Chapter 53: What is a Grand Duchess?
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 53: What is a Grand Duchess?
“We’re here!”
“Auntie! Pudding, please!”
The children looked to be anywhere from five or six to nearly ten years old.
They all shrieked and hollered playfully, clearly accustomed to storming in like this.
“Hurry, the pudding!”
“Oh, my! You kids!”
A startled Marie and Jacques jumped to their feet. While Marie rushed over to get the children under control, Jacques offered an apology.
“I am terribly sorry, Your Highness. The children often stop by for snacks around this time.”
“Don’t mind me. It’s fine.”
“Children, be quiet! Come this way. I’ll give you your pudding.”
Marie pressed an index finger to her lips, signaling them to be quiet, but that only seemed to egg them on. Their little mouths grew even louder.
“I don’t want to!”
“What kind of pudding is it today? I didn’t get any yesterday, so give me two!”
“Shh! We have a distinguished guest, so everyone behave!”
“A distinguished guest?”
“Huh? Look, there’s a goddess over there!”
Just then, a younger child in the group pointed a finger at me and shouted.
Pfft. I sprayed the pie I had been chewing right onto the side of Norton’s face.
“S-Sir Norton! I’m so sorry! Are you alright?”
Norton calmly wiped his drenched face with a handkerchief.
“Where?”
“Right there. She has the same hair as the goddess.”
“No, she doesn’t! She doesn’t have wings.”
“She’s hiding them because she’s in front of people!”
Listening to the children’s innocent conversation made my ears burn with embarrassment.
“Don’t laugh, Cecilia.”
“Laugh? Me? How could I ever do something so irreverent?”
I glared at Cecilia, whose cheeks were twitching as she fought back a grin.
It was then that one small child managed to break through Marie’s defense and came charging toward me.
“Big sister, are you really a goddess?”
The moment the child grabbed the hem of my dress, Norton’s hand flinched toward his hilt.
“Sir Norton? Don’t be dramatic. Put your hand down.”
“My apologies, Your Highness.”
I lowered myself to meet the child’s eyes. Though there were dried snot tracks on his cheeks, his clothes were relatively clean.
“I’m not a goddess. I am the Grand Duchess.”
“Grand Duchess? What’s that?”
Good question. What exactly was a Grand Duchess?
I found myself at a loss for words. Was I the Grand Duke’s wife? The mistress of the Grand Duke’s Castle? Either way, I felt a bit awkward claiming the title with such confidence when I was essentially a mere one-year contract worker.
My eyes suddenly fell upon the spicy tomato stew on the menu hanging on the wall.
“Um… I’m someone who likes tomato stew.”
It was a ridiculous answer, but fortunately, it didn’t seem strange to the child.
“I like tomato stew too! But I like pudding even more!”
“Is that so?”
The child’s chubby cheeks were truly adorable. I pulled out a handkerchief and wiped the dried snot from his face.
“Please, serve the children their pudding first.”
“Yes, yes! Right away, Your Highness!”
While Jacques hurried off to fetch the pudding, I gathered the children together.
“Reta, do you have any change?”
Reta promptly pulled some coins from her pouch. I handed one Eknang to each child.
“I’m giving these to you because you’re all so sweet. Buy yourselves something delicious later.”
The older children seemed to realize I was someone of high status and hesitated, but the younger ones cheered and snatched up the coins.
At Marie’s prompting to thank me, the excited children gave deep, polite bows before scurrying off to a corner table to giggle and eat their pudding.
“Do these children live nearby?”
“There is an orphanage close by. They come from there.”
“I see.”
My eyes widened slightly.
They didn’t look like orphans; there was nothing ragged or neglected about their appearance.
Jacques seemed to read my surprise and offered a gentle smile.
“His Grace the Grand Duke sponsors it personally.”
“There are quite a few orphans wandering about who lost their parents to the monsters. These are children the Captain finds and takes in whenever he goes out on a subjugation mission,” Norton added calmly.
Children left all alone in this harsh North… My heart ached for them, and I stole a glance at the group eating pudding at the corner table. Still, seeing them so lively and boisterous amongst themselves was a relief; they seemed happy for now.
“Is that pudding prepared specifically as snacks for them?”
“In a way. At first, we gave them whatever was left over from the guests, but now the roles have completely reversed,” Marie said with a smile.
She’s such a kind woman.
“Is it alright for the children to be out wandering like this?” Cecilia asked from beside me.
“Kids that age are bursting with energy,” Marie replied. “If you try to keep them cooped up, they just cause trouble. It’s better to let them roam where we can keep an eye on them.”
“But surely the orphanage has teachers?”
“There’s always a shortage of hands when it comes to looking after children. Even after an early dinner, there’s a mountain of work to be done.”
To look after the orphans while busy with their own livelihood…
I felt a fresh wave of admiration for the couple.
