Chapter 15
With her wrist caught, Shai protested.
“Who said I was dodging?”
“I said you could swing. I never said I’d just stand there and take it,” Benjamin replied with a bright grin. It was the playful laugh of a mischievous boy.
“That’s so unfair…”
Shai pouted and muttered under her breath. Benjamin paused, staring at her for a moment before speaking in a soft but firm voice.
“In battle, it doesn’t matter how dirty it gets—as long as you win.”
“Wow. That sounded like classified intel I shouldn’t have heard,” Shai grumbled in full pout. Benjamin let out a low chuckle, then leaned in with a more serious tone.
“We haven’t even started yet. Shall I start winning for real?”
“What are you…”
She was about to ask what he meant when she sensed a shift in the atmosphere.
Benjamin placed a hand beside Shai’s face.
Clatter. The crystal ball on the bed rolled away from the sudden movement. His hand gently ran through her messy hair, and his warm fingers brushed against her earlobe.
His breath drew closer.
She could have said no. If she did, Benjamin would’ve certainly stopped.
But she didn’t want to.
Shai surrendered herself to the rising heat and closed her eyes.
At that moment, a loud knock echoed through the room.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
“Your Grace, an urgent message has arrived from the Imperial Palace.”
It was the voice of Slazer, the aide. Benjamin let out a shallow sigh of frustration. He then turned his eyes back to Shai without a word.
His expression made it clear he intended to ignore it, so Shai lightly tapped his arm and said,
“It sounds urgent. You should at least hear what it’s about.”
Only after her gentle insistence did Benjamin rise to his feet.
Reluctantly, he cracked the door open just a sliver.
After exchanging a few brief words with the man standing outside, Benjamin returned to Shai’s side, his face filled with regret.
“I’ve been summoned to the capital. It seems I must leave.”
“When do you have to depart?”
“As soon as preparations are complete. I won’t be around for a while.”
“How long will you be gone?”
When Shai asked, Benjamin answered firmly,
“I’ll try to be back within a week.”
The Grand Duchy’s territory stretched from the capital all the way to the eastern border. Though several residences were near the capital, the main estate where Shai resided was located some distance to the east.
Just the journey to the capital would take considerable time.
“If there’s something you must do, don’t rush on my account, Benjamin.”
“I want to do this. I was away from the estate too often during the monster hunts. Now that things are peaceful, I intend to stay closer to home.”
The Rivestar Grand Duchy operated smoothly even in the Grand Duke’s absence, thanks to its solid foundation. Still, it wasn’t ideal for the actual ruler to be away too frequently.
The Grand Duke’s very presence carried symbolic weight.
‘He’s right.’
It made sense, so Shai quietly nodded.
“Alright. Safe travels, Benjamin.”
As she calmly replied, Benjamin stood there for a moment, then awkwardly cleared his throat. He looked like he had something to say.
“What is it?” Shai asked.
“You don’t seem disappointed that I’m leaving…”
He spoke in that blunt, aloof tone of his, yet his words were oddly childlike. Shai looked at him.
‘Cute.’
She masked her sudden thought and responded gently.
“I am disappointed. But it’s work, right? I understand. There are things only you can handle.”
“Then when I return, let’s continue what we didn’t finish today.”
Leaving behind those loaded words, Benjamin rose to his feet.
That made Shai recall what had happened just moments ago, snapping her back to reality. Benjamin had already vanished.
Her face flushed. Embarrassed, Shai pulled the blanket over her head and buried her face.
Clatter. The crystal ball rolled back under the covers, sparkling cluelessly in the dark.
✦✦✦
A remote corner of the Rivestar Grand Duchy’s annex.
Clean laundry hung from long clotheslines, swaying in the breeze.
“How dare they make me do something like this!”
Betty shouted in frustration.
Thud.
The laundry fell to the ground with a loud smack.
Her wavy red hair tumbled down, matching her agitated movements. She should’ve tied it back to work properly, but Betty couldn’t bear to sacrifice her beauty.
She stared down at her hands.
Her once-polished nails were cracked from menial labor. Her wrists and fingers, which used to gleam with colorful jewels, were now bare.
