Rewriting the Trash Ending - Chapter 29

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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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29.

***

At least now she had an escort.
Lumiere pulled the hood low over her head, dressed in plain clothes, and slipped out through the castle gates.
The lady’s maid had prepared a gift for the Duchess in advance, but there were some things that couldn’t be delivered without making the effort to search for them personally.
Kaiden ventured a quiet question from beside her.
“Are you certain His Highness won’t mind your going out without him?”
“He’s a busy man. I can hardly drag him out on a personal errand.”
I would have liked for him to come along, but he disliked outings.
Any excursion by the Grand Duke drew attention, and it was tiresome.
‘Though I understand the feeling well enough.’
Different though he was from Axid, I too was made a spectacle—like a monkey in a menagerie.
For that reason all the more, I didn’t wish to impose such a burden on him.
“Still, I would have preferred his company…”
The streets of the Northern District bustled with energy, contrary to rumor.
I’d hoped we might walk these streets together, as if on a date, but regret wouldn’t change things.
“Sir Kaiden, I’ll just browse the bookshop for a moment.”
After adequate sightseeing, she stepped into the true destination: an old used bookshop.
A space thick with the scent of aged paper, countless books stacked in layers like dust.
‘…But where on earth should I even begin?’
With a bewildered expression, she studied the tomb-like heaps of books before moving deeper in.
How long she wandered among the shelves, she couldn’t say.
She carefully withdrew an old Album of Paintings wedged in a corner of the bookcase and opened it gently.
Whisper.
A faded page drifted out like a fallen leaf.
She picked it up with care.
Within the paper lay a young couple, hands clasped, smiling tenderly at one another.
Years would pass from now.
Upon the death of a certain painter, a fever would grip society—a feverish hunt for his Posthumous Works.
This painting was a Portrait Painting of the late House of Oswald and his wife.
Tragically, it would be discovered only after the Duchess had passed from this world, never returning to its rightful owners.
When rumors circulated that the Minister of Finance had purchased the painting for a substantial sum, people came and went from this bookshop for a time, searching for other lost works.
‘This time, I won’t be too late to deliver it…’
She slipped the Portrait Painting back between the pages of the album and smiled softly.

