The End of Your Arrogance - Chapter 23.1

As Ilya read the letter, his gaze became more and more ferocious. Nazz looked at his expression, uneasy.

{ Grand Duke, thank you for your hard work. The nearest territory to Mt. Benning belongs to Count Edith. He is also my son-in-law, so I urgently requested help from him. Until the rescue operation is completed, we will fully provide the necessary supplies and manpower. What you need most on site right now is proper food. In addition to knights and soldiers, I will send cooks and servants who will be responsible for feeding the residents in the shelter.

If there was a Grand Duchess… I wouldn’t have had to provide such aid. I hope you consider filling the vacant seat next to you upon your return. These are just the words of an old lady who worries for you, so please don’t be too offended. }

Nazz, who had noticed Ilya’s deepening glare, shouted in an exaggerated voice, “Dang, I’m super hungry! I’ll get Your Highness’s and Rene’s portion.”

Nazz took a knight and stepped outside. When it was just the two of them, Ilya gritted his teeth and said, “She’s playing the saint even when I’m the grand duke. She’s even worrying about the vacancy of the grand duchess. I could just cry at her thoughtfulness.”

Rene lamented, foreseeing the defeat from Selice, “Your Highness, it seems like we’re doing all the hard work, but Selice is going to take the credit. I thought all she did was harass the maids, but to think she would sway the public opinion like this. She’s pretty good. Just what happened to Selice when I was gone?”

Before departing, Ilya had called the chief chamberlain and the vice-captain and instructed them to send the manpower and supplies necessary for the landslide rescue operation. However, it would take time to prepare and send them here.

“Selice one-upped me. The chamberlain is an old man with too empathetic of an attitude, and the vice-captain is an excellent swordsman, but to be honest, he’s not good with detailed things like this. This is when we use a tactician. When is Stas coming back?”

Ilya briefly regretted sending Stas to the west. Rene sighed and continued, “Your Highness, when the vassals insisted on being grand duchesses, honestly, I didn’t know why. But looking at it today, I realize the Grand Duchess is really important. It would be reassuring to let her take care of things at times like these.”

Ilya’s tone was bitter.

“Now you realize that? I, for one, knew a long time ago.”

Ilya knew the weight of being the Grand Duchess better than anyone else. When her mother was the Grand Duchess, the Grand Dukedom was like a wheel with one less screw missing.

Selice wouldn’t have been revered as a saint by the people, and the Dukedom wouldn’t have gone downhill so drastically since then.

Rene looked straight into Ilya’s eyes. Seeing the mischief on her face, he knew what she was going to say.

“Your Highness, have you ever considered divorcing Lady Evelyn and remarrying? What Your Highness needs right now is a grand duchess from a powerful northern family. Since the war is over and it’s about time you strengthened yourself, and later when you attack Marquis Maduse…”

The air in the hut, which had been warm thanks to the magical fireball, instantly became cold.

“Stop.”

Ilya growled in a low voice.

“I don’t want to get angry at you, too.”

A business called marriage.

His first marriage was a deal in which the interests of both sides perfectly aligned. Until the Black Forest knights shed blood in Tartar’s Gorge, the relationship was valid. It was only reasonable to abandon his wife now that the relationship has been destroyed, but he did not know why he was so frustrated.

Oh, the reason why I’m angry is only because I can’t sleep if she’s not around. She’s the only person who can put an end to these sleepless nights. That’s the only reason why.

Ilya managed to find the reason for the emotions that suddenly swelled up once in a while.

“Your Highness, I crossed a line. I’m sorry.”

Ilya snapped out of his reverie at Rene’s words. He finally spoke after a while.

“Rene, sorry to ask for this, but I need you to hike up the mountain with me.

“What? What are you saying? It’s the middle of the night.”

The two carried on the conversation as if nothing had happened.

“The red-stoned building that I saw. It’s the only thing intact, and it’s too strange. Plus, outside…”

Ilya cast his gaze out the window. Following his gaze, Rene saw servants busily carrying food. She realized his intentions and smiled brightly.

“Oh, you want to go inside the building? You should have said so.”

Rene stood in front of Ilya. She let out a confident smile and said, “Your Highness, I’ll take you to the top of the mountain at once as an apology for my rudeness earlier.”