The Murderous Duke's Domestic Affairs - Chapter 2

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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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Chapter 2
I stood before the mansion. The Coachman set down my trunk and hastily departed in the carriage as though fleeing. The sound of hoofbeats and rolling wheels faded into the distance. Only when silence reclaimed the air did I squeeze my eyes shut and draw a deep breath.
Though not my first glimpse of it, the mansion still struck me with its staggering enormity. The Marquis Estate where I had spent my entire life could fit several times over within these walls. White bricks encircling the exterior reflected the afternoon sunlight, casting it back in golden hues. The grand, ancient structure was beautiful, yet it emanated an inexplicable darkness and unease.
I pressed the doorbell mounted on one side of the iron gate. Despite my mental preparation, the sharp chime startled me. As I instinctively stepped back, a dark-haired middle-aged man emerged from the mansion’s entrance. It was Calvin Stewart, the mansion’s Butler.
“Welcome, madam. Had you informed us in advance, I would have sent a proper greeting.”
I shook my head in response to Calvin’s courteous words, forcing a stiff smile. A servant following in his wake lifted my trunk. I bit my lip silently, recalling how disturbingly light it was. Yet I could hardly carry it myself without drawing attention. Releasing an imperceptible sigh, I followed the servant and Calvin into the mansion. Behind me, the heavy door closed with a resounding thud.
The interior was dim. Though the exterior boasted numerous windows, the drawn curtains and ivy-covered walls made it feel far darker. Perhaps the brightness outside contributed to the effect. It wasn’t pitch black, but my eyes needed time to adjust to the shadows.
“I shall show you to your quarters first, madam.”
Calvin stopped before a door after ascending the stairs and walking down the corridor. When he opened it, a spacious sitting room appeared. The servant quietly set my trunk in one corner, bowed respectfully, and withdrew. Calvin opened another door adjacent to the sitting room.
“The bedroom is through here. The dressing room and bath are that way. These two will attend to your needs.”
Two servants in long uniforms bowed to me. When I asked their names, the one with straw-colored hair braided on both sides introduced herself as Anna, while the one with reddish-brown short hair gave her name as Lise.
“The master has requested that you join him for dinner this evening.”
I withdrew my pocket watch to check the time and nodded. Fortunately, I had time to rest before dinner. Calvin mentioned he would return at seven o’clock to escort me, then withdrew. I released a sigh and removed my hat. My thick, dark braid tumbled loose.
“I should like to rest a moment…”
“Then we shall return when you are ready to prepare yourself.”
Anna and Lise, who had arranged a tea set before me, curtsied with a flourish of their skirts and departed. At last, I was alone. I exhaled softly. My shoulders ached from tension. I nearly collapsed into the long chair and began unfastening my jacket buttons.
I needed to unpack my trunk, but exhaustion had drained all motivation. I lacked even the strength to lift a teacup. The distance from the remote Marquis Estate in the countryside to the Capital City, and beyond that to this grand Duke’s mansion—a vast estate said to have been granted directly by an Emperor generations past—felt insurmountable.
It had been merely half a year since my parents perished in a carriage accident. There had been no time to grieve. My Uncle seized the Marquis title my father had held. He took not only the title but the modest domain and estate—everything that should have been mine. The only daughter, once cherished by the entire Marquis household, had lost everything.
The room my mother had decorated so beautifully and the fine dresses fell to my Cousin. In exchange, I received a narrow attic room once occupied by an apprentice servant. They threw me some clothing for appearances’ sake, but it was all worn and tattered. When I first came to meet the Duke, and even now in what I wore—the Capital City people must have found it laughable. I could only be grateful to the Butler and maids for their discretion.
‘But that was not the worst of it.’
My Uncle was not satisfied with merely claiming the Marquis title. I faced the prospect of being sold as a bride to a wealthy elderly man from the countryside. Was it his third wife or fourth? He kept taking wives in hopes of fathering a son, but they all died in childbirth, and his household had only daughters.
Recalling that prospect, I hunched my shoulders and sighed. With the money from selling me, my Cousin planned to arrange a better marriage for my younger female Cousin and secure a position in the Knight Order for my Cousin.
I lay back in the long chair and stretched my hand toward the ceiling. A thin platinum ring on my fourth finger caught the light and gleamed. That day, I had received this delicate thread of a ring instead of an engagement ring. That the Duke had accepted my proposal still surprised me.