Though Betty was technically a maid, she hadn’t done any actual labor since gaining influence. After realizing the young lady she served could be easily manipulated, she had always used better perfumes and cosmetics than Shai.
She couldn’t stand her current situation.
“Just a while ago, everyone was flattering me—‘Miss Maid, Miss Maid’—and now they’ve stuck me with this grunt work?”
Betty had been one of Shai’s dedicated maids from the Count Alantara household. With her shiny red hair, voluptuous lips and figure, and a beauty mark by her mouth, she’d always believed she could enchant any man.
And she had.
She had captured the attention of a powerful man—Count Alantara himself.
His wife had died long ago. Out of concern for appearances, the Count never made their relationship public, but he had kept Betty close for years.
Betty hated the word “mistress.” She preferred to call herself his “beloved” or “partner.”
She forced herself to forget that she had been with the Count even while his wife was still alive.
Betty never dreamed of becoming the new Countess. She understood her place well and knew Count Alantara had very strict personal standards.
Still, back in her foolish youth, she had fallen genuinely in love with the sweet-talking Count.
So she comforted herself by believing she was the one closest to him.
When the Count assigned her as Shai’s personal maid and instructed her to keep an eye on her, he held her close and whispered,
“You’re the one I trust and love the most, Betty. You know that, don’t you?”
Then he added sweetly,
“Just call me William when it’s just the two of us.”
Being allowed to use his first name had made her euphoric. They maintained formalities in front of others, but in their private world, William was her man.
The daughter of his legal wife. A girl he openly neglected.
The Count spared no expense on Shai’s clothes and accessories for the sake of public appearances.
But once they were secluded from the outside world, everything changed.
Betty would wear Shai’s clothes and jewelry freely. The same went for cosmetics and perfumes.
Her figure was similar enough to Shai’s that sometimes she even had dresses tailored to her measurements instead of Shai’s.
Betty would wrap herself in Shai’s belongings and embrace Count Alantara. He knew they weren’t hers but never said a word.
That made her feel like someone truly special to him—Betty was in bliss.
Shai, of course, couldn’t say anything. The Count had allowed it. It was a rule of their world.
Betty managed Shai’s relationships—both romantic and friendly.
No man was allowed near her. Even friendships were cut off if the family background didn’t meet the Count’s standards.
“She’s a useless daughter, but I plan to sell her for a high price, so take good care of her. I trust no one more than you.”
That’s what Count Alantara often told her. Betty was happy that the man she loved trusted and relied on her.
“We’ll buy a little house in the countryside and spend our later years there. Being with you would make me happy.”
The Count would always soothe her like that.
They couldn’t be openly together due to her status—for now—but someday, they would be.
So Betty had come to the Grand Duchy under the Count’s orders. Though it broke her heart to be apart from William, she believed only she could properly report on Shai’s movements and ease his mind.
Shai still listened to her obediently.
The only difference was that the refined, elegant young lady had become the Grand Duchess and started mistreating servants and indulging in luxury.
“Please don’t tell Father about this. It’s not like I’m attending social events, and the jewels I buy end up being used by you in my room anyway, don’t they?”
When alone, Shai spoke formally to Betty, Jacqueline, and Dera, who had served her since girlhood. They ordered her around, and in turn, forced her to speak respectfully.
At first, Shai resisted. But after several “lessons” from the Count, she became obedient.
“I’m doing exactly what Father wants. As long as he’s satisfied, it doesn’t matter how I act here, does it?”
As if venting her past resentment, Shai dismissed the Grand Duchy’s maids and began acting high-handedly toward them.
But she never treated the maids from the Count’s house—or the old nanny who clung to her like a parasite—the same way.
In front of the nanny, she even restrained herself from mistreating others.
Betty wasn’t sure whether to report this. After all, the Count hadn’t asked her to help Shai become a proper Grand Duchess.
And then Shai, as if in gratitude, had pulled an ornate ring from her jewelry box and slipped it onto Betty’s finger.
“As thanks. I had this custom-made just for you, Betty.”
