The Military Doctor Excels at Being a Contracted Duchess - Chapter 27

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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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【Chapter 27】

“What? Why should I ask for permission from that thing! This is my house!”

At his words, spoken while pressing his brow, Genevieve jumped up as if having a fit. Victor looked at such Genevieve with a cold expression.

The hand that had been tapping the desk slowly stopped.

At this, Genevieve flinched and averted her gaze.

“You seem to be mistaken. This is my house.”

“W-well, that may be true, but…”

“No matter how long you’ve lived here, I only gave you a room out of my kindness. I won’t tolerate this a second time.”

He had encountered Cecily Bettel a couple of times in the capital.

Though he didn’t even remember ordinary people, he had no choice but to keep the House of Bettel, called the railway kings, in his mind.

Since Bayern would need railways laid someday too.

And in those brief encounters, Cecily Bettel had left… quite a troublesome impression.

He wasn’t the type of person who would develop from annoyance to fondness like in some romance novel.

Once he formed a negative impression, it stayed that way to the end.

‘It would be troublesome if she found out which family Ebel is from.’

Of course, since Ebel had said she went straight to medical school without even having a debutante ball, the probability was low.

Still, just in case, it would be better to kick her out immediately.

Having half-decided but ultimately choosing to consult with Ebel, he emotionlessly issued an order to leave.

“Please leave now.”

The exhibition would be held in three days.

Since she wasn’t a guest he had invited, there was no reason to share dinner together, nor any obligation to care for her.

After Genevieve left, grumbling timidly—

“Butler.”

“You called for me.”

“Find a convent. Preferably one in Luxemburg.”

At Victor’s command, the butler Willen’s eyes widened slightly but quickly returned to normal.

“Understood.”

“Ask Ebel if she could come for a moment.”

“Yes.”

Luxemburg was a very small country between France and Richter. Genevieve would obviously foam at the mouth calling it a backwater, but he had no intention of showing her any more consideration.

It’s not like he was going to tell her where she’d be going before sending her off.

“You called for me?”

Shortly after, Ebel appeared.

The problem was that an annoying face came along behind her.

“It’s been a while, Your Grace!”

Brown hair and intelligent green eyes sparkled.

Such was Cecily Bettel, who stepped forward before Ebel could even open her mouth and cheerfully offered her greetings.

“I’m Cecily Bettel. We met at the ship party six months ago, remember?”

“…”

No matter that he and Ebel weren’t formally married yet, regardless of that, Ebel was a noble.

Cecily Bettel, no matter how wealthy her family, was a commoner from Victor’s perspective.

Naturally, she shouldn’t have stepped forward before Ebel made introductions.

Cecily Bettel didn’t know the etiquette that any noble family’s daughter should naturally know. Or she was pretending not to know.

Either way, his displeasure was the same.

Raising an eyebrow, he immediately looked at the butler standing beside him.

“The guest is resting.”

“Yes.”

A clear dismissal that even the dullest person couldn’t fail to notice.

Victor didn’t even acknowledge the greeting and instructed the door to be closed.

Thud.

After the heavy office door closed.

Ebel spoke first.

“Miss Bettel doesn’t know me. She probably doesn’t even know where the House of Claren is located. I thought you might be worried.”

“Yes.”

“Um, and… I tried not to run into her, but she came out of the drawing room on her own and wandered around.”

“Did it seem like she was trying to find you?”

At Victor’s question, Ebel blinked.

The two of them didn’t entertain naive thoughts like ‘Oh, surely not.’ They had experience losing comrades and being injured to a critical degree.

“I don’t want to jump to conclusions hastily, but probably. Her eyes lit up as soon as she saw me. She approached me first and rattled off stories I didn’t ask for. She talked about coming for the charity exhibition and being the biggest sponsor.”

“…Aunt may think she used the House of Bettel, but it’s the opposite. They’ve been desperate to push their daughter into Bayern somehow, and a good opportunity arose.”

Ebel understood the situation immediately without detailed explanation.

Victor was of marriageable age. And a very good prospect at that.

But since an article came out about him having a lover, the capital’s social circles must have been turned upside down. It was obvious without seeing.

Since those people had no joy in life other than gossip.

‘In the end, someone quick-footed moved to confirm my face.’

Fortunately, she had lived being treated as practically non-existent even within the House of Claren.

Since she had never attended social gatherings with her parents from a young age, there wasn’t much to worry about.

Abel too…

‘Who would have thought that bastard living as a scoundrel would be helpful.’

If he had time to diligently attend social gatherings, he’d go to gambling dens instead.

Of course, there wasn’t zero risk, but she could just deny it if needed.

“I’ve decided to deal with Aunt. If I get proper grounds, I’m thinking of sending her to recuperate.”

“I see. I was actually going to talk about that. From my perspective as a doctor, the children’s reactions are excessive. I think we need to find out for certain if they’ve been abused. There’s a high probability even the butler didn’t know.”

Whether a young, pretty woman targeting Victor had appeared or not, Ebel wasn’t shaken.

She wasn’t even a rival to begin with.

There was absolutely no reason to be jealous or anxious.

Rather, she was worried the two troublemakers wouldn’t leave the guest alone.

“I’ll have Miss Cecily Bettel return immediately.”

“What for? It’s late too. It’s better to just tell her to stay until the exhibition ends. She seemed like a delicate lady, and it’s a bit much to tell her to stay at a hotel alone.”

She replied this way to reassure him, but Victor’s expression was subtle.

“I knew you wouldn’t be jealous, but.”

“There’s no reason to be jealous.”

“That’s true.”

But why does he seem so disappointed?

He, not her.

Ebel shrugged and rattled off her reasons.

“Besides, there are too many women who would like you. There are too many families who want strategic marriages regardless of liking. In contrast, I… honestly have nothing.”

“…”

“I only hope that Your Grace will find a suitable match in three years.”

Hah.

At Ebel’s final words, complete with a Bayern Autonomous Army-style salute, Victor was left speechless.

Drawing the line was clean, too clean.

‘This makes me want to be childishly stubborn.’

He was the one who had sought out Ebel with the condition of a contract marriage. It was even fair to say the whole world knew thanks to the newspaper advertisement.

His plan to ‘set up’ love at first sight was also to drive away people who might harbor vain hopes of becoming Grand Duchess if they just waited three years.

‘I just need to appear like perfect lovers with Ebel publicly.’

For three years, treat the children together and prevent war.

Find the twelve who had stayed with him to the end, fulfill each of their wishes, and let Ebel live her own life too.

This should have been what he wanted.

‘Personal feelings shouldn’t interfere with operations. That’s the principle.’

Even though he knew better than anyone, why did he feel like such a clueless young boy? Really.

Not knowing he had this side to himself, he loosened the corners of his mouth at the pleasant feeling he hadn’t experienced in a long time.

Ebel tilted her head, not understanding why his mood had suddenly improved.

“Then when are you planning to send Aunt away?”

“Since we agreed to hold the exhibition, it will be after that. We need to make proper arrangements for her stay as well.”

“Mm.”

Was it just her imagination that it sounded like ‘I’ll make sure she can never leave the monastery even if she dies’?

Ebel read his intentions and silently prayed for Genevieve’s peaceful retirement.

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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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