“Sh-she’s inside… That is, well…”

The doorkeepers of the grand duchess’s bedroom tried to explain something to Norbert with flustered expressions.

Their faces showed such fear they didn’t even dare look at the Grand Duke.

Carlo looked down at their fearful faces with disinterested eyes before leisurely walking forward and throwing the door open.

Bang!

Despite his calm demeanor as he walked in unhindered, the door he opened produced a thunderous sound.

The servants following behind him quickened their steps.

The doorkeepers standing on either side of the entrance exchanged concerned glances, then followed the butler and head maid who had entered ahead of them.

“…Your Highness?”

The grand duchess, completely surprised by his appearance, rose from her chair with a startled face.

The maids sitting beside her sprang up like coiled springs.

Carlo’s gaze moved from the grand duchess looking up at him happily to the tea-time snacks on the table.

“……”

If he hadn’t received Norbert’s report, what would he have thought?

He might have scoffed at the sight, thinking she was receiving treatment beyond her station.

But the doorkeepers of the grand duchess’s bedroom had turned pale upon seeing him, and the maids were trembling.

What further explanation was needed?

Carlo looked down at the grand duchess, who still held a fork, with cold eyes.

This woman had experienced such insulting meals and treatment for days, yet she foolishly and stupidly believed these snacks were genuinely prepared for her.

“Ah! Your Highness, this is!”

Just as he was about to make her put down the pathetic fork in her hand, the grand duchess’s urgent voice rang out.

“This is the first snack these people have prepared for me.”

Carlo looked at the grand duchess with an irritated expression.

Her cheeks were flushed red as she tried to explain with wide eyes.

“So I hope you won’t be angry.”

What? What was this woman saying?

He looked at her with an annoyed expression, and the grand duchess stepped urgently toward him, seemingly frustrated that her words weren’t coming out as quickly as her thoughts.

The Grand Duke’s expressionless gaze observed the shortened distance before looking back at her.

“I know this food must seem too extravagant for me in your eyes!”

“……”

“I completely understand if you’re upset they brought such things without your knowledge!”

“……”

“But I haven’t eaten any. I thought it would be better for these people who have worked hard because of me to eat, so I asked them all to sit here and rest while eating. That’s all. So…”

Carlo’s blue eyes, which had been looking down at her with contempt, faltered.

“…I hope you won’t be angry at the people who showed me kindness for the first time.”

The woman looking straight up at him and speaking boldly despite her hesitation was undoubtedly the grand duchess. Could a person change so much in such a short time?

The look in her eyes as she waited for his reaction with tightly closed lips after finishing her words resembled a frightened young bird forcibly puffing up its feathers.

That wasn’t the only puzzling thing. He couldn’t understand why she would take the servants’ side while being so nervous.

“……”

In the suffocating silence, his cool blue gaze steadily observed the woman with fluttering pink hair.

This strange woman who barged into his office every couple of hours and smiled meaninglessly at him.

This annoying woman who wanted nothing more than to enter his bedroom and watched for any opportunity.

This foolish and childish grand duchess who believed the servants’ mistreatment came from his orders.

“……”

The maids he glanced at were staring intently at the grand duchess’s back with shocked and surprised faces.

Carlo gazed into space briefly, lost in thought, before meeting the grand duchess’s eyes.

There was no need to correct her misunderstanding that the servants’ mistreatment was not due to his orders.

Yes, it wasn’t bad to make her constantly realize how precarious her position was while staying here.

After all, he would never show her kindness or favor in the future.

However.

“Come with me.”

He didn’t want to watch her eat that food, which might have been tampered with.

“What?”

“I said come with me.”

Perhaps it was because of this woman’s reaction, believing the snacks were genuinely meant as goodwill toward her.

Or maybe it was her foolish readiness to throw herself forward to defend the maids if he said anything.

Perhaps he had realized that even servants utterly loyal to him could secretly torment someone.

“W-where are we going?”

The grand duchess, unable to guess where he was taking her, opened her eyes wide and stepped half a step back.

Carlo replied casually, as if brushing aside something cumbersome.

“Aren’t you coming to the bedroom?”

“What? But the bedroom is here… Oh!”

