Chapter 7

Before leaving for the border, the Duke himself established my prestige. The maid of

honor and the two nannies saw how well Carl followed me and how devoted I was to Merlin

during the winter thanks to that I was accepted into the hierarchical order as the Duke's new

Duchess.

However, those who looked down at me were dissatisfied with the fact that I wore

Marilyn's clothes and showed off the affection the Duke had for me. They accused me of being

an insidious woman who waited for Merlin's death and took her place.

As the second Duchess, I was criticized as Carlos' stepmother in many ways. Even if

you're good or bad. They'll find fault with it, and if they can't... you'll get cursed at.

But I had no choice but to try. For Carl who smiled brightly in my arms, looking for me,

and smiling at me more than at the nannies and others. For Marilyn who had no choice but to

leave this pretty baby behind.

As soon as I became the Duchess, Count Betrika recommended a Countess as my aid

in a letter that comforted me. It is said that her husband was late Count Blone, a Countess on

the border. She was an old lady living at the border with her daughter-in-law and son, she had a

very good knowledge of preparing and organizing the war that broke out on the border. Count

Betrika said that there would be no one like her to teach and aid the Duchess during wartime in

setting up a castle.

I was a young lady turned mother who had no talent to make a living as a Duchess.

Furthermore, the Dukedom was on display every year. Therefore, I readily accepted the

recommendation of Count Betrika and asked Countess Blone to teach me. Countess Blone

actively helped me even though she sometimes showed disapproval of my lack of knowledge as

a Duchess.

It was because she also understood the situation that I and the Duke were in. With the

Duke on the battlefield for half of the year and Carl still a newborn this was the best way for me

to protect them. Working on behalf of the Duke, I worked closely with the butler and the Duke's

administrative aides, their response was no different than the Countess.

The time was short but this is the situation, so I can't help it. It was better than expected.

By a little? I also didn't think I was a 'real' Duke's wife, more like an 'agent' Duke's wife on behalf

of Marilyn. My job was to be Carl's mom. A mother who gives a lot of love to her child.

Carl grew day by day, receiving lots of love from me.

Half a year passed quickly, and the Duke returned around the time of the first snow.

Having only read about the border war it was far more serious than my vague imagination.

Soldiers who left in good health came back wounded, dead, or drained.

In the meantime, only the Duke was upright. His posture on the horse was not

immediately clear, and his eyes under the helmet were wide. Due to the war, the North was left

without the Duke, but this was the reason why others did not dare to covet Duke's posts in

Demancier. The Duke of Demancier in the North is a man carrying on a tedious war on the

border, and yet he is perhaps the strongest knight in the Empire to come back from it.

Watching the Duke's procession through the window inside the castle, I held Carl in my

arms and patted him. This baby would grow up to be such a bold man, protecting the North, and

later falling in love to bring about peace in the end.

"Carl, I hope you grow up soon."

I wish there were other methods to advance that peace because when Carl and the

dragon fall in love, peace between monsters and humans is established. I thought I would

always want Carl to be a baby in my arms but when I witnessed the remnants of war I thought

differently.

The Duke was approached by the butler and administrative aide after disbanding the

soldiers and knights from atop his horse. Watching the three of them talking, I also began to

move with Carl in my arms.

Both Carlos' nannies husbands went to war so both of them had left to meet their

husbands with their children. There was a feast to welcome the knights so they stayed in the

castle for a while, before returning to their respective territories.

Because of the feast, the Duke's kitchen has been hectic for three days, as there will be

a lot of food and distribute the leftovers to the residents outside the castle tomorrow. There was

a smell of food eating through the castle.

They also checked the condition of the hall and kitchen where the dinner was to be held.

Also if the knights entered the room where they were assigned. And, of course, if there was

enough alcohol. They put their utmost effort into this dinner having made a mistake previously.

After returning from the battlefield, the Duke and knights washed clean and gathered in

the hall at the sound of a bell, which announced the start of the evening. I arrived a little late

after changing Carl's diaper. Just thinking that I would be late as the Duchess, I rushed to the

hall with Carl in my arms.

The noises coming from the banquet hall were so noisy that you can hear them laughing

and talking voices in the hallway and upstairs. As I neared the banquet hall, I could see the

servants running with empty bottles of alcohol and carrying a full plate of grilled pork. Carl

looked around his noisy surroundings curiously.

Standing at the entrance of the banquet hall, I heard someone finish a song at the top of

their lungs. I took a deep breath listening to the sound of applause. I'm going to go in quietly and

sit as if I've been from the beginning. Holding Carl in my arms, who had been getting heavier

these days, I winked at the servant standing at the entrance. The servant seemed hesitant.

I was dissatisfied with the response and tried to turn around and order another maid. But

the maids who dressed and followed me were gone.

"Where did they go?"

I wondered, but when I turned to the servant again he opened the door in a hurry. The

smell of meat and alcohol mixed with the scorching heat wafted towards me. I sneaked into the

banquet hall remembering the same smells in a pork belly restaurant at a company dinner day. I

walked in behind where the Duke and Duchess sat, so I could see the back of the Duke, who

was eating with the aides and lords who took both sides of him. They were all drinking and

eating while raising their voice. It was nothing like any dinner I had attended in my family's

residence or my previous life.

