CH 3

In conclusion, the Emperor accepted Kellerhan’s proposal.

[It’s okay, Schwires’ daughter. If Kellehan rejects you, you can go to Lodgemund.]

No, Lodgemund is my least favorite place to go.

Instead of answering like that, I quietly bowed my head. It was fortunate that I didn’t fall into Lodgemund’s grasp right now.

Anyway, he said it’s for a month. No matter what happens in that one month, I will survive in Barmuth. And prepare step by step, become an adult, and on the day the trust account opens, I will regain my parents’ inheritance and leave Barmuth to live my life.

I don’t even wish to be treated like a young madam.

All I want is to survive and, when I become an adult, have the strength to defend my parents’ legacy. For that reason, no matter what the Mad Dog does, I can bite my teeth and endure it.

Since at least they won’t poison me like Lodgemund!

The carriage rattled.

“Did you say you’re Isabella Schwires?”

I got a hold of myself at the Mad Dog’s voice and focused on the situation in front of me.

The Mad Dog and I sat facing each other and rode a carriage to the Duke of Barmuth. I remembered that the attendant who was closing the carriage door had a worried expression on his face when he saw both the Mad Dog and I left.

Fortunately, there had been no incidents so far.

I nodded quietly. Because I didn’t want to provoke the Mad Dog by making noises for nothing.

The Mad Dog put his ankle on one of his laps and sat in his lenient position, staring at me.

“Have you ever met my son?”

“…No.”

I replied one beat late.

The statement that I had never met the Young Lord of Barmuth was both true and false. I had never seen him in my present life, but I had seen him a few times as the Duchess of Lodgemund in my previous life.

The Young Lord of Barmuth that I saw at that time… He was a strange man who didn’t resemble the Mad Dog.

The Mad Dog put on an interesting look.

“You have to marry a guy you haven’t seen in your life, is it okay?”

“That…”

It’s fine. Because I’m going to get a divorce after I become an adult, anyway.

Divorce will be easy.

It’s because the Young Lord of Barmuth’s destiny appeared in the ‘Void’. He was saved by a mysterious saintess who appeared from the ‘Void’ and fell in love with her at a glance.

At that time, all newspapers talked about the romantic love story of the Young Lord of Barmuth and the Saintess, that’s why I know their stories in detail. 

Therefore, if I bring up the divorce when the Saintess appears, the Young Lord of Barmuth will gladly accept it. And I can go far away with my parents’ inheritance and enjoy a quiet and happy life.

Of course, I’ll need some preparation before that. For that part, I can make plans step by step over the next month.

“I’m nervous.” I carefully raised my head and made eye contact with the Mad Dog. “But it’s Barmuth. The Young Lord is also a righteous man who complies with the law.”

I could be sure of this.

His son, whom I had seen in my previous life, was a severe man of principle. There were times when hundreds of lives were hit by their necks, but their wives wouldn’t be abused.

Instead, he would be terribly indifferent and cold to me.

But I can endure that much.

The Mad Dog… No, Kellerhan stared at me. It was that expression again. A strange expression that I couldn’t tell what was inside him.

“You’re Barmuth…” 

When Kellerhan tried to say something, the carriage stopped.

“No. It’s nothing.” He said this and got off the carriage.

I almost fell several times and managed to get off the carriage while following Kellerhan. His stride was so big and fast that I had to struggle to catch up. He stopped walking only after passing through the main gate and entering the mansion.

The servants hurriedly bowed down and the butler walked out, fixing his uniform outerwear. Looking up carefully, the butler was an old man with a benevolent impression of white hair.

“Is there anything wrong?”

“Three letters came from the Supreme Court, and the Aristocratic Union sent a request for Batalli Dodna’s amnesty.”

Kellerhan asked briefly while the butler sincerely reported.

“Put the letters in my study. And as long as I’m alive with my eyes open, Batalli Dodna can never be released.” He frowned and said unpleasantly. “Amnesties are not even my authority, but why do they keep bothering me?”

As I was listening to him, the butler’s expression and mine became strange at the same time.

He spoke as if he had no authority at all, but that wasn’t true.

If Kellerhan, who was trusted by the Emperor and the judiciary at the same time, went out to save any evil criminal, they would get another chance.

But why is a mad dog, a mad dog?

It’s because once he bites it, he never let it go. 

Asking Kellerhan for an amnesty was the same as looking for wine by the well.

“Take care of it so that it’ll never come out again.”

“I understand. I’ll be sure to tell the Aristocratic Union.” The butler bowed his head.

Kellerhan looked around the rest of the servants and walked toward the stairs. I didn’t know what to do, so I stood still, and the butler was quite confused.

“Excuse me…”

The butler carefully called for Kellerhan, but he didn’t look back.

“Excuse me, Duke!” When Kellerhan’s big feet stepped on the first staircase, the butler shouted in an urgent voice.

“What is it?” He looked back with a look of annoyance.

The butler approached me in cold sweat.

“This young Lady… How… Who is she?”

