Chapter 35

12. Personally (3)

Translated by alyalia

‘I thought my family was already rich…’

I tried not to shrink as I walked along the path decorated with carpet.

‘It is always true that there is still another sky above the sky. Even though both of us are nobles, our lifestyle itself is different.’

Then we passed the high ceiling as if a dome had been raised, the paths that sparked no matter where I looked, and the hallway full of artworks. The decorations that were not easily found in the Kasius Kingdom were also noticeable.

‘Carved artworks from turquoise gems? What beast is this? It looks cute even though it has a fat body.’

Duke Jalier seemed to be enjoying the artworks from foreign kingdoms quite a lot.

“This is the room where my father is waiting for. Go in for a while and say hello to him, and when you come out, the maid will guide you to your room.”

“Can you give me an empty room for the maid I brought?”

“As you wish.”

Coming up the second floor, I had to face Duke Jalier.

“Duke, this is Vanora from the Celcius family.”

“Let her in.”

Click.

When the servant turned the doorknob, the sight in front of me was like this. Bricks with dark and heavy colors. The warm light of the burning fireplace. Duke Jalier, leaning on a large chair and looking this way… After not seeing him for a long time, he recovered his health quite a bit and gained some weight.

“Greetings, Duke.”

I took a few steps into the room and greeted him with the best etiquette I could do. With the carefully raised right hand until my chest and the other hand holding my skirt, I bent my knees to greet him.

“Sit this way.”

Then, Duke Jalier smiled softly. At the same time, he pointed to a chair of the same shape next to him.

“…”

The old man’s voice rang out again as I sat down on the chair.

“You probably haven’t even made your debut yet, but the manner of your greeting is excellent. I can’t believe an upright child will be paired with Aloken…”

“I’m flattered.”

“Hohoho. Since we are going to become a family, you don’t need to be polite. It’s not like this is political engagement.”

He spoke with a rosy face.

“As soon as I woke up, I was surprised to hear that my son had found the one he loved. We’re even on the verge of talking about engagement with another family. Still, I didn’t expect him to want to be engaged with Lady Celcius immediately.”

‘Did that man really convince his father with such a simple lie?’

“But what could I do? No parent doesn’t want their child to be happy.”

Aloken’s father seemed to think positively of the engagement.

I don’t know if it’s just the way he’s behaving as noble or not. But he has treated me with a smile since before.

“Come to think of it… I’ve heard that you’ve been sick because of the epidemic. Are you okay now?”

“Pardon? Ah, that’s…”

“I’m asking this because I’m worried about you being sick to the point you can’t even help prepare for the engagement ceremony.”

During the conversation in a relaxed atmosphere, I answered in a gentle voice when asked about my health.

“Actually, the spring cold I suffered this year was very severe, and I still suffer from the aftereffects. But, since Aloken-nim actively asked me to marry him, I accepted it even though the schedule was too much for me.”

This was a lie.

I was busy planning for my revenge, so I didn’t have time to do the engagement preparation.

“Oh dear, don’t bear your pain. I’ll tell the doctor to prepare some medicine to help you get better, so take them with you when you go back.”

“I-I’m getting better now. I don’t know if I can receive such precious things…”

My face was entirely darkened due to insomnia. So the excuse of my poor health worked well. It should be the time to send back the sick patient. Still, for some reason, Aloken’s father was agonizing for a while before talking again.

“By the way… There’s one thing I wanted to ask.”

“What is it?”

“Did my son tell you that he really loves you?”

It was an unexpected question. I didn’t know that the Duke wanted to hear a love story of his son.

‘My heart feels complicated when I think of the two of them as a parent-child relationship. For me, this engagement is just a deal I made because it’s worth it.’

It seemed that Aloken had already persuaded his father that it was true love. So it would be dangerous to tell the truth and break the act, right?

I recited the words that I had prepared beforehand.

“Aloken-nim passionately confessed that he loves me. He also said that he loved me from first sight. I also like that… It wasn’t hard to fall for someone who’s caring as a person like Aloken-nim.”

“Caring…”

Even though the Duke is not that old yet, he has been ill for a long time. After brushing his beard, he said, “Lady Celcius, I never thought Aloken could love anyone. He was born with that kind of character and closed his heart for a while.”

“That kind of character?”

“I thought I already knew him because he is a little bit special, but maybe my son is also a human being after all, or is he tricking you…”

The Duke has said something meaningful.

I was dumbfounded because frankly, I didn’t care about Aloken’s behavior.

“I don’t really want you to understand me now. But, please understand why I willingly allowed this unequal engagement.”

“…”

“I’ve been waiting for my son to have someone he loves. That feeling will definitely change Aloken for the better.”

“Duke wants me… to change something about Aloken-nim?”

Duke Jalier seemed worried about his son.

It is Aloken, not the youngest son, who is the apple of the Duke’s eyes?

It was interesting but not a topic for me to delve into deeply. Therefore, I put on an act.

“I don’t know what to change from him because I love how he’s now.”

Duke Jalier opened his eyes wide and smiled faintly as I spoke plainly.

“…The more I know about you, the more I like you as my daughter-in-law. But there’s a little favor I want you to do. It’s not a big thing to do. Just with you standing by my son’s side is enough.”

