Chapter 9

"Oh! Oh, oh, oh! Miss! If you had let us know you were coming back, we would have prepared a grand welcome for you!"

As soon as the carriage with the duke's family crest arrived at the front of Lord Holloway's manor, a flustered footman rushed down to open the carriage door. When Opal stepped out with the footman's help, the flustered butler and housekeeper, Marsha, burst out of the front door. They immediately hugged Opal, nearly causing her to fall, but the experienced footman steadied her, preventing any mishap. The duke's coachman watched the scene in astonishment.

In fact, the coachman, Kieve, had never left the capital before. Despite his anxiety, he set out early this morning from the duke's residence to the earl's domain. With the notorious duchess and a few belongings in the carriage, he nervously drove the horses along the road he had carefully checked the previous day, managing to enter the earl's domain without any issues. However, just a short distance from a fork in the road, a signal came from inside the carriage, and he was told he had taken a wrong turn. He hurriedly apologized and tried to turn back, but the duchess ordered him to let her out of the carriage.

The coachman, who was prepared to be scolded, was surprised when the duchess announced she would sit next to him on the driver's seat.

"Because I know the way better. It's better to sit next to you and guide you than to give instructions from inside the carriage. Besides, look at this beautiful weather. It's much nicer to be outside."

True to her word, the duchess sat next to Kieve, guiding him and explaining the estate while they drove. She didn't mind sitting next to a lowly coachman or having her hair disheveled by the wind. For Kieve, who had previously worked for a different noble family, this was astonishing.

Kieve had started working for the duke's family after being fired from his previous noble household for allegedly looking at the young lady with lecherous eyes, which he was picked up by Lord Northam. Of course, he hadn't actually looked at her lecherously; he had just happened to see her dress being blown by the wind.

Since then, he had thought all noblewomen were arrogant, self-centered, and capricious. The only exception was Stella, the angel of the duke's family. However, as a coachman, Kieve had never met Stella, who rarely went out, and had never spoken to Lady Northam, so he only knew about them through rumors. The servants all praised them, so he believed it to be true.

Recently, he had heard a lot about the wicked woman who had married the duke, who was apparently in financial trouble, and had become the duchess. The rumors described her exactly like the noblewomen Kieve knew. To protect the kind duke and the innocent Stella, all the servants had vowed to stand united against the wicked woman. Therefore, everyone had sympathized with and encouraged Kieve for his task of delivering the duchess to the earl's domain, believing that the duke's family would be free from her for a while. Kieve had been entrusted with this mission, but the journey was nothing like he had expected.

Most notably, the duchess was warmly welcomed by the locals when she sat on the driver's seat, and she waved and smiled back at them. As the sun began to set, the duchess returned to the carriage, saying she would be scolded. Kieve wondered who would scold her as he followed the directions given to him. Now, he was witnessing the grand welcome at the manor.

The stable hands at the manor pitied Kieve, saying he must be tired and offering to take care of the rest. Left at the front door, Kieve was guided to the back entrance by a footman and warmly welcomed in the servants' lounge behind the kitchen. The dinner served to him was more luxurious than anything he had ever eaten.

"This is too luxurious! I'm just a servant, you know?"

"Yeah, I know. I used to work elsewhere, and I was surprised at first, but this is what we eat here. The young lady—no, the duchess now. The duchess improved our meals."

Kieve looked at the food in front of him and tried to swallow the lump in his throat. One of the servants, misunderstanding his reaction, laughed.

"Go ahead, don't be shy. This isn't some fancy meal that only we can carry. Eat up. There's even seconds."

Encouraged, Kieve tentatively picked up his spoon, took a sip of the soup, and then quickly finished it. Everyone laughed at his reaction, but one maid suddenly looked worried.

"Hey, are the servants treated badly at the duke's mansion? Now that the young lady has married?"

"Maybe it's just been too short a time? The duke's mansion must be too vast to manage properly."

"But isn't it strange that the young lady would return in such a state?"

"Indeed..."

The lively dinner table fell silent. Kieve found it hard to swallow his bread.

"Well, from what I heard, the young lady said she had something important to confirm and came back, according to Marsha."

"Is that so? Then there's no helping it."

"Yeah, that's right. Hey, Kieve, is the young lady happy at the duke's mansion?"

"Um, well... I'm usually outside... I rarely enter the mansion... But I think she is..."

Asked by one of the footmen, Kieve stammered. In truth, he rarely entered the mansion and didn't know much about the situation inside. However, he had heard from his fellow servants that the duchess lived in the attic, as a spiteful retaliation for the main bedroom being used by Stella. So, Kieve had to lie.

"Don't worry, the young lady is fine. Even though her reputation was ruined by those false rumors, the duke still chose her, didn't he? She had said she didn't want to marry anyone, but it happened. It must have been a great love story."

"Right. That's true!"

"Once you talk to the young lady, you'll see those rumors are false!"

"Absolutely, no doubt about it!"

The servants of the earl's household, unaware of the true situation, believed the young lady and the duke had a love marriage. With a bright conclusion, the atmosphere returned to a lively one, and everyone continued their meal in a friendly manner. Kieve, however, felt uncomfortable and sat there uneasily.