Rolf, the butler who had managed Lucenford Castle for over 20 years along with the head maid, was a viscount without any territory.

Until Peon came and the territory was promoted to a grand duchy, this place was merely a county. In a county without a count, it was only the butlers who took on the honorary position of viscount for generations.

However, when Peon became a grand duke and vast lands and castles befitting a grand duchy were incorporated into Lucenford, Rolf and the head maid Doris somehow felt as if they had become something themselves.

They felt that way even though most of those lands and castles had been ravaged by the underlings of the Evil Dragon and were snow-covered places where not a single blade of grass grew.

Because he was a grand duke and the son of the empress, goods and gold coins poured in, separately sent by the empress.

For a grand duke, it was a ridiculously insufficient amount, but for those who fought against the Evil Dragon and the cold in this barren place, it was an enormous sum.

Their shoulders naturally rose with pride. No matter how much Peon was pointed at as a bastard, to Lucenford, he was a precious bloodline that protected them, a member of the imperial family.

“Did you call for me, Your Highness?”

Rolf had raised Peon together with Doris, who was exiled this time. When Peon got injured rolling around the training grounds with the knights here or lay sick with a cold, they nursed him all night, celebrated his birthdays, and rejoiced whenever his academic achievements increased.

Peon was not a Krain person, but a Lucenford person. He possessed the spirit and strength of the Northerners.

However, he suddenly married a southern lady.

“Where are the keys that the head maid should have right now?”

“I am temporarily holding onto them.”

“Bring them now.”

“Right now? Yes, I understand.”

Of course, it was a welcome thing that he married a wealthy southern lady. When the new bride came to Lucenford, the enormous procession was honestly even more massive than when young Peon had arrived.

Well, that’s natural since Peon had grown up. But Rolf and Doris honestly wished Peon would marry into a prestigious noble family of Lucenford. Because Peon was the Grand Duke of Lucenford.

“Here they are, Your Highness.”

“Is this all of them?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Rolf explained where each key belonged one by one.

“That’s quite a lot.”

“Yes. The head maid has been managing many areas, so it’s a huge responsibility.”

“Such a position with huge responsibilities should no longer be held by someone who takes the master’s words lightly.”

His Highness the Grand Duke is still enraged. No matter what, Doris was too foolish. Right now, she’s staying at an old hunting lodge near the border owned by some relative, unable to move an inch. It’s frustrating.

The other party is none other than Lady Ostein. The next Duke of Ostein, at that. If a child is born between her and Peon, that child would become the immense being that is both the Grand Duke of Lucenford and the Duke of Ostein. And yet, to mess with such a lady?

Rolf, who had conveniently stepped away from this incident, conveniently erased the fact that he had also been secretly cheering on and condoning what Head Maid Doris was doing. He also conveniently forgot the fact that his condonement had further fanned the flames of Doris’ actions.

“You are absolutely right.”

The five nobles who had looked down on and pressured the young Grand Duchess along with the head maid at the banquet were dragged to the underground prison one after another. They were all executed without exception. Rolf thought the Grand Duchess was truly naive.

What good would it do to spare the head maid’s life? It would be better to die at once rather than continue a miserable life. Such clumsy compassion in Lucenford only breeds resentment.

“From now on, the Grand Duchess will be in charge of all internal affairs. Have her take over the rights you were in charge of, including the tasks the Grand Duchess should oversee.”

Rolf was startled. Peon’s violet eyes were staring through him without wavering.

“Take this incident as a lesson and set an example. Show that there are those in Lucenford who have respect for their master and are highly loyal.”

That’s right. Butler Rolf Anderson, the Viscount, was still “one who had respect for his master and was highly loyal.” At least for now.

“Yes, Your Highness. I will do my best.”

Until the moment the butler turned around and left with his head bowed, Peon didn’t take his eyes off him.

*

Dr. Darinka, who ended up treating the Grand Duchess in a hurry, was a jolly and very brave woman with a plump figure, one of the few female doctors who made house calls without being married.

She had been ordered to continue caring for the Grand Duchess until she could get up and leave her bed. So, in the morning, she would commute to the castle or stay in the castle to monitor the Grand Duchess’ condition.

“Shall I cover you with more blankets? It’s even colder today.”

The Grand Duchess was quite a beauty. Perhaps because she had been told she was pretty since childhood, she could brush it off indifferently.

She had piercingly clear blue eyes, a straight forehead, clean skin, and blonde hair that was so pale it shone white in the light.

