I Will Become the Ex-Wife of the Beast - Chapter 43

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The sisters drooped, looking crestfallen, and when I simply stared at them blankly, they suddenly clung to me in desperate pleas. Judging by their eagerness, it seems they had planned this from the start.
“Please say something, Your Highness. Then surely you’ll have a steamy night with His Grace the Grand Duke, one worthy of the Beast’s reputation?”
“No. That won’t do.”
“…Pardon?”
At my bright, cheerful, utterly serious expression, both pairs of hands froze at once. I leaned back lazily, propped my chin on my hand, and raised my brows.
“I’ve been wondering about something. Yesterday, it was the custom of the Grand Ducal House for the bride to go to her husband’s room on the first night, wasn’t it?”
“Yes. Of course!”
“Right. That could be true.”
“….”
“But I can’t help thinking a tradition like that is far too young to have taken root. As you well know, His Grace would be the first Duke Valencia.”
Tap, tap. With a faint smile, I brushed the backs of their hands, and the color drained from both their faces.
“I was too flustered yesterday to notice, but now I really want to get to the bottom of it. I think I’ll ask His Grace in a while whether your household had such a custom.”
“Y-Your Highness, please, have mercy…”
“Well, I’d like to oblige, but you know how terrifying the ‘Beast’ can be. I’m not sure he’d be merciful.”
“….”
“Renie, Rea, I do hope you keep in mind exactly who the master of this Grand Duke’s Castle is. I think I’ll have plenty of time, just until I finish my bath and step out. What do you two think?”
I rested both arms on the railing and laid my head upon them. The twins, staring at each other in a daze, bolted away at once. At the sight of their backs as they fled in alarm, one corner of my mouth lifted.
“Hmph.”
So don’t go picking on people.
Who do they think they are, these lewd little demons, running their mouths about the Beast and whatever else? Excuse me, you two! Kiers isn’t like you, all talk and no action, he shows it by…
“Uh…”
Wait. Why did I get so riled up?
My satisfied smile faltered. What business was it of mine whether they insulted Kiers or not? I’d been running my mouth just as much, so why couldn’t I stand it?
Splash.
Unable to bear the confusion, I stood up right then, and water sloshed out in every direction. I must have been in the hot water far too long. The moment I wrapped a towel around myself, I frantically searched for something to jolt my mind back into focus.
“But… where on earth did that Rose girl go?”

◇ ◆ ◇

“Lady Rose, do you think you can make it all the way over there?”
“Mm… yes! I can do it!”
When Count pointed to a single tree atop the hill, Rose clenched both fists and nodded hard. She was already stretching one leg out as if she meant to dash off, bouncing on her toes, and Sir Lear, who was guarding her, could no longer bear to watch and covered his eyes.
“Very good. Then, ready…”
“Go!”
Too impatient to wait, Rose had shouted the signal on her own and went scampering up the hill. She seemed to be running as hard as she could, but before she’d covered even half the distance she was panting, and she spotted a small flower at her feet.
“Wow, how pretty! A flower!”
“….”
“Hmm.”
Having forgotten what she’d been doing, Rose marveled at the red flower.
Grandpa, look at this! She turned back to Count, and his expression was nothing but delighted.
“Ha-ha. This old grandpa will come to you, so wait right there.”
“…When did the Chief Strategist become Lady Rose’s grandfather?”
“Sir Lear, have you forgotten His Grace’s order that you stay at least ten paces away?”
“….”
Huuuff.
Under Count’s stern gaze, Sir Lear let out a discontented sigh. Much as I hated to admit it, the only person officially allowed to approach Lady Rose right now was Count. The order had fallen on him overnight, and it was a bitter pill to swallow, but he could hardly defy His Grace’s stern will.
And to be fair, it wasn’t only men who were being kept away.
“Keep watch. Make sure those Starfield sisters don’t come near her.”
“Yes. His Grace said that if they approach Lady Rose on their own, we may cut them down.”
“Good. His Grace has judged it wisely. Our one and only little sister-in-law… no, sister-in-law’s… well, hm… Yes, this grandpa is right here, Lady Rose!”
Count waved back at Rose’s innocent laughter, accepting Kiers’s command as a matter of course. To keep that smile safe for as long as possible, it was only proper to keep those two as far away from her as he could. Now that she was a member of the Grand Ducal House, anything that might affect Rose’s growth or state of mind had to be carefully screened, even if it meant going a bit too far.
“But, Chief Strategist, isn’t it a bit much to take such a long walk?”
“Well, His Grace said it would be best to keep her exercising moderately for the time being.”
“Exercise?”
“I suppose he’s worried about Lady Rose’s stamina.”
Count rubbed the frame of his glasses with clear satisfaction. Anything concerning Rose was bound to strike him as positive and heartwarming.
“Hi there. I’m Rose. I live with my sister! And I’ve got a brother-in-law too! Grand Duke Kiers is my brother-in-law!”
“…….”
“Are you coming with us? No? You’re going to stay here? Oh, I see, I see.”
Such a sweet little heart she has.
The two men watched with deep satisfaction as Rose lay flat on her belly, sniffing the blossoms without plucking a single one. Yet for all their mastery of the world’s affairs, politics, intrigue, and war, neither of them knew much about the stamina of a five-year-old.
Hm. After watching in silence for quite some time, Lear turned his head toward the Count, cautiously.
“…So, how much exactly is ‘moderate’?”

