Chapter 40
Clara walked over to Lucy with a warm smile.
“You look tired, so I brought you some herbal tea. I even asked them to add honey so it wouldn’t be too bitter.”
Hmm… She didn’t poison it, did she?
Lucy calmly accepted the tea and only pretended to drink it.
Having Clara as the only maid she felt comfortable with was a problem in itself.
Clara is definitely working for the Dowager Duchess.
As if proving that point, Rosendal, standing in the corner, watched Clara and Lucy with obvious disapproval.
Lucy felt a little bitter.
I didn’t even drink it.
Besides, poison wouldn’t affect her anyway, so even if there was poison in it, she wouldn’t be harmed.
Rosendal knew that.
Even so, he always looked at Lucy with anxious eyes.
I noticed it earlier too.
I don’t think he likes me very much.
At first, he seemed interested because she had holy power and could purify Edward.
But becoming the Duchess was a different matter.
At this rate, I can’t even ask him to investigate whether the temple has found another test subject.
Still, Lucy understood him.
She knew how loyal Rosendal was and how devoted he was to Edward.
Even when Edward eventually went mad and drove away his loyal followers, Rosendal stayed beside him until the very end, only to die by Edward’s own hands.
Because he was that kind of man, all he did now was quietly disapprove instead of openly opposing Lucy.
What should I do?
Her awkward relationship with the other servants would improve over time.
But Rosendal was one of Edward’s closest aides.
Winning him over would be much harder.
Meanwhile, Clara smiled while carefully avoiding Rosendal’s gaze.
“Does the tea suit your taste?”
“Yes. Thank you for your hard work, Clara.”
“It was nothing. You’re really becoming the Duchess now.”
“I guess so. Maybe you can see the future.”
Clara laughed.
“As if.”
“But… do you remember what I said before? If it’s alright with you, I’d like to become your personal maid…”
“Ahem.”
Rosendal deliberately cleared his throat, cutting Clara off.
Then he politely but firmly stepped in.
“If you would leave the matter of your personal maid to me, as the head butler of the Duke’s household, I will choose the most suitable maids to serve you…”
Knock. Knock.
Before he could finish…
“Butler.”
A servant poked his head through the open door.
“What is it?”
“The Duke is asking for you regarding the wedding budget.”
Rosendal let out another quiet sigh.
Then he bowed to Lucy.
“In that case, we’ll continue the rest tomorrow.”
He still looked dissatisfied.
Lucy also felt disappointed.
I wanted to talk to Rosendal after Clara left.
Even though Rosendal kept his distance…
Lucy was confident she could eventually get along with him.
After all, Rosendal wasn’t a bad person.
And both of them were on Edward’s side.
Besides…
She already had a plan.
Just like with Tepe and Gorgo… once he realizes I truly care about Edward, Rosendal will become my ally too.
“My Lady.”
“Tepe?”
Speak of the devil.
As soon as Rosendal and the servant left, Tepe appeared at the reception room door.
Since Edward and Lucy announced their engagement, Tepe’s attitude toward Lucy had completely changed.
He now treated her with perfect respect.
“The Duke asked whether you would like to have dinner with him.”
“The Duke?”
“Yes.”
“He has to go hunt monsters now, so he said not to feel too disappointed that he couldn’t help choose your dresses.”
I’m not really disappointed…
Feeling strangely embarrassed, Lucy looked at Tepe.
Edward could have simply asked the servant who came for Rosendal to deliver the message.
Instead…
He had sent Tepe, his personal guard, on such a trivial errand.
That was very much like Edward.
And Tepe accepted it without complaint.
That’s right.
Suddenly, Lucy felt a little more confident.
When they first met, Tepe had clearly been wary of her.
When the Holy Knights chased after them, he had even looked like he wanted to abandon her.
But not anymore!
Instead of winning him over with the cheerful heroine approach…
She had won him over by openly showing how much she admired Edward.
Gorgo had changed too.
This method will definitely work on Rosendal as well.
I’ll win him over… not with my charm… but by showing how much I admire Edward.
Thinking that, Lucy nodded.
“Y… yes. Tell him I’ll have dinner with him.”
“I understand.”
“Oh, and tell him he doesn’t need to worry about missing the dress fitting.”
As she said it, her heart felt strangely ticklish.
What would he even do by looking at dresses?
He probably wouldn’t be much help.
In fact, Edward had once stopped by while she was trying on dresses.
His reaction had been…
***
“Buy everything from here to there.”
“What? Duke, are you seriously that rich?! Well… of course you are!”
“I’m telling you to buy them. Is there a problem?”
“No! I love it! Please don’t change your mind! But I should still buy the ones that suit me best…”
“You’re beautiful.”
“…”
“Whatever you wear is beautiful, sweetheart.”
With those words…
He completely stunned the fashion designers.
Just as Lucy had done before…
He kept calling her sweetheart.
Of course…
Since they had already announced their marriage to the temple, they had to look like a loving couple in front of everyone.
But why is he so good at acting?
Honestly…
Every time he smiled at her like that…
Lucy felt like she was about to faint.
What a dangerous flirt.
In any case…
Someone who said, Buy everything because you look good in all of it, wasn’t very helpful when choosing dresses.
As Lucy fanned her burning cheeks, Tepe bowed.
“I’ll pass the message along.”
After glancing briefly at Clara, he left.
Watching him walk away, Lucy stretched.
“I should head back to my room too…”
“Wait, My Lady!”
Clara suddenly grabbed Lucy’s hand.
Then she said something unexpected.
“Since you’re already choosing your wedding dress… wouldn’t you also like to look at some jewelry?”
“Hm? Jewelry?”
Rosendal has probably already arranged that.
As if reading her thoughts, Clara nodded.
“Of course, the butler will help you buy new jewelry.”
“You can choose anything you like.”
“But…”
“If you’re talking about buying it…”
“You mean you’re buying it for me?”
Lucy joked.
Clara giggled.
“No.”
“Not me.”
“If we’re being precise… it would be the former Duchess.”
“No…”
“The Dowager Duchess.”
Lucy blinked.
She’s mentioning the Dowager Duchess so openly?
She’s not even trying to hide which side she’s belongs to?
Keeping her surprise hidden, Lucy tilted her head.
Clara continued casually.
“It’s one of the Tesseron family’s traditions.”
“The new Duchess inherits the jewelry worn by the previous Duchesses.”
“I see.”
“So I thought I’d secretly show them to you in advance.”
“Don’t tell the Dowager Duchess or the Duke.”
“It’ll be our little secret.”
“…”
“You can look through them first.”
“Then before the wedding, you can quietly ask the Dowager Duchess for the ones you like.”
I see.
Lucy slowly nodded.
So she’s pretending this is her own idea instead of the Dowager Duchess’s.
Apparently…
Clara still hadn’t realized that Lucy already knew she worked for the Dowager Duchess.
More accurately… she doesn’t think I’d ever suspect her.
People had always underestimated Lucy because she looked innocent and harmless.
It had been the same in her previous life.
Alright.
I’ll play along.
Pretending she knew nothing, Lucy asked,
“Can I really choose them myself?”
“Shouldn’t I simply accept whatever the Dowager Duchess gives me?”
“If you tell her there’s something you want, I’m sure she’ll gladly give it to you.”
“Hmm.”
Of course you would say that.
Since Clara was speaking on the Dowager Duchess’s behalf.
Offering me jewelry… are they trying to win me over?
As Lucy listened without revealing anything…
Clara finally reached the real point.
“So…”
“Would you like to visit the west annex of the castle today?”