“…”

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“Be a good wife for him.”

A good wife. A good husband.

They were all vaguely worded, but the way people set their ideals were similar. But it was something I couldn’t possibly achieve…

“All right, Duke.”

But I had nothing to promise as all of this is fake.

Just about 3 years.

I promise my father-in-law that I will support my husband well, even though I’m going to break up with him later and become independent.

The Duke seemed to like this answer, so he smiled deeply that his lips were deeply dented.

“It’s getting late, so let’s stop now. Make yourself at home.”

With those words, it’s really over now.

I left the room without a hitch. The air outside felt fresh as I left the room, which had been warm due to the fireplace.

* * *

The next morning.

I woke up and took a deep breath just as I got up. But even though I had already gathered my consciousness, I didn’t want to get up, so I crouched on the bed. The soft blanket that touched my cheek had a pleasant scent, and with my body wrapped warmly in it, only my face touched the cold and refreshing air.

‘There are a lot of eyes to see, so I can’t do physical training. There’s nothing to do even if I get up.’

“I have a lot of eyes, so I can’t exercise, so I don’t have anything to do when I wake up.”

Rustling.

I closed my eyes and wiggled until my fatigue faded away.

How long has it been since I had a normal sleep?

Actually, I didn’t plan to sleep this long.  

“Um…”

I suffered from exhaustion as I hadn’t slept properly for several days. So when I lay down on a soft bed, I overcame my insomnia and fell asleep for a long time.

‘Stop sleeping. Even though I said I like this mansion’s blankets, I’m just admiring it.’

I rose from my seat, forcing myself to do that. It was my first morning at the Jalier Duchy. 

“Ah, I always rang the bell when I got up. Well, would someone bring me water to wash my face?”

The start wasn’t that bad.

I saw a bedroom five times larger than my room in the Celcius mansion when I opened my eyes. And by the bedside, there is a handbell left by the maid last night, who will be my maid during my stay in this mansion.

Jingle. Jingle.

I rang the bell without much thought. I don’t know if it would be the same manners or not to announce that I already woke up.

And then…

“Did Lady already wake up?”

“Lady, we’re coming in.”

“?!”

How can several servants answer outside the door as soon as the bell rings? As if they were waiting right in front of the door?

“C-Come in.”

The bad things didn’t end there.

When I gave permission, there was a rattling sound of a doorknob being opened, and at least five people entered the room.

“Everyone, please help Lady Vanora to change. Lady Vanora, the maid named Cecil said it was time for Lady to get up, so she went to get the wash water. Please wait a little bit.”

“I will roll up the curtains, Lady Vanora.”

“Would Lady mind standing up and raising your arms?”

They were the maids of the Jalier family, whom I saw yesterday. The one who stood upright in the middle and gave orders was a maid who introduced herself as Baroness Nain. The unknown maids carried a folding screen and placed it in the corner of the room. It was to change my clothes.

‘…The bruise on my arms that I had when I killed Shuteri had already disappeared. It’s going to be okay.’

I quietly followed their will. Thanks to the skilled maids, the new clothes were on in the blink of an eye, and after blinking again, my hair was already being prepared.

“Oh my! Lady’s hair is really thick… I can’t believe Lady has such pretty hair that it’s hard to hold them all with one hand.”

“Pardon?”

“I think I can see why the young Master fell in love with Lady at first sight.”

However, behind me, who was washing my face with the warm washing water Cecil brought, the maids said strange remarks. They complimented my hair, which had only been said to be too dark and curly so far.

“…”

The maid, who was working next to me, warned the person with the comb as I trembled and bit my mouth.

“Don’t say anything nonsense because it could offend the Lady! I’m sorry, Lady. This kid is really good at her job, but her light mouth can’t be fixed…”

My hair.

I didn’t want to hear anything bad about it when I was young, so I cut it short, but it was so bad. It was one of those annoying parts of my body that got worse the shorter it got, like charred fur. In particular, this black hair was associated with my most depressing memory. So I couldn’t readily say thank you for the compliment.

‘I guess it’s true that she’s good at her job.’

Fortunately, the light mouth maid shut her mouth and only moved her hand. She was so skillful that I could feel the difference in how Cecil handled my hair. She brushed my hair neatly and applied a good fragrance to each of my hair so that my black hair, which was like the mane of a wild horse, shone like silk.

“Fyuu, what does Lady think about it? It’s a masterpiece of my life. How beautiful would it be to tie it up and show Lady’s neckline…”

“Shh, be quiet when you work. Shh!”

I listened to the maid’s chatter and stared blankly with a handful of my hair in my hand.

At Celcius’s mansion, the fragrance wasn’t given to the first daughter. I didn’t care about appearance, so I didn’t know about it. With great effort, my curly hair, which had been dropping like an ugly dog, waved gracefully.

‘…If only the color were brighter.’

Looking at my curly hair that looked better, a short regret passed by.

“Lady Vanora.”

When my long curly hair was being braided and adorned, the maid standing at the end talked.

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“The breakfast in the mansion will start in an hour. If there’s any food Lady wants to eat, I will tell the chef.”

After I answered that it didn’t matter, all the maids left immediately except for Cecil, who kept close to me even on this estate.