“Please come in.”
Christine led her to the very last room in the corridor. Among the guest rooms, it was the largest and most sunlit. Despite being just a room, it was so spacious that the living area and bedroom were distinctly separated.
Such luxury. For any royal family member, this would be considered standard treatment, but not for Sienna.
Christine seemed to be subtly anticipating her reaction, but Sienna’s face as she glanced around the room was completely indifferent. She slowly scanned the interior and then turned to look at the tense-looking head maid standing by the door.
“I like it.”
Only then did Christine breathe a sigh of relief and smile. Sienna stared at her intently.
Christine was one of the few who had shown her some kindness. Of course, it hadn’t ended well, but looking back, it wasn’t entirely resentful. Who would look kindly upon a woman accused of killing her own child?
‘Still, seeing her like this is somewhat familiar.’ Sienna thought bitterly.
“I’m a bit tired from the carriage ride. Can I rest alone for the remainder of the day?”
“Yes, yes. Please call if you need anything. Your Highness.”
“Very well.”
Finally left alone, Sienna entered the bedroom and opened the window. The sharp scent of cypress trees planted in the southern garden wafted in. In the past—when she was a Grand Duchess—this place had been densely planted with lilacs.
Back then, opening the bedroom window would fill the entire room with a magnificent fragrance. She loved it so much that she would keep the windows open throughout all seasons.
Removing the cypress trees planted by the previous Grand Duke and his wife and planting the flower trees she loved was one of the wedding gifts he gave her.
She received countless luxurious gifts—rings, necklaces, even southern annexes—but among them, Sienna loved the lilac trees planted in the mansion’s garden most of all. She was pleased that he had planted flower trees she loved, just for her. It made her feel like she had finally entered the true embrace of family, making her heart swell.
Of course, this was before she knew the circumstances of his parents’ deaths.
Sienna suddenly let out a small laugh.
Back then, she thought only a happy and harmonious future lay ahead of her. Actually, the happy moments were terribly short.
Not long after their marriage, she had Soliet, and around that time, her relationship with Declan was already beginning to crack. He was a hero to the world before being her husband, and while Sienna was proud of this, she occasionally felt an unbridgeable gap.
Looking back, that slight distance was nothing more than a harbinger of the misfortune soon to come.
While lost in these thoughts, Jane returned after finishing unpacking. Seeing her return alone, Sienna asked curiously,
“Where’s Theodore? Why are you returning alone?”
“Sir Monches seems to be busy greeting his family members,” Jane responded somewhat indifferently.
“By the way, Your Highness, have you heard? They say the Grand Duke is returning to his territory earlier than planned. Everyone seems to be in a state of confusion.”
As she spoke, Jane kept stealing glances at Sienna. She felt compelled to inform her but was somewhat anxious about the potential reaction.
For some unknown reason, the princess would typically be furious at the mention of the Grand Duke. But surprisingly, Sienna showed no significant reaction.
“Is that all the conversation you had with the people of the Grand Duke’s residence?”
“Yes. Everyone seemed busy…”
“Good.”
Jane looked at her with a puzzled expression, unable to understand what she meant by “good.”
“Do not casually speak with the people of the Grand Duke’s residence from now on.”
“What?”
“Even if that person is the Grand Duke.”
Jane blinked with a blank expression, then rolled her eyes in confusion.
When no immediate response came, Sienna drove her point home.
“They’re untrustworthy people.”
“…Yes, I understand.”
Jane knew well that it was presumptuous to arbitrarily interpret the intentions of one’s superiors. However, from what she had observed beside Sienna, she hadn’t seen any such indications from the Grand Duke.
Even after leaving Sienna’s quarters, Jane couldn’t shake off a subtle uneasiness.
Rather, wasn’t it the opposite? Like how he had passed her fruits, concerned about her health before leaving Lopwell, or how he personally carried and escorted the princess after she sprained her ankle at the ball?
‘Still, the atmosphere wasn’t ordinary.’
Sienna would be hostile every time they met, and while the Grand Duke’s actions were always dignified, his expression towards her was mostly calm and subdued.
