The Duke’s Weakness (1)
“But the Duke… doesn’t he dislike you?”
“He does. Still, the time we spent together in the past can’t be ignored, can it?”
Daniel was still smiling.
No matter how she looked at him, he didn’t seem like someone lying.
Duha hesitated for a moment before finally speaking.
“Then do you also know what kind of person the Duke’s mother was?”
“Of course. She was my aunt by marriage.”
Daniel turned his gaze beyond the window.
“My aunt was an incredibly beautiful and kind woman. Though her origins were humble.”
Her name was ‘Eliza.’
A remarkable woman who, despite being labeled as a wandering dancer, rose to become the mistress of the Empire’s most prestigious Ducal family.
“And so, my father despised her. He thought she was arrogant and didn’t know her place, given her lowly birth.”
Indeed, Nate would have reacted that way and more.
When Duha silently agreed, Daniel continued.
“That’s why, when Leonhardt—no, the current Duke—was to inherit the title, my father strongly opposed it.”
A child of the Ducal family with common blood mixed in could not become the Duke.
That was Nate’s stance.
He wasn’t the only one who opposed Leonhardt’s succession to the title.
All the orthodox nobles and vassals who followed Nate also opposed Leonhardt.
“If the Duke weren’t a genius in swordsmanship, and if His Majesty the Emperor hadn’t recognized his abilities, he would never have become the Duke.”
“…I see.”
Though she had expected it, hearing it directly made her heart feel even heavier.
“Why do you look so uncomfortable?”
“It feels like I’ve unintentionally uncovered a weakness.”
“A weakness?”
At her words, Daniel let out a small, amused laugh.
“That can’t be considered a weakness for the current Duke. If anything, it’s a badge of honor.”
Indeed, he was the one who overcame everything to rise to the position of Duke.
“Weaknesses are something else entirely.”
“…What?”
“Shall I tell you? The Duke’s real weakness.”
Daniel gave a languid smile to Duha, who was staring at him with wide, surprised eyes.
Truly, like a prodigal son.
*** *** *** *** ***
A weakness.
A weakness for a Duke who seemed as if not even a drop of blood would come out if pricked with a needle.
‘I’m personally curious, but…’
Duha frowned.
Come to think of it, there was one.
Recalling the Duke clinging to her like a child when drunk, Duha couldn’t help but chuckle to herself.
“If it’s about the Duke’s weakness, I already know, so it’s fine.”
“…You already know?”
Seeing Daniel’s skeptical expression, she smiled lightly.
“And I’m not the kind of person who sneaks around behind someone’s back to uncover their weaknesses.”
Duha crossed her arms and looked up at him.
“Besides, I doubt the words of someone who claims to be close to the Duke yet tries to gossip about his weaknesses.”
“…Well, this is unexpected.”
Daniel raised his eyebrows, sharp as an upturned blade.
Despite being called out by Duha, he somehow seemed pleased.
“You always manage to make me feel ashamed, Duchess. I can never win against you.”
“Then, since the conversation seems to be over, I’ll take my leave now.”
“Duchess.”
As Duha turned to leave, Daniel stopped her once more.
“If you want to know more about the Duke, visit the annex.”
“The annex?”
“There’s something there that the Duke treasures most.”
At his words, a hint of curiosity flickered across Duha’s face.
“…What is it?”
“What else could it be, something so precious that a man would want to keep it hidden?”
Daniel gave her the brightest smile as he looked at her, even though he knew her eyes wavered with inexplicable unease.
*** *** *** *** ***
“As I thought.”
Duha stopped poring over the ledger and sank into the back of her chair.
She had felt a sense of déjà vu when Daniel mentioned the annex, and now it all made sense.
“What’s the matter, Duchess?”
As she sat with a serious expression, the head maid, who was organizing documents nearby, asked in a worried voice.
“Sylvia, about the annex…”
“Yes?”
The moment the word ‘annex’ came out of the Duchess’s mouth, Sylvia visibly tensed.
Duha, of course, did not miss that subtle change.
“I noticed something odd while going through the ledgers.”
“…Something odd?”
“Unlike other places where the budget is divided into detailed categories, the annex budget only lists the total expenditure.”
Duha reopened the ledgers she had been examining and pointed to various sections with her finger.
“When I asked the attendants, they said no one lives in the annex. Yet, a significant amount is spent on it every year. I wonder why…”
“Well, the annex is directly managed by the Duke himself, so I don’t think you need to concern yourself with it, Duchess.”
The Duke himself? Duha’s gaze grew sharper than before.
“Yes, even when I was managing the household, the Duke personally handled everything related to the annex.”
“Even though no one lives there?”
“I don’t know the reason, but in any case, the Duke takes care of it himself, so there’s no need for you to look into it. The Duke also dislikes anyone mentioning the annex.”
