Chapter 5

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 5

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

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"Biplten is ruled by your family."

The words of the maid who had introduced herself as Riji didn't quite sink in for Ilrin.

Biplten Territory belonged to the House of Biplten.

But there could only be one lord of a territory, right?

The maid with the red hair ribbon who had shown her to the room earlier had vanished in a flash and never returned.

Instead, a swarm of maids with blue hair ribbons had arrived, insisting on attending to her.

Was there something special about that color?

Come to think of it, the man from earlier, Ridan, had introduced himself as belonging to "Azure Noz," which probably had something to do with that blue decoration.

He'd had a blue ornament on his clothes too.

'Unless you want to freeze to death,'

Ilrin thought of the man with the deep cobalt eyes she'd met on the castle walls.

The decoration on his clothes had been red.

"Azure Noz, Crimson Delroz, Verdant Mille, Luminous Ello. Among them, we and Elder Ridan belong to Azure Noz."

It didn't sound like knight orders.

Ilrin glanced at the blue thread bracelet swaying on Maid Riji's wrist.

"The head of Crimson Delroz is His Grace the Duke Aden de Biplten, in the words of the empire."

Then that man probably wore red decorations on his clothes too.

Ilrin thought back to the man she'd met on the castle walls.

He'd had red decorations on his clothes as well.

So was that deep cobalt-eyed man one of the duke's subordinates?

"If you stay in Biplten, Lady, and find this place to your liking, you'll marry him."

"And if not?"

"Unfortunately, yes."

Riji smiled.

Ilrin found that smile utterly insincere.

A face trying too hard to look kind.

"Is there anything you're curious about?"

"Plenty, but I'll ask just one thing."

Riji was massaging Ilrin's body, weary from the cold.

Every time she applied the unnamed cream, warmth returned to her body, making it easier to breathe.

True to its nickname of the Winter Lands, even inside a mansion with a fireplace, the fierce chill seeped in.

"Feel free to ask anything."

"That... why does His Grace the Duke insist on marrying into the empire's nobility?"

Now that she'd come here, she understood.

This place was far more independent from the Atenbl Empire's imperial family than she'd heard.

For starters, having four families governing a single territory was already a blatant violation of imperial law.

If the imperial family had exceptionally permitted it, word of such a peculiar territory would have spread across the entire empire.

It felt like a different country from the empire altogether.

So why go out of his way to marry an imperial noble?

"Because His Grace can't marry someone from Crimson Delroz."

Riji added to her matter-of-fact words as if it were obvious.

"Oh, he has no interest in women from our Azure Noz, or Mille, or Ello."

No interest? What a peculiar way to put it.

A man could lack interest in women altogether.

But when that qualifier referred to faction affiliation, it was a different story.

Ilrin caught a whiff of something off.

At the very least, Crimson Delroz—that is, Aden de Biplten and his people—weren't on good terms with Azure Noz.

Maybe not with the other two families either.

Thinking back, even Ridan of Azure Noz had seemed dismissive toward the red-decorated maid.

"Then who is that Ridan... from earlier?"

"He's an elder of our Azure Noz."

He held a higher position than she'd expected.

Ilrin nodded slowly.

Hearing "elder" made it click.

It was just a difference in terminology: Crimson Delroz were the true House Biplten, while the other three families were more like vassal houses under elders.

That explanation let her grasp the structure.

What a unique place.

Ilrin thought.

"Is your body warming up a bit?"

Riji asked with a gentle smile.

Ilrin nodded.

"Thank you."

Once the massage ended, Ilrin asked Riji to show her around the mansion.

As she observed how Riji treated her, Ilrin roughly gauged her own position.

In any case, Aden de Biplten seemed intent on marrying someone from outside Biplten Territory.

'No woman in the empire wants to marry the Duke of Biplten.'

That made her a rare opportunity.

The unusually kind Azure Noz folk couldn't marry one of their own to the duke, so they planned to pull her into their camp.

Kindness always came with a price.

Her mind raced.

She could instinctively distinguish those hostile toward her from those approaching with ulterior motives.

She'd spent over twenty years honing that skill in Viscount Arlen's household.

This was a land where lives hung by a thread amid the unfamiliar unknown.

How many wouldn't follow those showing goodwill here?

If the rift between Azure Noz and the duke's Crimson Delroz was real, the duke wouldn't want to bolster Azure Noz's power through marriage.

It made sense if she thought of her background as the imperial family or royalty instead of Biplten Territory.

To consolidate power, checking the empress's family was only natural.

"From here on, the cold gets harsher, so be sure to bundle up."

Maid Riji said as she guided her.

Ilrin looked ahead where she pointed.

The mansion had been drafty to begin with, but the corridor ahead was covered in massive glass panes offering a clear view of the whipping winds outside.

Beyond the glass, a blizzard raged.

"Are you still feeling very cold?"

Riji asked cautiously.

Ilrin looked down at her clothes.

They looked far lighter and thinner than what she'd brought from the capital.

But the insulation was on another level.

It felt as cozy as being wrapped in a quilt warmed by a hot water bottle.

Her exposed hands felt a bit chilled, but she could endure it.

Ilrin shook her head, and the blue decorations on her clothes swayed.

"I'm fine."

"If anything feels off, please tell us freely."

Riji bowed deeply.

Ilrin wasn't entirely pleased by that courtesy.

Too transparent.

It was then, as Riji started walking again.