Above all, there were no women. Of course, many married men had missed their wives

in their hometowns, but Charles' nannies were also not here, and even the few who were there

were servants.

I immediately noticed that I was not supposed to be here. However, others saw me

standing at the entrance and trying to figure out the situation.

"It's a woman!"

"It's a woman!"

Their eyes were on me as if they had never seen a woman before. I was embarrassed,

hugging Carl tightly. The eyes of the men thinking 'It's a woman!' gave me a sense of fear. The

Duke approached me over the crowd of eyes.

"What's going on here? Let's get out of here."

He gestured as if he were covering my shoulder but his hand didn't touch my body, yet I

could still feel better just by his presence. I followed him from behind. Carl must have been very

nervous, so he grabbed my clothes tightly and I tightened my hips around him. There was a

whistle from behind.

The Duke took me through the hallway without saying a word and climbed the stairs. The

strong smell that was enough to make me feel nauseous faded as I climbed the stairs. When he

led me to the Duchess's inner quarters, my steps stopped.

"Wife?"

"Oh, well, I haven't used the Duchess space yet. Well, thank you for taking me here. My

room is near here."

I took out Marilyn's clothes when I was in a hurry, but I still haven't been able to refurbish

her living and bedroom space to use it as my own. At first, it was because it felt strange to take

her place shortly after Marilyn passed, and later it was because of my status and the eyes of

others who thought of me as a 'temporary' Duchess. The Duke paused at my words, and he

continued.

"I'll take you to your room. I don't think I'll be able to go anywhere, and I have to tell you."

In addition to saying so, the Duke was the most legitimate man to come into my

bedroom, so I took the lead. Carl remained in my arms until then. When I got back into my room,

I thought I'd take off the clothes I put on Carl.

When I entered my room, the Duke sat on a rocking chair in front of the fireplace, even

though I didn't invite him in. The rocking chair leaned back, squeaking as he sat down. The

Duke leaned back comfortably and rocked back and forth to see if the movement was

uncomfortable. I caught a glimpse of it and put Carl on the bed. Carl stretched himself

comfortably on my bed.

"No woman is present at the dinner."

"I think so. I vaguely mistook it for a dinner like in the Venta estate."

"In the case of a regular dinner, it's the same. Both men and women will attend. But-"

But the Duke sighed low.

"I don't want to make excuses for the war. However, because of the alcohol and women

being prohibited during the war, drunken knights used to commit atrocities at dinners held

immediately after the war. Since some time ago, women have not attended the dinner at all,

even the maids only help for a short time in the beginning. The moment the alcohol starts to

circulate, they don't go near the banquet hall."

The Duke's explanation was much nicer than I expected. Like the world I used to lived in;

murder, robbery, and rape were all felonies in this world. In the case of rape, the status of the

victim and the perpetrator was not considered. And it was usually the lord's job to decide the

punishment for perpetrators. So if a knight who came back from the battlefield and drank heavily

raped a maid, the Duke was in a dilemma. Should the knight who contributed during the war be

punished for rape? Criminals were 'conscripted' in the war and could not 'participate'. The

difference between conscription and participation is great.

[T/N: 1. Rape not ok

. 2. Conscripted: enlisted for state service]

A conscripted criminal is not the subject of sharing the contribution of war, but the knight

who participated in the war is.

Not to mention the high probability that a conscripted criminal will die compared to a war

veteran. I was able to conjure up this series of situations from the Duke's explanation. I

understood what he said. I was mistaken for going to a place where I shouldn't be.

And he also knew that I went there by mistake.

But why didn't anyone stop me from going to the banquet?

The Duke closed his eyes and stretched, rocking the chair a few times to see if he liked

the chair rocking. After he finished the explanation, I changed Carl's clothes and took care of

him without changing my clothes. Carl crawled around on the bed and flipped over, stretching

himself, and fell asleep. The Duke also opened his eyes and raised himself. Seeing him get up

all of a sudden, he seemed to have fallen asleep sitting on the rocking chair.

"I'll leave you alone."

The Duke spoke awkwardly and strode out. I looked back at the Duke, who had already

disappeared while patting Carl's belly. I lifted my heavy body to begin changing. I wanted to take

off the banquet dress as soon as possible because it was heavy. I called the maid to help

change my clothes and sent the sleeping Carl to the nursery.

A few days later, I heard a rumor that I attended the banquet, not as a mistake, but

because I wanted to attract the attention of the Duke. By the time the rumor got to me, everyone

had already heard and believed it. The version of a 'temptress' in their eyes. Those who like to

tell rumors to others would have quickly spread my rumor.

Honestly, I don't even want to know more. I've been doing well in my way, and there's

nothing outstanding. I thought I acted well as Carl's stepmother, but I've become a woman who

luckily became the Duchess due to the death of my friend. Along with the fact that it seemed like

the Duke waited two years for Marilyn to pass.

It's been less than a year since I became the Duchess, and who knew I'd have a

reputation like this already? To be honest, I felt a sense of shame and a sense of exhaustion.

The only comfort for me was Carl who doesn't know anything about my reputation while still

following me around, looking for me often.

Well, yeah...everyone is supposed to live for their children.

I heard surprising news from the butler while I was with Carl. The Duke wanted to come

to my bedroom at night. Which means he wants to sleep with me.