However, her body hair, such as her eyebrows and eyelashes, was darker the closer and shorter it was to the roots. That also naturally suited her well.

Still, Lady Lavalle was prettier.

Yeah. She smiled much better and was more lively, right?

While the Grand Duchess was ill, Darinka had seen and heard quite a bit as she went back and forth to the castle. In the castle tightly controlled by the head maid, they openly lamented the head maid being dragged away.

Darinka, who knew who Lady Lavalle was and that she had stayed in this castle, saw that even those who spoke that way shut their mouths and became cautious the next morning.

The Grand Duke had strictly cracked down on even the laundry room gossip about who was prettier.

In Darinka’s eyes, the Grand Duke cherished the Grand Duchess, who was much younger than him, tremendously.

Of course, the Grand Duchess was also politically much nobler than Lady Lavalle, but even so, it didn’t make sense for him to stay by her side for the three days she hovered between life and death.

The Grand Duke didn’t take his eyes off the Grand Duchess for a single moment, yet he couldn’t bring himself to touch her. He, who had even procured the legendary medicine Retilin from the Evil Dragon’s territory in one go, didn’t come to her side much after she opened her eyes.

‘Are you suddenly treating me like an outsider?’

Well, that aside, the real problem was the Grand Duchess.

“Look at this, Your Highness. The pattern is so pretty, isn’t it? It’s a unique Lucenford embroidery.”

No matter how much the maids made a fuss and brought new things to show her, the Grand Duchess only smiled once and that was it. Was it because she had gone through such a big ordeal right after getting married? The concern Darinka had cautiously expressed to the Grand Duke was becoming clearer.

“You recovered very quickly. It’s truly fortunate.”

“It’s thanks to your efforts.”

The Grand Duchess, who didn’t forget to greet even those beneath her, was objectively a good master.

“I did nothing. It was His Highness the Grand Duke who procured the medicine.”

Of course, Darinka kept quiet about exactly where that medicine had been. The fact that the Grand Duke had procured the medicine was only known to the doctor, the Grand Duke, the Grand Duchess, and her maids.

“It was you who prescribed that specific medicine.”

The Grand Duchess already displayed an attitude befitting a Grand Duchess, despite her young age, and it wasn’t strange at all but very natural.

“Thank you. Your Highness, you can start your daily life now, but you must be careful. Being careful with food is the most important, and no matter how cold it is, you must do light exercise like taking a stroll.”

When Darinka said these words, patients were very happy. No one disliked being told that a tiresome illness had left and they had recovered.

However, the Grand Duchess didn’t seem particularly joyful. She praised Darinka’s efforts, but those who dislike the fact that they have recovered have a deeper-rooted illness.

“You can’t just work all the time either. You need to rest a lot and do things in moderation for your body to stabilize and your stomach to settle.”

“I understand.”

Kaella nodded. Even if the doctor hadn’t earnestly advised her, she was in the laziest state she had ever been in her life. In other words, she had no will to live. She already knew exactly what she would do in the future.

It wasn’t new at all, and going through it again was more painful. However, her past experience of faithfully performing the role of Grand Duchess made her head unconsciously do its work.

‘I have to meet the people in the castle, and since the banquet ended like that, I’ll have to meet the nobles again, but the head maid will take care of that anyway, so why do I have to do it?’

Even if she went out, she was treated as a young lady who was ignorant and knew nothing. As Kaella recalled the shame and humiliation of that time for a few seconds, she belatedly realized with an ‘ah’.

‘The head maid is gone.’

She wasn’t there. Then could she move around a bit more freely? Her shoulders, which had risen for a moment, slumped again. Then what do I do? Even if there’s no head maid, there will still be people acting as the head maid.

Moreover, the butler is still going strong, isn’t he? The head maids will also choose someone to their liking based on their own interests. It wasn’t something for Kaella, an ‘outsider’, to interfere with.

“Just do one important thing and rest again, Your Highness.”

“Yes. All right. Watch us embroider and enjoy the sight of the snow flowers too. It’s amazing how much snow falls here.”

Lucenford wasn’t a place worth putting effort into. In a few years, the Grand Duke would eventually fail to avoid the false charge of treason imposed by the emperor, and Lucenford would be trampled under the hooves of the imperial army.

‘Before that, I need to send those innocent maids to the warm south.’

She made a new resolve every time she saw the maids. This time, she would make sure all three of them avoided the war without leaving a single one behind. If there was a goal in this powerless life, it was only that.

