On the day Fernan visited the imperial palace, when he saw Yulia come into his bedroom without permission and collapse, he felt a strange feeling for some reason.
So he called his doctor and had her treated. It wouldn’t have mattered whether she lay down sick or died. No, it would have been better for him if she had died.
So, in the end, the emotion at that moment would have been close to fleeting pity.
remorse. It was a word that rarely suited him.
‘cold… .’
She didn’t wake up for several hours and was so excited by the drug that she started talking nonsense.
After some time she woke up and called out to him with her wet, dreamy eyes.
‘… majesty?’
When Fernan saw that, he had a strange feeling for a moment.
She is a woman with unpleasantly clear eyes. She is a woman who resembles the Marquis but does not resemble him.
Unlike her marquis, who was easy to understand, she was a woman whose true feelings were difficult to understand.
So when he tried to question her in a somewhat vulgar way, she looked like she was about to cry and pushed him away.
‘I just…’ I just had something to say. I didn’t come here hoping for this… .’
As she hurriedly got out of bed, she stumbled and fell.
I don’t know why her small body, curled up and trembling, looked so delicate for a moment.
Why did he feel guilty when he saw her struggling to get up?
The feeling of guilt was ridiculous. At best, he was shaken for a moment by this woman because she looked like that.
He showed Yulia an unusual favor, enough to accompany the Marquis.
Even if there was an abundance of time, time that would not have been given to the Marquis Elodie at all would have been scattered in the air.
Yeah, she was definitely on to something for a moment.
“Well, Your Highness… That’s not what I asked for… .”
Julia looked at him with her eager face. With clear and watery eyes as always.
“… under.”
How many people have she fooled with this innocent face? The number is probably not small. He, too, almost got mesmerized for a moment.
When he thought that she might have taken some kind of medicine and held this woman like an animal, a sneer escaped her.
It wasn’t a very surprising way for Fernan to find out about the circumstances of this incident.
It was just that Sevant, who had been planted in the Marquis’s home earlier, overheard the conversation between the Marquis and Yulia.
‘Your Majesty, Marquis Elodie has made secret contact with Her Majesty . Here, I have written down part of thier conversation.’
Just before leaving the Marquis, the servant quietly delivered a note to Fernan.
The content is that the Marquis asked Yulia whether she would use the ‘medicine’, and Yulia answered that she would use the medicine soon.
After reading the letter, Fernan immediately sent someone to the Grand Duke’s castle and ordered them to search through Yulia’s residence.
And as soon as he returned to the Grand Siege, he was delivered a vial and a letter, which he said had been found in her room.
This drug was supposed to be used by those who lacked sexual function, but because it contained narcotic ingredients such as hallucinogens, it was secretly distributed even among some nobles.
This meant that it was not a drug that simply increased desire.
“I-I never had any intention of using that drug. I was going to throw it away right away… .”
Yulia cowered in horror, but stuttered and insisted on her innocence.
“That stuff isn’t important to me.”
Fernan intercepted her words and opened the cap of the medicine bottle.
He slowly tilted his hand, and its contents soaked Yulia’s dress and poured down at her feet.
Her white dress started to get all wet.
“The important thing is that I have no reason to respect you anymore.”
Yulia’s eyes slowly turned red as she looked down at her dress.
Looking at her extremely coldly, Fernan carelessly threw away her empty medicine bottle.
Yulia, who flinched at the sharp sound, looked up at her Fernan and pursed her lips.
“majesty… .”
Fernan turned and walked away from her, ignoring her words.
With the sound of the door slamming hard, his figure disappeared completely.
* * *
“Look at that. “You came again.”
“You’re going to be ignored anyway, so why do you keep coming?”
Yulia entered the main hall, trying to ignore the whispers of her maids.
For several days already, she had been waiting for Fernan at the time of his appearance.
Although Fernan completely ignored her and refused to listen to anything she said, Yulia nevertheless tried hard to get her to talk.
He was completely misunderstood and had every right to be angry.
However, I didn’t want to let him misunderstand me like this.
“I see you, His Majesty the Archduke.”
Entering the lobby, Fernan indifferently passed by his employees as usual. And Yulia, who was standing at the very end, also walked past.
Yulia hurriedly followed him as he left the doorway.
“Your Highness, now, just a moment.”
In her haste, she grabbed his hand, and only then did Fernan stop and look back at her with his cold gaze.
Yulia looked up at him with her sagging face, holding on to one of his hands with both of hers.
“It’s okay if it’s just for a little while. Talk to me… .”
“Why don’t you do it in moderation?”
A harsh voice interrupted her words.
“Didn’t I tell you? “Please refrain from coming to me like this in the morning.”
“… Because I won’t be able to see you outside of this time. I have something to tell you… .”
As Yulia firmly opened her mouth, Fernan’s gaze became even colder.
“Why can’t I understand once I say it?”
“… … .”
“I have no intention of respecting you anymore, so don’t play tricks and just stay in the bedroom.”
He scolded her coldly, as if he was showing the utmost mercy.
Yulia made eye contact with him, pretending that nothing was wrong, but she couldn’t even hide the uncontrollable shaking of her hands.
The employees, including everyone, were already watching this situation with interest.
It was already a well-known story among the workers that Fernan was not very willing to marry his wife.
But they never thought he would hate her this much. Fernan’s eyes toward his wife were cold, almost murderous.
“If you wanted to get me in the mood in the morning, you succeeded.”
Fernan, who was indifferently thinking, lightly shook off her hand that was holding him.
Yulia twitched her hand that had been left behind her, and she watched him walk out of the doorway.
The sound of the workers whispering softly reached her ears. They glanced at her and then immediately dispersed in all directions.
Standing alone in her lobby, which instantly became quiet, Yulia turned around with her calm face.
She had no time to be hurt and cower. She repeated her promise to herself over and over again.
Her promise is that she will do her duty as the Grand Duchess and that she will try to be of some help to Fernan.
She wasn’t sure if this would solve his misunderstanding, but she was planning on trying anything.
First, read the ledger, look around the inside of the castle to see if there are any areas that need repair, and if there is still time left… .
“Her Majesty… . Are you okay?”
She was walking up her stairs, lost in thought, when Melissa came running from far away with a surprised look on her face.
In her panic, Melissa took out her handkerchief and held it to Yulia’s eyes.
Yulia had a calm expression, as if she didn’t even notice that her face was wet.
“Your Highness , please go back to your room first. yes?”
Yulia wiped her eyes and slowly blinked them. For some reason, this situation did not feel real, as if the world was floating upside down.
Melissa comforting her, and the tears that kept leaking out.
“Thank you, Melissa. “I’m fine, so you can go and do your business.”
It was really okay. This was bearable. She didn’t know why she suddenly burst into tears.
She’ll talk to him properly, and after a little more time, she’ll be okay.
Although it was only for a moment, she believed that he had shown her good will.
She believed that the feelings that cared for her when she was sick and gave her time would still remain in him.
He may have finally started to look at himself, but she couldn’t let him walk away from her again like this.
Yulia steadily climbed the remaining stairs.
At that moment, the foul language that the Marchioness used to say passed through my ears.
‘Don’t make the mistake of thinking that your life will change just because you become the Grand Duchess. No matter how much you hide that you are an illegitimate child, you cannot hide your humble origins.’
‘With such humble origins, you probably don’t dream of happiness, do you?’
Yulia shook her head to erase the tears that kept blocking her vision and the evil voice that pierced her ears.
are you okay. Everything will be okay. As if to brainwash her, she bit her lip so hard that her blood oozed out.
