Chapter 38
“Miss, that’s nonsense! No matter what, marriage is still marriage!”
At Tinya’s shocked voice and barrage of scolding, Evelyn, feeling guilty, pressed her lips together and simply nodded.
“I’ll be more careful with what I say from now on.”
“No matter the reason, the Grand Duke accepted you as his wife, and he gave you the authority to manage internal affairs!”
“You’re right. That’s true.”
No, that’s not it, Tinya.
Evelyn wanted to argue, but she could only nod as if agreeing with Tinya.
“To say you’ll be thrown away once you’re no longer useful… That’s such a sad thing to say.”
Tinya finally pulled out a handkerchief and wiped away her tears. Startled by Tinya’s tears, Evelyn flailed a little in panic.
“I’ll never get divorced!”
If it’s for Tinya’s sake, she could do anything! Evelyn hastily made a promise she probably couldn’t keep.
The contract did state that divorce required mutual agreement, so even after defeating the evil god, they wouldn’t immediately split up.
“I’ll do my best to cling to the Grand Duchy.”
“Lady Evelyn, this isn’t clinging.”
Tinya seemed like she wanted to say more, but something about Evelyn’s blazing determination made her stop short.
Well, good enough is good enough.
‘This isn’t so different from what I saw back at home.’
After the fuss had passed, Evelyn focused on her work.
The first document she picked up reminded her of the ones she had occasionally reviewed while learning from her father.
Sophia had said it was urgent, but it was just a grocery expenditure approval — not very important.
“Hmm. Tinya, bring me all the related documents from the past two years.”
You couldn’t understand the flow of supplies at the Grand Duchy with just a month or two.
Might as well do it thoroughly while she was at it.
Once full training began, she wouldn’t have the luxury of spare time.
She had to understand as much of the Grand Duchess’s duties as possible during this brief grace period.
That way, it would be easier to pass the role on to a successor…
No, wait. She had promised Tinya not to get divorced.
That could be dealt with later.
But imagining herself passing on her duties to Elliot’s next wife after a divorce made her laugh.
She didn’t even need to work this hard — maybe she was just meddling too much.
‘Still, I should do my best in what I’m given.’
Sometimes, on the days she wanted to skip training or heir lessons and just run away, she’d remember her father’s words:
[“Evelyn. Things can’t always be great. But you must never take your responsibilities lightly.”]
He always said that anything with your name on it would follow you like a shadow.
Even if others didn’t recognize it, the most important thing was not to live in a way that would bring shame to your name.
Knights were those who understood the value of honor in their names.
Not just skilled swordsmen — the Barrett family cherished chivalry and honor.
Evelyn smiled faintly, recalling the phrase that had survived inside her for so long.
It applied here too. Doing her best as a hero was the same kind of responsibility.
“Are you really going to go through years of records?”
Tinya’s eyes widened.
“I know it needs to be done, but still, that’s just…”
She trailed off, looking genuinely bewildered.
“Is it too much?”
“No. If Lady Evelyn sets her mind to something, she’ll do it. I just felt suffocated at the thought of you staying in the office until it’s done.”
Evelyn burst out laughing at Tinya’s distressed voice.
Her overly committed personality made things hard for Tinya, who had to watch it all unfold.
“If I need you, I’ll call for you, so go ahead and take a break.”
Tinya’s face brightened at being granted time off. She had been Evelyn’s maid since childhood.
Not just a servant — she felt more like a younger sister, though the age gap was wide.
“Why does this feel unfair somehow?”
“You’ll have to get used to the other maids too. I can’t always be around.”
Tinya giggled as she said she’d send others in her place.
Now that Evelyn had three exclusive maids, she couldn’t favor Tinya alone.
Besides, when she was out on hero duties, she’d spend less and less time with Tinya anyway.
“You’ll always be my top priority.”
“I knew it! I’ll go prepare the documents right away!”
Tinya quickly bounced back, grinning brightly.
