“……”
It was the moment when Ian, who had been looking out the window, slightly pulled back the curtain.
“My lord, I’m back.”
At the voice that came just as someone was entering the office holding documents, he turned his head.
It was Kyle, his trusted aide and the Grand Duke’s personal wizard.
“You’re late.”
“I was in the west until ten minutes ago. How could I possibly get here faster? Do you know how much energy it takes to use a long-distance magic circle?”
Kyle grumbled as he placed the documents on the desk.
“These are the papers you need to review by next week… but you’re going to finish them all tonight before sleeping, aren’t you?”
With a tone of disgust, Kyle shuddered.
Ian glanced at him and then put his glasses back on before sitting down at his desk.
“You ask knowing the answer.”
“Honestly… How did I end up serving you, my lord?”
It was a muttered lament.
Ian seemed to listen to his words with one ear and let them go out the other as he picked up a quill, but then, he slowly paused.
“…Kyle.”
“Yes?”
“Do you think I’m being too harsh?”
“Do you really have to ask?”
“…….”
“You’re always too harsh. Where else would you find a boss who makes their subordinates work this late into the night? Thanks to you, my sleep is diminishing by the day. If I die early, will you take responsibility? I may look like this, but I’m the precious only son of the Elzeir family.”
Listening to Kyle’s exasperated rant, Ian added without expression.
“Not about you. I meant the Grand Duchess.”
“…Excuse me?”
For a moment, Kyle’s expression became bewildered.
“Why are we suddenly talking about the Grand Duchess?”
His tone truly indicated that he had no idea why.
Ian, who had been still, slowly began to sign the papers again.
Kyle, standing there with his hands behind his back, stared blankly at the sight, then suddenly gasped and covered his mouth.
“My lord, could it be…”
“…….”
“Are you dying of some illness?”
“You’d better keep that mouth of yours shut.”
“No, it’s just that you suddenly brought up the Grand Duchess. Isn’t this the first time you’ve mentioned her?”
Ian remained tight-lipped instead of answering.
It had already been two years since he had maintained a relationship with her that could hardly be called a marriage.
During that long period, Ian had never mentioned Eloise.
They had married out of mutual interest, and after becoming husband and wife, she was simply the woman who stayed in the mansion.
But lately, that ghost of a wife had been acting strangely.
She had brought up divorce, skipped breakfast without a word, and earlier, she had even smiled shamelessly, saying she would give back as much as she had received. And just now…
“She was crying.”
While out on a nighttime stroll, Ian had clearly seen Eloise wiping away her tears.
Ian Claude was surprised by the fact that she could cry.
More than anything, he was perplexed that Eloise cared enough about their marriage to cry alone over it.
‘Since when did she start paying attention to such things?’
Meanwhile, Kyle stood there with his mouth agape at his lord’s bombshell revelation.
“…The Grand Duchess, you say?”
“Yes.”
“The Grand Duchess was… crying?”
Letting out a breath in disbelief, Kyle suddenly straightened up and looked down at Ian.
“So… did you comfort her?”
“Why should I?”
“You really aren’t human, my lord.”
“Thank you for the compliment.”
Kyle sighed deeply.
“If the Grand Duchess was shedding tears, then it’s one hundred percent your fault.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
“But it’s true.”
Kyle seized the opportunity to start chattering.
“Even if it was an arranged marriage, where on earth do couples sleep in separate rooms? To be honest, have the two of you ever even exchanged more than ten words?”
“…….”
“You’re the one who insisted on avoiding unnecessary encounters inside the mansion in the first place.”
“As the Grand Duchess, she has been provided with everything she could possibly need.”
“Are you managing the staff now? Welfare? Please provide some of that to me instead.”
“Kyle.”
“Just out of curiosity, do you happen to know the Grand Duchess’s birthday?”
At his question, Ian’s face darkened again.
“…….”
“You see? Look at this.”
Kyle clicked his tongue in disapproval.
“September 23rd. Even I know that, but you’re the only one who doesn’t. If it weren’t for the grand celebrations held every autumn, you wouldn’t remember, would you?”
“It’s about the alliance between families. There’s no reason to pay attention to trivial matters.”
“Yes, yes. And that’s why you made the Grand Duchess cry.”
Kyle wasn’t intimidated at all by Ian’s cold aura, which would have silenced anyone else in an instant.
“Anyway, what I’m saying is that this is all your fault.”
Ian muttered.
“…So that’s why she brought up divorce.”
“What? Divorce?!”
Kyle jumped in place.
“Divorce? Are you telling me that the ever-patient Grand Duchess mentioned divorce?”
“Calm down, Kyle. It’s only something she considered as a possibility.”
“How am I supposed to stay calm?!”
Kyle blinked rapidly, as if his red eyes were about to pop out.
“The amazing Grand Duchess is talking about divorce! And she even cried! Don’t you feel anything at all?”
When Ian didn’t respond, Kyle beat his chest in frustration.
“Ugh, you’re really going to get divorced at this rate. You don’t understand how serious this is.”
Despite Kyle’s exasperated tone, Ian calmly continued to review the documents.
“If she chooses divorce, that is also her right. And to be precise, she isn’t the only one capable of fulfilling the role of the Grand Duchess.”
“Oh, sure!”
Kyle’s sarcastic tone made Ian’s eyebrow twitch with irritation.
“…What?”
“But it’s true!”
Even under Ian’s deadly gaze, Kyle raised his voice without hesitation.
“Lady Eloise Alpheus, the belle of high society, marries you, and her reputation is in shambles because of it. What noble lady in her right mind would marry you? No one who values their reputation would want to throw it in the dirt!”
“……”
Ian’s mouth clamped shut.
‘Odd, that’s exactly what the Grand Duchess said.’
But Kyle wasn’t finished yet.
“Let’s say you two get divorced and a new Grand Duchess arrives. How many people do you think can handle the overwhelming duties of this grand duchy better than Eloise? Does such a person even exist?”
Kyle gestured toward the massive stack of documents related to the administration of the grand duchy.
“……”
Indeed, Eloise was exceptionally efficient in her work. Even Ian couldn’t deny that fact.
Since Eloise became the Grand Duchess, he had practically withdrawn from overseeing internal affairs.
“Sure, the Grand Duchess lacks nothing, so she can simply return to the Alpheus Marquisate and meet someone new. But what about you?”
“……”
“Do you honestly think you can handle this mountain of work if you get divorced right now?”
Kyle rubbed his face in exasperation.
“For the love of God! At least for the sake of the grand duchy, please treat the Grand Duchess better!”
His tone was almost pleading now.
The reason Kyle was begging so desperately was simple: if the position of Grand Duchess became vacant, it would be his and the other staff’s lives that became unbearable.
It was obvious who would be assigned the enormous responsibilities of running the grand duchy if Eloise were to disappear.
As Kyle sighed deeply, he suddenly widened his eyes as if he had just remembered something and stared at Ian.
“Wait a minute… I heard the Grand Duchess visited a dress shop today.”
“A dress shop?”
“She went to some no-name shop and bought out all the dresses and accessories. She even bought romance novels from the bookstore.”
‘That must have been what she was doing when she went out earlier.’
While Ian briefly speculated, Kyle reacted as if the world were ending.
“Oh my god, now I understand. My lord, don’t you feel any sense of danger? Seriously?”
♧♧♧
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