# 39
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* * *
The mother of the current Duke, Isadora Hilliard, was a legendary figure, the first woman in the history of the Empire to hold the position of Commander of the Knights of the Empire.
She looked like she was going to spend her life holding a sword, but her life changed after she met the former duke.
At the empire's founding ceremony, the former duke fell in love at first sight with Isadora as she was guarding.
Her eyes sparkling with strong will, her hands sore from effort, and her refreshing smile reminiscent of a fresh breeze.
There was no part of her that did not capture the young Duke's heart.
“I would like to invite you to my fiefdom. A beautiful place with a blue lake and vast forests. You will definitely love it.”
He courted her enthusiastically.
The Duke had shown no interest in women before meeting Isadora, so his change aroused people's curiosity.
Isadora felt his courtship heavy.
Although she reached the highest position that could be achieved by merit, her humble origin was an obstacle.
It was said that marriage between nobles required greater importance for origin.
Isadora did not want to become anyone's weakness, nor did she want to give up her sword for the sake of marriage.
But when the former Duke heard her true intentions,
“You are radiant in your own right, so what does the origin matter?”
“My lord the duke.”
"And you must not give up your sword. On the contrary, I would ask you never to leave it. I think Lady Isadora looks the most wonderful when she holds a sword."
The former Duke was a frank and kind person.
So much so that it shook Isadora's heart, which seemed like a solid rock that would never move.
Eventually, Isadora married the Duke.
Their marriage was happy, and they had six children.
Ten years ago, in a mysterious explosion incident on the feudal border, she lost her husband and was no longer able to carry a sword, but she did not regret her marriage to the Duke.
Her hope now was to survive to see her children get married and start their families.
Therefore, she went down to a country villa to convalesce and take care of her sick body.
“My son has an illegitimate child…?”
An urgent message from Cornelia is what prompts her to return.
* * *
“Nice to meet you for the first time. I am Elinor, Madam Grand Duchess.”
In the drawing-room of the ducal palace, only those named Hilliard, Elinor, and the child remained.
Elinor swallowed nervously after her first greeting.
'What should I do?'
She never thought she would meet the Grand Duchess.
In the Duke's palace, there were only the Duke's brothers, so she assumed that the misunderstanding about her being his mistress and the mother of his illegitimate child could be corrected after Charlotte was found without much problem.
But hiding the truth from the Grand Duchess, the Duke’s mother, is that true…?
Elinor glanced at Matthias furtively for help.
Matthias looked hurt.
He didn't want things to get this bad.
He brought Elinor here just for comfort.
Tidian broke the silence.
“My sister-in-law is a really great person!”
Tidian shouted excitedly, his eyes shining.
“You saved me! When Master Wirt was hitting me...”
"He hits you? What are you saying?"
Mathias shook his head quickly.
The Grand Duchess, who is in weak health, would be shocked to hear that her youngest son had been beaten.
Tidian rolled his eyes and then changed his words.
“Well… Master Wirt would raise the whip if I didn’t do my homework. But, of course, he would only do it gently! Anyway, my sister-in-law helped me with my homework, so I avoided the whip.”
"truly?"
“Yes. My sister-in-law is very smart. The teacher said that he graduated with honors from the academy, but my sister-in-law seems much smarter. No matter how strange assignments he gave her, she knew everything.”
“Looks like you had a lot of help.”
“Yes! But I also worked hard on my own. Thanks to my sister-in-law’s teaching, I can now solve everything.”
The Grand Duchess caressed Tidian's head tenderly.
Tidian smiled happily.
At that moment.
“Who is the sister-in-law?”
Cornelia murmured, crossing her arms.
"You want to call her your sister-in-law? That's why you're a kid, Teddy Tutu."
"Sister! Don't call me Toto!"
“Her identity is unknown. Nothing is known about her except her name, Elinor. And yet, you shamelessly call her your sister-in-law.”
Cornelia gave Elinor a sharp look.
"Where are you from? Are you a noble? Or a commoner?"
Count Winston's family, which owned a palace in the capital, was not necessarily a humble noble family.
If Elinor said she was a Winston, she would definitely be recognized. She had to protect her honor and Charlotte's honor.
When she didn't say anything, Cornelia sneered.
“Look, even in front of my mother, you can't say anything. Because you're a commoner, right?”
“How dare you think about the Hilliard family like that? A cheap woman, we don’t know where she comes from, sneaking up on us.”
“Cornelia.”
When Cornelia's tone became more intense, Matthias stopped her.
“Enough. There are things that can be said and things that cannot.”
“Did I say something I shouldn't have?”
Cornelia replied sharply.
"And are you in a position to say that? I am even more astonished that you have hidden this woman in this house until now. How could you remain silent until she gave birth to a child and he grew up?"
“Cornelia, this...”
"Aren't you thinking about my second brother? Logan is serving hard on the border now. You knew he gave up the chance to become an Imperial Knight Commander like my mother for the sake of this choice."
“I know. I know, but there are circumstances you don’t know about-”
“Circumstances? Well, say so. Let me hear what circumstances made you deceive everyone and give birth to an illegitimate child.”
Cornelia was not aware of the problem of feudal contamination.
Only Matthias, as Lord, Logan, who monitors the border, and the Grand Duchess, the first victims of the pollution, were aware of the black magical energy.
Of course, Elinor also didn't know about magical energy.
She believed that Matthias was looking for Charlotte because he liked her.
'Damn.'
The problem of feudal pollution was a top secret.
With Elinor around, it wasn't a good situation to talk.
When Matthias fell silent, Cornelia frowned.
“Look, there are no circumstances, right?”
“You told me that you would be away a lot for the sake of our family. You asked me to temporarily take over as Lord in your place. If I had known you were so careless, I would never have agreed to your request.”
“Be.”
“I'm really disappointed, brother.”
The weather became cold.
No one could open his mouth easily.
At that moment, a heavy sound rang out as a stick tapped on the stone floor.
"Enough."
said the Grand Duchess, hitting the ground with her cane.
“Fighting in front of your mother? You two still have a lot of maturity to do.”
“But my brother started first…!”
“Cornelia, go out with Tidian.”
"My mom!"
"now."
Her tone was firm, not allowing a needle to enter.
In the end, Cornelia walked out with Tidian, her face full of resentment.
As soon as Cornelia left, Matthias spoke as if he had been waiting.