Chapter 24
“Where’s Mother?”
“She went to check on the fresh flowers for the wedding,” the butler replied with a playful wink.
Evelyn gave an awkward smile. It was originally her responsibility to handle that, but she’d been so busy rushing to hand off her duties to her brother that she hadn’t had time to focus on the wedding at all.
With both the former Grand Duke and Grand Duchess deceased, the Barrett family had taken full responsibility for organizing the wedding.
The Emperor had even lent out the capital’s ceremonial hall, so they ended up having an unexpectedly lavish wedding.
“To think the young lady who once sat on my lap is now getting married.”
“Butler, did you ever find out why that attendant did what he did?”
Sensing the butler was about to start talking at length, Evelyn took the chance to ask something she had forgotten about—the strange attendant who had attacked her brother.
“Ah, I completely forgot! I’ll have to tell you next time.”
The butler suddenly pretended to be busy and disappeared.
“Tinya, have you heard anything?”
Evelyn chuckled at the butler’s swift escape and turned to Tinya.
“How would I know? I was never close with that group.”
After the incident, security around the estate had been significantly strengthened. Tinya exaggerated her fear, saying she didn’t even dare to wander the halls anymore.
“You’re really going to burn Lady Clover’s invitation?”
“Yeah.”
“You should’ve crushed her pride a little like the butler suggested.”
Tinya looked at the letter with regret.
“She’s obviously going to cause more trouble again.”
“But she can’t now that the Grand Duke is involved!”
“Her?”
Rosie Clover wasn’t the type to be cowed by anyone, not even a Grand Duke.
“If anything, she’ll try to squeeze something out of me.”
Evelyn shook her head and let out a small laugh. This wasn’t their first conflict—far from it. Actually, Evelyn had always been on the receiving end.
At first, she’d naively thought Rosie was looking out for her. She hadn’t realized Rosie had been speaking ill of her behind her back.
It wasn’t blatant either. It took Evelyn quite some time to recognize the subtle, underhanded tactics Rosie used.
Only after everyone they used to socialize with drifted away did Evelyn learn there was a rumor going around that she was cursed.
When she realized that the secretive talk within her own household had spread to the social circles, she could no longer consider Rosie a friend.
Even if Rosie truly loved the Grand Duke, it didn’t matter anymore.
Evelyn no longer cared about Rosie’s affections or her opinions. They had no relationship now. So whether Rosie was curious about her or hated her—it was all irrelevant.
“Anyway, not just her—I’m not meeting anyone until the wedding. There’s too much to do. Today was exhausting too.”
She wasn’t exaggerating—she truly was busy. She had spent the whole morning selecting items for the wedding with her mother before being dragged into the bath.
There, she was scrubbed and massaged like a dirty rag in the laundry.
“You’re the bride. Of course a massage is a must!”
“I wish I had ten bodies.”
And it wasn’t just the wedding preparations.
She also had to hand over all the duties she’d temporarily taken on to her brother and erase her presence entirely from the Barrett household.
She had decided to fight against the Evil God, but whether she’d truly become a hero or die in battle—no one could say.
So she wanted to leave cleanly. Without being a burden to anyone.
“Are you really handing over everything to Lord Leonel?”
Tinya’s voice was thick with regret.
“Yes. Once I’m married, I’ll be in the North. There’s no need for me to hold onto these responsibilities.”
“Still…”
“I’m just returning to my rightful master.”
“Whatever anyone says, no one can deny that you gave your all.”
“I only did what I had to do.”
Even if her brother hadn’t woken up, she would’ve never allowed Hynt to become the successor.
Now that her brother was awake, it was only right to help secure his position as heir.
“He’s going to be busy for a while. I’m sad I won’t be able to help.”
“You should worry about adapting to life in the North, my lady.”
Tinya pouted.
“I’m more worried about you, Tinya. I already asked them to prepare personal temperature-regulating artifacts and heating items for you.”
