Translator: Nox
Episode 12
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Odelia realized that she was being treated as 'the woman who caught the Grand Duke's eye' by the head butler.
Destined to be cherished for a short period, only to be discarded the moment his interest waned.
A bitter feeling arose for a moment, but...
'I didn't come here to receive special treatment in the first place.'
Odelia soothed herself, pushing away the emotions that surged within her.
As if brushing away dust, very resolutely.
'A woman worth a contract marriage for five years.'
...That was enough.
A justification to stay by his side, the right to remain.
She didn't need any more emotion than that.
What she wanted was simply to turn Ludville's gaze elsewhere within that period.
Anything would do.
Not the past, but the future.
Not deprivation or loss, but possibility.
So that he could turn his eyes to a life that would be entirely his.
'I need to help him find true happiness.'
It was when Odelia was renewing her resolve.
"Then, I shall take my leave."
Theodore, the head butler, maintained formality but turned around without hesitation.
As if it were a familiar task, he moved as if it were a procedure he had repeated many times.
It was only natural, as the owner of the room changed in as little as a day or as long as a fortnight.
"Wait a moment."
Odelia called out to him.
"Instead of this room, I think I'd prefer the Separate Palace on the outskirts of the castle."
"Pardon?"
Theodore's hand, which was opening the door, twitched slightly.
"If you mean the Separate Palace on the outskirts of the castle, there's only one, but surely..."
"Yes, that one."
It was an absurd request.
Theodore, the head butler, narrowed the space between his eyes.
His expression seemed to gauge whether she was serious.
Usually, when a noble made such an outrageous request, it was a signal to humbly offer a better room.
But Odelia closed her mouth after that one statement.
She didn't ask for more, nor did she expect more.
"That place is old and practically a warehouse. There are many places that need repair and are not properly cleaned. If you don't like this room, there are many better guest rooms in the main palace."
"I saw it on the way here, and it looked secluded and peaceful. That place is enough."
"...If you prefer a bleak atmosphere, I won't stop you."
Theodore seemed to be conflicted about whether he should dissuade her.
"I want to decide where I stay."
"..."
"I think I have that much of a choice."
Choice...
To invoke her rights in order to go to a warehouse-like Separate Palace?
He concealed his bewildered expression and spoke politely.
"In that case, I will have the Separate Palace prepared. I will check the heating, lighting, and bedding immediately."
"Yes, please."
Theodore, leaving the room, narrowed his eyes.
'...Strange. Isn't she the youngest Princess of the Cardel family, raised like a precious jewel?'
He was well aware of the rumors about the third Princess.
The story that she was born with a congenitally weak body and grew up monopolizing the love and attention of her family.
Because of that, unlike someone from a family of heroes, she was said to be picky and willful...
But the Princess before his eyes was completely different from those rumors.
She was directly asking for an old and gloomy Separate Palace as her accommodation.
After the Separate Palace was prepared, Odelia entered with her luggage, guided by Theodore.
As if it had been her room for a long time, without any hesitation.
Theodore quietly watched her, falling into confusion.
"..."
Suspicious.
Everything from head to toe was suspicious, so much so that it would be faster to find what wasn't suspicious.
'Why did His Highness decide to keep such a woman in the castle?'
It was obvious.
For the sole reason that she was interesting...
Theodore swallowed the sigh that came out involuntarily.
'Why did she have to appear now...'
He couldn't bring himself to say it out loud, but his lord was no longer the same as before.
As if he had crossed a point of no return... he had completely changed.
Things that would have been unimaginable in the days when he was called the Iron-Blooded Grand Duke were now happening every day.
Impulse took precedence over reason, and madness replaced strategy.
Luxury, women, alcohol, slaughter...
A textbook tyrant, indeed.
If.
If that Princess, trying to attract the Grand Duke's interest, poured oil on that madness...
'The worst disaster would befall the Grand Duke's family.'
Just imagining it made his eyes dizzy.
But Theodore quietly buried all those doubts and anxieties in his heart, bowing his head expressionlessly.
"I will select and assign a maid soon."
There was nothing he could do.
'Besides, she'll be kicked out in a fortnight anyway.'
As always.
However, looking at the Princess, who was a little different from the women he had seen for the past three months, he suddenly had such a thought.
Could it be different this time?
Could it be that the person who would bring rest and peace to him had really appeared like a miracle...?
'...That can't be.'
Even the 'Blue-Eyed Woman' was nothing more than a non-existent, illusory woman.
Nothing more than a phantom.
All he could do was hope that the situation would not get worse than it was now.
He slowly bent his waist to bow and then turned away in silence.
He was still expressionless, but a heavy resignation hung over his back.
* * *
The reason why Odelia insisted on staying in the old Separate Palace on the outskirts of the castle.
It wasn't just because it was familiar.
There was something she had to do first.
'Ludville probably doesn't remember what he was prepared to do, what he did...'
The day Odelia regressed was the day Ludville from her previous life proposed to her.
So, until three months ago, when Ludville regressed and lost his memory, it would have flowed the same as in her previous life.
Surely, 'that' would still be left in this Separate Palace.
Ludville had even forgotten its existence, but Odelia, who had seen his memories, knew.
'It should be somewhere around here.'
As soon as the head butler left, Odelia headed straight to the storage room.
When she opened the door, all sorts of junk were mixed together with dust.
She looked around and found an old wall clock hanging on one wall.
'Found it.'
The color had faded with age, and even the pendulum had fallen off.
A discarded item that no one would pay attention to.
But Odelia approached without hesitation and felt the bottom of the clock.
A slightly recessed groove caught on her fingertips.
Click―
When she pressed it, she heard the sound of gears meshing somewhere inside.
Odelia turned the clock hands in the opposite direction.
And she set the hands exactly to '6' and '12'.
June 12th.
Ludville and Odelia's first wedding anniversary.
The day he gave her the ring.
"..."
Odelia, who belatedly realized the meaning of the code, paused for a moment.
'...That's not important now.'
This was not the time to indulge in sentimentality.
Creak―
At the same time as the ominous sound, the entire clock tilted forward.
A cleverly disguised gap in the wall opened, revealing a narrow passage just wide enough for one person to squeeze through.
Odelia lifted her skirt and pushed herself into the darkness.
At the end of the narrow passage, a small dome-shaped room appeared.
A space without any light, like a small cave.
Numerous magic symbols were engraved on the floor.
It was the last resort that Ludville in her previous life used to save Odelia.
