Chapter 29
His fingers were caressing her cheeks.
It was amazingly tempting.
She gently took his hand and removed it from her face.
“We have plenty of time.”
His candle-like eyes flashed slowly.
After a short silence, he buried his face in her shoulder.
“Yes. From now on”…
His voice rumbled in her ear, like the sound of a satisfied beast.
She gently hugged his back, afraid to hear her heartbeat.
A cool summer breeze tickled the back of her neck.
***
She took Victor's hand and returned to the banquet hall.
The banquet was a mess.
The followers left, and the drunken knights stumbled towards the inn.
When they stepped into the hall, her maids quickly followed.
They were still very nervous.
She was worried, but the most pressing matter was taking care of the drunk and slow-moving Victor.
When she scolded him for grabbing her butt, he laughed happily.
The servants showed signs of surprise, even if they did not express their feelings.
That was strange too
The maids in the capital always said that Victor was a nice person, and when he acted nice, they smiled.
But the servants here acted as if this was the first time they had seen Victor smile.
“Why?”
Finally, they reached the bedroom.
The interior of the bedroom was almost the same as their bedroom in the capital.
Red curtains, Morty emblem furnishings, and walls covered in weapons.
It was as if their room in the capital had been copied and pasted here.
Perhaps it was intentionally decorated this way so Victor could sleep.
She grabbed Victor's wrist and led him to the bed.
He followed her quietly and lay down.
But he did not let go of her hand.
Swish
He pulled her hand, causing her to lose her balance and fall onto his chest.
She opened her eyes wide and looked at him.
“My Grand Duchess, Marion.”
Victor's look devastated her; Her eyes, her shoulders, her wrists.
He asked in a whisper.
“Are you going to leave me?”
It was like a calling.
She looked at Victor without saying a word.
Today, it was a little strange.
Maybe it was because he was drunk.
Or did the sight of his hometown, which he had not seen for a long time, stirred emotions in him?
After hesitating, she kissed him on the cheek.
It was something she had never done before, but somehow it felt right.
Then she whispered softly.
“No, I will always be by your side.”
Victor smiled softly and closed his eyes.
She rose, rubbing her blushing cheeks with the back of her hands.
Today was a strange day.
***
Fortunately, Victor fell asleep obediently.
He was tired and drunk, so she was worried he might get worse, but sleeping in a familiar environment seemed to be all he needed.
She put Victor back to sleep without difficulty and immediately passed out next to him.
When I woke up the next day, Victor wasn't in bed.
“Did he wake up already?”
She was rubbing her sleepy eyes, and found a note on the side table.
- I have a meeting, so I'll go out first. Have a good rest!
The handwriting was very elegant.
“How can everything about him be so wonderful?”
She laughed and called the maids.
They appeared surprisingly quickly.
She washed her face with warm water from a golden basin and ate breakfast awkwardly alone.
I ate thin slices of pork, warm wheat bread and grilled mushrooms.
Naturally, the food was amazing.
She emptied her plate admiringly.
“The Grand Duke requested that the lady remain in her room as much as possible today.”
One of the maids said cautiously.
Omarion blinked.
Was he worried? It had been a long journey of course, which was good news for her.
She considered herself the luckiest woman in the world just to stay in this room and roll around on the bed.
But suddenly, she thought that if she did that, she would look like an incredibly lazy hostess.
she asked after a moment of hesitation.
“Is there anything I need to do? Anyone I need to meet?”
She was still a far cry from being a lady, but she knew that the hostess of such a large estate was usually very busy.
It was different from running a palace.
The master's wife had to take care of the castle, feed the poor, and meet the merchants who came and went.
After all, she was the Grand Duchess.
It was a land where the army was not funded by taxes*, so there was likely a lot more work to be done than she was used to.
[*E/N: This means that taxes fund public relief efforts instead, such as feeding the poor. As Omarion mentioned, feeding the poor is part of her job as a hostess.]
But the maids looked at her and shook their heads.
“His Highness only requested that you rest in your room.”
