12. Damian Found Out
That night.
Lilian carried her tired body home. She danced only one song, based on her stamina, but by the time she arrived, her eyes were half closed.
“Oh my, Your Highness, you are magnificent. You worked hard.”
Anyway, she wondered if Lilian, who was weak, might have collapsed. Mrs. Maureen, who had been waiting with all her strength, hastily supported Lilian.
“Um, thank you…”
“You’re welcome. Now hurry up and put on your slippers.”
She took her foot out of her shoe and put on the soft slippers, making a painful noise. Mrs. Maureen took care of Lilian and led her into the dressing room of her bedroom.
“Huh…?”
As Lilian was pushed into the dressing room, she saw the slightly open door to the Grand Duchess’s study in front of her.
‘It should be closed.’
Mrs. Maureen called out to the dazed Lilian, “Come, come,” as she led her.
They must have forgotten to close the door after cleaning, so she quickly put the feeling of incongruity out of her mind.
In any case, the servants who could come up to this floor, where the Grand Duchess and Grand Duke’s bedroom was located, were strictly limited to trustworthy people, so it didn’t seem like a big problem.
Thanks to the quick movements of Mrs. Maureen and the ladies in waiting, Lilian was able to quickly change into her nightgown and lie down.
Perhaps because she’d been through so much, as soon as her body felt comfortable, her sleepiness poured out. In a drowsy voice, she begged Mrs. Maureen to close the door to her study, for it was open.
“And… did His Highness happen to come by?”
“Yes, he came in early this morning.
But he didn’t come out of the study, as if he had something to do. Should I call him?”
“No, that’s okay… He must have had a hard time in the cold, but I was wondering if he got back safely…”
Lilian buried her face halfway into her pillow and mumbled in her sleep.
Mrs. Maureen whimpered, the tip of her nose wrinkled.
“I’m so proud of you. Someone younger… a hostess who takes care of the household until just before she falls asleep.
His Highness Damian is very lucky.”
Mrs. Maureen smiled and pulled the blanket up to Lilian’s chin. Then she quietly stepped back and left the room.
***
Next day, early morning.
“…”
Although Lilian was very tired, she woke up earlier than usual. It was because of the coldness she didn’t normally feel.
What is this strangely cold and empty feeling…?
Blinking, she soon understood why.
I am alone today.
The only person lying in bed now was Lily herself.
Come to think of it, she hadn’t slept alone since she got married and moved into this house.
The main reason why rumors spread about the couple’s marriage was because he slept in Lily’s bedroom every single day.
I heard that even if I don’t know where he is, he knows where I am.
He must have been busy. Or because he was tired and wanted to sleep alone for a long time.
Maybe it’s because my body is cold.
She can think of reasons, but why is her heart cold? Lilian curled up and pulled the blanket over her.
By the way…
‘Huh?’
There was a round blood stain on the white blanket that she hadn’t seen before.
Oh dear, she overexerted herself yesterday and now she has a nosebleed in her sleep.
Lilian rubbed her hand under her nose once. Then she went back to sleep.
About two hours later, Mrs. Maureen came to wake her up. Seeing that the missus wasn’t frightened, Lilian must have recovered well in her sleep, she thought to herself.
She hadn’t even dreamed that there was nothing there in the first place.
***
Damian Rupenwein was a surprisingly busy man.
He seems to live like a nerd, but he was a man who did what he had to do. Of course, he didn’t want to do anything he didn’t want to do, even if it meant dying.
Anyway, Tier Infinity Mana didn’t just affect Damian’s strength. Damian’s genius was evident in all areas.
So if you had to point out the problem, it was all Damian’s attitude, not his ability.
Not only in the way he approached his work, but in all aspects of his life. It wasn’t that he didn’t work hard.
He’s a genius who doesn’t need to work hard, so if he was at that level to begin with, it wouldn’t have been a problem.
In the eyes of those around him, Damian is…
He seemed like someone who could die 10 minutes later if he felt like it.
