There is No Key to His Cage - Chapter 27
The room became desolately quiet after he left.
Come to think of it, he and Jane were the only people she could talk to here.
“But now Jane isn’t here…”
She got up from the bed and leisurely walked to the window to do some photosynthesis.
“Oh no…”
Outside, servants were bustling about, busy with wedding preparations.
No wonder the corridor was unusually quiet today.
They were all busy carrying luggage.
Three luggage carriages that had entered the mansion were piled high with flowers, decorations, and food ingredients.
“Wedding… wedding… wedding…!”
Her mind was in turmoil as the reality of the wedding suddenly hit her.
Elena sat at the tea table by the window, clutching her head.
What would happen after getting married?
She would go from being a young lady to a Grand Duchess.
And she would gain some power in this castle.
Wouldn’t that increase her chances of escape?
“Should I buy land and secretly leave?”
After getting married, she could ask him for a mine or something to save money.
Money was the most important thing to escape this vast Ardeo Duchy.
No, money was the most important thing to survive anywhere.
“If I use all the dignity maintenance funds for personal savings, I should be able to buy a small house without any problem. I could even live off it for life.”
And if she settled in a small country across the sea and opened a modern coffee house to attract nobles, she could make quite an income.
“I must be a genius.”
Pleased with her perfect plan, Elena stood in front of the mirror, humming.
Then she took out a comb stuck in the dressing table and brushed her hair.
Her brushing her hair meant she was in a good mood.
While she was pretending to be pretty in front of the mirror for a while, a dull knocking sound was heard at the door.
Knock knock-
“Come in.”
“My lady?”
Jane looked puzzled at her unusually high voice.
“Jane!”
As soon as the door opened, she ran towards her with open arms like a child finding her mother.
Elena, who had already fallen into Jane’s arms, squeezed her tightly as if her body would break.
“Ow. It hurts, my lady.”
“Sorry, sorry. I’m just so happy.”
Her bright smile was as fresh as a green apple.
Jane also smiled brightly at her grinning face.
But Elena’s smile soon faded.
With eyes round like a lost kitten, she said to Jane with a whimper.
“Jane… I’m getting married in two days, this doesn’t make sense. Right? Me, getting married…”
“My lady…”
Jane hugged her and stroked her back as she grieved.
“You and the Grand Duke will be happy. And whenever you’re having a hard time, you can always come to me. I’m always on your side.”
Elena pouted and made a sulky face at her words.
“Don’t say that. I have no intention of being happy with him.”
“My lady…”
“You’re not on my side either.”
“I’m always on your side.”
“Tch…”
Jane smiled and gently touched Elena’s shoulder at her seemingly annoyed expression.
“But why do you look so happy? You’re even brushing your hair, which you rarely do.”
Jane said as she picked up fallen strands of hair from the floor.
“Because I came up with a really good plan.”
“A plan…?”
“Yes, I’m definitely going to escape.”
Her eyes blazed like a burning flame.
Jane smiled faintly as she watched her burning with determination in the chair.
“I see, but for now, we have something we need to do.”
“What is it?”
“Etiquette lessons!”
Elena’s expression instantly froze at the mention of etiquette lessons.
What could be more terrifying in this world than studying?
“Well then, my lady, shall we go for your etiquette lessons?”
***
Grand Duke’s Mansion, Conference Room.
Inside the conference room filled with cold air, the walls surrounded by gray bricks are lined with portraits of past heads of the family.
The old-looking fireplace was covered in a layer of dust, and next to it, fire pokers were neatly arranged like umbrellas.
Around the round wooden table, administrative officials in uniform were carefully watching Decarus as they spoke their piece.
And at the very end sat Decarus, who seemed to have a headache as he listened to their stories with his eyes closed.
“You must lower the taxes for the commoners, Your Grace. The discontent among the people of the duchy is growing.”
“How about imposing taxes on the nobles instead? The nobles’ coffers are filling up day by day while the common people are starving. This doesn’t make sense.”
“How dare you! Noble taxes? More than half of our duchy’s income comes from the nobles. If the upper nobility were to leave for other duchies, the foundation of our duchy would crumble! Will you take responsibility if that happens?”
“Now, where do you get off speaking so rudely!”
Bang-
The friction sound from his fingertips echoed loudly throughout the conference room.
He, who had been leaning back in his chair with his eyes closed, opened his mouth while exhaling deeply.
“Raise the nobles’ taxes. They’re not paying much in taxes anyway. And William, I can’t stand to see you living so lavishly in my country.”
“Y-Your Grace…!”
The administrative official with graying hair looked at him with resentful eyes.
But he seemed unconcerned, nodding his head slightly and pointing to the official next to him.
“Ah, Benjamin. I’ll leave this matter to you.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
The faces of the two officials showed contrasting emotions of joy and sorrow.
Perhaps one of them will regret his loose tongue tonight.
At that moment, an official sitting across from Decarus cautiously opened his mouth.
