Chapter 7

‘What? Run away together?’

She gripped the hem of her coat tightly, determined not to be swept up by Demian’s suggestion. Think, quickly. This is not the time to space out.

After all, she was just a supporting character who might be assassinated soon. Rather than sitting quietly and waiting to die, maybe it was better to run away with Demian? How likely was it that this man was truly sincere? She quickly calculated the possibilities.

“…Sir Demian.”

“Please speak, Your Grace.”

Seeing her shiver, Demian took off his outer coat and draped it over her shoulders. On the back of the coat, there was an ice crystal pattern—the emblem of the Werner Knight Order. The moment she saw it, she felt as if cold water had been poured over her, snapping her back to reality.

“…I’m sorry. I could never do that.”

“Your Grace!”

“My coming to the North was entirely because of His Grace, the Grand Duke. Even if he holds another woman in his heart, I…”

“I don’t mean to disrespect that, but I cannot simply stand by and watch you become unhappy.”

She fell silent and stared at Demian. His flawless face was tinged here and there with longing.

“…Alright, Sir Demian. I’ll be honest. I’m scared.”

“…What are you afraid of?”

“How can I be sure you’re not testing me right now?”

Demian couldn’t say anything, as if wounded. She could see the tension in his jaw.

“I already know the loyalty of the Northerners to my husband. I know that the knights of the North would throw away their lives at a single word from His Grace, the Grand Duke.”

“……”

“Please, don’t shake me anymore. You’re my husband’s knight, and I’m your lord’s wife. There can be no other ending for us.”

“Iris.”

Demian, who had always called her ‘Your Grace’ even when joking, suddenly called her by name.

Until now, ‘Iris’ had only been the name of a character in a book to her. But when Demian spoke it, the unfamiliar name truly felt like her own.

Her heart seemed to drop to the floor. She took a shallow breath. There was no time for sentimentality.

“Sir Demian, I could tell from the first time we met that you’re a promising knight.”

“I am truly sincere. So please, once more…”

“Even if you’re sincere, don’t throw away everything you’ve built for a moment’s emotion. I won’t do that either.”

Demian turned his head and lowered his gaze. Darkness fell over his profile, and she couldn’t see his expression. As the silence stretched, a strange unease crept up her spine.

“…I understand, Your Grace.”

He answered as if struggling to endure pain. She felt both relief and a sense of sadness at the return to formal titles.

* * *

That day, Demian, ever the gentleman, escorted her back to the ducal residence. Only a few days had passed since then, but it already felt like a distant memory.

“Your Grace, Lady Royce, daughter of the Earl, has come to visit. Shall I bid them show her in?”

At Donna’s words, the promise she had forgotten resurfaced. Come to think of it, today was precisely the day Gisela had said she would guide her through the ducal residence.

“No, I’ll go to the drawing room. I was just about to step out anyway.”

It was Gisela’s first time showing behavior befitting a lady-in-waiting. It had also been so long that she had nearly forgotten a new maid had been added.

Donna bustled over and opened the door for her. She left the room, hiding her fatigue.

“You have arrived, Your Grace.”

Gisela, who had been sitting, slowly stood up. Her brown hair was loosely curled and let down. Wearing a dress that came up to her neck, Gisela was certainly elegant, but she looked more like a knight than a lady. Regrettably, that made her look all the more suited to the title of Grand Duchess of the North.

“The other day, I showed you an embarrassing side of myself. I apologize.”

Unlike the first time they met, Gisela wasn’t agitated. But even as she apologized, she didn’t look the least bit sorry.

With her back straight, Gisela looked as if she were the true master of this castle.

A faint tension hovered between them. Her husband’s hidden woman was now her maid… It was a messy love triangle, one she never wanted to be the protagonist of.

“It’s alright, Gisela. I’m glad you’ve become my maid. Ah, you can speak comfortably with me, right?”

Gisela’s eyebrows twitched, and her firm jaw tensed. She didn’t seem to like the informal tone.

She had not especially intended to scratch at Gisela’s nerves, yet upon actually seeing the other’s face, anger surged and she could not help it. It was not as though acting a bit kinder would persuade them to spare a life they intended to take. Better to feign dullness and simply say everything she wished to say— at least it cleared the chest.

“Of course, Your Grace.”

Gisela ground her teeth softly. She seemed to be trying, but clearly wasn’t skilled at hiding her feelings.

It seemed the prestige of the Royce Earldom in the North was no exaggeration. The so-called northern princess had never bowed to another woman her age.

“Shall we go out, then?”

At her words, Gisela nodded. Despite her displeased expression, she accompanied her with impeccable manners.

