“I’m busy preparing for military deployment right now, so why should I listen to the princess talk about breaking up with Her Majesty…?”
…This was not the termination of the contract…
“It’s up to the parties involved to figure it out.”
She was shocked once again when she saw the maid whispering something into her ear at rapid speed, but she couldn’t follow along and just kept her mouth shut. She didn’t do that to the much younger Luna or Luca.
“Are you worried too, princess? So why not channel your worries in a productive way?”
“I am doing what I must!”
“You are great, princess. Just keep doing that.”
The princess, who finally exploded, poured out unrefined words at a breakneck speed, encouraged by her maid.
“Don’t you know that it’s tradition for the head of the family and the heir to get married before going on a mission, just in case? Your Majesty, now is the time to get married as soon as possible and leave an heir! You are putting the Grand Duchy in crisis!”
What she meant was to prepare for the event of death. So, she was forcing Hazel to break up with him right away in order to marry him before the Grand Duke died in battle.
‘Is that urgent right now?’
Thanks to the princess, she was now experiencing the limits of her anger. However, even though she was the one doing the rude thing, the princess acted as if she had been rude to her.
“Do you think I don’t know your dark intentions? Your lowly son cannot become the heir to the Grand Dukedom!”
“So, princess, you are saying that you will have an heir within two days and take control of the Grand Duchy while His Highness is away?”
As they shouted so loudly that it rivaled the thunderous sound of horses’ hooves, everyone passing by looked at them in surprise. The princess, who received the wary looks of the Grand Duke family members, became embarrassed and began to stutter her words.
“Oh, no. I said this because I was thinking of him and because I love him.”
“But from what you said a little while ago, it sounded like you were more interested in the succession than his well-being?”
“How dare you, a mere commoner, frame the princess!”
The maid directly yelled at her because her puppet was not good enough. Since Hazel was a servant of the Grand Duke’s house where they were forced to live as guests, their trick of deliberately emphasizing that she was a commoner and not a nanny was so obvious that she could even see it with her own eyes. The maid then glanced at the princess. It seemed like she was trying to create a scene where the princess would mercifully stop me when she yelled at her, but the princess was in no condition to act right now. Once again the maid stabbed the princess in the side, making her scream.
“If it were a duchy, you could have been dragged in and beaten right away!”
“This is the Grand Duchy!”
An apprentice knight carrying a large gun sack passed by us and shouted. The maid, who looked around her, began to panic like a princess when she saw the glare she was giving her.
“Your Highness, the Grand Duke, told you to live comfortably, but those under him did not treat guests like this…”
“Anyone who uses violence for personal purposes within the territory without the permission of the Grand Duke or a person representing the Grand Duke will be immediately expelled and appropriately punished, regardless of whether their status is high or low.”
This time, the servant who carried her chest took out a book of rules and began to read it at the top of her voice. That was when she looked back at the servant standing behind her. In the middle of the training hall, her eyes met a knight wearing a silver helmet. The armor he was wearing and the horse he was riding were familiar to her. The Grand Duke suddenly stopped speaking and took off his helmet.
‘How can that face shine even though it is drenched in sweat and fatigue?’
It was to the point where she completely forgot about the relationship she had with the princess. She was glad to see him, but she also wondered if it was interfering with his training. He smiled silently and waved at her. She was just about to wave her hand too.
The Princess stepped forward and, gracefully lifting the hem of her skirt, she bowed to the Grand Duke. To someone who didn’t know the circumstances, it looked like the Grand Duke was waving at the Princess. But there was no one who did not know the situation here.
“Huh…”
As if that wasn’t enough, the maid nudged her on the waist, and the princess put her handkerchief over her eyes and began to cry. If someone she didn’t know saw it, it’s like she made the princess cry. Again, there was no one who did not know the situation here. Even the Grand Duke, who obviously didn’t hear our loud conversation, looked at the Princess with cold eyes. Then he glanced at the Knights Templar building as if telling her to leave quickly.
“Your Highness is telling me to go to work quickly. I’ll just leave then.”
Neither the princess nor her maid held her anymore.
“Princess, what kind of man treats his lover like a maid? That means he doesn’t love her.”
The maid interpreted her words in her own way and distorted them into thinking that the Grand Duke was treating her as a servant. Even so, the princess, who had been looking at her as if I were a subordinate throughout the conversation, smiled with satisfaction. Her tears were already welling up.
‘Ugh…’
She shook her head as she headed towards the knights’ building. Truly, she was a devilish princess who could make people sick of her in just a few words.
