In short, it contributed perfectly to making the room tacky and terrible. Kaela had never loved that room.
“We should just rip it all out and throw it away. Such horrible curtains shouldn’t exist in this world,” said Denise, shuddering at the thought of having such colors in the room, insisting that the Grand Duchess’s bedroom couldn’t be like this.
“It might be okay if the walls were pitch black or pure white,” Cecile suggested.
Denise replied with a disgruntled voice, “Even if we remove all the tassels and decorations, it would be ‘barely’ acceptable. But the color is still too tacky. Honestly…, since it’s just Your Highness and us here, I’ll say this: the curtains here aren’t much better. They’re a dull brown color.”
“That’s true, Your Highness. Besides, they’re too old and worn out. Is Lusenford’s finances that bad?” Cecile’s eyes were full of concern. It was unthinkable that our precious princess would marry into such a poor place.
“It’s not so much that, but His Highness the Grand Duke simply doesn’t care about these things,” Kaela said. He seemed to dress well enough, but he was the type who thought that a living space only needed to serve its basic function.
“Even so, this is too…too…” As Denise struggled to finish her sentence, Kaela completed it for her.
“Cheap-looking.”
“Yes!”
Although Kaela understood why the maids were so worried, she didn’t say anything more. It would be pointless to explain that the local nobles had arbitrarily decided the standard for the Grand Duke’s residence.
Those without taste, who dared to secretly think of Peon as their son, thought the authority of the Grand Duke’s residence was the same as their own homes.
‘If only Her Majesty the Empress had visited even once, this wouldn’t have happened.’
But the Emperor had kept the Empress confined to the palace, making it impossible for her to go anywhere.
The people of Lusenford admired Crania all the more because they didn’t know it accurately, and because they didn’t know, they treated the Grand Duke according to their own standards. Their claim of serving more nobly and more completely had somehow changed to ‘this should be good enough’.
So Kaela, who had experienced the Emperor’s glory and the empire’s prosperity firsthand in Ostein and Crania, felt beyond bewilderment to humiliation.
But what could she do? There was nothing she could do. And so, as the Grand Duke’s authority had sunk to that level, the Grand Duchess’s authority didn’t even exist and was buried as it was.
‘…Let’s stop thinking about it.’
Kaela quickly rifled through the curtain fabric samples spread out before her.
Whether she was crazy, or dead and dreaming, or this was reality, it wasn’t the fault of the current people of Lusenford. Or rather, they hadn’t ‘yet’ committed such sins. It wasn’t right to blame them for sins they hadn’t committed.
But the nobles, including the head maid, had already committed sins on the first day she arrived in Lusenford.
‘These thoughts…’
They wouldn’t stop.
“This one would be good.”
So, she should just focus on the work. Although the result might not be great, Kaela immersed herself in the task anyway.
“Let’s use this deep blue velvet. We can tear down those old curtains and use them as insulation covers in the stables or blankets for the children in the castle.”
Originally, it was common sense to change castle curtains every season, but since winter was exceptionally long in Lusenford, they needed to prepare winter curtains first.
Blue for winter, and for spring… Kaela’s gaze fell on a purple fabric that resembled the color of Peon’s eyes. Would it be too heavy? She wasn’t sure.
“Your Highness, what about your bedroom?” Denise’s eyes, swearing to tear down that gaudy hot pink velvet and tassels, were filled with an almost maniacal gleam.
“…Well? Wouldn’t this dark green be nice?”
“That’s too plain! It’s supposed to be a new bride’s room!”
“Winter leaves us no choice.”
“Then at least make it light green for spring. Please, Your Highness.”
Kaela just smiled, unable to answer easily.
The bright light green, the modest olive, and the dignified dark green mixed with emerald were all beautiful. Simply tying them with golden curtain cords or letting them hang would completely change the dreary atmosphere of the bedroom.
But was it okay to do so? How could she change so many curtains? Couldn’t she just change the Grand Duke’s bedroom curtains? The Grand Duchess’s bedroom curtains were new, and changing them might be seen as wasteful.
After all, wasn’t her bedroom just a temporary place to stay before leaving? She had already gotten somewhat used to the hideous interior decoration.
No, she had just become accustomed to an ugly and painful life. So, wouldn’t it be better to not do anything that could be criticized? What could she really do properly anyway?
So Kaela only changed the curtains in the Grand Duke’s bedroom. Removing the dull, faded brown curtains and replacing them with a dignified deep blue color greatly improved the room’s atmosphere.
Kaela was about to leave the Grand Duke’s bedroom. Staying longer would be impolite, but she was also afraid of being criticized for changing the curtains in the Grand Duchess’s room. This fear of even such small things was what Kaela had experienced in Lusenford.
“This is much better. As expected, Her Highness has a unique eye for these things. But what about your bedroom?” Peon looked around his room and then turned to Kaela. Kaela couldn’t help but be conscious of the butler standing behind her.
“I thought it would be more appropriate to change Your Highness’s bedroom before mine.”
The Grand Duchess didn’t exist in Lusenford. Kaela always had to put others before herself.
After all, she had been falsely accused of being the Emperor’s spy. Habits can be scarier than death sometimes. Peon glanced at Kaela, who answered skillfully, and the butler behind her, then immediately turned and left his bedroom.
‘Huh?’
Peon’s expression seemed to harden. Kaela, who had noticed even this brief change in his expression, quickly gathered her dress and followed him.
Walking at a pace that was neither slow nor fast, Peon went to the connected Grand Duchess’s bedroom and immediately pulled on the still-present hot pink velvet curtains.
“Your Highness?”
Unable to withstand a strong man’s strength, the heavy curtains fell right down. The sound of them being torn off was clearly audible. The next curtain was also mercilessly torn down.
“Your Highness!”
The butler’s startled voice was muffled by the falling curtains. Tearing down such heavy and thick velvet with one hand should be impossible even for someone very strong, but the Grand Duke who had accomplished this turned calmly to Kaela.
“It seemed like it would be difficult for you to remove them, so I just did it myself. It’s cold now that they’re gone.”
In Lusenford, curtains were essential for blocking the cold. Immediately, a chill air began to seep into the room from the now-bare windows.
“Please continue to stay in my bedroom until new curtains are hung.”
Peon said this to Kaela and the butler with a very satisfied look on his face.
