Chapter 13

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 13

Chapter Title: How to Survive as the Wife of the Monster Duke

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괴물 공작의 아내로 살아남는 법

“Your Grace, it's Ijis.”

Ijis entered the room, and someone else stood behind him.

Aden's eyebrow arched.

“Is there more to report?”

He gestured toward the information from the Esid Merchant Group.

Milo, who had already explained everything on the way over, spoke up in a trembling voice.

“Have you... ever been to the bride's room, by chance?”

Aden leaned back in his chair, watching him silently.

He had a feeling this random topic might drag on.

“W-Well, in Biplten, isn't it fine to enter the bride's room—”

“Ijis.”

Aden cut Milo off and turned to Ijis.

Ijis, who had gotten roped into this just for discovering Milo, glanced up at the ceiling for a moment before responding.

“Yes.”

“Care to explain why this is coming from someone else's mouth?”

Aden knew his subordinate's capabilities all too well.

If Ijis had been listening, he could easily have overheard the conversation in the room.

But since it was Ijis, Aden hadn't minded.

His adjutant had been loyal to him since childhood.

Milo was similar, but Aden had no intention of letting that absurd excuse reach the ears of someone who didn't need to hear it.

‘……It's fine here.’

That ridiculous excuse.

The strangely careless bride was somehow making him even more careless.

Normally, he never would have made such a lame excuse.

But the sight of her in the light had flustered him.

The fragrance filling the room that bound him felt like the light from the ceiling was summer sunlight itself—so thick with the scent of summer.

A scent so dense and rich it nearly drove away his reason.

And in the midst of it, the bride sat with a face that knew nothing of it.

Her flustered, confused expression was, heavens, surprisingly adorable.

“……”

No one in their right mind would have come up with such a nonsensical excuse.

If another man entered her room, wouldn't this flimsy lie unravel immediately?

Of course, no fool bold enough to try entering the room of the woman married to the head of Delroz would still be walking around with their guts intact.

“I went to the bride's room.”

He knew there wouldn't be.

The pen in Aden's hand snapped with a sharp crack.

They said it was a Biplten tradition for the bride to spend a week in the bridal chamber after the first night.

During that time, she could receive her husband's love as much as she wanted.

There was nothing inconvenient about it anyway, so Ilrin planned to follow the tradition as is.

“In two days, you'll move up to the seventh floor.”

The problem arose purely because Ilrin's body was weak.

Ilrin flushed.

The Duke of Biplten hadn't visited since the first night, blocked by the court physician.

The maids of Crimson Delroz, worried she might feel neglected, placed flowers and gifts Milo had brought from the Sunlands by her bedside.

Of course, any flowers wilting in the cold were quickly removed within a day.

“Is that alright?”

The older Delroz maid bowed deeply.

“Of course. And please, speak informally to us.”

Ilrin could tell this maid was at least in charge of the Delroz maids.

“Your name...?”

“I'm Etra of Crimson Delroz.”

Etra said without lifting her head.

“If you're feeling up to it today, the estate's adjutant has something to discuss.”

She glanced toward the door.

Ilrin saw the maids there startle at her gaze.

“I'll escort you, so how about a short stroll for some fresh air?”

Fresh air? Ilrin looked out the window, and Etra corrected herself.

“The corridors feel especially warm today. The Leader must be in a good mood.”

The Leader—the Duke of Biplten.

What did his mood have to do with the corridors...? Just a figure of speech?

Ilrin finally rose from bed.

Though she felt weak from days in bed, her fever had subsided considerably.

Etra looked pityingly at Ilrin's arm, exposed as her soft robe slipped.

“The Winter Lands have plenty of nourishing foods. Once you leave the bridal chamber, I'll prepare some for you.”

It didn't seem much different from the Arlen estate...

Ilrin glanced at her own arm.

But Etra seemed genuinely concerned, so Ilrin couldn't help but smile.

“Thank you.”

“Even if we said to speak casually...”

Etra truly helped her move with ease.

The older maid's arm had surprising strength, firmly supporting her body.

As Etra helped Ilrin into a thick outer robe, she didn't react even if Ilrin walked slowly.

Compared to the Azure Noz maids who had gasped at her condition the day after the first night, this was a clear difference.

“Good day, Madam.”

The adjutant waiting in the corridor was someone Ilrin recognized.

Ijis of Crimson Delroz courteously guided her inside.

Ilrin noticed he hadn't entered ahead of her while waiting.

