Chapter 12
Dominic's nagging, which poured out whenever he ran into Daniel these days, was about to start again.
'Do you think bankruptcy is easy? You have to spend money to know, you cheapskate.'
Daniel tossed the glove he had removed right at Dominic's chest and passed by indifferently, asking,
"The bed?"
"It arrived. A ridiculously huge and expensive bed is now proudly placed in Your Grace's room. I'm just coming from seeing it. But that's not the problem right now......"
"From tonight, you should be able to sleep comfortably."
It seemed the morning's discussion had been honored. Her expression had been excessively proud, after all. Considering the road conditions around the duchy, the arrival was astonishingly fast. She must have paid a hefty premium to the Baimar merchants, not just empty words.
"Do you know what I heard today? 'If you don't want to see the vault emptied out, stop the Duchess quickly.'"
"Why? Does she plan to buy the throne with it?"
If she wanted, she could probably buy a small city-state below the Rapas mountains.
"Arghhh!"
At his lukewarm reaction, Dominic let out a bizarre howl and ruffled his own hair wildly.
"That would be better. I'd love to leave this damn place and live comfortably. And what use would I be if you bought me? This is like scattering money on the streets......"
"Streets?"
Dominic's unusually flustered appearance, a rare sight from the normally annoyingly calm man, held Daniel's steps. As he reacted, Dominic quickly blocked his path.
"Yes, streets! She's going to widen the roads. Lay down roads connecting directly to the port. Why build roads on this land that bastard Leopold might seize anytime—and with your money, no less!"
Roads...... For a noble lady, she had quite a brain. After a brief admiration came irritation. Why not just buy fancy dresses or expensive jewels like ordinary women? What was the point of such nonsense? Dominic closely followed behind Daniel, who walked past him toward the inner castle again.
"So I told her to wait a bit—large-scale projects need the Emperor's approval to start. Who knows, maybe the Emperor will even chip in for his half-brother's construction costs. But then......"
"She can't wait?"
"If that was all, I wouldn't have even suggested you stop her. Arghhh!"
Dominic let out his signature bizarre sound again and clutched the back of his neck.
"I knew it. I knew she'd cause trouble from the moment she started piling up projects one after another."
The day they arrived in the duchy carrying the unconscious Daniel. The Duchess, who had insisted she was fine the whole way, stepped down from the carriage with a bloodless, pallid face. Seeing her drag her skirt and trudge into the castle, he had worried she might be holding a funeral tomorrow. But lo and behold. After lying ill for about three days, she rose and roamed the entire castle without rest. He should have stopped her then. Told her not to overstep, to just stay in the Duchess's role and nurse that bastard Daniel. By the time he came to his senses, his loose-lipped father aside, the mercenaries and servants all called her 'our Duchess,' 'our Madam'...... There was no one in Munheim Castle not on the Duchess's side. So who would listen now? A woman half his size with such fierce stubbornness. Arguing all day in verbal battles he couldn't win left his jaw aching. Dominic rubbed his sore jawbone and grumbled.
"Approval from the imperial court could take forever—she says she'll die of a stiff neck waiting. And waiting for the Emperor's vault to open would take longer than Father stopping his cursing? Damn, couldn't even refute because it was spot on."
Truly articulate for someone raised buried in books since childhood.
"Want to know what else she said? I'm dumbfounded."
The more he recalled, the more absurd it felt, and he clicked his tongue involuntarily.
"She says we need to push the construction fast so even if the imperial court nitpicks later, they can't halt it. Make it so completion is better than interruption. What the......"
Is this a genius idea?! For a moment, he nearly forgot to stop her and exclaimed, clapping in admiration. Jolted back by the memory, Dominic hurried to Daniel's side, who had fallen a step behind. After venting and getting some fresh air, his mind cleared. He took a long deep breath and reverted to the cold-hearted Dominic Molly.
"You must stop her, my lord. News of your awakening will reach Shendal Castle any day now. Imagine that reaching the Dowager Empress's ears, already on edge—she'll drag you back to the battlefield with any excuse."
The Dowager Empress would do just that. She wouldn't sit idly watching Daniel settle into the Rihardt Duchy. Daniel, bitterly twisting his lips, suddenly looked at Dominic as if struck by a thought.
"Did you find out who instigated the Notingen Duke three years ago?"
"Suspicious circumstances point to someone, but no decisive evidence."
"Who?"
The Notingen family in the north had been quietly subdued by the Baichen family's power. Their sudden rebellion was suspicious, so he had ordered a background check. Follow the money, as funding was key to any war.
"Marquis Morenhaits."
The unexpected name from Dominic's mouth made Daniel ask again, uncharacteristically.
"Who?"
"Marquis Balt Morenhaits. You know him, right? Lord of Askarlon. The valiant brown lion, margrave of the Rüngen Empire."
No man who wielded a sword didn't know him. But why here? Dominic shrugged that was all he knew.
"Traces of money exchanged between Arthur Notingen and Count Schwaben, a close aide to the marquis. The money trail leads to him."
