“Haah……”

Elize, who opened her eyes on the bed, exhaled languidly at the sound of birds and wind coming through the open window.

The first thing she saw upon opening her eyes were the ornate ceiling paintings and beautiful decorations.

Things she could never see in her dilapidated room at the baron’s house.

Of course, even in that house, the baron had spent money on Elize’s room, so there were no stains on the wallpaper and expensive carpets covered the floor. But that was it. To Elize’s eyes, her room there looked infinitely shabby and run-down.

‘But not anymore.’

Elize sat up and looked at the space beside her. There were traces of where the Grand Duke had stayed the night before.

“How diligent he is.”

Elize caressed the spot where the man who had explored her the night before had lain, as if it was lovely.

In truth, Elize had been unable to hide her disappointment when she first arrived here.

The entire journey, she had thought they might go straight to the Grand Duke’s residence, but the carriage without a crest had dropped Elize off at a small villa deep in the forest.

However, the moment she entered the villa, that disappointment melted away like snow on a spring day.

Unlike its ordinary exterior, the inside of the villa was the epitome of splendor. Even the rooms of fairly well-known noble houses in the capital would be no better than stables compared to this villa.

A place where everything glittered with gold, and even a single piece of carelessly placed furniture was the height of luxury.

When she saw the Grand Duke coming down from the second floor wearing a half-open robe, Elize realized what this villa was for and what the Grand Duke’s intentions were in bringing her here.

‘I knew there were summer villas for such purposes, but…’

Among the nobles, those who wanted to spend very passionate times away from others’ eyes were said to have such secret villas on their estates that only permitted guests could visit.

Elize had shared a room with the Grand Duke since the night she arrived here.

The man who had acted indifferent and proper in the capital’s social circles mounted Elize here while uttering vulgar words.

Elize accepted all of it. Because that was the path to becoming the Grand Duchess.

Perhaps he was pleased that she had fully accepted all his desires.

The Grand Duke ordered the servants here to serve Elize without lacking anything in her stay.

Servants far better trained than the likes of Maya she had at the baron’s residence bowed deeply to her.

The sight of them obeying brought Elize great joy.

As per the Grand Duke’s orders, they granted Elize’s every wish.

From meals to bedding. Everything was of the highest quality.

She thought it would be difficult to enjoy such luxury even in the capital.

They diligently carried out even orders that Elize herself felt were excessive, and when she shouted or slapped their cheeks, they remained still.

As if born solely to follow orders.

The absolute submission and obedience intoxicated Elize’s mind like fine wine.

That intoxication did not fade, but rather fueled Elize’s thirst even more.

‘I want to make it mine for certain soon.’

All of this would fall into her possession the moment she became Grand Duchess.

She wanted to brand all those servants with her name and keep them under her for life. Along with this villa, of course.

‘And the Grand Duke’s estate will become mine too.’

The Grand Duke’s estate is about a 2-hour carriage ride away from this forest.

So the Grand Duke went there during the day to handle affairs and returned here at night.

When she once begged to go with him as he was returning to his estate, he kissed Elize’s forehead and said:

After spending the night with him, Elize talked about future plans.

Elize spoke of many things.

When would be good for their wedding, where should it be held, who from society should be invited, would His Majesty the King perhaps attend, where to order the dress from, which flowers to focus on……

There wasn’t enough time in several days to talk about just the wedding.

After chattering on for a while, Elize realized the Grand Duke was just smiling and looking at her without saying anything.

But isn’t the silence of nobles usually an expression of agreement? So Elize’s imagination grew more concrete with each passing day.

Before leaving this place, she would surely receive a formal proposal from the Grand Duke, along with a large diamond ring as proof.

Wearing that ring and entering the fall social season in a dress from the most expensive dressmaker was as vivid in Elize’s mind as if she had experienced it dozens of times.

So much so that she could even feel people’s whispers and envious gazes.

Elize rang the bell beside the side table. Shortly after, there was a knock and the door opened as a maid of the villa entered.

“Did you call?”

“Hm? Who are you?”

The maid who entered had a young face Elize hadn’t seen before.

“I am the one assigned to serve the young lady today…”

“That’s enough. Bring the girl who usually comes.”

At Elize’s order, the maid bowed her head deeply.

“She is not here at the moment.”

“What? Then call any of the maids who usually come to my room besides you.”