So this time too, Kaella had no intention of doing anything.

Honestly, she had no will to do it, and she had no intention of going out and playing the role of a signboard or a puppet in a pre-made board anyway. No matter what she did, she didn’t have the ability to do it properly.

*

“The Grand Duchess should choose the head maid.”

Peon said clearly, looking at Kaella.

“It’s best to handle personnel issues first. The more people there are to help, the more comfortable it will be.”

She blankly stared at her husband, who rarely came to see her, telling her to rest as much as possible. In the past, she used to be conscious of every expression, attitude, and even the position of her hands in front of him, but now she didn’t even hide her expression.

“Then does Your Highness have someone in mind?”

The next head maid would be predetermined anyway, so she would just have to pretend to choose. Kaella waited for an answer.

“…How could I?”

However, Peon looked at Kaella as if he was rather puzzled. He seemed a bit flustered too.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know much about that kind of thing…. I’ll leave everything to you, so do as you wish, since you know better than me. It will be an area I’ll continue to be ignorant of anyway. Isn’t it your domain?”

Kaella thought for a moment and asked again.

“Then shall I discuss it with the butler?”

“That would be good too, but.”

Peon paused for a moment and looked straight at Kaella.

“I trust your judgment. I think you’ll discover someone with qualities that the people of Lucenford have overlooked, more wisely than the butler.”

Who are you?

Kaella looked at Peon with an expression that said, ‘Who the hell are you?’ Did God feel so sorry for her that he put someone else inside Peon’s shell this time?

“It’s your unique authority, so do it yourself.”

Peon didn’t avoid her gaze. Rather, he met it head-on.

“You have to choose your own person.”

She had to find someone who would be a support in this lonely and cold place. Someone who would become Kaella’s hands and eyes had to come in.

“It might even be a good thing. Wouldn’t it be nice for you to personally choose the head maid and start anew together?”

“A new beginning?”

“A beginning in Lucenford.”

How much of a change could there be just by changing one person? Kaella was always skeptical. In fact, it was more so because she hadn’t met a proper person in Lucenford.

“I heard that an occasion will soon be arranged for the noble ladies of Lucenford to meet you for the first time.”

That was, of course, a scheduled event when a lord, king, or emperor got married. It was a gathering for women to pay their respects to the newly arrived Grand Duchess, introduce themselves, and pledge their future cooperation and loyalty.

“That occasion will proceed at an extremely natural and commonsense level.”

His voice, as if affirming it, was consistently plain. It didn’t sound any colder or frightening. However, Kaella knew well that it was Peon’s way.

Inside Lucenford, things somehow ended up going as he said. Those who ignored the Grand Duchess naturally submitted to the Grand Duke. Because Peon was their pride, sturdy shield, and sword.

“Since it’s an occasion presided over by you, it will naturally be safe.”

And above all, Peon had an unyielding strong will. Rather than bending, he would break if he had to. That’s why before she died, Kaella had fallen for him helplessly.

He was someone who had everything she wanted to be from a very young age. He was someone who maintained a firm will even in adverse situations and continued to cultivate the strength to maintain it. Although the enemy was too strong, he never gave up.

However, that’s an old story. Kaella, who had given up on living the moment she came here, was watching Peon take something out with no emotion. In fact, she didn’t even know what it was.

“And this is what I showed you before as a raw gemstone. I’m ashamed to only show you the finished product now. I hope it’s to your liking.”

Peon politely held out the box. Kaella, who had been blankly thinking about something else, looked at the box placed in front of her hand and then looked at Peon again.

“Open it.”

The moment she opened the box, the brilliance that came into view was dazzling. It was a ring cut in the shape of a water droplet, larger than the thickness of Kaella’s finger and filling up one whole joint.

Kaella, her thoughts stopped, belatedly realized that this was a ring made by processing the smallest of the twelve diamonds mined from the Kerban mine.

“How is it?”

If she said she didn’t like it, he intended to revise it again. He wanted her to like everything. Peon waited for her reaction with an anxious heart. However, Kaella was startled and looked around, then started rummaging through her surroundings with a rustle.

“I’m sorry. Just a moment.”

He waited with a puzzled face and saw Kaella bring a box she had taken out from a locked drawer of the dressing table.

“Is this mine?”

“Yes. Of course.”

“Then I’ll return this to you.”

With an innocent face, Kaella returned to Peon the empress’ ring she had received when they got married, which was also her engagement ring. As if it was only natural.