"Dig deeper."
"We'll see. I'm too busy to have time for that."
"What nonsense?"
As Daniel frowned, Dominic snorted as if waiting.
"If you want to use me whenever and wherever you please, stop the Duchess from starting projects. Or hire someone new to clean up after her. Then I'm swamped, so if you'll excuse me."
Dominic haughtily lifted his chin and scurried into the inner castle, where lamps were just being lit. *** Heading to his bedroom, Daniel turned at urgent footsteps. A maid carrying a bucket of water and several towels approached quickly, then bowed deeply upon spotting him.
"W-Welcome back, Your Grace."
He recognized her face—she often entered the bedroom attending the Duchess. His gaze fell on what she held. Cold water without steam and clean towels. He easily guessed their purpose.
"Does the Duchess have a fever?"
The maid bowed her head as if it were her fault.
"Yes. A slight fever since this afternoon."
"The doctor?"
"He... just left a little while ago."
"Go."
Having heard all he needed, he turned without lingering toward his room. His gaze briefly touched what had been his bedroom but was now the Duchess's, then moved away. Midway down the corridor, two rooms side by side became the ducal couple's bedrooms for their size and good light. Pushing open the right of the two rough wooden doors with the same color and pattern revealed a different scene from when he left that morning. In the spot where he had slept on carpets and blankets layered on the floor for days stood a large, expensive-looking brown bed. The bed's frame held curtains in the same color with gold leaf patterns. The wide bookshelf was original, but a few new items caught his eye. A round table and two chairs between the bed and fireplace. A chest of drawers below the wall where he had said no paintings. No floral patterns anywhere. The conditions he had given his wife along with the vault key were now fulfilled.
"Order a bed. Right now. And from tonight, I'll stay in the next room."
"Pardon? But that room has nothing but the bookshelf."
"I'll sleep on the floor until the bed arrives. I'm used to roughing it, so a few days are fine."
"No. You're still a patient. If the bedroom needs changing, I should be the one to......"
"Madam. This is my condition. If you're worried about my health, hurry with the bed preparations."
Lest she forget, he quickly added reminders.
"Absolutely no flowers anywhere in the bedroom. No floral patterns either."
Surprisingly quick to agree, she needed no lengthy explanation. His wife had an extremely pragmatic side, focusing on tasks without delay. In that way...... she resembled that woman. Clever. A timid knock appropriately interrupted his thoughts. The wall connecting the ducal couple's rooms echoed softly. As Daniel showed no reaction, the quiet wall knocked again, 'knock knock,' a bit louder. She knew he was in here and clearly wanted to see him now.
'Sick, my foot.'
Seemed she had much to say that a slight fever couldn't stop; based on the past few days, it probably wasn't serious. Maybe consulting on the road construction Dominic had ranted about. Despite saying no need for approval on spending, Frida had submitted detailed reports daily without fail. Meticulous ones in neat handwriting. None mentioned jewels, dresses, or shoes. What kind of woman had he married? He sometimes pondered that before lying on the layered blankets on the floor to sleep. Daniel slowly approached the wall with the door permitted only to the duke and duchess. Then again. Knock knock. As the sound ended, he pulled the door, and Frida blinked her clear doe eyes shyly, smiling.
"Ah, you're here."
"Didn't you knock knowing I was?"
Planning to keep knocking until he opened, yet playing innocent. Unlike her innocent appearance, Frida was quite shrewd and somewhat brazen. What Daniel had gleaned about his wife over the past ten days. Sure enough, the woman before him grinned without embarrassment at being caught.
"I have something urgent to discuss. May I come in?"
As Daniel stepped aside holding the handle and opened the door wide, Frida quickly entered his room. Then looked around.
"Do you like the bed and furniture? It was rushed, but made by a quite famous craftsman in Baimar. Originally ordered by Duke Andrea, lord of Baimar, but he generously yielded it upon hearing my situation. We've built some rapport through past dealings."
Honestly, the amount listed for the bed in her spending report seemed excessive even for a bed. Even accounting for premium, even he, a layman, could see it was overpriced. A little digging would reveal Andrea profited from it, not friendship. Whether she knew his intent or not, his wife was adept at flattery. Seemingly humble but actually loving praise for sweet talk. That too resembled that woman.
"What did you want to discuss with me?"
"Ah, I wanted to consult on building a road from the southern duchy to the coast. With a road directly to the port, we won't rely entirely on Baimar for trade, which is good for us too......"
He just now recalled what people called jewels like his wife's eyes.
'Amethyst.'
Daniel's hand gently covered Frida's forehead.
Clever, shrewd, affable, beautiful woman. In some ways, his wife reminded him of Dowager Empress Margret. The woman who had driven his mother to death, whom he had once admired. But...... decidedly different too.
"They said you have a slight fever—are you alright?"
Her honest eyes enlarged immediately without hiding emotions, cheeks flushing frankly. Truly fortunate. No need to harbor hatred in his gaze toward his wife.
