Edited

4. Became a secretary, very briefly (1)

My words must have come as quite a shock.

The Duke called the chef and told him to prepare the same meal and sat with me at the table.

That person is the chef. He’s the one who only gave me onion water.

When I stared at the straight mustache, the chef was surprised, bowed, and left.

I thought he was going back to the office, but he sat across from me.

The Duke picked up his wine glass.

Only the occasional sound of clinking dishes resonated in the hall.

It’s the food I’ve wanted to eat so much, but once the incident passed, I lost my appetite.

The injured arm was belatedly throbbing.

The bleeding stopped, but the skin was sore. I put my fork down on the half-eaten bowl and wiped my mouth.

“It seems that the servants are ignoring me because I do not have a proper status in the mansion. I might get hurt like before.”

“… The maid from earlier will be stripped of her status and thrown out of the estate, and I will attach an escort knight to you.”

Is that it? At this rate, I felt like I would drink onion water again within three days.

“That’s not enough.”

“So, what do you want? A Dress?”

Dress? Is there a crazy woman who would wear a dress and go through a snowy mountain when her life is on the line?

“A proper position.”

“Position… Yes, what position should I give to the young Lady in the castle? There are no empty positions. There are no hands to play around here.”

He chuckled.

“Isn’t there an empty position?”

I pointed to the portrait of the former marquis in the middle of the hall.

A graceful and voluptuous body, a wrinkled face.

She was the former owner of the mansion.

“Are you asking for the title of Duchess?”

He tapped his finger on the table.

Only a blood bag? I could see him snorting as if I was making excessive demands.

“Even if not the duchess, can you give me the position of the second wife?”

Second wife.

Here, a person with the rank of a duke or higher could have two wives in addition to the official wife.

“Even from outside, there will be fewer enemies targeting me. It’s like you’ve touched a member of the Duke’s family.”

He stared at me

I guess you’re gauging what’s inside.

Anyway… Even if I curse here or throw a bowl, he can’t kill me.

Let’s stay calm.

I opened my mouth again.

“Besides, I am also the young lady of the baron. There may be objections… Even if my status is low, it won’t be too bad because I’m a noble.”

“Officially, you can only have three wives. Even if you have a bereaved seat, you have to leave it empty. You may not know it because you grew up in a Baron family. Marriages of high-ranking nobles have a lot of stakes, so each marriage has a great influence.”

Exactly. I mean, there’s no room for me to die anytime soon.

“Besides, the second wife is brought in first before the official duchess is taken in? There must be a lot of people interested in the source. If you find out that it’s blood, you’ll only be exposed to dirt for no reason.”

The sharp words stuck in my heart.

To the Duke, Leoni was just for that.

He swirled around. The red wine swirled violently as it hit the glass walls.

“First of all, how will I convince the elders?”

I grinned.

“Can’t you just say you love me?”

It’s that simple.

“If you accept the offer, I’ll promise you. I’ll make you strong.”

I smiled pleasantly.

“You must eat me for a long time, Your Grace.”

***

The Duke called for his secretary, and soon a man with brown hair entered.

“Viter, isn’t there a suitable place for the young lady?”

“Do you mean a position?”

He looked at the Duke with a puzzled expression, but soon corrected his posture.

“What kind of young lady…”

“Me.”

She raised one hand.

Seeing this, Viter frowned slightly.

“I don’t think any department would want it…”

Viter glanced at me as I loftily crossed my legs and said,

“I’ll try to make something.”

No, can’t you just give me a place?

Your wife’s place is different.

Viter, who had summoned a servant and instructed him to do something, came in shortly afterward with a square box of paper.

It was a Trump card.

‘What, are you going to play a game?’

He took four cards out of his card pack.

Then he turned the card over and put it down.

“I narrowed it down to a decent position. The status is written on the front, so you can pick it up. Choose one of the four cards you like.”

Ha… I’ve done something similar before.

After the college entrance exam, a friend brought a card game called “The Great Moon X T”.

“The Great Moon X T” was a game in which tyrant emperors and archbishops, knights, shepherds, and slaves were given jobs and competed.

Back then, I was only recruited as a slave.

I’ve always been unlucky.

And even in this world, there was no luck in drawing. It’s just the Duke’s blood bag.

Others say that they were born as an ordinary villainess, or a precious young lady from an aristocratic family, even if they were destined to die.

As expected, you can’t gamble with bad hands.