The people of Crimson Delroz were indeed treating her with the utmost courtesy.

The sensation tickled her strangely.

And felt unfamiliar.

To her, subordinates had always been messengers relaying words elsewhere.

People who spent more time surveilling her than serving her.

“Adjutant Ijis here. We've met before.”

“Of course I remember.”

Ijis bowed deeply.

The distance between them felt overly formal.

But neither Etra nor Ijis showed any sign that it was unusual.

‘It's fine here.’

It didn't seem fine at all.

Milo's reaction had been the same.

At the merchant group, he'd seemed quite relaxed.

Without her precognitive dream, she might have been swayed by his eloquence and dismissed her doubts with an “I see.”

But yesterday was different.

Hadn't he trembled like a blade was at his throat?

“I hope the Sunlands' medicine suits you well.”

“I'm much better.”

Formal pleasantries.

Even in those words, Ilrin thought of Den.

He had looked awkward inquiring after her on the duke's orders.

“……”

But why am I thinking of him?

Ever since that precognitive dream, he'd lingered in her mind.

“That's a relief. If I may, do you know about Biplten's succession rite?”

Ilrin tilted her head slightly.

“I thought His Grace had already inherited the dukedom.”

“Yes, of course he has. The succession rite in Biplten refers to the family head's authority. Not inheriting the imperial Duke of Biplten title, but the power as ruler of the Winter Lands.”

Authority? Like magic? Ilrin tilted her head again.

She'd heard there were mages in the imperial palace, but it was a rare profession to begin with.

Knights could be made through effort, but mages required innate talent to wield mana, so their numbers were few.

Thanks to that, Ilrin had never seen magic.

She only knew it could accomplish many things.

“It's held every three years. The next one is coming up soon. It was always done by the family head alone before, but since you've married, tradition calls for the couple to perform it together.”

Ah.

Ilrin nodded.

“Of course, if it's too inconvenient, we could postpone it...”

“It's fine.”

Ilrin raised her hand to stop him.

She'd improved a lot, but delaying things here would just burden the staff below.

Ijis brightened at her words.

He gave a brief explanation of the rite.

Crimson Delroz, Azure Noz, Verdant Mille, and Luminous Ello each had a sacred relic, and to properly wield the family head's power, one had to receive their strength during the rite.

The power to raise the temperature in the Winter Lands and protect Biplten's people from the cold.

“First I've heard of it.”

Ijis nodded at Ilrin's words.

“It's a power unusable in the Sunlands, after all.”

That was why he was called the Winter Duke.

Ilrin recalled the brief rumors she'd heard about the Duke of Biplten in the empire.

There was a scary rumor in this generation that you mustn't meet the duke's eyes, but apparently the previous duke occasionally appeared in imperial high society.

There were no rumors of him doing magic-like feats then.

“Fascinating.”

“We're researching the origins of the power ourselves.”

Ijis continued calmly.

Until now, since the family head was unmarried, they'd simply placed the relic on the altar. But now that he was married and had a bride, the bride's relic would be brought up by the duchess.

“So after the rite, do I keep the relic?”

“The relics symbolize sharing Biplten's power among the four houses. You'll use them for specific events, but normally each house takes them back.”

Ijis glanced at the Azure Noz relic above her head as he answered.

“Of course, how they're kept is up to each house.”

Doesn't seem like they treasure the relics much for something called ‘sacred.’

Ilrin looked at the blue cloth once more and asked.

“What if it's lost?”

“It's said to return to its origin in the land. No need to worry too much about storage.”

Ijis bowed politely.

“That's what we're here for.”

‘Now that you've become the duchess, your subordinates must serve you without discomfort, of course. If they can't, cast them out.’

Recalling what was said during the first night, Ilrin nodded with a smile.

“I'll be careful not to lose it.”

Still, she didn't want to trouble these Crimson Delroz people.

Unlike the other three houses, they served her sincerely.

“If there's any inconvenience, please summon me anytime.”

With that, Ijis added a courteous farewell.

His footsteps leaving the corridor were swift but silent.

Ilrin turned around.

The corridor truly felt much warmer than before.

Supported by Etra, Ilrin headed back to the bridal chamber.

In two days, she'd move to the seventh floor.

The seventh floor was clearly Crimson Delroz territory. Would maids from other places come there too?

As she rounded the corridor corner with that thought—

Ilrin ran into the person she'd been thinking of all day, the one she shouldn't think about.

“Oh?”

It was Den.