Chapter 30
“…Then that means I can’t sell this right now, right? If the value depends on its symbolic meaning, it’ll get more expensive the longer I keep it…”
If the symbol was supposed to represent love, then that high price would be based on the lasting power of that love.
Curtis smirked.
“You’re pretty quick. Yeah, you definitely can’t sell it right now. If you sold it the day after the wedding, just imagine what the newspapers would say—it would be quite a sight.”
“Damn it.”
She grumbled, and Curtis—while removing his cufflinks—spoke in a low, calm voice meant only for her.
“Well, you and I are going to get divorced anyway. Sell it then.”
Oh. That could work. Right—since their relationship already had an expiration date, she just had to wait until then.
But Chloe tilted her head slightly. The way Curtis said it felt too cold.
“This belonged to your late mother… Are you really okay with giving it to someone like me and letting me just sell it off later?”
It was a fair question. She hadn’t meant anything deep by it. But surprisingly, Curtis’s eyes narrowed at her words. He still smiled, but there was a clear difference in his mood—something snake-like.
“Most people attach meaning to an object just because it belonged to a blood relative.”
“So you’re not one of those people. Got it. I’ll sell it to whoever offers the best price without a shred of guilt.”
Her quick response seemed to amuse him—his violet eyes took on a lighter mood. Chloe didn’t care; she just shook her hand a couple of times and complained,
“But it’s so heavy that the gem keeps spinning around my finger. If I move my hand wrong, I might lose it.”
“That’s the charm. I’ve heard noble ladies actually take pride in having such heavy gems that they spin like that.”
Easy for him to say—he’s not the one wearing it.
Sure, maybe some people liked that sort of thing. But Chloe wasn’t one of them. Actually, she just felt nervous having something so expensive on her hand.
She had never bought clothes worth more than a thousand songs in her life. And now, suddenly, she was supposed to wear a national-treasure-level ring every day.
“What if someone tries to steal the ring and cuts my whole finger off?”
This time, Curtis looked at her with genuine disbelief.
“If the security here is bad enough for the Grand Duchess to have her finger cut off, don’t you think we’d have far bigger problems than losing a ring?”
“….”
He had a point. Chloe sighed deeply and took off her ceremonial jacket. Julia and the other servants smiled awkwardly while helping both of them change. Lieutenant Montpice had already left earlier for other duties.
Once she had changed into comfortable indoor clothes, the tension in her shoulders finally eased. She flopped onto the sofa with a long yawn. Curtis folded his arms and smiled.
“How was it?”
“I’m completely exhausted.”
“I like that spirited answer.”
“Glad you’re happy.”
“Then let’s handle the remaining task with that same spirit.”
Remaining task? Chloe narrowed her eyes at him.
“Is there still something we have to do today besides the wedding?”
Curtis smiled with his hands clasped behind his back.
“Did your household have any servants?”
“Of course not.”
“Well, my servants are about to have some very interesting days.”
He stepped closer and dramatically held out his hand to her. Without thinking, Chloe got up and let him lead her to the window.
Curtis pulled open the soft curtains. This was the Grand Duke’s office—a room with the best view of the entire estate.
Spread before her was a beautiful view of the white Berke estate’s garden, slowly sinking into deep blue dusk.
And from the front gate to the inner courtyard, all the way to the far end of the garden, stood over a hundred servants lined up in neat rows.
Chloe was speechless. She had known he had a lot of servants, but seeing it in person was overwhelming—there was a different kind of weight to it than the wedding.
Ignoring her reaction, Curtis whispered,
“Welcome, my Grand Duchess. This is now your home, and they are now your hands and feet.”
Hands and feet? My own limbs are right here, thanks.
“Oh, and by the way, think of about eighty percent of them as spies for His Majesty the King.”
Chloe felt dizzy.
***
Meanwhile…
The Berke estate’s head butler, Philip Deltang, had originally been a servant in the royal palace.
Born as the fifth son of the Deltang family, he had carried himself with elegance since childhood. Thanks to that, he entered the Ivanez royal palace at age fourteen. He quickly became one of the King’s personal attendants and, by forty, had enjoyed a flawless career—all because of his dignified and controlled manner.
But even he had once faced a crisis that almost made him lose his composure—when the King ordered him to quit his palace post and serve as the Berke Grand Duke’s butler.
“If not for my loyalty, I would have been the chief royal attendant by now. Hmph.”
His constant grumbling made his disappointment obvious.
Two years ago, just before he could be promoted to chief royal attendant, the King sent him to the Berke estate with a secret mission:
‘Serve as the Grand Duke Curtis Shan Berke’s butler, and report all his activities and weaknesses without fail.’
It was a shock for Philip, who had spent years competing with that annoying Depuis for the chief attendant position. But swallowing his bitterness, he obeyed as a loyal servant of the King.
He sent monthly reports to the King—but the King was never pleased. Why?
Because his reports were like this:
- “Overtime work every day.”
- “Returns home, sleeps, wakes up, goes back to work.”
- “Fires maids for not cleaning properly.”
That was all. Curtis lived like a machine—no personal life, no socializing, no scandals.
Naturally, Philip had nothing interesting to report, and the King scolded him, saying, “This isn’t what I sent you there for.”
To make matters worse, the current chief royal attendant was Depuis.
But today would be different!
Just a week ago, the Grand Duke shocked everyone by suddenly announcing his marriage. And soon after, he brought his future Grand Duchess and her family into the estate. Security was so tight around the annex where the Ambroise family stayed that even Philip couldn’t get close.
Still, he knew—this was an opportunity. No matter how cold and rigid Curtis was, having a wife would change things. And this wife was from the navy, of all places.
A former naval officer—basically a tax-waster—with a lowborn background? Definitely a social climber. She’s bound to cause a scandal or two.
The King was already furious that the Grand Duke married someone of his own choosing instead of a bride arranged by the royal family. So Philip planned to keep his eyes wide open and deliver as much juicy gossip as possible.
He had already gathered information from maids who helped with the wedding preparations:
- She had never had a dress custom-made before—obviously poor.
- She was so ignorant that the Grand Duke had to personally make her memorize the noble registry.
- She had a temper—she argued with the Grand Duke over everything, though sometimes she’d suddenly act meek.
A typical low-class upstart who doesn’t know her place.
So Philip ordered all the servants to line up in front of the estate. Lieutenant Montpice tried to stop him, saying, “The Duke and Duchess are tired and want to receive greetings tomorrow,” but Philip insisted.
The King was watching for any news from the estate, so this was the perfect chance. Tired people were more likely to make mistakes, and Philip hoped the new Grand Duchess would make a big one.
Even if she didn’t, this lineup would show her that the estate was no easy place to control—and show off his dignity as head butler.
“The Duchess is coming down,” Julia announced reluctantly, clearly annoyed that the butler’s stubbornness had won.
Sure enough, the young woman walking down the grand central staircase with the Grand Duke looked pale.
When all the servants turned their eyes on her, the girl—still with a youthful air—shrank back in discomfort. She reached for the Duke’s arm, then quickly pulled her hand away, only to misstep on the stairs.
“Ahhh!”
