Chapter 3 – Exploration (Part 9)

After the cramped dining room incident, Elysia was relieved, thinking she wouldn’t have to dine with Cassius for a while. However, when Millie came to her room with news, she was inwardly startled.

“The Duke wishes to have dinner with you tonight, Madam.”

‘Again?’

Elysia barely managed to suppress her instinct to show annoyance.

“Madam, do you have other plans?”

Millie asked when Elysia didn’t respond immediately. With no other plans, Elysia eventually agreed to dine together.

‘Things have definitely changed since the marriage contract negotiations.’

The atmosphere during the negotiations wasn’t particularly pleasant, and Elysia didn’t know what was discussed when her father and the Duke spoke alone. She couldn’t tell if Cassius’s actions were a form of exploration, caution, or if he was finally trying to play the role of a fiancé.

With a heavy heart, Elysia went downstairs for dinner. This time, she was pleasantly surprised to find a reasonably sized dining room with appropriate lighting.

‘I’m amazed that I’m moved by something so obvious!’

Meanwhile, the Duke gave Elysia a simple nod of greeting as she entered the dining room, and said nothing until the appetizers were served. Although the venue had changed for the better, her dining companion remained the same as ever.

Elysia stifled a sigh as she observed Cassius, who was dressed in a buttoned-up shirt and formal jacket even at home. His overly tidy appearance made her feel obliged to dress up as well, which she found frustrating.

‘He doesn’t sleep in that outfit, does he?’

In the Serenze household, mealtimes were always lively and filled with conversation, even while maintaining etiquette. Sometimes, Elysia would come down in comfortable clothes after a nap and get scolded, but she never felt burdened during meals.

However, in the Ducal estate, whether dining in her room or with the Duke in the dining room, she was so conscious of the staff’s and the Duke’s presence that she couldn’t even taste the food.

“What did you do today?”

Elysia was startled by Cassius’s sudden question during their silent meal, nearly dropping her utensils. Fortunately, her long-standing etiquette training allowed her to avoid such embarrassment.

Though she hadn’t dined with the Duke many times, it was surprising for him to initiate conversation with such a mundane question.

‘Is this what it feels like if a statue in a museum suddenly came to life and started talking to me?’

Elysia chose her words carefully to calm her pounding heart from the shock.

However, when she thought about how to answer, she realized that after Millie woke her up, she had breakfast, listened to the butler talk about the history of the Ducal estate, rested in her room, and then came down for dinner. It seemed like the questioner already anticipated her routine, so she wasn’t sure how to respond elegantly.

‘Could he be subtly criticizing my lazy routine?’

Elysia examined Cassius’s face to understand his intention, but he remained as expressionless as usual.

Cassius also realized belatedly that he had chosen the wrong question. He already knew from simple reports that Elysia hadn’t gone out anywhere. So, there wouldn’t have been anything noteworthy to discuss, and he thought his question might have sounded like a command to report her daily activities. Having never engaged in light everyday conversations before, he hadn’t considered this aspect.

“I read in my room after looking around the Ducal estate.”

This was a graceful translation of, “I listened to the butler’s lecture with one ear and then lazed around in my room.”

Cassius nodded as if he understood. As silence settled with no further response from him, Elysia suddenly realized she should inquire about his day.

“What did you do today, Your Grace?”

“I worked.”

Cassius felt no need to elaborate on what work he did or how he did it, and he closed his mouth after his brief response. Elysia didn’t press further, fearing it might sound intrusive, and honestly, she wasn’t that interested. She had no additional questions unrelated to work.

With this, their conversation could not continue any further.

Initially worried about potential follow-up questions, Elysia gradually relaxed and drifted into her own world of thoughts.

Even when she was at the Serenze estate, Elysia often spent time alone, lost in various thoughts. Especially since recalling her past life, although most personal memories were vague, she couldn’t stop comparing the technology, politics, and culture of her previous life with the present.

Both worlds had their pros and cons, but today’s Elysia, contemplating the marriage negotiations due to Cassius’s attitude, extended her thoughts to the class system.

In her previous world, one could use money or status to coerce someone into marriage, but it was generally harder to enforce than in the current world. What if someone wielded such absolute power in a democratic society? While it was possible, that world had the internet and public opinion as powerful checks.

‘Still, one could use money or power to suppress the media, and an ordinary citizen might be helpless. But perhaps it’s better than a rigid class system with predetermined ranks.’

After considering various aspects for a while, she wasn’t sure. Then her thoughts shifted in another direction. If this world developed as it was, there might come a time when leaders were elected by the citizens. Most importantly, the current King of Brunchia, Clois, was pursuing policies that weakened the power of the nobility. Although it was likely to prevent the nobles from uniting against the royal family, if the nobility’s power weakened and more nouveau riche and commoners gained influence, the monarchy could eventually collapse.

