CH 69

Chapter 69

“What situation are you talking about?”

“Currently, the Grand Duchy has not had a mistress for a long time, so it is almost neglected.”

Even Estelle didn’t seem to know the details of the Grand Duchy’s situation.

It seemed like it was the first time she had come to the Grand Duke’s castle. The atmosphere of the closed castle was the same. The unusually high wall looked like it wouldn’t allow anyone to enter, but it prevented outside from seeing how bad the garden was.

“I’m not familiar enough to go through it from beginning to end…”

“We are always here to help if we can.”

She didn’t really call Estelle just to ask for help with housekeeping. If that was the case, it didn’t matter if she called Estelle later.

“Julia.”

“Yes, Madam.”

Originally, Chloe and Rachel were by her side, but today, Julia did not leave her side. She seemed to have already noticed that Elysia was a little strange because she was exceptionally perceptive.

“Could you bring me some snacks?”

“That…”

“Please.”

It was because Julia knew that on the wedding day, after Elysia said she would talk to Edward alone, she disappeared.

“I wanted to let Estelle know about the new kitchen.”

“All right.”

At this time, it was fortunate that the Grand Duke’s manpower was insufficient. So, while Chloe and Rachel were put on the other side, Julia was the only one who could work now.

“….”

Elysia watched the back with a cold gaze as Julia exited her room.

“What is the matter?”

“Estelle, I have something I want to ask you.”

The only person she could meet by avoiding Damon’s eyes and would not get suspicious of was only Estelle.

“Can Estelle betray Grand Duchy Raphael?”

Silence flowed in the room.

Estelle couldn’t give any answer to her question, and she just sat there. Elysia did not expect to get a positive response.

“….”

“That is… What does that mean?”

One thing’s for sure, today’s Estelle came to see her on Damon’s orders.

“I know that Estelle is reporting our conversations to His Grace.”

At first, she thought Damon knew everything because the County had a spy, though, among the things she said, there were things she had only talked about with Estelle. He planted people, of course, but Elysia realized that she also reported her every move to him.

“If today’s meeting is over, what happened today will go into his ears, right?”

“Your Grace…”

“I don’t expect much from Estelle. Just report, but just don’t say a few things.”

She had no intention of taking such a gamble. What good could she do by making Damon suspicious? Still, Elysia found that she didn’t have time to indulge as she was standing on the edge of a precipice.

“That is—”

“I know you can’t.”

She knew at once that Estelle would not accept it. If she had agreed right away here, Elysia would have doubted her.

“Estelle just has to walk on two lines. Don’t choose between His Grace and me.”

And, she knew that it needed some pressure and seduction.

“For now, consider what I just suggested, don’t report it.”

“….”

“I don’t think big things will happen if you report one thing late.”

Elysia knew that Estelle was originally a neutral character. In the first place, she hated being on a side somewhere. There was a reason why Estelle became Damon’s subordinate.

“What would be more advantageous… Estelle would know that better than anyone else.”

“I didn’t—”

“I brought snacks.”

Estelle shut her mouth when Julia’s voice appeared just in time. That look alone made her feel hopeful. It was a success though she tried not to show it. Elysia didn’t know how much her heart was beating.

“Then, please come back soon.”

“Understood.”

Estelle and her talked about housework as if nothing had happened since then. Fortunately, Julia wasn’t suspicious at all. Rather, she was beaming with hope for the Grand Duke’s castle, which was about to change.

“Madam.”

“Yes.”

Elysia was so naive. She mistook that everyone was welcoming her.

“A little while ago… I think you misrepresented my words by mistake.”

Julia made no mistakes. She should have noticed that Damon had created all of the kindness and favor for her.

“No, that’s fine.”

“I brought you the letter.”

Her head jumped up upon hearing the letter being brought. Julia had a letter in her hand.

“I think I made a mistake with my own delusion.”

“….”

Elysia did not respond to her words and only stared at the letter in her hand. Was that letter really from Edward?

