The vassals believed she was unworthy of the position of Grand Duchess, to the point where they considered her lacking in dignity.
Though they could not defy the Grand Duke’s will and accepted Sienna as the Grand Duchess, serving her as their mistress was another matter entirely.
Sienna tried her best to be a Grand Duchess in her own way, but what use was that when her very birth was unsatisfactory to those around her?
The vassals were loyal to the Grand Duke, but not to his wife. Outwardly, they maintained proper etiquette, but inwardly, they were bristling with thorns.
Of course, they did not openly gossip. Even when maids occasionally spoke ill of her, they merely stood by and watched.
They believed that since she had obtained this overly generous position despite her status, she should naturally endure it.
How foolish their thinking was – they only realized this when they saw the current Grand Duke.
“Are you saying that my wife is insignificant to you?”
“Your Grace, that is not…”
“Since you cannot oppose me, you must have directed your thorns at my wife.”
One vassal immediately tried to deny it, but Declan cut him off coldly. The man opened his mouth as if to argue further but then stopped.
It was clearly their responsibility for not properly serving the Grand Duchess. As everyone fell silent, Declan concluded that he needed to hear no more.
Declan passed by the Count and vassals, who were looking at him with devastated expressions. His mind was filled only with her image, lying motionless and asleep.
What had gone wrong? Though it was useless to retrace steps now, the more he faced reality, the more naturally he found himself recalling memories.
Sienna’s bedroom was enveloped in quiet darkness. Afraid she might wake up, Declan blew out the candle he was holding. Walking familiar steps to the bed, he saw her face sleeping soundly under the soft moonlight.
The doctor had prescribed a sleep-inducing medication that wouldn’t strain her body. It seemed the effect was not entirely absent.
Instead of lying down beside her, Declan sat on the edge of the bed. His gaze, which had been looking down at her face, shifted to her hand, half-covered by the blanket. Her dry hand was wrapped in a white bandage.
His gaze darkened.
What kind of time had you been experiencing?
Sitting quietly, he watched his sleeping wife and stretched out his index finger to smooth her slightly furrowed brow. Her eyelids flickered, and not long after, she opened her eyes.
Her hazy gaze met the man before her.
He gently brushed back her hair and briefly kissed her forehead. Just as he was about to tell her to go back to sleep—
“…Why did you bring me here?”
Her voice, drugged by medication, was languid.
Declan said nothing, merely playing with the hair touching his hand.
At least with you, I don’t think the remaining life will be unhappy. I won’t feel left alone in the world…
Even though he knew long ago that they could never truly save each other.
His nerves were always inevitably drawn to her. Whether it was compassion, shallow empathy, or something else, it no longer mattered.
By the time he found the same eyes of the man who killed his blood relatives lovable, he thought he was not normal.
Yet nothing changed.
Despite numerous self-reproaches, he wanted her. Only this fact remained unchanged.
With no response forthcoming, Sienna slowly closed her eyes again.
“Everything is regrettable.”
It was a murmur like sleep-talking.
His hand stroking her hair froze. Soon, a steady, even breathing indicated she had fallen asleep.
Still, Declan remained frozen in the position of stroking her hair.
Not long after, a tear droplet fell onto Sienna’s face. It was not hers.
Instead of wiping the tears from his own eyes, he used his thumb to wipe the droplets falling on her face. All the while, tears continued to flow endlessly from his eyes.
“…Because I wanted you.”
He roughly wiped his face as if cleaning some dirty impurity.
Accepting Sienna’s request in Lopwell was not for her. It was purely his selfishness. He had exploited her desperation to fulfill his own low desires.
He didn’t care if everyone expressed doubts and objections to his marriage. Sienna had voluntarily taken his hand, and Declan was confident he could provide her a better life than before.
Only now did he realize it was perfect arrogance.
His greed had ruined her. Perhaps she would have been better off living as a princess in Lopwell rather than in the Grand Duchy.
It was none other than himself who had driven her to this state.
****
The familiar scenery of Monferrato recalled the years she had buried in the depths of her memory. Sienna, looking out the window of the guest room, took a deep breath and turned around.
No matter how hard she tried to escape the past, she seemed to always return to the same track.
But she couldn’t be paralyzed by melancholy. Sienna accepted the current reality instead of being frustrated by the situation.
Her priority was to inform Jeremiah of the situation. Sienna took out a piece of parchment from the drawer and picked up a pen. Soon, neat writing began to fill the smooth paper, detailing the current circumstances.
Sienna carefully reported in her letter that she was currently staying in Monferrato due to unavoidable circumstances and planned to trace the whereabouts of the will step by step.
After putting a period, she read through the letter again and chuckled to herself. If she found this situation perplexing, how would Jeremiah feel receiving this letter?
She could clearly imagine him frowning and looking bewildered.
‘Well, what can she do? If she stubbornly refused to comply, she would have experienced an even more terrible situation than last time.’
She had Jane mix her letter discreetly into the mail.
Unlike Theodore, who was overly inquisitive, Jane was easy to manage as she didn’t ask unnecessary questions. She followed Sienna’s instructions precisely according to the specified route and timing. Thanks to Jane’s cooperation, things went quite smoothly.
Using a pseudonym and having already agreed with Jeremiah to use a rural village near Parma as their base, the letter’s postmark was from a rural village in the empire completely unrelated to Parma.
So there was nothing major to be concerned about.
The problem was what came after. She felt lost about how to move forward alone.
Lost in thought while walking down the corridor, Sienna suddenly looked up. The familiar scenery of the Grand Duchy was clearly in her view.
And one fact she had not been aware of until now: the current master of this Monferrato Grand Duchy was absent.
Her sunken eyes suddenly began to sparkle.
If Declan is truly working as the emperor’s subordinate to trace the will’s whereabouts, then perhaps this is… an opportunity for me.
Sienna was familiar with the Grand Duchy’s layout. Moreover, she knew exactly how security was maintained, where Declan usually kept the office keys – even such minor details.
If he is pursuing the will’s whereabouts, there might be related information in this mansion.
Her hesitation was not long.
The next morning, Sienna left her bedroom as soon as the sun rose. Wandering through the forest as if taking a walk, she headed to Declan’s office, timing her approach with the guards’ patrol schedule.
Now I’m even resorting to theft. Though she felt pathetic, this was not the time to maintain her dignity.
But despite the courage it took, days passed without any significant findings. She had searched everywhere possible, yet not a single piece of related information was discovered.
Knowing this opportunity might never come again, her anxiety grew with each fruitless search.
“Your Highness, do you find the fragrance pleasant?”
“It’s good.”
When Christine applied the perfume and asked casually, Sienna absentmindedly responded. Her mind was already elsewhere.
“The Grand Duke specifically instructed that nothing prepared for Your Highness should be done carelessly,” Christine continued chattering.
In her mind, Sienna was filled with questions about how much Declan knew about this matter, or whether he was cooperating with the emperor while knowing the will’s contents.
“What a considerate person His Grace is,” Christine added.
Sienna nodded halfheartedly. Though her response was perfunctory, Christine spoke with emphasis.
“Why is such a person still unmarried…”
Christine trailed off, muttering to herself.
Sienna’s eyes, which had been lost in thought, finally focused on the woman applying perfume. She narrowed her eyes, trying to gauge the other’s intentions.
It seemed Christine was under the misunderstanding that there was some delicate emotional connection between herself and the Grand Duke.
Recalling what she had accidentally heard in Lopwell, the woman he actually had in mind seemed to be someone else, thus making Christine’s actions seem absurd to her.
