CH 92

If he were free, he wouldn’t have married her. He wouldn’t get his supply of stuff unless he got married, so Elysia couldn’t figure out what the object that made the Grand Duchy in trouble.

“…The Grand Duchy cannot escape from the Imperial Family, unlike Your Grace.”

Come to think of it, it was strange that only Damon was free in such a situation. Besides being free, he also participated in numerous wars. If he was free, wasn’t he not obliged to go to war?

“There were times when I wasn’t free.”

“When you were not free…?”

Since his words were in the past tense, it seemed to mean that he was free now.

“Meeting the wife made me free.”

“…Me? Did I set you free?”

“Yes.”

Elysia found it difficult to understand what Damon was talking about. She wondered how she set him free.

“Oh, you married me and became free.”

The next moment, a thought suddenly passed through her head. The Imperial Family urged him to marry. As a result, now that they were married, he was free.

“I see what you mean.”

“It’s not what the wife thinks, but I can’t explain it now.”

Wasn’t he free by marrying her…? Elysia’s eyebrows couldn’t straighten because he kept saying things she couldn’t understand.

“Elysia.”

“Yes?”

“Elysia is very precious to me.”

She didn’t know how to respond. It’d only been a while since he met her, yet he said she was a precious existence to him. Besides, their marriage was not based on love. It was strange for them to cherish each other.

“I…”

She wondered if she should say that he was precious as well. Still, she didn’t have the courage to say that she valued him, even with empty words. She had the illusion that Damon, realizing that she was lying, would punish her.

“The wife is very important to me.”

“Your Grace…”

Elysia was taken aback seeing Damon pleading with his cheek in her hand like a puppy in the rain. He looked so desperate that she couldn’t bear to refuse. It was difficult to push him away because she somehow felt like she was doing something she couldn’t do.

“So, don’t leave me.”

Her heart sank when he said those words. He obviously didn’t know her plan, but it stabbed her in the chest for no reason.

Elysia broke into a cold sweat as it looked like Damon knew something.

‘…No, he can’t know.’

It was an illusion. Some misunderstanding.

* * *

“I have to go. What will the wife do for lunch?”

“Ah… I will have a light bite. I haven’t finished reading the book yet.”

“Yes, then don’t skip it.”

Elysia’s shoulders shrank when Damon kissed her hand like a precious thing. Even with these cautious touches, her body trembled with fear.

“Good luck with your work…”

This was Elysia’s greatest courage. He even kissed her hand, so she was obligated to say something.

“Yes. Be sure to ask Julia or the other maids to get the book out. You might get hurt.”

“Understood.”

At her words, the corner of Damon’s mouth went up. Unlike the smile where her lips were forced to lift slightly, her determined and bright smile was so cool. It was so blinding that he closed his eyes.

“See you in the evening.”

“Yes.”

Unable to adapt to his gaze dripping with regret, Elysia lowered her head and answered. Of course, it wasn’t just because of the eyes. There was also the thought that she would open her mouth and stare blankly at him like food when he smiled.

Not only in his eyes but also in his steps. It was evident that he did not want to leave this place, but he had been here too long. Even if he put things off to Hubert, there would be things he has to deal with.

“Does he know something?”

Even though She thought about it, she immediately shook her head. He couldn’t know. Elysia said she would never leave. Even when she talked to Edward, she said she would survive though she didn’t say that she was divorcing him. It was right that even Edward did not believe it.

It was a secret only to her that she made up her mind to divorce him. A secret no one knew.

“Your Grace.”

“Oh, Chloe.”

Chloe’s bright voice through the door awakened her from her thoughts. He seemed to have given orders as he left.

“I’m going in.”

“Yes.”

Elysia smiled bitterly, seeing Rachel pulling the tray after Chloe. He really didn’t give her any leeway. In case she didn’t eat, he brought it right away.

“I brought you a simple meal.”

Contrary to being called simple, the food being prepared in front of her was not light at all. Rather, it was too serious.

