The Military Doctor Excels at Being a Contracted Duchess - Chapter 76

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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 76】

The man immediately set down his documents and his fingers touched her cheek.

“You wiped all the children clean.”

“Do I have coal dust on me too?”

“Yes. Quite a lot of it.”

Ebel’s face turned beet red when she saw how black his hand had become after wiping her face.

She glared resentfully at Dominique, who had turned his back and was covering his mouth, but well. He wasn’t her husband, so he couldn’t wipe a lady’s face.

When she sighed, Victor pulled out a dark blue handkerchief from his coat and carefully wiped her face once more.

“There, that’s better.”

“Coal dust is quite stubborn. My handkerchief is white, so after wiping the children’s faces, it became completely unusable.”

“You can buy as many new ones as you need, so it doesn’t matter. Shall we visit a handkerchief shop when we reach the capital?”

“Well, that’s not what I meant… I was wondering if that dust might be harmful to the body. If it sticks to fabric like this and won’t come off, what if it sticks to the lungs…”

Wouldn’t that be a problem?

Victor inwardly admired Ebel as she tilted her head thoughtfully.

He approached coal from a capitalist perspective.

A useful fuel and a substance that could create new waves of wealth for the nation.

But Ebel was looking at it from a more microscopic viewpoint.

Issues he had never thought about, having been born into the highest nobility.

For example, the lung health of firemen who handle coal, or the composition of steam emitted from running trains.

These were problems only Ebel would think of.

‘If it’s proven that railways are a health threat, it could become a useful card when I need to deal with the railway king later.’

Of course, he didn’t voice such thoughts. She might despise him for it.

Victor simply kept it quietly in his mind and helped his family off the train.

Still, trains shouldn’t disappear.

Being able to provide free medical care like this in every city on the way to the capital was all thanks to the train.

Without it, they never would have made it in time for the hunting festival.

Moreover, trains could quickly transport enormous quantities of goods from the west to the east of the country.

It would be quite a challenging task to publish research results proving health damage while not creating negative public opinion about trains.

“This is probably the moment I’ve visited the most cities in my life.”

“Don’t be so sure, Ebel. You never know how much traveling you’ll do in the future.”

“That’s true.”

Word had already spread that the House of the Grand Duke was bringing many doctors, as crowds of people holding welcome signs had gathered at the train station like clouds.

Seeing them, Ebel once again realized the power of authority.

That ‘Grand Duchess of Bayern’ could accomplish far more than ‘Doctor Abel Claren’ as an individual.

* * *

“Ha! That damned Bayern bastard.”

Two days later, at the Royal Palace.

After falling asleep dead drunk and waking up late, the king threw down his newspaper as soon as he saw it.

The paper hit the servant’s chest instead of the floor, showing the Grand Duke’s face on the fallen page.

“I don’t know who’s the real king here. Huh? He does whatever he pleases.”

Nicholas, who had been fuming, whirled around to face the cowering servant and shouted.

“Where’s the Queen? Still no information? What the hell is she doing that she can’t find out why the Grand Duke is acting so crazy?”

“I apologize, Your Majesty. Please calm down.”

“Do I look calm right now? Nobody! Nobody can find out anything about Ebel Bayern! She could be his only weakness!”

Bang!

The bedside table tilted from the violent blow and finally toppled over.

Water from the vase spilled out, soaking the newspaper.

The already crude illustration became even more unsightly.

“House Bayern has succession rights to the throne. Those damn succession rights!”

Nicholas, who had been ranting like a terrified animal, trampled on the newspaper illustration.

Richter and Bayern were relatives who had split during Nicholas’s great-grandfather’s generation.

If a great disaster befell the nation and the king died without an heir, or if there was a crown prince who couldn’t function properly, or was too young.

Or if the king and queen only had daughters.

Bayern held succession rights to prepare for various situations that could endanger the nation.

