CHAPTER 03
It had been a month and two days since the Duke’s will was revealed when I first stepped into the heart of the ducal mansion—his office.
I thought I’d burst into tears the moment I walked in, overwhelmed by memories of him. But instead, the scent of parchment, ink, and slightly dusty carpets strangely calmed me.
“The Duke’s office, where he worked every day…”
Right after the will was read, I had ordered that no one touch the office. I then locked myself away, so the room remained exactly as I remembered.
“Haah… Cough cough—”
A thin layer of dust coated everything.
I wandered quietly around the room, brushing my fingers along familiar furniture before sitting in the Duke’s chair and lowering my head onto the desk.
“It’s just the same.”
When I moved a stack of documents off the desk’s corner, I found the old ink stain underneath and gently traced it with my fingers.
The Duke often had me sit beside him to teach me how to handle documents—how to sort them, what to prioritize. On my first attempt, nervous and clumsy with the fountain pen, I knocked over the ink bottle with my elbow. The ink spilled over the desk, the documents, and even the carpet below.
Panicked and near tears, all I could do was stare at him. But the Duke only laughed softly and comforted me.
“This stain looks like you’re still watching me. I guess I’ll have to work even harder now.”
“Duke…”
I was still anxious, but he smiled mischievously and leaned in as if to whisper a secret.
“Truth is, this desk? It’s the cheapest one they had in the shop.”
That memory made me chuckle involuntarily.
Duke… come on. Even if that’s true, you shouldn’t joke like that about the ducal furniture.
Knock knock—
The flood of memories that a simple ink stain had stirred was interrupted by a knock. Wiping my damp eyes, I called out.
“Come in.”
It was the butler. I softened my expression to greet him.
“…My lady, there’s something you should see outside.”
“What is it?”
“Well…”
Uncharacteristically, he hesitated.
I was about to ask again when he approached and spoke in a lowered voice, as if trying not to alarm me.
“Someone seems to have defaced the Duke’s and your portrait.”
Ah, the portrait.
He didn’t need to say who—I could already guess.
I let out a sigh.
I’d hidden it away for this very reason, but it looks like they found it anyway.
I glanced back at the untouched documents—I hadn’t managed to read even a single one—and reluctantly followed the butler out.
When I saw the vandalized portrait, I shook my head.
Honestly, considering what happened in the past, this was mild.
Before my return in time, the portrait of the Duke and me—the only one that existed—had been damaged beyond repair by the children’s mischief.
I was so shocked that I stood there staring blankly at it, unable to respond. In the end, I told the staff to throw it out. But not long after, I regretted it and asked for it back—only to find it had already been discarded.
So after returning to the past, I made sure to lock it away in a private room. But the children had found it anyway.
“Someone seems to have stolen a key bundle from the head maid’s drawer and used it to get in.”
“…Haldeir and Reyna are getting bolder by the day.”
When I called them out by name, the butler gave a troubled smile.
Still, compared to last time, they’d only scribbled over my face. It was an improvement, I told myself.
Well. At least this time the painting can still be restored.
“Butler, contact the artist. We’ll need the portrait repaired.”
“Yes, my lady.”
After he left, I stood there for a moment, looking at the painted face of the Duke.
He always looked so dignified and serious in portraits. If only people knew how playfully mischievous he could be when he smiled.
“Oh, this is heavy. Doesn’t it feel worse today?”
“Tell me about it. Did you see the laundry room earlier? There’s a mountain of linens—we’re carrying maybe one-tenth of what’s there.”
“No way. The head maid told me to deliver all of this and head to the laundry room?”
“I got pulled into kitchen duty. We’re short a hand for dinner prep. I’m so annoyed. Who even caused all this?”
I had been quietly admiring the portrait when chatter from passing maids caught my ear.
“You didn’t hear? The sous-chef collapsed.”
“What? Why?”
“No idea. Up until this afternoon, they said she was giving everyone hell in the kitchen.”
“Come to think of it, I saw her dump a ton of pepper into the soup earlier when the head chef wasn’t looking.”
“She probably did it out of spite. She asked him for money the other day and he turned her down.”
“Even so, who messes with food like that? That’s just low.”
“Seriously. If you’re that angry, say it to their face. Don’t pull some sneaky stunt like that.”
“Anyway, I think she accidentally drank some of that soup herself. She turned pale and ran out of the kitchen.”
“What an idiot. This is why they say revenge should only be attempted by smart people. If you’re gonna mess up your own plan, don’t even try.”
The way they gossiped reminded me of little chicks chirping away, and I couldn’t help but smile to myself.
So the sous-chef ended up poisoning herself. Karma, I suppose.
I turned the corner, still amused by their gossip, but stopped short when I noticed something odd—the office door, which I was sure I had closed, was now ajar.
Crash!
I rushed forward and threw the door open—and my good mood vanished in an instant. A sharp pain spiked in my head as if cold water had been poured over it.
The office was unrecognizable.
Stunned, I stared as Haldeir tried to shield a frozen Reyna, who stood there with ink-covered hands pressed against her pink dress, tears welling in her eyes.
The office chair had toppled over, its wheels spinning in the air. Ink had spilled from the desk, soaked the documents, and now dripped onto the carpet.
“What… what is this…?”
I couldn’t even finish my sentence. Reyna’s eyes brimmed with tears.
“I just…”
Her trembling voice made it clear—it had been an accident.
Reyna was usually like a cactus—always prickly and ready to jab, especially when we were alone. But here she was, completely shaken.
I surveyed the room. Aside from the mess around the desk, everything else was intact.
When I glanced at the ink-covered area again, Haldeir quickly spoke up.
“It wasn’t Reyna’s fault. I… I spilled the ink. She was just trying to help clean up. So please, don’t blame her.”
“I see.”
Seeing how fiercely he defended her, I didn’t push further.
Besides… spilling ink on the Duke’s desk? That was far too familiar.
I knew exactly how panicked Reyna must’ve been—because I had done the same once.
They looked like they wanted to explain more, but the ink hadn’t dried yet, and I needed to clean the documents before they were ruined.
“You should both go now.”
As I approached the desk to assess the damage, I saw that the new ink had spread over my old stain.
“This—those wet documents, I—”
Haldeir looked at me nervously, probably thinking my silence meant I was angry about the ruined papers.
I smiled and gently reassured them.
“It’s fine. Just go.”
The moment I said that, Reyna grabbed Haldeir’s hand and practically fled the room.
Once they were gone, I dropped the fake smile and let out a slow breath.
Then, I looked down again at the fresh, ugly stain.
“…It’s gone.”
The original ink stain had hardened. As I peeled off the dried part, it revealed a larger, darker blot beneath.
I pressed my hand against it.
“Duke… your desk is a mess again.”
I mumbled as I rubbed the new mark, now covering my old one.
“Should we replace it?”
But I couldn’t. That ink stain—it had always felt like my last connection to him.
Now it was gone.
“But… it was just a cheap desk, wasn’t it?”
The tie between us felt thinner somehow. Like a final thread had snapped.
“I miss you…”
Please… come back soon, Duke.
