The Murderous Duke's Domestic Affairs - Chapter 7

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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 7
Life at the Duke’s Mansion unfolded peacefully. My butler Calvin, along with Anna and Lise who attended to me closely, ensured my daily life was free of inconvenience, and working with Retti, the Duke’s adjutant, felt natural and comfortable. Even Aster Veil Lilywood, whom I had worried might disapprove of me, listened carefully to my words and followed my guidance. It was as though those moments when he spoke of secrets in that cold voice had never existed.
With Retti’s guidance, I toured the Duke’s Mansion. Though I initially thought its excessive size would exhaust me in a single day, it proved manageable since many spaces remained unused.
“This area is off-limits.”
Retti would say such things and turn back. I wanted to ask why, but I couldn’t bring myself to speak against his hardened expression. Though Retti typically wore a gentle demeanor and smiled readily, that rigid face bore the unmistakable sharpness of one who had survived a brutal battlefield.
Following him through the darkened corridors, I glanced around. A mansion of this size should naturally have a grand dining hall or ballroom, ancestral portraits of successive dukes, and galleries displaying collected artwork—yet none existed in the accessible areas. Surely they lay beyond, in those dark forbidden zones. But why? I couldn’t fathom it.
There was another incomprehensible matter: the mansion’s staff was remarkably sparse. I not only assisted the Duke with his duties but also had to manage the household as the Duchess would. If Retti was the Duke’s partner in his work, then Calvin, the butler, was mine. When I took over the Duchess’s responsibilities that Calvin had previously handled, I couldn’t help but furrow my brow.
The forbidden areas Retti had shown me exceeded half the mansion. Yet no matter how vast those restricted zones were, the Duke’s Mansion remained a grand estate. To manage it properly, I needed at least twice the current staff. I naturally pointed this out. But Calvin only offered a bitter smile with furrowed brows, saying nothing else—despite knowing better than anyone that insufficient staff would burden those currently employed.
Eventually, I asked Aster whether we might hire additional servants. Though he had said to do everything according to my wishes, he shook his head and refused. Again, I couldn’t ask the reason. I feared facing that cold response he’d shown when I’d asked about the documents, when he’d called them “confidential.” So I fell silent. His profile, glimpsed from the corner of my eye, remained furrowed and rigid.
I couldn’t bring myself to speak further. Besides, there was far too much work to dwell on such matters. The task of verifying the contents of those towering stacks of document boxes was long and tedious.
Retti was clumsy at formatting reports aesthetically, but the content he wrote was detailed. With just a bit of guidance on technique, his work would improve quickly.
When I mentioned this, Retti showed enthusiasm. His blue eyes sparkled as he spoke of wanting to do his best in his role as adjutant, despite his military background. Aster raised one corner of his mouth and chuckled softly, then nodded his approval. From the next day onward, I began teaching Retti how to format documents for better readability. He proved to be quite a diligent student, and teaching him brought me unexpected joy.
As I explained various things to Retti seated across from me at the desk, I felt a gaze and looked up to meet eyes with Aster, who sat in a long chair with his legs propped up, reading something. His expressionless face was cool, but he soon raised one corner of his mouth in a faint smile. Had it been someone else making such an expression, I might have thought they were mocking me, but strangely, Aster’s crooked smile didn’t feel that way. I couldn’t explain why. Perhaps it was because his childish smile—eyes crinkled, bright and warm—overlapped with his current expression. Each time I saw that face of his, I had to struggle to shake off the thoughts that suddenly enveloped me.
The clothes I’d ordered from Jasmine Aloria’s dressmaking studio arrived around the time I was beginning to grow accustomed to this daily routine. Though I’d only commissioned clothing, my room was soon filled with boxes containing hats, shoes, and accessories. The sheer quantity was enough to tire one just looking at it.
Watching Anna and Lise, who seemed even more delighted than I was, I sat before the table sipping tea. The two of them busily opened boxes, confirmed the clothes, and organized them in the dressing room. Each time a box opened, exclamations and clear laughter rippled through the room.
“Aren’t you pleased, my lady? You haven’t even tried on the new clothes yet.”
Anna quietly asked me as I sipped my tea in silence. She seemed puzzled by my merely smiling. I set down my teacup.
“I don’t particularly care for clothes. But seeing the two of you laugh makes me happy as well.”
Within days, I’d begun speaking informally to these two—a significant change. Though I claimed noble birth, I was merely a minor figure from a marquis’s household, no different from anyone else. Perhaps for that reason, I wasn’t accustomed to speaking casually to others, but Anna and Lise protested vehemently that “it’s unthinkable for my lady to use formal speech with servants.” Though it was half-forced on their part, I’d grown quite comfortable with it.
