Chapter 18: It’s Not Your Place!
Even though she hadn’t completely gotten rid of her bad habits—like running away or rebelling now and then—she had at least stopped doing them recently.
It meant the wild bird had finally submitted and compromised.
‘Though I still don’t trust it completely.’
“How did the Duke of Carniel react?”
The Count tapped the crystal orb, and the maid continued her report.
—There wasn’t any loud argument while they were in the carriage together.
“That’s strange. They seemed to get along too well.”
—The Duke’s knights stopped the angry commoners. It seems it was by the Duke’s command.
“He’s showing kindness to Eleanor?”
—But his face and eyes didn’t seem warm.
“No, no. That’s enough to be considered kind. That guy is usually terrifying.”
Still, something was bothering him.
That ruthless man.
“Why is that?”
If Count Grace had to name the most cold-hearted people he’d met, Eleanor would be first—and then Kylus Carniel.
That boy he once captured and let go.
If only he had known the boy would survive and become the Duke, he would’ve done anything to keep him like a slave.
That kind of man—if he didn’t know Eleanor was a fake daughter—wouldn’t just stay quiet.
‘But judging by the wedding… maybe he doesn’t know?’
When he showed up at the wedding, covered in blood, it seemed clear he wanted to crush the Count’s reputation.
“Could he really be attracted to Eleanor’s pretty face? Is he just a man after all?”
A nasty laugh escaped him.
There was no denying it—Kylus had acted strangely.
That forceful kiss, after rudely pulling back her veil, when her white dress was stained with blood…
But that kiss must have been poison.
The Carniel family would never welcome such behavior from their master.
Just look at how the Duchess and her people arrived at the wedding dressed in black like for a funeral.
There were bound to be deep divisions.
And the Carniel family would suffer while accepting the child of their enemy.
Count Grace laughed low.
“That’s what will bring me joy.”
Inferiority complex.
Everything started from that.
The previous Duke of Carniel—he was the problem.
Even after his death, he would still pop up in Grace’s mind and drive him crazy.
He had married the most beautiful woman, gained the Emperor’s favor with amazing sword skills, and earned noble respect that Grace could never get—no matter how rich he became through trade.
He had it all.
Even during their academy days, Grace never once beat him.
He was always the loser.
‘But I killed him.’
He finally won when he cut off that man’s head—as he rushed like a beast to save his son.
And that son would meet the same fate.
‘He has no idea how dangerous the woman he married is.’
Still trapped in past defeat, the Count’s eyes glinted with darkness.
* * *
Unlike before, Eleanor’s entrance into the ducal house was going smoothly.
Until someone tried to interfere.
“You can’t go inside.”
“It hasn’t been cleaned yet.”
“Wouldn’t it be better to guide them to the separate quarters?”
“Nanny, please step aside. This is the Duchess’s order. From now on, we will take over guiding the new Duchess.”
It was the maids blocking the entrance, pretending not to know her.
“What is going on here? This lady is the Duchess of Carniel. You can’t block her way.”
“Nanny, we respect you—but do you know whose side you’re on?”
“Don’t tell me this is what the Duke wants too?”
These maids were dressed slightly differently than the others.
It was the uniform of the Duchess’s personal maids.
‘In other words, they belong to my mother-in-law.’
Their faces were just as Eleanor remembered.
Her mother-in-law trusted people too easily—so her maids rarely changed.
They all glared at Eleanor like they wanted to eat her alive.
They didn’t look welcoming at all.
Their eyes were rude and disrespectful, saying clearly:
‘Let’s see if you can endure this insult.’
They were hoping Eleanor would lose her temper—slap someone or yell.
If that happened?
Then all the other servants watching nearby would pounce on her like a common enemy.
And that enemy would be Eleanor.
‘But I won’t give them what they want.’
In the past, she had gladly played along with such provocations.
A bad wife, a wicked woman, a cruel duchess—just as her father wanted.
Even though she secretly helped her husband, no one appreciated it.
“Well, I didn’t expect a warm welcome. And this kind of roadblock is not really a big deal.”
Eleanor smiled as she spoke.
It was also a silent order to the Count Grace’s maids standing behind her.
Stay quiet and don’t act.
“What did you just say?”
“Exactly what you heard. No matter what you do, the rights to this estate don’t belong to the Duchess Dowager—they belong to my husband.”
“Are… are you insulting the Duchess Dowager?!”
“Oh my, that wasn’t my intention at all.”
The maids, who were staring at her with murderous eyes, flinched at her bright smile.
‘But they’re not truly dangerous.’
Just glaring doesn’t hurt anyone.
It doesn’t make people cough up blood or break fingers.
In her ten years at the ducal house, Eleanor had seen and endured far worse.
She had seen people’s arms and legs cut off in front of her without flinching.
Everyone around her was trying to guess what she would do next.
Especially Kylus’s nanny.
“Madam, I am very sorry you had to see this.”
Marie looked nervous.
But Kylus stood back with a cold expression, watching everything silently.
It was as if he were saying, “I won’t help you even with this.”
But Eleanor had no plans to let him stay uninvolved.
“This isn’t your fault, Marie. Darling, how long are you just going to stand there and watch?”
“……?”
He looked at her like he wasn’t sure she was really speaking to him.
Eleanor didn’t hesitate.
Yes, you.
“Dear.”
“…Ha.”
He clenched his jaw the moment she called him that.
Everything fell silent.
The servants, who knew their master’s temper, expected him to explode at the nerve of the enemy’s daughter calling him “dear.”
Maybe they were hoping for it.
‘That’s why they’re smiling.’
While everyone watched in anticipation, the Duke finally spoke.
“I left all the arrangements to Marie.”
He didn’t support the maids.
“G-Governor!”
“What… how could you…”
The Dowager Duchess’s maids opened their eyes wide.
They looked like they had just been betrayed—ever since the wedding.
They bit their lips and trembled.
“The Duchess Dowager will be very, very disappointed. You understand what that means, don’t you, my lord?”
The maid’s voice wavered, and she went pale as she realized what she had said.
Everyone knew the Dowager and her son, Kylus, had a terrible relationship.
And now she had basically said he had no authority over his own wife’s room—that it belonged to his mother instead.
Someone even hiccupped.
Kylus’s face turned visibly colder.
The maid looked like she might faint.
‘Everyone is afraid of you.’
Once, Eleanor had been too.
Whatever he said, if he frowned, or even sighed heavily, she would freeze up.
That was in the past.
“Dear, look at me.”
“…….”
“Come on.”
She touched his firm arm—not affectionately, but enough to show closeness.
The cold atmosphere seemed to crack.
People looked stunned, and Eleanor calmly spoke.
“I just want to rest.”
Just like a loved wife would.
