I Didn’t Tame The Beastly Duke!

Fabian was certain that Celia had received and read his letter. Women never just burn letters like that. She must be angry with the content of the letter, but she would not be able to get rid of the letter easily

‘It doesn’t matter if the Duke saw it.’

If he had questioned Celia about the content of the letter out of anger, their relationship would have deteriorated even more. It was unfortunate that it caused her to suffer, but it was necessary.

Celia would be worried and vulnerable, so she would lean on her ex.

Fabian intended to make Celia his mistress when she asked him for help after being tattered by the cursed Duke.

Of course, he had no intention of helping the ducal couple in obtaining a divorce.

He could only hope Duke Cardian died, as persuading them to divorce was a risky proposition for Fabian.

‘Celia must continue to be Duchess of Cardian.’

Fabian planned on letting Celia have a child with the current Duke of Cardian before killing him. Although the Emperor had a keen interest in the survival of Duke Cardian, it would fade if the next heir of Cardian was born, as the previous Emperor did.

Rather, he did not know if the Emperor would take the lead and try to kill him.

The imperial family hoped Duke Cardian would continue to have descendants for some reason. If the Duke’s succession was unstable, the Emperor urging him to marry could be the evidence of it.

Even so, Duke Cardian would be a disgrace to the imperial family.

‘It’s strange.’

However, Fabian could not even guess that the curse of Duke Cardian came from the imperial family. He could only guess that the Emperor needed a family that branched out from the previous Emperor, so he hoped that Duke Cardian would have descendants.

Or maybe it was because he needed a shield to block the monsters in the northern part.

‘If this is the way… I can make the Duke’s family mine!’

It was regrettable that he could not become a Duke by his own power, but he would be able to control Duke Cardian through their son.

Fabian smiled as he recalled the vast land that had always been compared to the imperial family and their military power, which far exceeded the Emperor’s.

In the face of his ambitions, Fabian imagined how cute Celia’s appearance when she received his letter.

✦ ✦ ✦

Duke Cardian became preoccupied in the days leading up to the imperial family banquet. He needed to go up to the capital and organize his luggage before the banquet was held. Although the banquet was only held for two days, Duke Cardian would stay about a month in the capital.

He had already dispatched a messenger to the mansion in the capital city, ordering them to greet their lord.

Except for the knights’ carriage, a total of eight carriages were prepared. They were splendid with the coat of arms of Duke Cardian.

“Evie! Evie! Why isn’t that girl coming out?”

She was worried because one of the maid’s subordinates, who had to get on the servants’ carriage, did not show up. She was a girl who was excited about going up to the capital until yesterday.

“Evie has a stomachache.”

The eyes of the maid’s head widened as Edna appeared and spoke.

“She was fine just yesterday, what are you talking about!”

“Well, I don’t know what is wrong with her and what she ate…She doesn’t come out of the bathroom right now, would you like to go to check her out?”

There was no time for that. The carriages were always waiting for their owners and others, but they didn’t wait for those who worked for them.

“How dare you! Today of all days!”

“Evie told me to go instead, so I packed my things…”

The head of the maids was curious as to what she was hiding behind her back, and it turned out to be luggage. It was a small luggage compared to a maid who would go up to the capital and stay for a month, but she thought it was because she was in a hurry to pack it.

‘I don’t think Madam likes her.’

She’d do it if she was the madam. It was also a problem to sow flirtations with servants, but it was strange that her hair had not been caught yet when she only seduced those who had wives.

“Get in. I’ll scold you if you cause trouble in the mansion in the capital, so behave yourself!”

Edna pouted and climbed into the carriage. The head of the maids frowned as she shut the carriage door. The carriage she was riding was behind her, so she told the coachman to leave first.

The carriage rattled as it rushed towards the capital. Edna’s carriage was shabby because it was for carrying the maids and servants, but she was excited to go back to the capital.

‘It’s been five years since the Emperor said that, but…. who knows who I am? Because the Duchess dislikes me, she won’t take me to the Imperial Palace. It’s not a problem!’

Edna used a pseudonym to get a job at Duke Cardian’s mansion. It was natural. She was as famous as her name, even if Duke Cardian didn’t recognize her because he was socially blind.

Melissa Cherotti.

It was the real name of Baron Cherotti’s daughter.

‘Ah, just imagining the air in the capital gives me strength!’

Edna’s eyes glistened, and she cast a sly glance at the passengers in the same carriage.

