TSHL 05

Chapter 5

Becoming the new duchess was never going to be easy from the start.

Everyone around us was shocked — from the duke’s retainers to the entire aristocracy of the social world.

Their eyes widened in disbelief when they heard that I would take the late Diana’s place as the lady of the Duchy.

The looks they gave me said it all — How dare you? They simply couldn’t comprehend it.

For those who didn’t know the circumstances of the marriage, it was more than enough reason to be furious.

When news of the marriage broke, my reputation — already poor — plummeted straight to rock bottom.

“A woman who betrayed her friend.”
“An immoral woman who married her friend’s husband.”

And that wasn’t all. A number of rumors began to cling to me like shadows.

That the only reason I had stayed close to Diana was because I’d been aiming for the position of duchess all along.
That I had remained by her side because I was secretly in love with her husband.
That Diana’s death in that “accident” wasn’t an accident at all — but the result of a curse I had cast upon her.

Absurd rumors like that spread as though they were truth, and people believed them completely.

I had expected backlash, but the scale of it was beyond what I imagined. The Duke, visibly concerned, eventually said to me:

“I believe it may be best if we tell people that our marriage is a contractual one, Kassia.
We needn’t go into details, of course, but—”

“Don’t,” I interrupted.

He looked at me, surprised.

“Don’t tell them anything,” I said.
“Even if you explain now, people who already believe the rumors won’t see it as truth. They’ll just think we’re making excuses to justify our marriage.”

“But, my lady—”

“I expected this. I’ll be fine, Your Grace. Please don’t worry about it.”

At my firm refusal, the duke said nothing more.

My wedding was drenched in curses and whispers. It was, without exaggeration, the most scandalous event in recent history.

Yet because it was Duke Hydrian’s wedding, no one dared to openly jeer.

Still, whenever the duke stepped away, I could hear their murmurs aimed clearly at me.

“She’s insane. Who marries her dead friend’s husband?”
“I knew it. She must’ve stuck to the late duchess just to get that title.”
“What if she did kill her? It makes sense, doesn’t it?”

To them, I was the vilest of women — a homewrecker, a heartless opportunist who stole her dead friend’s place.

They saw me as someone who’d thrown away all traces of morality to seize another woman’s life.

Their stares didn’t bother me much, but I couldn’t help feeling sorry toward my late parents.
Even if they were no longer here to see it.

After the ceremony, I officially moved into the duke’s mansion as its new mistress.

Surrounded by the duke’s excessive layers of security, I finally settled into my role — a position I would have to hold and endure.

If nothing else, I intended to fulfill the purpose Diana had asked of me:
to protect and lead the duchy firmly in her stead.

But that meant I had to face — and sometimes break — the resistance of those around me.

The maids were openly disrespectful. I quickly realized I would have to make them understand my authority.

So I fired the head maid — the one who had served the Hydrian household the longest, and the one who most blatantly despised me.

“Pack your things. You’re leaving today.”

“What?”

Her expression twisted in disbelief — as if to say, You dare dismiss me?

I smiled faintly.

“It seems you don’t quite understand your situation.”

“…My lady?”

“Steward,” I said calmly. “See that she’s escorted out of the mansion today.”

The butler looked startled, hesitant to move.

The head maid’s face paled as she finally realized the situation was serious.

“M-my lady! What is the meaning of this all of a sudden?”

At that moment, a voice came from behind.

“What’s going on here?”

We all turned to see the duke, just returning from an outing, standing at the doorway.

“I asked what’s happening,” he said firmly.

“This woman has repeatedly disrespected me,” I replied. “I was just about to dismiss her.”

“N-no, Your Grace!”

The head maid dropped to her knees before him, bowing her head.

“I would never disrespect the duchess!”

“Is that so?” I said coolly.
“Then what do you call spitting in my coffee, serving me with chipped china on purpose, and bringing me freezing water for washing?
If that isn’t disrespect, then you are gravely unfit to serve as head maid in this house.”

Her face turned white as I listed her misdeeds one by one.

The duke narrowed his eyes, then turned to the butler.

“Butler. Remove her from the estate.”

“Your Grace!”

