Chapter 28

Enria’s words made Roseanne let out a small laugh.

“Lord Caldeon must also be perplexed. No matter how much he thinks about it, it shouldn’t be his child, but he’s strangely similar and even uses black magic.”

At her words, Enria sighed briefly and turned her head to look out the window.

She understood why Caldeon couldn’t accept Hayden as his child, but his complete lack of even the slightest suspicion was frustrating.

“I hope that illusionist you mentioned finds a way to quickly lift the magic.”

At Enria’s words, Roseanne reassured her not to worry.

“Lord Tearen is a genius, so he’ll bring us good news soon.”

Enria turned her head to look at Roseanne.

Seeing her certainty, Enria thought Roseanne’s trust in him must be tremendous.

She grew very curious about this mysterious person who was definitely not in the original story and was now receiving Roseanne’s attention, which should have been directed towards Caldeon.

As if sensing Enria’s curiosity, Roseanne smiled at her.

“When you meet him, you’ll definitely believe it too. He really is an amazing person.”

“Yes. I’m really looking forward to it.”

“But don’t fall for him, no matter how handsome he is. He’s the person I have a crush on.”

When Roseanne laughed and spoke as if joking, a bewildered smile spread across Enria’s face.

“That’s ridiculous. I’ve been living with Caldeon all this time. Logically, I wouldn’t fall for another man when I have him, right?”

“He’s handsome enough to logically fall for, you know?”

“…He surpasses Caldeon?”

“Lord Caldeon… yes, I admit his looks. He is indeed so good-looking that not even God could sculpt such a beautiful face twice.”

Enria nodded at Roseanne’s words.

She also thought Caldeon’s appearance was a face carefully carved by God, stitch by stitch.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t possess such an overwhelmingly handsome face, one that made all other humans look like mere squids in comparison.

“But Enri, a person is not just their looks. I’m sorry to say this to you, but Lord Caldeon’s personality is truly… hah, yes. His rotten personality completely detracts from that gorgeous face.”

Roseanne, who seemed to have a lot of pent-up feelings about Caldeon, frowned, calling him arrogant, self-centered, and a harsh critic.

It was true that Caldeon tended to be disrespectful towards people he didn’t consider his own.

Since he wasn’t even kind to the Emperor of the Empire, it was a bit much to expect general kindness from him.

“But he is infinitely sweet to the people he considers his own.”

“Only to you, only to you. No, these days he sometimes makes that face for Hayden too.”

Roseanne said that the Caldeon she knew had never changed his characteristic arrogant and critical demeanor, even towards his own people.

She said the only time she saw him suppress his temper and speak as gently as possible was during conversations with Enria after she came to the Grand Duke’s castle.

“Do you know how surprised I was to see the look in his eyes when he looked at you? There was none of the Lord Caldeon I had ever seen before. I couldn’t even imagine that man was capable of such a gentle smile.”

At Roseanne’s words, Enria wondered if that was true, tilting her head.

He was generally a cold and aloof person, but sometimes he could be infinitely sweet.

She had never considered that his affection was limited to her, so Roseanne’s words were slightly embarrassing.

“In the first place, he and I are people who joined hands for mutual benefit, aren’t we? Even if it’s fake, I’m in the position of acting Grand Duchess. So, it’s right for him to treat me as a Grand Duchess should.”

At the mention of being treated as the Grand Duchess, Enria wondered if Caldeon had expected them to act like a married couple in front of others. However, she soon realized that wasn’t the case with her next words.

“But he rejects every single proposal I make.”

“…Proposals?”

“You’ve lived here for a long time, so you know, the frozen rear garden. I suggested several times that we shouldn’t just leave it and should build a greenhouse garden there.”

“…Ah.”

“As you know, here you can’t see the plants and trees of the south, and you only ever see snow-covered fir trees. So, I asked if wouldn’t everyone who lives here, not just me, and most of the guests invited here, want a warm greenhouse garden.”

Roseanne frowned and continued.

“But he wouldn’t even properly listen to my proposal and immediately said no. It was the first thing I proposed while acting as the Grand Duchess.”

She went on to say that he would surely reject her second and third proposals in the same manner, and this was definitely because she was only the acting Grand Duchess.

Enria smiled awkwardly at that.

She knew very well why Caldeon had rejected Roseanne’s greenhouse garden proposal.

