Chapter 11
The butler sent me a look that said, “If I say that, I’ll be half-dead.” But I lightly ignored him.
That’s his problem, not mine.
“Why aren’t you answering, butler?”
“Y-Yes! Of course.”
The butler flinched a little before finally nodding with great difficulty. He’s a stupid, spineless man—but one who knows exactly what’s going on in the Duke of Kainan’s household. So, he must be well aware that the Duke of Kainan is acting submissively toward Dorian.
“Up until now, Trisha probably played the Duke’s puppet, but after the wedding, there’s no need for that anymore.”
“If you don’t come to your senses now, you won’t even get a chance to set foot in the Imperial Palace. Pretty soon, you’ll be the one begging.”
“O-Of course. I’ll make sure to deliver the message properly.”
“Good. Glad we understand each other. Now get out.”
I jerked my chin toward the door, and the butler practically fled the room.
Creeeak.
Once the door shut tight, only Valerie and I remained in the room.
“Milady! Are you hurt anywhere?”
“Hurt? No, I’m fine.”
Valerie, her cheeks flushed red, scanned my body here and there. Once she confirmed I wasn’t injured, she started chattering excitedly.
“You were amazing just now!”
“Really?”
“Of course! You looked like a real Grand Duchess. Did you see how everyone was scrambling?”
You’re supposed to be the Grand Duchess, though. That’s how the game was designed.
I scratched the back of my head, a bit embarrassed. Valerie’s gaze, full of admiration, felt like a burden—but not an unpleasant one.
“After that scolding, the butler probably won’t dare act like that again, right? He’s always been so disrespectful to you, Milady—I mean, Grand Duchess.”
“Ugh, can you just call me Trisha instead?”
The word Grand Duchess gave me goosebumps.
Sure, I used that word to survive just now, but after the wedding tomorrow, I’ll have to live with it every day, right?
I shook my head furiously, and Valerie looked surprised.
“W-What? A mere maid calling the lady of the house by name is very disrespectful.”
“You know, Valerie… how badly I wanted to leave the Duke’s house.”
“Oh…”
“I don’t want to hear ‘Lady of Kainan’ or ‘Grand Duchess’—especially not right now.”
“I’m sorry. That was thoughtless of me.”
“Don’t be. Anyway, thanks—for standing by me.”
“Don’t mention it. If anything, I should be thanking you, Trisha, for protecting me.”
Valerie’s cheeks turned rosy like a ripe peach. Still, she insisted she couldn’t bring herself to call me “Trisha” and said she’d stick to “Milady” instead.
Sigh… Why force her when she’s uncomfortable?
I gave in. I told her to just call me whatever she preferred—Trisha or Milady.
There’s no way I’m letting that sociopath Dorian anywhere near someone as sweet as her. If it’s not the ‘Master of the Harem’ ending, I’ll make sure they never see each other again.
Just imagining Dorian’s pale, ferret-like face made me grind my teeth. But first, I had to get information about the dowry. One thing at a time—stay calm, Trisha.
“By the way, Valerie. Do you know anything about the dowry?”
“I only heard bits and pieces from the other servants, so I’m not entirely sure…”
“It’s fine. Just tell me what you know. Roughly how much are we talking?”
“Well…”
Valerie hesitated, then whispered an amount I couldn’t believe.
“I heard it’s about… 100 million Leurang.”
“What? 100 million?!”
A hundred million?!
That was far beyond what I expected. When Valerie worked at the Lawinie Hotel, she earned 50 Leurang a day. When she worked as a maid in the palace, it was 80 Leurang. So 100 million Leurang? I couldn’t even comprehend that amount.
“If you include the mining certificates you’re holding, I heard it amounts to more than half of the Duke of Kainan’s entire wealth.”
I knew the Duke had gotten rich from his mines, but I never imagined he had the resources to throw out a 100 million Leurang dowry. Let alone give away half his wealth as a bribe to Dorian.
So basically, he’s throwing away all his wealth and his daughter just to make her the Grand Duchess.
The Duke probably got lost in his fantasy. If Dorian wins the upcoming imperial succession contest, he becomes Emperor. And the Duke becomes the Emperor’s father-in-law—royalty, essentially.
But Dorian had other plans. He just wanted the dowry. Trisha? She was disposable.
