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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: Life as the Grand Duke's Daughter-in-Law is Too Easy
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Lady Rork's eyes were already brimming with fury.
If the Grand Duke had been there, she would have grabbed him by the hair and shaken him without a care for appearances—she was that worked up.
It had been a full three years, after all. Shouldn't she at least hold back for a month?
Unable to contain herself any longer, Bestia shot to her feet and said,
"Lady Marnie, I'm sorry, but you'll have to leave now. I just remembered I have an outing scheduled."
"Oh, really? That's a shame."
Lady Marnie nodded obediently and rose to go.
Even so, she dawdled, ears perked to catch what Lady Rork and her maid were saying.
"Prepare the carriage. We're heading to the seed farm."
As expected, Lady Rork couldn't suppress her anger and was off to see the Grand Duke.
Having achieved her goal, Lady Marnie boarded her carriage with a cheerful step.
It was a few hours later that Lady Rork ran into the Grand Duke Heir and his wife.
As soon as we entered the seed farm, the farm manager came out to greet Akid and me warmly.
"I heard you were coming. I'm Mac, the manager of this seed farm."
"Nice to meet you, Mac."
"Thanks for the warm welcome on such short notice."
Akid and I replied in turn, and Mac said to me,
"It's been since last year since Your Grace visited, right?"
"Hm? Did I come here before?"
I tilted my head at the unfamiliar story. Akid, hearing it for the first time as well, asked me,
"Did you come here last year?"
"Mm, looks like it. It's all fuzzy now."
I vaguely played it off as if it was too long ago to remember clearly, and Mac spoke up.
"You probably came briefly with the Grand Duchess and left, so Her Grace might not recall it."
"Ah, yeah, that must be it."
"Was everything alright that day? The Grand Duchess looked quite upset, and I was very worried."
"My mother-in-law?"
"Yes. You left without a word that day, and she was furious."
"Whoa, did I just up and leave without saying anything?"
I blurted it out in surprise and clapped a hand over my mouth.
Roena, you really did all kinds of things, didn't you?
No matter how you sliced it, skipping out without a word wasn't right.
I had no way of knowing what happened last year, so I could only speculate based on Mac's words.
It seemed I had indeed come with the Grand Duchess to inspect the seeds.
Given her personality, she probably wouldn't have stuck around such a dull place for long.
She must have slipped away at the first chance. Leaving the Grand Duchess to handle everything alone.
And to top it off, she'd botched the flower festival that year, so it was no wonder the Grand Duchess resented her.
This time, I have to do it right.
With that resolve, I gave Mac a determined look and said,
"I've cleared plenty of time this time, so please show me everything without holding back."
"Of course. Shall we start with the flowers we've grown out? They're in the greenhouse as samples. I can explain as we go if you'd like."
"Ooh, explanations would be great!"
"This year's Delrus flowers have especially vibrant colors. If we plant them, you should see them in full bloom by midseason. We can advance the flowering with magic, of course."
Mac smiled kindly as he led us to the blooming flowers. He pointed out each bed and explained about the blooms.
"These seeds are very light. Sometimes you'll see ones with rounded tips—those are defective, so set them aside."
I diligently jotted down notes every time Mac explained about the seeds.
Akid matched my pace, chiming in now and then, though he seemed puzzled by my sudden enthusiasm. He'd studied a lot, so he knew quite a bit about seeds too.
"I've heard the Grand Duke Heir is a man of many talents, but I didn't know you were interested in landscaping as well."
Mac praised him warmly, and Akid shyly looked away.
A moment later, Mac led us to a door and paused.
"Here we are—this is where we've been growing the Delrus flowers I mentioned earlier."
My ears perked up at the mention of Delrus flowers. I knew them well.
Delrus flowers—the ones Akid first gave to Mabel.
Delrus flowers were a rare species unique to this area, symbolizing the Hadelrus territory of Delrus.
Gifting Delrus flowers wasn't just a sign of friendship.
It's the flower the Grand Duke or Heir gives only to their wife.
But Mabel had never been to Delrus, so she hadn't grasped the meaning.
She just said thanks, and that was that.
As those thoughts crossed my mind, Mac opened the greenhouse door.
A vibrant field of Delrus flowers burst into view.
"Wow."
My mouth fell open at the stunning sight.
True to their winter-blooming nature, the colors were vivid and fresh.
"Take your time looking around since you're here."
"Will do."
"I need to grab the kit I left behind—I'll be right back."