She had a close relationship with the male servants, but not with the maids. She had friends who shared her tastes when she was a Baron’s daughter, but it was difficult for her to consider them true friends. They were only there to share information.

The maids in the Duke’s house dislike Edna, who has a strangely scornful demeanor. However, Edna’s temper was unusual, and because a high-ranking servant looked after her, she couldn’t reveal it.

‘They’re all stupid faces. They can’t even lend me a dress or jewelry… They probably don’t have any other information.’

Edna rolled her eyes and snorted. With narrow eyes, the maids began to say what was great and popular in the capital city. Edna shifted her gaze out the window, her ears open.

How large the Duke Cardian’s garden was, and now, the carriage was finally leaving Duke Cardian’s mansion in the duchy.

✦ ✦ ✦

Previously, she had entered the Duchy of Cardian while unconscious, but this time she was able to see the place.

Duke Cardian could warp to the suburbs of the capital in no time by using the magic circle of the Magic Tower and a large amount of money.

Celia, who had been staring at it as if it was strange because it was her first time, was taken aback when she saw an unexpected face.

It was Edna.

Edna bowed her head and lowered her eyes when their gazes met, but she smiled arrogantly as if to say, ‘even if you pushed me away, I followed you.’

‘…She’s more foolish than she looks.’

Celia was Duke Cardian’s wife, and she knew Edna’s real name. She hasn’t harmed her yet, so she just left her alone. It was her responsibility to punish Edna if any of the servants accused her.

‘I don’t think the period of exile ordered by the Emperor is over yet; can she follow me?’

If she knew Edna’s real name and still brought her in, the Duke would also be held responsible. It’s different from when she was brought to the Duchy of Cardian.

‘Tch. There hasn’t been a lot of noise yet, so I tried to leave it alone.’

She thought it would be better to deal with it before making a scratch on Duke Cardian.

The carriage which Celia and Leonis were riding was also moving. Seeing the capital’s walls approaching from afar, it appeared that they would be there in a matter of hours.

“Aren’t you tired?”

Celia was hugged around the waist by Leonis, who was sitting next to her and asked about her. After his confession, Leonis had more time to cling to her.

Celia thought that Leonis was acting like a baby despite the size of his body.

“It’s still fine.”

Riding in a carriage was not the same as taking the subway or bus. The vibrations were barely felt when the magic was casted, and the high-quality cushion ensured a comfortable ride.

‘It’s better than riding a car, crazy.’

It was fortunate that this was a world in the novel. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have met a man like Leonis, and she thought that she would not have been able to have a healthy body even after having sex with him many times.

‘But why did I come back to life? If it wasn’t possessed, I don’t know how it changed from the plot of the novel I know.’

It was Marquis Montague and Lily who would bring them back to life, but they didn’t know how in the original story.

Some other force must have intervened.

It’s also important to break the curse, but Celia thought she should find out about it as well.

✦ ✦ ✦

It was common for those who entered the capital city to have their identities checked, but carriages bearing Duke Cardian’s coat of arms were an exception.

The soldiers saluted and moved away from the gate, and the Duke’s carriage quickly entered the capital’s walls.

If she hadn’t been Duke Cardian’s maid, Edna would not have been able to enter the capital city like this.

Edna purposefully opened the window and looked out, as it was literally the first time in years that she smelled the air of the capital city.

‘Haa…. Even the air feels fragrant.’

Because of the abundance of horse dung in the capital city, the air quality was poor. But the mere fact of returning here made Edna feel alive.

I will have far more opportunities than I did as a maid in the Duke Cardian’s great mansion.

‘Even if it’s a cursed Duke family, it’s still a Duke family….. Surely those with titles will come and go.’

Edna found it difficult to approach Leonis because the Duchess, Celia, was so vigilant towards her.

It was impossible to approach Leonis with the excuse of serving Celia because he did not have a maid from the beginning.

‘I can’t rot as a maid forever. Wait and see who will get the last laugh….’

After meeting and marrying a man with a noble title, she intended to stick on the side of a duke, prince, or emperor as a noble woman. If she established herself as a mistress and secretly killed her husband, she thought her lover would make her the second wife or concubine.

In the meantime, she thought that while there would be noise, if the man’s status was high enough, it could be pressed.

‘In the past, I was too naive.’

It was different from the time when she fell for the fiancé of the first princess simply by looking at his face. For many years she had worked as a maid of the Duke of Cardian, and had engraved into her bones that life is not easy.