Chapter 22

The third method. Making my side. (2)

“Madam, please accept the pledge of loyalty.”

No one covets the position of Duke DeMancier, who spends half a year on the battlefield, said the 2nd Knight Commander, who stays in the Duke’s Castle and guards the castle just in case. I asked with my eyes wide open, wondering if that man I saw was Oscar or a dream.

“Who voted for the escort?”

“I decided after discussing it with the leader.”

Mrs. Blone came forward and replied. I looked at her and asked.

“There’s a familiar face, and as I remember it, he is a knight of the Count Petrika. Is it okay to select Carl’s escort from outside?”

I purposely fixed my eyes on Lady Blone and asked. Oscar would know I was talking about him, but he didn’t come forward. She said she was worried about the safety of Carl, the Duke’s only successor, so why would she choose a Knight of the Count Petrika, and ultimately my ex-fiancé, in place of those who have been loyal to the Duke for a long time?

Lady Blone answered my question without a sign of embarrassment.

“Count Petrika is the Grandfather of Young Master. The Count sent me an outstanding Knight because he was worried about his grandchild.”

I felt like I was going to laugh. Lady Blone didn’t even try to hide that she picked an escort because she was worried about me as a stepmother now. She was now blatantly warning that Count Petrika was watching me. Indeed, Lady Blone was the choice of Count Petrika in the first place.

My anger went up sharply. It’s not enough to make a maiden with a bright future, who even had a fiancé, a nanny for her grandchild, so he didn’t hide his intention to keep me in check because now he thinks I’ll be more than a nanny! And how ridiculous I must have looked to be warned in this way!

“Is there a problem?”

Is it my delusion of damage that Lady Blone’s expression always looks like, ‘What if you have a problem?’ With a slight bite on her lip, I looked her in the eye and said.

Is it my paranoia of persecution of Lady Blone that her face seem to question, ‘What would you do if you had a problem?’ Biting my lip slightly, I looked into her eyes and said.

“I’m uncomfortable with my ex-fiancé.”

It was the result of a brief agony. You have to hold out because you hate it. Carl’s escort would watch me and Carl for as long as I spent with him. My ex-fiancé as an escort, and if they was really unlucky, they could have covered up the allegations of an affair. Now that I think about it, it was also on my mind that all three escort Knights were outstanding beautiful knights. Yeah, usually with good-looking knights around, they’re both eye-catching and ostentatious, but Carl was the only heir to the Duke of DeMancier. The loyal and highly capable knights were in the right position to protect him.

Lady Blone looked a little surprised. She didn’t think I’d talk about the existence of my ex-fiancé first. But she answered, managing her expression skillfully.

“But wouldn’t it be okay now that it’s been a year since the Duchess married the Duke? If you don’t have any feelings.”

Are you trying to say that I’m conscious of and avoiding the Oscar because I have feelings for my ex-fiancé? I was hesitant to pretend I didn’t know because the rumor would go around like that, but it was still much better to block Oscar from the source than to spend time together with him as Carl’s escort.

“I don’t feel much.”

“Then…”

When I flatly denied it, and cut off what Lady Blone was trying to say. It was obvious what she had to say without hearing it. If you don’t have feelings, then you can use him as an escort.

“However, if you are an escort driver for Karl, you will spend more time with me, so wouldn’t Gellerhard be uncomfortable? I’ll pick another escort.”

I deliberately mentioned the Duke. For these people, it worked much better to say a word of nonsense as if it were the Duke’s will than to say a hundred words of my own will. And the Duke wouldn’t be mad at me for using his name. If that’s the case, I’ll do something good for him.

“This time, please investigate the candidates’ histories and let me know as well. I’m picking Young Master’s escort Knight from DeMancier, and I, Duchess of DeMancier, should pay attention.”

I meant to show me a candidate and ask for permission, not to notify me after picking like now. As Carl’s stepmother, as the Duchess of DeMancier, I could ask for this much. I turned away from further objections. It was the first time I shook her off in such a backlash because I had Lady Blone as my staff and I always listened to her. Lady Blone looked perplexed, but she did not dare to stop me, who had already turned. Even if she was a Countess before, there was no lady in the north who is higher than me now.

For Karl, the County of Petrika is a strong maternal family and my father is loyal to him right now, so I want to get along with the Count Petrika, but if they try to screw me in this way, I had no choice but to prepare myself. First of all, I could no longer let Lady Blone sway my surroundings in this way, acting as a spokesman for the Count Petrika. I needed a new staff, and finally I needed the ability to do the work of the Duchess and the acting lord myself.

It was no longer enough to be recognized as the Duke’s wife, or just being a good foster mother to Carl. I have to build up my strength so that I don’t get framed as a really evil stepmother.

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