“Um, Grand Duke… I have something to say…”
A man so short he was barely visible above the desk was sweating profusely as if he had something to say.
He seemed to be debating whether he should dare to convey this message or keep his mouth shut.
“What is it.”
A voice like strong espresso resonated in the now quiet conference room.
“W-well…”
“What did I say I hate the most?”
Decarus, who seemed to have a headache again due to the man’s hesitation, grabbed his forehead with one hand.
The short official, as if deciding to throw caution to the wind, closed his eyes tightly and shouted.
“G-Grand Duke! This wedding is a too hasty a decision!”
Suddenly, all eyes were on him.
The eleven other officials, excluding him, gave looks that suggested the man had finally gone mad.
After all, even a passing mayfly knew how much the Grand Duke cherished Lady Elena.
“Marrying a woman you brought in from outside after not even a year, but just a month, Your Grace. This is clearly a hasty decision…!”
It was clearly a slip of the tongue.
This man would not leave here alive today.
Amusingly, all the officials’ heads were tilted at a 75-degree angle.
They must be rolling their eyes in anticipation of the impending disaster.
Decarus’s expression instantly froze like the bitter cold of Siberia.
Then, with displeasure, he opened his cold eyes and asked him.
“Did you say ‘woman’, Damian?”
“T-that… I was just thinking of Your Grace’s well-being…!”
Bang-!
At his gesture, the table shook with a cracking sound as if it would break.
One step, two steps.
The man turned pale as a ghost at the sound of footsteps as precise as a metronome.
Shing-
The sword at his waist made a sharp sound as it revealed itself.
“You seem to have a tenacious life, don’t you?”
Decarus curled up one corner of his mouth and held the sword to his neck.
There was only tension between the long sword that left no space even for a sheet of paper and the thin neck.
“N-no, Your Grace!! I dare not speak out of turn…!”
The foolish official, seeming to finally grasp the situation, trembled, fearing his head might fly off.
“Oh? Then let’s hear what you think is hasty, from that useless head of yours.”
This was clearly the last chance, no, the last breath he was giving him.
“W-well… A commoner, no, a slave. Marrying a slave is surely a disgrace to the Grand Duke’s family.”
Thwack-!
The gruesome head fell lightly with his gesture.
Bright red blood spurted from the official’s neck as it rolled on the floor, staining his white shirt.
For a moment, his expression crumpled like a piece of paper.
Not because the loose-tongued official had died.
It was because his beloved white shirt was now stained with blood.
Decarus clicked his tongue as he looked at the rolling head.
“Then let’s hear the next agenda.”
Decarus returned to his seat, sitting crookedly with his legs crossed.
But the atmosphere of the conference room, which had already turned into a bloodbath, could not be reversed.
The officials, still with their heads bowed at a 75-degree angle, were biting their lips and trembling, wondering if it might be their turn next.
Only a cold silence hung over the conference room with its chilling atmosphere.
But there was someone who couldn’t stand this atmosphere.
The bright light coming through the conference room window illuminated his light hair.
He, who had been shaking his legs, soon opened his mouth as if he couldn’t bear it anymore, squeezing past the desk.
Tap-
“Come on, come on. This is a common occurrence, let’s all take it lightly. Isn’t that right, Grand Duke?”
Isaac turned his head to meet Decarus’s gaze.
He smiled coldly, raising one corner of his mouth as if he had expected this.
“It’s noisy, just tell me the next agenda.”
Decarus, with his face all scrunched up, answered while resting his chin on his hand as if annoyed.
Isaac, finding his expression amusing like an angry cat, smiled while biting his tongue slightly.
“As you command, Grand Duke. Come on, cheer up. We’ll proceed with the wedding as planned. Does anyone here have any objections?”
No one raised their hand at Isaac’s question.
There was no way anyone would have objections.
They had just witnessed with their own eyes a head flying off.
“Well, if there are none, next!”
Isaac, seeming to enjoy the situation, shouted with his hand raised high like a mischievous child.
Then a man with blood splattered all over his face spoke with his head bowed low.
“Yes… um… This isn’t actually an agenda item.”
This was clearly an opportunity given to speak about the agenda.
Decarus looked at him with his eyes wide open.
The man, feeling the piercing gaze, bowed his head so low it almost touched the desk.
“It’s news that just came in urgently. The 8th Prince… has returned…”
He opened his mouth, trembling and unable to even meet Decarus’s eyes.
“What? Noah?”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
Decarus, who had been resting his chin on his hand throughout the meeting, straightened his back.
His voice, which had been monotone, now carried strength.
His red eyes, fixed on the official, shook rapidly.
“Theo, if that’s not true…”
“I-It’s true, Grand Duke. Really, the 8th Prince…!”
Tap-
As soon as he stood up, the bodies of the officials seated at the round table flinched.
But he hadn’t risen to reprimand someone.
Decarus hurriedly unbuttoned his blood-stained shirt and took a step.
“The meeting ends here.”