“Is this really good?”
Shouldn't I meet with the subordinates or the butlers to discuss matters?
Conflicted, she just nodded.
"Well, Victor's fine, so I guess he just wants me to rest."
They can meet later if necessary.
She finished thinking and examined her maids.
Their situation was similar to yesterday.
They watched her every move like a flock of frightened sheep.
It was really embarrassing.
If this had been the case on the first day she arrived in the capital, she would have cried.
But now she knows how to get along with people.
She did not approach ladies, but she got along well with her maids.
“If I work hard, I might be able to make friends.”
She looked at the maid she had spoken to earlier.
It was the same maid who begged and apologized yesterday.
What is your name
The maid bowed her head and answered.
“I am Mary, ma'am.”
“Mary please serve me well.”
Mary froze and bent her head deeper.
“I will do my best, ma'am.”
She smiled awkwardly and nodded.
“Did you make her more uncomfortable?”
She asked the nervous maids to bring her a book to read from the library, as well as giving them some other small tasks.
Mary and her other maids returned very quickly again.
This was the title of the novel that Mary brought.
“Dordovin, from which country?”
It was a name that seemed unlikely to exist in the Empire or Amari.
Was he from the Southern or Eastern Kingdom?
She lay on her stomach and examined the cover.
Funny illustrations are drawn on the front.
She spent the afternoon reading leisurely, immersed in the novel.
***
Victor returned to their bedroom when Dordovin was fighting an ugly lake frog.
“What are you reading?”
He laughed happily when I showed him the book.
"
...It's a fun book. I loved when Dordovin proposed to the Grand Duchess of Flamberg under her tower."
«Victor! »
I quickly stopped him.
“I haven't read this part yet!”
She stared at him as hard as she could.
Victor raised an eyebrow.
“Sorry, I thought you read this part.”
“I thought he would fall in love with Princess Rapier.”
“I think I'll spoil it if I say more.”
He smiled and sat on the bed.
It smelled of paper and ink.
He's probably been in the conference room all day.
Suddenly she felt embarrassed as she was still lying on the bed.
But Victor seemed satisfied.
“Did you rest in your room all day?”
"Yes".
“Good, you must have suffered during our trip.”
He smiled and kissed her cheek.
She had no choice but to blush.
She hoped that the servants here would be as generous as they were in the capital.
But instead of smiling at her and Victor, the maids bowed their heads, afraid to make eye contact.
“Are they okay?”
Whether he knew her fears or not, Victor calmly held her hand.
“Tomorrow, take a look around the castle. It will take a few days, but it will be fun. There is a lot more to see here than in the Capital Palace.”
"yes i will".
“And... I want you to stay inside the castle for a while.”
He suddenly became serious.
She tilted her head.
“Why?”
“It's been a while since I've been here, so I'm not sure if it's safe, and I can't hang out with you because I'm busy. It's frustrating, but please.”…
Victor said sadly.
She closed her eyes.
To be honest, I wasn't even disappointed.
I was born in frozen ground, and slept more on a stone floor than a bed.
She considered the comfortable bed to be straw, placed on top of her armor.
It was worth living in these conditions for months, even years, if they could be buried in a soft blanket for just a moment.
As she nodded, Victor smiled and continued.
“And can I put the knights in front of your door? There are a lot of people coming in and out of the castle, so I’m worried.”
“Huh?”
She didn't quite get it.
No matter what happened, it would be difficult for them to protect her with their skills...
But if it makes Victor feel comfortable...
Sure
Once she agreed, his smile widened.
He always had a silly attitude about her, like a kid about to eat his favorite candy.
Victor whispered in a seductive voice.
“Relax in the castle all you want, Marion. Eat to your heart’s content and do what you want. You don’t have to go outside.”
“You will surround me like Duchess Flamberg!”
At her joke, Victor smiled brightly, his eyes sparkling.
“There is nothing I could wish for more.”
Without really knowing what he meant, she smiled.
***
• End of chapter •
To be continued •••
Insta account [I.n.w.4@].