As soon as the explanation about how the clock workshop would be established came to an end, I immediately moved on to the next phase of the operation: a publicity campaign to revamp the Grand Duke’s image.
When I said that Grand Duke Richard had planned all of this himself, every pair of eyes in the territory turned to him at once. The eyes that had always hurried to look away were now fixed on him, and a hint of nervousness flickered across the Grand Duke’s face. It looked almost like fear.
‘He must be worried they’ll look at him with disgust.’
Until now, the only people who’d ever looked at him kindly were a few soldiers who’d survived the battlefield with him. I nudged his side and quickly whispered.
“Your Grace, now smile!”
“What…?”
“Quick! Remember what we practiced? It’s smile time!”
The Grand Duke looked utterly baffled. I didn’t ask, didn’t wait—I just urged him on.
“This… this is what you mean, right?”
Unable to resist my insistence, he awkwardly pulled up the corners of his stiff lips. His well-shaped mouth curved into a gentle arc. As the corners of his mouth lifted, his eyes naturally softened too.
“Wow…”
“Gasp!”
When a smile appeared on the usually cold and expressionless face, a breathless murmur rippled through the townspeople.
“I’ve lived in the territory for ten years, and this is the first time I’ve seen His Lordship smile…!”
“They kept saying in the papers how handsome he is, and I thought it was just hot air… But it was all true…”
Just as expected—people are weak to a good face. While the townsfolk were properly stunned by his looks, I jumped on the moment like paddling with the tide, firing off my lines rapid-fire.
“Grand Duke Richard is constantly thinking about you, day and night. Even while imprisoned, he was worried you might suffer through the harsh winter.”
“His Highness the Grand Duke did?”
The unexpected statement made the villagers’ eyes go wide. The Grand Duke’s face clearly said ‘I did?’ but I feigned complete ignorance.
“He wondered if Matilda, born to Thomas and Sarah on November 17, is growing up healthy. And whether Peter, born to the Seymour couple on December 2, is eating well.”
“Goodness… To think he remembers even the children’s birth dates.”
Presumably the parents of Matilda and Peter, some in the crowd covered their mouths in emotion.
‘Perfect. That was from last year’s territorial report—birth records attached in the appendix.’
I flipped through twenty years’ worth of reports in my head. Next up: this year’s first-quarter incident logs.
“On February 14, when Charlie’s barn collapsed, His Grace was so worried he lost sleep over it.”
“I… I never imagined His Lordship cared about something like that!”
The plump-faced Charlie looked stunned, completely blank. I smiled warmly at him.
“Remember the subsidy you received for the repairs? That actually came straight from His Grace’s personal vault.”
“I… I had no idea! Th-thank you, Your Lordship!”
Charlie looked like he was about to burst into tears from the revelation. Patting him on the back, I adopted the solemn tone of a preacher giving a sermon.
“Now then, everyone. You might not have realized it before, but the subsidies you receive every harvest festival? Those were also gifts from His Grace.”
“Huh? W-we thought those came from the Imperial Family!”
As expected, they had no idea. No wonder the Grand Duke’s reputation was in the gutter, given how he’d been running things. I clicked my tongue inwardly and kept going.
“His Grace always said: the left hand must not know what the right hand is doing.”
Which is exactly why I’m shouting it loud enough for everyone’s whole body to hear. Thanks to that, the fear that had darkened the crowd’s faces moments ago was now replaced with a glow of emotion.
“I heard His Lordship played a major role in the recent battle at Montero as well.”
“Of course. He’s ruthless to enemies but warm to his own people.”
I even folded my hands over my chest now, wearing a reverent expression. I looked like I was about to make the sign of the cross.
“Oh my, I pledge my loyalty to Our Lordship, the Grand Duke!”
“See? I told you there’s no way His Highness the Grand Duke would’ve killed anyone!”
Stories of his kindness poured down like lava, and the people were swept away, unable to collect their wits. The atmosphere had completely turned into a revival meeting for Grand Duke Richard. He blinked, overwhelmed.
“N-no… I didn’t mean for…”
Surrounded by an avalanche of praise, the Grand Duke stammered in confusion.
“We believe in you, Your Highness the Grand Duke!”
“We’ll work even harder from now on, Your Lordship!”
That only made him seem more human, which sent the crowd into even more of a frenzy as they flocked around him. I stepped back from the commotion, quietly enjoying the scene I’d created.