“Can’t you just pick one for me?”

I looked at the Duke with the most pitiful gaze.

But he seemed unimpressed.

All trump cards of the same pattern.

It was a game of chance.

After thinking seriously, I pushed a card.

I got a feeling! This is it. I feel good.

“Perhaps… Is there a place for your wife here?”

Viter flinched as he held out his hand to check the card.

Then, as if in disbelief, she said:

“… is there?”

Well, it’s a 1/4 chance anyway, so I’ll gladly put one in.

The card game has a famous copy phrase.

[Originally, life was not fair.]

But there is no king without slaves. How do you rule when there is no one to rule?

I’m not a useless hand yet. I wouldn’t have picked a weird one.

Now we have less surveillance. What if I die of stress?

Since I’m his only blood bag, he needs me to win the fight.

After checking the card, Viter opened his mouth.

“It’s a secretary position, I’ll give you the card.”

She took out the card from his hand as if she had been waiting.

“You can go to the clerk’s office tomorrow. It’s better if you don’t.”

Are you this thoroughly prepared?

How can you take the clerk’s pass out of your arms as if you’ve been waiting?

Aren’t they all clerks?

I quickly flipped the rest of the cards before he took them.

Handmaid, librarian, knight…

Picture of book, knife, and mug. The card I turned over had a quill and ink drawing on it.

I guess it’s not.

Still, it wasn’t a bad card.

I don’t want to be a maid and get water on my hands. I hate sports.

Well, at least you picked something good.

As a result, I was appointed secretary.

It was not strange to walk in the hallway under the pretext of recording work, and it was the right seat, not essential.

The Duke picked up a pen and wrote the contract.

[I appoint Leonie Sien as secretary.

It is an indefinite contract position, and carries out the duties promised to each other.

The contract is valid until the goods provided by B to A expire.]

The effect of the contract was ‘until the use of blood’, it said, but in fact, it was ‘until death’.

It’s either I’m dead when it’s effective, or I’m replaced.

“If you have something to ask for correction, tell me now. Don’t bother the employees.”

He handed over the contract written in elegant cursive.

When did I bother them? I’ve only done it just this once.

I fumbled through the contract.

Then I stopped at the clause about blood.

“Four blood transfusions? Four times a week is too much. It’s natural to faint.”

“You need strength to go to war. You have to drink it at least four times for that.”

“A war? Do you have territory to expand?”

“… You speak as if you know my land well.”

Oops, he doesn’t know I know the plot.

Even before the prologue was over, he already had quite a lot of land and property, so I thought he must be rich.

“What… The Duke’s status is known even to the baron’s villagers.”

“… there are minorities who have land but have not surrendered yet. If you want a subordinate to show an example, you have to wage a war.”

“Then, let’s do it three times.”

I crossed out the contract and wrote the number ‘3’.

“And please disband the blood task force as well.”

“… task force?”

He didn’t seem to know at all.

“There is such a thing, Duke. I want you to release me without any surveillance. At least treat your guests. Outside, I heard it recorded that I came as a guest.”

I can’t believe you’re so ignorant about the blood that’s been brought to the castle.

Did you know my name before signing the contract?

I could see his wrinkled brow, but I turned to the next page casually.

As I leafed through the contract, I remembered the contents of the original.

Will he ever become emperor?

I only read the first part of the book. I don’t know because I didn’t even hear the ending.

Friends called him ‘Northern Grand Duke’ and ‘Black Haired Man’ all the time, but never called him by a proper title.

“If there’s nothing else to fix, come here…”

The Duke suddenly reached out his hand while I was thinking hard. I leaned back slightly, so I wouldn’t get caught.

“Wait a minute. And why am I B?”

“Is that also a request?”

“It’s not that, but…”

I glanced at him.

He didn’t seem to be in a bad mood.

Shall we ask what we are most curious about as if passing by?

“By any chance… what are you going to do if you don’t need the goods until they expire?”

“Well. It wouldn’t happen.”

“… If you become Emperor before my life is over, will you release me?”

He paused the quill. Then he laughed.

“In the past, all blood died within 5 years. You must have the confidence to live for a long time.”

“It’s probably because everyone lives on grassroots.”

“Do you know, young lady?”

He said in a firm tone.

“You look the weakest among all blood.”

“You’ll see. There’s always no order to go. Do you know? I live the longest in this duchy.”

At my words, he grinned at me.

“Yes, I look forward to it.”