People tend to talk more when they’re lying or flustered.
And the head maid, uncharacteristically, was talking far too much.
“Alright, you may leave now.”
“Yes, Duchess.”
As the head maid left, Leila, who had been waiting outside the door, rushed in as if she had been waiting for this moment.
“Did you find out anything?”
“Yes, Duchess!”
She scurried over to Duha’s side and whispered in her ear.
“The annex is a place even the maids rarely visit, so it was hard to gather useful information, but I did find a few strange things.”
“Strange things?”
The strange things Leila mentioned were numerous.
First, the annex, which supposedly housed no one, was guarded by thirty knights. What made it even more suspicious was that all of them were fully-fledged knights, not mere trainees.
Second, the maids working in the annex were all mute. While being unable to speak didn’t mean they couldn’t communicate, they didn’t attempt to interact with the other servants working elsewhere.
“Moreover, the Duke visits the annex once a week. And every time, he brings in dresses and accessories that women would typically use, but he always leaves empty-handed,” Leila added.
Duha frowned at her words.
“What’s wrong, Duchess?”
“It’s suspicious.”
“What is?”
“The Duke.”
More precisely, the thing the Duke was supposedly hiding in the annex.
“But they said no one lives there. Could it be something like a storage room for valuables?”
“The Duke wouldn’t spend one-fifth of the Ducal household’s budget on a mere storage room. Nor would he assign thirty knights to guard it in a place where monster attacks are rare.”
And, of course, there was no reason for the Duke to be bringing women’s clothing and accessories in and out of such a place.
“Hmm.”
Leila scratched her cheek awkwardly at Duha’s words, then waved her hand as if joking.
“Well, it’s probably nothing. Surely he wouldn’t be hiding a woman there or something…”
“……”
“Ah…”
Leila suddenly clamped her hands over her mouth, as if shocked by her own words.
“I-I’m sorry, Duchess! That just slipped out! I didn’t mean to say something so ridiculous…”
“No, your words make sense.”
Daniel had clearly said that the Duke was hiding something precious in the annex.
‘What else could be precious to a man?’
If it was something a man would go to such lengths to hide, spending time and money, the most likely answer was a woman.
At least, that’s what Duha thought.
‘He really is an unpredictable person.’
Duha recalled Duke Esbaden.
Just when she thought they had grown a little closer, he would show nothing of himself.
A man who drew clear lines between what was his and what wasn’t.
Still, a man with many secrets.
‘Right, he said I belonged to House Esbaden, not that I belonged to him.’
There are levels to trust between people.
The Duke not revealing everything to her probably meant she hadn’t earned that level of trust yet.
“Um, Duchess. If there really is a woman hidden there, shouldn’t you take action?”
“Take action?”
“You’ll need to establish the hierarchy. If she’s hidden away, she’s probably just a mistress or concubine, but what if she tries to challenge your position?”
Duha groaned softly as she rested her chin on her hand.
In Bashar, it wasn’t considered a flaw for powerful and wealthy men to keep multiple women as concubines besides their wife.
Rather, the more women a man had, the more powerful he was considered to be.
However, the hierarchy among women was strictly defined.
It was an unwritten rule in Bashar that even if the legal wife physically disciplined the concubines under the pretext of managing them, it would be overlooked.
‘But is there any need for that here? After all, the Duke…’
From Duha’s perspective, it wasn’t particularly surprising.
Yet why did a corner of her heart feel heavy?
‘How strange.’
She rubbed her chest as if troubled.
Unlike her outwardly indifferent appearance, Leila exclaimed in an extremely excited voice.
“You’re not hesitating, are you? What if that woman bears an heir?”
“Ah.”
Duha let out a short gasp as if she hadn’t considered this.
If the Duke had another woman he loved and had a child with her, it would certainly become problematic.
Since she couldn’t give up her position as Duchess, any child born would automatically be treated as illegitimate.
If such a situation arose, Duha would have a duty as Duchess to take responsibility for that woman and child’s lives.
If that woman was truly the Duke’s beloved, she was essentially imprisoned in the annex because of Duha’s marriage to him.
“Duchess!”
“Calm down, Leila. We’re not even sure if it’s the Duke’s woman in the annex.”
“But you should still check!”
“…Yes, I suppose I should.”
At least now, several things had become clear.
The Duke was keeping secrets from her.
One of those secrets was in the annex.
Discovering the truth of this secret was entirely up to Duha’s choice.
‘Should I ask him directly?’
Secrets are secrets because people don’t want them revealed.
But that’s exactly what makes them so tempting to uncover.
Duha decided to ask the Duke directly about the annex.
With just a slight trace of displeasure in her heart.
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