How Can You Pay Back The Kindness I Raised With Obsession?

His heart ached when he thought of the crying face of a woman who always smiled like a heartless person. Even then, his heart pounded as he remembered the feel and warmth of her lips against his. Elliot never expected Hazel to come out actively.

 

‘I was right to like her.’

 

It was a good thing no one saw him grinning like an idiot. On the battlefield, everyone survives day by day, clinging to happy memories and the hope of regaining that happiness. For Elliot, the hot kiss with Hazel was what helped him survive the long days of screaming and bloody smells and the long, fierce nights. After recalling her kiss, she reflected on the conversation between her princess and Hazel that a servant had told her.

 

“Do you really love Your Highness?”

 

Hazel, who had been responding without hesitation to the princess’s words, only closed her mouth at this question. Why couldn’t she answer? The most Hazel-like answer would be, ‘Because it’s rude to say so when I don’t love you.’ Even though he knew that, he was obsessed with the ridiculous wrong answer. Because she loved him too.

 

But why couldn’t she speak confidently? Was it because she was aware of her role as nothing more than a nanny and fake lover? If that were the case, he would be willing to put her in a position where she could confidently say that she loved him. As he asked unanswerable questions, he closed his eyes and tried in vain. He felt Hazel’s traces. Even though he knew there was no way he could feel her beyond the countless mountains and rivers. Then, when his concentration was disturbed due to the energy of the numerous wizards and paladins moving around outside the barracks, he gave up his futile attempt and took out the locket that was close to his heart and opened it. What was she doing now?

 

Elliot said the same words to Hazel’s draw in his hands every night like a prayer.

 

“I miss you.”

 

* * *

 

“Huh…”

 

In the princess’s bedroom located in the annex of the Grand Duke’s residence, the princess collapsed on her bed and sobbed as usual today. The Duchess and her nanny, who had to comfort her daughter every day, were extremely embarrassed.

 

“Princess, please relieve your anger.”

 

When the nanny approached her and spoke to her, Bella lifted her head from her pillow and she cried out:

 

“I don’t know! No! Everyone get out!”

 

It seemed like she wouldn’t stop crying easily, as she raised her voice unusually today. The reason Bella cried every day these days was because of the Grand Princess. Yesterday she was told this because a twenty-year-old didn’t know common sense that a twelve-year-old knew.

 

“It seems like the teacher and student have changed.”

 

Today, the problem was that the changed class time could not be properly managed, so the history teacher and math teacher were assigned to the same time. But it wasn’t Bella’s fault. Bella entrusted the management of the Archduke’s children’s class schedules to her nanny.

 

“She entrusted the nurse to do the work that the Princess should have done?”

 

When she explained that it wasn’t her fault, the Grand Princess’ face hardened even more and she became sarcastic.

 

“If you’re going to do this, wouldn’t it be better if I hired the princess’s nanny myself? Nope. The nanny can’t work either, so why would I waste my budget?”

 

The Grand Princess only told Bella to return to the annex and closed the door to the library.

 

“Hehehehe… It’s not my fault…”

 

The cunning nanny watched the whole thing from behind her grand duchess’s back. She was so humiliated that she wanted to jump out of her window right then and there.

 

“I trusted you, but why did you make such a mistake?”

 

“I’m sorry, princess.”

 

The nanny bowed her head as if she had no respect for her. Yesterday it was her fault, but today it was someone else’s fault, so Bella acted violently. The Duchess, who had been watching her silently, finally spoke up to resolve the situation.

 

“Bella, stop crying. It ruins your pretty face. I will severely punish your nanny.”

 

Of course, these are just words. If she had punished her servant every time Bella cried, she would have stayed in the duchy and had no servant.

 

“Ugh! I was wrong, princess!”

 

Not long after sending her nurse out, the sound of a cane being struck down on her and her nurse’s agonized pleas were heard coming from her hallway. Of course it was an act. Bella, who didn’t know that, stopped crying like she always did. The Duchess called her maid to fix her daughter’s disheveled hair and makeup. Bella, who was drinking her tea while listening to her nanny being beaten, opened her mouth.

 

“Do you know what she had on her neck today?”

 

She wanted to tell her to stop punishing her nanny, but it seemed like she had a long way to go before she could feel better.

 

“It was the droplet ruby necklace that the Grand Duchess showed off at the ceremony commemorating the 10th anniversary of the Emperor’s accession to the throne!”

 

As Bella cried out and tried to fall back into her bed, her maid caught her. At best, her hair and makeup were in danger of going bad.