That means Dorian was one step ahead. He’s ruthless and calculating.
Now I understood why Trisha had tried to end her life. A bride heading into a wedding knowing she’d be divorced soon. The family gives away their fortune, she gets divorced anyway, and she already knew how the Duke would treat her if she returned home afterward. On top of that, she’d stolen “that thing” for Dorian and handed it over—he now had blackmail material, so she couldn’t even speak out.
The biggest problem is… now all of that mess is mine to deal with.
What a nightmare. This is rock-bottom. Forget finding the hidden ending—I might not even live long enough to try. My head started pounding.
“Milady… was it because of the wedding that you tried to… you know?”
“Huh?”
“I know I shouldn’t assume, but…”
Valerie hesitated, clearly struggling to put it into words.
“Earlier, with what you said, and the way things are… it seemed like it.”
“…”
“This morning, you suddenly said you wanted to see the ocean. You looked so sad when you said it. I didn’t tell the Duke—I just secretly called a carriage.”
“I see…”
“So when you fell into the water, I felt like it was all my fault…”
Tears welled up in her clear eyes.
“No, how could that be your fault? The real one to blame is someone else.”
“Someone else?”
“That…”
I almost told her the truth—but then I clamped my mouth shut. Telling her about Dorian would do no good.
But if I leave her like this, she’ll be consumed by needless guilt.
Should I just tell her the whole story now?
I hesitated but soon shook my head internally.
I don’t even know what the hidden ending is yet. As awful as it sounds, what if—by some miracle—the ending actually involves Dorian? Better to stay quiet for now.
Dorian may be a bastard to Trisha, but to Valerie, he might end up being a good romantic interest. You know how it goes—main character buffs. Even the worst villains turn into hearts-and-flowers lovers when they meet the heroine. Best to keep all possibilities open.
“Valerie, I don’t remember everything clearly, so I can’t tell you all the details.”
“Yes, Milady.”
“I just… didn’t want to get married anymore. That’s all. So don’t blame yourself.”
“Ehhhh?!”
A shriek-like sound echoed in the room. I flinched in surprise, but Valerie looked even more shocked.
“What is it?”
“No way!”
“What do you mean?”
“You were so excited about the wedding!”
“I was?”
Feeling awkward, I scratched my head, and Valerie ran to the dresser. She came back carrying an armful of papers. Curious, I picked up the biggest one.
“What are these?”
“Portraits of the Grand Duke Twallern.”
Thud. My fingers went limp before I realized it. The portrait unraveled, revealing Dorian’s annoyingly smug smile. Even here, I had to look at his damn face? Trisha, why did you do this to yourself?
I clenched my teeth and pressed the heel of my shoe into his smug face. Oblivious, Valerie started laying the portraits out on the table one by one.
“Look at this. There are over twenty portraits of him.”
“…”
“You asked me to get one every time I went into town, remember?”
“I see…”
“You said he was your destined one. Every night, you’d take out the portraits and look at them so happily.”
“…Did I really?”
I watched Valerie lay them all out, feeling heavy-hearted. It was clear now—Trisha had genuinely loved Dorian.
She had such high hopes… and all she got in return was betrayal. Even told to die by the man she loved. No wonder she saw no reason to keep living.
That kind of heartbreak—I could understand. And now that I was the one living her life, I felt I had to do it right, for her.
“Valerie. Don’t you think it’s a little cold in here?”
“Oh! I’ll bring more firewood.”
“No, it’s fine.”
I picked up one of the portraits that had fallen to the floor and tossed it into the fireplace.
Fwoosh.
The bright flames eagerly devoured the thin paper.
“???”
“There’s plenty of firewood right here. This’ll do.”
“Milady?”
“I’m freezing. Throw them all in. Don’t leave a single one. Got it?”
Valerie glanced between the fireplace and the portraits, clearly torn, but in the end, she tossed all of them in.
“Are you really not getting married tomorrow? Will you stay in the Duke’s house?”
“No. I’ll find a way.”
“A way?”
“A way to avoid the wedding, and to leave the Duke’s house.”
And maybe even find a way to ruin Dorian, that bastard.
Even if it’s not full revenge, I should at least get some payback, right? Since I threw the first punch, it’s only fair.
