Ch#92
Smile?
What kind of ridiculous demand was this.
In a situation that wasn’t amusing in the slightest and utterly serious, to suddenly ask her to smile.
Odellie furrowed her brows for a moment.
She thought he had found some new amusement to tease her with.
……But.
Rudvil was strangely earnest.
“Why is your smile so stingy only toward me?”
At the unexpected question, Odellie was momentarily at a loss for words.
“You smile so freely at the servants.”
Did I…… do that?
She had never been aware of it herself.
But upon reflection, it was true.
She had smiled warmly at Leona from their first meeting, and in front of Theodor or the other retainers, she smiled without hesitation whenever the occasion called for it.
She wasn’t the type to hold back her smiles to begin with.
Unless it was a situation requiring deliberate acting.
But…….
In front of Rudvil.
Had she ever…… smiled like that?
It seemed she had always been tense around him without realizing it.
Fearful that her hidden identity would be exposed, or that the emotions she had bottled up for so long would leak out.
‘I might have let a light laugh slip occasionally by accident.’
But she had no memory of smiling at him enough for him to question why she wasn’t doing it.
She had always tried to draw a line with him.
‘Hm.’
Fine, moving her facial muscles a little wasn’t a big deal…….
It wasn’t anything grand to begin with.
“…….”
Odellie slowly formed a painted-on smile.
Not as loathsome as Gawin, but Odellie wasn’t bad at acting either.
Besides, acting happy was far easier than acting sad.
But it seemed that wasn’t the image Rudvil wanted.
With a dissatisfied expression, he urged her once more.
“Smile for me. Truly, as if you’re happy.”
That was a bit much.
How was she supposed to smile as if happy when she wasn’t?
“I need a reason to smile…… to actually smile.”
Odellie erased her smile and said hesitantly.
Then Rudvil let out a small “Ah” of a sigh and asked calmly.
“Shall I tear some silk for you?”
“…….”
“Or call a jester? Would you like to watch a circus? Or…….”
No, correction.
His voice was calm, but his eyes gleamed with intensity.
She could sense a near-maniacal stubbornness to draw out her smile at any cost.
“No.”
It was so burdensome she couldn’t smile even if she wanted to.
She had whipped him into finally doing some work, so why was he fixating on something weird and acting like a tyrant?
The knights who had been following her orders and looking at Rudvil with respect just moments ago were now subtly avoiding his gaze.
“I…… think I’d smile seeing someone diligently doing their job.”
“…….”
As Odellie tried to shove Rudvil into a hell of paperwork, he narrowed his eyes.
“Review the territory’s food distribution plans, repair the storehouses in preparation for the harsh winter, tighten discipline so vassals can’t demand excessive tribute, review and sign the tax reports within the deadline, manage the direct trading companies’ finances transparently to prevent reckless losses, and…….”
“…….”
With each item she quietly listed, Rudvil’s gaze wavered subtly.
Odellie caught her breath at the end, having rattled them off, and continued.
“……If you handle all that sincerely. Then I’ll smile for real.”
Rudvil fell silent for a moment, then nodded slowly.
“Fine.”
“…….”
“I’ll finish all the castle paperwork within a week, line up the vassals, and complete territory maintenance too.”
“…….”
Within a week?
As if that were possible.
Odellie thought of the mountain of documents piled on the office desk.
She had no idea Rudvil would actually finish everything in six days.
* * *
Endless stacks of documents for approval poured into Rudvil’s office every day.
The old him would have ignored them entirely, leaving them like trash.
But the current Rudvil was different.
“Sign this.”
“Reject this.”
“Report this directly.”
His sharp gaze skimming through documents swiftly evoked memories of his Iron-Blooded Grand Duke days.
……But it wasn’t exactly the same.
His actions were similar, but his expression and demeanor were noticeably softer.
Their lord had made his name with unmatched combat prowess.
In exchange, as if bound by the law of equivalent exchange, he had lacked any humanity.
He hadn’t hesitated to be ruthless for victory in battle, treated people like expendables, and saw those around him as mere backdrop.
Sealing off plague-stricken areas immediately had been part of that.
But now, he couldn’t do that anymore.
‘……Then she’d rush to the plague area alone again.’
Rudvil frowned slightly as he looked down at the documents.
His wife didn’t spare herself to help others.
Now that he knew she vomited blood when overexerting, he couldn’t create unnecessary work.
Besides, there was the reward he’d been promised.
“His Highness is voluntarily looking at documents……. The paperwork……”
“He’s not rushing off alone to massacre……”
Edwin, like the other retainers, was moved to tears.
No one noticed that this toil wasn’t selfless devotion.
The retainers and servants gathered in the corridor buzzed with wide eyes.
“He just said to bring more work.”
Silence fell for a moment.
“…….”
“…….”
They exchanged incredulous glances, then burst into admiration all at once.
“Waaaaah……!”
“Long live Grand Duchess Highness!”
That day, cheers echoed down the long corridors of the Grand Duke’s castle.
Feeling relief that the castle’s turbulent daily life was finally returning to normal, people embraced and laughed with each other.
All but one.
Rudvil, at the end of the corridor, thought as he heard the murmurs through the door crack.
What am I even doing here…….
Yet he didn’t stop his hand holding the pen.
And so, on the sixth day,
Bang—!
He kicked open Odellie’s door and grabbed her shoulders with a haggard face that looked as if he hadn’t slept for days.
“Smile for me.”
“…….”
After a brief pause, Odellie said.
“You know, Rudvil.”
“What.”
“You really seem like a madman.”
Only realizing it now?
“You should’ve known that from our first meeting.”
As Rudvil retorted, Odellie finally let out an “Ahaha” laugh.
