“No way. It’s such a welcome face.”
The Duchess came over, held Luna’s hands, and smiled brightly. In fact, she was the one who invited her, but she didn’t even give her a glance. The Duchess, the princess, Hazel, and Luna were sitting around the round table. As the Duke’s servants brought out the refreshments they had prepared, the Grand Duchy’s servants who had followed them came rushing over and started checking for poison. The faces of the Duke family members watching this became stiff. There was actually no need to take a poison test. All of the ingredients used here passed a poison test upon entering the Grand Duke’s residence. The Duchess wouldn’t be so stupid as to invite her personally and try to kill her by poisoning her food. It’s just a fight.
‘I’m feeling impatient.’
She only realized it now, but the employees of the Grand Duke Family were infinitely warm to people the Grand Duke Family liked, but were infinitely cold to people outside of the Grand Duke Family’s eyes.
‘I thought they were kind to everyone because they were nice to me.’
In this bloody atmosphere, with sparks flying out of her eyes, Luna smiled calmly as she lifted the car that had been tested for poison.
“It’s been a really long time.”
The Duchess smiled just as casually and addressed Luna with her words.
“I should visit you two first, but as you know, I have been busy taking care of the Grand Duke and the mansion, so I haven’t been able to respond to your invitation.”
The Duchess invited Luna several times, but she seemed to have declined them all because she was busy with work.
“You have to take your work easy. Then, if the young lady’s body and face are damaged, it will be a big problem.”
The Duchess spoke kindly to Luna, like a loving mother, and then turned her eyes to the Duchess sitting across from me.
“After Bella collapsed, her health suffered a lot.”
She heard it too late, but the princess fainted the moment the Grand Duke kissed Hazel at the departure ceremony. Among the employees of the Grand Duke’s House, who had seen the princess cry countless times in just a few days, there was talk that she must have pretended to faint.
“I’ll send you our doctor, Dr. Morris.”
“It’s not like that. Still, I am grateful for the Grand Princess’s kind words.”
The fact that her health had suffered greatly also seemed to be a lie.
“Anyway, I’m so happy that the Grand Princess came all the way here. If I had known the Grand Princess was coming, I would have done this a long time ago.”
“You must have not called me because you had business with my brother’s lover, but didn’t I interrupt you?”
Nanny vs. Grand Duke’s lover. It was the moment when the battle between the most senior member of society and the newcomer came to an end.
“What a disruption. I’m really excited to be able to treat the Grand Princess to a dessert made by our Monet family chef.”
The Duchess expertly diverted her words to see if the matter for which she had called me was something worthy of being brought up in front of Luna.
“It may fall far short of Harold’s skills, though. Where did the Grand Duke find such a cook? The carrot cake I tasted last fall was so fantastic that I could think about it even in my sleep.”
“Carrot cake?”
Luna’s curious gaze turned to her.
‘I’ve never cooked anything for them.’
She shook her head. Since it was last fall, she felt like she had a vague idea of what had happened. The day news of a large number of soldiers died in the North came, she was so depressed that she baked carrot cakes all day long and gave them to the Grand Duke’s residence. But she never thought it would trickle down here.
“Oh my, are you really a nanny?”
The Duchess, who had been watching them, was startled, and then she smiled artificially again.
“Oh my, that was such a great cake.”
The Duchess spoke to her for the first time since tea time began.
“I hear a lot of people say it’s great.”
Since she received a compliment, she thought she should respond. It couldn’t have been a pure compliment, so she chose to praise herself instead of saying thank you.
“I know. I already knew you were a great nanny, but I never thought your cooking skills would be this good. I’d like to hire Miss Hazel as our family’s cook.”
Luna’s face visibly stiffened and she covered her mouth as if the Duchess had made a mistake.
“Oh, you’re not saying this in front of your employer, are you? But I want it so much that I have to take it away, ho ho ho. Miss Hazel, should we discuss the contract later with the Grand Princess? Don’t worry, I’ll give you reasonable compensation.”
The Duchess pretended to be a compliment and belittled her as her subordinate.
“Of course I’m joking. Neither the Grand Princess nor the nanny are offended, right?”
She smiled and shook her head.
“Of course not.”
Right now, she just seemed like a strange person. Fortunately, Luna didn’t get upset either, just smiled and said.
“Of course you’re joking. There is no way my brother would let Miss Hazel go. If you take it away, they might attack the duchy with an army, hohoho. Oh, of course I’m joking too.”
Luna was a fast learner. Smiling like a Duchess, she pretended to be joking and said something bloody, entangling her with the Grand Duke. The Duchess’ face now hardened.