* * *

Before long, she and Gisela had toured most of the ducal residence. Everyone they met bowed to them. Gisela accepted their greetings as naturally as if she were the Grand Duchess herself.

“Actually, until now, the butler and the head maid have managed the household affairs in consultation with me.”

Gisela spoke with a hint of pride. Was this the start of a power struggle? She tried to let it go, but it was annoying.

“I see. You must have worked hard.”

Was her response too soulless? Maybe she should have acted more surprised, wondering why Gisela was handling things.

“Ah, of course, thank you so much, Gisela. To take the initiative when it wasn’t even your own responsibility…”

Gisela bit her lip at the belated compliment, which was really a jab. Was she pushing too hard? It was amusing to see Gisela react to every prod, making it hard not to continue.

“You flatter me. I simply did my best with the tasks His Grace entrusted me with.”

Gisela looked down with a sorrowful expression. Her intentions were obvious, but it still annoyed her. 

‘The Grand Duke had entrusted the household to Gisela? So they really were that close.’

“You’ve done well. You can relax now. I’m here.”

“No, it was my honor, and my rightful duty. Because His Grace and I…”

“No, Gisela. You only filled in while I was away, but you did your best… It must have been a heavy burden for an Earl’s daughter…”

She pretended not to catch Gisela’s implication. To refresh her image as more than just a nominal Grand Duchess, she had to show dominance over her husband’s public mistress.

“Your Grace, it truly is fine. And since I was born and raised in the North, I know this place well, so…”

“You’ll just help me from now on, right? That’s what you were going to say? Thank you in advance, Gisela.”

A vein bulged on Gisela’s forehead.

“I’ll be sure to tell my husband about your hard work.”

At her smile, Gisela hid her hands behind her dress—probably clenching her fists. She seemed deeply bothered by her calling the Grand Duke ‘my husband.’

“…Shall we go to the training grounds now?”

“Alright, Gisela.”

She smiled with narrowed eyes, pronouncing Gisela’s name with extra affection.

* * *

At the training grounds, tall men were absorbed in their drills. She fanned herself against the heat. Their masculinity was evident, even without trying to show off.

“In the mornings, only the knights train like this.”

Hmm? That sounded odd.

“What about in the afternoons?”

“Ah…”

Gisela trailed off, glancing at her. There was a hint of mockery in her eyes.

“As an outsider, Your Grace, you wouldn’t know. In the afternoons, all the household members train together.”

“All of them? Even… the maids?”

“Of course, Your Grace. I sometimes join as well. In the North, physical fitness is valued regardless of status.”

Gisela stared at her thin wrist. Yes, she must be quite healthy.

“Wow, I see. But Donna is with me all day… Ah, you know Donna, right? She’s the maid my husband personally assigned to me…”

“…Of course I know. Donna is an outstanding maid. Even in poison training, she was top-level…”

Why was poison training a standard for judging a maid’s excellence?

“Hmph, Donna is someone I’ve always coveted…”

Gisela looked ready to bite her handkerchief, but snapped out of it when she coughed.

“Anyway, Donna received special permission to use the training grounds at dawn. It’s due to her special tasks and strong dedication to training.”

“Ah, so sneaking out at dawn was for exercise…”

She’d rather Gisela sneak out for a secret romance. Whenever exercise was mentioned, Gisela’s eyes gleamed with a scary intensity.

Gisela sighed quietly, then pointed to the knights to draw her attention.

“Now, let me introduce the knight order. You probably don’t need to know all their names…”

“Then just tell me the ones I absolutely need to remember.”

“Of course, Your Grace. The Werner Knight Order is the pride of the North.”

Gisela nodded calmly, her face showing a hint of pride. She seemed full of devotion to the Grand Duke and the North.

She might end up helping to kill her, but she didn’t seem evil by nature. Ah, what a contradiction.

“The one who serves His Grace closest is Sir Liman Schmidt. Since boyhood, they’ve been like friends. Sir Schmidt uses a straightforward sword style…”

“Ah…”

“The one skilled in tactics is…”

Gisela introduced a dozen knights with detailed stats. She seemed to be enjoying herself. Listening quietly, a question arose.

‘Why isn’t she mentioning Demian?’

A tragic past, overwhelming beauty, impressive skills… If it were her, she’d have mentioned that face first.

And she was genuinely curious about how Demian was doing. Of course, she also wanted to check his identity in case he exposed their relationship.

“Gisela, I happened to meet a knight in the greenhouse. He was very kind, so I’d like to know which order he belongs to.”

“The greenhouse? Do you remember his name?”

“His name was De…”

“Your Grace, Grand Duchess!”

But her attempt was immediately interrupted. From far away, Donna ran toward her, calling desperately.

“Th-the Grand Duke… is looking for you, Your Grace!”