So his gratitude came naturally. Since there were strict orders for the Grand Duchess to handle the furniture purchase and arrangement anyway, the butler wanted to completely part ways with that ever-growing list of items the Grand Duke kept breaking.
Too many events harmful to mental health were occurring in the castle. Kaela, seeing the butler flee with such a pale face for the first time, turned her gaze to the furniture list.
He had broken quite a variety. Was the Grand Duke unable to control his overflowing strength, or were the castle furnishings so old that they broke easily at the slightest touch? Probably both.
‘Should I say this is for the best?’
The Lusenford Castle, which was embarrassingly shabby, needed to be completely overhauled anyway.
But while this was good for the castle staff, it wasn’t good for Kaela at all. Although she had a good eye for quality furniture and skilled carpenters, honestly, she didn’t want to get involved in any work here.
‘…I just don’t want to do anything.’
She wanted to lie powerlessly and wait for death day by day, but the Grand Duke had broken even the sofa she could have sprawled on, and thoroughly smashed the bed too.
The chair he had first broken today had been hastily made and arrived, and now he had torn apart the sofa in the study as well.
Although she hadn’t been to his study yet, Kaela knew well what that boring sofa in the study looked like and how it felt.
‘It was old, certainly.’
It was an extremely Lusenford-like sofa – old, tacky, aged, and crudely built without a hint of elegant antiquity.
In every room of this castle, there was always at least one piece of furniture that was jarringly ugly, and the sofa in Peon’s study was just like that. It was somewhat satisfying that it would now be used as firewood, but what could be done?
After contemplating, Kaela finally stood up. After all, she needed to visit the study again to place a new order.
Wrapped tightly in fur, she was carefully descending the stairs through the cold corridor when, unexpectedly, Peon was standing in front of the stairs leading to the study.
“Your Highness.”
“Where are you headed?”
He asked naturally, extending his arm to Kaela.
“I heard that the sofa in the study was damaged…”
Though whether it was truly damaged or forcibly torn apart by rough hands was uncertain.
Kaela held his arm and carefully descended the stairs. She couldn’t understand how checking the spaces where damaged furniture had been removed had become a daily routine.
“Embarrassingly, the furniture throughout the castle seems to have weak durability due to age.”
Kaela gaped at Peon in disbelief.
Had this man always been so brazen? The expression on his smooth face remained unchanged. Kaela’s body swayed, too stunned to speak.
“The stairs are just as old.”
In an instant, an arm wrapped around her waist, lightly lifting her before she could fall. It would have been disastrous if she had fallen like this.
Peon, who had been waiting after calculating when Kaela would come out after Rolf’s pale-faced report to the Grand Duchess, shuddered at the weight he felt on one arm. Since remarrying Kaela, he had become afraid of too many things.
“Your Highness, are you eating well?”
Food. Kaela’s eyelashes trembled slightly. She suffered from a hunger that seemed like it would haunt her even after death, but due to the mistaken consumption of tour berry, her digestion was terrible.
“I’m eating as the doctor prescribed.”
Soft liquid diet, or easily digestible soft egg dishes, gradually progressing to well-boiled vegetable dishes.
She wanted to eat more, but even slightly exceeding the amount often led to vomiting, so Darinka strictly limited the quantity. Eating a lot wasn’t always good. Thus, eating in Lusenford was painful.
“…Eat well.”
The hand inevitably resting on his shoulder, the waist that his one arm could fully encircle, the easily lifted weight – all of it choked Peon and tightened his throat.
“You must eat well and become healthy.”
He swiftly and lightly descended the stairs, setting Kaela down. There was no time to tell him to put her down or not.
“Thank you.”
Not knowing Peon could move her so easily, she thanked him with wide eyes.
“Aren’t you busy?”
“I’m always fine. Please come in.”
Just then, the study door was wide open as the tattered sofa was being carried out.
The torn-off right armrest dangled pitifully, barely hanging on. It seemed the sturdy sofa, reinforced with thick layers of fabric, had withstood many years, but its owner had not.
“How did you manage to do this to the sofa…?”
“I just gently pushed it with my hand, and it ended up like this. I’m quite bewildered myself. I’m ashamed of the terrible durability of our furniture.”
The sofa, so faded that its original color was long forgotten, had been covered to hide its worn parts.
Thanks to the Grand Duke, all the worn, faded, and stained parts were now fully exposed. It was like a representation of Lusenford Castle’s true state, which had been barely pretending to be worthy of a Grand Duke.
With a poor household depending on the Emperor’s sympathetic subsidies, all redirected to military expenses, poverty was inevitable. And with a penniless Grand Duchess added to the mix, how they must have resented her for just consuming food.
The air felt prickly. Somewhere in this castle, hostility towards her lingered. Kaela concealed her emotions behind a composed expression.
“I’ll make sure to pay attention to durability when ordering new furniture.”
Her calm and respectful attitude, her efficiency in checking the space where the sofa had been removed and considering a suitable replacement while answering, and above all, her voice more befitting of a secretary than the actual secretary – it was all impeccable.
Even Regen, who had been in the study, was surprised enough to stare at the Grand Duchess.
“It would be best to replace everything. The sofa in my bedroom is still in good condition, so I’ll have that sent down temporarily. Please use it until the new sofa is ready.”
Does he mean the sofa that matched those hideous curtains? By the time all the study sofas are replaced, that hot pink sofa will be carried out in the same state as the one just removed, rather than returning to the Grand Duchess’s bedroom. The master of this study had so decided.
“I’ll do that.”
After answering, Peon turned to Regen, who had been waiting for a chance to greet the Grand Duchess. His slightly uneasy attitude as he watched the two of them seemed unusual.
“Ah, hello, Your Highness. I’m Regen Nerkel, secretary to His Highness the Grand Duke. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Kaela received another greeting from someone she already knew.
“Nice to meet you.”
“I look forward to working with you. Actually, a notification has arrived from Crania.”
These days, seeming like he had become a bear, the Grand Duke had been tearing apart the Lusenford furniture that even to Regen’s eyes was crudely sturdy, built only to last long without any aesthetic consideration. With the Grand Duke glaring behind the petite Grand Duchess, Regen felt he needed to quickly state his business.
After all, Regen was more fragile than furniture.
Peon received an envelope mixed with gold and red colors from Regen and opened it. The contents were brief.
“…His Majesty is sending an investigator.”
Purple eyes met piercingly clear blue eyes.
“It seems the incident where you were injured at the banquet has been reported.”
Kaela lowered her gaze. Now the air wasn’t just prickly; its density had increased, painfully pressing down on her.
She was always the first to notice how others perceived her. This time, she’d be seen as the troublesome woman who called for the Emperor’s investigator. That’s about right, she thought.
