Abandoned Maid of the Grand Duke - Chapter 47
Epilogue or Prologue
Fifteen-year-old Lilian was incredibly beautiful.
So beautiful that word spread throughout the entire village, and even nobles from neighboring villages would come by, pretending to pass by, just to catch a glimpse of her.
While one might expect her parents to be in a frenzy over such a lovely daughter, the reality was quite the opposite in their household. Instead, it was the prospective mother-in-law who was in a frenzy, having already decided that Lilian would make the perfect daughter-in-law.
「I can’t wait any longer. Send her to the Grand Duchy.」
「You selfish brat, at this rate, my son will reach adulthood before anything happens!」
「If this continues, I’ll come in person.」
Ernst lit a match and burned the latest letter from Grand Duchess Luina, who sent messages almost daily. He feared that if Julie saw them, she might waver.
Especially with Lilian’s birthday just three days away.
‘An agreement, indeed.’
At one point, they had made such an agreement.
“We’ll leave. And then, in 15 years… no, 16?”
They had promised to send the child to the Grand Duchy to succeed the title once grown.
In return, Luina had kept her promise faithfully, enduring scandal, and Julie had become a free woman, supposedly a pitiful maid killed by the Grand Duchess’s sword. She had the chance to raise her child herself.
Jingle—
At that moment, the door opened, and Julie entered with a bright smile, carrying a bag of bread.
“Why are you alone? Where’s Lilian?”
“She went out with her friends.”
“Haah, I keep telling her it’s dangerous to go out alone.”
Julie’s muttering as she kissed his cheek was no exaggeration. It wasn’t just because Lilian was beautiful, it was dangerous for children to be outside alone until sunset.
The reason? Poor security. In a situation where children could be kidnapped even in broad daylight, a girl as beautiful as Lilian was at even greater risk.
Of course, the fact that her father had taught her formidable self-defense skills was a saving grace. After all, she was a girl who could easily take down a bear.
Instead of worrying about their daughter, they worried about who she might defeat, shaking her head as Julie relayed the news she had heard in the market.
“There’s been another uprising in the Eastern Territory. It’s a big problem.”
As Julie habitually covered her mouth with her hand, worrying if the Elva Marquisate was safe, she reflected on the current state of the empire, which was in chaos. This was the real reason Ernst hadn’t sent Lilian to the Grand Duchy.
‘To hell with the crumbling empire and its nobility.’
So much time had passed already.
Back when he was active, the rebels were so disorganized they were barely a threat. Now, they have grown into a well-organized force with legitimate claims.
In other words, the empire had rotted that much.
When Ernst had taken up the Grand Duke’s title, his cousin, who inherited the throne, turned out to be an even worse tyrant than their predecessor.
“Go find out! Or I’ll have all your heads chopped off!”
The problem wasn’t just that he turned into a beast when drunk—the bigger issue was that he was a beast even when sober.
The signs were there from a young age. When he was excited, he would spin a golden disc and make his servants fetch it on all fours. If they failed, there would be bloodshed that day. It was absurd.
“Is there a baby? Where, in the belly? No, of course it’s in the belly.”
While it was true Ernst was mad about Julie, the problem was that he wasn’t actually crazy about women—he’s just crazy about Julie in particular.
If Julie had Paul’s child, Ernst would have thought of raising the child as his own, not flipping Julie over. Julie could get hurt. If it’s Julie’s child, it’s also his child.
But that madman, his cousin? As long as there was a hole, he didn’t care if it was a married woman, a pregnant woman, a noble, a commoner, or even a man. How was he different from a dog? Actually, why compare him to a dog? What did dogs do to deserve such a comparison?
Living a life of luxury and tyranny was his norm, and he treated his subordinates worse than animals. The Empress Dowager had long since given up, and the Empress died slowly from mercury poisoning. What does that tell you?
The Crown Prince, born under him, grew up to manage the political situation, but even he had his limits. Someone was needed to quell the rebels and mediate with the imperial family, but who could take on that role?
The Yornbach Paladin Order, who refrained from meddling in worldly affairs? The incompetent nobles who were busy filling their own pockets under a corrupt imperial family?
Although Marquis Elva barely managed to control them, it wasn’t enough to justify the legitimacy of the imperialists.
The increasing anxiety of Luina year after year was proof of that.
The war hero, who used the aftereffects of war as an excuse to go into seclusion, hadn’t shown his face for nearly two decades.
Even in a society where social hierarchies were strictly maintained, who would want to send their child away as the heir to an empire that could erupt in rebellion at any moment?
‘At this rate, a revolution…’
It wouldn’t be surprising if it happened. That’s why Ernst had been moving his assets abroad for quite some time. He had subtly hinted at it to Luina, but she refused to accept reality.
Only Marquis Elva understood the severity and kept it to himself.
“How could I abandon the country where I was born and raised?”
The country didn’t feed us though. What bullshxt.
