Chapter 76
The Grand Duke looked at her with an uncomfortable expression.
“When you say ‘instigator,’ it makes it sound as though I’m the one with the problem.”
“If you truly believe there’s no problem, then perhaps I should even praise that as impressive in its own way. You nitpicked every single thing I did in the past and fiercely criticized me, saying a person like me could never properly manage the Grand Ducal household, so I delegated everything to you… And this—this is worse than entrusting it to an eight-year-old child.”
“Ha. Are you insulting me right now?”
“Well.”
I couldn’t fathom why the Grand Duke’s gaze had suddenly turned to me. His expression was so suspicious it felt as though he might be plotting something.
“Rather than an insult, it’s criticism. Something amusing occurred to me for a moment. Why not try entrusting it to an eight-year-old? If an eight-year-old does better than you, then you’re worse than an eight-year-old. And if the eight-year-old does worse than you, I’ll apologize for my criticism.”
“Ha… right now….”
He said he would apologize, but since the comparison target was merely an eight-year-old child, there wasn’t a single advantage for her. No matter what, she would either be someone worse than a child or someone only slightly better than one.
“There’s no way I’d do something like that! There’s absolutely nothing in it for me!”
“I’m not asking for permission. I’m merely informing you that this is what will happen.”
“Are you really… insane? Why are you acting like this toward me lately? You should feel sorry to me just for bringing the twins here in the first place. And yet I understood everything, thought of them as my own children, and embraced them. And now you stab me in the back like this?”
“You embraced the children as your own?”
“Yes.”
The Grand Duchess was more confident than ever. Rather, she looked at the Grand Duke with reddened, bloodshot eyes, like the tragic heroine of a melodrama.
“Can you take responsibility for those words?”
“Are you saying I speak without taking responsibility?”
“I sincerely hope you keep your word.”
Watching the Grand Duke speak without being explicit, she bit down hard on her lip.
“In any case, there’s no need to remain here like this. It feels like a truly useless use of time. Unlike someone else, I dislike wasting time.”
“You. Can you really treat me like this? Do you even feel any remorse toward me?”
“Well.”
‘Well’?!
“I’ve shown you the utmost consideration, yet all you can do is shout and deny my words. You still disregard what I say, even though I am the Grand Duke.”
“I’m not disregarding you…! Rather than this, let’s go to my garden and speak seriously. This doesn’t seem like something to discuss here.”
I had never once thought of the Grand Duchess as an intelligent character. If anything, her father was far more intelligent than she was. The moment his daughter married into the Grand Ducal house, he publicly severed all contact with her—yet behind the scenes, he manipulated her as he pleased.
Even in the novel, whenever she was cornered, he would always come up with a scheme and create a new turn of events. He was the troublesome one to deal with. Most likely, it was not the Grand Duchess herself but the schemes her father devised that allowed her to seize all decision-making authority within the Grand Ducal house.
And so, she walked right into the Grand Duke’s words.
“Come to think of it… I wondered who in that family those arrogant wretches took after. It’s exactly you.”
“Are you….”
“Anyone watching would think you’re the Grand Duke. Grand Duchess. Even if we are husband and wife, do you truly believe you’re in a position to order me around?”
Her lips trembled.
“Until now, I’ve done as you wished, but I began to have doubts.”
“Doubts?”
“Yes. You always had to summon me to your garden. As if it couldn’t be anywhere else. It suddenly felt strange.”
The Grand Duke stroked his chin.
“Is there a particular reason we must go there? To outsiders, it would invite quite the misunderstanding. They might think you’ve done something there. We meet in the garden every time, not even in a room, and even the tea is always predetermined.”
“Is it displeasing to you that I serve what I like? You’ve always found fault with everything I do. Just like now.”
“Well. Back then, I didn’t find it displeasing. But now, I do. You always tell me to come to you and never come yourself—I wondered if perhaps there was something wrong with your legs.”
At the Grand Duke’s words, twisted like a pretzel, the Grand Duchess’s face flushed red and blue.
“…Right now… are you humiliating me in front of someone else?”
“Yes.”
“…What did you say? How can you treat me like this?!”
“Why, are you going to say that again?”
The Grand Duke shook his head as though he had a headache.
“Ha… right now….”
