Chapter 79: When He Called Her Name
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 79: When He Called Her Name
The Grand Duchess gave an awkward smile, but Loik did not withdraw his hand immediately.
Sometimes, he felt that if he didn't do at least this much, she might forget he was even her husband.
Only after the furrow in her brow smoothed out and her cheeks flushed a deep crimson did Loik carefully lower his hand.
"My apologies. You were scowling, so I..."
The Grand Duchess touched her forehead, looking a bit sheepish.
"It seems the Merchant Association has made a move. They’re preventing the clerks in Gold Lane from applying for positions at the management office."
"If I had known they would trouble you like this, I would have fired the association president immediately."
"That would surely cause a backlash."
"I don't care."
"Well, I do. Besides, this is better than having to deal with someone entirely new."
The Grand Duchess cut Loik off firmly.
"...So, I was thinking of hiring the children from the orphanage."
"The orphanage?"
"It’s difficult for the children to stay there once they become adults. If we hire them as staff for the management office and provide room and board, it would help them prepare for independence."
"It would be a good thing if there is a place to employ them. I will leave instructions with Perel."
"Thank you."
The Grand Duchess looked satisfied, noting that since the children were well-educated, they would be perfect for assisting shopkeepers who couldn't read or write.
"By the way, there’s a young man at the orphanage named Jerome."
At the sudden mention of a name, it was Loik’s turn to furrow his brow.
"He’s very bright and quick-witted."
"...Is that so?"
"He’s quite a handsome young man, and he acts so charmingly that even Cecilia was completely smitten."
"...Were you smitten as well?"
"I said my lady-in-waiting was smitten."
Loik spoke, feeling his voice grow thin despite himself.
The Grand Duchess stared at him for a moment before letting out a giggle.
Was I being too childish?
Loik was just about to curse his own indiscreet mouth when she spoke again.
"I almost fell for him myself."
The Grand Duchess leaned her chin on her hand, a playful smirk on her lips.
"But my husband is so dashing and handsome that I couldn't possibly be swayed."
It was the kind of teasing remark she made whenever he drew close. Even though it was her usual reaction, heat rose to the nape of his neck.
If you think I'm so great, then why...
Loik pressed his lips together firmly.
"So, my wonderful husband has no reason to be jealous."
Seeing the Grand Duchess soothe him as if he were a child made a surge of emotion rise within him.
"Could you... give me some of that attention so I don't have to be jealous?"
He’d said it.
The moment the words left his mouth, Loik clenched his fists under the table so hard his nails dug into his palms.
The Grand Duchess blinked, staring at him.
"At-attention?"
Her voice wavered with clear bewilderment.
"I pay a great deal of attention to you, Your Grace."
"You pay just as much attention to your maids, the knights, and even the innkeeper."
He knew he sounded pathetic, but he couldn't stop.
Loik had reached his limit. He only had one year. Why did he have to share that precious time with so many others surrounding her?
And the number is only growing.
The crowd of people hovering around the Grand Duchess, vying for her attention, increased by the day. There was the lady-in-waiting who sat by her side every day as if she had no private life of her own; the knights who never left her side from morning till night under the guise of protection; the administrators and residents who constantly sought her out for advice...
"Even the mage."
Enolius was someone who detested humans. That was why he lived alone in the most remote tower of the castle. Yet even he visited the Grand Duchess at every opportunity.
"Enol? Enol only came to discuss the fountain."
"Really, now...!"
At those words, Loik’s pent-up sorrow exploded.
"Why are you calling the mage by a nickname?"
"Oh, that’s because Enol asked me to..."
Recalling the smug expression on that mage's face when he had bothered her at the glass greenhouse, Loik felt his blood boil.
"And yet, you call me 'Your Grace'."
"Well, because you are the Grand Duke?"
The Grand Duchess looked puzzled, as if wondering what else she was supposed to call him.
"I want you to..."
Loik took a deep breath, finally uttering the words he had practiced so many times in his head.
"...call me by my name."
"Loik?"
Contrary to his agonizing, the Grand Duchess said his name without a moment's hesitation.
