The Vicious Grand Duchess and the Bastard Lady of the Evergreen Grand Duchy
The vicious grand duchess and the bastard lady of the Evergreen grand duchy. Haksen, the current head of the Evergreens and grand duke himself, is undoubtedly a man. So, he couldn't hold back his overflowing lust and sired a bastard child, right? Yeah, up to this point, anyone who gives it a little thought can understand. So then... 'Why the hell is there a woman standing in front of me?' Why was there a woman right in front of him? No way—had Haksen taken a potion like the one he'd drunk and ended up in that state too?
"This is the Golden Darkness?"
"Yes, that's correct, but..."
"I naturally assumed it would be a man..."
Apparently not. The voice itself was close to a woman's. How to put it—it didn't resonate from deep within like a man's would. Unless she'd trained to modulate her voice like Chloe had, no one could get used to a woman's vocal patterns and timbre overnight.
"Should I address you as 'Madam Grand Duchess'?"
"Call me 'grand duchess' or 'madame'—whichever suits you."
She had treated him as a woman from the start, and at the same time, she was someone who could stand in for the absent Haksen. In other words, she was the matriarch of the Evergreen grand duchy, Rosetta Evergreen. The letter had clearly come from Haksen, yet here she was waiting instead. The situation felt a bit off.
"Has the grand duke, perchance..."
"Just understand that he's in seclusion. Since you haven't formed a vassal contract with us, I can't tell you everything."
"In that case, let's make one."
How could he protect or not protect the bastard child without grasping the full situation? Chloe spread his arms wide in a go ahead gesture. Rosetta snapped her fingers with a sharp crack, and the contract in Chloe's bosom transformed into a thin ribbon, slithering between her cleavage and embedding itself into her heart.
"You've read the vassal contract terms carefully, I assume?"
"Yes, I know. You pay that huge sum for five years. My role is to guard the lady while also teaching her how to deal with assassins..."
"Say that one more time...!"
"..."
"Say that vile little shit's title as 'lady' one more time, and I'll rip you to shreds before you even get a look at her face."
"Hm..."
Come to think of it, intel said Rosetta's youngest daughter had died late last year. That meant all five legitimate children from the legal wife Rosetta were gone, leaving only the twelve-year-old bastard... In this situation, calling that child 'lady' would naturally piss her off.
"My apologies for the slip."
"No need to emphasize it like that. So just shut your mouth. Don't bring up that girl unless I ask first."
"Understood, Madame. Then, could you tell me about the grand duke's condition?"
He was already aware of Rosetta's intense hatred toward the bastard. The problem was Haksen. Where the hell had the man gone who had sent the request stamped with the ducal seal?
"He's bedridden."
"Bedridden?"
"Yes. A week ago, while dealing with an assassin, he was poisoned and fell ill. That must be around when the request reached you."
Haksen Evergreen. The famed sword expert. No mere assassin could easily take him down, so he must have gotten hurt trying to protect his sole remaining bloodline, the bastard child.
"So how could I not seethe with rage at that loathsome wretch? Eh? Golden Darkness. You're a name that made waves even in high society, so you must know my position!"
"..."
All five legitimate children under her gone. Only an unrelated bastard left. And with Haksen injured, he couldn't even plant seed in Rosetta's womb... 'No wonder she's turned vicious.' Pushing past forty and nearing fifty, it would be hard for her to bear more children anyway. But with Haksen down now, the situation had arisen where she couldn't pass the Evergreen grand duchy to her own child... It would be weirder if she wasn't vicious.
"Madame. Promise me just one thing."
"What promise?"
"First off, I'm planning to abandon that moniker."
"Golden Darkness?"
"Yes. It might get in the way of bodyguard duties... And this is my last job anyway..."
"Why? Tired of selling your body as an assassin and want to settle down now?"
"..."
That was the typical view of a female assassin. Despised by noblewomen who prized chastity, treated like a tasty forbidden fruit by noblemen who valued authority—something to sample once.
"I swear I've never slept with a man."
"Oh? Into women then? I'll have to watch myself. Alright."