“If my brother had seen Hazel right now, he would have been ecstatic and kissed her.”
Luna looked at her happily, as if appreciating her work, and she smiled. She pretended to talk to her and even talked about her kiss, which would have been a disaster for the Duchess and the princess. Luna said she was crying after being treated in a social setting and it seemed like she would never come home.
“That…”
The Duchess, who had been blatantly looking at her following Luna’s gaze, suddenly became thoughtful.
“Isn’t this a jewel that the previous Grand Duchess loved?”
“Oh, you know very well.”
“It was an item that suited the Grand Duchess very well.”
“It suits Miss Hazel very well, doesn’t it?”
“So?”
She could see the Duchess’s crooked eyes and the corners of her mouth quivering.
‘Ah…’
She was a little clueless, so she found out a beat late.
“It was an item that suited the Grand Duchess very well.”
What she meant was that the previous Grand Duchess’s jewelry did not suit Hazel. Since she often met nobles with the Grand Duke, she thought she had become quite accustomed to their subtle and shady speaking methods, but she still had a long way to go.
“It would suit the Grand Princess very well.”
She guessed this means why am I putting this on the line? I smiled proudly when I understood.
“It’s an item that best suits the person who will marry my brother rather than me.”
Luna looked at her and began to explain the meaning of the jewelry.
“It is a jewel that was lovingly gifted to her mother by her father, who was very happy with her when her brother was born.”
Oh, so the platinum and amethyst represent the Grand Duke’s silver hair and purple eyes?
The things wrapped around her body now symbolized the Grand Duke. Luna gave her a jewel with great meaning to wear in front of the Dukedom. Luna’s message seemed to have been clearly conveyed, judging by the way the Duchess’s smile faltered.
“I remember the previous Grand Duchess used to say that she was leaving it to her daughter-in-law.”
“My mother’s will must be respected.”
“So? I also thought that the Grand Princess had no intention of getting in the way…”
The Duchess glanced at the necklace around my neck, tilted her teacup, and muttered.
“That’s unexpected.”
“Not just thinking about it, but putting it into practice.”
She was amazed to see Luna never losing sight of the Duchess.
‘Our Luna seems to have 10 years of experience in speaking and dealing with people.’
While the Duchess and Luna were fighting, the princess, who was just sitting with her like a sack of barley, was crying, and she muttered.
“That’s what I wanted to do…”
“Oh, right. “Bella has something she wants to do.”
The Duchess hastily interrupted the princess.
“There is something I want to do to help the Grand Duchy.”
“It would be helpful if you could live in peace as a guest, but please tell me.”
Luna particularly emphasized ‘peacefully’.
“The Grand Prince and the Grand Princess don’t have a tutor yet, do they? I’m at an age where I should have been a long time ago.”
“But their Highness the Grand Prince and the Grand Princess already have several teachers and are taking lessons.”
“Oh my, Miss Hazel doesn’t know?”
“Yes?”
According to the Duchess, the tutors used to manage the children’s classes that she did now. It also played a role in teaching etiquette and general culture, which were difficult to have a separate teacher. She didn’t know because she was not from here.
“For noble ladies about to debut in the social world and reach marriageable age, guidance and advice from seniors who have experienced it first is essential.”
This meant that the tutor had to be a nobleman.
“But I’m surprised you still don’t have a tutor.”
“Then what the princess wants to do is to be a tutor for me and my younger brother.”
“Just until the Grand Duke returns. Bella said she doesn’t feel comfortable touching someone. It’s a token of her gratitude, so there’s no need to feel burdened.”
The Duchess put pressure on Luna, saying it was polite to accept her favors gladly. If you need a tutor, you should hire one. However, she was completely opposed to Miss Bella, who was different on the outside and inside, teaching her children. And would she still step down when the time comes? Officially, she was just a nanny, so it wasn’t her place to step forward, so she had to keep her mouth shut. The authority to hire a tutor lied with the butler who oversees the operation of the mansion, and the final decision authority lied with Luna, the temporary head of the household. However, Luna did not respond to the Duchess’ urgings and instead talked about her.
“Miss Hazel, she was only planning to stay with us until my brother returned from military service.”
What? Did Luna know that?
“Then, when Miss Hazel saved us from an intruder, my brother extended the contract indefinitely upon his return. However…”
Luna tilted her head, looking at the Duchess.
“You will only be our tutor until my brother returns? I feel a sense of déjà vu.”
It was a subtle inquiry as to whether she was imitating Hazel.
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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 October, 14.
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Go OFF little princess!!
Kick them out, please kick them out.