The Cold-Hearted Grand Duke Obsesses Over Me After My Death - Chapter 15

Episode 15. His Highness the Grand Duke Returns

“Your Highness!”

All the staff in the lobby rushed over to the fallen Emilia.

“Your Highness, please wake up.”

“Your Highness.”

Louid heard the worried voices of the staff.

How ridiculous.

Clicking his tongue, he signaled with his eyes to Knight Commander Alex, who was following behind him. It meant to quickly remove her from his sight.

“I’ll take her.”

Alex hurried down the stairs and picked up the collapsed Emilia.

“Butler, call the physician.”

Louid remained still. Behind him, Alex’s voice speaking to the butler could be heard.

Alex, holding the limp Emilia, headed toward the annex. Several staff followed behind them.

Without glancing in Emilia’s direction, Louid slowly ascended the stairs.

***

A commotion erupted in Emilia’s bedroom on the second floor of the annex. The Grand Duke’s physician rushed over, and the maids massaged Emilia’s body. She regained consciousness only after a while.

“Your Highness, are you all right?”

“Yes, I just felt a bit dizzy.”

Emilia replied weakly to Helen’s question.

“The physician advised you to rest and not overdo it for the time being.”

“I’m fine. Don’t worry. I won’t die from something like this.”

Emilia gave a small laugh. She thought she had gotten healthier lately, but collapsing like this made her feel like all her efforts had been in vain.

“All right. Shall I bring some tea?”

“Yes.”

Helen smiled at Emilia’s bravado and left to fetch the tea.

“Phew, I nearly died from embarrassment.”

How embarrassing. Of all times to collapse.

What mortified Emilia more than her health was losing consciousness in front of Louid. And today, she realized something.

I must never become an enemy of Louid.

According to what she had heard from Simon, Louid was a ruthless ruler who showed no mercy to his enemies. He had subdued the barbarians who had long threatened the borders and laid waste to neighboring kingdoms that were uncooperative with the Empire.

Because of this, the citizens of the Empire respected and admired him.

One could never know what might happen if such a person were offended.

***

“That’s all, Your Highness.”

Meanwhile, Louid was in his office listening to a report from his aide, Eddie. A mountain of documents was stacked on his large desk. Having been away for several months, a backlog of work had accumulated.

Eddie reported on everything that had happened in the Grand Duchy while Louid was away. However, he didn’t mention the one thing Louid truly wanted to hear.

“I told you to make sure the Grand Duchess didn’t appear, didn’t I?”

Unable to hold it in any longer, Louid picked up a random document and spoke in a warning tone. He was curious about Emilia’s condition but didn’t ask directly.

“Her Highness insisted on greeting Your Highness, so we couldn’t stop her.”

“You should have stopped her beforehand.”

Louid, now irritated, crumpled the document. He knew Emilia was weak, and yet his subordinates had allowed her to stand in the cold lobby.

“How could I stop Her Highness from seeing her husband?” Eddie replied nonchalantly.

It’s my fault for trusting someone like him.

Louid glared at him with eyes like a beast, but Eddie acted as if nothing had happened.

“What about the knights’ banquet?”

At the Grand Duke’s castle, a grand banquet was held when knights returned from monster hunts or battles. It was a day for everyone to eat, drink, and enjoy themselves.

“Let everyone rest, and we’ll hold it two days from now.”

“Yes, understood. Ah, and the Grand Duchess received a check-up from the physician. There’s nothing seriously wrong, but he says her body is weak.”

Watching Louid’s expression, Eddie finally delivered the news he had been wanting to hear.

“…I see. You may go.”

After a short pause, Louid answered bluntly. He didn’t ask how Emilia had been living at the castle during his absence.

After Eddie left, Louid rose from his seat and approached the window. From his office, diagonally across, he could see Emilia’s bedroom.

A few days ago, he had received a report from a messenger Eddie sent, informing him that Emilia was at the castle. He had ordered that she not appear when he returned.

‘A headstrong woman indeed.’

He had thought she was quiet, but she seemed to have some backbone. He smirked, recalling how Emilia had called out to him loudly in the lobby.

***

“So bored…”

After resting in bed for a day and regaining her energy, Emilia roamed the third floor of the annex the next afternoon and found a room suitable for a studio. It was the room at the end of the third floor, moderately spacious with plenty of sunlight, perfect for painting.

