I Became The Wife Of The Cursed Grand Duke Chapter 80

Recalling the archmage’s base of operations from her past life, she thought long and hard before coming to the conclusion that she could wait no longer.

 

“Kalian will be furious when he finds out, but it’s better than living in a constant state of anxiety.”

 

She was afraid, afraid that if she closed her eyes,she would turn into a handful of dirt.

 

Of course, even if she met the Archmage, she could still die if she faltered.

 

Evelyn’s mind was racing, and she made a plan to meet with the Archmage.

 

“First, I’ll send a letter to Kalian.”

 

But her soon-to-be-implemented plan would have to be put on hold the next day, when something happened to her.

 

A letter from Parminion was the trigger.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“My lady!”

 

It was the next day, around noon, when Benedict burst into Evelyn’s office, showing off his healed knee.

 

Evelyn, who was engrossed in reading a stack of books on magic, greeted him with wide eyes.

 

“Benedict, what is wrong with you? Is something wrong?”

 

Benedict, never one to raise his voice, raised his hands to his chest.

 

In his hand was an envelope sealed with the coat of arms of the House of Parminion.

 

“The Duke of Parminion has sent a letter, and it is addressed to you, my lady, not to the great lady!”

 

“The duke? Give it to me!”

 

She carefully opened the opening with a paper knife, and a tattered article fell to the floor with a clatter.

 

Evelyn stooped to pick it up and a smile spread across her face.

 

 

<Scoop! Parminion Top averted disaster with brilliant mind, monopoly on new medicinal ingredients, astronomical profits expected!>

<Breaking News! Top Lloyd’s ship from the Nora Continent caught in a storm! No casualties, but great loss of cargo!>

 

The article talked about the Parminion Top, which, unlike in the past, was able to avoid storms and make astronomical gains, and the Lloyd Top, which had the opposite result.

 

This was to be expected.

 

But the feeling of accomplishment when it became tangible was indescribable.

 

Evelyn pulled out the enclosed paperwork, unable to hide her delight.

 

It was a trade proposal, offering to buy the byproducts of the beast at a high price, and to supply them with the supplies they needed at a bargain price, with no transportation costs.

 

“Oh my!”

 

Benedict, who had been looking curiously at the delighted Evelyn, glanced at the clipping on her desk and asked.

 

“Why did the Duke of Parminion send you this article?”

 

Instead of answering, Evelyn handed Benedict a trade proposal from the duke.

 

After skimming it, Benedict’s eyes widened the widest she’d ever seen.

 

“No, this, this… Isn’t this a proposal to begin trading with the North again…!”

 

“Yes, thankfully.”

 

At Evelyn’s words, Benedict looked like he’d been slapped in the back of the head.

 

“What’s the sudden reason?”

 

Evelyn was a little taken aback by the unexpected reaction.

 

But she didn’t want to spill the beans about her conversation with the duke, so she coyly explained.

 

“I was merely offering a little advice to the duke, as he was anticipating a storm and was troubled by his thoughts.”

 

“With honor, my lady.”

 

Benedict added thoughtfully.

 

“The duke may be your kinsman, but you should be wary of anyone who offers you a deal this lucrative first.”

 

She was embarrassed by his tutor-like tone. But Benedict had his reasons.

 

For the past decade, the Duke of Parminion had turned his back on the North, as if he resented his own daughter for walking out on him.

 

Moreover, while the Knights of Blackwood had done a remarkable job in averting the disaster, they had been rewarded handsomely.

 

This is not a situation that Benedict will be happy about.

 

Evelyn nodded in understanding.

 

“I know, businessmen don’t dabble in things that don’t benefit them.”

 

In any case, this wasn’t something she could handle alone.

 

It was the butler who would be coordinating the contracts and handling the practicalities going forward, so Evelyn began to calmly explain how they would benefit from this.

 

 

* * *

 

 

The news naturally reached Charlotte.

 

“The grand duke has brought an interesting child with him,” she said, “and she is trying to bargain with the Duke of Parminion again.”

 

Charlotte was drinking tea in the drawing room of the main house, which had long since ceased to be an outbuilding.

 

The room was eerily quiet. The top floor of the castle is a restricted space.

 

Most of the furnishings were in black and brown tones, and the darkness gave the room an eerie feel.

 

The only two people allowed to enter, Mrs. Riktor and Benedict, eyed Charlotte with some trepidation.

 

It was Mrs. Riktor who spoke first.

 

“As you know, Johansen has been struggling to find fresh food and herbs due to the harsh weather and geography.”

 

“Well, is that important enough for you to break my order not to resume trade with Parminion?”

 

A long, elegant hand in black gloves lifted the teacup.

 

She didn’t sound particularly commanding, but somehow, shrouded in a black veil, they felt a strange sense of dread.

 

They knew the extent of her hatred and anger toward the Empire.

 

Moreover, she had unwittingly severed her ties with her family.

