Chapter 15

I descended with the butler and Anna in tow. In the hall stood Princess Abigail, who had already let herself in. Upon seeing me, she smiled leisurely and said as if she didn’t know.

“Oh right, Yul is married now, isn’t he?”

“Welcome, Your Highness. We would have prepared a more fitting welcome if you had notified us of your visit.“

“Yes, yes, I’m sorry. I forgot. Should I have asked the lady of the house for permission to enter? I used to come and go freely here, so it slipped my mind.”

That couldn’t be true. Princess Abigail had attended our wedding just a few days ago.

No matter how capricious the Princess was rumored to be, the royal family wouldn’t allow her to roam freely if she were such a halfwit. They let her be because they were confident she would act in a way that wouldn’t disgrace the royal dignity.

I pondered for a moment. Should I treat her gently? Perhaps I should. But I had lived my past life gently, which ended in failure. I didn’t want to live like that anymore.

“How could it be your fault, Your Highness? Just let us know in advance next time, and we’ll always be ready to welcome you. Don’t worry too much.”

I gently but firmly indicated to the Princess that she would no longer be able to enter the duke’s estate at will without prior notice.

“Oh, is that so?”

The Princess responded nonchalantly as if she understood but didn’t care or grasp my meaning. It was as if she was daring me to try.

Princess Abigail handed her gloves to the butler, who politely accepted them. Serving distinguished guests was part of his duty.

However, her demeanor was that of a house lady giving orders to her servant.

“Put them in the usual place.”

Despite the Princess’s haughty command, the butler remained still, bowing. I realized he was supporting me. There was no reason to act foolishly when the butler was on my side.

“How could we treat Your Highness so negligently? We have a guest room that is always kept immaculate. Let me escort you there.”

Princess Abigail laughed out loud at my words.

“There’s only that one room in the entire Ducal estate, given the lack of servants.”

“What do you mean the lack of servants? We’ve recently hired new staff. There’s no need to worry about the estate’s circumstances. We would never neglect a guest.“

“What?”

Princess Abigail seemed quite taken aback. She appeared to know the previous state of the Ducal estate exceptionally well.

“Yul wouldn’t have allowed that…”

I rang the bell quietly, smiling. Three maids working in another hallway approached and bowed politely.

I gestured to the butler to pass the gloves to one of the maids. Following my instructions, he handed over the gloves with respectful formality. The maid received them just as courteously. Every act of courtesy towards the Princess was perfect.

However, Princess Abigail looked quite displeased. Her eyes flashed angrily as she smiled sharply.

“You.”

She jabbed her finger hard into my shoulder. I didn’t budge. I was the daughter of a venerable Count, and she was a delicately raised princess. There was no way I would be pushed back by her weak finger.

Princess Abigail, clearly more irritated, bit her lip and turned sharply.

“Yul! Where is Yul?“

“Julian is in his study. Butler, inform His Grace that the Princess has arrived.“

“Yes, Your Grace.”

After the butler left, I gestured to lead Princess Abigail to the guest room. She followed, laughing sardonically, clearly not pleased with me.

I knew the room she usually stayed in. It was the only well-maintained guest room, indicating her frequent visits. And it was indeed still well-kept.

But I deliberately guided her to a different room. From now on, I intended to lead her to a different room each time to clarify that she no longer had a specific room in this house.

The room I led her to was the largest and most luxurious among the guest rooms. There was no room for her to complain about its inadequacy.

“You’re quite cheeky.”

Princess Abigail spoke as soon as she entered the room, her tone dripping with arrogance. Despite Anna and three other maids being present, she didn’t seem to care.

“Yul has been my betrothed since we were very young. He was supposed to be mine.“

“Indeed, I had a fiancé as well. But I married Julian, and now he and I are husband and wife.“

“Why are you so old-fashioned? You can just get divorced.”

Even as she harped about childhood marriage arrangements, she didn’t realize that divorce among the nobility in this empire wasn’t all that rare. But that wasn’t the story for Julian and me.

In any case, there wasn’t much time left in my married life with him.

When I die, will Julian marry Princess Abigail?

The thought made me feel sick. As my face darkened, Princess Abigail spoke with confidence, thinking her provocation had succeeded.

“I know Julian’s true face. He wouldn’t have shown it to you, would he?”

Indeed, Julian had worn a mask even on our wedding night.

