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‘Although he will be mad at Carl when he finds out about this.’

Even Carl probably wouldn’t have wanted Rubica to come herself. Edgar didn’t tolerate anything that put Rubica in danger, and that had become even more serious lately. Maybe he could blame himself for having Rubica protect him. Actually, Ann wanted to see that scene.

Seeing the cold Edgar disarmed in front of Rubica was one of her secret joys.

***

“How dare you stand in my way?”

Lord Zilehan had even brought a cane that he didn’t even normally use. It was made of oak and was quite strong. He swung it quite threateningly in front of Carl.

“His Grace is busy with his work. Please do not forget how important his duties are.”

“Nonsense! He just arrived here yesterday, right after hearing his wife was pregnant! If he had been really busy, he wouldn’t have come back here using the mana stone carriage! Get out of my way Carl!”

Carl stood in front of the heavy door that led to Edgar’s office. He couldn’t let Zilehan get in there since the man was too outraged. If he tried to grab the duke by his collar, everyone would get to find out about his condition. Edgar could walk freely at night, but not during the daytime.

If his condition hadn’t depended on time, they could have said he had been crippled through an accident, but his current condition had to look extremely odd to people.

‘I hope Ann will get here soon...’

Carl thought so as he looked at the cane Zilehan was holding. It was pointed at him and looked like it would strike him at any moment.

‘I guess I have no choice.’

It looked like it would be better to get a blow and bleed. Stephen, the guard knight, would interfere if it turned into bloodshed. For now, there wasn’t much Stephen could do. It wasn’t like he could wield his sword against those relatives to protect Carl since he was only a commoner.

“What is going on here?”

Carl was relieved to hear Ann’s calm voice. Zilehan wouldn’t be able to do anything if the housekeeper stood in front of the door. But to his surprise, Rubica had come with Ann.

“Your Grace!”

Rubica was wearing a simple home dress. Unlike her usual, she didn’t have her hair braided and decorated with pins. She hadn’t even had the time to have it combed.

“I heard noises downstairs and came down. Lord Zilehan, what is this about?”

Rubica spoke as coldly as she could while Ann winked at her. She immediately realized what she meant by that and put a hand on her belly. Her belly had swollen more than usual after having a full breakfast thanks to Elise’s help.

‘Even if it’s empty.’

No, that wasn’t true. It was full, but not with a baby but with food.

“Your Grace, I must talk to the duke. Please tell the butler to move aside.”

“My husband is busy working.”

Zilehan looked at Rubica up and down.

“It is none of your concern. More than that, I think you should take more care in dressing up. It would be diminishing your own honor to show yourself in that state to the guests.”

“Guests?”

A corner of her lips curled up. When did she learn that smile? She hadn’t been like that as a newly-wed bride. She had been more reserved and was known to smile kindly. How could such a young girl smile like that? Zilehan couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Moreover, he had exactly the same experience three years ago.

‘... Edgar.’

The 22-year-old boy became the duke and took control of the family. Of course, Zilehan succeeded in gaining profit even through that, but getting orders from a boy had been quite painful. Back then, Edgar had smiled just like how Rubica was smiling now. And...

“You call yourself guest when you have come without any notice and are pushing the servants aside while yelling in front of the duke’s office?”

-You call yourself a Claymore when you are bluffing with this idiotic budget bill?

Zilehan couldn’t believe what he was hearing? How could they be so identical? The curled-up lips weren’t even a problem. The way Rubica was scolding them, it was just like how Edgar scolded and got rid of them.

Was she really the same girl who cried in front of them and pleaded that she had also tried to stop the duke in vain only a few days ago?

“You are using the wrong term. There is another term for people like you. Uninvited guests.”

Zilehan’s jaw dropped.

“You have stormed in here without any notice, twice, in less than a week.”

“Uh, um...”

Zilehan took a deep breath. It looked like he couldn’t get rid of the duchess by screaming and scolding her. He couldn’t talk about manners about treating guests anymore since what Rubica had said wasn’t wrong.

‘What is happening? Has she been trained by Edgar last night or something?’

Was it possible for a girl from the countryside to get that much authority? Maybe she had been lectured by Edgar on ‘how to be sarcastic and arrogant’. He was more than capable of doing that. Maybe he had nagged on her, like, ‘You are not even close to the perfect duchess!’

“But His Grace has been at the king’s castle for days. I don’t know when he will go back there tomorrow, so when can I speak to him if I don’t see him now?”

“He is always traveling because of work. He moves from here to the king’s castle, then to his villa, then back here again. He hasn’t come back because he has time to spare, so stop trying to bother him.”

“As a Claymore, my duties include advising him about the dukedom’s affairs.”

“Even I cannot talk to him when he is working at his office. He was busy yesterday, is busy today, and will be busy tomorrow as well.”

Rubica recited Edgar’s quote that she had judged as irritating, and it made Zilehan shut his mouth, at least for a moment. He hadn’t expected the duchess to say what Edgar frequently said to get rid of him. Rumors said they were madly in love, and it looked like Edgar had been giving his wife tips on how to counter the Claymore relatives.

‘... I shouldn’t have agreed to this marriage.’

He wanted a weak and stupid girl to become the duchess. He had thought Rubica would be easier to control than the properly educated daughters of counts and marquises. He had thought Edgar wouldn’t be able to protect his wife forever from everything.

-She is no easy opponent.

Some people said that, but Zilehan hadn’t worried much about that. She was a girl, after all. She couldn’t be that smart. But now, he had no choice but to admit he had underestimated her.

However, although he was much less smart than Edgar, he was sure he was more cunning.

“Of course His Grace is busy, but he isn’t busy now.”

He yelled confidently. What was that nonsense? For a moment, Rubica worried he might have lost his mind.

“Look at what the butler has brought!”

However, when Rubica looked at what Zilehan was pointing, Rubica had to admit he was right.

‘Damn it!’

It was the tools to make tea and dried tea leaves which Carl had passionately explained about once. It seemed like Zilehan had stormed in during Edgar’s only resting time when he would relieve his headache. Rubica now had no good excuse to stop Zilehan.

‘Carl!’

Rubica accusingly glared at the butler who looked away.

“The duke is sensitive and enjoys the drink from exotic land instead of coffee. Everyone knows that. Is it that rude of me to talk to him about this family’s future while he drinks a cup of tea? Please note that I’ve come in the only time the duke isn’t busy.”

Rubica bit her lips while Zilehan triumphantly raised his head high. It looked really annoying when the short man did that.

‘But I cannot back off at this point.’

The first fight was always important. If she lost now, going back on it was going to be hard, especially so because she was a girl. She couldn’t be considered vulnerable. Zilehan would never forget this victory and keep trying to have her in his hand. Rubica quietly took a deep breath and counted.

‘It’s okay. I can do this. I can do this.’

She had prayed to ask for forgiveness to the god of honesty before lying when she married Edgar. But this time, she didn’t pray to the god of honesty even though she was about to lie. As she counted, she prayed like this to the god of lies.

‘Please let me become a good liar.’

And the god of lies granted her wish.

“I’ve decided to drink tea, just like my husband.”

Zilehan blinked. He could instinctively tell Rubica was lying. He thought Edgar wasn’t better than him when it came to cunningness, but it turned out there was someone even better than him.