Chapter 035
I came to my senses well past noon.
“I feel refreshed.”
The fever that had consumed my body the night before had completely vanished.
Stretching and getting up from bed, I made my way to the window.
Opening it, I could see the bustling activity of the servants outside.
After watching them for a moment, I pulled the bell cord by my bedside.
“Did you have a cough? How are you feeling now?”
Soon, a maid entered the room.
It wasn’t the same maid I had seen the night before.
I looked at the unfamiliar woman and asked, “I think I’m better. By the way, do you know where Evan is right now?”
“He stayed with you until morning, Madam, and just a little while ago, he went out to the temple outside the estate.”
I raised my eyebrows in surprise at her words.
The last time I saw him was in the middle of the night.
‘Could he have stayed up all night caring for me until morning?’
I absentmindedly touched my forehead.
In my hazy memories, it seemed someone had been changing the cloth on my forehead repeatedly…
I decided I would ask him when he returned. I turned to the woman still in the room.
“Alright. But what’s your name?”
“My apologies for the late introduction. I’m Nora Warren, the head maid of the Ballestain Duchy.”
Nora introduced herself again with the same polite demeanor.
I sensed something about her that hinted she wasn’t just an ordinary maid, and it turned out I was right.
“Nice to meet you. So, Nora, could you gather everyone in the castle? I’d like to greet those I missed yesterday.”
“Understood.”
After Nora left the room, I turned my gaze back out the window.
In the distance, the long castle walls I had seen yesterday came into view.
The walls bore the scars of the fierce battles from a few months ago, with many damaged areas reminding me of the war.
On my first day in the Ballestain Duchy, I resolved to do what I could as the Duchess.
***
As I finished preparing and stepped outside, I heard a murmur of voices.
Many people were gathered in the hall below.
Clap, clap.
Spotting me, Nora clapped her hands a couple of times and raised her voice.
“Everyone, quiet down! The madam has arrived.”
Immediately, the noise stopped as if by magic.
As their intense gazes focused on me, a loud voice echoed through the hall.
“Greetings, Madam.”
As I scanned the faces of the servants, I recognized a few familiar ones from the capital mansion.
They all stood quietly, attentively waiting for me to speak.
As I got closer, I noticed that the expressions of the servants were becoming stiff.
Seeing the evident tension on their faces, I hurriedly began.
“It’s nice to meet you all. Some of you may have seen me in the capital, but I can tell there are many who haven’t.”
I smiled warmly and continued.
“Since we all live here, I believe we are one big family. Let’s get along well moving forward. If you ever find yourselves in trouble, please feel free to come to me anytime.”
The people who heard my words couldn’t hide their surprise, exchanging glances with one another.
I wondered if they had heard the rumors about me circulating in the capital.
‘Well, I suppose I can address that gradually.’
I hadn’t expected to win everyone over from the start anyway.
“You’re all free to go now.”
As soon as I finished speaking, the people gathered in the hall quickly dispersed.
“They’re just feeling awkward for now,” Nora said softly from behind me.
Turning around, I saw her sharp gaze fixed intently on my face.
“These people here are much more wary of nobles than the servants in the capital.”
“May I ask why?”
After a brief pause, she began to explain.
“Many here have not only lost family but have also been exploited by nobles during the war. So, their perception of the nobility is quite negative.”
“Exploitation…”
I trailed off, caught off guard by her unexpected words.
Nora continued in a calm voice, observing me closely.
“Whatever you imagine, it’s likely worse. War can strip away humanity, making people less than beasts.”
My mouth closed tightly at that.
I, who had never experienced the pain of war, felt that I shouldn’t ask any more carelessly.
‘I might come off as hypocritical.’
During the five years of ongoing war, I had never witnessed its horrors firsthand.
Lost in thought, I finally spoke to Nora, my expression serious.
“Thank you for telling me, Nora.”
I noticed Nora’s eyes widen slightly at my greeting.
I then extended my hand toward her.
“It seems there are many challenges ahead. Could you help me?”
From our earlier conversation, I sensed that Nora had a strong conviction in her work here.
“If she didn’t feel that way, she wouldn’t have brought up such topics with a noble like me.”
It was a risky statement that could have led to punishment for insulting a noble.
“It would be unthinkable for me to grasp the Madam’s hand. I am the servant here. I have a duty to follow my master’s commands.”
Instead of taking my hand, Nora deeply bowed and spoke.
Her demeanor was impeccably polite, yet she still seemed wary of me.
Withdrawing my hand naturally, I shrugged and said, “Alright then. Could you show me around the mansion first?”
“Of course. Please follow me.”
Nora nodded and began to lead the way.
After exploring the castle, which was several times larger than the mansion in the capital, three hours had passed.
***
About six hours later, Evan returned with the knights from his inspection.
During dinner, as we faced each other, he unexpectedly spoke first.
“I heard you’ve been wandering the castle for hours. What will you do if you collapse again?”
His tone, which could easily be mistaken for scolding, had become familiar to me.
“I feel fine now, thanks to the rest. Thank you for taking care of me.”
At my words, he paused and raised an eyebrow.
“Care? I haven’t done anything. That was the maid’s doing.”
Evan, having finished his statement firmly, suddenly lowered his gaze to his plate and began eating quickly.
“Well, the medicine must have been effective. Recovering in just one day is better than most nursing.”
I chuckled inwardly at his pretense of indifference, but he remained focused on his food.
As I began to feel full, I decided to bring up what I had wanted to say to him today.
“I’m planning to go outside the castle tomorrow.”
His gaze finally met mine, curious.
I continued, meeting his questioning look. “It’s about the reconstruction of the territory that we discussed yesterday. I want to help.”
When he had asked if I wanted to take on the reconstruction, I struggled to respond.
I had never truly taken on any responsibilities like that before.
In fact, I hadn’t been able to.
‘Whenever I tried to do something, I was usually flatly rejected.’
After becoming empress, I had wished to contribute positively to the empire.
But each time, Delos would say to me, “What do you think you can do? Dahlia, all you have to do is look beautiful and wait for me.”
He treated it as if I could do nothing on my own, and eventually I began to accept that as the norm, feeling increasingly powerless.
In this context, Evan’s recent proposal felt like a significant shock that opened my eyes.
midori
thanks!
well, i hope that even iwith the reconstruction, she’ll still spend more time with him, haha
we need to kill her ex. fast! quickly!whatever villain we get, let’s NOT keep her ex alive, huh?