At Amy’s question, the butler appeared momentarily bewildered before his face turned to one of embarrassment.
“The thing is…”
Amy quickly reviewed the information about Count Coleman’s family in her mind.
‘Count Coleman’s territory covers about 1/6 of the dukedom, located at a junction leading to the empire, with the mildest climate in the North, and the main source of income is the sale of sturdy black wood from dense forests. The current count is elderly and childless.’
“Oh no…”
With the empire and duchy now separate entities, the new Count Coleman would need to be appointed by Noah. But if Count Coleman was truly part of an anti-duke faction…
‘What a time for us to arrive; we might end up fueling unnecessary rumors.’
Rumors like the Second Prince, to reclaim the count’s title from the opposition, ended his life, or something of the sort. People didn’t care whether rumors were true or not, as long as they were sensational and entertaining.
‘And the opposition will be thrilled to fuel these rumors.’
Amy’s head ached. As if there weren’t already a mountain of tasks, she now faced another complicated situation.
“Why isn’t Baron Burton here?”
“!”
At Noah’s question, the butler’s face turned ashen. Amy quickly sifted through her knowledge again.
‘Baron Burton is one of the titles held by Count Coleman, but without a successor, who currently holds that title?’
The butler, resigning himself, drooped his shoulders and answered frankly.
“Baron Burton is… currently away… well, more like he has run away.”
“…”
Amy pressed her forehead again. She had stopped avoiding nobles since entering the North, planning to have a friendly first meeting with them, considering she had to interact with them in the future. But…
‘Why is the road to the Duke’s Castle so fraught with challenges…’
It felt like a foreshadowing of the obstacles in her path.
“Count Coleman is still alive, right?”
At Noah’s question, the butler wiped sweat and nodded.
“Yes, he is. But I don’t think he’ll last long…”
“We’ll be leaving at dawn tomorrow. No need for a send-off.”
Noah cut off sharply and seated Amy. Half out of her senses, Amy sat down but then startled and stood up.
‘No, I should be serving His Highness!’
But Noah had already taken his seat. Amy reluctantly sat back down. At Noah’s signal, the butler opened the door and the servants brought in the food.
After the meal, Amy and Noah held an urgent meeting. Amy asked the most pressing question.
“How did you know about Baron Burton?”
“I heard the Prime Minister mention it when I was at the imperial palace.”
Amy frowned.
“Certainly, Count Coleman doesn’t have any children. So who could be Baron Burton?”
“It’s an illegitimate child.”
Ah, so that was it. The Prime Minister knew, but since it was not officially recognized, it wasn’t recorded in official documents. That was why Amy hadn’t known.
“So it’s not an official title, but just a convenient way of addressing someone as Baron Burton in the North? The previous duke must not have approved it.”
“It’s not just that he didn’t do. He told me to be fully prepared for what’s coming.”
“Who did? The Prime Minister?”
“Yes.”
Amy pursed her lips inwardly. The Prime Minister, who seemed like a humanized bloated weasel, was a person of the Empress. He must have sneered a lot under the guise of advice before Noah left the imperial palace.
“Just ignore them, those kinds of things.”
Noting Amy’s indignation, Noah smiled softly. He nodded with a slightly shy expression.
“Yeah, I have Amy with me, after all.”
“……Well, yes.”
Amy cleared her throat with a ‘hem’ and got back to the main topic.
“Out of the entire territory of the dukedom, about a third will be directly governed by you, Lord Noah, and the rest is the fiefdom of Northern nobles like Count Coleman. Therefore, cooperation with them is essential.”
“Which means it’s going to be a headache if they start causing trouble.”
“That’s right.”
Noah looked at Amy and said.
“And they are probably prepared to obstruct me, acting on someone else’s orders.”
“…….”
Unable to lie and say no, Amy kept silent. Noah seemed to have expected this and quietly looked down. Silence lingered between the master and servant for a while.
After some time had passed.
“Amy.”
Noah lifted his head and called her.
“Yes, Your Grace. Please speak.”
Noah swallowed dryly and carefully opened his mouth.
“What should I do?”
When scheming men desperately battle for her favor in the male harem
This one’s also on my reread list! The rivalry, scheming between the men in the imperial harem are just as intense and thrilling as in classic palace drama novels, where concubines fight to the death. Give it a read, girls! I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Synopsis:
“I am not worthy of her… but I still want to be by her side, even if only as a loyal dog…”
Those were the painful whispers of Yue Guanyi – the proud Crown Prince of the Great Qi, who was torn between deep love and a guilty conscience. Despite holding the supreme power of the Imperial Guard, he still could not forget the dark past when he was sold into a brothel.
Fate played a cruel twist when Qiu Shuzhi – a young female official who had just passed the imperial examinations with top honors – stepped into his life. She did not know that she was the one who had saved him from a tragic fate many years ago. And now, her heart was the target of pursuit for both Yue Guanyi and the powerful Empress Dowager Qin Qing.
While Yue Guanyi only dared to silently care for and protect the one he loved from afar, the Empress Dowager Qin Qing openly expressed his feelings and did not hesitate to take advantage of his power to approach Qiu Shuzhi. The covert struggle between the two most powerful forces in the imperial court began…
Trigger warning: All men in this novel are yandere style.
_____
Please help me, I want to bring you the best possible things.
If you find any chapter or novel with poor translation and editing quality, let me know by commenting directly under that novel or chapter. I will retranslate it as soon as possible.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
