Rewriting the Trash Ending - Chapter 24

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

24.

***

Becoming Grand Duchess did not mean official duties began at once.
After undertaking so grand an affair as a State Marriage, the castle needed time to be set in order again.
Those few days before the Grand Duke’s Castle returned to its ordinary rhythm amounted to nothing less than official rest granted to the new Grand Duchess.
“Your Grace, do you… do you like it?”
Lumiere let out a small laugh as Hanna spoke, her voice tight with effort.
She had been a chambermaid managing supplies within the castle, and suddenly found herself seated in the position of the Grand Duchess’s personal attendant—it was only natural she would be nervous.
“In any case, you’ve pleased me. Your skill is indeed every bit as excellent as I thought.”
Her white hair was pinned up neatly, her makeup refined and subtle.
It was an understated arrangement, yet it carried the dignity befitting a Grand Duchess.
“You are too kind, Your Grace. It is only thanks to your own beauty that I can achieve such results.”
“Too kind? Your handiwork speaks for itself—it would be admirable anywhere.”
The skill with which she had restored that ruined dress had been remarkable.
Lumiere had chosen Hanna as her personal attendant because of that talent, and it had proven to be a most inspired decision.
Lumiere gazed at herself in the mirror for a moment, then quietly opened a drawer in her vanity.
“Take this.”
“This is…?”
“A moisturizer I purchased when I left the Empire.”
Lumiere smiled at the sight of Hanna staring blankly back and forth between her own face and the precious container.
“But Your Grace, this is far too precious to give to me…”
“You helped me through the State Marriage without incident, and besides, you are my person now. It is only right that I look after you.”
…..
A faint sheen gathered in Hanna’s eyes.
“Your Grace, may I come in?”
“Perfectly timed. Do come in.”
As Tera opened the door and entered, Lumiere handed her the moisturizer.
“This is…?”
“You have worked tirelessly in service of the State Marriage.”
“Your Grace, I merely performed my duties as chamberlain. I have no reason to accept such a gift…”
“Is that so? Then I suppose I have no choice.”
Lumiere let out a sigh as if deeply disappointed.
“If you won’t accept it, I shall have to take back what I just gave to Hanna.”
“…I beg your pardon?”
“It would look strange for a chambermaid to accept something the chamberlain herself refuses.”
At this playful remark, Tera’s eyes wavered ever so slightly.
Hanna seized the opening, clutching the moisturizer to her chest as she gazed up at Tera with desperate eyes.
Please accept it.
Please, just accept it.
Her lips remained sealed, but that earnest gaze pressed upon Tera like a plea.
After a moment’s reluctant hesitation, Tera took the gift.
“…I will treasure it, Your Grace.”
Lumiere pretended not to notice her own mouth curving upward and turned back to the mirror.
“But what brings you here so early in the morning?”
Tera, once more in the manner of a proper chamberlain, straightened herself and spoke.
“Countess Moberg, who was scheduled to call this morning, has sent word that unforeseen circumstances prevent her from visiting.”
“And the other ladies?”
“Without the Countess to represent them, they have all said they will call another time.”
In the High Society of the Northern Region, when the noble ladies come to pay respects to a new Grand Duchess, the woman of highest rank leads the group—this is the formal custom.
With Magda, who had become the gathering point of the noblewomen by virtue of being the Grand Duke’s aunt, absent, the other ladies had no choice but to remain immobile.
Yet to have sent word only on the morning of the visit—and without even providing a substitute?
‘In other words, they are telling me to wait quietly until she deigns to appear…’
The fact that the other ladies had all sent notice of non-attendance suggested they had conspired together.
“And did they offer any explanation for these circumstances?”
“None in detail, but even had they done so, it would have been difficult to accept their account at face value.”
“I imagine so.”
Anyone with eyes could see it was deliberate provocation.
She recalled the voice that had echoed so shrilly through the Grand Duke’s Castle, her mouth twisted cold.

“What are you all doing? Dig her up at once!”
“His Highness must produce an heir as soon as possible, and yet he keeps refusing proposals for marriage—it must be that wretched woman’s curse as she died!”
“Get that unlucky creature’s corpse out of this castle immediately!”

It was three years after her death, if she recalled correctly.
When Countess Moberg saw the Grand Duke continue to refuse every marriage proposal, she blamed it all on her—and attempted to desecrate the grave.
‘A curse? When all I ever prayed for was that he would be happy without worrying about someone like me…….’
The terrified servants refused to touch the tomb of the dead, and when word of it reached Axid, Magda was cast out entirely.
She was forbidden ever to set foot in the Grand Duke’s Castle again.
By name alone she was the Grand Duke’s sole blood relation, yet she was a woman who could be discarded at any moment should she overstep.
“Would it not be wise to inform His Highness the Grand Duke of this matter?”
She stirred from her thoughts, falling silent for a moment.
“Hmm…….”
That woman had been able to persist this long only because Tera had refrained from reporting her misconduct to Axid.
Interfering with the household was something Tera could manage on her own.
But if this reached the Grand Duke’s ears, what little dignity she’d built upon the foundation of kinship would shatter completely.
“Never mind. If I want to see her, she’ll find her way to me.”
Eventually, with time, she would appear at her door of her own accord—and besides, the already-busy Grand Duke didn’t need another burden.
‘So today I’ll only need to deal with the young ladies.’
She pictured the golden-haired girl with emerald eyes.
From what she’d observed in her past life, she was scheming and greedy—far more serpent than flower.
Perhaps today might prove rather unpleasant after all.
But then, there was nothing to fear.

