Translator: Nox

Ch#90

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Meanwhile, having left the bedroom, Odellie ran into Edwin on her way to the library.

She approached him with an unconsciously brightened expression.

She had more than one or two things she wanted to ask to grasp the state of the Grand Duke's household.

“Ah, Madam……!”

But upon closer inspection, his condition was far from normal.

Dark circles reaching down to his chin.

And the stacks of documents filling his arms…….

“……Are you alright?”

“Ah, hahaha. I’m fine.”

“What’s with all these documents suddenly…….”

“Well…….”

Edwin smiled awkwardly and explained the whole story.

As she listened, Odellie couldn’t help but be astonished.

“So………you’ve been handling almost all the territory affairs yourself lately?”

Starting three months ago, Rudvil had largely been out of his right mind.

Because of that, unchecked matters had piled up, and aside from essential reports, all detailed tasks had been dumped onto Edwin.

However, with the recent marriage, the plague incident, and internal matters piling up, even Edwin could no longer manage it all.

In other words, Odellie bore some responsibility for his haggard appearance.

Odellie casually checked the bundle of documents.

Various pending approval documents were stacked like a mountain.

Tax reports, petitions from vassals, financial ledgers from Excepcion’s direct trading companies, renovation plans submitted by territory administrators…… not a single one had met its deadline.

Therefore…….

—Thud!

The heavy stack of documents Edwin was holding was plopped directly onto Rudvil’s desk.

“……Your Highness.”

“Rudvil.”

“No, Grand Duke Highness.”

As she stubbornly insisted on ‘Highness,’ his eyebrows curved in dissatisfaction.

Odellie slammed the various documents onto the desk and said.

“Please handle these by the end of the day.”

“…….”

Edwin, who had unwittingly tattled on the Grand Duke’s household situation, looked at her with momentary panic, then with eyes as if a halo shone around her.

“All of these?”

Rudvil propped his chin, looking annoyed as he casually flipped through the documents.

Rudvil had neglected these documents.

He had barely handled the minimum duties as Grand Duke, leaving the rest untouched.

A man who didn’t even care about his own life could hardly have properly managed the territory.

“Thanks to Your Highness abandoning everything else and throwing yourself into monster subjugation…… the monsters rampant in the north have almost vanished this year.”

“Good for you.”

“What’s good about it.”

If Odellie hadn’t come north, he would have turned into a monster himself.

While chiding him, Odellie made a straightforward proposal.

“I’ll help with the work.”

It had been one of the conditions she proposed when suggesting the contract marriage in the first place.

That she would help him with the various internal issues he was facing.

Odellie dragged over a chair and placed it right next to Rudvil, who sat in the head seat.

“Hm…….”

Only then did Rudvil, who had seemed utterly bored and indifferent to worldly affairs, show interest.

He stared fixedly at her as she sat in the chair.

“I figured you’d only work if I monitor you right beside you.”

Then she dangled bait to get him to work.

“In return, I’ll stay by your side the whole time you’re working.”

“……The whole time?”

“Yes. The whole time.”

At that, Rudvil pondered for a moment before reluctantly picking up his pen slowly.

And he began skimming and approving the documents half-heartedly.

At first, he seemed so indifferent it was questionable if he was even reading them, but once he actually looked, his processing speed was surprisingly fast.

As expected, it wasn’t that he couldn’t do it—he just hadn’t because it was a hassle.

“Grand Duchess Highness…….”

Edwin gave her a thumbs-up with moved eyes.

But it wasn’t just Edwin.

The chief steward, finance officer, political affairs officer, castle affairs officer, tactics officer, and so on…….

All the vassals in the conference room had eyes sparkling excessively, even if they didn’t show it as openly as Edwin.

No, it wasn’t sparkling…… it looked more like reflections off teary eyes.

During the roughly three months Rudvil had been mad, they must have suffered immensely.

Odellie sat beside Rudvil and diligently reviewed the documents as well.

Then, suddenly, she paused her hand.

Excepcion territory’s granary inventory list.

She had nearly passed it without suspicion…….

Suddenly, a distant memory from Rudvil’s past life, buried deep, faintly resurfaced.

In an early regression when Rudvil had first become Grand Duke of Excepcion.

Rudvil back then, who had spent his life wielding a sword on battlefields, was still unskilled in the nobles’ political games.

The vassals who didn’t acknowledge him had been waiting for any chance to oust him.

‘……At the end of winter, the vassals had inflated their tribute reports.’

That year, trusting the manipulated inventory figures, they had halted food purchases, only for the granaries to empty in a month, causing a massive famine.

And the vassals had dumped all the blame on Rudvil, using it as justification to replace the incompetent Grand Duke.

‘Rudvil in this life was called the Iron-Blooded Grand Duke until three months ago, so the vassals wouldn’t have dared easily…….’

But recent Rudvil had been different in many ways.

Vassals with ulterior motives might have seized the opportunity.

Odellie set down her pen and asked.

“Finance officer.”

“Yes, Grand Duchess Highness.”

“Could you bring the previous reports on territory food supply as well?”

“Why that suddenly…….”

The finance officer trailed off, glancing at Rudvil.

Even though Odellie had formally become Grand Duchess, he was cautious about revealing internal territory details right away.

“Bring them.”

But Rudvil said calmly, his eyes gleaming.

Eyes full of curiosity about what Odellie was thinking.

“Was there something suspicious? My wife is clever too. Spotting the Grand Duke’s household issues in just one day.”

“Just something that caught my eye.”

“What is it.”

“The north has long harsh winters, and securing food for the Grand Duchy is an important annual task, isn’t it?”

“It is.”

“This territory’s inventory seems more abundant than expected. Even compared to other territories.”

At that, Rudvil leaned closer to Odellie to review the documents together.

The more he flipped through, the harder Rudvil’s expression grew.

Just then, the finance officer, who had left the room on Rudvil’s orders, returned and handed them the past reports.

‘As expected.’

Odellie’s suspicion was confirmed.