Chapter 26

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 26

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

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The knights of Crimson Delroz were flustered by the Duchess's sudden visit to their quarters.

Up until now, outsiders had almost never ventured deep into the knights' quarters.

Moreover, the Duchess in question was the very woman around whom rumors had recently swirled about her ties to Azure Noz.

Of course, some odd rumors were also quietly making the rounds.

The biggest reason was the bizarre order Adjutant Ijis had issued not long ago.

Do not enter the Duchess's room. But if you must go there, stepping inside is fine... provided you have the Duchess's permission.

Such vague commands rarely came down in Crimson Delroz.

At the center of all those rumors stood the Duchess herself, with her lord right beside her.

The knights' tension was inevitable.

But since their lord was the one escorting her, they had nothing to say about it.

To make matters worse, Adjutant Ijis—the only knight who knew the full story—was away on other business.

"I had no idea training started this early."

Ilrin spoke in a soft voice.

Aden glanced at the knights flinching every time their eyes met, listening closely to her words.

"You can relax a bit now."

Aden led Ilrin deeper into the Crimson Delroz knights' quarters.

Other parts of the quarters occasionally saw visitors from different houses on business, but this area was strictly private Crimson Delroz territory.

"Oh, really?"

The knights' training formation broke as Ilrin naturally met Aden's gaze.

"Huh?"

One even let out a dumb sound.

Everyone else just gaped silently, reacting much the same.

It was unavoidable. The knights here had no way of knowing the secret that only those on the main building's seventh floor—true Crimson Delroz members—were privy to.

A Duchess who could naturally meet their lord's eyes meant, in other words, that she was one of the "real" Crimson Delroz.

The knights' atmosphere flipped completely once they caught on.

Even to Ilrin's eyes, the swords of the training knights began to waver noticeably.

Their gazes flickered toward her intermittently, ignoring the knight leading the drill.

"……."

Aden narrowed his eyes, staring down the knights.

Suddenly, strength returned to their sword swings.

"...They're all tense."

Ilrin whispered softly, so the knights wouldn't hear.

Her tone held a hint of reproach.

Aden clearly saw the knights flinch.

These were men who had fought through blizzards fierce enough to kill without a single straggler.

Their ears were sharper than Ilrin imagined.

"...Then let's have them take a break."

Aden's voice rang clearly across the training grounds like a command.

The knights' movements halted in unison.

Ilrin's eyes widened in surprise.

"Is that okay?"

"I was planning to introduce you to the knights anyway."

It'd be nice if I could stay by her side all day, but circumstances won't allow it.

Aden narrowed his eyes slightly, displeased with himself.

The Yester Tribe's movements were suspicious, and the mansion was full of loose lips.

He didn't consider the mansion a safe haven.

True, only Crimson Delroz occupied the main building's seventh floor, but in a pinch, the maids wouldn't be much help in a fight.

Assigning reliable knights to guard Ilrin was only natural.

"I'm Emil of Crimson Delroz."

The knight leading the training stepped forward to greet her.

Curiosity gleamed in the eyes of some of the lined-up knights behind him.

It was a far cry from the stiff, rigid image of knights Ilrin knew.

She thought of Viscount Arlen's knights, who only spoke when absolutely necessary and treated her like she didn't exist.

The way they hadn't bothered hiding their sneers when her marriage prospects came up.

But these knights were different.

"This is my first time seeing a sun-dweller up close. If there's anything lacking in our service, please tell us freely."

Emil bowed deeply.

"Welcome to Crimson Delroz."

His words didn't feel like empty courtesy to Ilrin.

The friendly knights brought her a warmth like home, even in the Winter Lands' chill.

"Nice to meet you all."

People welcoming her.

Ilrin's heart lightened as she smiled brightly in response.

Aden assigned two knights to Ilrin.

He usually left knight assignments to their discretion.

No one in Crimson Delroz shirked deployments or orders to spare their lives.

But this time was different.

He recalled his wife's words: I don't know much about swords, delivered with a smile.

Her cheeks flushed as she laughed, ultimately unable to choose a knight.

She wasn't the type to ignore the knights' eager, curious stares.

Even Aden could tell.

The knights wanted her to pick them.

He understood their feelings.

Setting aside that it was their first time seeing a sun-dweller, Ilrin was far too fragile to place in the heart of the Winter Lands.

It was enough to stir men who had taken up the sword vowing to protect something for life.

'I'll come visit often.'

Ilrin tried to calm them, but she seemed burdened by their attention.

In the end, after agonizing, she couldn't select anyone.