It was only then that Kellerhan’s gaze reached me.

The butler and other servants were glancing at me from the moment I first appeared. 

However, I didn’t dare to ask the Mad Dog first, so I stayed still. But the butler must’ve been confused because the Mad Dog tried to leave without explaining anything.

It was natural that the servants didn’t know my existence. It was this morning that the Emperor declared that he’d arrange my marriage. Originally, he would have informed the family of my existence over a few months of preparation and proceeded slowly.

But Kellerhan…

[Now that it’s decided, I’ll take her with me.]

He threw this one sentence and put me in the carriage.

[Right now? But I’ve prepared a guest room for Schwires…]

The Emperor was disappointed, but Kellerhan neatly ignored him.

[You’d better spend a month quickly and go straight to Lodgemund.]

He said this to me.

I shut my lips. I knew he wasn’t happy with me, but I didn’t know he’d try to leave the servants unattended without saying a word.

Yet I wasn’t upset or angry. I expected in advance that I’d be neglected in any way. This was nothing compared to dying after losing something precious.

Let’s survive.

Let’s survive regardless of who ignores or neglects me.

“Ah.” Kellerhan let out a short exclamation like a person who belatedly remembered what he left at home after going out.

“She’s my daughter-in-law.” And he said this.

“Yes, yes?!” The butler opened his eyes wide. Other servants couldn’t hide their shock.

“I don’t know what’ll happen in a month but for now, she’ll be a prospective daughter-in-law.” His voice was ridiculously cynical.

Thanks to this, the butler couldn’t guess his intentions and was bewildered.

“First wash her up, feed her, and bring her to my study.”

“…I understand.” The butler bowed his head with an uncomfortable face. 

Kellerhan went up the stairs and disappeared. When he was gone, the atmosphere among the servants was more relaxed.

On the other hand, I was even more nervous.

I knew well that I was an uninvited guest.

Think about it in common sense. What kind of high-ranking aristocratic employers would like the orphan the Emperor paired with their young master as he pleased?

My late father was the only descendant of Schwires, and now I don’t have anyone to be called a relative. Also, all the property of the family was tied to a trust account and couldn’t come out of the Central Bank until my adulthood. In addition, the Schwires family was famous for its studies, but there was no connection to politics and no power.

In a good way, we were upright scholars, and in a bad way, we were a family of bookworms.

In other words, there was no one or resources to help.

For the noble people who expanded their power with marriage, I would be a load that they really didn’t want to take on.

Kellerhan probably left me alone because he knew the servants wouldn’t welcome me.

The harassment of servants is really terrible. The nobles leave almost everything in their lives to the servants.

To put it another way, if you decided to bully the servants, there were endless ways for them to harass you back.

I knew that because when I was the Duchess of Lodgemund in my previous life, I was severely harassed not only by the blood vessels of the family, but also by the servants.

I closed my eyes and prepared my mind. 

‘You have to pull yourself together from now on! Let’s not be surprised at what happens.’ I thought so when I opened my eyes.

“Hmm, can I call you Miss?” The voice of the butler was heard.

I raised my head in surprise. And I made eye contact with the butler who looked at me with gentle eyes.

What is it?

I was confused.

However, without any time to clear up my confusion, the butler continued to talk. “Magda will be responsible for your daily life. Magda, come out.”

A middle-aged woman with a warm smile on her face stepped forward at the butler’s words.

“Nice to meet you, Miss. My name is Magda. I’m the head maid of this mansion.”

The head maid? That kind of person is going to take care of me?

I opened my mouth wide. It was because I couldn’t understand the current situation. 

Magda approached me, bent her knees, and came out to make eye contact.

“Ah, so you’re nervous.” Her friendly eyes overflowed with worries and concerns toward me. “Do you want to eat first or take a bath first?”

I couldn’t answer and just turned my eyes.

What’s wrong with you? Are you going to be so kind to me like this?

These people were misunderstanding something. I had to correct the misunderstanding quickly before it got bigger. If they think I’m a precious lady, take care of me with all their heart, and find out that I’m not, the harassment will be twice as vicious.

“I’m a Schwires.” I spoke clearly with strength so that everyone could hear it.

“I see.” Magda answered without hesitation.

In response, I shook my head urgently.

“The reason why the Duke brought me is because the Imperial Majesty told him to do so. I don’t have anything precious to offer to Barmuth. So you don’t have to treat me.”

“Oh my.” Magda opened her eyes wide and covered her mouth with both hands.

The atmosphere among other servants was similar. Everyone was looking at me with complicated eyes. I wanted them to pay attention to me and leave me unattended as soon as possible.

My goal is to stay quiet in Barmuth until I become an adult.

Then, Magda opened her mouth.

“Miss, may I say something?”

Her words made my heart pound.

Was it not enough to be enough? Well, confessing my situation without hiding it didn’t mean that I wasn’t a burden.

It was when I gave up everything and prepared to accept what was going to happen.

“Miss is still young.” She held my hand tightly.

“And children shouldn’t think about that.”

My eyes widened.