If You Wish For A Married Couple’s Duties

Episode 51.
A Slight Disconnection (4)

“Daniel von Esbaden.”

With a menacing voice, Leonhart growled out his cousin’s name.

“I’d definitely told you not to go near the annex.
I’d let it slide once, but now it seems that you’re acting like the rules don’t apply to you.” 

“But I’ve never once asked the duke to watch out for it.”

Daniel slowly got up and leant against the head of the bed.

He smiled with his teeth bared at the duke, who was looking at him like he was an insect.

“If you must hold me accountable, then you should also hold the duchess, who entered and exited with me, responsible as well.”

Leonhart’s frown deepened at his cousin’s point.

He felt even more upset when he saw a relaxed smile form on his obvious sickly countenance. 

“You, who was so considerate of the Madam, was a little too much today.
Madam was just worried about me, who was sick, so she helped me.”

Daniel raised the head of his eyebrows like he found it a pity. 

“It’s hard for distrustful men to be loved, Duke.”

“After rolling about outside for three years, you’ve become more bold, you punk.”

Leonhart gritted his teeth and turned his head.

There was no need for him to be in the same place as this punk for a long time.  

“There’s no need for a lengthy conversation.
Don’t you ever approach the Duchess again, this is an order.”

Just as the duke got to his main point briefly and turned around. 

“That’ll be difficult.”

“…What?”

Daniel smiled at the Duke, who was about to leave but turned his head in his direction at his words. 

“It’s hard to accept orders that are hard to follow.
We live in the grounds of the same castle, so how am I to stay out of the Madam’s way? I’ll definitely bump into her just passing by.”

At his absurd sophistry, Leonhart spoke sternly like he was threatening him. 

“Then avoid her.”

“This is quite….”

Daniel raised an eyebrow playfully at Leonhart, who was unable to hide his anger.

“That’s not like the Duke.”

The Duke of Esbaden was a rational and level-headed man.

Even when he didn’t make any sense and it looked as though he was acting as he pleased, in truth, he had already finished all his calculations and acted.

When he immediately kicked out the fourth prince, who’d insulted the duchess the other day, it was actually because he was already supporting the first princess to a certain extent.

“Why are you being so sensitive?”

Daniel swept away his dishevelled hair.

“For someone that had no interest in women, wasn’t marriage a means to gain His Majesty the Emperor’s trust?”

As Leonhart’s face gradually stiffened, he couldn’t help but laugh to wind him up. 

“Are you, by any chance, in love?”

“…From how you’re spouting nonsense, you seem to have regained your spirit.
Get out of here right now.”

Daniel stared at the duke blankly and slowly rose to his feet to stand right in front of him.

Except for Leonhart’s slightly higher field of vision, the both of them looked alike, as though they were looking at a mirror.

It was miraculous that cousins, and not brothers born from the same womb, can resemble each other this much.

“Duke, Madam is truly a great person.
As such, don’t do anything that you’ll regret.”

Daniel looked straight at the duke, who glared at him like he was about to eat him alive.

“Seriously, before I feel inclined to steal her away.”

At the unexpected declaration of war, the corners of Leonhart’s eyes widened greatly.  

Thump.

His gauntleted fist grazed past Daniel’s face like a flash.

At that, the bedpost behind Daniel split apart with a loud crack.

Beneath Leonhart’s slightly lowered bangs, his eyes were filled with a murderous look. 

“…Thank your lucky stars that I detest the thought of being in contact with your body with even a single fingertip.”

The Duke slowly pulled back his fist, and wiped off all traces of expression, returning to that cold, polite face.

“If you continue to speak carelessly, I’ll make it so that your head ends up in that state next time.”

“Gosh, how scary.”

However, Daniel didn’t lose when it came to controlling his facial expressions.

He smiled without batting an eyelid. 

“Even so, I’m well aware that the Duke can’t touch my body.
Although I hate my father, I’m afraid that my father likes me quite a lot.”

Daniel crossed his arms and with a sloppy posture, he looked at the duke lightly.

“I think compared to before I left here three years ago, your temper has become dirtier.”

“I don’t think that’s what a punk like you should say.”

“Goodness, I’m not as bad-tempered as the Duke.
I’m just a little peculiar.” 

Yes, it was all because of this peculiar nature of his that he insisted on hanging around him and goading him, even when he was well aware that the duke wouldn’t like it. 

Daniel placed a finger on his lips and grinned.

“This is quite interesting.
The Leonhart that I know of isn’t someone that would reveal his feelings frankly, even if it’s before his family.”

“You…”

He took a step back at Leonhart’s expression, which looked as though he would grab him by the collar at any moment.

“In that case, now that I’ve recovered my energy, I’ll take my leave now.”

Daniel’s figure turned into a butterfly-shaped flame like usual, and disappeared into thin air.

A smile hung on the corners of his mouth, and he didn’t avoid the Duke’s gaze until the very end.

* * *

Sylvia, the head maid, frowned and sighed.

These days, the ducal castle’s atmosphere was so heavy that it became hard to breathe.