Of course, they had never staged a rebellion and rarely came up to the capital, staying confined to the south, but from the king’s perspective, they were like a thorn stuck in his throat.

This was especially true for Nicholas.

First of all, he had no children with his current queen, Minuette.

The problem was that as long as Minuette rejected him with all her might, there might never be any in the future.

He could father bastards, but what if there was no legitimate heir?

“What if the Grand Duchess bears a son and claims succession rights?”

The servant couldn’t bring himself to say that would never happen and chose silence. Nothing would reach the excited king’s ears anyway.

“Strengthen security around the Queen’s Palace. Don’t let that crazy woman throw herself into Victor von Bayern’s arms.”

“Y-yes, understood.”

Nicholas bit his lips anxiously.

If the Grand Duke had been traveling abroad as he always had, he wouldn’t have been this uneasy.

But Victor von Bayern was coming to the capital with his Grand Duchess, as if to show off.

Not just coming, but creating positive public opinion about himself.

What could this mean!

‘Minuette brought in a gypsy fortune teller recently. She’s probably planning to make some love potion to feed to the Grand Duke.’

That woman’s mind was predictable anyway.

She was planning to bear the Grand Duke’s child by any means necessary.

‘But that won’t work out as she wants. The Grand Duke would never accept the Queen, and he’s so rigid that we can’t even tell if he’s attracted to women at all.’

Now that he even has a Grand Duchess, it would be even more impossible.

‘But… but what if, while Minuette keeps the Grand Duke occupied, I take the Grand Duchess?’

Nicholas’s eyes gleamed wickedly as he continued his sinister thoughts.

‘Even if it’s not necessarily me, as long as the Grand Duchess doesn’t conceive the Grand Duke’s child.’

The first in line for succession was naturally the king’s legitimate child.

Second was Bayern’s legitimate eldest son.

The king’s bastards ranked third, behind them.

But if the son born wasn’t the Grand Duke’s bloodline… he wouldn’t meet the condition of being the legitimate eldest son, and succession rights would naturally be nullified.

“Well, it looks like I’ll need to charm a woman for the first time in a while.”

Nicholas, regaining his confidence, swept back his hair.

“Head Chamberlain! Are you there?”

“Yes, did you call for me, Your Majesty?”

“Assign the Blue Rose Palace as lodging for the Grand Duke’s family during this hunting festival.”

“Pardon? Oh, no. Yes, understood.”

Though he quickly bowed his head, the old servant’s eyes widened.

The Blue Rose Palace was connected by gardens to the main palace where the king resided.

He had always assigned them to the most distant palace, saying he hated seeing the Grand Duke’s face, so what was this about?

Though he couldn’t understand the reason, since the Blue Rose Palace was a place befitting the Grand Duke’s status, the head chamberlain swallowed his questions and withdrew.

No one knew about the sinister plot the king was hiding.

At least not yet.

* * *

“Ah!”

At that moment.

Ebel, who had been sleeping while leaning against Victor, woke up with a start.

“Are you alright?”

“Oh… yes. I think I just had a nightmare.”

Stopping in every city to provide charitable medical care was quite exhausting work.

While moving to the next city, Victor, who had let the drowsy Ebel lean against him, was reading reports about the situation in the capital.

But as soon as Ebel opened her eyes, he gently set her down and carefully placed his hand on her pale forehead.

“You’re breaking out in a cold sweat. How about having some coffee in the Dining Car?”

“Good idea. I should do that.”

She wasn’t even sick, so why was she getting chills like this?

As she moved toward the Dining Car with Victor, she suddenly looked back at him.

Unnecessary words were stuck in her throat, refusing to go down.

Maybe it was because she would soon have to face nobles who were like a pack of hyenas.

Ebel hesitated and hesitated again before slowly parting her lips.

“Victor, this is just out of concern, just in case I’m wondering…”

“Yes.”

“Abel… he won’t be coming back, will he?”

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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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