Chapter 2 – Engagement (Part 9)

Elysia finally found herself alone after returning to her room following dinner with the Duke. Sitting on the sofa, staring blankly at the black ceiling, she felt a chill despite the warmth of the room, which was well-stocked with firewood.

The room was so quiet that it felt like she could hear the blood flowing through her veins. With nothing much to do, she went out to the balcony, but the garden without a single light on a moonless night looked only eerie. The trees decorating the garden, instead of special landscaping, appeared as a single black mass of shadow.

Returning to the room and closing the balcony window, the interior was no better than the darkness outside. It was just a large monochrome space with heavy furniture.

For Elysia, the room felt heavy and suffocating. Staying in an unfamiliar environment without anyone she knew made the desolation feel even greater.

The lamp on the bedside table was made of a light stone processed with alchemy, so there was no flicker in the light. However, due to Elysia’s uneasy mind, it seemed to cast an unsettling shadow on the ceiling and walls. Feeling increasingly anxious and fearful, Elysia got into bed.

‘Let’s sleep quickly. If I keep thinking like this, I feel like even nonexistent ghosts will appear.’

At the Serenze house, she slept with blackout curtains drawn and a sleep mask on for the most undisturbed, comfortable sleep. But tonight, feeling uneasy, she left the curtains slightly open to let in the morning sunlight and kept the lamp on. Elysia covered herself with a blanket decorated with gray and black geometric patterns and tried to sleep.

***

“Hengkel, quickly tell us what happened!”

The maids and servants of the Grendel house gathered as soon as they finished their work, pressing Hengkel, who had attended the Duke and the future Duchess’s dinner.

“Madam was truly graceful down to her fingertips, and her table manners were perfect. I thought no one could eat as neatly as the Duke, but Madam was just as impeccable. Her speech was calm yet dignified, making her a perfect match for the Ducal house.”

“When I first saw Madam entering through the main entrance, it was like the moon goddess herself was arriving, and to hear that her actions were just as perfect.”

“It was the first time I’d seen such sophisticated attire. With someone so elegant, she won’t just leave things as they are, right? She’ll surely redecorate the Ducal estate to match modern styles!”

While those surrounding Hengkel exclaimed that it was as they expected from the first impression, the head maid and head butler could only sigh heavily. As the story they were curious about was slow to come out of Hengkel’s mouth, the head maid, Grace, asked,

“We can tell that much ourselves. But there’s something more important. You need to tell us in detail how the atmosphere between the two was. Was it worth our efforts?”

Hengkel hesitated for a moment.

“I’m not sure… Madam seemed to speak just as little as the Duke. And as you know, the Duke…”

Pedro, the head butler, furrowed his brow. Grace, the head maid, also wore a serious expression. Grace asked Millie,

“Did Madam mention anything about her impressions of the Duke?”

Millie shook her head. Although Millie was efficient in her work, she wasn’t as experienced as the older maids. Nevertheless, she became the new Madam’s personal maid because the head maid thought a maid of similar age might be less burdensome for the mistress, who couldn’t bring anyone from her family home and needed to form attachments. However, it seemed Madam hadn’t yet opened up to Millie.

“It’s been less than a day since she arrived, so she might still feel awkward. Things will surely improve over time.”

At Millie’s words, all the workers of the Ducal house nodded. However, Pedro and Grace’s stern expressions did not ease. Unlike the other hopeful servants, they knew well that it wouldn’t be easy to win over the Madam’s heart with Cassius’s personality.

Having watched Cassius grow since he was a child, they cherished him as much as they served him loyally, almost like he was their own child, and wished for him to build a happy family through this marriage.

Grace whispered softly to Pedro,

“I heard from Aaron Hass that Madam’s family, the Serenze, is a very harmonious family. It might not be easy for her to adapt quickly here.”

“But isn’t the Duke considered the top groom in the Kingdom of Brunchia? Not only the family but also his appearance is outstanding, and he often received letters of courtship. If they live together in the same house, won’t Madam naturally come to like him?”

Pedro placed his hopes on the Duke’s appearance.

“The late Duke’s troubles weren’t because he was less attractive than others.”

At Grace’s factual remark, Pedro’s face darkened again. Grace continued with a tone of concern.

“If a lady marries into a family alone and her husband is unkind, no matter how graceful she is, she can’t endure it. She might run away or find another man…”

“Watch your words!”

Grace closed her mouth. Pedro gritted his teeth and spoke firmly.

“We must try harder to prevent any disgraceful incidents. This time, we cannot let things unfold as they did in the past.”

Pedro and Grace, looking around at those chatting with hopeful expectations for the future, felt anew the importance of their roles.

***

Having slept fitfully out of tension the previous day, Elysia awoke well past breakfast time. Considerate of the Madam, no one came to wake Elysia even though she slept in, and when she finally got up, they served her a simple breakfast in her room as she wished. Though the heavy tones of the room didn’t suddenly brighten her heavy heart just because she received morning sunlight, she felt a bit more comfortable thanks to those accommodating her.

