Epilogue

“Flower bouquets over there! Over there!”

“Wait. Why are you taking the roast inside? It should be in the outdoor banquet hall!”

“Everyone hanging decorations come here!”

The Duke’s mansion bustled with activity before an important event. Tina and Nelie’s father, who arrived early at Tevant for wedding preparations, surveyed their surroundings with overwhelmed eyes.

“Wow.”

“This is really……”

To those who had lived in the countryside all their lives and only recently settled in a small city, the Duke’s mansion in the metropolis of Tevant looked no different from any royal palace in its grandeur. Clasping his hands together and sweating profusely, Nelie’s father followed the secretary to meet the old duchess of Tevant.

“Ah, hello, Madam.”

“Pleased to meet you, Mr. Heich.”

She maintained her elegance and dignity even when dealing with commoners. Intimidated by her commanding presence even while sitting still, Nelie’s father soon hesitated and started to turn away. Then he suddenly stopped, remembering something, and faced her again. He had to say at least this.

“Madam. I am truly deeply grateful.”

Instead of questioning his words, the old duchess slowly turned her gaze to Nelie’s father. Her eyes, usually stern and strict when looking elsewhere, had softened somewhat.

“I heard you collected my daughter’s paintings… and sent them to foreign galleries.”

“Ah.”

The old duchess made a brief sound of acknowledgment. In fact, it was none other than the old duchess of Tevant who had gathered and kept the paintings from the letters Nelie steadily sent to the Duke.

Of course, she hadn’t done so from the beginning.

It was quite bewildering when her grandson, whom she had sent to return with her great-grandchild, came back unconscious and critically injured from saving a woman. It brought back nightmarish memories of when her son and daughter-in-law returned as cold corpses.

“So what happens now?”

“Since he injured his head… we’ll have to watch until he passes the critical period.”

Hearing that felt devastating. She initially harbored ill will toward Annelie Heich. If not for her, her grandson wouldn’t have suffered like this.

However, letters kept coming from the woman even after a whole season passed. When she finally opened the letters wondering what they were trying to say, countless paintings and words of love poured out. Letters consistently wishing for the Duke’s safety and recovery.

By then, her grandson’s condition had improved significantly. The physician also conveyed that while his body had healed, he seemed unable to wake due to accumulated fatigue. That the built-up fatigue appeared quite substantial, but he would naturally open his eyes when the time came, so they just needed to wait a little longer.

Indeed, Elroy would open his eyes several times at night and look around blankly. Though he fell back into deep sleep before saying anything, his eyes frequently searched for someone. Who that was needed no asking.

Only then did the old duchess begin to let go of her anger. Thinking about it, finding the woman and sending her grandson down there was something she had pushed for. She had done it convinced the woman carried Tevant’s child.

So resenting the woman for her grandson ending up like this seemed pointless. If her grandson would just wake up now, there was nothing she wouldn’t do.

After Elroy opened his eyes several times only to fall back asleep, the old duchess could examine the woman’s paintings carefully.

Befitting the reputation of the family responsible for the art city of Tevant, the old duchess, Elroy’s grandmother, also possessed enough discernment to appreciate artwork. She thought Nelie’s free painting style matched well with certain foreign trends, and it seemed too precious to let go.

So while her grandson slept, she selected some paintings sent to him and forwarded them to galleries she occasionally dealt with. However, she kept the most precious and valued paintings by her sleeping grandson’s bedside. They were paintings with particularly striking blue hues.

Her grandson who woke up not long after expressed irritation, which is rare for him, toward his grandmother. The reason for his anger was that she had sent some of the woman’s paintings meant for him elsewhere, but ultimately the galleries welcomed and liked Annelie Heich’s paintings. The down payment they recently sent to Annelie was enough to cover a foreign academy’s tuition.

Though the Duke paid to recover the original paintings sent there, the galleries had already secured rights to several paintings Annelie would paint in the future. If the paintings sold well, considerable money would go to her.

Nelie’s father felt immensely grateful to the Tevant family for providing such opportunities. The Duke literally saved his daughter’s life, and his grandmother opened up more realistic possibilities for her talent. He felt guilty yet grateful, and then moved.

“I will never forget this kindness.”

“No need. We’re becoming family anyway.”

Several more polite exchanges followed. Nelie’s father, expressing gratitude with sincere eyes, soon headed to the guest room with Tina. The old duchess watching their retreating figures smiled with great satisfaction.

Taking a sip of tea placed before her, she called the designer visiting the mansion today to ask about the progress of the ceremonial clothes.

“Is it going well?”

“Yes. But old duchess.”

The head maid who came with the designer slightly leaned toward her. It was a gesture often shown when one wanted to share a secret information. The old duchess naturally brought her ear closer and spoke.

“Is there a problem?”

“Well… Lambert Kingdom sent premium silk.”

“Silk from Lambert?”

“Yes. What should we do?”

The old duchess narrowed her eyes. The head maid added with her head lowered.

“They sent only white ones.”

“Colors matched for the wedding.”

“Yes. Just like you said. Since it’s actually very fine silk… it would probably be suitable for the bride or groom’s ceremonial clothes.”

“Tsk.”

The old duchess clicked her tongue lightly. What came to her mind was the princess of Lambert who always watched her grandson with predatory eyes at social gatherings. Though quite beautiful, elegant and of noble status, she was a woman with quite strong exhibitionist tendencies.

The Princess of Lambert was sent home by the angry King of Lambert after the scandal involving her grandson. She heard the princess was scolded for a long time and told not to do anything that could invite criticism, especially with republics emerging everywhere.

She heard the princess even got engaged there to a prince of the kingdom the King of Lambert had separately arranged.

The fact that she still sought opportunities to interfere with her grandson even after getting engaged suggested she wanted to have multiple lovers even with a husband. It wasn’t particularly surprising since there were many people who enjoyed playing around regardless of gender.

Still, there was a time she had hoped that princess would marry her grandson.

If it was urgent, they could first have an heir from a commoner mistress and simply install a noble lady as the duchess. They could legitimize the child or handle it however the situation required. Since noble marriages were also strategic business, she thought marrying a lady from a good family would strengthen Tevant’s power accordingly.

The designer and head maid who had long served the old duchess knew her thoughts well, so instead of rejecting the silk outright, they asked for her opinion.

“If we accept it, we can maintain connections with Lambert.”

Of course. The King of Lambert must have known about the princess sending this gift. He probably turned a blind eye since she wasn’t visiting directly. There would have been political intentions too.

Then this would also be a kind of territory marking. A question asking if Lambert could continue exchanges with Tevant, and territory marking suggesting Lambert’s influence remained significant to Tevant. The moment they used this fabric for wedding clothes, despite some gossip, exchanges between Lambert and Tevant would become even more solid.

The old duchess briefly considered the benefits they could gain but ultimately shook her head.

“No. Let’s not give any room for misunderstanding.”

“But Madam, we have joint business ventures with Lambert……”

“The Duke of Tevant will handle business matters well. He has done so until now.”

“……”

“I fear the trouble that could come from using such things for ceremonial clothes.”

The old duchess clicked her tongue slightly while finishing her words.

Her grandson had become particularly sensitive to rumors and scandals with other women since announcing his marriage.

Unlike other times when he appropriately ignored whatever articles came out about him, now he would try to overturn any newspaper company that published even a hint of romantic rumors. Allowing this could make him send an official protest to the Lambert Kingdom in his fury.