Chapter 10

Second method. Recognized as the Duke’s Wife (3)

Half of the year was the best choice for me, the current selection, to protect the Duke who was on the battlefield and his young heir, Carl. On behalf of the absent duke, the Duchess was also acting lord, so the butler and the Duke’s administrative aides worked closely with me, and everyone’s response was no different from that of the Countess.

It was still a little lacking, but the situation is like this, so it can’t be helped. It’s better than expected. How much? I also didn’t think I was a ‘real’ Duchess, so I felt like a ‘proxy’ Duchess acting on behalf of Merilyn, so I approached it with that kind of heart. My main job is Carl’s mother. A mother who pours a lot of love into her child.

Carl grew day by day with a lot of love from me.

Half a year passed quickly and by the time the first snow fell, the Duke returned. The war on the border, which was only described in the book, was much more serious than my vague imagination, and half of the soldiers who had left in good health were injured, some of the knights were killed and others looked very tired.

In between, only the Duke was upright. His posture on the horse was straight and his eyes under the helmet were sharp. It was also the reason why the castle and the duke of DeMancier could not be coveted by other that he left for half a year due to the war. Duke of DeMancier of the north is a man who carried the geographical war on the border, and yet is probably the strongest knight in the Empire who comes back from that war every year.

Watching the Duke’s procession from inside the castle through the window, I patted Carl in my arms. This little baby grows into such a bold man, protects the North, and later falls in passionate love, achieving the peace of the past.

“Carl, I hope Young Master grows up as soon as possible.”

It would be nice if there were any other methods, but there was no way to speed up the peace between monsters and humans as Carl and Dragon fell in love. I want Carl to always be like a baby angel in my arms, but on the day I witnessed the remnants of the war like today, I thought differently.

The Duke disbanded the soldiers and knights, and the butler and administrative aide approached the Duke who got off the horse. Seeing the three of them talking, I also started moving with Carl in my arms.

Both the Viscount and Baroness, who are Carl’s nannies, were women whose husbands were Knights that went to war with the Duke, so both had left to meet their husbands with their children. The Knights stayed in the castle for a while and today was the first day before returning to their respective territories and hometowns.

The Duke’s kitchen has been frantic since three days ago, as there will have a big feast with a lot of food and they distribute the remaining food to the people outside the castle tomorrow. There was a smell of food all over the Duke’s castle.

We also checked the condition of the hall and kitchen where the dinner will be held and made sure that the Knights entered the rooms assigned to them. And of course there’s enough alcohol. They made an unintended mistake before going to war, so they put everything into this dinner.

The Duke and knights, who had returned from the battlefield and washed themselves, gathered in the hall at the bell to announce the evening time and began dinner, and I arrived a little late because I was changing Carl’s diaper just before I left. Just thinking that I was late for the celebration where I had to participate as a Duchess, I rushed to the banquet hall with Carl in my arms.

The banquet hall was so noisy and loud that a hushed and chattering voice could be heard above the hallway in the distance. When I went down near the banquet hall, it was noisy and bustling, with servants busily running with empty bottles of alcohol and entering with grilled pork full of plates. Carl looked around the noisy area curiously.

Standing at the entrance of the banquet hall, I heard someone singing a song at the top of their voice. I took a deep breath listening to the clap and the chorus. I have to go in quietly and sit like I’ve been here since the beginning. Using both arms to hug Carl, who has become very heavy these days, I winked at the servant at the entrance. The servant hesitated.

Disappointed by the reaction, I turned around and tried to look for a maid, but the maids who helped dress me up were no longer followed me.

“Where did they go?”

I wondered, but when I saw the servant again in a hurry, he opened the door. I sneaked into the banquet hall, smelling like a pork belly restaurant on a company dinner day, mixed with the smell of meat and alcohol. It was a door near the upper seat where the Duke and the Duchess sat, so as soon as I entered, I could see the Duke’s back while eating, and the aides and Lords who occupied him on both sides. They were all drinking, raising their voices, and eating. It was completely, completely different from the dinners I occasionally attended at the Countess of Petrika or with my close family and friends from my own home.

Above all, there was no woman. Of course, there were many married men who had a longing wife in their hometowns, but the Viscountess and Baroness, Carl’s nannies, were not present, and even those carrying empty plates were all male servants.

I momentarily judged that I came in the wrong way. However, others first found me standing at the entrance and observing the situation.

“It’s a lady!”

“It’s a woman!”

As if they had never seen a woman before, their eyes and fingers turned to me with a loud cry. I was embarrassed as I hugged Carl tightly. I felt an unknown fear in the gaze of men pouring out, saying, “It’s a woman!” The Duke approached me, leaving me frozen like a frog in front of a snake.

“Why are you here – let’s get out of here.”

He gestured as if he was covering my shoulder but his hand didn’t touch my body, but I could still feel the stability just by him coming up to me. I followed him along. Carl clutched my clothes tightly as if he were nervous, and I hugged him tightly. There was a whistling sound from behind me.