Her trembling fingertips betrayed her worry: what if the unchosen knights felt disappointed?

'Shall I help you choose?'

She ultimately left the decision to Aden's quiet whisper.

Thus, unusually, Aden assigned knights without consulting them.

The ones to guard Ilrin were women.

Couldn't very well put another man by her side, could he?

He couldn't admit such a petty reason had influenced his choices.

A few days passed, and Ilrin spent her time without discomfort.

As April truly began, the cold intensified—but that was someone else's problem.

Crimson Delroz did everything to help her adapt to the Winter Lands.

"Your Grace, it's hot."

The result? Words that should never emerge in April slipped from Ijis's mouth.

Aden's hand paused mid-tap on his desk, lost in thought.

"The temperature around the mansion is abnormally high. Of course, it's the best way to ward off Yester Tribe incursions..."

Yesters rampage more in the cold. Though somehow, it doesn't feel like that's the reason.

Ijis swallowed his thoughts and spoke with a troubled expression.

His real concern lay elsewhere.

"...I'm worried it might harm Your Grace's health."

Aden understood his concern.

Still, this was April in Biplten.

No matter how warm, it was colder than a sunlit winter.

Aden shook his head.

"No plans to lower the temperature."

Above all, Biplten's April was still too harsh for Ilrin, unaccustomed to true winter.

"Your Grace, using your power like this..."

Aden raised a hand to silence Ijis.

"I appreciate the worry, but it's not as taxing as you think."

Oddly enough.

The mansion's surroundings were exceptionally warm—enough to worry Ijis.

It was due to his power.

No power in the world came without cost.

The Winter Lands' climate depended on how well the current Biplten family head wielded their inherited power.

The worst example was the previous Duke.

He was the least adept with power among all past Dukes.

To the point where one wondered how Aden de Biplten had even been born to him.

Aden, by contrast, was hailed as the most proficient.

Even so, warming the entire Winter Lands to sunlit levels was beyond him.

The best he could do was make it milder than typical Winter Lands weather.

As a child, he'd overexerted himself out of pity for those freezing to death—but not anymore.

He knew the Winter Lands would crumble if its head did.

Ijis knew he wasn't foolish enough to collapse from poor power control.

Yet the current warmth shook even his firm convictions—it felt nothing like April.

"Is this April unusually warm?"

Aden's fingers resumed tapping the desk.

He wasn't using as much power as Ijis assumed.

His body felt unusually light compared to the elevated temperature.

"Your Grace, urgent dispatch from the sunlit lands."

Someone knocked on the Knight Commander's office door.

Ijis glanced at Aden before silently opening it.

The Crimson Delroz knight bowed, snow still uncleared from his shoulders.

He placed a tightly rolled paper on Aden's desk.

Unfurling it revealed Milo's handwriting.

[House Arlen wishes to trade with the Esid Merchant Group.]

Aden narrowed his eyes.

He recalled the "incident" Milo had caused recently—not quite a blunder.

His subordinate wasn't clueless, but one mistake always lingered in memory.

[They plan to distribute karots in the north.]

Aden knew what karots were.

Winter Lands lord or not, he was a territory governor.

He couldn't afford to ignore food issues.

Karots grown in the south?

A dream crop—low labor, low cost—but transport to the north made it pricey like any other.

Procured from nearby Arlen lands near the capital? That changed things.

The issue: Arlen wasn't in the south.

How?

[Arlen Territory recently succeeded in karot cultivation. Verifying facts, but confirmed contacts with other northern houses in the process.]

Contacting other northern houses was natural.

They'd start with direct deals.

But Aden's eyes narrowed at the next line.

[Seems they're looking for Madam. Deployed people only in north, so they know she came north but not exact location.]

In short: They knew their daughter was marrying but ignored it, not even bothering to learn where.

Only now, needing connections for karot distribution, did they recall Ilrin in the north.

Rare to see someone's thoughts so transparently.

Aden set the letter down and stood.

"How shall I relay your response?"

The knight who brought it asked cautiously.

Aden raised a hand to stop him.

He understood the urgency, but he had somewhere to go first.

"The Crimson Delroz Knight Commander?"

Ilrin responded with genuine surprise.

The main mansion's entrance saw guards rotate among the four houses.

This time, it was Luminous Ello's turn—a knight from Ello had brought word of Aden's visit.

"Tell him I'll see him."

Ilrin sent the Ello knight back with a slightly troubled look.

She was on the sixth floor, in Crimson Delroz's library.

Once the knight left, Ilrin turned to the Delroz maid beside her.

"Was that awkward?"