Chapter : 5
“It seems you weren’t dreaming after all, Your Grace.”
As the prospective duchess, I entered the Duke of Cassiar’s mansion with full dignity. The one who greeted me was a young man named Kyle.
The moment he saw me, Kyle’s face turned as though he had just seen a ghost.
“His Grace has never even shared a simple cup of tea with any young lady at official gatherings. So when I heard that Madam would be coming, I thought he must have been so lonely that he imagined it.”
Overcome with emotion, Kyle pulled out a white handkerchief from his suit pocket and dabbed his eyes.
Just how distant had the Duke kept himself from people that even his closest steward reacted like this?
To the point where the idea of his master hallucinating seemed more realistic than the idea of him having a lady of the house?
“My apologies, Madam, for my late greeting. I am Kyle, the one who manages this residence and assists the Duke with his affairs. Though I am lacking, I shall devote myself to being of help to you.”
Kyle gave me a very formal, proper bow.
Unlike the Duke, he looked like a diligent worker.
“Don’t be too stiff around me. I’m only temporary anyway.”
“Temporary, Madam? What do you mean by that?”
It seemed Kyle didn’t yet know what had transpired between me and the Duke.
Well, there was no need for me to explain everything.
“Let’s just say it’s complicated. Kyle, I’ll leave the details for His Grace to explain himself. For now, would you help carry the things I brought?”
I turned to look at my longtime maid, standing behind me.
“Liri.”
“Yes, Young Lady!”
At my call, Liri handed over the bundles she had been holding with both hands.
“What are all these?”
Kyle’s eyes widened at the sheer amount.
“They’re special ingredients I brought just for His Grace. For today, I’d like you to prepare a meal using only these.”
“As you command, Madam. However… it worries me, since His Grace does not eat anything other than meat.”
Kyle looked troubled, staring at the basket filled with fresh green vegetables.
“Don’t worry. I have a plan.”
I reassured him with a confident smile, and he obediently went off to carry out my orders.
And now, at lunch with the Duke, dishes made from the vegetables I had prepared were laid out in a variety of ways.
Though, in the end, they were still just… greens.
“I don’t have much of an appetite.”
Upon seeing the day’s special meal, the Duke attempted to leave as though nothing was wrong.
I pressed down on his shoulder, forcing him back into his seat.
“Your Grace may not rise until you’ve eaten everything on this table.”
“Must it really come to this?”
Cassiar looked at me with unease.
“Your Grace, you must trust me entirely. You promised, didn’t you? That you would cooperate with whatever I asked of you.”
It was obvious.
The Duke was already regretting agreeing to my “condition” less than a day after making the promise.
“I did say that, but isn’t this a little too fast? We’re not even married yet.”
I tilted his chin with my hand, silencing his protest.
‘But there is one condition.’
Just yesterday, when I accepted his proposal, I set a condition of my own.
‘From now on, I will try every possible method to help Your Grace sleep. But this isn’t something I can accomplish alone.’
‘And what is it that you want from me?’
‘Whatever I ask of you—if it is for the sake of your sleep—you must comply without resistance. Surely you can grant me at least that much effort? After all, I’m being dragged into marriage for your sake.’
With my brightest smile, I had practically threatened him into accepting.
Now, bound by his word, the Duke had no choice but to obey.
“Better to see results before the marriage, isn’t it?”
And if it worked out well enough, the marriage itself might never need to happen.
‘If you can find a way for me to sleep without you, I will reward you with something far greater than the conditions I first proposed.’
I would receive a fair reward just for curing his insomnia—so the sooner I succeeded, the better.
Fixing him with a firm look, I smiled slyly.
“So please, leave everything to me. I will take complete care of you.”
From now on, every part of the Duke’s life would begin and end for the sake of his sleep.
Full of determination, I personally served him the food and even handed him a fork.
“Today’s special, which I know you dislike, is made from a vegetable called romaine. It is said to induce drowsiness, so I went out of my way to obtain it.”
Romaine was a lettuce-like vegetable, known for making people sleepy just like lettuce did.
In my past life, whenever lettuce was served at school lunches, the afternoon classes were a graveyard of nodding heads.