She exclaimed when she finally understood his meaning.

She smiled so brightly that he almost let out a scornful laugh.

The woman, looking as if she might start hopping with joy, quickly approached him.

She didn’t even realize how his lips grew tighter as she closed the distance. Without any fear.

“Let’s go, let’s go!”

What was the big deal about letting her into his bedroom once?

Her eyes sparkled with excitement as if she were going on a picnic.

“……”

Yes, this woman was so dense that who knew what humiliation she might suffer after he left.

The way they had trashed her room and written cursed insults.

The way they had tampered with her food and made her subsist on hard bread and water.

Perhaps that wasn’t all she had endured.

“Thank you.”

Just as he was about to turn around, he stopped abruptly when he felt a light touch on his collar.

When he looked down at her expressionlessly, the grand duchess rose on her tiptoes and whispered to him again softly.

“Thank you.”

What on earth…

“What are you thanking me for?”

“For not scolding the people, and for listening to me?”

She released his collar and gave him a crescent-moon eye smile.

Carlo, who had been staring at her, turned away as if he hadn’t even noticed her face.

“Norbert.”

Just before opening the door to leave, Carlo’s voice called for Norbert.

Norbert, immediately understanding his intention, nodded to Medlin, who promptly approached the maids.

The grand duchess, following Carlo out, suddenly tried to look back, but Norbert, the last to exit, respectfully closed the door, blocking her view. He smiled at her.

“Let’s go, my lady. Medlin will take good care of them.”

“Ah, yes.”

After hearing Norbert’s explanation, the grand duchess quickened her pace to follow Carlo.

The sound of her shoes as she hurried after him echoed faintly in Carlo’s ears.

Whether she believed all this was done on his orders or not was completely irrelevant.

However, he couldn’t simply overlook the commotion that had occurred, including the snack incident.

“I’ll treat you first!”

The Grand Duke had obviously let me into his bedroom because he needed treatment.

As soon as I entered his bedroom, I instinctively looked for what needed to be done and headed toward the tools for his treatment.

During our walk down the long corridor, I had asked Butler Norbert for medicine, which another servant had already brought to the bedroom on his instruction.

“I thought I should memorize their names.”

When I heard the door close, I casually spoke to the Grand Duke while gathering gauze and bandages.

On the way here, Norbert had told me there were three main staff members in this castle.

The person in charge was, of course, Butler Norbert.

He was the top manager of all the servants, including Medlin and Charlson, and served as the Grand Duke’s devoted secretary.

Then there was head maid Medlin.

She was responsible for hiring and firing maids and ladies-in-waiting, as well as distributing and supervising all household chores.

Finally, there was Chef Charlson.

Though his position wasn’t comparable to the chamberlain or head maid, he was in charge of the kitchen.

Below them were various servants and attendants, which I would gradually come to know, he had explained.

“You don’t need to treat me.”

His response focused only on the main point, making my attempt at natural conversation seem futile.

I clenched my lips to avoid pouting at his blunt voice and response from behind me, then turned around with a full smile.

“Huff…”

I saw the Grand Duke leaning deeply into the armchair, tilting his head back.

“I need to disinfect it. Even if the pain has subsided with painkillers, the treatment isn’t complete.”

“I don’t want to.”

His innate stubbornness was palpable as he kept his eyes closed and showed no sign of moving.

Moreover, he seemed to regret bringing me here, finding it bothersome.

What’s this? He’s the one who told me to come.

What a fickle man…

But it was obvious that leaving the wound untreated would lead to infection and complications.

Whether this man overestimated his self-healing ability or was just too lazy to care, I couldn’t tell.

But for me, whose safety directly depended on the Grand Duke’s well-being, protecting his health was the top priority.

“We must do it!”

I deliberately placed the disinfection tools on the table with a loud thud and stood beside him.

He slowly opened his eyes like someone subjected to unwelcome interference.

His clear eyes, like blue coral, began to reflect my image.

“I said I don’t want to.”

“I told you we have to do it anyway. If it gets worse, it will really hurt.”

He tilted his head askew as if mocking my words and asked with an expression exuding arrogance:

“What does that have to do with you?”