Chapter 57

I heard that the Duchess Dowager and the Duke quarreled with each other, but I had no idea that it had anything to do with me. After sending the asleep Carl to the nursery and leaving me alone in my bedroom, Gellerhard told me that he had already ordered some people to find the maid who had tried in getting me to drink that strange concoction as he told me about his day.

The first ones to face his fiery wrath were his aides. Gellerhard got mad in honor of his wife, Amanda, for letting a suspicious maid try to feed her a strange drink and his aides eventually set about finding the maid right away.

The aides then told me that in order for them to find the maid who had been kicked out, they needed the documents which got filled out when the maid was initially hired. During the process of unearthing the documents, Gellerhard found out that all the work that had been related to the Duchess’s maids and servants was the work of the Duchess. His anger then shifted to Mrs. May, the head maid, who was now acting in my place. Unlike Mrs. May, who apologized for committing a mortal sin by lying flat right away, the Duchess Dowager raised her voice by asking why he was talking loudly instead and the two started getting into a heated argument. Gellerhard did not say what he and the Duchess Dowager had talked about during the fight though.

“What if I got into a fight like that with Mother then? She stayed in the South because of me and had now come back on purpose while continuing to work as well…”

I became so nervous that my heart was already pounding and beating fast. It was true that I felt sorry for the Duchess Dowager who had to pretend not to know that I was in danger, but she still had been a mother-in-law who welcomed me quite warmly. She had already been doing everything for me for over a year—for me who couldn’t really play the role of the Duchess just yet.

What if they misunderstood that I had manipulated Gellerhard into fighting with her? At that moment, some pompous thoughts began crossing my mind.

Anxiety and irritation welled up within me, but I was rendered speechless when I saw Gellerhard had his head down along with his drooping shoulders. He said that he was doing it for me, but how embarrassed he must have been to hear such criticism right away.

“I’m sorry, Mandy. I will go and apologize to my mother right now.”

With an addition to the dejected voice, it also sounded very sad, so I hurriedly comforted him.

“Gellerhard, I know what’s in your heart. You were only trying to protect me.”

“……”

“Thank you. No one will dare to hurt me now, even if Gellerhard were to be afraid.”

As I patted his large hands tightly with both of mine, Gellerhard raised his head. There was a sullen look inside those beautiful purple eyes of his.

“I know I am stupid.”

“Huh?”

“What I’m really good at is just ignorantly wielding a sword on the battlefield while decapitating monsters. Mandy, I wish that I could protect you with something like that.”

“What do you mean?”

With an end to his unexpected self-deprecation, Gellerhard pressed his lips together once again. A sense of disappointment in himself leaked from his tightly pursed lips. He was born as the only heir to the Duke of DeMancier, the ruler of the north, and he was raised as a Duke’s successor before he eventually became a Duke himself. He had always been told that he was a knight as well as a general on the battlefield, so he was in good shape. On top of that, his swordsmanship was excellent and he had been good at planning strategies as well. During the winter, he would work as the Lord while preparing for war yet again. Gellerhard, the current Duke of DeMancier, was an outstanding and handsome man even to me, his own wife.

I moved my head to follow the gaze of his dark purple eyes. As his eyes met mine, Gellerhard turned his head slightly to avoid me. After repeating that hide-and-seek game for a couple of times, I then put my hands around Gellerhard’s head.

“Gellerhard. You’re just silly and that is definitely a stupid idea.”

I forced him to raise his head and meet his eyes again.

“Gellerhard is good at swordsmanship as well as planning many strategies. Since you are always mobilizing the knights and the soldiers. Oh, yeah. Gellerhard must have been good at great things like moving so many people around. I’m not good at that.”

I ran my thumb through his hair and tickled his ear. Gellerhard’s shoulders twitched when I did that, which made me wonder if the fact was the same for Carl too.

“Don’t you think like that and don’t say that. I’ve never thought of you that way. There’s no other man like you at all. So, that self-criticism of yours—it’s nonsense, really.”

“Yes…”

Gellerhard’s hand slowly covered mine. I had to pretend that I didn’t see his eyes were already moist when he gave a nod.

“I want to apologize to my mother.”

“Would you like me to go with you?”

“No, I can do it on my own.”

He put my hand down as if to hide his face and jumped up. I hoped that they would reconcile amicably as I watched his back when he walked away courageously.

Fortunately, the Duchess Dowager took care of him and sent him back after saying that she knew too well that Gellerhard was only worried about me. She also felt sorry for me, but when her son pointed it out and raised his voice, she was moved to tears right away.