◇ ◆ ◇

The walk to find a late breakfast was downright embarrassing. The twins hadn’t come right out and asked, but everyone probably assumed I’d spent my first night here doing… that.
“….”
I stepped onto the stairs, glancing around. If I spotted anyone, I planned to tag along all the way to the dining hall, but there wasn’t a soul in sight.
Huh?
I straightened from my wary crouch and ventured a bit further, but it was eerily quiet. The place was never exactly bustling, but since this was the home base of the Northern Knights, who followed Kiers, there were always a few knights in uniform about.
Yet by the time I’d descended the entire staircase, there wasn’t a knight, let alone a servant, to be seen. The applause squad that had been clapping at every move Rose made had vanished too. With only my footsteps echoing through this enormous hall, it felt just like the beast’s castle from the animation.
Surely there isn’t some kind of invasion going on, is there?
I was startled for a moment, but the twins were perfectly relaxed, and so was Kiers, whom I’d seen that morning. If the so-called God of War really had something like that going on, he wouldn’t have been so leisurely about kissing me.
Though he did have me tied up tight like a prisoner of war.
“…Hm.”
I looked down at the clothes I’d changed into after my bath and absentmindedly rolled my wrists. All things considered, these were the most modest of the outfits I’d brought.
I wonder if I still smell of smoke? As I lifted my sleeve toward my nose, I spotted Sir Jerome passing in the distance.
“Oh? Sir Jerome! Wait a moment!”
“…Your Grace the Grand Duchess!”
He’d only been called by name, yet his surprise was plain as day. Speaking of which, ‘Your Grace the Grand Duchess’? Everyone but me seemed to have adjusted far too quickly.
Sir Jerome hesitated, and as I hurried toward him, he awkwardly glanced to either side.
“What’s wrong? Sir Jerome, are you looking for someone?”
“N-no, nothing of the sort. What brings you out, Your Grace?”
“Nothing in particular, it’s just that the castle feels so deserted today. I was wondering if something had happened.”
“Surely not. It’s just… there must be some training going on.”
Sir Jerome flashed a reassuring smile, as though to lend weight to his own words. The trouble was, he seemed to be handing that reassurance to himself rather than to me.
I eyed his restless gaze with lingering doubt.
“Training? You finished dawn drills and now you’re training again at this hour?”
“It’s Emergency Training Week, you see.”
“…Just like that, all of a sudden?”
“Yes. So, that is to say…”
“It’s a tradition of my knights.”
A large shadow fell across the flustered Sir Jerome from behind. I had no idea when he’d come up, but Kiers had placed a hand on Jerome’s shoulder. Jerome was far taller than the average man, but next to Kiers, who was simply enormous, he looked like a student beside his teacher.
“Your Grace! I was truly just passing through, I swear.”
“…I’m sure you were.”
The corner of his mouth twitched fiercely. Wondering if something bad had happened in the meantime, I tilted my head, and Kiers met my gaze. The tension had left his lips, but it was still enough to keep anyone rooted to the spot.
“Duchess, it seems you had something you wished to ask Jerome.”
“Ah… Your Grace. It’s just that everyone’s been so hard to find, and Sir Jerome was going on about Emergency Training Week and such.”
“That’s right. It’s a tradition of the knights.”
“…You train this urgently, all at once?”
“No. I mean that whenever I, as their commander, wish it, they train on a moment’s notice.”
“…Ah, I see, I see.”
I wasn’t Rose, but I found myself mimicking her a little anyway. The knights’ tradition sounded perfectly plausible, yet it also didn’t seem far off from the Grand Ducal House’s traditions the twins had been insisting on. Still, a place this silent left me uneasy, and I couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed.
“Then when does it end?”
“I don’t know either. Discipline isn’t something that takes hold easily.”
“…Yes. I suppose that’s true.”
No, if the commander doesn’t know, who on earth would?

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