After she and Caldeon fell in love, there was a time when they would take a walk around the palace grounds every day as a form of dating.

At that time, they had discussed creating a cozier and warmer place for dates.

Although Enria didn’t dislike the cold, the north was a place where one couldn’t spend leisurely hours in a garden for long periods like in the south, so Caldeon seemed concerned about that.

They had already talked about a greenhouse garden, but Enria had said she didn’t like the idea, as a garden similar to the south in the snow-covered rear garden wouldn’t look good.

The North had its own unique beauty, and thus the snow-covered rear garden of the North also had its own charm.

After all, the only place where the whole world was covered in white snow was here, in the North.

“He probably thought that this place has its own beauty as it is.”

Enria smiled at Roseanne and continued.

“Actually, the people here surprisingly like the snow-covered rear garden. And guests coming from other places might prefer the white garden that can only be seen in the North, rather than the familiar gardens.”

“Ah, Lord Caldeon said that too.”

Roseanne pointed a finger at Enria and continued.

“He said exactly what you just said. ‘The North has its own beauty.’”

Roseanne made her voice deep, as if imitating Caldeon, which made Enria laugh, and Roseanne also lowered her hand and smiled.

“Yes. Actually, after hearing that, I thought that might be true. But still, Lord Caldeon doesn’t seem to trust my opinion much. Even though I am the one who spearheaded this grand fraud by joining hands with him.”

Roseanne continued, saying that it wouldn’t hurt to listen seriously, consider, and discuss a bit more with someone who was in the same boat, and then added that despite being such a person, Caldeon seemed to try to grant whatever Enria wanted.

At that, Enria’s eyebrows shot up.

“That can’t be true. Caldeon is someone who always pushes his own agenda even with me. Didn’t you hear from Rahar why I had to come here?”

“Ah, that he first took Hayden away with the spirit?”

“Yes. To that extent, he is a person who casually does whatever he sets his mind to.”

Roseanne nodded at Enria’s words and muttered that that was true.

“But he probably wanted to bring you to the Grand Duke’s castle by any means necessary.”

“If that was the case, shouldn’t he not have sent me away in the first place? Even if the marriage was fake, he did abandon me, didn’t he?”

“Ah, there’s a bit of a misunderstanding about that too.”

Roseanne then explained why Caldeon had been forced to quickly send Enria to Endelie Village.

“My father has a business partner named Count Dalbreon. He’s the one who worked hard to persuade my father to get me elevated to Grand Duchess. The first thing he did to promote the marriage between me and Lord Caldeon was to try and eliminate you, Enri.”

“…”

“There were several attempts, and fortunately, Lord Caldeon managed to resolve them each time. But when he kept failing, he spent most of his fortune to hire the Shadows. You know who the Shadows are, right? They are people who will complete any job they are paid for, even at the cost of their lives.”

The Shadows were another faction that had broken away from the Magic Tower, and rumors circulated that black magic users practicing forbidden magic were among them.

Whether true or false, they were a notorious group known for completing any commissioned work without fail, as their fees were frighteningly expensive.

“That’s why he had to send you to Endelie Village urgently. Once the Shadows started to move, Lord Caldeon couldn’t protect you on his own as before.”

At Roseanne’s words, Enria finally understood the exact reason for being hastily sent to the rural village. She couldn’t understand Count Dalbreon, who had commissioned the Shadows to eliminate her, wagering most of his fortune, even if he wanted to make Roseanne the Grand Duchess.

“Did Count Dalbreon think he could recover his fortune if he killed me and you and Caldeon married?”

“That’s not it. He is not a man who values money highly. He is someone who only wants to eliminate the Magic Tower, which is constantly eyeing the Empire.”

Since the current Empire lacked the power to eliminate the Magic Tower and could only keep it in check, he desired the union of the Kaznaren Count family and the Jupiter Grand Duchy, who were at odds with the Magic Tower, to properly carry out that containment.

“Even His Majesty the Emperor wanted us to marry for that reason. That’s how all those things came to pass.”

Enria nodded slightly at Roseanne’s words.

She suddenly recalled the memories of finding out she was pregnant, learning that the Tower Master and his son were targeting her, and then fleeing to the Spirit Village.

Roseanne then told Enria, “Actually, during the time you ran away to the Spirit Village, Lord Caldeon searched for you every single day without fail.”

Enria’s eyes began to widen.