And Jane was quite perceptive about such things.
Regardless of whether one liked or disliked someone, there were sometimes emotions that didn’t fit on any axis. Like when the heart and reason betray each other.
Perhaps it was an emotion where one wants to hate but simply cannot.
****
Although the first button of their relationship was fastened somewhat differently, their honeymoon was no different from any other couple.
Those who initially thought their marriage was heavily motivated by political reasons began to fall silent one by one after witnessing their interactions.
At social events, they appeared more like a couple enjoying their sweet newlywed life, far from suggesting any mere transactional arrangement.
The Grand Duke and his wife were eye-catching in their own right.
The typically expressionless man was incredibly gentle only in front of his wife. His gestures of embracing her waist and shoulders seemed almost practiced.
Declan, who normally didn’t enjoy social events, willingly accompanied his wife and served as her proud trophy. Moreover, he would keep her by his side wherever they went.
Those who had initially watched them with suspicious eyes began to slowly change their stance.
It was natural that Sienna would be greatly elated by the attitudes of people who had suddenly changed after a lifetime of not properly treating her as a princess.
She thoroughly enjoyed social figures bowing and flattering her. Watching them desperately try to please her made her feel like her crushed self-esteem was finally recovering.
[Marrying you might be the most regretless decision of my life.]
Loving a man and building a comfortable home—things an ordinary woman might dream of—were things she had never dared to imagine were possible for herself.
Nevertheless, she could now definitively state that Declan was the greatest fortune of her life.
It wasn’t strange that she would fall for the man who rebuilt her shattered self-esteem and placed her within the fence of family.
The only being who had offset her chronic human distrust and emotional deprivation—at that time, he was something absolute to her.
After returning to the Grand Duke’s residence, she regained her vitality. Although she didn’t know exactly how to become an excellent lady, she didn’t want to be a lazy housewife.
That was the reason she delved into the account books day after day and meticulously managed every corner of the grand residence. She wanted to be helpful to him in any way she could.
Even as discussions about the Grand Duke’s military retirement were buzzing outside the residence, Sienna was lost in her own daydreams. Many had apparently tried to dissuade him from retiring. However, instead of reconsidering, Declan submitted their marriage documents.
It was around this time that Sienna’s briefly restored reputation began to plummet once again.
Like noble girls typically do, Sienna learned various refinements during her childhood in the imperial palace – rhetoric, etiquette, memorizing poetry, and learning dance.
In her childhood, Sienna was a diligent child. Though always anxious about not being recognized as an heir, she did her best in her position as a royal daughter.
She didn’t want to disappoint her father. Or perhaps she wanted to catch his eye just once.
Sienna studied hard under the tutors her father assigned her. In her youth, she was passionate, ambitious, and intelligent enough to achieve her goals.
Rather than being intimidated by the label of a traitor’s child, she grew up feeling pride in being the emperor’s only legitimate daughter. In truth, this was perhaps the only source of pride she had.
But it was none other than the former emperor, her father, who broke her spirit.
On the day she questioned the nobility about how unfair the imperial succession laws were, her father’s cold voice telling her to stop causing unnecessary trouble crushed all her resolve. After being confined to a side building by her father, her grand ambitions crumbled without a trace.
From that day, Sienna let go of everything. She had lived so diligently because she hoped her efforts could change her circumstances. She believed she could achieve anything through her own hard work.
But once her belief was broken, only anger remained. Her desire to earn her father’s affection and her determination to reform imperial law vanished completely. In their place grew resentment towards her father and hatred towards her half-siblings.
As she began to deviate, people pointed fingers at her as if they had been waiting for this moment. Remarks like “blood will tell” and “her true nature was always obvious” dominated, with irrational criticism overshadowing any reasonable observations.
After entering the Grand Duke’s residence, she tried to change her attitude while being conscious of her reputation, but society’s gaze remained cold. Both then and now, Sienna was the most convenient target for people in the empire.
The people in the Grand Duke’s residence were no exception.
