Chapter 118

118 – Daily Routine

As soon as he received approval from the emperor, Noel hurried to prepare for their wedding. He also restricted access to the Grand Duchy as much as possible to prevent people from approaching Irene. Restricting access to the Kristen Residence was an act overreaching his normal authority, but Noel’s case was different.

“The Grand Duke has been approved by His Majesty!”

“His Excellency has acknowledged Lady Irene Chase!”

These two facts led people around him to regard him as more than just by his status. If he wrapped up the marriage safely, he would soon inherit the right of succession and become the head, Grand Duke of the Kristen Duchy. Furthermore, since the current Grand Duke supported his marriage, there was no one in the estate who went against his orders. Who would dare rebel against the destined Grand Duke? Irene in the meantime, was distracted by her own matters.

“I’ll make the most beautiful wedding dress in history!”

The fault lay with the person she was currently involved with. The designer who had curated her dress for the 700th anniversary banquet was also designing her wedding dress — at Irene’s recommendation. The designer, who’d regarded Irene as a bystander, almost had a heart attack when she learnt she would be the future Madame. She was too busy fretting over whether she had been rude or if she had perchance made an error in the design at that time.

However, when she heard that Irene herself recommended her as the wedding dress designer, she was ecstatic. She could not believe that she had been entrusted to design the most important wedding dress of a lifetime! There was no room for flaws. She had to make the greatest masterpiece of her life. She  vowed over and over again. The enthusiasm was indisputable and carried itself even when she visited the Grand Duchy. But Irene was overwhelmed by her passion.

I’m tired.

The designer had stated not even an inch of error could be tolerated, and had measured Irene in the same area five times. She’d placed hundreds of fabrics on Irene’s skin to colour match it. She also wanted Irene to choose one of the hundred designs that for the ordinary person — looked the exact same. The differences between them were subtle and minute. When Irene made her choice, the designer had changed it and asked her to choose once again. Irene, who usually had a keen eye for observation, had her head spun. She kept looking at the designs, but could not tell the difference, and the more she looked, it seemed her eyes were spinning.

At the end of the day, Louiselle, who had it worse than her, drove out the designer. The larger problem at hand was that Irene’s tasks that she had to do, simply did not end there. When the designer returned and Irene sat on the bed, Louiselle knelt down and offered to give her a foot massage. At first, the foot massage was rather awkward and uncomfortable, but after a few more sessions, it grew on her. The massages became natural to receive.

“Thank you Louiselle…”

‘Knock, knock.’

“It’s the rickshaw.”

Just as she was about to thank Louiselle and give her her feet, the head maid’s voice and knocking rang.

“It’s time to go.”

*cycle

Irene let out an involuntary sigh. Louiselle grabbed her sword.

“Should we kick her out?”

“No, it’s okay. Massage me later.”

“…alright.”

Irene wore her shoes once again and raised her body which had been exhausted from being held captive by the designer all day. Although she was not weak in stamina, Irene’s recent schedule was so hectic that it was even hard for people with strong stamina to endure. In the morning, she was caught by the designer, and swung around as if she were a doll. In the afternoon, she had to cycle with the head maid. It was because before the ceremony, she had to learn a plethora of things that she needed to know, in order to command the Grand Duchy as the Madame. The residence was large and complex to look around in one glance, so it took a few days to go around. Still, she had to go a few more rounds on the rickshaw to fill in the gaps. After hearing the maid’s explanation in such a cycle, she had to dine with Noel. Noel similarly, was also exhausted from preparing for the ceremony, but he never showed it in front of her.

Wishing this meal would last as long as possible, Irene ate as slowly as she could. Seeing this, Noel matched her pace. Thus the dinner, which had begun at sunset, ended only after the moon had fully risen. Afterwards, she received a foot massage from Louiselle and went to bed reflecting on her day-long activities. That was what Irene’s daily routine looked like these days.