Chapter 35
Did Kylus tell her everything?
Lady Meltain had been saying all along that it was Alice who saved Kylus.
And with such a serious face, too.
Setting aside the fact that she had holy power, the extent of its power was as dangerous as a ticking time bomb, so the fewer people who knew about it, the safer it was.
He said he would absolutely keep quiet about me using holy power to heal… But contrary to his appearance, he seems to have a loose tongue.
“…Did the Duke tell you everything?”
“Yes. He said the Duchess’s prayers saved his life.”
“…Pardon?”
Prayers? Not holy power?
“I didn’t realize the Duchess thought of the Duke that way. To think you offered sincere prayers at the temple… Knowing your kind heart, it seems the gods have looked upon you favorably.”
“Ah…”
So she doesn’t know everything.
Alice felt embarrassed for cursing Kylus earlier, but it seemed he had thoroughly concealed the important aspects of her holy power.
Lady Meltain believed it was prayers at the temple, not holy power, that had saved him.
As Alice was feeling awkward, Lady Meltain changed her expression and offered an apology.
“I’ve misunderstood you all this time, Duchess. Please forgive my rudeness until now.”
“It’s nothing, you weren’t particularly rude. You don’t need to apologize.”
“No, I must apologize. To be honest, I’ve been thinking of you as a stupid person who was of no help to the duchy at all. I was foolish. I didn’t realize what a good person you are.”
“Haha…”
She’s not just honest, she’s brutally honest.
Alice laughed awkwardly and swallowed her words.
She knew Lady Meltain didn’t mean any harm by it.
True to her role as the female protagonist, she had a righteous and straightforward personality.
Lady Meltain lowered her eyes and apologized.
“I’m sorry if I offended you.”
She even bowed her head, as if to show her sincerity.
Alice waved her hands and said:
“…Haha, it would be a lie to say I’m not offended, but well, it’s understandable that you had such a misunderstanding. I’m really fine. Don’t worry about it.”
“Thank you for saying that. I want to be close friends with you from now on, Duchess. For a very, very long time.”
Lady Meltain smiled brightly.
“For a long time…”
What happened to all the people Lady Meltain said she wanted to be close friends with…
Not many of them survived.
Alice felt a chill down her spine at that fresh smile and kind words.
How could she be happy when it was no different than a death flag approaching?
“Well then, I have some business to attend to, so I’ll be going now, Duchess.”
Unaware of Alice’s thoughts, Lady Meltain bid farewell with a shy face like a girl who had just confessed her hidden feelings, and left the lobby.
“…Things seem to be getting more and more tangled.”
From Kylus to Lady Meltain.
The people she didn’t want to be involved with kept trying to approach her.
At this rate, she might really not be able to escape.
The butler, hearing Alice’s low muttering, asked with a puzzled face:
“Pardon?”
“It’s nothing. More importantly, butler, please make sure Mother doesn’t take Aileen away. Aileen is innocent.”
“Yes. Don’t worry, Young Mistress.”
The butler’s assurance somewhat eased her mind.
Alice returned to her room, leaving the unsettling situation behind.
* * *
“Close the door!”
At Lady Quillian’s sharp voice, Maris hurriedly closed the door.
Then Lady Quillian roughly threw the shawl she was wearing onto the floor.
“How dare they, how dare they…”
Lady Quillian exhaled roughly, her anger rising as if her head might explode.
But no matter how much she exhaled, the hot anger wouldn’t easily subside.
Sienna Meltain, Alice Fordley.
It was too insulting that these two insignificant women dared to stand up to her.
While Meltain was Kylus’s cousin sister, so that could be excused to some extent, thinking about how that damned Alice Fordley had backstabbed her made her feel like she was going insane with rage.
It was no different from a hunting dog bought with a large sum of money biting its master’s hand – how could she not go mad?
Not only did she cause a commotion saying she would become a priest, but Kylus also woke up.
And to say it was because of Alice’s prayers.
It was ridiculous that even Kylus said such things and stood up for Alice.
Was he really going to send her off as a priest or what?!
But as important as Alice was, the most crucial fact was that Kylus had awakened.
It had been barely a day since Kylus woke up, but already the butler was arrogantly defying her orders.
At this rate, it wouldn’t be long before Kylus regained control of the duchy.
If that happens, what about me? What about our Edellm…
Lady Quillian squeezed her eyes shut, feeling as if the nightmare of the day Kylus returned as a war hero was being reenacted.
How, how could I lose the duchy I’ve gained like this?
She had to carefully protect it and pass it on to her only son.
Without fail.
“But, how…”
Lady Quillian pounded her chest in frustration, unable to think of a way to stop Kylus.
