With Ian’s words, the dining table once again fell into silence. I quietly picked up my fork and knife.
‘Let’s just eat.’
It felt pointless to engage with him any further.
‘How on earth did Ian and Eloise manage to share breakfast together in this cold, stifling atmosphere every morning?’
Did they both have iron stomachs or something?
For a moment, I continued to pick at my food, but soon enough, I found myself sneaking glances at Ian again.
‘Wearing a full uniform in the morning… Is he going somewhere?’
Ian rarely dressed up unless he had something important to attend to. Normally, he wore light shirts, occasionally throwing on a vest or jacket. The reason I knew this in such detail was because the author painstakingly described Ian’s outfits in every chapter.
His divine appearance that shone even without extravagant clothing, his face that—blah blah blah…
‘Honestly, that author was really something.’
I shook my head slightly. Why should I care whether he was dressed in full uniform or had his shirt unbuttoned? It wasn’t any of my business.
I tried to focus back on my meal, but Ian spoke up first.
“It seems like you have something to say. Please keep it brief and to the point.”
What a jerk.
I was momentarily irritated, but being a civilized person, I suppressed my anger and asked, “Are you going somewhere?”
He lifted his head and looked at me with a dry expression. It was clear he found this conversation tiresome.
“……”
“……”
After a long moment of silent staring, Ian finally looked away and answered.
“…It’s the day of the monthly meeting at the capital.”
“Oh.”
So today was that day.
Ian Cloud, as indicated by his title of Grand Duke, was someone with royal blood. More specifically, he was the half-brother of the current Emperor. The previous Emperor had both an Empress and a royal concubine, with the current Emperor being the son of the Empress, and Ian being the son of the concubine.
Normally, such a situation would lead to bloody conflicts between the two, but the current Emperor had doted on Ian since childhood.
Ian had shown exceptional talent in swordsmanship and martial arts from a young age. By the age of 18, without any decent teacher, he had already become the youngest swordmaster.
Rather than feeling threatened by Ian’s abilities, the Emperor valued him highly, constantly praising him. As a result of such favoritism, Ian received the title of Grand Duke and continued to serve as a special advisor to the Royal Knights.
On top of that, he was required to attend a monthly meeting at the capital, which was today.
It seemed the author wanted to give Ian all the wealth, honor, and talent in the world.
‘That’s an illness, really.’
I was lost in shallow thoughts when I heard Ian getting up from his seat. Turning my head, I noticed that his plate was already clean.
“Well, I’ll be going now.”
Aren’t those the kind of words you say before you get up?
Ian adjusted his clothes and glanced down at me.
“I’m running late.”
“Yes, I imagine so.”
“You know it well.”
I was being sarcastic, but okay.
Unfazed by my sarcasm, Ian turned and started to leave the dining hall. Then, he suddenly paused and half-turned back to look at me.
“And one more thing, my lady.”
“Yes?”
Ian raised a hand and lightly tapped his cheek.
“No matter how good the food is, you should wipe the sauce off your face.”
…If he wasn’t a swordmaster, I would have punched him.
❖ ❖ ❖
Eloise Alpheus.
The second daughter of the Alpheus Marquessate, one of the top ten founding families of the Levantine Empire. With her beauty, grace, and impeccable manners, she was known as the flower of the social world, but due to her cold and distant demeanor, she was often referred to by nicknames like “Ice Princess” or “Ice Flower of the Marquessate.”
Her marriage to Ian was largely influenced by her family’s ambitions. The Marquess of Alpheus was a man of great ambition, hoping to expand his business and solidify his position by forming an alliance with the Cloud Grand Duchy.
Coincidentally, Ian also needed a Grand Duchess who could strengthen the duchy’s standing and manage the household. With their interests perfectly aligned, the two families pushed forward with the marriage, backed by the Emperor’s full support.
In the process, Eloise was nothing more than a valuable pawn.
At this point, most young noblewomen would likely resist, proclaiming, “I refuse to marry without love!” But Eloise was different.