“Will there come a day when the royal family and nobility disappear?”

Elysia muttered to herself out of habit.

Since childhood, Elysia often spoke out loud one branch of thought that emerged when she was deep in contemplation. She would pose a question to herself and then ponder it alone. While it might not seem productive outwardly, it was a great way to entertain herself.

Elysia, lost in thought and muttering to herself, was about to take a bite of her food when she suddenly felt a chill in the air. Startled by the pressure, she looked around.

Cassius, who had been expressionless and focused on his meal, was now staring intently at her. Only then did Elysia remember that she was having dinner with the Duke at the Ducal estate.

Cassius had heard Elysia’s alarming statement and was waiting for more, trying to discern her true intentions. He needed to understand why she so casually made a statement denying the nobility and the royal family. She might be testing him, or perhaps she was trying to sow confusion by leaking information about some scheme.

Cassius recalled the contents of the candidate dossier Aaron had brought. According to what he read, there was nothing unusual, but since the information was gathered hastily, they might not have uncovered any secret affiliations or conspiracies involving Elysia. Cassius wondered if there were any missing details.

Elysia, breaking into a cold sweat, thought about what she had just said without realizing it.

Even at the Serenze estate, Elysia often spoke out of turn, oblivious to her surroundings, when lost in thought. Some of her remarks were so radical, by this world’s standards, that they could have been considered the ramblings of a madwoman.

Initially, her family and the staff were shocked, worrying that Elysia might have gone mad from too much early education. However, as time passed, everyone adapted, and eventually, they dismissed her remarks as mere daydreams.

Only Marion occasionally scolded her, wondering how her sister could come up with such ideas while staying cooped up indoors. Yet, she would seriously consider Elysia’s thoughts and offer her own opinions.

But this wasn’t the Serenze estate. Elysia knew well how strange and dangerous her statement might sound to Cassius and other ordinary nobles.

“Well, I read a book today about a country where religion and faith are more important than the royal family. In that place, priests and temples were at the center of everything. Nobles and kings had no power. As I read, I imagined what would happen if fanatics took over Brunchia, and it was a terrifying thought.”

The idea of a world where leaders are elected by citizens was more believable to people in this world than the notion of the royal family and nobility being overthrown by fanatics.

“There have been no reports of any groups in Brunchia based on subversive fanatic ideologies, so there’s no need to worry about such things even in imagination.”

Cassius resumed eating. Elysia realized he had been gripping his knife tightly.

‘If I had made any statements against the royal family here… Would he have tried to execute me with that knife?’

A cold sweat ran down Elysia’s back. Even without that knife, Duke Grendel was capable of breaking a person’s neck with one hand, and he had merely gripped the knife tightly while lost in thought. But Elysia had no way of knowing that. Even if she did, it wouldn’t have been comforting.

Cassius, suspecting that his fiancée might be hiding something contrary to the information he had, realized he needed to observe her more closely. He immediately recognized her explanation as a hasty excuse. A typical noble child wouldn’t normally entertain such thoughts.

Perhaps the Serenze family was also involved in suspicious activities with their daughter. Regret crept in, thinking he might have chosen his fiancée too hastily due to the king’s pressure. He should have taken more time to conduct thorough investigations and selected someone he deemed the best.

However, the decision was already made, and unless there was a glaring flaw, breaking the engagement at this stage would be disadvantageous for both parties.

Even knowing that breaking the engagement now could be problematic, suspicions about Elysia grew within Cassius. He even reconsidered her intense gaze from the previous dinner, wondering if she was trying to uncover his weaknesses from a close distance.

The meal ended in an atmosphere colder than when it began. Elysia, eager to escape the oppressive atmosphere, headed straight for her room without looking back. The Duke watched Elysia’s retreating figure and called for the butler.

“Do not deliver any letters or invitations to Miss Serenze directly. Bring them all to me first. If I’m unavailable, give them to Aaron.”

Pedro, the butler, was taken aback by the order. The command to monitor the lady’s correspondence was identical to one given by Aisar, the previous Duke. However, in the past, it was issued after some time had passed since the marriage, whereas this time, it was given shortly after the engagement.

“Did Madam do something wrong?”

Cassius silently stared at the butler. Faced with the piercing blue eyes radiating coldness, the old butler, despite his sympathy for Madam, bowed his head, feeling intimidated.

“I apologize. I will proceed as instructed.”

Though the butler’s shoulders slumped as he left with Cassius’s orders, the Duke did not notice.

Even though Brunchia was politically stable at present, there were undoubtedly factions dissatisfied with the current royal policies. Any potential threats needed to be addressed before they could take root.

There must be no subversive elements among the most dangerous threats. It was even more imperative that such an element did not become the lady of the Ducal estate.