Grand Duke, Please Stop Obsessing Over Your Wife! - Chapter 6

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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6.

Now I understood why the maid looked so excited.

‘That person is a knight? He’s really handsome.’

A blonde, handsome man with a long sword at his waist stood leaning casually against the door.

The man with a delicate face like finely crafted porcelain curved his eyes into crescents.

At a glance, his eyes were silver.

“Hello. Miss Annelize Solariccen. I’ve come to deliver a message from His Grace the Duke.”

He greeted Annelize with a bright smile.

The reception room of Solariccen Manor.

Annelize pretended to lift her teacup while sneaking glances at the man sitting across from her.

He had introduced himself as Duke Aperhis’s escort knight.

Instead of a uniform, he wore a loose white shirt and black pants, but the great sword at his waist was proper.

‘Rather than a knight serving his master, his appearance suits that of a noble young lord or a noble heir of the imperial family.’

A man as beautiful as an angel from scripture.

But for some reason, Annelize felt uncomfortable around him.

‘He’s smiling brightly with his eyes, but he looks suspicious.’

For instance, that gaze.

‘Those eyes watching me as if I’m some interesting subject of observation.’

It was fortunate that unlike other men, he wasn’t trying hard to win her favor.

Still, I can’t tell what he’s thinking.

It was a different kind from the Duke’s indifferent gaze.

By accident, her eyes met with the man’s.

He smiled and spread both arms wide.

“Isn’t it tiring to keep glancing sideways? Feel free to observe me openly.”

His personality is also…

Annelize pretended not to hear and changed the topic with another question.

“You said you serve His Grace the Duke. How should I address you?”

“Please call me Isaiah.”

Isaiah?

Annelize’s expression became subtle upon hearing his name.

It was a name that no citizen of the Empire could be unfamiliar with.

‘It was the name of the king of an ancient desert kingdom who was punished by the gods for his arrogant sins.’

Moreover, even after that, he didn’t repent of his sins and became corrupted, turning into something inhuman.

It was a taboo name in the Empire. Throughout that long history, there had been only one person named ‘Isaiah’ – that king.

‘Oh no. How rude of me to think this with him right in front of me.’

Her surprised feelings quickly subsided.

‘His parents might have really wanted to give him that name. My name was also taken from the first saint.’

Annelize quickly composed her expression.

“Then I’ll call you Sir Isaiah.”

Isaiah looked surprised as he watched Annelize’s reaction.

“You’re not very shocked. Usually people avoid me, saying it’s ominous.”

“What’s ominous about it? It’s just a name.”

“Ahahaha!”

Though it wasn’t a particularly amusing answer, Isaiah laughed out loud.

“Honestly, just considering the sound, I think it’s quite pretty.”

“That’s the first time I’ve ever heard that… Well. It’s not bad.”

He covered his mouth with his hand and smiled. It was a different smile from before, one filled with sincerity.

“Annelize is pretty too.”

The name, right?

“Thank you.”

He shrugged his shoulders. With a face that seemed even more pleased than before, Isaiah spoke.

“Ah, you really are interesting. Should I say you have no prejudices? I understand my lord’s reaction. He said to meet at the Emperor’s birthday banquet, right?”

Annelize made an awkward expression as she explained.

“I heard that His Grace the Duke dislikes such events. Did he perhaps say he didn’t want the banquet? If so, please tell him we can change the location.”

Isaiah shook his head.

“No. Not at all. Surprisingly, he said he would attend the banquet hall himself.”

Phew. That’s a relief. Annelize breathed a sigh of relief.

He continued speaking.

“My lord said he would wait in the north tower corridor next to the banquet hall that day.”

“I understand. I know where that is.”

“Do you also know that the stairs leading up the tower are quite steep? If it’s bothersome, just stand quietly near the stairs. He’ll surely come down to meet you.”

“Ah, yes.”

He even added an unnecessary tip.

I was impressed by his touching loyalty in willingly making his lord work hard.

“Now then. I’ve handled my mission, so shall we move on to the main topic?”

Isaiah straightened his upper body that had been leaning against the sofa, as if he had more to say.

“Huh? Wasn’t what we were just talking about the main topic?”

“How could that be? The meeting location could have been sent by letter. The reason I came here is… to give you a warning.”

“A warning?”

“In case you might run away crying after meeting our lord.”

Isaiah’s eyes sparkled.

