Chapter 125
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 125
“……Here.”
Adel had left me with plenty of bedding, even bringing two silk blankets just in case, so there was no shortage of things to cover up with.
I tossed one to Leon Frezier. He snatched it out of the air and immediately curled himself into a ball like a grub.
“……Those damn uncles! How could they make a kid sleep in a place this cold? I’m not letting this go. Every single one of their subordinates is dead meat!”
Despite his foul temper, Leon looked much warmer than before.
His legs were so long that his feet poked out from the end of the sofa, which looked rather ridiculous.
After a moment of silence.
“Tulia.”
“What?”
“Let’s throw everything here away tomorrow.”
“Fine by me.”
They were all old things destined for the trash anyway, so I didn’t care. However...
“Except for one thing.”
“What? It’s all junk. Oh, the blanket? Ha! Are you saying that because I used it? That’s cold. I’ll buy you a better one.”
“No. Not the blanket.”
“Then what? Is there jewelry hidden somewhere…?”
Leon looked around the room.
I glanced at the beautiful painting of tulips hanging on the wall.
[Tulia Frezier, 15th Birthday.]
That painting, and that alone, I intended to keep forever.
* * *
A few days later.
The structure of Randelleur Castle was completely overhauled into a massive warehouse, ensuring it could never function as a castle again.
The bedrooms and bathrooms were stripped away, leaving it as a space strictly for storing goods.
“Tearing the building down entirely would be a waste of materials!”
“A waste of materials?”
Adel gave a soft smile.
“I don’t think there’s another young noblewoman in the world who speaks quite like you, My Lady.”
“Well, I am the lady who wields the… no, who is in charge of the Frezier Grand Duchy’s internal affairs. This much is expected!”
As I straightened my shoulders and spoke with pride, Adel and the chief physician chuckled. Even the assistant butler seemed to avert his gaze to hide a small smile.
Now, should I head back and try those desserts Adel said she made?
Just as I was about to take a step, a man came running toward me, panting heavily.
“My Lady, Lady Tulia! I was wrong! Please forgive me!”
He tried to cling to me, but before he could even touch my skirt, the assistant butler and Adel forced him to his knees.
I tilted my head as I looked down at him.
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen your face.”
Where was all this energy when he was scurrying around like a rat to avoid me?
The man, now pale-faced, was none other than the butler who had acted as Viscount Lilius’s lackey during my stay at Randelleur Castle—now Randelleur Warehouse.
“This is for the best, My Lady. The flour is all gone, so there’s no bread or cake for your breakfast. Who else but Viscount Lilius would care for you so much?”
I remember thinking back then how perfectly the role of a sycophant suited him.
“I know I’ve done wrong, but please, just don’t kick me out! You know as well as I do, My Lady, how bleak it is for a butler to be dismissed without a letter of recommendation!”
He was right.
And ‘finally,’ I was in a position to kick this butler out.
‘I’ve been cycling through the servants for a while now.’
Just as there were ranks among nobles, there was a pyramid-like hierarchy among the household servants.
High-ranking servants of great noble families often belonged to specific ‘lines.’
This sycophant was surprisingly resourceful; while flattering Lilius, he had also managed to establish a connection with Uncle Nigella.
Furthermore, a butler was often a powerhouse within a family, someone even a newly-wedded mistress might find difficult to handle.
‘He’s not the head butler of the main castle, but still.’
For various reasons, I had delayed firing this man, but now I was finally beginning my blood purge.
“You thought I’d forgotten about you, didn’t you?”
“A-Ah, My Lady…!”
“Do you know why I left you alone, even though you were not only tormenting me but being downright impious?”
“T-That is…!”
“Grans.”
Assistant Butler Grans handed me a thick stack of documents as if he had been waiting for this exact moment.
“Accepting bribes.”
Flip.
“Embezzlement of the budget.”
Flip.
“Gossip against the masters.”
Flip.
I scattered the papers over the butler, whose face had turned white as a sheet.
“I left you alone so I could collect all of this.”
I spoke with a bright smile.
“To pay all of this back, I think you’ll have to do some labor in the mines.”
“T-The mines…?”
“It just so happens that Uncle Nigella has to hand over all his mines to me. I’m going to strip every single vein of ore bare. But since I’m generous, I’ll make sure there’s a job waiting for you there.”
“M-My Lady!”
For a butler who had lived a comfortable life in a warm castle, being ordered to work as a miner was as good as a reservation for hell.
“If you work for about ninety years, you should be able to pay back all the money you pocketed. Good luck.”
“Lady Tulia, I was wrong…!”
I turned away without a second glance as the butler tried to cling to me again.
Every servant I passed in the hallway stopped immediately and bowed their heads.
‘This is thrilling. Power tastes the best.’
Though Grandfather had delegated the sovereignty over internal affairs to me, I was still a young lady.
Until now, those who had been walking on eggshells around me were mostly mid-to-low-ranking servants.
Even after Lilius was kicked out, the high-ranking servants who had lined up behind Nigella still walked around with their heads held high.
‘Well, Nigella’s fallen too, hasn’t he?’
Tulia Frezier (15).
Feature 1: Turning 16 soon.
Feature 2: Has the unfortunate disadvantage of being tormented by Kim Ddong-byul.
Feature 3: Has ascended as the true power of the Grand Ducal House!
‘Heh.’
If you have half a brain, you should know who your master is by now.
I hummed a tune as I walked away with a spring in my step.
* * *
Grand Duke Asis Frezier was, by nature, a cold man.
