Returning four days later, the marquis began to treat the young duchess in earnest. In fact, it was a natural courtesy for a visitor to the estate to greet the lord, but it was also a right.
The lord was obliged to accept and treat guests after receiving formal greetings. In other words, you could be treated as non-existent until you were greeted.
The marquis immediately summoned his vassals without uttering a word about the duke’s daughter. It wasn’t just any other matter, but the duties of a lord over his domain. If he neglected them, it would tarnish the reputation of the high nobility.
The young duchess couldn’t protest and kept her mouth shut. Sitting around the round table in the conference room, the marquis sighed. Their home, Silverglen, Marquessate of Rodian, was a quiet land. The marquis had a regular meeting the day before he went on a sudden inspection of the estate, and the only thing that changed was the visit of the young duchess of Galloway…
“Report the main points except for the case of uninvited guests.”
“Sir, there is nothing going on in the estate.”
“If you don’t have anything, make one. More than two of each.”
They broke into a cold sweat as they pretended to be serious in front of the irritable lord. There were a total of five people in charge of each field that assisted the rule of the lord, such as security, administration, and finance. Edith, who attended the meeting as one of the five in name and reality, was half asleep until her turn came, who had accumulated fatigue from dealing with things other than her main job.
“Next, then, finance.”
The marquis’s call was heard distantly. She got up in a panic only after the marquis called her again, as the Knight Commander Dart next to her, tried to give her a hint.
“Edith Argyle.”
“Oh, yes!”
“…….”
“I’m sorry.”
“That’s enough. Have a seat and let’s talk.”
The rest of the vassals gave a small chuckle at the sight of her. These humans, you guys played and ate during the week that His Excellency went on inspection, but not me! Edith took her seat, glancing intently at each of them. When she thought about it, she felt it was unfair.
Although she appeared as if she were keeping her distance inside the guest room, it didn’t mean that Viola Galloway had become completely absent.
She was too remarkable of a woman to be ignored to that extent. In the end, Edith suffered from the young duchess all day while the marquis was gone.
The woman, who lived in the highest quality from head to toe, from waking up to falling asleep, was also sophisticated, elegant, and thorough in the way she complained. For instance, it was like this.
「Lady Argyle is the fiancee of the marquis, and you are very frugal.」
「Considering the finances of the marquis, You don’t know how grateful I am for preparing this much.」
「I don’t know how long I’ll stay, so I brought this and that from the royal capital, but it’s not very good, but I’ll give it to you, so would you like to try it out?」
「Thank you, but I will use the bed curtains I brought. My skin is sensitive, so it’s difficult for me to use just anything.」
Not only Edith, who saw her face three times a day, but also the butler, who sent meals or supplies through the maid and listened to the report, was immensely stressed.
But how am I supposed to speak about anything other than young duchess! Edith murmured heavily. It was Edith who flattered the marquis in most cases and spared no effort to fulfill his wishes, especially when it came to money. However, it was different when you faced something that could not be improved even if you tried. Her motto was to go all out and give it her best, even if the outcome seemed unlikely.
“Sir, all I have in my head is the thoughts of the duke’s daughter.”
“What did you just say?”
“I think my head is going to explode at the thought of the young duchess. It’s not something I want either.”
The marquis squinted his eyes.
“That’s not what I want either.”
“Yes, but as you know, I am now participating in your scam.”
“It’s a hoax.”
“Just skip the expression. Anyway, how can I think of something else right now?”
Since Edith proved her ability and kept her position, the marquis’s vassals gradually opened their hearts to her.
And they gave her a nickname for her occasional outbursts of speech and behavior.
‘Edith, whose liver is swollen.*’
[*TN: Someone with audacious, impertinent qualities.]
Especially when you saw her leaving in front of the marquis like now. However, it was also a joke because the marquis accepted it without getting angry. There was no sense of danger that their murmuring might incur the wrath of both Edith herself and her marquis, and the vassals who sat around her watched her without much concern for her.
With a twinkle in one’s eyes as if it had been a while since there was something to see. Indeed, the marquis did not lose his temper. He narrowed his eyes and asked probing questions, as if he were interrogating.
“I wonder what Galloway’s daughter did to you.”
“It would take too long to tell you the truth.”
And it also felt childish. Wasn’t the young duchess being sarcastic about the marquis’s poor living?
If Edith had truly been the marquis’s fiancée, she might have felt hurt by the words she heard from the young duchess. However, since she was aware of being a fake fiancée, she was not deeply affected by the young duchess’s remarks.
To put it into perspective, the pride of the bureaucrat in charge of the finances had been slightly scratched, but what could she do? During the twelve years that Dowager Queen Griselda lived as an abandoned queen, even the ancestral home of her birth, the Marquis of Rodian, had lost its former glory and has been maintained with great difficulty.
Once Princess Regina’s succession to the throne was confirmed, she granted various privileges, which provided some relief, but even so, it was natural that she couldn’t compare to the duke and his immense wealth. Therefore, the conclusion is clear.
“As your current treasurer, I have only one thing to say.”
“What is it?”
Edith said, scratching her cheek.
“Please evict the young duchess as soon as possible.”
The Marquis of Rodian frowned. Oh, his mysophobia. He wore gloves indoors, and even when he wiped his face, he unfolded the innermost part of the handkerchief, used it only once, and washed it right away. Edith’s behavior of touching her face with makeup with her bare hands seemed to be unbearable.
“Edith, didn’t you decide to take charge of it? I remember I agreed to pay a special allowance as well.”
That wasn’t it. Edith smiled awkwardly. The deal between the marquis and the treasurer was no secret. If they were to make someone with a distinct position the marquis’s fiancée, everyone involved in the marquis’s estate had to be on the same page.