Before Anna and Lise returned, I changed into the most presentable formal dress I could find in my trunk, and my mind drifted back to the day I first arrived at the Duke’s mansion. Before parting, the Duke smiled with a slight smirk and extended his hand for a handshake. One corner of his mouth lifted higher than the other in that confident smile. His hand, when I grasped it, was large and warm—a hand better suited to wielding a sword than a pen.
“Oh, forgive us, madam. We seem to have arrived late.”
My unconscious mind must have answered the knock. Anna and Lise, their eyes wide, hurried to help me dress.
“No, I started early myself.”
In truth, I had begun preparing early to avoid revealing my shabby circumstances, but I simply smiled. Anna seated me and combed my hair from behind, while Lise carefully smoothed the wrinkles from my jacket.
“You have such beautiful hair, madam.”
Anna marveled as she carefully combed my long dark hair down past my waist. I smiled at her reflection in the mirror and thanked her, though I felt my brow furrow slightly at the honorific she used.
My dark hair had been my mother’s pride. Most people in the Empire had lighter hair, but mine, inherited from my father, was dark. My mother, who found it beautiful, had always combed it herself.
Even on the day of the carriage accident.
Tears I had never shed before spilled down my cheeks. I startled and wiped them away. Anna and Lise were good servants. They must have seen the tears streaming down my face, yet they said nothing. Half a year had passed—why tears now? Perhaps the tension was finally releasing. I had successfully escaped the Marquis household. And perhaps because Lise’s hands combing my hair resembled my mother’s touch.
I needed to compose myself. Soon I would meet the Duke. I took a deep breath. Something was offered to me from the side. When I turned, Lise held out a cloth dampened with cool water—when had she prepared it?
“Place it against your eyes.”
Her voice was a soft whisper. I nodded slightly and accepted it. I was grateful she asked nothing. Leaning back in the chair, I pressed the cool cloth to my eyes. The tears continued to flow. Until the cloth, cooled by water, began to feel warm.
While I wept quietly, the two servants went about their tasks without comment. After I had finally composed myself, Lise applied powder to my reddened eyes. Her technique was so skillful that no trace of my tears remained. When I murmured my thanks, Lise waved her hand modestly, saying it was nothing.
Someone knocked at the door. It was time. I drew a deep breath and rose from my seat. Anna opened the door. The person waiting for me was Calvin, the Butler.
“Have a pleasant evening, madam. I shall prepare a bath for your return.”
“Thank you.”
After thanking the two of them once more, I followed Calvin down the corridor. Though the lights burned brightly, the hallway seemed shrouded in an inexplicable darkness—as if some indelible shadow had been carved into its very walls. It was far too early for such gloom. My gaze drifted toward the heavy curtains drawn across the windows. If I were to sweep them aside, sunlight would come pouring in. Whose taste had dictated those curtains, I wondered? That person who shone as brilliantly as the sun itself—surely they deserved a place far brighter than this.
After walking for some time, Calvin came to a halt before a door. It looked no different from any other in the corridor. When he knocked, a low voice sounded from within. The one waiting for me inside was surely Aster Veil Lilywood.
Perhaps because this was our first meeting since that day, I felt an unexpected tension. I cleared my throat softly and straightened my posture. I caught Calvin’s gaze and gave a slight nod. Beyond the door lay a modest table, and upon it sat a meager spread of food—barely enough to constitute a proper dinner, yet arranged with careful attention. Calvin pulled out the chair across from the Duke, and I settled into it with deliberate care.
He poured red wine into the glasses before us both, then Calvin bowed respectfully and withdrew. Now we were alone. There was no escape, even if I had wished for one. I studied the man across from me quietly. His eyes, cast downward toward the food on the table, held a chilling gleam—as if he were regarding poisoned fare rather than a meal.
“Eat.”
After staring at it for a long moment, he finally spoke. I bowed my head in acknowledgment and brought the food to my lips. Though modest in appearance, the high-quality meat and vegetables were seasoned with exotic spices I had never encountered at the Marquis Estate, and the flavor was truly exquisite.
But Aster Veil Lilywood seemed unmoved. He remained perfectly still, merely glaring at his plate as if it had gravely offended him.

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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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