I hadn’t been able to procure lettuce here, but I found romaine as a substitute.
What mattered was making him sleep.
“That so.”
The Duke glanced at Kyle, who stood nearby, and gave him a look as if to say, Why didn’t you stop this?
“Shall I prepare a new meal, Your Grace?”
Kyle was sweating under the Duke’s gaze.
I couldn’t let poor Kyle take the blame for my actions.
“It’s fine. Kyle prepared a perfect meal for me. To throw it away would be cruel—and His Grace isn’t that heartless, after all.”
Before the Duke could object, I praised Kyle and flattered the Duke.
To ensure he couldn’t refuse.
“You must be tired. Go rest now, Kyle. I’ll stay here with His Grace.”
Just in case, I had Kyle retreat entirely out of the Duke’s sight.
He reluctantly left, still worried.
“Now then, Your Grace. Surely you’re not planning to leave this untouched? I prepared these dishes with vegetables I procured since early morning, just for you.”
I looked at him warmly.
But my eyes told a different story.
Under my unyielding stare, the Duke reluctantly took a bite.
“And? How is it, tasting a meal made with such devotion?”
“…I feel like a rabbit.”
Chewing reluctantly, he grimaced.
I only beamed back.
“Perfect. Rabbits love grass. So please, continue eating happily as if you were one.”
The Duke stared at me as though he were half out of his mind.
Well, in my past life I worked in customer service.
I’d dealt with more unreasonable customers than I could count. Handling the Duke was nothing in comparison.
As I watched him suffer through the meal, amused, I heard hushed whispers from behind a wall.
“Look! His Grace really did bring Madam here.”
“And she’s beautiful! How could His Grace bring home someone who looks like an angel?”
“He’s never brought a lady here before. She’s not a ghost, right?”
The servants were spying on us.
Being called “angelic” was flattering, but it seemed everyone here viewed me as some unreal being.
Still, was I truly the first woman the Duke had ever brought into his home? That was strange.
In the original story, Duke Cassiar had been quite popular among young ladies—even those who knew of his madness still pined for him.
And well, with his looks, it would’ve been strange if they didn’t.
As I pondered this, their chatter continued:
“Of course she’s real. We can see her, can’t we?”
“Then at last, even this gloomy mansion has a Madam?”
“This isn’t a dream, right? Pinch me—Ow! Not so hard!”
“See? It hurts. It’s real.”
“You’re right. Nice!”
With a thud and a short scream, their whispers faded as hurried footsteps scattered.
Ah, so preparations were complete.
“You’ve finished your meal already?”
Though he had sworn he wouldn’t touch the greens, when I turned back the Duke’s plate was spotless.
“A promise is a promise.”
Looking satisfied, I smiled at the empty plate. The Duke cleared his throat.
“So… do you think it’s working?”
“What do you think?”
He stared straight into my eyes.
His golden irises shone like the morning sun, clear and sharp as dew.
Unbelievable.
The romaine hadn’t worked at all.
So only real lettuce would do?
There wasn’t even a trace of drowsiness. His insomnia was clearly severe.
But it was too early to be discouraged.
I still had one card left.
“Don’t worry. This isn’t over yet.”
I turned toward the direction of the earlier whispers.
“Bring it in.”
“Yes. Freshly brewed chamomile tea.”
The one who entered was an elderly woman with a kind face. She set down the cups before us with a gentle smile.
“My apologies for the late greeting. It is an honor to meet you, Madam. I am Fanny, head servant of this household.”
Fanny… that name sounded familiar.
Where had I heard it?
Then it struck me.
“Fanny—that’s the name His Grace muttered in his sleep!”
That was it. The day I first met the Duke, he had whispered her name while half-asleep.
“Oh my! You’ve already heard His Grace’s sleep talk? Thank you, thank you, truly thank you, Madam!”
Overwhelmed, Fanny grabbed my hands, her eyes brimming with tears.
And then, shining with emotion, she declared—
“Our Duke isn’t impotent after all!”
At that exact moment, someone’s teacup crashed loudly to the floor.
