As they sat across from each other, Meisel rambled on about what had been happening recently.
The topic soon shifted to the new Grand Duchess.
“So, you went to tea time?”
Tiern put down his knife, which had been cutting his steak.
“The Grand Duchess’s maid? The daughter of Marquis Fasie?”
Tiern’s voice dropped low.
Meisel sulked, looking down.
“I wasn’t a maid, I was dismissed.”
At that, Tiern’s eyes hardened.
“Dismissed? How dare they?”
Tiern, one of the people with the deepest grudge against the Fasie family, was clearly furious.
He had lost his father, the Blenheim Knight Commander, during the monster wars.
Back then, the Emperor had delayed sending reinforcements, causing many knights, including his father, to die. Everyone knew that behind the weak Emperor, the Marquis of Fasie had played a role.
Since then, many in the northern territories had lost their families, and now the daughter of that very family dared to come and stir things up in their land.
“She’s Cecilia Territo now.”
“Territo, huh?”
Tiern scowled at the familiar name.
“I’m so embarrassed, I can’t even show my face.”
Meisel made a face like she was about to cry. Her eyes were swollen from days of worrying.
“Everyone will think I was overshadowed by someone like Territo.”
Tiern snorted dismissively.
“You won’t need to worry about such a disgraceful position. The Grand Duchess will be divorced soon anyway.”
“You don’t get it, brother!”
Meisel stamped her foot, clearly frustrated.
“She’s so cunning! She pretends to be innocent while charming everyone. She’s not just any fox!”
“Charmed?”
“The butler and even the knights were all fooled! At first, they didn’t like her, but now they’re all talking about how great our Grand Duchess is. It’s ridiculous.”
“The knights? Where did you hear that?”
Meisel suddenly became evasive, trailing off.
“Well…”
“You’re sneaking around the castle again, aren’t you?”
When Tiern narrowed his eyes, Meisel hurriedly waved her hands.
“No, it’s just that the nanny came by the mansion…”
As Meisel mumbled her words, Tiern frowned.
He didn’t want to interfere with his cute cousin’s innocent crush on his grace, but Meisel sneaking into the castle and pestering the head maid, Marzella, for gossip could not be overlooked.
“I told you. If you keep involving people personally, it will cause trouble for Marzella too. The head maid of the Grand Duke’s castle has to be very careful with her behavior.”
Seeing the serious expression on Tiern’s face, Meisel made a sound like she was about to cry.
“I didn’t even need to ask the nanny. Everyone already knows! They say the Grand Duke is completely smitten with that woman!”
Tiern thought back to the Grand Duke he had just seen earlier.
“Smitten? Sure, the atmosphere was a little different, but…”
‘There’s no way his grace would just fall for someone.’
Reading Tiern’s doubtful expression, Meisel quickly added more.
“And on the outside, she acts all graceful, but do you know how cruel she is behind the scenes? The nanny got really hurt by her!”
“Marzella?”
“Yes, she tried to punish a maid who made a mistake, but it turned into a huge embarrassment.”
Tiern clenched his jaw tightly.
It made his blood boil just imagining a young girl, the daughter of Marquis Freis, scolding Marzella, who had been serving the Grand Duke’s castle loyally for nearly ten years.
“How can someone like that be the Grand Duchess? It’s frustrating to see everyone fall for it.”
Meisel ground her teeth and said,
“Brother! You can’t fall for that woman, okay? You’re on my side, right?”
Tiern gave a cold smile to his cousin, who was desperately seeking reassurance.
“That will never happen.”
I swear, even if I have to die.
“Spring has finally arrived in Blenheim.”
Looking up at the rarely blue sky, I took a deep breath.
My steps toward the training grounds were light and carefree.
“That’s the training ground!”
Cecilia, who had been following behind, exclaimed excitedly.
After the tea party and a personal meeting, I decided to make Cecilia my maid.
-“I don’t care who you choose, as long as it’s someone you’re comfortable with.”
The Grand Duke had no objections to my choice.
-“Sir Territo is one of the most loyal vassals to the Grand Duke. He’ll likely be devoted to the Grand Duchess as well.”
Though the Count Avoir’s daughter being overlooked was a bit strange, the Grand Duke nodded approvingly.
The only one who seemed displeased was Norton.
-“But she’s your sister, so at least make her smile.”
-“I’m not sure if she’ll be of much help in Blenheim, though.”
I couldn’t forget Norton’s expression when Cecilia arrived.
I chose Cecilia for one reason:
‘She’ll be fun.’
I didn’t want to waste my time chatting about high society gossip, locked in my room with a maid in the otherwise dull Grand Duke’s castle.
At least we could have meaningful conversations.
And Cecilia lived up to my expectations perfectly.
She became a great companion, talking with me from the time she entered the castle until she left.
Thanks to her, I was able to let the Grand Duke focus on his busy work, avoiding bothering him all winter.
“Grand Duchess, spring really has arrived.”
Cecilia’s mouth dropped open as she watched the tall knights in thin training uniforms moving around the grounds.
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• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •By Freya• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •
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Advance chapters of this novel are available of my kofi channel
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