“Helen, could you bring me some paper and pens?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Helen brought an abundance of paper, pens, and ink in various colors such as black, red, and blue.

With nothing else to do and feeling bored, Emilia decided to draw. The room had a large desk and a comfortable chair, making it an ideal workspace.

Seated at the desk, Emilia began sketching Louid’s appearance as she had seen him that morning. She focused especially on his intense red eyes that burned like the sun. Even after dinner, she was still absorbed in her drawing.

It’s done.

A few hours later, she stared seriously at the completed drawing.

He probably won’t come today either.

Since their encounter in the lobby, there had been no word from Louid.

How am I supposed to bring up the topic of divorce like this?

She sighed, placed the finished drawing in the desk drawer, and returned to her bedroom.

The next day, Emilia was once again drawing in the studio. This time, she sketched dresses she had often drawn while in the tower. Unlike before, she now had ink in a variety of colors, so she could draw dresses in a range of hues.

‘All I know how to do is draw. Could I turn this into a job somehow?’

If she wanted to live alone, she would need a job. But her skill wasn’t good enough to be a painter, and the only thing she knew how to draw was dresses. So she was quite troubled.

‘What should I do?’

Knock, knock.

While she was deep in thought, Helen came in with tea and snacks.

“Your Highness, there’s a banquet with the knights tonight.”

At the word “banquet,” Emilia widened her eyes and looked at Helen.

“Really? Am I attending too?”

“You’re not required to, but since it’s your first time as the lady of the house, I think it’d be good to attend at least once.”

“All right. Please help me get ready.”

Even if she were to get divorced later, Emilia wanted to fulfill her duties as the Grand Duchess, so she nodded readily.

Back in her bedroom, Emilia bathed carefully. After her bath, the maids braided her hair and began dressing her up.

Just as they were nearly finished, Helen came from the dressing room holding a deep blue dress.

‘Blue again?’

Seeing the dress Helen had brought, Emilia tilted her head. The dress she had worn last time was also blue…

Getting up from her chair, she walked to the dressing room and opened the wardrobe.

“Hm…”

All the dresses hanging inside had the same design. Since she hadn’t had any occasions to wear dresses, she had just been wearing the everyday clothes Helen picked out for her.

‘I should’ve checked earlier.’

All her dresses were in similar shades of blue, and there weren’t many of them. Her eye color might be light blue, but if every piece of clothing was blue, that was a bit much…

Shaking her head, she opened the jewelry box. The necklaces, rings, and bracelets inside were all blue as well. They had all been chosen by Duke Berthe.

“These dresses and accessories, did I bring them with me?”

“Yes, you brought them all when you came here, Your Highness.”

“Hm…”

She didn’t mind having a limited number of items, but she didn’t want to wear the same color all the time.

“I’ll wear this one today.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

She chose the light blue dress that looked the nicest among the options and headed to the banquet hall.

***

“Welcome, Your Highness.”

When she arrived at the entrance of the Grand Hall on the first floor of the main castle, the head butler greeted her warmly.

“Thank you, Philip.”

“How is your health?”

“Thanks to everyone’s help, I’m completely better now.”

“That’s a relief.”

Emilia shared a brief, pleasant conversation with the butler.

“This way, please.”

“Thank you.”

“I’ll stay at the entrance, Your Highness.”

“All right. I’ll come out in about an hour.”

Philip respectfully escorted her to the banquet hall’s entrance, and Helen waited outside.

“Her Highness the Grand Duchess is entering.”

After the herald’s announcement, Emilia entered the Grand Hall. The once boisterous room instantly fell silent.

She looked around. Louid was not in sight.

The Grand Hall was a large open space with dozens of long rectangular tables packed with knights sitting at them.

“This way, Your Highness.”

A man who looked to be in his early thirties approached her with a friendly smile. He was nearly twice as large as the other knights. Emilia followed him without a word. Naturally, he led her to the head seat of the hall.

Emilia sat carefully in the seat she was shown. The seat next to hers was empty. As soon as she sat, the herald’s voice rang out again.

“His Highness the Grand Duke is entering.”

Louid is here!

Her heart began to pound. It had been two days since she last saw him. As the knights stood up, she followed suit.

Emilia firmly resolved not to collapse this time.