Mac hurried off with those words.
I stepped into the flower bed. The Delrus flowers came in such a wide array of colors.
Watching the rainbow spectrum of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet, I couldn't help but gasp in admiration. The vivid clusters were especially striking.
"They're really pretty."
I wanted to touch them but held back, afraid I might damage them, contenting myself with just looking.
Then Akid approached and said,
"I thought you didn't like Delrus flowers."
"Me?"
"Don't you remember? At last year's festival, you told me to throw the ones I gave you in the trash."
"……."
"So I thought you hated flowers……."
"I don't hate them!"
I jumped in surprise and defended myself. It seemed I'd recoiled because they were a gift from Akid and told him to toss them.
"Uh…… sorry. I went too far back then."
The situation called for groveling, so I mumbled dejectedly.
Akid blinked his clear grayish-blue eyes at my reaction, then...
"If you don't hate them, that's a relief."
He offered gentle reassurance with a faint smile. For a moment, it looked like a halo glowed behind him.
This guy's beauty isn't of this world.
I grinned goofily, staring at Akid. I still couldn't believe I was his wife.
Akid smiled lazily and asked,
"If there's a flower you like, just say the word. I'll have it sent to your room."
"Oh, then I'll take a Del……."
I was thrilled at the offer of a gift and about to pick a Delrus flower.
"Wait, milady! Customers are in there right now, so you can't……!"
There was a commotion from the side, and a familiar woman burst in, all dolled up.
"Lady Rork?"
I murmured in bewilderment at the unexpected face.
Lady Rork scanned around with glaring eyes, spotted Akid and me, and strode over.
"Where's the Grand Duke?"
"How rude."
Akid pulled me behind him and spoke lowly to Lady Rork.
But Bestia, who had always ignored Akid, just snorted at his warning.
"Now you're using your child as a shield too?"
"What do you mean by that?"
"Just tell me straight. I heard the Grand Duke was here, that's why I came!"
Bestia shrieked. I stared at her in disbelief as she appeared out of nowhere and yelled at Akid.
Hmm, my turn to step in?
I steeled myself, puffed up importantly, and was about to deflate her with my signature silver tongue.
'Huh?'
Suddenly, the world spun dizzily before my eyes.
Beeeeeep—
Tinnitus rang in my ears next, making it hard to hear what Akid and Lady Rork were saying.
What's going on? Did I eat something bad?
I panicked at the sudden warning signs from my body.
A babbling noise like someone talking drilled into my ears.
Cold sweat poured down. My nose had gone numb; I couldn't smell the flowers anymore.
Dizzy, I leaned my face against Akid's back.
"Wife?"
Akid called to me in a startled voice at the sudden contact. But I had no strength to reply.
"A-Akid……."
I barely managed his name when my body swayed violently, legs giving out.
Akid caught my collapsing form and shouted,
"Wife!"
"Kyaa! Duchess Consort!"
The clerk who'd been holding back Lady Rork screamed.
"Wi…… fe……!"
Akid yelled something at me, but it came in broken fragments. Soon even that faded away.
What? Is this how Roena dies?
Was my body rejecting me because I wasn't Roena's soul?
In the original story, Roena had been perfectly healthy until the plague—fainting didn't fit.
I strained to stay conscious, but it was no use.
My fading vision caught Akid desperately shouting and Lady Rork pale as a ghost. Then everything went black.
Akid arrived at Hadelrus Castle carrying Roena on his back.
"Asil!"
The butler Asil rushed out at Akid's urgent cry.
"Young Master, what happened…… Oh no!"
Asil paled at the sight of the unconscious Roena.
"H-how did this……."
"Asil, fetch the physician. Right now!"
Akid issued a curt order, no time for explanations.
"Y-yes! Right away."
Asil stammered and rang the bell to summon the physician. Akid headed straight to Roena's bedroom.
Roena's breathing was ragged. Her body burned like fire, and cold sweat kept beading on her skin.
Was she feeling unwell even before the farm?
Akid's mind reeled from Roena's collapse. He'd noticed no signs of illness at all.
It had been their first real date, and the mood had been wonderful.
Plus, in the Delrus flower bed, she'd been exclaiming in delight with flushed cheeks—not like someone sick.
Why so suddenly? What caused this?
Pondering unanswerable questions, Akid flung open the door.
"Young Master?"
Hanna, tidying the bed linens, looked puzzled.
And then—
"Miss!!"
She let out a guttural scream, eyes locked on the fallen Roena.