“Th-that…”

The maid hesitated and couldn’t seem to speak. Annoyed by her attitude, Elize got up, closed her robe, and pushed the maid aside as she went out.

And as soon as she entered the hallway, she sensed something different from usual.

‘Where did everyone go?’

The servants who would normally be quietly and diligently doing their work were nowhere to be seen.

Elize went downstairs. The baroness happened to be sitting in the living room on the first floor.

The baron and baroness stayed in the annex next to the villa. They had to go there when the Grand Duke came, but they often came to see Elize when he was away.

“Mother.”

“Oh my, Elize. I was just waiting for you.”

“More importantly, why are there so few servants visible today?”

“I asked about that too, and apparently an honored guest came to the Grand Duke’s estate today. It seems the servants from here went to the Grand Duke’s estate to provide formal hospitality. The Grand Duke also has to greet that guest, so he won’t be coming for a week.”

“I didn’t hear anything about that…”

“It must have been a sudden visit. More importantly, did the Grand Duke say anything else?”

Seeing her mother’s sparkling eyes, Elize smiled and sat on the sofa.

“He didn’t say anything in particular.”

“I-I see… But shouldn’t we start talking about the wedding soon? There’s so much to prepare.”

“Who doesn’t know that?!”

Elize shouted as if annoyed. The baroness swallowed a sigh and tried to soothe her daughter. It was obvious that if she continued talking about the Grand Duke now, it would only ignite that temper. So she had to change the subject.

But since the baron and baroness had also been spending their days idly since coming here, they didn’t have much to gossip about. However, the baroness remembered a decent topic.

“Rida, that one.”

“Rida? Why her? Did she send another ridiculous letter?”

Seeing the sneering smile on Elize’s face, the baroness swallowed a sigh of relief and said:

“She hasn’t sent any more since you cut her off. More importantly, do you remember the caretaker of this villa? The one who greeted us the day after we arrived.”

“Ah, I remember.”

He was an old and obese man. Nevertheless, what covered his body were quite luxurious things.

As it turned out, he was a distant relative of the Grand Duke who seemed to be living comfortably with the title of caretaker of this place.

“That person, I hear he’s going to the capital this fall season to look for a bride. So I was thinking…”

The baroness smiled a similar smile to Elize’s.

“How about sending that one to him?”

“Would the caretaker like that one? It’s just tall and plain, and doesn’t know humility. And honestly, since that one bears the name of Aradis, sending it to a villa caretaker is a bit…”

Elize frowned. It wasn’t out of concern for Ael.

She was soon to be the Grand Duchess. If someone bearing the same family name as her married someone far beneath her and lived nearby, it could cause problems for her reputation.

‘Why was that thing born as my elder sister!’

How much better it would have been if she had been born as the successor of the Golden Rule as her father had wished.

Then her marriage would have been arranged early in childhood. And they would have received a very hefty gratitude payment from the other family.

If that had happened, she would have lived from childhood in a grand and magnificent mansion, not a crumbling baron’s estate, served by useful servants.

‘And if the other family was impressive, I would have had it much easier too.’

If the family that took that one was a powerful family, she would have interacted with nobles of a similar level much more frequently from childhood, and it wouldn’t have been difficult to form connections.

‘I wouldn’t have had to struggle so much to form a connection with the Grand Duke either.’

There wouldn’t have been any room for the likes of Riena to interfere from the start.

Indeed, thinking about it again, that one was just a burden that was of no help to her life at all.

It was even causing her to worry like this even now.

“No, I asked and he said that if he gets a wife in the capital this time, he’ll return to his hometown and look for caretaker work there. He’s getting on in years too, so he’s in a hurry for children. He said he wants to have at least five once he gets a wife.”

“Hmm…”

It meant there would be no reason to come out of the territory, at least until he had five children.

“Still, she’s the elder sister of the future Grand Duchess, so sending her to someone without even a title…”

“That’s not a problem either. He’s apparently a viscount-to-be? He’s even saved up money diligently to bring a wife. He said he doesn’t care about the bride’s face, as long as she’s a noble who can bear children, so that one should be just right.”

Seeing her mother speak more passionately about that one’s marriage than expected, Elize narrowed her eyes slightly.

“I’m asking just in case… Did you receive money in advance?”

“Ah, n-no, it’s just that! He came to the annex yesterday and pleaded so earnestly…!”

The baroness said this while fiddling with the bracelet on her wrist.