Chapter 32
"Well oh, shall we leave Sir Raoul behind?"
“I would appreciate it if you did.”
Victor smiled mischievously and led her to the door. Raoul, who was stretching out slowly like a dog, looked at her in dismay when he was asked to stay in the office.
“You are abandoning a loyal knight here, my lady!”
“I'm not your mistress, it's Victor.”
The mumbling Raoul gave up and walked away. Carls, who smiled at Raoul's retreating form, came to him very naturally.
"Well, now you need a new companion. I'm Carles from Denion-"
"Don't make a fuss, Carls."
Leonard exhaled harshly and pulled Carls back into the room. Finally, Daedric followed them with a benevolent smile.
She shook her head and returned to her room with the apprentice knights.
***
As soon as the office door closed, a tense atmosphere formed.
Victor Raul asked.
"Is Marion all right?"
"naturally."
"Doesn't she have any mice hanging around?"
"no."
Raoul emphasized uncomfortably.
Reporting the lady's actions was extremely disturbing.
But the Grand Duke did not care.
His snake-like eyes curved in satisfaction.
"Good. There are a lot of mice. It's worrying."
"Did you find it?"
Raoul asked immediately. Leonard answered on his master's behalf.
“Yes, I looked through the account books and found that the money was being directed to some meticulously manipulated underlings, but they couldn’t hide everything.”
“Yes, otherwise, the scene wouldn’t be so bleak.”
The Grand Duke remembered the day they arrived at the estate.
His lands were very windy, so they spent a lot of money every winter distributing straw and boards to cover the villagers' roofs.
When spring came, the village looked bright, because the boards had been removed and the roofs painted.
But the surfaces were gone when he arrived.
The stones paving the road were scattered, and the drainage system was broken.
It was proof that his followers were not spending his money the way they were supposed to spend it.
News leaked that Raoul was hanging out with Marion, so he only let those he could trust around him until they discovered the problem.
The corruption they discovered has deep roots.
Many vassals were in important positions on the budget.
The Grand Duke raised the corners of his lips and smiled.
"Isn't that funny? I can't believe they did that even after seeing what happened a few years ago."
"Maybe that's why they did it."
Carls said calmly.
“At that time, the number of underlings was greatly reduced due to the work. They must have known that without them, there would be no one to take care of the property business so they did it with a lot of courage.”
"It's really funny..."
His cold gaze scanned the list of names.
He never liked Morty's minion.
Morty was a large region, rivaling that of a small country, so the vassals here naturally had a lot of greed.
They fought for power whenever they had time, and tried to get out of their master's eyes. But he, the landlord, had no intention of leaving the mice alone.
Their punishment was clear.
But his chief of staff shook his head.
“You shouldn't kill them. I didn't stop you last time, but really.”
Victor frowned. Karls continued, calmly.
“Your threat to the Welsh family has frightened the Allied Houses. If you execute your subordinates under these circumstances, there will certainly be a violent reaction.”
“I know.”
The Grand Duke exhaled softly.
In many ways, it was clear that now was not the time to draw a hard line.
But he was a knight before he became a politician and instinct told him to kill corrupt officials on the spot to set an example.
Leonard stopped his master again.
“Your Highness, they are servants who have served Morty from generation to generation. If you touch them again, the public’s opinion may deteriorate. Let us find out who committed the crime and think about the punishment later.”
Victor nodded sadly.
It has been eliminated.
His anger increased when he spent time with someone as noble and pure as Imarion, and then with people as cruel as him.
However, it was comforting to think that everything would be over when this matter was resolved.
Victor looked out the window at the beautiful garden.
It filled his dark heart satisfactorily.
Now, they could be with her for the rest of their lives.
In his hometown.
Under a cold and rugged mountain, his hometown, where he felt lonely when he was young. Slowly repeating the same things every day watching her smile, eat and sleep.
"with me".
"forever".
***
“Ma’am, play the third, fourth, and seventh strings with your right hand and the twelfth string with your left hand.”
Omarion looked at the guitar between her knees in great confusion.
"The third? The seventh? The twelfth?"
Mary gently placed her hands on the strings.
A beautiful sound was played from Mary's movements.