I had been filled with confidence just moments ago, but now my shoulders slumped. I tried my best to keep them straight. I didn’t want to appear weak in front of Princess Abigail. No matter what anyone said, I was the wife of the Grand Duke.

“You are a relative of Julian’s, Your Highness. He is shy around me. Perhaps it’s because we’re married.”

Blushing as if we were a happily newlywed couple, Princess Abigail scoffed, clearly displeased.

Smiling, I slightly lifted my skirt in a courteous gesture. Continuing the conversation would only expose my poor acting skills.

“I wish you peace. I will take my leave now to prepare for the evening banquet.”

Without waiting for Princess Abigail’s reaction, I quickly retreated. Though I had acted to hit back, it only made me feel more uncomfortable. I had felt suffocated from the beginning.

Yes, I was the Grand Duke’s wife. Although it was a political marriage, I was still his wife.

However, Julian had secrets from me, and I also had secrets from Julian. At least Julian’s secret wouldn’t violate our contract. But my secret was a clear breach of it.

I couldn’t give him a healthy child.

Rushing back to my room, I dismissed the maids with a wave. As soon as they were gone, the blood I had been holding back burst from my lips. I covered my mouth with a handkerchief and gagged. My heart was racing.

This had indeed happened in my previous life as well. Each time, the doctor had said it was due to stress. I had taken some medicine and seemed to improve for a while, so I left it. But now I knew.

This illness wouldn’t heal.

Lying on the bed, I closed my eyes.

Julian, don’t forgive me for deceiving you. For I would never dare to love you.

* * *

That day, I felt unwell all day. Vomiting blood, it was no wonder. I lay in bed for a long time, groaning. Cold sweat beaded on my forehead.

Even though I should have been up long ago, Anna, sensing something was wrong, eventually entered the room cautiously.

“My Lady! Oh my, what should I do!”

Anna unintentionally called me My Lady instead of Your Grace. She was used to seeing me healthy, so she seemed pretty shocked.

Opening my blurry eyes, I scolded Anna.

“Not My Lady, you should call me Your Grace. The Princess is here, so be mindful of your words.“

“What does it matter if the Princess is here when you are this sick, Your Grace?”

Though her words were impudent, her concern was evident, and since it was just the two of us, I didn’t reprimand her further.

“How much time has passed?“

“It’s almost evening. I’ve taken care of the preparations, so don’t worry. But you shouldn’t attend the dinner. I’ll bring it here.”

I slapped Anna’s hand away as she felt my forehead.

“I can’t do that.”

At my firm tone, Anna looked bewildered.

“The Princess looks down on me. If I don’t attend because I’m ill, she’ll find another reason to criticize me. I must be as courteous as possible. Help me up.”

Anna carefully helped me sit up. Leaning against the bed’s headboard, I took slow, deep breaths. The hot and cold energies inside me mixed chaotically, making me dizzy.

Should I call a doctor? But it was clear nothing would change.

“Bring me some fever medicine. I need to get better by dinner.”

“Yes, Your Grace.“

“Anna.”

As she hurriedly moved to leave, I called her back. She nodded thoughtfully, signaling me to speak. After hesitating, I finally said,

“What is Julian doing?”

Anna hesitated, looking apologetic. But since I had asked, not answering would be even stranger.

“His Grace… is having tea with Her Highness the Princess.”

Why did I feel this way?

Julian and I were only in a political relationship. We hadn’t even kissed on our wedding night, let alone consummated the marriage. The closest we had been was during the carriage accident when he had helped me because my steps were unsteady. Any gentleman would have done the same.

Even so, I didn’t want Julian to be alone with Princess Abigail.

While feeling guilty about my thoughts, Anna suddenly clenched her fists and shouted.

“Your Grace, you should go and interrupt!“

“Huh?“

“Interrupt them! No matter what anyone says, His Grace is your husband!”

Anna didn’t know my situation, which is why she could say such things. Oddly, her naive words made me smile. I burst out laughing and hugged Anna.

“Thank you, Anna. I will go down for dinner.“

“Just take care of yourself.”

Anna held out her pinky finger. I hooked it with mine and shook it a couple of times.

“Yes. To interrupt, I need to be healthy.”

I told Anna to inform everyone that I would attend dinner. When she returned with the fever medicine, she said,

“Your Grace, His Grace said he won’t be attending dinner.”

He said he wouldn’t take off his mask in front of me.