“Miss Hazel, are you okay?”
“Yes I’m okay. Thank you for your concern.”
“Eat this and feel better.”
“Oh, dates with walnuts! How did you know I liked this? I will eat well.”
Feeling less angry, she went to the knights’ quarters, and from apprentice knights to servants and maids, they took turns visiting her and giving her encouragement. Thanks to this, snacks were piled up on the table at the logistics center.
“You can use the test pills by mixing them in water.”
“Yes.”
She munched on snacks with the apprentice knight in charge of the supply post and explained how to use the magic potion she had brought.
“This is a tranquilizer bullet used against monsters.”
She took out a black sphere the size of a golf ball from the box she brought it to him yesterday and showed it to him.
“I found a medicine that doesn’t work on humans but neutralizes monsters. It explodes when thrown without the need to light it, so it can be used even on rainy or snowy days.”
“Wow, that’s a good thing. It will snow soon in the North.”
“Instead, you have to handle it carefully to prevent it from exploding during transportation.”
The apprentice knight wrote down her explanations on parchment. She rolled up each handwritten manual carefully, sealed it in an oiled leather container, and placed it in a box. The name of the contents and handling instructions were engraved in ink on the outside of the chest. The apprentice drivers moved the boxes that were ready for transport to the warehouse, and she rolled up the remaining manuals and placed them in leather barrels and boxes. As she was left alone and doing simple tasks, her bored mind naturally led her thoughts to the least boring event. What happened with the princess a little while ago… In these times, it sounds like marriage or a successor… No, honestly, that’s the tradition here and it’s true, but she was angry that they would say something like that in this current atmosphere. It was an assumption that the Grand Duke might be killed in action. Although everyone in the Grand Duke’s family is anxious about that, they avoid the topic, but you bring it up without notice, screaming loudly in front of everyone.
‘Do you have thoughts or do you not have thoughts?’
And then, to even say something like this, it seemed like he was really excited.
“Your lowly son cannot become the heir to the Grand Dukedom!”
By the way, they didn’t even kiss, but the princess seemed to think they had even slept together.
‘Why does someone else drink kimchi soup from a pot without even thinking about it?’
Phew.
She took a deep breath.
‘Concentration. Focus on your work.’
It was a time when she was putting a date in her mouth, chewing on it, and rolling up the instructions. There was the sound of someone coming in behind her followed by the sound of a door closing.
“I’ll bring two more chests of stamina restorers tomorrow…”
She stopped talking when the driver walked towards her without hesitation and stopped. She felt the presence of a tall man right behind her.
‘Isn’t that too close? Now that I think about it, why was the door closed?’
She was frozen in place for a moment and almost screamed when a large hand wearing an iron gauntlet hugged her waist.
“I’ll stay like this for a moment.”
Ah, he was the Grand Duke. He hugged her close from behind and rested his head on her shoulder. His forehead touching the back of her neck was hotter than ever.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes…”
He didn’t say anything for a long time after making an ambiguous sound, whether it was an answer or a groan. Just by listening to his breathing, she could feel his exhaustion. She reached out her hand and gently stroked his silver hair, which was dull from the dust. Right now, she felt like I needed a hand of comfort rather than words of encouragement.
“Ha…”
After a long sigh followed by a short groan, the Grand Duke raised his head and turned her to face him.
“Damn war. I will finish it in no time and come back.”
He smiled and joked as usual, his tired expression gone.
“What am I doing when I can’t even go on a date? If this continues, there will be rumors of a breakup between the Grand Duke and the witch.”
She smiled, forgetting to respond. It felt good that he had found some peace of mind for a moment. He lifted his hair from his forehead with one hand and lowered his voice to ask her:
“What did the princess say to harass you?”
It was him who concluded that she had already been bullied.
“Hmm… Princess? It’s been so long I don’t remember.”
Even so, she didn’t want someone who was busy and having a hard time to worry about such trivial things. When she turned her back on him, he laughed and pinched her cheek.
“Sven will remember.”
He meant to ask the servant who moved her chest.
“I’m already feeling relieved.”
She pointed proudly at the snacks others had given her as consolation gifts. The Grand Duke looked at it with disapproval.
“I missed my chance to appease my lover. “It hurt my pride as a man to let other guys do my job.”
“Your current role is that of a military commander.”
Now he couldn’t afford to play any other role. So even though she wanted to ask something, she held back.
‘What are we doing?’
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Translator Note:
Hello there! This is RJR. I hope you liked it <3
If you like my work please support me with Ko-fi or Patreon. Next post will be released on September, 30.
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