At first, I struggled as I consciously changed my speech, mixing formal and casual language awkwardly. How strange that feels now. I smiled softly at the memory.
“I prefer sweets and cakes to clothes, if I’m honest. Is that odd?”
I popped a small cookie into my mouth and smiled with narrowed eyes. They say sweetness is addictive, and that saying rings true. This must be what happiness tastes like. I could become intoxicated by it.
At the Marquis Estate, we rarely ate such confections. Though wheat and milk were easily obtained in the countryside, sugar and chocolate were so expensive it couldn’t be helped. I understood that my father’s salary from his work at the Imperial Palace was substantial, but most of it went toward the welfare of the territory’s people. There were almost no tax defaulters, partly because my father’s tax rates were never excessive to begin with. Whatever remained was spent on the people’s wellbeing. That was my father’s principle.
My life had changed little from when I lived at the Marquis Estate to now. Reading and organizing documents was ultimately the same work, though the content differed slightly. I received the Duke’s signature just as I once received my father’s approval. The greatest change, if I had to name one, was simply that I had more attendants and could now eat sweets freely.
“The Chef said he’s so pleased that you enjoy everything he makes, my lady.”
Lise, who had finished verifying the delivery slip stamped with the Aloria Dressmaking Studio’s seal against the types and quantities of accessories, smiled at me as though drawn in.
“He’s been excitedly making confections he hasn’t prepared in over a decade!”
Anna’s laughter-tinged voice drifted from the dressing room. But in the next moment, the laughter abruptly ceased.
‘Ah, that’s right.’
I clicked my tongue inwardly. Aster had inherited the dukedom over a decade ago. And like me, he had lost both parents suddenly in an accident. I simply hadn’t realized it until now, but Aster carried the same pain I did—and at an even younger age.
Every servant I’d confirmed while taking over the household management had worked here since over ten years ago. Those ten years during which the Chef hadn’t made sweets must have been a painful period for them as well.
“Does Aster dislike sweet things?”
That was probably why Lise and Anna had fallen silent. I deliberately changed the subject with an unconcerned tone. Lise, who had lowered her head to avoid my gaze, lifted her eyes. Her brown eyes trembled. I offered her a bitter smile.
“…Yes, that’s right.”
After a long pause, Lise finally spoke. A smile similar in color to mine hung at her lips.
“The studio sent everything perfectly. I’ll organize these accessories in the dressing room.”
Lise rose and picked up the accessory box. As she organized each item one by one, the boxes that had filled the room vanished. Watching the servant’s uniform skirt disappear into the dressing room, I sighed softly and sank into the armchair.
Through the open door, I heard Lise scolding Anna for making unnecessary noise. It wasn’t Anna’s fault. Feeling oddly tired, I rubbed my eyes slightly.
At the edge of my restored vision, a red box sitting alone in one corner of the table caught my eye.
‘Did Lise leave that behind?’
Yet unlike the items Lise had been verifying with her just moments before, this crimson box bore no emblem of the Aloria Dressmaking Studio. Had some personal possession been accidentally mixed in from elsewhere? But if that were the case, shouldn’t it have been delivered to the Aloria Dressmaking Studio rather than left here? Accessories were crafted using precious gems of considerable value. Without question, the owner who had lost this must be quite distressed.
Perhaps the family crest of the owner was stamped inside the box. I could use that as a clue to locate and return it to them. I extended my arm and drew the box closer to myself. The red velvet wrapping the box reflected a smooth, lustrous sheen. For some reason, touching someone else’s belongings made me take a deep breath. I’m not coveting this. I simply want to return it to its rightful owner. I murmured this to myself alone.
After unlocking the clasp and opening the box’s lid, I froze at the sight of what lay within. My lavender gaze slowly traced across each item inside.
A delicate ruby bracelet adorned with a deep-hued garnet fashioned into a teardrop shape. A pair of earrings woven from pearls and pale amethyst. A necklace engraved with my name, decorated with jewels I had received from my beloved grandmother whom I cherished dearly. Gems gifted to me by my parents on my birthday and other memorable occasions. Inside the crimson box lay treasures more familiar to me than anything else in the world.
With trembling hands, I covered my mouth as it kept falling open. How had she found these? The very things I had been forced to sell to survive now glimmered before me once more.
This box had been mixed among the items delivered from the Aloria Dressmaking Studio. No matter how accomplished Jasmine Aloria was as the studio’s proprietor, there would be no reason for her to locate such things and present them to me of her own accord. Therefore, this must have been done at Aster’s behest.
My exhaled breath trembled at its end. With careful hands, I closed the lid of the crimson box and slowly bent forward, resting my forehead against it. The soft velvet tickled my brow. The treasures I had thought lost forever had returned to me. Fearing tears would spill, I squeezed my eyes shut with force.
I needed to go thank Aster.

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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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