Due to the preparations for the upcoming carnival, it was understandable that the ducal couple were so busy that they couldn’t even eat together. 

But they were once again using separate rooms.

As the head maid that had been assisting the duke for a long time, it was the first time she’d encountered such a situation, making her considerably disconcerted. 

As the previous ducal couple were merely uninterested in children, they lived together in conjugal harmony. 

“Excuse me, Madam.
Did something happen with the Duke…….”

“Sylvia, there isn’t enough gold thread.
Could you bring me some more?”

“Ah, yes!”

Additionally, whenever she tried to ask the Duchess the reason for the sudden estrangement of their relationship, she would change the conversation topic to work, which made it quite frustrating for the head maid.

However, it’s also difficult for her to ask the duke, as he had his hands full with subjugating the monsters that made their appearances quite often when the carnival was soon approaching. 

Not only did he only briefly converse with the head maid about work, he would only turn around and leave whenever he ran into the Madam in the hallways. 

Due to this situation, strange rumours began to circulate amongst the castle’s handmaidens. 

The reason for the ducal couple’s estrangement was due to the groundless rumour that the duchess was a freak from Bashal, to the disrespectful rumour that the duchess was impotent.

No matter how much the head maid warned them, she couldn’t forcibly stop the rumours from spreading from mouth to mouth.

And Dooha, the duchess, also wasn’t unaware of that fact.

After she confirmed that the back silhouette of the head maid that went out to retrieve the thread, Dooha let out a light sigh. 

After a minor quarrel with the duke, it was quite uncomfortable having the head maid check the mood constantly by a side. 

“Is it my fault that such rumours spread in the first place?”

Dooha was still quite angry with Leonhart.

After he’d indiscriminately castigated her in the annex.

‘The more I think about it, the angrier I get.’

No matter how much she thought about it, the one that was wrong that day was the Duke, Leonhart. 

As he’d mentioned, she’d kept her distance from Daniel, but wouldn’t there be situations where she didn’t have a choice? 

The master of the annex, Margaret, wasn’t in a state that’s capable of making rational judgments, and in such a situation, Dooha was the only one that could come forward and settle it.

As it was customary for the attendants here to be unable to touch the bodies of nobles without the permission of a higher-ranking person. 

The duke couldn’t have not known that, so why did he have to be so obstinate?

‘Forget it, that man won’t even know what he did wrong anyways.’

From the way he’s not saying anything even now, that must be what he’s thinking about. 

That’s why he’d pace up and down in front of the bedroom door everyday, before walking away without coming in. 

“Madam, you’ve made a mistake there.”

“Ah.”

Dooha, who was embroidering with careless hand movements, let out another brief sigh.

She embroidered at the wrong place because she was having unnecessary thoughts. 

“I’ll have to redo it.”

“But Madam, can you really finish embroidering all of this in half a month’s time? No matter what, this is too much…”

“What can I do? I heard that it’s tradition.”

“Whether it’s Bashal or the Empire, they both have so many useless traditions.
Why isn’t there any tradition to not work during a festival?”

Dooha burst into laughter at her handmaiden’s cute grumbling.

In this stretch of the border region that’s ruled by the Esbaden family, there’s a tradition of praying for abundance by burning items that were handmade by the women on the last day of the carnival.

Also, as the duchess, Dooha has to create a huge tapestry by embroidering the symbols and history of the Esbaden Ducal family.

“I don’t know what’s the point of making such an elaborate item.
It’s going to be burned anyways.”

As Layla looked at the purple silk that was spread out on the floor like a carpet, she asked anxiously. 

“But are you really going to do it all by yourself? Can’t I help you?”

“No, you can’t.
Didn’t they say that if someone else’s hands got onto it, it would be considered impure?”

“But how can you finish all of this by yourself?”

Five days have passed since Dooha began to embroider, but she has yet to fill half of the silk cloth.

“Didn’t they say that all the previous Duchesses of Esbaden did everything themselves.”

“But all the other noble ladies ordered their handmaidens to make their items.
The most they’ll do is complete the work by themselves.”

“Those people aren’t Duchesses.”

Dooha confirmed the new position to start embroidering at and spoke firmly.

“Also, I don’t want to use cowardly methods in things that require sincerity.”

“Gosh, fine.
Who would be able to dissuade Madam?”

In the end, Layla couldn’t change her master’s stubbornness and had to back off. 

Just as dusk was about to descend.

The sounds of a commotion came in from outside the window.

“What’s this sound?”

“Hmm.”

Dooha placed down the needle that she had been holding for a while and got up from her seat.

She approached the window and opened the glass door.

Just then, the smell of blood drifted in with the wind from outside, as well as the sound of colliding armour and weapons.

This sensation of her entire body’s hair standing on their ends.
She had a bad feeling. 

Coincidentally, the head maid came in with a basket full of gold thread.

“Madam.”

It seemed that she’d heard of the terrible news on her way here.

“It’s quite noisy outside.
What happened, Sylvia?”

“That’s…”

The head maid cleared her breaking voice and continued to speak as calmly as possible.

“Apparently, a herd of monsters exterminated five mountain villages that are distant from the castle.”