"Is that what you want?"
She looked as if it were no big deal. But Loik’s heart began to thud as if it were broken.
"But won't people think it's rude if I call the Grand Duke by his name? Well, I suppose it doesn't matter when it's just the two of us."
Loik didn't even hear her worried rambling. Gripping his knees so hard he left marks, he squeezed out one more ounce of courage.
"I want to call you by your name as well."
Loik stole a glance at her reaction.
"My name?"
The Grand Duchess shrugged.
"Call me whatever you like. I told you when I first arrived that you could use my name."
You hated it so much back then, though.
Seeing her pout slightly, Loik felt like his face was about to explode as he finally spoke her name.
"Annette."
The name flowed out as sweetly as a lozenge melting in his mouth.
Annette’s cheeks flushed slightly.
"Hearing it out loud is a bit embarrassing."
Seeing her shy smile and fair face, an indescribable emotion welled up within him.
Annette.
Do you have any idea how happy it makes me just to say your name?
Loik gazed at her intently.
"Haha..."
Perhaps finding the silence awkward, Annette gave a small laugh and began fussing with her documents for no reason.
Loik gently took her hand.
The moment their palms met, a pleasant warmth spread from the point of contact through his entire body.
"Ah," Annette let out a soft sound.
"Annette. I know you are doing a wonderful job. And of course, I am grateful."
Loik spoke as he gently enveloped her small hand, which fit perfectly in his own.
"I want to let you do as you wish because you seem to enjoy the work, but even so, you must not overexert yourself."
"Oh, I-I'm not?"
The Grand Duchess shook her head, her eyes cast down.
"This isn't even that much work. Compared to what I used to do... No, I mean, the administrators are doing all the actual labor anyway."
"You are physically fragile."
In the short time she had been at the castle, she had collapsed twice. It weighed on his mind that he hadn't been by her side either time.
"It’s because I’m truly having fun," the Grand Duchess said, her hand twitching slightly in his grasp. "And I’m happy that there’s something I can do. The residents I’ve spoken to all seem like such simple, good people..."
"I am not telling you to stop working altogether."
"I know. I'll only do as much as I can without overdoing it. I'll take care of myself. Is that enough?"
Annette looked up at Loik, her eyes sparkling slightly.
"You must promise me."
"Alright, I promise!"
The Grand Duchess suddenly held out her pinky finger.
"Don't you know how to make a promise?"
Annette folded Loik’s other fingers until only his pinky remained, then hooked hers around it.
"This is how you do it. A promise!"
Her pinky is so long. Loik tried to calm his fluttering heart as he watched Annette admire their linked fingers.
He found himself caught in a vague fantasy, wishing their fingers would never pull apart.
*
The Marquis roughly rifled through the tray of letters.
"Still nothing today?"
Seeing the butler remain silent with a troubled expression, the Marquis struggled to suppress his rising bile.
She had been serious when she said she wouldn't reply anymore. He had sent several letters to the North to pressure Annette, but not a single response had come back.
Should I write to the Grand Duke instead?
But if the Grand Duke was intercepting the letters, contacting him directly would only make the Marquis look like a fool.
And what am I supposed to tell the Empress...
A letter had arrived from the Imperial Palace not long ago. It was a polite inquiry, expressing "kind concern" over whether the Marquis's third daughter was adjusting well to the North.
However, the Marquis knew better than anyone that it wasn't a simple greeting. If the Empress ever found out that he had lost all control over his third daughter...
I have to do something, and fast.
As he brooded, another envelope on the tray caught his eye.
"It is a letter from the Marchioness," the butler answered cautiously.
He was referring to the new wife the Marquis had taken after Annette’s mother passed away.
It’s probably just another request for money.
The Marquis clicked his tongue and was about to set the letter aside when the butler spoke up as if to remind him.
"The holidays are beginning soon. It seems the Marchioness and the youngest young master intend to return."
"Has it been that long already?"
The Marquis thought of his fourth child, born to the new Marchioness.
That child is currently at the Academy. If I use him, there might be a way.
The Marquis stroked his chin, slowly formulating a plan.