At that moment, Rhonda, her head maid who was like her limbs, approached and said:
“My Lady, for now… shouldn’t you lower your head and buy some time?”
“Haven’t I already lowered myself enough! How much more like a dead mouse do you want me to act?!”
Just now, she had retreated as soon as the butler appeared, fearing that Kylus might intervene due to unnecessary conflict.
And now to be told to lower herself even more. Lady Quillian’s already sensitive face turned fierce, and Rhonda hurriedly shook her head.
“I didn’t mean for you to bow down more than you already are. I just meant it might be good to stay quiet for a while and observe the Duke’s movements.”
As Rhonda deeply bowed her head apologizing, Lady Quillian’s demeanor softened somewhat.
She clicked her tongue and said:
“How can we observe the Duke’s movements? With access restricted to all servants except the butler, who can approach the Duke?”
“There is one person. The person we originally called to be by the Duke’s side.”
Rhonda slowly raised her head.
Seeing Rhonda’s cunning look, Lady Quillian’s eyebrows rose.
“You don’t mean… that Alice woman?”
“Yes, My Lady. Didn’t you say the Duke thinks it was thanks to the Duchess’s prayers that he was saved? He wouldn’t put his body on the line for the Duchess without truly believing that.”
Rhonda caught her breath after the long speech and continued with furrowed brows:
“Moreover, seeing how the Duke even assigned a maid to her… There’s a high possibility he really trusts the Duchess. Perhaps the Duchess’s prayers… really did create a miracle.”
At Rhonda’s words, Lady Quillian let out a contemplative hum and reflected on Kylus.
“…Come to think of it, Kylus has been strangely protective of that Alice woman. Even though he knows she’s the daughter-in-law I brought in…”
Alice was the Duchess that she had bought.
Kylus hadn’t even seen Alice’s face… no, he didn’t even know she existed.
They were forcibly married while he was unconscious.
Given Kylus’s normally cold nature… he should have despised the wife she brought in.
And he would have been sharply wary of her.
Because he would think she was Lady Quillian’s pawn.
But Kylus didn’t seem wary of Alice when he first saw her.
Rather, he had the butler warn her not to touch Alice, and even assigned her a maid.
So does that mean Alice really was connected to Kylus’s awakening?
Lady Quillian let out a groan of contemplation as she thought about Kylus’s uncharacteristic actions.
“But My Lady. Whatever the truth may be, if the Duke really isn’t wary of the Young Mistress… My Lady, the Young Mistress could become a very useful card for you.”
“…But will she obey me? Didn’t you see earlier, how she changed her fawning face and directly confronted me?”
She had essentially betrayed her from the moment she said she would become a priest.
Lady Quillian clenched her fist as Alice’s arrogant face came to mind again.
Would this anger subside a little if she pulled out all the hair of that bewitching thing?
“My Lady, don’t we have a weakness to control the Young Mistress? It seems she was planning to run away… But unintentionally, the Duke’s awakening has bought us time to bind the Young Mistress.”
“If you mean a weakness…”
A weakness that could restrain Alice Fordley suddenly came to mind.
The Fordley County.
They said she would even pretend to die at the words of Count Fordley.
In fact, hadn’t she boarded the carriage to the duchy without any resistance at her father’s words?
Of course, she had shown some resistance here, but not outright.
If her father came back and made her face reality, she would probably become an obedient dog again.
Lady Quillian smiled wickedly and said to Rhonda:
“We should prepare a family reunion to bring her to her senses after so long. Bring paper and pen. I’ll write the letter myself.”
That day, Lady Quillian hurriedly sent a long letter of over three pages to the Fordley County.
* * *
One week later.
Time had passed quickly enough for the commotion caused by Lady Quillian and Lady Meltain to fade.
Alice was personally feeling the gradually subsiding turmoil in the duchy.
Of course, things had become much calmer, but that calmness wasn’t a peaceful one.
It was more like the heavy atmosphere before a storm.
The faces of the duchy’s servants were growing darker with each passing day.
“When will the Duke return to his duties?”
“If the Duke returns to his duties, Lady Quillian will be driven out.”
“Will the Duke be able to regain real power? The knights have all been disbanded, and there’s no advisor either…”
“But still, the Duke is originally the head of the Dearrut Duchy…”
“But it’s been almost a week since the Duke woke up… and nothing has happened. Lady Quillian is still in the main house as usual…”
“That may be true, but… You don’t know because you weren’t here. Before the Duke collapsed, Lady Quillian was… Oh! Young Mistress.”
The maid who made eye contact with Alice startled and quickly bowed her head.