“If I can expand our business in exchange for marrying him, where could I find a better deal?’
It was quite something, both the Marquess selling off his daughter for business and Eloise willingly allowing herself to be sold.
“Now, let’s think this through.”
After finishing breakfast, I went up to my room on the second floor, settling down to think. For the record, it’s my room, not our room.
Ian and Eloise’s bedrooms were located at opposite ends of the corridor, making it nearly impossible to run into each other by accident.
At this point, it was embarrassing to even call them a married couple.
“Alright, so it’s currently the Imperial Year 273.”
I tapped the table while flipping through the calendar the maid had brought.
“Let’s see… Ian and Eloise got married in March two years ago, so it’s been exactly two years and two months now.”
You’d think they were still newlyweds at this point.
“Wow, it’s impressive how much the word ‘newlyweds’ doesn’t suit them.”
I let out a light scoff.
The atmosphere in this house was colder than ice, so how could this be considered a honeymoon?
“Anyway, Diana returns in the summer of Imperial Year 274.”
Flipping to the last page of the calendar, I rested my chin on my hand with a bored expression.
So, there’s roughly one year left until Diana returns.
“One year…”
It was a time that could feel long or short, depending on how you looked at it.
As I counted the months on my fingers, I frowned. Frustration bubbled up inside me.
“Seriously, if I was going to be thrown into this story, couldn’t it have been before the marriage or after the divorce? Why place me right at the two-year mark of their marriage?”
The timing was utterly lousy.
I thought I’d be happy to see my favorite character in person, but this fate was just cruel.
I never wanted to get tangled up in this mess; I just wanted to help Diana.
“Anyway, now that things have come to this, I need to resolve everything within a year….”
This marriage will end about six months after Diana returns. That’s when Ian finally realizes his feelings and unilaterally demands a divorce from Eloise.
“The problem is that during those six months, Diana suffers immensely.”
A deep sigh escaped me as the familiar sense of gloom washed over me.
“Ha…”
In the original story, Diana’s devastation at attending Ian’s wedding was described in agonizing detail. Reading that part left my heart aching unbearably. Even Ian’s die-hard fans couldn’t help but sympathize with Diana at that point, which tells you how bad it was.
“And now I’m the one causing her pain…”
The thought that I was now the source of my favorite character’s suffering was indescribably painful. I suppressed the urge to slam my head onto the table.
“…Should I just die…?”
No, I couldn’t do that, not after finally making it to the world where Diana existed.
With a tearful expression, I picked up the quill again and forced myself to keep writing.
“If I can get a divorce within the year and disappear before Diana returns, that might just work…”
Then Diana would be happy, I’d be happy, and whether Ian’s happy or not wouldn’t matter to me.
As I laid out my plan and mulled it over, my hand, which had been busy scribbling on the paper, suddenly stopped. Something flashed through my mind like lightning.
“Wait a minute, isn’t this an opportunity?”
There was exactly one year left until Diana returned. If I could use my position as the Grand Duchess to straighten out Ian’s behavior during that time…
“I might not turn him into a perfect prince, but at least I could save Diana from a total disaster.”
The bleak future suddenly seemed to brighten, as if a ray of hope had shone through.
“That’s it!”
Why hadn’t I thought of this sooner? There was a way I could help Diana even in Eloise’s body!
With renewed determination, I clenched my fists and slammed them onto the table.
Before Diana returns, I’ll reform this hopeless Ian into a perfect gentleman just for her!
Looking at Ian’s current state, it seemed like a daunting task, but it wasn’t entirely impossible.
After all, I was the Grand Duchess in name, which gave me plenty of leverage over Ian. Plus, as someone who had read this novel multiple times, I knew both Diana and that jerk Ian inside and out.
If I could just make good use of this knowledge…
“…Heh heh.”
I chuckled wickedly, imagining Ian sitting obediently beside Diana, serving her like a proper gentleman.
“Just wait, Diana!”
I’ll show you that even garbage can be turned into something useful!
♧♧♧
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