***

Axid’s life had been monotonous.
He had lived as though born solely to defend these lands from Demon Beasts, his existence consumed by the battlefield.
Moving between castle and fortress, spending late nights alone with a cup of wine—these constituted nearly the whole of his days.
Yet.
“…An outing?”
Axid’s brow twitched as he received Kaiden’s report while attending to state matters in his study.
“Yes, sir. The Princess wished to walk the streets for a time and has just now returned from her excursion.”
“Why didn’t she tell me beforehand?”
Confusion flickered across Kaiden’s eyes.
“Well, sir, you dislike outings, don’t you? Besides, she didn’t venture far at all.”
……
Axid fell silent, his expression hardening.
Kaiden’s words were not without merit.
His movements were always confined within narrow bounds, and he preferred quiet rest to venturing out.
The gazes that followed his every step were burdensome.
So there was no reason to regret that she had gone out alone.
“Have I—did I make some error, sir?”
“From now on, inform me first whenever she leaves the castle gates.”
“Y-yes, of course, sir…”
Kaiden nodded, his expression bewildered.
“I’ll take a look.”
Axid issued the order in his clipped, decisive voice.
“Yes, I’ll go at once.”
Kaiden scratched his head and made for the door, then paused midstep as something occurred to him. He turned back with a casual remark.
“Oh, and the Grand Duchess mentioned she was sorry she couldn’t go along with you.”
Click.
Kaiden delivered the news lightly, as though it were nothing of consequence, and stepped out.
Silence settled over the study. A moment later, Axid’s voice emerged low and subdued.
“…Sorry she couldn’t go along.”
The rigid set of his mouth relaxed without warning, and a smile tugged at his lips.
But almost at once, his jaw hardened again.
……
He was startled by the smile that had drawn itself across his face unbidden.
Not startled by its strangeness so much as aware that emotions leaking out like this was no good sign.
His eyes grew distant. For a long moment he sat in silence, then quietly withdrew a small container from his breast pocket.
The first gift Lumiere had ever given him.
He knew it held no particular meaning, yet for some reason he couldn’t bring himself to use it—he simply took it out now and then to look at.
What he’d said to Kaiden would be the same way.
Probably nothing worth reading into.
From their first meeting she’d smiled at him openly, without prejudice, and she was a woman so unconcerned with his presence that she’d suggested they share a bed.
And yet her words—that she regretted not being able to go with him—wouldn’t leave his mind.
He turned the container over in his palm for a long time before returning it to his pocket.
“The Coming-of-Age Ceremony is coming up soon, wasn’t it……?”
He murmured this softly, leaning back in his chair.
The Grand Duchess’s Coming-of-Age Ceremony would be attended by countless nobles.
It was her first public appearance.
Several prominent ladies had refused to call on her, so surely she felt the weight of it, even if she didn’t show it.
So this wasn’t about being swayed by meaningless words.
It was simply a matter of fulfilling a husband’s duty.
Even if he couldn’t fulfill the duties of the marriage bed, at least he could do this.
He set down his pen and rose.
He’d finished reviewing all the documents that needed checking today anyway.
After tidying himself, he made his way to the bedchamber.
Knock, knock.
“I’m coming in.”
He announced himself lightly and entered to find Lumiere in a white robe, her eyes widening in surprise.
“Grand Duke? What brings you here at this hour……?”
She’d only just finished bathing; her snow-white hair hung damp and calm about her shoulders.
Purple eyes, a faint blush rising on her cheeks.
He caught himself gazing at the exposed curve of her neck and deliberately looked away.
“I will attend the Coming-of-Age Ceremony as well.”
“…You don’t dislike such occasions?”
“I like them.”
Flinch.
At those words, Lumiere’s shoulders stiffened.
“I’m… sorry?”
Only then did Axid realize how his hasty response might have sounded.
“…What I meant is, I don’t particularly dislike such gatherings.”
He disliked them.
He found them tedious whenever he attended.
“This is your first public engagement. I cannot send you alone.”
“Really, it’s quite all right…….”
“I want to go. Now rest.”
“Wait, please. Grand Duke?”
Lumiere called out in alarm and tried to stop him, but Axid had no intention of reversing his decision. He left the room.
Click.
The door closed.
He stood motionless for a moment, then let out a quiet laugh.
Like them, want to go—what nonsense.
Even as the words left his mouth, he doubted he’d actually spoken them—they sounded so unlike himself.
‘She must be exhausted.’
He’d been buried in paperwork day after day, and his sleep had suffered lately. It was no wonder.
He shook his head lightly as if to dispel the idle thoughts, and moved on.
Come to think of it, wouldn’t Lumiere need a proper wardrobe for external events?
Axid’s brow furrowed suddenly.
Now that he thought about it, her attire was far too austere.
Even Countess Mober would arrive draped in fur capes or adorned with jewelry so dazzling it hurt to look at.
Why shouldn’t Lumiere enjoy the same ornaments and elaborate gowns that even a mere countess wore?
‘I’ll need to summon the head lady’s maid.’
She was the woman who’d solved the castle’s chronic financial troubles; perhaps she’d been restraining herself out of consideration for those circumstances.
No—he felt a near certainty it was exactly that.
Expenses for the Grand Duchess should never be spared, nor could they ever be called excessive, no matter what they were.
Yet a moment later, something struck him as odd.
‘How did she know I dislike such gatherings?’
He’d never shown that reluctance in front of Lumiere.
He stopped mid-stride, his eyes narrowing.
There was only one person who would have let slip such information about him—Kaiden.
‘I’ll have to warn Kaiden not to speak thoughtlessly to Lumiere.’
He abandoned his plan to retire early and turned his footsteps back toward his office.

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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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