There was not the slightest joie de vivre. They couldn’t even predict when and how he would act on a whim.
Surprisingly, it was only after marriage that the person who frightened the onlookers and the person who would never die of natural causes changed.
It was a political ploy for an alliance. A marriage that was tantamount to buying and selling by putting oneself on the shelf. None of his aides expected anything from the Grand Duke and his wife.
But…
“Your Highness, what are you doing?”
“Can’t you see? Working.”
He was a man who rarely sat at his desk voluntarily. It was because he had an evil temper where he didn’t like to show his human side, such as the way he worked.
Such a person sat at his desk as usual. There are no such miracles.
Ivan honestly admired him.
“I don’t know when they started saying you work hard, but honestly, I hope this mood will last for a long time.”
“It will. Guys, if I don’t, you’ll go straight to my wife and complain.”
Everyone was horrified when he said that from now on, they wouldn’t be allowed to go to his poor wife and complain, so if there’s any work to be done, bring it to his side first.
“Yes? Your Highness, the Grand Duke? Is this to prevent Her Highness from suffering?”
“No, it would be nice if we could take care of things directly without going through her…”
All the while, the vassals will go to the young Grand Duchess despite the shame.
The reason was that if they didn’t, Damian wouldn’t even pay attention to them.
If he takes care of things before that happens, there’s no reason to refuse…
“Alright. Isn’t it strange that the new groom is crazy about the bride and does everything he can…”
“No, the new groom is the Grand Duke, how is it not strange?”
“Haha… People say that marriage stabilizes people so much, I never thought that would be true for His Highness the Grand Duke…”
“His Highness the Grand Duke was a human being as well.”
The more they thought about it, the more they found the new Grand Duchess amazing.
“Well, I think I know why Cedric Islar couldn’t live without his sister.”
“Ah, just seeing her for a while makes the heart happy. Something like that?”
“She’s not even his daughter, but while he was marrying his younger sister, his aura was vicious as if we were the plague… I guess I should apologize. I don’t think I’d be laughing if I sent off a younger sister like Her Highness.”
From the side, Lilian was the only medium keeping Damian in the human world.
When Emperor Idoel was alive, he was at least a bit like a human, but after his death, he was a person who was admired without being courted by anyone.
As if he had suddenly become human after marrying Lilian, he even clung to the rules and contracts of the royal family.
It was not uncommon for him to double or triple his bonds with Lilian through numerous contracts, including a marriage contract.
The retainers said that the saint of Turin had transformed the monster into a man. And for the sake of their own mental and physical stability, they hoped that their union would be eternal. Among them, Ivan was the most desperate.
Ivan remembered what had happened just yesterday as he prepared to attend Lily’s first ball.
“Your Highness, Your Highness!”
“I’m not deaf.”
Ivan made a fuss. It was as natural to Damian as the sun rising in the east.
“No, what the hell were you looking at that you couldn’t hear me when I called?”
“Nothing.”
Ivan looked suspiciously at the pile of papers Damian was shredding like a knife. When he looked closely, it looked like an old bundle of papyrus made of reeds, not paper. No, is it parchment?
He is suddenly reading ancient documents.
Ivan thought nothing of it.
He was also interested in Damian’s new hobbies, but he gave priority to what he wanted to report.
“There was an intruder who broke into Her Highness’s study. They’ve been detained in the basement, but I think Her Highness needs to see this.”
About 10 minutes later.
“Your Highness, stop!”
Ivan regretted the decision he had made ten minutes ago. He should have just done it himself!
“What the hell happened to you?”
“Nothing happened.”
“Nothing happened! Do you make people like this when nothing happens?”
“Kuooooo…”
Damian looked down at the man with the hair in his hands with a sullen expression. A man whose face had been cut in half was coughing up a foam of blood. Fragments of broken teeth fell from the crumbling mouth as the blood flowed. The worst part is that he’s still alive.
That was the point.
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