“I’ve been gathering the artifacts I need too, so don’t worry! According to the Grand Duke’s butler, when going outside I can use the supplies provided by the ducal household!”
Tinya proudly announced that she’d already gotten all the necessary information from the butler who came with the Grand Duke.
“I bought a ton of artifacts and scrolls with the money you gave me recently.”
“Hmm. I’ll give you more. Get whatever else you need.”
“I already have plenty! I might even survive if I get stranded in the snowy mountains alone.”
Thinking of the magic items she had bought, Tinya shook her head.
“Still, you never know what might happen. Better to stock up while we’re still in the capital.”
If the Evil God were to resurrect, the prices of enchanted items would skyrocket.
The Barretts had already started working with the Mage Tower, rushing to buy magic items for defense and offense.
At first, people suspected they were preparing for war.
But when they explained they were finally catching up on things they hadn’t been able to buy before, the Mage Tower agreed and supplied them.
Thanks to generous insider discounts and the Grand Duke’s influence, they were able to buy high-quality items cheaply.
As a result, the once-empty Barrett storage rooms were now being filled with rare and valuable items.
Maybe we should add protection spells to our key facilities.
Evelyn wanted to do everything she could to ensure the Barrett family could survive if the capital were ever destroyed.
“Let’s go to the Mage Tower together next time.”
“I don’t have any more days off—”
“You can come with me.”
Seeing Tinya’s troubled look, Evelyn smiled reassuringly.
* * *
“Are you really going to let the Grand Duke marry that cursed young lady?” Isabelle pouted in front of the Emperor.
“Who could’ve known the monster problem in the North was really that bad? The Grand Duke is just trying to survive.”
“That’s why—if you’d helped when I first suggested—!”
“Isabelle.”
Her father’s stern voice silenced her immediately. The wedding between the Grand Duke and the Barrett lady was already proceeding before they could do anything to stop it.
“Well, maybe it’s for the best. It’s better than sending you to such a dangerous place.”
Damn it.
What’s so bad about the North?
People live there too. And the Grand Duke is a strong man—wouldn’t she be safer by his side than anywhere else?
“We’ll send the knights to the North. We’ll check whether the Grand Duke’s claims are true and assess the military strength of the North. Then we’ll know if he’s being honest.”
“Father, that man is always sincere about protecting the North.”
Otherwise, he wouldn’t come to the capital even once a year.
He was the type who reluctantly attended parties just to advocate for more defense funding, which had been shrinking every year.
“I don’t know why such a wealthy family keeps asking for support from the capital.”
“It’s because he hates wasting money.”
“Excuse me?”
Isabelle widened her eyes, confused.
“He thinks it’s a waste. There are rumors that the income from mana stones and monster by-products in the North rival the empire’s own budget.”
“Exactly. So why would someone like him lower himself to come begging to the capital?”
He hated seeing people enjoy peace without contributing a dime.
“That’s it? That’s the reason?”
“Yes. And while he’s at it, he also enjoys the honor of ‘protecting the empire.’”
If not, he’d be quietly slaying monsters and hoarding wealth. But the fact that he consistently asked for imperial support meant something more.
The Emperor was beginning to suspect it had to do with the Evil God. He was worried enough to reread the sudden reports of increased monster activity.
‘It better not be the Evil God.’
Though the Grand Duke denied the Evil God’s resurrection, the Emperor didn’t fully trust him.
There was no way he would let the empire fall in his reign.
To leave a stable empire to his son, he needed to figure out the Grand Duke’s true intentions.
“But I still can’t stand that he rejected my proposal and chose the Barrett girl.”
Isabelle, unaware of her father’s inner thoughts, bit her lip. Once considered the noblest and most admired in the empire, she had become a laughingstock overnight.
“Would you rather be queen or a duchess?”
Isabelle’s eyes trembled at her father’s question.
“Father! Are you really going to send me somewhere else?”
“The North is out of the question. Do you know how the previous Grand Duke and Duchess died?”
“Father… that was—”
A sudden monster wave.
