The Duke belatedly regretted that he should have ignored and opposed the opinion of Duke Hugo’s family. And the same was true for the Duchess.

She, who had been grinding her teeth in revenge, sinisterly brightened her eyes and gently stroked her husband’s shoulder.

“Darling, don’t worry too much. This time we’ll surely succeed. I’ve been working hard to prepare for it, haven’t I?”

While the capital might not know, the Vandermir duchy was thoroughly her domain. No matter how capable Arasila was, it would be difficult for her to defeat her here.

“I’ll make it so they can’t bear it without getting divorced.”

She muttered ominously.

This time, she was determined to make it unbearable for both Arasila and Demian to not think about divorce.

Absolutely.

The lord’s castle in the Vandermir duchy boasted grandeur no less than the imperial palace. It was a scale that fully reflected the prestige of the ducal family.

Even after passing through the entrance, one had to go through two more inner gates before arriving at the main castle.

Demian got out of the carriage first and escorted Arasila. Arasila took his hand and came out.

However, compared to the size of the castle, the number of servants welcoming them was pitiful. Less than half the number at the Vandermir mansion bowed their heads to them.

It was too modest and shabby to be a scene welcoming distinguished guests.

‘They’re slighting us from the start.’

They had notified their departure date in advance, so they couldn’t have misjudged the arrival date.

Seeing the servants pretending to be flustered as if they had just heard the news, Arasila couldn’t help but laugh incredulously.

Did they think anyone would be intimidated by this?

On the other hand, Demian seemed used to such treatment, entering the main castle holding Arasila’s hand with an unfazed expression.

Among the mansion servants who came along, only Audrey followed the two, while the rest moved the luggage.

As they entered the central hall, a middle-aged man and woman who appeared to be the butler and head maid belatedly came out and bowed their heads.

“The Grand Madam, the Duke and Duchess, and Young Master Oscar are coming now. Please wait a moment.”

Contrary to the word “moment”, quite a long time passed before the ducal family leisurely appeared at the top of the stairs.

“Oh my, you’ve arrived earlier than expected.”

The Duchess smiled without a trace of apology for making people wait.

Next to her was the Duke, and beside him was the Grand Madam, with Oscar following a step behind.

“Have you been well?”

The Duchess approached the two, deliberately spreading her arms as if welcoming them. Then she lightly gripped Arasila’s shoulders.

“Arasila, I thought you might be sick since there was no contact from you.”

At the remark hinting at her failure to regularly check on her in-laws, Arasila blinked and then smiled brightly.

“You were worried about me. I’m fine, nothing hurts. But Demian said his wrist has been hurting lately, so I guess he couldn’t contact you well.”

As Arasila calmly replied, pretending not to understand the implication, the corners of the Duchess’s mouth twisted.

The Duke, who had been watching this unpleasantly, cleared his throat loudly and said:

“Wrist hurting? He’s just showing off in front of his parents because his business has had some success.”

“Ah, I guess it hurt from signing so many contracts. From now on, I’ll sign more so Demian’s wrist doesn’t strain.”

“Huh.”

The Duke was dumbfounded by Arasila’s brazen and innocent answer, reminiscent of her own father.

He felt even more frustrated because Arasila had made the friendly gesture.

“You really don’t understand what people are saying! Do you think that’s what I meant?!”

The Grand Madam, who had been quiet until then, couldn’t contain her anger and thundered.

She had intended to avoid mixing words as much as possible, having suffered a major blow to her social reputation after a previous conflict with Arasila, but seeing her attitude towards her son, she couldn’t bear it any longer.

Arasila didn’t even blink as she looked towards the Grand Madam’s legs.

“My, Grand Madam. Your leg seems to have healed. That’s fortunate. Be careful not to injure it again.”

For a moment, the Grand Madam flinched involuntarily as she recalled the situation when her leg was broken, then frowned.

At the time, she had injured herself while trying to threaten Arasila, but now Arasila’s remark felt distinctly like a threat.

As if saying she would make her get hurt again if she kept provoking her.

Before fire could spew from the Grand Madam’s mouth, Demian stepped in.

“We’re tired, so we’ll go up now. Let’s meet again at mealtime after we’ve rested from our journey.”

He took Arasila’s hand and passed by the ducal family, going up the stairs. They seemed to have more to say, but he ignored them cleanly.

As the two headed straight for the second floor where Demian’s room was, they were stopped by the head maid who hurriedly followed them.

“We’ve prepared a separate room on the third floor for the Young Madam. Please follow me.”

Demian’s gaze as he looked down at the head maid bowing politely was as cold as could be.

Although he didn’t say anything, Arasila was inwardly surprised at the hostility she felt. He seemed to dislike the head maid as much as the ducal family.

“You prepared a separate room for my wife? Why?”

If there was no marital bedroom prepared in the mansion, it was generally customary to let them use the existing room together.

There was no reason for Arasila to use a guest room when she wasn’t an outsider and her husband’s room was available.

Unless they were deliberately trying to treat her as an outsider.

“We haven’t had time to change the Young Master’s room for a couple, so it would be uncomfortable for both of you to stay there. Instead, the guest room is always kept clean and tidy, so I’ll guide you there.”

The head maid calmly explained. Yet Demian’s expression remained unsoftened.

He stared at the head maid with a displeased face, then turned to Arasila. His eyes asked what she wanted to do.

Arasila was lost in thought for a moment.

‘Hmm, a bed would still be more comfortable than a sofa, right?’

Since they had always slept separately like that when sharing a room until now, it seemed better to have separate rooms for this ten-day stay.

Arasila quietly conveyed her intention by releasing their joined hands. Demian’s fingers twitched briefly.