Though she had been pushed into coming to the Ducal estate, Elysia had no intention of altering her life plans. While there was a slight deviation in her lifelong dream of living well alone, her goal of living lazily and comfortably at the Ducal estate didn’t seem to pose any major problems.

‘Once I get used to things at the beginning, everything will be fine.’

Even though the marriage contract hadn’t been drafted yet, she could infer its contents without seeing them. In Elysia’s judgment, Cassius likely didn’t want his marriage partner to have significant influence over the various aspects of the Ducal estate. If so, she could use that as an excuse to continue a life of doing nothing.

Of course, there were various issues, such as the outdated interior design, the workers’ attire being not only out of fashion but also uncomfortable, but the thought of changing those things only briefly crossed her mind before disappearing.

‘Too bothersome.’

Changing those things would require her to act like a proper mistress, and the responsibilities wouldn’t end there. The people in the mansion had lived without inconvenience for a long time, so it didn’t seem necessary to change anything.

Since the Ducal estate had been without a mistress for a long time, the workers serving her were somewhat clumsy, which actually helped Elysia maintain her lazy lifestyle.

At the Serenze house, she was often dragged to gatherings or had to keep up with her mother’s new attempts whenever fashion trends changed. Daisy and her mother would team up to forcibly apply new oils or moisturizers to Elysia’s body and face, and they would torment her by constantly changing her hairstyle.

Here, no one had experience properly grooming a mistress, so no one attempted more than Elysia requested.

‘This lifestyle is better than I thought.’

With more time to lazily indulge her tastes than before, she even began to think that being swept into an engagement was the greatest fortune.

“…”

So it was a shock to realize that what disrupted her comfortable lifestyle after a few days was not some external factor but her own heart.

One afternoon, after learning only the essentials since entering the Ducal estate and having her usual lazy time alone, Elysia suddenly felt the silence settle around her and put down the book she was reading. As she had felt on the first day, the Ducal estate was as quiet as the middle of the night even during the day.

The workers moved as if they were assassins, suppressing their presence, and they didn’t chat in the hallways in front of Elysia. The knights patrolling the garden at set times were the same.

Even if Elysia spent hours in her room, no one disturbed her, and no one came to visit. As long as she adhered to meal times, Elysia’s lazy lifestyle was thoroughly ensured.

‘I’m bored.’

For Elysia, who had once stayed in her room for almost a month without going out at the Serenze house, this feeling was unfamiliar.

Her attitude towards life and how she spent her time were the same as before. That’s why she couldn’t understand why she suddenly felt bored. It was a kind of boredom that left her feeling empty and cold, regardless of the weather.

At the Serenze house, no matter how much she acted like a shut-in, there were always people who would come and interrupt her.

“Miss, if you keep sitting like that, your back will be bent before you’re thirty.”

“I think my ears will go deaf from your nagging before my back bends, Daisy.”

“If you pick your ears with the hand you were eating cookies with, crumbs might get in.”

Despite saying that, Daisy would bring delicious fruit and place it in front of Elysia, nagging her to think about her health so she had to straighten her back.

Her younger sister Marion was the same.

“Sometimes I can’t tell if the creature in this room is a human or a caterpillar in a cocoon.”

“Don’t get confused and go study, like you love to. Didn’t you say you can’t waste a single moment if you want to enter the Academy?”

“If I make you my research subject, they might immediately invite me to the highest Academy as a professor. For discovering a new species that’s human but not human.”

“Yeah, yeah. If my brilliant sister becomes a professor, that’s great for me. I’ll just live off you, so research all you want.”

Even when Elysia responded indifferently every time, Marion would insist on coming to her room, sitting on one of the sofas, opening the book she was studying, and making irritating noises while snatching Elysia’s snacks.

When Elysia lay in bed, rolling around reading trendy novels, the sound of Marion turning pages and eating snacks would occasionally be heard from the sofa.

Then, before she knew it, her mother would join in.

“Elysia, did you see the latest ‘Ladies’ Newsletter’? They say the son of the head butler of the Baron Stashion’s house succeeded his father, and he’s quite handsome. Do you want to come to the Baroness meeting?”

“No, thank you. You can enjoy the eye candy alone, Mother.”

“I wasn’t asking for your opinion. If I go alone, your father will nag me again.”

“You could just stop talking about how handsome other men are in front of Father. If you insist, take Marion with you.”

By the time they were having such conversations, her father would often show up.

“You’re the one in this house who looks at outside men like they’re street pebbles, aren’t you? Please accompany your mother.”

“Honey! Didn’t you say you’d be late today?”

“Uh… Could both of you please take your lovers’ quarrel outside the room?”

But despite Elysia’s plea, her parents’ bickering would continue, and when Marion and Daisy, as well as the head maid, joined in, a small commotion would often break out in Elysia’s room.

Every time that happened, Elysia couldn’t understand why everyone would gather in her room when there were plenty of other places to be, and she found it all quite bothersome.

Now, in her room at the Ducal estate, nothing could be heard except her own breathing. Elysia lay on the bed, looking up at the dark ceiling, slowly exhaling. She felt so bored that she thought she might cry.