A man suddenly appeared from the far end of the corridor.

"Ah?"

Ilrin let out a small sound despite herself.

It was the man she'd seen outside the castle walls.

Dark black hair, deep cobalt eyes gleaming like ice.

He spotted Ilrin and Riji, and his brows furrowed.

He looked like a wolf who'd found its prey.

The corridor, which had felt somewhat warm just moments ago, froze into a chilling atmosphere.

"...This isn't a place for Azure Noz to wander."

The man spoke slowly.

Riji bowed deeply, and Ilrin hesitated.

Her position here was that of a guest in this castle.

She needed to know who he was to respond properly, but he showed no intention of introducing himself.

A cold gaze turned toward Ilrin.

She couldn't speak as that languid gaze traveled from the blue cloth atop her head, down her clothes, and back to her face.

She felt like prey.

Her body felt even more pinned than before a monster.

With the monster, all she'd thought was to flee.

Now was different.

She might not even be able to run.

His presence bound her that tightly.

"...The lady who arrived from the sunlands this time."

Riji introduced Ilrin.

Sunlands?

Ilrin puzzled it over briefly before understanding.

They called the outside "sunlands."

It fit for Biplten, where blizzards buried nearly all sunlight, to refer to the empire that way.

"A sunlander?"

The deep cobalt eyes turned back to Ilrin.

Expressionless eyes.

But his tone held a hint of surprise.

Ah, because of the blue decorations on my clothes?

"Yes. Ilrin de Arlen, from the empire."

I've introduced myself, so now it's your turn.

Ilrin looked at the man pointedly.

Her body, constrained by his presence, began to loosen a little.

It was like a frozen statue coming back to life.

A glint appeared in the man's eyes.

"...I'm Den, of Crimson Delroz."

The curt words shifted to polite speech.

Ilrin keenly caught the change.

Because he realized I'm not with Azure Noz?

She had no intention of rebuking him for the informal speech.

Especially since she owed him one.

"Thank you for earlier."

Ilrin spoke up.

It was the greeting she'd missed because he'd vanished.

Den, who had just started to step away, halted.

His blue gaze turned back to her.

"...There's nothing good about lingering long in winter."

Cold words.

He brushed past her.

Only then did Maid Riji exhale deeply, as if catching her breath.

Ilrin tilted her head slightly at the sound of that sigh.

Nothing good about lingering long in winter.

Did he mean nothing good about staying long in Biplten?

It was a chilling dismissal close to telling her to leave, but it didn't feel entirely cold.

Far better than the calculating kindness from Azure Noz.

'Den of Crimson Delroz.'

Ilrin committed the name to memory and resumed walking with Riji.

The mansion was vast.

The first floor alone had five large halls, and the main building stacked atop them rose a total of seven stories.

The seventh floor belonged to Aden de Biplten.

So Ilrin could only tour up to the sixth.

The Azure Noz maid Riji dismissed the seventh floor with a brief word.

"Only Crimson Delroz can enter there. Of course, if you marry, you can too."

Meaning, as a mere guest for now, she wasn't allowed.

Then why not build a separate mansion?

Ilrin tilted her head slightly.

Beyond the seventh floor, there were several other areas exclusive to Crimson Delroz.

Other families had their own restricted spaces too, but mostly just elders' quarters, whereas Crimson Delroz had notably more guaranteed territories.

The duke-bearing Crimson Delroz held the greater power, no doubt.

The place where she'd met Den of Crimson Delroz earlier was one such area.

Precisely a corridor, so not entirely off-limits to other families, but tacitly a no-go zone.

Because of all the Crimson Delroz rooms there.

"Thank you for the tour."

Ilrin briefly praised Riji's efforts.

Riji bowed deeply.

Touring a seven-story building was grueling work.

They'd taken breaks along the way, and now it was already night.

"It's quite different from the empire, isn't it?"

Riji set a small cup before her.

Ilrin nodded.

It certainly was.

Even setting aside complicated thoughts, one thing was clear.

Whatever the other two families, Azure Noz and Crimson Delroz were in near-perfect opposition.

To live peacefully here, marrying the duke was important, but so was walking the tightrope between the two factions.

"Tomorrow, I'd like to meet people from the other families."

Ilrin spoke as if oblivious.

Until she had enough information to declare a side, pretending to be clueless was safer.

She was surrounded by Azure Noz maids.

It wasn't coincidence that the only other faction member she'd spoken to all day was Den of Crimson Delroz.

Azure Noz was blocking access.

But going along like this risked painting her fully as an Azure Noz ally.

This territory was ruled by Duke Aden de Biplten of Crimson Delroz.

Would a man who'd openly refused to marry from other factions welcome a bride colluding with Azure Noz?

Not a chance.

"That..."

Riji hesitated to reply.

Ilrin observed her reaction with a gentle smile.

"Is that a problem?"

"Well, since I'm with Azure Noz, I'll have to ask Elder first..."

Aha, needed approval from above.

Ilrin hid her deepening smile.

Instead, she feigned regret.

"There must be people from other families in the mansion. I'd just like to meet a few. I'm curious what they're like. No need to summon anyone high up."

"...If it's just that much, I can arrange it."

Riji gave a kind smile.

Watching her, Ilrin reached a conclusion.

Introductions were off the table.

She'd need another way.

Wandering on her own might be better.

"I'll look forward to it."

But hiding her thoughts, Ilrin smiled and turned her gaze to the window.