The Grand Duchess of Trovica is weak. Anyone who lives in Ronta has heard that saying at least once. The Empire's only Grand Duchess is so frail that the Grand Duke's worries reach the heavens.
"Cough, cough, cough!"
"Oh my, Your Highness! You have to drink slowly!"
She was so weak that she couldn't even scold the maid who dared to speak to her like that. After her marriage to the Grand Duke, her already frail body had been plagued with problems, and in this vast mansion, the only people she could rely on were the arrogant maids.
"Oh, I'm so angry. Your Highness, you take all day to drink a glass of water, how are you going to eat?"
"I can, I can eat… ."
"Right."
Her personal maid, Annie, whispered something to another maid and then giggled. Soon, the sound of the other maid taking the food tray that had been brought in and taking it out of the bedroom could be heard. No, no! Adrienne cried out desperately in her heart, but she couldn't make a sound. She was a noble among nobles, and she wasn't in a position to throw away her dignity over food. Annie, who knew this perfectly well, smiled kindly and comforted her.
"I made it with all my heart, but Your Highness can't even hold a spoon, what can I do?"
"Even if it's just thin soup, if you bring it… ."
"No, Your Highness. You spilled it all over your clothes and bedding last time. Do you know how hard the laundry girls had to work?"
But that's your job. They hadn't changed her clothes for over a week, even though she needed to change them twice a day. In the first place, the reason she couldn't swallow the soup was because it was incredibly salty and had so much sand in it that her tongue was tingling. Besides, as Annie said, Adrienne was in such a state that she could barely hold a spoon for long. The maid who should have been feeding her and wiping her mouth was standing there with her arms crossed, looking at her with impatient eyes, so there was no way the timid Adrienne could chew and swallow her food.
"Your Highness-."
Less than a minute after the maid with the tray left, the Grand Duke's aide, Jimsker, entered after a knock. Adrienne's face lit up instantly.
"Your Highness, the Grand Duke sent a gift."
"And, how is he?"
The servants who followed him brought several gift boxes into the bedroom. But Adrienne wanted to see her husband's face more than the gifts. Two years since their marriage. Her husband, known as the Emperor's strategist, had been dispatched to handle the aftermath of border defenses in all four directions, taking care of big and small matters on behalf of the Emperor, without even enjoying his honeymoon. Adrienne was proud of him, but at the same time, she was lonely. Jimsker, who knew her situation well, said with an awkward expression.
"He has returned to the capital, but… the Emperor has ordered him to enter the palace immediately."
"He didn't… cough… even stop by the mansion for a minute?"
"He has a meeting right after the audience… ."
Jimsker slowly looked at Adrienne, young and beautiful but clearly ill. The Grand Duchess was sitting up in bed, leaning against the headboard, dressed in pajamas that were "barely clothed" by noble standards. The mistress of this mansion, who should have been dressed elegantly in the grand reception room of the Grand Duke's residence, which was as luxurious as the imperial palace. She was too sick to even follow such etiquette. With a face full of concern, he said.
"I will try to persuade him to stay in the capital for a day before leaving."
"Father, cough. Please, Sir Jimsker."
Adrienne quickly pulled out a handkerchief from her bosom and covered her mouth. A cold draft entered the room, and she suddenly started coughing. Soon, Jimsker was chased out of the bedroom by the butler and maids. The servants, afraid that Adrienne might say something useless, hastily got rid of him. Suddenly, the Grand Duke's mansion became bustling. The Grand Duke, Noebian Trovica, who had gone to inspect the northern territories, was scheduled to return.
"Oh, I didn't mean to wake you."
"When did you come? I asked you to wake me up when you arrived… ."
"I just got here."
Noebian returned to the mansion at dawn. Adrienne, who had stayed awake until midnight, finally succumbed to sleep and fell into a deep slumber. A long time later, Noebian's gentle blue eyes gazed at her. As soon as Adrienne got up with his help, she hugged him. She smelled his familiar scent. The cigars he smoked. The scent of rosemary soap, like he had just taken a bath.
"I missed you, Noah."
"Me too."
He whispered, embracing Adrienne who clung to him.
"I missed you too."
"Thank you for the gifts. You don't have to, cough, give them to me so often."
"Seeing you is like trying to reach for the stars. If I didn't do that, I thought you might forget me."
Noebian smiled kindly.
'Ah… .'
He had a somewhat sensitive and cool impression, but when he smiled, he was so beautiful that the surroundings seemed to sparkle. Adrienne traced his face freely in his broad and firm embrace. Two years had passed, but they had not yet consummated their marriage. Yet, the romantic feelings from her time as a noblewoman still lingered.
"The servants are worried about you. Are you taking all the medicine from Pireta and the medicine I sent you?"
"…Yes, of course."
It was always so difficult to swallow even one dose of medicine. She couldn't even perform a single person's worth of actions on her own, so she relied on the maids, and she, the mistress of this huge mansion, was at their mercy… .
"As I always say, you don't have to worry about anything."