 

“Whoa…”

 

The Duchess let out her long sigh. According to Bella, the nanny changes the Grand Princess’ jewelry every day. It was her silent declaration that the position of Grand Duchess was hers. Because of that, Bella has been very drugged these days.

 

“It’s not enough that I dared to use the jewelry I intended to use at my wedding on something like tea time… Hmm…”

 

Bella has nurtured her dream of becoming a Grand Duchess since her childhood, the day she met the Grand Duke at the New Year’s celebration. From the jewels the previous Grand Duchess wore at events to the gift the current Grand Duchess received on her seventh birthday. Bella was probably the only daughter in the world who memorizes everything about the Grand Duchy like the Bible. She had been planning for a long time to wear jewelry symbolizing the Grand Duke at her wedding. However, since everything from the jewels to the position of Grand Duchess were to be taken away by a commoner, and even by a witch who was once her old grandmother, there was no way that her fortune would not fall apart.

 

“Pfft…”

 

The Duchess soothed her daughter, who was almost out of breath, with her worried face.

 

“Bella, I told you. The jewels must have been obtained by the cunning witch by manipulating the Grand Duchess.”

 

As she felt during tea time last time, the witch was extremely quiet in front of her.

 

‘It’s clear that she’s silent because she’s manipulating the grand princess like her puppet.’

 

It was said that in the past, people would curse and attack people directly. It seemed that the witch’s tricks had become more sophisticated, as she now pretended to be nice and manipulated people behind her back.

 

“Bella. You’ll get your jewels and your seat back. This mother will make it so.”

 

She would find out all the witch’s weaknesses and her dirty truth, and would use her entire social circle to put pressure on her. So that the Grand Duke, who was in a situation of isolation, would abandon the witch. Still, if he did not give up because he was deceived by the witch, he was also thinking of asking the Holy See for help to save the Grand Duke from the witch’s clutches.

 

“Come to think of it…”

 

The Duchess, who had now given up the act of punishing her nanny and had gone out into the hallway to fetch Olga, the maid who was in charge of investigating the witch, encountered an unexpected person.

 

“Duchess, I have something to tell you.”

 

She was the Grand Princess. The Grand Princess, who had come with only her guards, wondering where her nurse had been, refused her offer to go into her drawing-room, and glared at her with her fierce face. She wondered where she had seen her face, but it looked eerily similar to the expression the Grand Duke had made the day he got overly angry at her proposal. It was a face filled with anger.

 

“Okay, tell me what’s going on.”

 

Luna glared coldly at the calm Duchess and recalled one of her brother’s instructions to her before heading out to war.

 

“Luna, don’t trust the Duchess.”

 

Thanks to her brother’s warning, she already knew full well that that woman only pretended to be kind and gentle on the outside, but on the inside, she was the epitome of black pretense. She thought she was outnumbered though. Who would have guessed that she was secretly planning something dirty.

 

“Did someone try to break into the cabin while you were away yesterday?”

 

Luna recalled what Hazel said a few days ago.

 

“There are times when passing merchants or petty thieves don’t know it’s a witch’s house.”

 

Hazel didn’t think it was a big deal, but Luna had a strong intuition that she wasn’t like that. But today something happened that supported Luna’s intuition… Strangers she had never met came to visit and ask questions about the mine collapse and Miss Hazel. She was informing her because she believed this was an intention to harm Miss Hazel. The chief of the village where Hazel rescued the miners had sent a letter to the Grand Duke’s residence, saying there had been some suspicious activity.

 

“Maybe it’s because you’re bored living at the Grand Duke’s residence, but you’ve been prying around on Miss Hazel lately, right?”

 

The Duchess did not answer right away. She thought the Grand Princess had come to criticize Bella for wasting her time with her nanny today.

 

“Grand Princess, since the witch is not here, I will speak honestly.”

 

Since she missed the chance to deny it, she chose to fight him head-on.

 

“The Grand Duchy is being deceived by a witch.”

 

As expected, the Grand Princess did not believe her words and snorted at her.

 

“It is said that men are easily swayed by women and foolishly, but we women, who are wiser than men, know how to distinguish between right and wrong.”

 

“It’s a womanizer. Now you insulted Hazel by saying that.”

 

The Duchess held the shoulders of the Grand Duchess, who was lost in her denial, even gritting her teeth, with both hands and looked her in the eyes.

 

“You need to come to your senses. The Grand Princess is the only one who can save the family from the witch’s clutches.”

 

“Isn’t the Duchess holding the magic hand?”

 

The Grand Princess slapped her hand away rudely.

 

“Do not turn the Grand Duke’s favor into malice.”

 

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