“How long will you continue playing the victim? I gave you everything you wanted. What did I fail to do? I entrusted most of the Grand Ducal house to you and even stepped back. You had everything you wanted and did everything you wished, and now you play the victim again? I must go out today, so let’s end this here. What kind of spectacle is this in front of the children?”
Ignoring the Grand Duchess, he looked at me.
“You… how can you do this to me!”
“Stop playing the victim. In any case, everything has been decided. The duties I entrusted to you will be given to an eight-year-old, to show how pathetically the one called Grand Duchess has been managing this place. And even if you try to stop today’s outing, I will bring the physician you sent. Also, I’ve delegated everything regarding the twins’ room to Aisha, so do not concern yourself with whatever happens inside. As for the twins, Aisha will handle everything herself. As long as the children remain here.”
The Grand Duke spoke rapidly, not giving even the slightest opening. It was so fast it almost sounded like he was rapping.
And then he drove the final nail so the Grand Duchess couldn’t utter a single word.
“And one more thing—if you say even one more word, I think I might get angry. So keep your mouth shut.”
“….”
“Unless you wish to see me overturn everything before I leave. If you push this, the one who suffers will be your son, Ron. Do you understand?”
The Grand Duchess glared at him, her hands trembling.
“If you understand, then leave. We must go out. It is… quite improper, after all, for a guest to remain in a room without its owner. I trust the Grand Duchess knows how to observe proper etiquette. Then we’ll be on our way.”
The Grand Duke gave me a small nod, as if to say he was ready. So I headed toward the bedroom.
“Rohen. I think we can go out now.”
“Okay!”
Rohen stroked Lari.
“Lari. Let’s go to the temple.”
A moment later, the Grand Duke entered. Awkwardly, he waved at Rohen.
“Hello… no… did you sleep well? No… good morning. Hmm… that doesn’t sound right either.”
As if he had prepared some sort of greeting, the Grand Duke tried out several phrases while looking at Rohen. Normally, Rohen would have asked what on earth he was saying, but instead he pouted.
“Hello. That’s better.”
“Hmm?”
‘Did you sleep well?’ sounds like something you say right after someone wakes up. ‘Good morning’ can’t be used in the afternoon. So ‘hello’ is best.”
“Ah! Right. Hello, Rohen.”
Rohen smiled very slightly. Perhaps because he had heard the confrontation outside with the Grand Duchess, or perhaps for another reason, he was, for once, accepting the Grand Duke.
Perhaps because of that, the Grand Duke also seemed in a better mood than usual.
“Yes. You’re taking Lari, right?”
“Of course.”
“Come here.”
The Grand Duke strode over and lifted Lari into his arms. Riren hurried over and draped a blanket over Lari’s body.
“Hmm.”
But the Grand Duke’s expression as he held Lari was slightly strange.
“What is it?”
“Is there a problem?”
“No. It just feels like Lari’s body has grown warmer.”
“Right? After listening to Aisha and doing exactly as she said, she really did get warmer.”
“I see.”
“I think she’ll wake up soon.”
Rohen bounced excitedly in place. When it came to Lari, he was the same doting fool for his younger sibling, past and present alike. Perhaps finding that pleasing, the Grand Duke quietly listened to Rohen. Just as I had told him to.
“She’ll wake up soon.”
“Yeah, really. I’m so relieved… I was worried she might not wake up.”
“Were you very worried?”
“Yes. A lot. I’ve always been with Lari since the day we were born. So… I was really scared something might go wrong.”
Normally, the conversation would have ended long ago. But perhaps because Rohen felt the Grand Duke was truly listening to him, he kept chattering on like a child. The two of them walked ahead, talking to each other, and I followed along behind them.
‘Little by little… are they changing like ordinary people?’
The High Priestess’s words—that changing the future was difficult—came to mind. But I could see the relationship between the Grand Duke and Rohen gradually changing.
‘Will this not greatly affect the novel’s development? Or… did the Grand Duchess appear because the plot was about to change?’
Now everything felt suspicious. But since I am not the only one trying to change the future, it seems there is a little hope.
By then, we had climbed into the carriage. Only then did the conversation between the two of them end, and an oppressive silence settled in.
Perhaps embarrassment came after speaking so much. Seeing the two of them suddenly quiet, I opened my mouth.
