Chapter 11
“Say hello. This is the girl I mentioned before—Airi.”
The Duke’s introduction was so brief it was almost curt.
But that seemed to be more than enough. The three people sitting across from me nodded in unison.
“Oh, the one you called your first love…”
“So you finally succeeded in proposing?”
A slim man with glasses looked at me curiously, and a large man built like a bear nudged the Duke’s side with his thick elbow.
“My goodness, she’s so adorable! No wonder that brute fell for her at first sight!”
And a beautiful woman, who hugged me tightly despite it being our first meeting.
Frozen like ice, I barely managed to move my eyes to glance at the Duke.
‘Didn’t you say they knew about me?’
Something’s clearly gone wrong—very wrong!
The Duke, noticing my flustered expression, smiled gently and spoke.
“Before that brute acts like a brute again, you might want to get your hands off.”
His voice wasn’t particularly threatening.
If anything, it sounded as gentle as usual. Yet the beautiful woman immediately pulled away from me as if she had been burned.
“Oh, how stingy. It’s not like a little hug is going to wear her out…”
She pouted her lips and glared at the Duke before leaning toward me and whispering in my ear.
“Are you really okay with marrying that brute? The world is wide, and there are so many men—ah, fine, I get it, I get it!”
After shuddering dramatically and pulling away, the Duke began to introduce his friends and their professions.
“This is Ruid. He’s a mage.”
“Hi. Not just any mage—I’m the genius mage, Ruid.”
“Oh! It’s nice to meet you, genius mage Ruid.”
Satisfied with my answer, Ruid nodded proudly.
“I’m usually holed up in my lab, so we probably won’t run into each other often. But if you ever need anything, come find me. This genius mage can make almost anything.”
“Thank you in advance, genius mage!”
At the repeated praise, Ruid’s nose practically pointed skyward. The bear-like man watched him with a curious expression.
“Whoa, Miss. You sure know how to flatter this guy…”
“I’m not ‘Miss.’ I’m the Duke’s fiancée.”
“Yes, yes, got it, you brat.”
The bear-like man snorted and then introduced himself directly to me.
“I’m Mark. Used to be a Northern mercenary.”
“A Northern mercenary? Then how did you become friends with the Duke?”
“That punk came up north and worked as a mercenary. Can you believe a guy who entered school at the top of his class and graduated the same way got suspended—”
“Airi, this is Alicia.”
“Hey! I wasn’t finished yet!”
Mark shouted, but the Duke didn’t so much as blink as he continued.
“Alicia will be your lady-in-waiting.”
“Looking forward to working with you! Oh wait, should I be using honorifics since you’re the one I’ll be serving?”
“Obviously.”
“Right, just ignore me. Ignore me completely, you damned jerk.”
I looked around helplessly before finally turning to the Duke with a question.
“Um, Duke. Isn’t having a lady-in-waiting something only high-ranking noblewomen are allowed?”
“Exactly why Airi should have one. She’s the future Duchess, after all.”
I mean… I guess that makes sense technically.
‘Something’s off. I thought I was just pretending to be the Duke’s lover…’
Now I was his fiancée? The future Duchess?
Things were escalating way too fast. What if they found out later that I was fake?
“Maids to help with errands will also be assigned to the Iris Residence. We’re still carefully selecting the head maid, so Alicia will handle that role for now too.”
“Leave it all to me. I’ll support you however I can to help you settle in comfortably!”
“Use honorifics.”
“I’ll do my best, ma’am!”
Alicia laughed brightly and gave me a cheerful thumbs-up, and I, swept up by the energy, returned it with a smile.
* * *
“Let’s go see your bedroom now, Airi.”
“My bedroom?”
Seeing Airi’s eyes go wide, Elkias lowered his voice as if he were timid.
“I tried my best to decorate it to your tastes, but if you don’t like it, we’ll need to replace all the furniture.”
“Huh? Oh, no! I already think I’ll love it—even without seeing it.”
“Look first, then say that.”
Smiling quietly, Elkias playfully yet respectfully held out his hand.
Airi, looking a little shy, placed her hand in his.
They interlocked their fingers and climbed the stairs, hand-in-hand, looking utterly content.
Watching them, Alicia clicked her tongue in amusement.
“Well, that’s unexpected. Totally unexpected.”
“What is?”
“That brute kept raving about how beautiful his first love was, so I figured she must be some stunning goddess…”
Not that Airi wasn’t pretty.
But Alicia had expected someone like a queen rose blooming fiercely among thorny stems—not a pink hydrangea with dewdrops on its petals, small and soft.
“So that’s his type… No wonder he didn’t bat an eye at any of the confessions he got at the academy.”
“Isn’t it less about type and more about love? She’s his first love from over ten years ago. When your heart belongs to someone, you’re not easily swayed.”
Ruid smiled warmly, a rare expression far from his usual sharp-eyed gaze.
“It’s a really romantic story…”
“Well, yeah. But if we’re talking weird tastes, no one beats you.”
A guy who practically lived in his lab, yet loved romantic stories—Alicia would never understand.
Clicking her tongue again, she leaned back and picked up her teacup—then paused.
“By the way… Didn’t you say that girl was an orphan?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Just… something’s bugging me. Did you ever hear where she was from?”
Ruid and Mark exchanged looks at Alicia’s question.
“No, not that far.”
“Me neither. Why? What’s bugging you?”
Ruid didn’t seem to have sensed anything odd about Airi.
Which meant it must’ve been Alicia’s imagination. She shook her head.
“No, never mind.”
“What do you mean, never mind? Don’t leave us hanging.”
“I really mean it. It’s nothing. Someone just popped into my head, but… now that I think about it, it’s a pretty common look.”
Light brown hair and green eyes—nothing unusual enough to pinpoint anyone specific.
Ruid waved his hand to dismiss her concerns.
“If she turned out to be the daughter of some noble house, it’d probably make things easier for the two of them, but secrets of noble birth only happen in novels.”
He said that, but his dreamy expression suggested he was already imagining the scenario.
Which is exactly why Alicia couldn’t say it out loud.
The person she had in mind wasn’t just a noble…
‘No, no way. That was just a baseless rumor.’
Shaking her head again, Alicia chased away the ridiculous thought.
* * *
At the Ludian Duke’s Estate – Main Hall.
Normally used for monthly or quarterly meetings, the doors to the hall opened suddenly, summoned by the Grand Madam at a late hour.
“Why does the Grand Madam insist on calling people at such an hour…”
“Don’t complain too much. Maybe something urgent came up.”
“Urgent, my foot. It’s probably about the Duchess again.”
Count Bolani stroked his full beard and clicked his tongue.
“This time I’m going to say something. What Pennington needs isn’t a Duchess—it’s a divine beast.”
“As if the Grand Madam doesn’t know that.”
“Then she’s doing this on purpose?”
“It’s the only thing left she has a say in.”
Marquis Pennian shook his head and took a sip of tea.
“To act high and mighty as the Grand Madam, you either need the Duke’s respect or the Lazuli Key. She has neither…”
Elkias, who now held full control of the family as Duke, acknowledged her as a member of the Ludian household, but not as a respected elder.
He had even taken the Lazuli Key away from her, stripping her of any household authority.
Sure, she was given a nice residence with a view and a maintenance allowance—but that was all.
The proud Grand Madam would never admit it, but in truth, she had been all but exiled.
“Honestly, she brought it upon herself. Don’t you think?”
“Shh, lower your voice.”
“It’s not like I said anything wrong…”
Grumbling at Count Kale’s warning, Count Bolani fell silent.
The doors to the main hall opened, and the Grand Madam entered, wearing a solemn and resolute expression.
