Chapter 69
The cold voice of the Grand Duke made the air in the room even colder.
“It seems I’ve been too quiet and obedient.”
“Grand Duke… Your Highness.”
“Either you weren’t properly trained, or someone told you to act like this. It’s one of the two.”
Anyone with a brain would know who was behind them.
“I thought everything was running smoothly, but it wasn’t. To realize that only now.”
As if water had finally been poured into a fish that was barely breathing, a bit of life returned to the Grand Duke’s eyes. Things he had never even thought about before. The Grand Duke’s household had already been in the Grand Duchess’s grasp, and everyone working here had become her eyes and ears.
A puppet Grand Duke. He thought he was moving according to his own will, but like a puppet with covered eyes, he had been moving exactly as she intended.
But the puppet he thought he was had finally opened his eyes.
He had started thinking and moving on his own.
‘If it were in the past, he would have only listened to the Grand Duchess.’
I honestly didn’t understand why the Grand Duke cared about the children this much, paid this much attention to them, yet in the past his relationship with them had been distant.
I had thought, He just didn’t treat the children well, but seeing him care about them almost excessively was strange. But now I felt like I understood a little.
The reason the relationship between the Grand Duke and the children hadn’t improved was probably because he did exactly as the Grand Duchess told him to. This would be good for the children. Children feel loved if you just buy them expensive things. She must have said things like that to mislead him.
What the children wanted was for him to visit often, talk with them, and slowly open his heart. But he probably expressed his feelings only through those material things.
‘Thinking they would like it.’
He probably did. But now he had started to think. That he was being used, and that there were so many things he didn’t know.
“Everything was running without me. Even though I am the master of the Grand Duke’s household. That’s why those things dare to rebel against me.”
“R-Rebel? That’s not it. This is… a misunderstanding….”
“That is what you call rebellion. You just have to listen to my words and lie flat. A misunderstanding? Whether I misunderstand or not, why are things like you trying to change my mind?”
“Ah….”
So that’s what kind of person he was. When I first met the Grand Duke, I had guessed his personality to some extent, but he was far more unpleasant than I expected.
“Things that are worse than the stones kicked at my feet.”
“……”
They couldn’t even say sorry and only bowed their heads deeply.
“Useless trash everywhere. If you act like this even to Rex whom I sent, I can clearly see how much you must have pressured Aisha and acted as if you were superior. No wonder she kept feeling that way.”
“Your Highness, that’s not….”
“Shut up. Do you not have ears? Can’t you understand words? Do you carry that head as an accessory?”
“……”
“This won’t do. Just having these things in this room is disgusting.”
Clicking his tongue, he walked toward the maids.
“Get out.”
“Yes?”
“I said get out of this room, all of you. And tell your master, the Grand Duchess. From now on, I will choose and manage the twins’ maids myself.”
In an instant, the maids’ faces turned pale.
“Ah… Y-Your Highness. That is….”
“We will do it ourselves.”
“Is my word… funny to you?”
“That’s not… I mean… S-Sorry, Your Highness. What we’ve done so far….”
The Grand Duke shook his head.
“Am I… that funny?”
“N-No, that’s not it… We were just doing our best, and if we suddenly disappear, w-won’t it be inconvenient…?”
“You do nothing and still spout crazy nonsense without hesitation. You’d better get out before I tell you again. Should I make it so you can’t even set foot in the Grand Duke’s household?”
“……”
The hesitant maids exchanged glances and quickly stepped back. At this point, they had no choice but to retreat.
In the end, muttering among themselves, they hurried out of the room.
“Useless things doing all kinds of nonsense.”
“I’m sorry. Because of me, the Grand Duke….”
“This is not your fault. It’s the fault of the one who allowed those things to run wild.”
The Grand Duke’s gaze reached me. As if he had something to say, he hesitated, then patted my head.
“I’m sorry.”
“Yes?”
“If there are people who ignore you, tell me. You are a guest who passed my test and is staying here.”
“Yes! Ah! Aren’t you going in? Rohen and Lari are waiting.”
His hand was unusually large. It felt like my entire head was wrapped in just one of his hands.
But it was a ticklish feeling. I had never been loved before.
‘How did I live in the past?’
I can’t really remember. About myself. Somehow… it feels like I’m slowly being forgotten. A person who lived in Korea and had reading novels as a hobby. And this place is inside a novel.
‘I should probably write down more.’
For some reason, my memories have been disappearing day by day. As if I don’t exist… as if I exist only here. I’ve been recording things recently, but it’s getting worse.
All I remember is that I never really received love in the past, and I used to envy children in novels who were loved by their parents. That’s why the Grand Duke’s touch felt strange somewhere in my heart.
“Ah… Are the children waiting for me?”
“Even if they don’t say it, of course they miss you. You’re their father, Grand Duke.”
Because they’re children, and children with many wounds, it’s still hard for them to express it.
“You don’t have to do anything right away. It would be nice if you just came to see them often.”
“Hmm….”
“Actually, this is just my opinion. If I had a dad, I think I’d like it if he just came often. So I think the children will feel the same. Even if they don’t say it.”
The atmosphere suddenly became a bit strange. The expressions of the Grand Duke and Rex as they looked at me were subtle.
“Uh… I mean, it’s just my opinion… Sorry. I got too involved.”
“No.”
The Grand Duke made eye contact with Rex. It felt like some silent conversation was happening.
And as if they had finished talking, the Grand Duke walked toward the bedroom.
“Then… shall we go in.”
Whether he was afraid or hesitant, the Grand Duke entered. Watching him for a moment, I discreetly dropped my pouch in front of Rex.
Luckily, it seemed Rex didn’t notice.
“Ah! Rex. I think the maids left this behind! I’ll be right back!”
“Together—”
“I’ll just give this back and come right back!”
Rex tried to follow, but I shook my head. Realizing I didn’t want him to follow, he hesitated and nodded.
Outside, the maids were gathered, biting their nails or expressing their anxiety with words.
I walked toward them.
“……Why are you here…!”
“I have something to say.”
“What? Why. After talking like that earlier, are you trying to provoke us?”
Marie showed her anger and hostility toward me. I put the small pouch I had picked up into my arms and smiled.
“Well, you know. There are people who think that just because they work in a place that sells precious and expensive items, and is full of good things, they themselves are on that level and can buy those things. Even though they’re nothing.”
“……What are you talking about….”
“I’m telling you to wake up. You’re just… maids, no matter what. No matter how hard you try, you’re destined to be used once and thrown away. So… don’t have unnecessary expectations. Not only about the Grand Duke, but also about ‘that person.’ Get a grip.”
The maids trembled as they stared at me in shock.
“Are you… Are you… insulting us…!”
“If it were me, I wouldn’t just stand here. Shouldn’t you run to that person and tell them? That you incurred the Grand Duke’s wrath. That should come first.”
“This…! You look like a discarded bone someone picked up and threw away! How dare you! How dare you talk to us! An orphan like you!”
“Yes. I’m an orphan. I don’t expect anything. Unlike you, I don’t try to get into someone’s good graces. I know my place very well. So wake up. Ah. If you get kicked out of here, you might be thrown away for being useless.”
I turned around.
‘Please make sure you tell your person, the Grand Duchess, that I looked down on you.’
They looked like they were about to grab me, but I quickly went back inside.
Rex was there with a worried expression.
“Aisha-nim.”
“Yes?”
“You went out alone. What did you talk about with the maids?”
“Ah! They left something behind, so….”
He shook his head.
“There’s no way maids would carry such a small pouch. They’re usually from noble families and only use precious and high-quality items. It’s yours, isn’t it, Aisha-nim?