‘And here I was, complaining every day about being bored at the castle.’
Did I even have the right to be called the Grand Duchess after that?
It was no wonder I couldn't find the words when the child asked me what a Grand Duchess was.
I felt a little ashamed.
*
“About that recipe—I’m certain the reaction will be incredible!” Cecilia said with conviction as we left the inn.
Though I could hear Norton grumbling behind us, everyone else largely agreed with her.
Outside, it had already grown pitch black.
As I was about to board the carriage, I looked back. Perhaps because she was standing in the shadows, Morina looked exceptionally small today.
“Sir Norton? Let’s drop this girl off at home first. Morina, you get in too.”
Morina, who had been bowing goodbye, looked at her older sister in a panic.
“O-Oh, no! Your Highness. How could I possibly…?”
“It’s dark out.”
Reta also looked troubled, glancing back and forth between Morina and me. She couldn't leave her post, but she clearly worried about sending her young sister home alone.
“It won’t take long by carriage. Right, Sir Norton?”
“Where is your home?” Norton asked, staring blankly at Morina.
Morina, remembering the time he had threatened her with a sword, shrank back. Reta spoke up in her stead.
“It is in Jenin District.”
“It is not far out of our way,” Norton said, turning back to me.
“Get in, quickly,” I urged Morina. “Are you trying to make me out to be a heartless Grand Duchess?”
“N-No, Your Highness!”
Ultimately, the carriage set off with me, Cecilia, and the two sisters inside.
The interior of the rattling carriage was very quiet.
Cecilia was preoccupied with staring at the recipe she had written, and the sisters sitting opposite me kept their mouths shut politely.
Seeing them loosely holding hands, they looked like they had a very close bond.
‘What were my sister and I like?’
I tried to recall a decent memory, but I didn't have much of an image of my sister from before I possessed this body.
As for Ladriel, my sister in this world, I only had memories of being tormented by her.
“You two get along well.”
Seeing my gaze fall on their joined hands, Reta gave a rare, awkward smile.
“We only have each other to rely on.”
‘Do they not have parents?’
When I blinked in surprise, Reta lowered her head sheepishly, as if she had said too much.
I was just realizing how little I actually knew about my personal maid when the carriage arrived at Jenin District.
The shadows lay particularly heavy over the shabby village alleyways.
“Thank you so much for the ride, Your Highness!”
“Good work today. You may go now.”
Morina hesitated, but when I gestured for her to go inside first, she bowed repeatedly, gave her sister a quick nod, and turned to run off.
“Let’s head back now.”
Just as the carriage was about to start, I felt a lingering sense of unease, perhaps from watching the young girl disappear into the dark alley.
“Wait, stop the carriage.”
At my word, Reta tapped on the wall to signal the driver to stop.
*
‘Three Eknangs!’
Morina ran down the dark alley, heart racing with excitement.
There were many days when she couldn't even earn a single Eknang despite running errands or making deliveries for shops all day.
But to think she could earn three Eknangs just for drawing illustrations!
Morina hopped up the stone steps, finally letting out the joy she hadn't dared show in front of the Grand Duchess.
She reached the alley in front of the dilapidated houses packed tightly together.
Just as she was about to open her door, two men who had been crouching in the shadows revealed themselves.
Before she could even think of running, one of them grabbed Morina by her ponytail.
“Living the high life, aren't we, little lady? Out wandering until this late?”
“And here we are, working our tails off into the night because of the money someone else took and ran with.”
“Let go of me!”
Morina screamed at the top of her lungs, but the surroundings remained deathly silent.
“What, looking for help from your neighbors like last time? Too bad.”
The other man grabbed Morina by the scruff of her neck and snickered.
“We made sure those fellows weren't around before we came.”
“There’s still time left!”
“Yeah, there’s a little time left. And you’re going to spend that time suffering. We’ve decided to hike up the interest starting next month.”
“What? You can’t do that!”
The man’s lips curled into a crooked smirk at Morina’s look of utter despair.
“My word is the law around here. Your sister works at the Grand Duke’s Castle, doesn't she? Tell her to steal some silverware and sell it. Or else… Gah!”
The man couldn't finish his sentence.
Morina felt the grip on her neck suddenly loosen, though she didn't know why.
“W-Wait! Ugh!”
She heard a few dull thuds in front of her, followed immediately by the sound of bodies hitting the ground.
When Morina lifted her head, Norton was standing before her.
“S-Sir Knight?”
“Are you alright?” Norton asked, his face devoid of emotion.
The two men who had been tormenting Morina just moments ago were now piled on top of each other on the ground, being crushed under Norton’s iron-shod boots.
Norton’s sword was still sheathed.
‘Oh my god…’
Morina was inwardly struck with shock.
‘Sir Knight…! You mean you actually drew your sword on me, even though you don't even pull it out for thugs like these?’