The Duchess complained about the tea.

“What are you doing? Why aren’t you going to fetch other tea leaves?”

The Duke glared at the Duchess. But Duke Hart knew he couldn’t break her stubbornness.

In the end, he sighed and spoke to Nelia.

“Nelia, please wait for a moment. I’ll be back soon.”

“Duke, go ahead. I will be talking with the Duchess.”

When Nelia spoke calmly, only then did the Duke appear relieved.

When the Duke left his seat, Nelia was left alone with the Duchess. She said it would be fine, but it was a little awkward now that they were alone.

But she didn’t seem to feel that way at all.

“Miss Nelia, there’s nothing to be nervous about.”

As Duke Hart left, the Duchess became more relaxed.

She was sipping the tea she disliked elegantly. Nelia thought that she saw Duke Hart for a moment in her dignified demeanor.

When their eyes met, Nelia hurriedly replied.

“Yes, I’m okay.”

The Duchess chuckled faintly.

“I apologize once again for being rude on our first meeting. I was too curious after hearing about Miss Nelia from Count Clint and couldn’t be careful.”

“…No.”

Nelia rather wished she would stop mentioning that incident. Every time they talked about it, she felt embarrassed and heat rose to her face.

“You’re working as Silian’s maid now?”

Nelia thought she couldn’t get used to the title ‘Silian’ and opened her mouth.

“Yes, I had caused trouble for the Duke and offered to help.”

“May I ask what kind of trouble you caused…?”

Nelia hid her embarrassment and slowly replied.

“I… stepped on the Duke’s foot.”

The Duchess tilted her head as if she didn’t understand at all.

“Because Miss Nelia stepped on his foot a little, was Silian hurt?”

“Yes……. The heel of the shoe I was wearing was a bit sharp.”

And she stepped on it hard…….

However, the Duchess still seemed unconvinced. She let out a snort of disbelief instead.

“Goodness, this is really unbelievable.”

“Yes……?”

The Duchess hastily explained to the surprised Nelia at the cynical response.
“Ah, you are referring to Sillian, Miss Nelia.”

Not satisfied, the duchess furrowed her elegant brows, muttering, “Such a foxlike fellow……”

She promptly gathered her expression, slightly pulling back her body.

“So…… that’s why you became Sillian’s maid, Miss Nelia?”

“Yes, because his servant returned to his hometown.”

The duchess gave a false laugh for the second time. But soon, she realized her demeanor was disrespectful and hurriedly covered her mouth.

“Ah, the timing of his servant returning to his hometown was so excellent that I couldn’t help but laugh.”

“Yes……”

Nelia nodded her head.

Although the duchess’s behavior was surprising, there was no scorn or teasing, so she wasn’t feeling bad.

However, she was merely curious about the constant giggling, as if something was absurd.

But Nelia held her words. Her counterpart was the mother of Duke Hart, the duchess. Although the duchess was extremely affectionate, she could not yet relax.

“He wouldn’t have treated you roughly just because you were his maid, right?”

“Yes…… he’s such a kind person.”

Sometimes crossing the line… but the duke never degraded or acted rudely towards her because she was a maid. On the contrary, he was excessively polite, and extremely considerate.

“That’s a relief.”

The duchess closed her eyes and laughed.

For a moment, she resembled Duke Hart. The only difference was the gentleness imbued with the years. She looked strangely similar and dissimilar at the same time.

“In fact…… I heard that you know about Duke Hart’s curse, Miss Nelia.”

The duchess was careful when she brought up the curse.

“So I took more interest in you, Miss Nelia. Being by his side while knowing about the curse isn’t an easy task.”

The duchess slowly cast her gaze downwards.

“I was also scared and surprised when I found out about my husband’s secret.”

Contrary to her words, a bitter smile formed on the duchess’s lips. However, she soon joked to lighten the mood.

“If I knew he would leave so early, I should have divorced him earlier and married another man.”

Nevertheless, Nelia’s heart sank.

‘Duke Hart’s father passed away early. At the hands of the emperor…….’

It was a tragic story.

“How about you, Nelia?”

As she lifted her gaze, the duchess was staring at her with a serious expression.

“Although we discussed marriage and such, accepting a man who lives with a curse as your spouse isn’t easy. Plus, recently his medicine hasn’t been working well, and the control isn’t perfect either.”

The duchess herself revealed Duke Hart’s weakness. Although it was something she already knew.

Nelia didn’t hide her feelings.

“Honestly, I don’t know. Everything happened so suddenly. Therefore, I cannot give you a definitive answer to anything.”

“I see……”

The duchess calmly accepted her answer.

“But, if there’s good news to share…… he quickly turned back into a human from his snake form.”

“……Is that true?”

At Nelia’s words, the duchess opened her eyes wide.

“Yes, it was only twice, but……”

“But there has never been such an instance until now……! How on earth did he turn back?”

“I don’t know the exact reason yet.”

Nelia fiddled with her teacup as she spoke.

“I’m thinking that if we continue to look for a solution, the day might come when his curse is lifted.”