# 44
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After the messy and annoying breakfast, I quickly ran out of the dining hall as if to escape.
'What kind of change occurred in his heart yesterday?'
I thought that turning Ian into a decent person would make me feel proud, but now that his attitude had suddenly changed, I felt more confused than anything else.
Would Ian Cloud read a news bulletin?
I couldn't even imagine what he would think about articles published in real time.
'No, that might be a good thing.'
Maybe he realizes something more specific by seeing the blatant reactions from the community.
After thinking for a while, I decided to head to the office instead of my bedroom.
Nothing clears a complicated mind like work.
“Okay, let's stop worrying about uess things and get down to today's work.”
Although I was not working as much as Ian, as Duchess, I was also doing a great deal of work as Lady of the Palace.
I was responsible for the budget of all affairs within the Grand Duke's estate, as well as the various events that took place throughout the year.
'Who said that nobles just sit around doing nothing?'
When I first came into the Duchess's office, I was quietly appalled.
I couldn't believe that Eloise was running this huge duchy on her own.
Furthermore, even though it had only been two years since she became Duchess, her office was perfectly organized with all documents and financial records related to the estate.
'She's a wonderful woman, there's no doubt about that.'
At this point, I completely understood why Ian Cloud married Eloise and maintained their married life even without a trace of affection.
“Okay, let's get to work.”
She patted my cheek gently with both hands and sat down.
On the desk were various documents, including the budget plan for the month.
‘Honestly, when I first faced this exhausting workload, I wanted to run away…’
But it took me less than ten minutes to change my mind.
The reason was simple: as long as Diana's future was held hostage by this Grand Duchy, if she escaped, Diana would be the one to suffer.
How can I spread manure on the road that should be covered with flowers for my beloved?
My goal was to carefully manage the Duchy's finances until Diana's arrival. I reached out and leafed through the documents.
‘This is the budget for the garden... and this is for the kitchen? Well, this is confusing.'
As I tilted my head in confusion over the complicated documents, I opened the second drawer and took out a thick book.
'Well, the information should be here too.'
This was the second reason I didn't run away.
The first day I came to this office, I found Eloise's notebook. Judging by the contents, it appears that Eloise managed her duties by creating a guide for herf.
The notebook was filled with detailed information about the financial operations of the duchy.
It was so detailed that someone like me, who had no idea how a duchy worked, could roughly understand it.
‘Honestly, this is almost like a delivery document…’
When I first saw him, I wondered if she was planning to hand over her duties to someone else.
Of course, Eloise wouldn't know the future like me, so there was no way she would prepare the delivery document on purpose.
'Well, it's a big help to me, at least.'
As I sent a silent thank you into the air and opened the notebook, there was a knock at the door.
“Ma’am, this is Vivi.”
“Come in.”
With my permission, Vivi carefully opened the door and entered.
"I was cleaning the bedroom and I found this on the floor. I was going to put it on the shelf, but I thought it might be best to bring it to you now."
The paper and pen that came with the newsletter were in her hand.
“Oh, they were there.”
They must have fallen out when I left them without writing any reviews earlier.
“Give them both here.”
“Yes, ma'am.”
Vivi handed me pen and paper and then left the office, saying she would continue cleaning. I twirled the paper and pen in my hand, lost in thought.
Well, it doesn't look like there's any need to add any comments to this week's newsletter. But it would be absurd not to write anything at all.
I thought as I pressed my lips together and raised my eyebrows.
‘…Maybe I should take this opportunity to check out the other articles I didn’t read earlier?’
In fact, the comments section was the least of my worries. The idea of Ian reading the newsletter made me very curious.
I sneakily retrieved the newsletter, which I had placed on the side of the desk, and placed it on top of the documents.
“Work can wait as long as it gets done by the end of the day...”
The newsletter was packed with so much content that I almost forgot that it came out weekly.
There were various stories, such as someone in the salon of a regular count who got so drunk that he spilled wine on a plate, or how a certain young woman from one family was caught dating a young man from another family in the middle of the night, or a count who always failed at work and was once again trying to do it...
After browsing through the outrageous stories from high society, my eye naturally fell on the opinions section, as always.
Perhaps because some time had passed, it was now full of comments, much more so than in the morning.
As expected, the most active section was about the mining war, which made the front page.
“The families fighting over the mine are Cantell Marquis Merry and Count Olsen, right?”
Given the topic, the comments section was full of details that weren't even mentioned in the main article.
-But is it true that the mine is located on the border between the Marquis Méry County and Count Olsen's County?
-I heard from my brother who works in land administration. It is clear that the greater part of the land belongs to Count Olsen's estate, but the only place from which it can be entered is the land of the Marquis Merry.
-Huh. Then shouldn't Marquis Merry have it? I mean, whoever controls the entrance wins, right?
-Everyone knows that. The problem is that the Olsen family refuses to back down.
I once again remembered why most of the capital's nobles had purchased this newsletter.
‘As expected, the comments are more interesting than the main article.’
Nothing makes time go by like eavesdropping on other people's gossip. But Arya Newsletter allows you to do this legally.
“It would be a perfect conversation starter over drinks.”
Feeling cheerful, I rested my chin on my hand and continued reading.
As you saw earlier, most of the comments were critical of the Olsen family and Countess Olsen.
-What's wrong with Countess Olsen?
-She's been acting strangely since the Count's death two years ago. I became irritable...
– It's unfortunate, but there are still rules to follow.
- Oh, I hope I don't age like this.
- Sorry, what does age have to do with this?
- Why, do you feel guilty?
'Why are they fighting...?'
The anonymous comments that lead to arguments, both here and in 21st century Korea, seem to be the same everywhere.
I ignored the bickering and continued reading the other comments.
-Anyway, Countess Olsen no longer even attends social gatherings. She's hiding in that gloomy palace, doing things that no one knows about.
- exactly. I don't even let my stroller near Olsen's property.
As I was browsing through the rumors, a feeling of familiarity began to bother me again.
‘The Olsen family… No matter how many times I hear about them, I feel something familiar…’
It kept bothering me, like an itch I couldn't quite scratch.
It seemed like she wasn't a particularly important character, but still, it didn't make sense for me to remember such a passing extra character.
While I was racking my brains over the annoying feeling, the comments section updated again.
– What would you want from a mine that can't even be developed?
-Maybe she just wants to make life difficult for others, now that she no longer has a husband or an heir.
-It's not like she can take him with her when she dies, so what's the point of being so stubborn?
-Anyway, it's Marquis Merry who suffers. They haven't been able to extract any minerals or even clear the surrounding trees for a year now!
-But isn't Countess Olsen reading this too? Is it okay to say these things?
-What does it matter? It's not like we're making anything up.
'...Wait a minute.'
An idea came to me suddenly like a flash of lightning, and I nearly dropped the newsletter.