“Is this simple?”

“Yes. It’s simple… Don’t you like it?”

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There were only things she couldn’t eat while reading a book. She thought it would be something like a sandwich because it was so simple.

“Can you bring me something like a sandwich so I can eat while reading a book?”

“A sandwich?”

“Yes.”

Seeing Chloe and Rachel’s puzzled expressions, Elysia realized who had ordered this. It seemed that he had told them to feed her properly.

“And I’d like some fruit.”

Chloe’s face lit up when she brought up the fruit, as Damon probably wouldn’t allow her to eat only sandwiches. As expected, there was a separate order not to feed her so simply.

“Then, I will prepare again.”

Unlike Rachel, who went back, Chloe stayed by her side.

“Doesn’t Chloe have to go back?”

“No, I am fine. I have an order to stay by your side here.”

Oh, because he told her never to take out a book by herself if she had a book to read?

Elysia didn’t even think about it because she didn’t even know where the books were anyway. In addition, as the name suggests, the library had many books as it was full from floor to ceiling. She didn’t know about the bottom, but from the middle, her height couldn’t reach it.

“If there is a book you would like to see, let me know!”

Was there a way to find the book she wanted right away in this huge library?

“Is there a way to find the book? Did you remember all the books here?”

What she said was nonsense, she thought. There was no way one could memorize all this amount, maybe if it were Damon. Since he was such a monster, he seemed to be able to do the impossible.

“Ah! Do I remember everything?”

“Yes.”

“No, not at all. When you organize the library, you can learn how to find books. It is surprisingly easy.”

Were there rules for organizing it? Well, if there are no rules, it would be difficult to manage because it would be all over the place. They didn’t even label the book separately, which was amazing.

“The location is different for each type of book. And they are all organized by author.”

“So, each shelf has a different classification of books?”

That was how she organized the books.

Elysia was quite surprised to hear that she arranged them in the order of the authors. She sorted through all these books… it must have been incredibly difficult.

“By the way, what about those books on the ceiling?”

There were no separate ladders. There was a library full of books up to the ceiling like this in her previous life, but she used the ladder to reach the ceiling.

“It has a separate ladder. But don’t use it yourself. I will find what you want.”

Oh, they did use a ladder. However, it seemed dangerous to use the ladder to retrieve the books from the ceiling.

“Do you have any desks or tables to sit on?”

“A desk?”

Perhaps none at all? Of course, Damon appeared as soon as she entered the library, so she couldn’t even look around the library properly. Elysia could not bear his eyes, so that was why she just sat down on the floor.

“Yes, there is. I thought Madam wanted to sit on the floor.”

Of course, it would. There couldn’t have been no space to read a book.

“Can you tell me where it is?”

“Yes!”

The size of the library was very large because there were not one or two bookshelves. It was probably bigger than anywhere she had seen in the Grand Duke’s castle.

“Here it is.”

“Thank you. Chloe must be having a hard time, too, so you can sit next to me.”

“No, no. I’m okay.”

The table was in a corner, that was why she couldn’t find it right away. Chloe even forbade her to lift even a book. Elysia was burdened with tremendous overprotection. The book wasn’t heavy, at least three of them.

“I can lift it…”

“No!”

In this world, the paper and printing industries were not developed, but the books were thick. In particular, there were many hardcover books in the Grand Duke’s library. That said, it would take quite a bit of arm strength.

“I’ll take at least one copy.”

“It’s okay.”

It wasn’t long before a sandwich was served on the table. It was a burden in itself.

“There’s a lot of food, so you guys can eat it as well.”

“We have already eaten.”

Usually, the servants’ meals were later than those of the masters. Elysia knew that best more than anyone else. She used to eat like that as she took care of the leftovers. Of course, she was the last one, so if the maids had nothing left to eat, she had to starve for the day.

“It’s okay, or I have to throw it away.”

In the end, she forced the sandwiches into Chloe and Rachel’s hands. It was a lot anyway, so she couldn’t eat it by herself.