***

The cold, austere corridors of the Grand Duke’s Castle.
“Belia, have you heard the rumor?”
Belia tilted her head at one of the young ladies’ words.
“A rumor, you say?”
“They say the Princess threw merchants into prison the moment she arrived at the castle.”
“Ah, I did hear something along those lines…….”
As Belia trailed off with a troubled expression, the young lady continued in a hushed tone.
“Apparently the merchants’ fabrics displeased her.”
“The Imperial Palace said her misconduct has been so severe that they rushed to find her a husband…….”
An uneasy silence settled over them.
“Please don’t worry too much. As long as we show proper courtesy to the Princess, it will be fine. And besides, I’ll be here with you whatever happens.”
Belia offered a gentle smile of reassurance, and the young ladies glanced nervously backward, whispering among themselves.
“…But still, if anything goes wrong at a gathering like this, it could cause trouble for us too.”
She followed their gaze and glanced back over her shoulder.
A woman with deep brown hair and amber eyes was following quietly behind, her head bowed.
Erica Oswald.
Daughter of the Minister of Finance who controlled Winterheim’s treasury and tax revenues, she had once held a position equal to Belia’s own—until a terrible incident years ago had left her with a blemish.
The Minister of Finance was a post that could topple even a prosperous house overnight, if one chose.
That was precisely why the young ladies treated Erica as a liability while hiding it behind polite facades.
‘How dare someone marked with a blemish crawl her way into this place.’
Belia’s lips twisted faintly.
But it was useful to her.
If she could trigger a fit in Erica, the reckless and vulgar true nature of the Grand Duchess would be exposed without filter.
Power wielded in life was far more valuable than dying as an honored seed-bearer.
To secure the Grand Duke’s side later with ease, she had to nip any affection he might develop for the Grand Duchess in the bud before it took root.
But.
“Thank you all for coming to see me. I hope we’ll see much of each other going forward.”
Yet the Grand Duchess she encountered in the reception hall seemed surprisingly serene, as though nothing amiss had occurred at all.
Why did she look so perfectly composed?
She must surely know what it meant that the ladies had refused the audience…….
“We would be delighted to call upon Your Highness whenever you wish.”
“I’m grateful for your kind words. I’ve prepared refreshments for you all, so shall we move to another room?”
Her consideration for the young ladies radiated an ease that was almost palpable.
Belia tucked away her questions and responded with practiced courtesy.
“How thoughtful of you to prepare refreshments for us. Thank you, Your Highness.”
In the end, she was just a woman who’d been cast out from the Imperial Palace for causing shameless trouble.
A flimsy mask like that would shatter soon enough.
Belia let a thin smile cross her lips as she moved forward.

Lumiere watched silently as Belia entered the Greenhouse.
Belia Fendro.
The flower of High Society, the object of ardent pursuit among Northern men.
There was only one reason she knew Belia, whom she’d never met in life before.
It was not long after the previous me had left this world—less than half a year had passed.
She had come to the Grand Duke’s Castle occasionally, accompanied by Countess Moberg.
The Countess had been intent on selecting a Grand Duchess to her taste and placing her at the Grand Duke’s side, while Belia had been cultivating her friendship, seizing the opportunity to draw closer to him.

“…And she didn’t even manage to be a seed-bearer. Truly, useless in life and useless in death.”

How shocked Lumiere had been when she caught Belia muttering to herself while the Countess stepped away briefly.
The supposed flower of High Society—her inner nature was no better than that of a toad.
‘For all her pretense, her end was pathetic.’
She had failed to win the Grand Duke’s favor and, before her marriageable years slipped away, had married into a foreign land.
Lumiere regarded Belia with a cold gaze, then parted her lips to speak.
“Hanna, see the young ladies to their seats.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
The moment Hanna, having received her instructions, began to move toward the young ladies—
“Ahhh!”
The body of Count Oswald’s daughter, who had been walking ahead of Belia, buckled forward and crashed to the ground in an instant.
Crash!
With the loud clatter of dishes shattering, Belia’s voice pierced through the air.
“Erica!”
Erica collapsed among the shattered fragments, gasping as though suffocating.
“Erica, breathe deeply—breathe!”
“Gasp, ugh, argh—!”
Though Belia spoke urgently, Erica merely thrashed, unable to regain her senses.
“Good heavens, what on earth is this—”
“What—what should we do?”
“Should we bring water?”
Rolling about on that filthy floor, writhing helplessly.
Some wore expressions of shock, their brows furrowed; others merely stared at one another, at a loss.
“Compose yourself—everyone’s watching. You mustn’t behave like this before His Highness!”
Belia continued to shake Erica’s shoulders, though the girl couldn’t even hold her own head steady.
For all her worried expression, her touch was hardly gentle.
Erica’s complexion grew increasingly pallid, and strangled, gasping sounds escaped her throat—choke, choke—like a bird in distress.
Then.
“Everyone, avert your eyes.”
A clear, decisive command rang out.

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