After she left, Sophia came in, followed by attendants carrying even more stacks of documents.
“I’m sorry to make you go through all this trouble.”
“It’s part of the job.”
Even the attendants holding the heavy paperwork had pride on their faces.
“I didn’t expect His Grace to hand over the Grand Duchess’s authority so soon, but seeing how diligent you are, Lady Evelyn…”
Sophia dabbed her eyes with a handkerchief.
“Love truly is powerful.”
Knowing full well the truth, yet still lying so casually — Evelyn couldn’t help but laugh.
Well, Elliot’s love for the North was still love in its own way.
Sophia’s smile brightened even more.
“Shall I bring the rest of the documents too?”
“Please do.”
And with that, Evelyn’s overtime was confirmed.
*
“Haah.”
At this rate, she was going to die.
To be precise, die buried under paperwork. She had locked herself in the office every day after morning training for a week.
Even Tinya, who had insisted on staying and said taking a break was a joke, had run away after two days to help elsewhere.
Traitor.
Evelyn looked at the stack of papers, now only half of what it once was, and let out a hollow smile.
‘I want to run.’
To be more exact, she wanted to swing her sword. Just a bit, just a little more — and then night would fall again.
Even meals were all taken in the office. It had been a week since she’d seen the Grand Duke.
‘Aren’t we supposed to be a couple overflowing with love? This feels too gloomy.’
Among the staff, rumors had already spread that the Grand Duchess was obsessed with work.
They said the Grand Duke even toasted, praising her as a tremendous find.
“I want to escape.”
“That’s not allowed.”
Elliot entered silently, his voice calm.
“What brings you here?”
“I figured my wife loves documents more than she loves me, so I came to see for myself.”
Ah, so this was that husband-who-loves-his-wife act he’d mentioned.
Evelyn ignored the goosebumps creeping up her arms and smiled politely.
“Sorry. I’ve been swamped ever since I took on this heavy responsibility.”
Conscious of the servants sneaking glances, she swallowed the truth.
That not seeing him had been a relief!
She’d been secretly glad she hadn’t run into Elliot since that sudden kiss.
Wasn’t she running away because she was embarrassed?
Now, seeing how unfazed he looked, a sudden urge to tease him back bubbled up.
No, what was she thinking? She made the mistake too!
Evelyn quickly shook her head and ordered tea to be set on the terrace.
The Grand Duke’s estate had magic circles on the terrace, allowing them to enjoy tea even in a blizzard.
Click.
As the maid set the tea down, the two stared at each other in silence.
Sensing the strange tension, the maid quickly left the terrace.
‘What should I say?’
While Evelyn hesitated, Elliot spoke first.
“Are you managing okay? I heard you’ve been in the office all week.”
“It’s almost done. Sophia has done a great job.”
There were no signs of embezzlement or oversights.
She realized just how meticulous Sophia had been with the ledgers and personnel — there was nothing left for Evelyn to fix.
Even the Barrett estate wasn’t this clean.
It made her wonder — was such integrity even possible? Maybe the harsh environment here had fostered a culture of precision and discipline.
“Sophia is particularly thorough.”
He seemed to have more to say, but Evelyn simply sipped her tea without prompting.
“When can I begin training with the knights?”
She changed the topic.
She’d been given a personal training space, but it was time to coordinate with the Northern knights as well.
They would be the elite force fighting alongside her when the evil god returned.
They had been protecting the North all this time — that alone was proof enough of their skills.
No one knew how to defeat a godlike being that surpassed human limits.
The best plan she could think of now was simply raising humanity’s strength as high as possible.
“When your paperwork’s reasonably under control, we’ll start. For now…”
Elliot looked at the still-massive pile on her desk and trailed off.
Because Evelyn had been doing such a good job, he’d dumped all the previously delayed work on her too.
No need to tell her that. Suppressing a grin, Elliot proposed an alternative to soothe the indignant Hero.