"…But I can't stay in bed forever."
The position of Grand Duchess was a high position, nominally equivalent to the Emperor's daughter. As the wife of Noebian, a member of the Imperial family, she was also expected to mingle with the Empress and the Imperial Princesses and participate in various events, big and small.
"Everyone in the Empire knows you're weak anyway."
People are more tolerant than you think, Adrienne. Noebian whispered, stroking her face with his long, delicate hand.
'Really?'
Even the maids who should be serving me treat me like a useless person. If you leave tomorrow, they will raise their heads and confront me, the Grand Duchess, with all sorts of subtle insults. I have no choice but to rely on them, who the Emperor himself sent, and I can't say anything… .
'People outside the mansion won't be so kind and tolerant to me.'
Over the past two years, her health had deteriorated, and she had become increasingly pessimistic and listless. She had always been frail, but she had never had any trouble walking or writing. She tired easily, but she often danced at balls. Noebian fell silent for a moment, watching her gloomy expression, before speaking.
"If anyone is tormenting you, I will cut their throat."
He whispered softly. Adrienne froze at his chilling voice. She forced herself to relax and nestled back into her husband's embrace, closing her eyes.
'I wish I could do something for you.'
Her body was weak, she couldn't even fulfill her role, and she couldn't even win the hearts of the servants in this mansion… .
The title of Grand Duchess was grand, but in reality, she was a weak spirit consumed by a frail body.
Compared to the love he gave her, what she possessed was too meager. Other couples, when they met after a long time, would share passionate love, but she couldn't do anything in her current state, unable to sit up without help.
Somehow, it was all too miserable. Noebian held her warmly, gifted her with anything that suited her, and was summoned to all sorts of places on behalf of the Emperor, yet whenever he saw good medicine, he would pay any price to send it to her.
A perfect husband. Noebian Trovica was that kind of man. That's why she couldn't say anything.
How could she tell him that she, who did nothing at home but lie down and eat and sleep, was being ridiculed and bullied even by the maids, who were far below her in status? It was a disgrace for a noble to be looked down upon by someone, especially a commoner. What if Noebian knew that she was so insignificant? What if he saw it with his own eyes?
As he said, the maids and the butler would have their throats cut, and at the same time, Adrienne's last shred of pride, which she had been desperately trying to hide, would be cut as well.
'I need to get my health back.'
Her weakened spirit was proportional to her weakened body. She would regain her health, take care of the household affairs she had entrusted to the butler, and find something to do again for Noebian, who had taken on her responsibilities… .
Just thinking about it made Adrienne feel a little better. Until her eyes closed, Noebian's soothing voice filled her ears. He was singing her a familiar lullaby. Three Little Ducks. The lullaby that children in her hometown, Eastern Pireta, listened to as they grew up.
'I don't want to sleep… .'
He won't be here in the morning. It might be months before I see him again. If he's not here, no one will be my companion. *** The servants of the Trovica Grand Duke's mansion scurried about the vast estate in a flurry of activity.
"Hurry! Get the doctor!"
"Good heavens!"
"Contact the Duke of Pireta's mansion!"
The Grand Duchess Adrienne, who had been living like a ghost in her second-floor bedroom, had taken a turn for the worse. Unlike before, her severe seizures wouldn't stop, and even the maids who had always ignored her were pale with fear. They practically dragged the doctor, who had been sleeping, to the bedroom.
"Your Highness… !"
It had been two months since the Grand Duke had left the mansion. The early winter had arrived with a vengeance, colder than ever before. It was a night when the first snow had fallen, piling up to knee-deep.
"Noebian… ."
"Hurry and take her pulse!"
Annie, the Grand Duchess's personal maid, began pushing the doctor's back. The Grand Duchess was already half-fallen out of bed.
"Cough!"
A thick blob of blood splattered onto the carpet. The gathered servants screamed. The trembling doctor quickly pulled a medicine from his bosom and handed it to Annie.
"Make her swallow it, quickly!"
Annie and the other maids held Adrienne, whose face was already covered in blood, and forced the giant pill down her throat. The pill was so large that Adrienne couldn't swallow it properly, so the maids practically poured water down her throat. Hack, hack, hack! Adrienne writhed in agony, as if she were drowning, thrashing about in the air as if she were cutting through water. Thinking that she was having another seizure, the maids held her tightly, and their actions were like pulling her, who was drowning, into the depths of the ocean.
'I can't breathe…!'
I want to get rid of all these hands! Let me go! I want to get out of the water! Adrienne thrashed about for a long time, and then, as if by magic, she was free. Ah, finally… ! But Adrienne could no longer move. She opened her eyes, but she couldn't see anything. She listened, but she couldn't hear any voices. Her mind was like an empty white box, containing nothing.
'Help me…!'
Help me, help me, help me! She opened her mouth, but no sound came out. She began to think that the white box wasn't in her mind, but was her very being. Just as she realized this, Adrienne vaguely understood. 'I' am dead.
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