Omarion bowed her head in frustration.
“I don't know how to play.”
“No! You are much better than the first time.”
“That's right, ma'am! Practice and you'll play well!”
The maids sincerely encouraged her.
Omarion sighed deeply and leaned on the large harp.
They were in the concert hall.
Filled with precious instruments, this place was a place where you could listen to a poet perform, or practice an instrument yourself.
She had been in and out of this place for a while now, being dragged by her maids.
They urged her eagerly, saying they would teach her how to play. She tried the violin, the flute, and now the harp.
“You seem to have a talent for the harp.”
“Yes. At least it doesn't look so terrible.”…
She said impatiently.
When I played the violin, it sounded like a dying ogre, and when I played the flute, I heard a roar howling. It was fortunate that the harp started the way it was supposed to.
But Mary was endlessly positive.
“I'm sure you will be able to play music soon! If you get bored, you can learn something else. Be it flute or trumpet any instrument. We have it all!”
"Oh... thank you."
Mary's eyes sparkle.
The gathered maids also smiled widely.
She couldn't help but laugh.
After they got to know each other, the maids were like sisters to her.
Maybe they were bored because there was no hostess to take care of her, so they took Omarion out of her room every day to do something.
Not only did they play musical instruments, but they also embroidered and arranged flowers and made sweets. It was bad for most of it, but it was fun just to laugh and do something together.
In addition to the concert hall, there was a room for painting, as well as for dyeing and weaving. There was so much to do that she wondered if she would be able to do it in her entire life.
She wanted to finish reading
as well.
She played the harp for a while and then left the room.
Green flowers were growing on the window. She paused for a moment to breathe in the fresh air.
The view of the garden was beautiful.
She was only in the castle for a week, so she wasn't able to go out and see it for herself.
Mary asked cautiously.
“Ma’am, do you want to go out?”
“No, why?”
She tilted her head and asked.
"Is there anything special outside? Like the Duchess Moles' greenhouse?"
But Mary bit her lip and lowered her head.
... “No. The butler will be coming soon, so I will prepare your meal.”
“Oh, come to think of it, I'm supposed to have tea with Deidrick today.”
She quickly removed her doubts and hurried to the tea room.
***
It's been a long time since I've spoken to Daedric properly.
He was so busy that it was difficult to see his face.
He took the position of butler, so he had to help Victor's business. He was very busy.
However, the old man looked quite poised, as always.
She greeted him with a bright smile.
“Hello, Dedric.”
“It is an honor to be here, ma'am.”
Daedric bowed politely and sat down in front of her.
He took a sip from his cup.
“Sorry for coming so late, I should have stopped by right away to see how you are doing.”
“Don't say that I was busy.”
The butler's eyes felt warm at her words.
Notice the knights guarding the door.
He smiled gently and asked.
“I heard you were having fun with the maids. How are the knights? Is there any disturbance?”
“No, everyone is friendly and they are all very loyal.”
The apprentice knights were excited.
They were very dedicated to the leadership to accompany her to the point where there were no gaps in security.
She felt sorry for taking up the time to train them, but seeing their devotion to chivalry made her heart happy.
Daedric smiled softly.
“I'm happy.
His Highness: “The work is almost finished, so sooner or later they will be able to return to the training field.”
“Good. You've been working too much, Deedric."
“Thank you, ma'am.”
The butler bowed his head politely again.
They talked happily afterwards.
She told him how she played the harp for the first time, the history of the armor on display in the lobby, and the delicious snacks the chef made.
Deidrick promised to make her favorite raspberry pudding more often. She was very pleased and thanked him.
The butler stood up after the teapot ran out.
“I'm going to prepare dinner, ma'am. See you later.”
“Yes, see you later.”
Daedric bowed politely.
Then he added briefly.
“If you want to leave the castle, please tell me, ma’am, I know the way.”
She opened her eyes wide and looked at Deidrick.
The gray-eyed butler was watching her loyally, with a look of great concern.
“Why is he making that face?”
If she wants to leave the castle, she can walk out the door...
She nodded, not thinking much.
“Yes, I will do that.”
The butler bowed again and left the room.
***
• End of chapter •
To be continued •••
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