11 - How to Survive as the Wife of a Monster Duke
How to Survive as the Monster Duke's Wife
Episode 11: Commotion in the Mansion
The guests, who were more like unwanted visitors, filling the hallway bowed deeply as soon as they saw the robe with the Red Deloz crest embroidered lavishly on it.
It was for survival rather than loyalty.
It was the robe worn by the master of Biften.
The master was always wearing the robe so deeply that his face was barely visible, but his masculine jawline and the lips that uttered chilling words were so impressive that they were etched in their minds, unforgettable even at a fleeting glance.
"This way."
Only Aegis spoke.
The guests whispered among themselves after they passed.
How could the Deloz knights move so freely in front of him?
The situation was the same on the 6th floor.
Aegis informed the maids in front of the room before the Duke even arrived at the hallway.
"His Grace the Duke is coming."
"Yes?"
The Blue Nose maids asked back with faces as if they had heard something absurd.
He was the head of the family who, far from spending the night with a woman, would go out to the battlefield and not return for days if the elders pushed a woman into his bedroom.
This time, there was talk of marriage and whatnot, but in fact, all the maids thought.
She would spend the night alone.
But the Duke not only spent the night with her but even came to visit her himself.
"Because she's Sunfolk?"
Aegis clearly heard the maid who had retreated far into the hallway say.
His cold gaze turned to the distance.
The Duke heard the same words but passed him and headed for the front of the door.
The doctor, who was coming out of the door, saw him and was horrified, bowing his head.
Fortunately, this one didn't collapse from a heart attack after meeting the Duke's eyes.
He was a doctor of Deloz who had worked in the Knights Order for a long time and was a disciple of the chief physician.
"What's going on?"
"I didn't expect you to come in person..."
The doctor, who seemed out of his mind, cleared his throat and regained his composure.
Then, after glancing at the door, he reported.
"She has severe muscle pain all over her body and her fever is not going down."
Muscle pain? Aden raised one eyebrow.
Aegis, who had been listening quietly, subtly turned his gaze away.
The doctor waved his hand as if he knew what they were thinking.
"It's not because of the night. Of course, it may have been a factor, but she didn't have any systemic symptoms until this morning."
"Then?"
The doctor carefully informed him.
"This morning, the Blue Nose maids offered Nenede, a painkiller..."
"Nenede?"
Aden narrowed his eyes.
It was a medicinal herb with excellent effects and no side effects, so it was often used even on the front lines.
"It seems that it was not suitable for the Sunfolk."
\\
「My father was a man who longed for summer.」
Snow was piled high.
Above it, large snowflakes were falling relentlessly.
In the middle of it, the two were sitting side by side on the snow.
Illyin looked around and found a Mobile shaking inside the mansion.
It was a Mobile of a familiar shape that she always saw in her Precognitive dream.
This is a dream.
Illyin looked back at the two.
In the dream, she was sitting on a Blue Nose cloth.
She wondered if it was okay to use the Divine Relic like that, but she thought it couldn't be helped if she wanted to sit on the floor.
And facing her was Den, the commander of the Red Deloz Knights.
「My father was satisfied with showing my mother Elo's Light, but that's not real sunlight.」
Den continued in a calm voice.
「The summer that disappeared from Biften a long time ago was not like that.」
He smiled with a slightly relaxed face.
His dark blue eyes were not always cold.
「You, as Sunfolk, know better than I do.」
After a moment of silence, he spoke again.
「I will bring summer back to this Biften.」
It sounded like a great determination.
Illyin, who was watching the two, widened her eyes.
Biften was already famous enough to be called the Winter Territory.
Summer is coming to this place...?
Is that possible?
「How?」
Illyin in the dream asked back as if she was curious.
Den opened his mouth.
「That is―」
\\
"Are you there?"
Illyin opened her eyes.
Her body felt heavy.
Whether she had been sweating or not, her forehead and Exposed neckline felt cool as the air touched them.
After blinking a few times, she was greeted by a ceiling that looked similar to, but much more cozy than, the snowy field.
It was still the bed where she had spent her first night.
Knock knock.
She stared at the door visible through the fluttering white curtains.
Someone was knocking.
"Who is it?"
A beat later, a reply came from outside.
"This is Den of the Red Deloz."
Illyin blinked her eyes at the incomprehensible situation.
Illyin looked around the room and confirmed that there was no Mobile.
This was not a dream.
But why is Den here...?
Illyin's mind became complicated in an instant.
What should I say?
This was clearly something that the maids should have handled.
How could they leave a stranger to come to the room of a bride who had spent her first night last night?
But there was no trace of the maids.
They were the maids who had never left her room, even when she had woken up several times from the fever.
"What's going on?"
Illyin asked back in a faint voice.
It was such a small voice that she wondered if it would be heard outside the door, but Den managed to catch it.
"I heard you were sick,"
...Because I'm sick, the commander of the Red Deloz Knights came to visit?
Illyin raised herself up and pulled the blanket up to her Exposed neckline.
This was an absurd situation in her common sense.
"...His Highness ordered me to check on your condition."
Den's added words were heard.
Illyin blinked her eyes.
She was just as embarrassed.
She was grateful for his concern.
It was a surprisingly friendly response, unlike the rumors.
But, send the commander of the Knights?
It would be enough to send a Red Deloz maid, but why a man? Illyin's head, which was already suffering from a severe headache, became more complicated.
Is this originally a common occurrence in Biften?