However, if he were a man of eternal winter, he would never have known love in his life.
He looked at the plum blossoms in the vase and thought of his late wife.
“By the time I join you, you’ll probably scold me for failing so miserably at raising our children.”
The Grand Duke gave a bitter smile.
“But fortunately, our granddaughter is very bright. She’s smart, flawless, and healthy. Lisiyan, you would have loved Tulia if you saw her.”
His eyes, filled with longing, lingered for only a moment.
With a knock on the door, Luc Kelposher entered.
“Your Grace.”
Usually, the reason Luc visited at this hour was to report something new within the territory.
The Grand Duke expected the same this time, but...
“The weather has softened quite a bit. Spring is just around the corner.”
“……?”
“Lord Aster—pardon me, the Marquis—has returned to the main castle after a long time, so why not go on a picnic to Grandsa Park together?”
“A picnic? With that fellow?”
Grand Duke Asis looked at Luc with an expression of utter disbelief, as if he were speaking nonsense.
“You want me to go on a spring picnic with that foul-mouthed, disrespectful son of mine, of all people?”
“—Is what Lady Tulia asked me to convey.”
* * *
“My Lord Marquis. It’s been a while since you’ve been at the main castle, hasn’t it?”
Max, Aster’s chief advisor, spoke with a beaming smile.
“Unlike the border where summer lasts less than a month, the spring breeze here is warm. Why don’t you take this opportunity to go on a spring picnic to Grandsa Park with His Grace?”
At Max’s words, Marquis Aster’s face immediately contorted.
“How old are you that you’re already going senile? If you’re going to talk nonsense, go to the Imperial Capital and bring back more dress catalogs. I heard muslin dresses are in fashion among the ladies these days, and a famous designer—”
“—Is what Lady Tulia conveyed.”
* * *
“……Tell her I’ll go.”
“……Clear my schedule.”
“That is what His Grace said.”
“And my Marquis said he would clear his schedule.”
Luc Kelposher and Max reported to me side by side.
And so, we went on a picnic to the park.
Grandsa Park was a vast area with a serene pond at its center.
Tall poplar trees grew vigorously along the edges. Every time the warm spring breeze rustled through them, the refreshing scent of greenery filled the air.
Many nobles had already claimed spots to enjoy the sunshine and their own picnics.
“Spring seems to arrive early in the Grand Duchy. Don’t you think?”
I asked excitedly, as it was my first time at Grandsa Park. My grumpy grandfather and father nodded reluctantly.
“How is my hat today? I picked it out myself.”
“It is very lovely.”
“It suits you perfectly and is beautiful, my daughter.”
Grandfather and Father competed to answer, eventually glaring at each other.
“Aster Frezier. Do you have so little to say? You have to copy this old man’s words?”
“She looks good in it, so what else am I supposed to say?”
Whether they fought or not, I was very pleased with my hat.
The wide-brimmed, lime-green hat, which tied with a ribbon under the chin, sparkled with small beads sewn along the edge.
“I prepared mostly desserts since it’s a picnic. Is that alright with everyone?”
“Of course it is. This grandfather of yours has always had a sweet tooth.”
“Should someone of your age be eating so many sweets? You should stick to sandwiches.”
“You disrespectful brat.”
“Yes, I am Your Grace’s brat.”
The servants pulled an armful of food from the baskets: sandwiches layered with sliced ham, lettuce, and cheese; cold omelets; salmon drizzled with tangy lemon sauce; pudding baked with fresh cream; and a large grape cake, among many other things.
“Please, eat your fill.”
Leon Frezier, sitting across from me, whispered to Lisian.
“Brother. I think we really need to stay on her good side from now on.”
“You… you’re already… doing your best… living as Tulia’s servant, Leon.”
“Oh, come on, Brother!”
The family spring picnic under the sun was delightful.
Of course……
“My goodness. Look over there. Isn’t that His Grace the Grand Duke?”
“So it’s true that Marquis Aster has returned?”
“He was someone we saw quite often back when the Marchioness was alive.”
“But even then, he only ever went around with his wife.”
“True. But to think the Grand Duke and the Marquis would come out for a picnic together… Were they threatened or something?”
“……Who in the Empire could possibly threaten those two?”
Glances were flying at us from all directions.
If there was one commonality, it was that the women’s gazes were fixed on different men depending on their age.
The elderly ladies watched Grandfather.
The noblewomen watched Father.
The young ladies watched Lisian or Leon, depending on their taste.
‘Yes, I’m sure you all feel the same.’
Men with faces as exquisite as sculptures.
I wanted everyone to enjoy the sight of these sculptures, who usually couldn’t be seen properly.
Wasn’t this a sort of welfare for the nobles of the Grand Duchy?
‘Hehe. I’m so generous.’
Of course, I hadn’t come out just to provide them with welfare.
‘I came out to look after my own welfare, too.’
Sometimes, a single action is worth more than ten thousand words.
Like this spring picnic, for instance.
I took a step forward and asked Adel in a low voice.
“Adel. How far do you think the rumors of this picnic will spread?”
“Hmm. I think they’ll easily reach the Imperial Capital, My Lady.”
“Right?”
“For starters, every man here has lived his entire life without knowing the meaning of the words ‘spring picnic’…….”
Adel matched my whisper and answered softly.
“And despite being blood-related, they’ve been estranged for so long. The mere fact that they’ve gathered in one place will set not only the local high society but also the Imperial Capital’s social circle abuzz by the end of the day.”