Her voice cracked. The woman who had served this house for decades could hardly believe she was being dismissed — not by me, but by her master himself.

“Your Grace, I’ve served this household longer than anyone here! You would cast me out because of a single word from the new duchess?”

“Your years of service do not excuse your insolence,” he said coldly.

“But—!”

“The rest of you — listen carefully,” the duke’s voice rang across the hall.

“You will treat the duchess as the duchess.
If I hear of anything like this again, all of you will answer for it.”

The atmosphere froze.

The servants bowed their heads, silent. The duke turned and walked to his office, leaving behind only the sound of the head maid’s muffled sobs echoing through the hall.

The Hydrian family was one of the founding houses of the Empire.

Their crest bore a great dragon — a symbol of ancient honor and legitimacy.
And because of that pride, the servants’ sense of hierarchy was stronger here than anywhere else.

So the dismissal of the head maid had shaken the entire household to its core.

Even after being expelled, she came back several times, kneeling before the duke’s carriage whenever he was about to leave, begging for forgiveness.

But he never once relented.

Eventually, she stopped coming altogether.

After that, the staff became noticeably quieter around me.
At least to my face, they began addressing me properly as the duchess.

“My apologies,” the duke said one day. “You told me not to intervene, yet I ended up taking your side.”

He sounded worried that his support might somehow harm me. I shook my head.

“No. I’m grateful. It feels reassuring, honestly.”

When I smiled at him, he returned it faintly, his expression tinged with melancholy.

“…It’s the least I can do,” he murmured.

Aksion Hydrian.

Despite his sharp features, he was a man of manners and quiet thoughtfulness.

Just as I had seen him when he was with Diana — he was a good person.

Throughout our marriage, he treated me with courtesy and care, and became a dependable partner in managing the household.

But that was all.

There was no love between us.
Of course, that was to be expected.

Our marriage was dry — emotionless.

We spoke to each other in formal language, as though addressing a stranger.

When we were alone, our forms of address never changed:
he called me “My Lady,” and I called him “Your Grace.”

Beyond fulfilling our respective roles, we didn’t pry into each other’s personal lives.

We were good partners, but there was always an invisible wall between us.

He didn’t know what I liked or disliked, what I dreamed of or wanted to do.
And I didn’t know where he went or whom he met when he was away.

Our marriage was, in truth, nothing more than a performance staged before the world — born from Diana’s death.

And I was merely the actress playing the part of “Duchess,” Diana’s friend Kassia.

“Are you comfortable these days?”

The duke would always ask me with polite concern — as though I were a guest, not his wife.

“Yes, I’m fine,” I would always reply simply, thanking him for his consideration.

If there was ever a side of him that wasn’t completely cold, it was the small kindnesses he extended toward Kassia.

Not long after our marriage, he even made a rather startling proposal.

“If you wish,” he said, “you may discreetly see another man, Kassia.”

“Are you serious?” I asked.

“It would ease my conscience,” he said quietly.

He seemed deeply troubled by the fact that I had tied myself to this life out of loyalty to Diana’s dying request.

I couldn’t help but smile gently.

“How considerate of you. If I do find a lover, I’ll be sure to introduce him to you first, Your Grace.”

Of course, I never did.

Not because of any moral restraint — I was simply too busy.

Living as the duchess was far more demanding than I had ever imagined.
I barely had the time or energy to think about romance, and I couldn’t risk bringing scandal upon the house by seeing someone else.

In truth, our relationship was far from what anyone would call a marriage.

We both deliberately avoided getting close.

It was inevitable.
After all, this marriage existed only because of Diana.

There was only one day each year when we truly stood side by side — as though united by something.

Diana’s death anniversary.

For the first three years, we held a grand memorial each time, as tradition demanded.

Dressed in black, we would sit in the front row and honor her memory together.

Each time, I’d glance at his face and see a depth of emotion there that words couldn’t describe.

Those feelings seemed to fade with each passing year — slowly, but surely.

And so, over time, our relationship settled into a cold, polite distance.
A pair of strangers bound by title, not affection.

I had never expected anything different.

It was a little sad, yes — my first marriage without a trace of love —
but that wasn’t the hardest part.

No, the truly difficult thing…

was dealing with Ken and Nick.