 

It would be unthinkable for her to reconnect in this way.

 

As if encouraged by this conjecture, her eyes, shrouded in a black veil, rolled toward them.

 

“I must have looked ridiculous in her eyes, too, to treat a relationship so lightly after so many years of separation.”

 

So it all started with her bad blood with the current empress, Claudia.

 

The Empress, who loved the gentle, affectionate side of Southern men, had been friends with Charlotte for many years.

 

She doesn’t know if she can really call them friends, but that’s how Charlotte felt.

 

The empress’s plan was deliberate.

 

The Empress, who had no love for Johansen, had stayed with Charlotte in Parminion even before her debutante ball.

 

Her excuse was that she didn’t want to be separated from her friend, but they already knew her secret agenda.

 

The vanity empress coveted Charlotte’s rightful husband, the emperor who had usurped the throne by force of arms.

 

Not that they didn’t understand.

 

Theodore was a handsome man, with an ethereal blond haircut and imperial violet eyes.

 

He was far from the ideal of the Empress’s dreams, but the power of being Emperor was enough to make him attractive.

 

She spent years in Parminion, hiding her sinister and ugly side.

 

She eventually achieved her goal by doing what no woman should do.

 

 

<The Emperor’s Shocking Scandal: The Consequences of a One-Night Stand with the Grand Duchess of Orpheus – Tragedy or Comedy?>

 

 

Disguised as Charlotte, she managed to sneak into the emperor’s bedchamber while he was drunk and unwittingly became pregnant.

 

In the process, rumors circulated that the bed they shared was clean and that the emperor’s wine contained sleeping pills, but these were quickly dispelled.

 

The Empress’s misdeeds did not stop there.

 

In an effort to destroy the reputation of Charlotte, who had become her Olke, she spread false rumors and began to harass her family in earnest.

 

As a result, Charlotte was completely isolated from her social circle. Her position in the Parminion family was further diminished by the fact that the forces that resented her were causing internal strife.

 

The death of her father-in-law, the Grand Duke of Parminion, in a stroke of bad luck, caused Charlotte to shut down completely.

 

She couldn’t help but feel unnecessarily guilty for something that wasn’t her fault.

 

So the seasoned butler and handmaiden were overwhelmed with pity for her, feeling exceptionally small in the presence of the great lady.

 

However, they could not remain silent.

 

It’s been a dozen years since the Grand Duke was crowned.

 

With the arrival of a new mistress, it was time to acknowledge that a spring breeze was in the air in the Grand Duchy.

 

Mrs. Riktor, her thoughts skillfully marshaled, smiled a determined smile and added courageously.

 

“Unlike the situation in the Grand Duchy, the people of the manor do not have access to fresh produce. The adults don’t mind, but I fear the growing children are not getting enough nourishment.”

 

Benedict chimed in.

 

“Furthermore, we are limited in our ability to process the byproducts of the demons, and we are at the end of our rope. If we could sell our surplus resources and make money from them, the lives of our people would be better than they are now.”

 

The manors.

 

A small crack appeared in Charlotte’s expression as the focus shifted from the interests of the Grand Duchy to the lives of the lords.

 

She remembered her husband, the man who loved his lands and his people more than anyone.

 

‘Ah, Tristan…’

 

‘Who is it that has thrown my love, my life, and even the people he loved, into the fiery mire of the Great Fire.’

 

‘Do you think her sins will be wiped away if she rebranded herself as a grand duchess, grand duke?’

 

But no matter how dark her expression, her servants can’t see it, so they can’t guess what she’s thinking.

 

“On top of all that, it’s been a struggle to get the Knights the supplies they need on each of our expeditions.”

 

Benedict, interpreting Charlotte’s silence differently, adds in a tone that drives a wedge.

 

“This is a very troublesome and costly mission. Please, have mercy on us.”

 

Charlotte smirked silently.

 

When Tristan had been alive, the Veil had not existed, and trade with the Empire had been brisk.

 

But after that event, Kalian had raised the curtain, completely isolating the north.

 

‘It would have been a simple matter of removing the curtain…!’

 

As soon as the Ancestral grand duke was crowned, Kalian immediately convened his four senators for a long meeting.

 

He and the Archmage spent the next month or so constructing the Dark Curtain.

 

“Mother, this is your last chance to return home.”

 

The thought of the grand duke saying those words, just before the veil was sealed, sent chills down her spine with instinctive fear.

 

His voice dripped with cold.

 

His golden eyes, red with anger.

 

The dark shadows of murderous intent and rage beneath those eyes, sunken with fatigue.

 

A sense of intimidation that didn’t belong to a ten-year-old.

 

‘The cruelty of asking, even when I know I can’t go back…’

 

Charlotte was terrified of her son, who hadn’t cried since he was a baby and acted as if he had mastered the world.

 

“I understand what you are saying, but I must see the prospective duchess at once and hear from her own lips why she is testing my patience.”