“Rest well, I’ll see you later, Demian.”

“…Alright. You rest comfortably too, wife.”

Arasila smiled brightly and was about to move with the head maid. Demian suddenly grabbed the tips of her fingers.

“…?”

As Arasila turned back puzzled, he kissed the back of her hand while locking eyes with her intently.

“I’ll miss you, wife.”

“…Ah, of course, me too. It feels so regrettable even though we’re only separating for a short while.”

Arasila responded a beat late to the sudden affectionate husband act.

Although the response was delayed since they hadn’t agreed beforehand to act like this in front of the Vandermir servants, it wasn’t bad.

Demian squeezed her hand once tightly as if to show the head maid, then let go and left for the left side of the second floor.

Arasila went up to the third floor with Audrey, following the head maid. The head maid guided them to the guest room without any further explanation and said stiffly:

“You’ll be staying here from now on, Young Madam. Please let me know if there’s anything uncomfortable.”

She bowed her head and turned to leave. Arasila, who had been looking around the adequately spacious and clean interior, blurted out:

“Are you leaving without even introducing yourself?”

“…”

“I haven’t even heard your name yet.”

At those words, the head maid turned back and opened her mouth in a polite but dry voice.

“I apologize for the late introduction. I am Melanie, the head maid. Please call for me whenever you need me.”

“Alright, I understand.”

“Yes. If you rest for a moment, I’ll bring and introduce the maids who will be serving the Young Madam from now on.”

When Arasila nodded, Melanie withdrew. As the door closed and only Audrey was left in the room with her, Arasila opened her handbag.

“Audrey, come here.”

“Yes, Madam.”

She took out a necklace with a large diamond and small emeralds along the chain and handed it to Audrey.

“Wear this inside your clothes. Then later, when only the maids are around, casually take it out and show it off. Understand?”

Audrey put on the necklace as instructed, hiding it under her collar, then asked the reason.

“Why do I need to do this?”

“I want to try bribing a maid who shows greed upon seeing your necklace.”

Arasila didn’t expect the maid assigned by the Vandermir ducal family for ten days to be kind and normal.

So she thought to bribe that maid instead to survey the mansion and help Demian find the will.

“Subtly hint that I unexpectedly have vanity and am loose, so I’ll readily give such jewels as gifts if you just listen well. Then keep an eye on the maid who shows the most reaction and tell me.”

“Yes, Madam.”

Audrey nodded vigorously, having received a mission after a while.

And shortly after, Melanie returned with three maids.

“These are the girls who will serve the Young Madam from now on. In order, they are Olga, Lizzy, and Vicky.”

“We look forward to serving you, Young Madam.”

The three maids appeared very quiet and gentle on the surface. Of course, whether their inner thoughts were as clean remained to be seen.

Arasila first had them prepare a bath, saying she wanted to wash up. And when the three maids left for the bathroom, she quietly slipped out of the room as well.

Normally, on a first visit to a lord’s castle, it would be proper to give a detailed tour and explanation of various places, but since no one seemed inclined to do so, she decided to look around on her own.

After asking Audrey to drag out the bath preparations as long as possible, she slowly strolled down the corridor.

There wasn’t anything particularly special about the structure, so she roughly scanned it while opening the doors of every visible room to check inside.

However, most were empty rooms.

‘Am I the only one using the third floor?’

Wondering if they had deliberately arranged it that way, she turned the left corner. A double door at the end of the corridor came into view.

‘What kind of room is that?’

As she approached, she saw that unlike the other rooms, the doorknob was made of pure gold. Curious, Arasila grasped the handle to try opening the door.

But it only made clicking sounds and the firmly locked door wouldn’t open.

She was about to use magic to force it open, but soon gave up.

The gold handle and mahogany door suggested at a glance that this was a room with some scheme, so it seemed unwise to carelessly tamper with it.

‘I’ll have to open this later.’

Making that resolution, she finished touring the third floor and returned to her room.

The bath preparations had just been completed.

When evening came, the Vandermir family gathered in the dining hall.

Duke Vandermir sat at the head of the table, with the rest of the ducal family on his right and Demian and Arasila on his left.

Dishes catering strictly to the ducal family’s tastes were served one by one. Fortunately, neither Arasila nor Demian had any particular allergies.

It was unappetizing to sit face to face with unwelcome people for a meal, but when a plate of meat was placed before her, Arasila’s mind changed.

The meat was innocent.

Just as Arasila cut a well-cooked piece of meat, dipped it in sauce, and brought it to her mouth:

“By the way, when are you planning to have a child?”

The Duchess asked a question that instantly ruined her appetite again.

Arasila put down her fork. The Duke couple and Grand Madam were staring at her like hyenas with their eyes bulging.

Feeling strongly that it wasn’t asked with good intentions, Arasila gave an appropriate answer:

“We’re both young, so we don’t have any plans yet.”

“Oh my, how long do you think you’ll stay young? Especially for women, they age quickly, so you should prepare early.”

The Duchess narrowed her eyes nastily.

She sincerely didn’t view having a child between the two negatively. There was no weakness more fatal to a woman who became a mother than her child.

Of course, she was intentionally bringing up children now to put pressure on them, but she wouldn’t mind if they actually had one.

“That’s right, you should have a child as soon as possible so you can quit that damned magic tower and be devoted to your family.”

The Grand Madam clicked her tongue softly and spoke in a displeased voice.

Arasila closed her eyes for a moment. The recurring song was starting again just when she thought she could forget about it.

As she pondered how to silence everyone at once, Demian took a sip of water and opened his mouth:

“What’s the rush? It’s not like I’m going to make a child with another woman.”