♡ TL: Khadija SK
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In the living room of the Scheringen mansion, a man stood gazing out the window.
The maid who had brought him tea thought the scene looked like something out of a painting.
To begin with, it didn’t make sense how the sunlight reflected so perfectly off his soft platinum hair or how his strong physique remained evident even under thick formal clothing.
It was the first time she had ever seen such a perfect aristocrat under this mansion’s roof since the late Marquise’s death.
But the real peculiarity wasn’t his handsome and surreal appearance; it was the fact that Theodore was now married to the woman he had always avoided, even when they met face-to-face at parties—yet here he was, sitting in her mansion’s living room.
All the maids were anxious about how to handle him since he was known for his sharp temper. Moreover, he was now the husband of the mansion’s owner, and they were living under the same roof.
Naturally, the maid’s worry heightened the moment she saw him in person.
Looking at his face, she thought she needed to do her job as best as possible.
She moved quickly, placing the tea and biscuits on the table ten times faster than she normally would.
She didn’t want to disturb the grand duke.
Theodore stood by the window, staring at the garden for a long time, even after the maid left, paying no attention to her or the tea on the table.
He found it somewhat awkward that he was now sitting in the Scheringen mansion.
The thought that this was the place where Annette was born and raised made his heart pound.
But then Theodore reminded himself that this was the home of the original Annette, not the Annette he knew.
For a moment, he had forgotten that she came from another world.
It was because she played her role better than he had expected, as if this had always been her true self and her rightful place.
When Theodore realized this mansion wasn’t truly her home, he lost interest in the garden’s scenery, and his heartbeat returned to its normal rhythm.
There were no childhood memories of Annette to be found here.
Theodore walked toward the sofa and sat down, sipping the now cold, scentless tea that had lost all flavor.
Just as he was about to pick up the teacup and consider asking for a warm one, he heard the sound of footsteps in the hallway.
As far as he knew, there was only one person in the world who could walk so lightly and gracefully with such a steady rhythm.
“I heard you were waiting for me?”
As expected, it was Annette.
Annette stared at Theodore with a curious look before quickly sitting on the sofa.
Theodore downed the cold tea in one gulp to calm his heart, which had started pounding with excitement again.
He didn’t mind the unpleasant taste of the cold tea at all.
Annette sighed and slumped onto the long sofa.
The sunlight gently caressed her closed eyes.
He had been told there was only one sun in this world, but the sunlight that brushed against her sleepy eyelids felt entirely different from the sunlight Theodore was used to seeing every day.
“I failed to persuade Aunt Cassilia. I barely started talking, and she rejected the offer outright.”
“I expected that, which is why I told you not to bother trying.”
Annette had wanted to convince Cassilia to take her side somehow.
She didn’t have a concrete reason, but she had a strong feeling that it would be the best decision for her as the new head of the family.
Of course, Annette had utterly failed to win Cassilia over.
“But still, you did well. Good job.”
Annette didn’t realize it, but this was the first compliment Theodore had ever given anyone in his life.
“Do you really think I did well? Honestly, I think I might have wounded Aunt Cassilia’s pride without meaning to.”
“That’s the best part. She must be furious right now, so she’ll take care of the people you don’t need in this house for you.”
Unlike Annette, Theodore’s approach was to push Cassilia off the edge.
When a person is cornered, some will simply fall, while others will claw their way back up, desperately fighting to survive.
Cassilia was the latter.
She would form new alliances out of greed for the Scheringen title, and Theodore’s plan was to eliminate the people who would side with her before they could become a threat to Annette in the future.
“It’s a bit of a waste.”
Annette straightened her posture, unconsciously picking up a cookie in front of her and taking a bite.
“Hmm? It doesn’t taste very good, but strangely, I’m used to it. Is it because the original owner of this body was accustomed to the taste?”
When Annette curiously took another bite of the half-eaten cookie, Theodore also reached out and picked one up from the plate.
He was curious about the taste of the cookies, something he hadn’t tried since childhood, and now Annette—the Annette he knew—was eating them.
Perhaps he was simply curious about what Annette was eating.
After that, in the quiet living room, the only sound was that of them chewing the cookies.
Theodore poured more tea into the cup he had emptied earlier.
Strangely, the scent of the previously flavorless and odorless tea reappeared, and it tasted genuinely delightful.
***
The disturbances that occurred in the conference hall of the Scheringen mansion made headlines and became the source of all gossip in the capital.
Rumors that Annette had officially become the Marquess of Scheringen spread everywhere.
Theodore gathered all the articles mentioning Annette’s name and read them with intense focus.
Hans watched him with growing impatience, already losing his composure.
“Aren’t you going to pay any attention to my report?”
“Be quiet and let me concentrate.”
“Concentrate on what? You’re just reading articles about Her Grace!”
“If you had a report worth listening to, I would have listened. Also, I’m not reading articles about that woman; I’m just reading the newspaper, but her name pops up everywhere. Open it to any page, and her name appears instantly.”
“Her name appears because Your Grace collected all the newspapers related to that woman!”
Hans lost his patience and spoke loudly.
Theodore folded the newspaper he was reading and threw it on the table with a loud thud.
“Just because the Grand Duchess yelled at me doesn’t mean you can do the same.”
“Then listen when I give you a report.”