“Please keep this in mind. It’s advice from my lord’s right hand, so you should take it to heart.”

The fact that he refers to himself as the Duke’s right hand makes him seem untrustworthy from the start.

Anyway, listening wouldn’t hurt.

I decided to willingly play along with the self-proclaimed ‘Duke’s right hand.’

“What is it?”

“Ah. Let me say in advance that you don’t need to worry about violence or infidelity or such things. Unlike the rumors, he’s quite sincere and well-behaved. However…”

Isaiah trailed off.

“My lord has been living alone for a very long time, since before the Empire was even established.”

A human lifespan is at most a few decades, so that was quite an exaggeration.

‘He means he’s been alone for that long.’

Given how little interaction there had been, it was natural that there would be differences in expression from the North.

Annelize filtered and accepted the information accordingly.

“Without parents or friends. The one sibling he has has a terrible personality, so they don’t get along well.”

So he has a sibling. It seems his parents passed away when he was young.

“Did the previous Duke and Duchess pass away early?”

He raised his eyebrows as if he’d heard something strange.

“No? They never existed in the first place.”

“What?”

“Hmm. It’s difficult to explain right now, his birth story is complicated.”

Isaiah evaded the answer.

‘He must have some family history he wants to hide.’

Such dark backstories were common among noble families. I shouldn’t pry further.

Annelize understood and moved on from this as well.

“Anyway, for that reason, my lord doesn’t care about social customs and is indifferent to measuring distances between people. He thinks such things are too trivial to be worth paying attention to.”

“Ah…”

The Duke’s attitude that Isaiah was describing was something I had already experienced during our first meeting.

How he paid no attention to etiquette or conversation styles between nobles.

‘If his family environment was like that, I can understand.’

I almost misunderstood him as just being rude.

‘So he was a rude person with a story behind it.’

Isaiah waved his wrist as if he knew about the conversation Annelize and the Duke had that day.

“You probably know to some extent, miss.”

“I suppose you also heard the story about how he complained that my wrist was dried up and twisted like a tree branch?”

He suppressed his laughter and looked off into the distance.

“No. Rather than that, um… It’s nothing.”

‘What did the Duke say about me to cause that reaction?’

Whatever it was, it didn’t seem like it was a positive comment.

“He may sometimes act in confusing ways, but there’s no malice, so please don’t misunderstand. He really does it without thinking.”

“I understand.”

Isaiah’s warning was basically saying that for various reasons, the Duke lacked social skills in dealing with people, so please understand.

‘Of course I can understand that much.’

Other minor flaws had long been overshadowed and made invisible by one enormous advantage.

‘He called it a warning, but it’s nothing much.’

Rather, what she was concerned about was something else.

This was a good opportunity.

‘I should ask about this while I have the chance. Why the Duke goes around with his face covered by a mask.’

Princess Rosellia, who saw the Duke’s bare face that day, had fainted.

‘But for the rumor that his face is so terrible it makes people faint to be true, the Duke I saw was more decent than I expected.’

I only saw around his eyes, but it definitely wasn’t an ugly face.

If there was no special reason, she planned to tell him it would be fine to remove his mask when they met again.

“Sir Isaiah. I have something I’m curious about.”

“Ask me anything. If it’s something I can answer, I’ll spill everything down to my lord’s weaknesses.”

“No. I wouldn’t ask such an enormous question… But does His Grace the Duke even have weaknesses?”

“He doesn’t.”

What? Then why did you offer to tell me?

Annelize sent him a look of disbelief.

“We must always keep possibilities open. There might be someone so precious in the future that they become a fatal weakness.”

Isaiah’s tone was meaningful.

‘What am I supposed to do with that? Why is he telling me this.’

Annelize returned to the main topic.

“Anyway, what I was curious about was why His Grace the Duke wears a mask.”

“It’s to prevent troublesome situations. I’m not sure if you saw that day, but my lord is… in quite a difficult state to look at?”

After saying that, Isaiah looked at her intently as if gauging her reaction.

“I didn’t see His Grace the Duke’s entire face, but it absolutely wasn’t terrible.”

It seemed to be an unexpected answer. Isaiah raised his eyebrows.

“You didn’t feel any revulsion even after seeing my lord’s face? Not even the feeling that you’d encountered something you shouldn’t have seen?”

“Not at all. Except for being a bit scared and nervous.”

Why is he reacting like that? Is there some kind of problem?

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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