Much better than standing all alone while people whisper ‘Battlefield Butcher’ and ‘monster’ behind your back.
I only realized later that, watching his flushed face, the corners of my lips had curled up without me noticing.
* * *
Major changes began sweeping through the Grand Ducal Territory.
The red soil that once filled the barren land was now being turned into bricks for constructing the workshops, and it also turned out to be just the right material for the engineers who came flocking in after seeing the flyers.
“Who knew soil with this much iron could exist!”
The land had once been hopeless for farming, but it was now becoming the perfect foundation for the metalworkers’ shops.
As jobs with proper pay sprang up and people began to arrive, the Grand Ducal Territory came to life. Naturally, the Grand Ducal Residence got busier too.
Today again, the Grand Duke and I were buried in paperwork in his office. New engineers were arriving every day, and we had to assess their specialties and resumes to assign them roles in the workshop, as well as lodgings within the territory, and match them with existing locals for tech transfer.
That lazy afternoon, Madam Verona entered the office and placed a steaming tea set on the table.
“Your Highnesses, please enjoy some tea while you work.”
“Thank you, Madam.”
Madam Verona beamed warmly as she looked at the two of us sitting close at a small table with just two chairs.
“You two look so lovely together like this! So harmonious!”
In truth, we were only sitting close because we didn’t even have time to make duplicate copies of every document—we had to pass them back and forth across the single table for efficiency. Still, if people got the wrong idea, all the better. At least we wouldn’t have to keep faking being a couple in public on top of everything else.
Stretching my arms, I glanced across the table at the Grand Duke and said casually,
“Apparently we look good together. That’s nice, right?”
“I suppose.”
He responded flatly without even glancing up from the paperwork. Sunlight poured in from the window behind him.
“Looks like there’s a lot of sun hitting you, Your Grace. Your ears are all red.”
“…!”
Only then did he seem to realize his ears were burning, and quickly clapped his hands over both sides of his head. Something about how he did it with those big hands looked weirdly cute, and I couldn’t help letting out a soft laugh.
“Want to switch seats? I like sunbathing.”
“Do as you please.”
He stood up abruptly, as if the seat didn’t matter in the slightest. The chair scraped loudly across the floor.
After switching places, the Grand Duke went right back to focusing on the documents. I, on the other hand, found myself watching him for a long while.
So cold.
After all that time in the kingdom and prepping for this business, you’d think we’d have gotten a little closer by now, contract or no. But nope—he still had no interest in being personally friendly with me.
Bored of flipping through papers I’d already memorized, I rested my chin in my hand and stared out the window. The garden had grown lush and green.
Still glaring at the mountain of paperwork, the Grand Duke muttered,
“Aren’t we short on staff for the Second Workshop?”
“The Second Workshop is 218 square yards smaller than the First, and we’ve already hired 17 people, so it should be fine. Plus, more and more craftsmen are arriving at the Grand Ducal Residence.”
“And the budget…”
Still watching the greenery outside, I answered smoothly.
“According to our projections, 138,893,214 gold should be more than enough. Albert already verified it.”
“……”
The sudden silence made me turn to look at him. The Grand Duke was holding the document, but his expression was strange.
“The paper’s in my hand… and yet you speak as if you’re reading it yourself.”
“See? Working together was the right call after all.”
I smiled as I replied.
At first, he used to scowl just from me entering the office with a document. Now, with a sigh, he put the paperwork down and raised one brow slightly.
“How exactly do you do that?”
“Do what?”
“The territory reports, the business plans… even the blueprints at Count Boneta’s estate… It’s like you’re looking right at them.”
Seriously?
I leaned in, planting my elbow on the paperwork-littered desk and resting my chin in my hand. The table gave a little rattle.
“It’s my secret… Want to know?”
💟 Translator Notes 💟
“오른손이 하는 일을 왼손이 모르게 하라”: A well-known Korean proverb meaning to do good deeds quietly; translated as “the left hand must not know what the right hand is doing,” which is an equivalent English phrase.
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Do we get his POV like we did previously? It’ll be great to know how he has felt with all the things that have happened since they got back from their “honeymoon”…
We do switch to him pov for the next chapter, but we don’t get an in-depth look at what he’s been thinking through all this. But we do have some adorable jealousy coming up! I’ll try to post more today. Tysm for reading!