In particular, the vassals who were present together were those who put their heads together and made basic plans. They stepped in one after another before the marquis could say anything again. Half worried about Edith’s mental stress, and half didn’t seem to like her trying to pull out.
“Lady Argyle, come on. Did the young duchess hit you?”
“Sir Dart, don’t talk nonsense. That noble lady? Just by looking at her, you can tell she’s the type who wouldn’t lift a finger and would just smile while drying blood.”
“No, it’s just that Lady Argyle giving up doesn’t make sense to me. Don’t you agree? Since she started, she should see it through to the end!”
“That’s absolutely right.”
What’s wrong with you guys? You’re not even gamblers who fold before the game even begins. Edith frowned and turned away from them. And asked the marquis to terminate the contract.
“Your Excellency, marquis. With my lack of ability, I can’t possibly handle the duke’s daughter, so please break off the engagement with me.”
The marquis was basically a man of common sense. He was arrogant and unruly, but generally fair and reasonable.
He was not only kind to those who feared him for no reason, but could talk as long as he kept his manners in a confident manner.
Edith was able to say that she could not pretend to be a fake fiancée because she knew the marquis. Never had he been rejected when asked sincerely, looking him in the eye. She thought it would be the same this time. She even smiled fearlessly in her dark green eyes.
“I refuse. You can’t do that.”
She never imagined that answer would come back. Edith, who received an unexpected cold answer, was embarrassed and stammered her words.
“What? Why…”
“If it can’t be done, then it can’t be done.”
“Your Excellency!”
“Not just you, everyone. Listen carefully. Galloway’s daughter should know Edith as my fiancée, so watch your words and actions.”
“…”
“Answers.”
“All right.”
“All right. Then disband.”
The marquis, who only retorted what he had to say, went out without another word. Edith, belatedly thinking that she should catch him, jumped to her feet, but the marquis had already left and the door was closed again.
Still, it seemed a little too much to pass on all the work, so the marquis formally confronted the young duchess that evening.
He called the main vassals into the largest drawing room, and introduced and greeted them in turn. Edith had to endure the pain of keeping the seat next to the Marquis because she couldn’t get rid of the fake fiancée status of the marquis of Rodian.
In fact, being close to the marquis itself was not a big deal. The cause of Edith’s pain was that she was caught between the marquis and the young duchess and was struck. It was brutal from the start. The young duchess reached out her hand, but the marquis ignored it with a stern look. The attitude said ‘Don’t even dream of me greeting you by kissing the back of your hand.’
“This is Viola Galloway. It’s been a long time, Your Excellency.”
“It’s Alpheus Rodian. I thought I’d never see you again, and I’m sorry it turned out like this.”
In any case, it was regrettable that she wanted to be engaged, so in the beginning, the young duchess tried to talk calmly and softly. Even though the marquis struck her roughly without a moment of hesitation, she did not lift an eyebrow and acted as if she had heard something very generous. Edith, who was watching, did not know whether to admire her acting skills or her cunningness.
“While His Excellency was away, I was treated well by Lady Argyle’s hospitality.”
“I feel bad about putting on a big burden on her, while she’s busy being the mistress of the estate.”
“Oh, did I burden her? Well, even in the royal capital, it’s not common for someone like me to visit the mansion.”
“If my father tried to force me, who would have refused? Just like this time.”
However, the marquis did not back down a single word and made her embarrassed.
“Well, Lady Galloway, who came all this far in person, is even more amazing than her great father.”
“What do you mean…”
“I’m sure you know, but do you mind if I say it myself?”
It felt suffocating, as if just drinking water or even taking a breath would cause her to collapse. Yet, there were a few more exchanges of words between the marquis and Lady Galloway. It would be more appropriate to say that the marquis, with the upper hand, unilaterally bombarded the conversation. The words were so harsh that it chilled Edith’s blood as she listened from the side. However, she couldn’t dare to intervene.
“Have you finished speaking, marquis?”
“No, there’s no end to it. But most of the words lady wouldn’t understand even if she heard them, so let’s stop. I’ll save what I have to say to your father.”
When the marquis was a fourteen-year-old boy, his aunt was expelled from the queen’s post. The shocked father collapsed and passed away, and after his father’s death, he was followed by his mother, who completely stopped eating and drinking.
At that very moment the Duke of Galloway unilaterally declared that he would break the engagement and cut off all interactions between the families. Now that the power relationship had changed, he wanted to join hands again? Wasn’t it too much?
“Your Excellency, marquis!”
“If you dare to listen to your father once more, you will have to be prepared again.”
The face of the young duchess, who could not quench her sense of humiliation, hardened. Edith knew she’d say she was leaving.
“I’ve said enough greetings, so I’ll leave today.”
“Where do you mean?”
“To my accommodation which you have given me.”
“It is only until today that I save my words.”
It wasn’t that the young duchess didn’t understand the warning. But she rose slowly and bowed gracefully as if nothing unpleasant had happened.
“Oh my.”
However, the look in the eyes of the princess of the duke as she straightened her bent waist was no joke. It was a short moment, and when Edith blinked, the young duchess had already turned around and could not see it again, but she did not seem to have misread it.
What do you mean by those eyes? No matter what she did, she looked like she was going to make a big deal. So the next day, Edith, who heard that the young duchess had asked the marquis for tea time, said she would go instead without thinking twice.
“What kind of insolence that doesn’t suit you is this?”
“Since someone didn’t terminate the contract, I have to work as much as I was paid.”
“Do as you please. Be careful not to get caught up in idle talk.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
She shouldn’t have said that.