“Madam?”

“Thank you.”

Soon, she received the letter from Julia. The seal on the letter she thought would have been ripped off was still intact. That meant that no one had read it yet.

“Can I get you a cutting knife?”

“No, no. I don’t want to read it yet.”

There was a high probability that this letter now in her hand was not genuine. Due to Damon’s personality, there was no way he would have kept the letter without seeing its contents. He must have craftily created a fake that was exactly the same as the real thing.

“You can go back now.”

Perhaps the purpose was to deliver the letter only. Julia left, leaving only Elysia in the room. Even this room where she was now resting was not her space. It felt like Damon’s eyes were following her wherever she was.

“Creepy…”

He hadn’t intended to give her a room in the first place.

* * *

Elysia was still confronting the letter.

She couldn’t bear to open it or throw it away, all she could do was stare at it. The odds of this letter being genuine were close to zero. Damon wanted to keep her in his hands and control her. There was no way he would have left the letter unopened.

He would, of course, first open it up and examine it before handing her the letter. There was even a possibility that the content may have been changed. If so, she wondered if she should not open this letter.

However, to not open it, she became curious about Edward’s news…

There was no way the man who wouldn’t even give her a room would hesitate to change the contents of the letter. If there were unfavorable content or content that could shake her, Damon would obviously have removed it.

“….”

Her fingers stopped on the sealed wax.

Was it right to open this letter? Rather, if she opened it, it would be what Damon wanted. Surely he would have changed the content, and she would be swayed by it… It might be better not to read it.

Knock, knock.

“Your Grace.”

The voice was strange. Elysia stopped her hand from going to the letter and hid it behind her back. Her heart pounded like a child who had secretly stolen something. Although she duly received her letter, she somehow hid it.

“Who, who is it?”

Was there someone she hadn’t met yet? Seeing that he called her ‘Your Grace,’ he seemed to be a servant.

“Sorry to startle you. I am the Grand Duke’s aide.”

“Grand Duke’s aide…?”

Question marks appeared above Elysia’s head. Why did his aide visit her? Right after she received the letter, too.

‘No way… Does he want to take it away?’

She hadn’t even opened the letter yet so she couldn’t lose it like this. Elysia crumpled the letter, clutching it tightly. She wouldn’t hand it over even if it were fake.

“I hope you understand that I came here in a hurry.”

“What’s going on?”

“Could you please open the door?”

At those words, Elysia hesitated when she was told to open the door as she had no idea who the person at the door was.

“Your Grace.”

Even so, she had to open the door. Eventually, she hid the letter under the covers before she opened the door.

“What is it?”

“I’m sorry for coming without notice.”

When she opened the door, a silver-haired man was standing there. For a moment, she was surprised to see how similar he was to Edward. He had silver hair like him though the only difference was the color of his eyes.

Ah, the sharp impression was also different. In fact, the only thing that was the same was the color of their hair.

“Are you very busy?”

She seemed to have to answer that she was not busy, even if she was busy. That was the impression she got from his impatient tone. She understood why the person in front of her had a sharp impression. The man was like a needle—a sharp, forged needle that could stab anyone.

“I’m not very busy.”

“What a relief.”

The man was relieved when Elysia replied so.

With a more subdued sensitivity, she could finally see his face properly. He was frowning, so his handsome face couldn’t be seen properly.

If Damon was an unapproachable handsome man, the man in front of her was a handsome man in a different sense. She didn’t know because he had such an expression. He had a neater impression than Elysia thought.

It was pitiful that he had such a face and such a frown.

‘He just uses a nice face.’

Her review was just that.

He was handsome enough to make people turn around if they bumped into him on the road, but Elysia was not impressed because she had already met the perfect human named Damon. That look would have made her feel good enough in the past.

Come to think of it, she remembered that Sebastian, the butler, also didn’t look that bad.

“If you are not busy, can you go to the Grand Duke?”

“To the Grand Duke?”

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