Theodore’s voice was cold, but Hans ignored it and remained stubborn.
Recently, his master had become extremely sensitive about anything concerning the Grand Duchess, so the best response Hans could muster was to ignore him before Theodore launched into one of his lengthy, childish dramas that would last until dawn.
“The gamekeeper is still missing. He’s hiding better than we expected.”
“Either he fled somewhere difficult to reach, or he anticipated our pursuit and set a trap, waiting for us to fall into it.”
Theodore rested his chin on his hand, lost in thought.
The gamekeeper had heard something and fled before they could capture him.
Theodore had thought they would catch him soon, but the man had been hiding exceptionally well, like a rat.
This indicated that someone was helping him.
“Find out who is aiding his escape.”
Hans nodded and placed other documents on the desk.
Primarily, these papers contained information about the individual Annette had suggested they hire and the gamekeeper they needed to eliminate.
While sipping tea after their long conversation, Theodore suddenly asked something.
“Did you find him?”
“… Who?”
“That man.”
“Could you at least form a complete sentence? Who the hell are you talking about?”
As always, Theodore posed a question without providing any context.
This wasn’t something Theodore had started doing yesterday or the day before.
Hans had worked with Theodore for years, and despite being a lawyer by profession, he still struggled to grasp Theodore’s meaning at times.
“The owner of the ring.”
Theodore raised his ring-bearing finger.
Hans managed to deduce whom Theodore was referring to.
Theodore meant the man who had handed over the family head’s ring on the day Marquis Burkhardt Scheringen had died.
On the day of the Scheringen murder, a man had brought a box containing a ring, claiming Annette had sent him.
He had been terrified, dressed in rags, looking dazed, and unable to speak properly.
That ring wasn’t something just anyone could possess, so Theodore tried to identify him through questioning, but the man had suddenly disappeared.
“He committed suicide.”
Theodore’s expression darkened.
“Wasn’t he supposed to die? I thought you were going to get rid of him anyway.”
“He was supposed to die in the manner we planned. Suicide was unexpected. Is resolving matters this leniently acceptable?”
“I’ll be more cautious next time.”
Theodore wasn’t bothered by the man’s death; it was the way he had died that was the issue.
“Did you buy the southern mines?”
“Please give me some time!”
Hans wondered if the Grand Duchess had been there with them, would Theodore’s reaction have been slightly different?
“And there’s an interesting rumor circulating.”
After the bet involving the mermaid statue, intriguing rumors had spread throughout the capital, Laider.
A trivial rumor claimed that the mermaid statue, resembling the goddess of victory at the bow of a ship, symbolized Annette, the wife of Grand Duke Theodore Kleist.
And following that, a joke resembling a prophecy spread, claiming that Theodore would receive the goddess’s blessing, defeat Hugo, and emerge victorious in the future.
“Who spread these rumors?”
“They were orchestrated by Her Highness, the Grand Duchess.”
Annette was the one who spread these rumors.
She had crafted the two main characters of a fairy tale, but no one had yet predicted how this story— which had begun like a fable—would end.
“Perhaps that’s why the sculptor came to the palace that day. He said he wanted to return the favor and asked us to call for him anytime if we needed an artistic piece sculpted. He also said he wouldn’t require any payment.”
“Is that something he should be grateful for?”
“That’s because the second biggest beneficiary of the Mermaid Statue bet was that sculptor.”
“And who was the first?”
“Who do you think? It’s you.”
Theodore was momentarily speechless.
People spoke of Theodore’s victory whenever they passed by the statue, and the hundreds of defeats he had suffered in the past were forgotten, erased by a single dramatic triumph.
With just one suggestion from Annette, Theodore had become the luckiest man in Laider.
So, indeed, he was the greatest beneficiary.
“What’s the Grand Duchess’s schedule today?”
“She’s probably painting a portrait of herself right now.”
“Is the painter supposed to come today?”
Theodore rose from his seat and adjusted his clothes.
As he absentmindedly placed his hands on his waist, he felt a slight sting from the wound he had treated that morning.
Thinking about it, security in the capital had truly become terrible these days.
Even he, who was used to all kinds of assassination attempts, had been stabbed with a knife in a crowded street.
He had heard that Annette had gone out for a stroll at dawn on a night she couldn’t sleep, wandering alone through the city center. That made Theodore wonder if her walks in the capital had become a bit too dangerous.
“Doesn’t the entire Hofjesi Street need to be cleaned up?”
“What do you mean by cleaned up?”
“The place has become dangerous. I can’t just leave things as they are. Get rid of all the thugs and pickpockets wandering around that area.”
“That’s easy for you to say.”
“And it should be just as easy to do.”
How was Hans supposed to accomplish something that even the city’s guard force couldn’t manage?
As always, Theodore, who simply issued orders, never considered the circumstances of his subordinates.
Hans tried to express his frustration, but Theodore had already turned to leave the room.
“Where are you going after issuing such a marvelous order?”
“To visit the Goddess of Victory.”
The footsteps of the person who claimed he was going to visit the Goddess of Victory were quick and oddly reminiscent of a duckling rushing to catch up with its mother.
Seeing Theodore’s behavior, which was growing more shameless by the day, Hans grabbed his own hair in frustration.
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T/N: poor Hans … He deserves a rise in his salary (≧▽≦)
