I Will Disappear, Grand Duke

That day, Julia woke up later than usual.

 When she woke up, she thought Fernan was beside her, but she didn’t see him.

 Instead, the maid he had called was waiting to serve her.

 “Where is His Highness?”

 Julia asked the maid quietly as she was helping her get dressed.  The maid who was tying the laces around the back of her dress answered in a flash.

 “I saw he went down to the lobby earlier.”

 "Really?"

 A bright light shone on Julia's face as she gently gathered her hands together.

 She woke up from a very comfortable sleep last night in Fernan's arms.

She wondered if he slept soundly last night like she did.

 After Julia finished dressing up, she immediately left the bedroom.  It was noon, and sunlight was pouring in from the window between the hallways.

 Julia felt refreshed and walked down the corridor.

 “Oh, Grand Duchess.”

 As she was about to go down the stairs, someone called her from behind.

 Julia stopped for a moment and looked behind her, she saw Judy holding a bunch of letters.

 “Here’re the letters you asked for last time!"

 "Letters?"

 As Julia tilted her head, Judy pulled out an old envelope from her arms and held it out.

 “Yes, you asked me to bring you another letter from Vanosa.  I got a letter from there last evening. I brought it before going to the other servants.”

 A moment of tension was engraved on Julia's face, who suddenly received the letter.  It was because she had completely forgotten about it.

 Julia hurriedly opened the letter and read the contents on the spot.

 [From Vanosa.  Please pass this on to my daughter. I can't reveal the child's name due to circumstances, but if she reads this, she’ll recognize me. I hope she will remember the time she spent with her mother at the flower shop at the end of the alley, the small downtown of Vanosa………]

 “…”

 The delicate hands holding the letter began to tremble slightly.

 Unable to take her gaze away from the letter, Julia remained frozen.

 A flower shop at the far end of the alley.  It was obviously the flower shop that her mother owned.

 "Ah….”

 Julia could now be sure. That this letter came from her mother.

 Covering her mouth with her hand, she gently leaned against the railing.  Seeing her like that, Judy opened her mouth in surprise.

 “Are you alright?”

Looking back at Judy, Julia belatedly tried to hide her expression.

"It's nothing. I was just dizzy for a moment.."

  Of course, no one should ever find out that she was the owner of this letter.

 If that happened, the fact that she was an illegitimate child would be exposed.

 “Thanks for bringing it to me, Judy.”

 Julia returned the letter back to Judy, and tried to take her steps casually. But her head was already filled with her thoughts of her mother.

  ‘She’s still living in Vanosa…’

 She had never been back there ever since she left with the Marquis at the age of seven.

She could only guess that her mother had gone to another place.

 Julia bit her lip as she felt her chest start to beat faster.

 Why is my mother looking for me?  Maybe she heard from somewhere that I became Grand Duchess.  Everything was confusing.  

The letter only said ‘I hope she will remember….’

 ‘Does mother want me to come to Vanosa?'

 As she struggled to calmly clear her chaos-filled head, she soon reached the end of the stairs.

As soon as she stepped into the lobby, someone blocked her.

 Julia then raised her head, which had been looking only at the ground.

 "Ah…  Priest.”

 In front of her stood the priest staying in the castle, Cedric.

 “Where are you going?”

 To Cedric’s question, Julia answered with a somewhat complicated face.

 “I’m going to see the Grand Duke for a while and then go up to the room.”

 Julia quietly cast her gaze over Cedric.  Perhaps Fernan had already gone, he was nowhere to be seen in the lobby.

 “I think the Grand Duke went to his office.”

 Cedric added, noticing that she was looking for Fernan, and Julia nodded and expressed her gratitude.

 "Thank you.  Well then, I hope you have a good day.”

 After her brief greeting, Julia passed Cedric.

 Cedric turned and continued to look at her, but Julia just kept walking without noticing.

 Julia, who was going to visit Fernan like that, abruptly stopped.

As she was in a complicated mood, she wasn't sure if she could hide her anxious expression when she went to see him.

‘He'll definitely ask what's going on, then……’

 Julia sighed faintly.  As with everyone else, Fernan was never to be told about her biological mother.

‘I don't want to deceive him, but if he finds out that I’m an illegitimate child, he might not treat me like he does now. It’s a clear reason for divorce.’

 Julia turned back with a gloomy face.  Regarding the letter, she thought it would be better to wait a little longer first.

 ***

 “Was the letter delivered safely to the Grand Duchess?”

 Marchioness Elody, who crossed her legs proudly, asked the maid, who bowed her head in front of her.

 "Of course, Madam, I made sure it arrived, so you don't have to worry about it."

 “Okay, well done.”

 The Marchioness then threw the bag of gold coins at the maid. The maid, who took it swiftly, twisted the corners of her mouth and walked out of the parlor.

 The Marchioness, who was left alone, smiled in satisfaction.

 It was already the third time that she sent the letters to the Grand Duke’s castle, so maybe by now, Julia was in confusion after reading her letters.

 That naive and dumb girl looked at the letters and would most likelythink of her mother.

 ‘Things are going well.’

After sending letters several more times to confuse her, she could surely lure Julia to Vanosa.

‘If I kidnap her and give her to the emperor, my mission will be completed. It’s funny. I thought she was dead, but she’s alive and flirting with the Grand Duke.’

The Marchioness grinned as she picked up the teacup on the table.

 Who would have imagined Julia was still alive.

 Besides, that girl was the woman the Grand Duke loved and hid…  Who the hell could have predicted such a marvelous thing.

 "Hmm…"

 The Marchioness, who gently tilted the teacup to her lips, savored the aroma of her tea.

 Aside from having a lot of fun, the Elody family would receive a huge reward.

 As long as Julia was safely caught in her grasp.

 And the Marchioness was sure that she was going to end this successfully.

 Julia was a girl with a heart who could never turn a blind eye to letters from her real mother.

 If that was the case, the Elody family would be able to become the emperor's right-hand man again.  The family that had collapsed because of the girl was resurrected also thanks to the girl.

 After that, her son, Grayson, would serve as a trusted subordinate at the Emperor's side.

 Unlike her stupid husband, her son Grayson would be successful.

Grayson, of course, was wandering as he hadn't yet adapted to a sudden succession to the title, but he would at least stand out longer in the eyes of the Emperor than his father.

 ‘As a reward for him, how about pursuing marriage with the princess?'

 The Marchioness greedily lifted her lips.  If Grayson could marry one of the Princesses, her family's path would be even more solid in the future.

 Besides, Grayson would soon make up his mind to lead the family.

 “Hahaha …..”

The Marchioness, who laughed pleasantly, leaned against the sofa.

Her red-painted fingernails patted the armrest with a popping sound.

The Marquis, who hummed her pleasantly, leaned her back on her sofa.

 She tapped her armrest with the tingling of her red-painted nails.

Currently, the Elody mansion was busy ahead of the succession ceremony.

 Originally, it would have been a gloomy succession ceremony, but it was clear that it would be a succession ceremony full of joy as the Grand Duchess descended from the sky.

 Because of this, the Marchioness’ mood these days has reached its peak.

 Her joyous appearance made it seem like she was engulfed in madness.