Her mind became complicated in an instant.
"...Please think carefully before coming in."
Illyin carefully opened her mouth.
Biften was different from the Empire in the way it governed its territory.
Perhaps, in Biften, it might not be against etiquette for a stranger to enter the room.
If that was the case, it might be rude to chase Den away.
So, come in if you think it's right.
That was the meaning of Illyin's words.
"Then, just a moment."
The door clicked open.
A man with neat black hair stepped in through the doorway.
His blue eyes clearly reflected the light from the white ceiling.
Perhaps he had come in a hurry, his clothes seemed a little less neat than usual.
A white shirt was visible inside his unbuttoned uniform jacket.
Illyin turned her gaze away from him.
It was because the Duke's appearance from last night came to her mind.
His body, which was slightly visible when writing the oath.
"Are you feeling very uncomfortable?"
Suddenly, she recalled the image of Den and herself in her dream.
This person and I seemed close.
Very.
"..."
No way...
Illyin shook her head slightly as if trying to shake it off.
It was a dream that she shouldn't have had right after her first night.
She felt dizzy.
"Are you alright?"
"Y-yes, I'm fine."
Illyin's answer popped out without her knowing.
She gripped the blanket tightly in her hand.
The blanket was pulled up to just below her neck.
"But, is this originally... a natural thing in Biften?"
She ended up asking.
She couldn't help but be more wary of him.
Den tilted his head slightly.
"Yes?"
His face, asking what she was asking, was closer to looking genuinely puzzled than the face of a brazen offender.
Is Biften really a different culture?
"If this were the Empire, it would be a serious crime for Den to come here."
Illyin tried to calm her voice as much as possible and said.
Den flinched as if he realized the meaning of her words belatedly.
"Ah."
A brief silence followed.
"...It's okay here."
Oh, I see.
Illyin sighed.
But it was still uncomfortable.
I have to adapt to the cultural difference, but what's most worrying is the Precognitive dream.
No way.
Illyin thought that she was being too sensitive.
If it's not impolite to enter the bedroom, then two men and women talking alone is...
"I heard that you're sick because of the medicine."
"Medicine?"
Illyin straightened her mind, which was being sucked into her thoughts.
She was drowsy from the fever and dreams, so she didn't even remember hearing the doctor's words.
She remembered that the doctor had come.
Because he was a man, she was surprised.
"The Nenede you took is mainly drunk by the people of Biften... It's a medicine that doesn't suit the Sunfolk due to their constitution."
Den, who had been hesitating, added.
"We are currently bringing medicine suitable for the Sunfolk through the Essid Merchant Group. It will arrive soon if you rest a little."
"I understand."
Fortunately, Den noticed that she was uncomfortable and quickly left.
Illyin sighed briefly.
Den was just doing his job.
His Grace the Duke was said not to stay at the mansion often.
The person who heard that I was sick didn't seem like he would ignore it.
He was too gentle last night to see him as such a heartless person.
Illyin took a deep breath.
\*
"Your Highness, this is a disregard for custom. Please reconsider."
Lidan of the Blue Nose was one of the frequent visitors to the Knights Hall these days.
Aden narrowed his eyes and looked at him.
His gaze reached the clock and fell.
It was quite late for someone to visit.
"I don't know what you're so dissatisfied with."
"It's about the maids of the Lady."
Illyin's maids? Ah.
Aden tilted his head slightly.
"You mean changing all of them to Red Deloz maids?"
"Yes. It was the Blue Nose who served the bride for generations."
In short, he was saying that he had invaded their territory.
Aden did not hide his openly uncomfortable face.
"Originally, it was our Blue Nose who served Lady Elena,"
Elena was the name of the previous Duchess.
"It wasn't when I was young."
Aden, who opened his mouth slowly, stopped the elder's words.
"After my mother got sick, I couldn't find a Blue Nose maid. Isn't that right?"
Lidan's answer was a beat late.
"...That's because Lady Elena liked the Red Deloz maids more."
"That's not it, it's because the Blue Nose didn't take good care of my mother."
Aden's cold gaze turned to Lidan.
"Serving the bride is originally the job of the Blue Nose. I know."
That's why he allowed them to use the Red Deloz carriage road.
In fact, the carriage carrying the bride ran on the fastest Deloz carriage road among the four families' passages to the Sunlands.
Aden thought of the first time he met Illyin.
She was so thin and fragile that he couldn't easily touch her because he felt like something would go wrong.
Only one Blue Nose coachman accompanied her on her way here.
He didn't think that the Blue Nose would welcome the Sunfolk.
He let out a hollow laugh.
The Red Deloz was a family that avoided extravagance.
They also held the name of Biften, which represented the Winter Territory, but they were more interested in practicality than in decorating.
On the other hand, the Blue Nose was the family where the Duchesses stayed the longest, as it had the most beautiful fields in the days when there was summer.
Their land was now buried in snow, but the beautiful buildings had not disappeared.
The history of the Duchesses staying for a long time became a custom as it was.
The bride was always brought from the Blue Nose.
Yes, serving the bride is the job of the Blue Nose.
That's the custom.
"That's the story when you serve without lacking. But the Blue Nose doesn't know how to serve the Sunfolk."
He placed Nenede leaves, which were easily available anywhere in the Knights Hall, on the desk.
"The coachman too."
Lidan's face hardened.
He rubbed the leaves on the desk.
The thick greenish liquid left marks haphazardly and scattered on the desk.