Even declaring she'd never been with a man got her that treatment. Chloe let out a sigh and raised an index finger as if to ask just one thing.
"Does the child I'm about to meet know that the grand duke is bedridden because of her?"
"No, she doesn't. It happened in the dead of night, and she's not even allowed out of her room."
"Then we're good."
"Good how?"
"If she at least doesn't know someone got hurt because of her, she'll have taken some wounds but still be a normal kid. I'll go with a normal education plan."
"Playing tutor now? You, who built your career by pouncing on other women?"
For some reason, Rosetta seemed to have firmly pegged Chloe as the 'seductive female assassin Golden Darkness' type...
"The grand duke himself offered me the tutor contract. Didn't you approve?"
"Tch... Get to work. Bastard or not, the Evergreen bloodline must continue..."
Crunch. He could hear Rosetta's molars grinding to pieces as she spoke. Chloe bowed deeply and hurried out, following the waiting maid.
#
"Teacher, come in."
In the grand duke's castle, the servants seemed to settle on 'teacher' for Chloe's title. The maid who had escorted her here announced it as she opened the lady's bedroom door, revealing...
A twelve-year-old girl with immature black hair and black eyes was gazing out the window at the world.
"Teacher?"
"Yes, the tutor personally selected by the grand duke. Now, please greet each other. We'll prepare some tea and treats."
"Teacher!"
The lady—who had been peering out the window—came toddling over excitedly, while the maid slipped out to fetch refreshments. But...
The closer the child got, the more sharply Chloe's eye level rose.
"You're really twelve...?"
"Yup! I'm twelve."
Why were kids these days developing so fast? Already at Chloe's chest height, and she was only twelve.
'No...'
It wasn't that modern kids developed early. Well, maybe somewhat, but...
The bigger factor was that Chloe's height had dropped to average female levels. He hadn't expected to feel this sense of deprivation...
"Shall we sit over there for now?"
"Yes!"
Feeling glum, Chloe put on a calm facade and led the girl to a nearby table. It was clearly for tea—a tiny thing that would be packed full with just some cookies and teacups.
"First, why don't you introduce yourself? I'm Chloe."
"Uh..."
He'd hoped a simple intro would loosen the stiff atmosphere, but the girl tilted her head with a sulky expression.
"What's wrong?"
"Why aren't you using casual speech?"
"Pardon?"
Why wasn't he using casual? Even as a tutor, she was nobility. Normally polite speech, or mutual polite in some cases...
"Everyone with a 'nim' after their name uses casual with me..."
"What...?"
"Grand Duke-nim, Madame-nim, young master-nim, lady-nim—they all use casual with me..."
"Ah...?"
Now he got a sense of this little miss's temperament. As a bastard, she was a bit timid, but young as she was, she was quite mature. She distinguished superiority by titles and responded accordingly. Those pitch-black hair and eyes, symbols of the Evergreen house, confirmed she was definitely Haksen's child. So she instinctively navigated social dynamics by her own standards. But still a kid, so she threw out these offbeat questions to those outside her norms.
"Well, a teacher's position allows casual speech."
"Really?"
"I didn't expect you to switch right away... Anyway, I'm being paid by your father, the grand duke."
"If they pay money, casual's okay?"
"Usually, yeah? I don't know about others, but for me, money gets most things done. The one paying makes the rules. Or whatever."
"Oh, I see..."
The girl nodded as if her knowledge had expanded. Then she clapped her hands to draw attention.
"Me, me—call me 'miss'."
"Miss...?"
"Saw it in a book. Misses are super pretty people who get tons of love. I wanna be pretty and loved too. So call me miss."
"Wouldn't 'lady' be better? You have to be careful around some people, but..."
"No, no! There were other ladies besides me. I want miss. Miss. You said money gets anything done? Do it!"
The classic twelve-year-old tantrum... Chloe sighed faintly and decided to indulge her. Calling her 'miss' wasn't hard, and frequent honorifics helped mask her own rough speech patterns.
"Yes, miss. I'll call you that, so could you tell me your name?"
"Name? It's Marian!"
Marian Evergreen. That was the name of the student Chloe would teach.