The Cold-Hearted Grand Duke Obsesses Over Me After My Death - Chapter 40

Episode 40. Count Dalton

‘It’s been a year.’

Asher smiled as he looked at the castle. He didn’t enter, but stood there for a while. Louid and he had been friends since childhood. After Louid went north, they couldn’t meet often, but their longing for each other only deepened their friendship.

As he was about to move his feet, in the distance appeared a woman with long platinum-blonde hair tied up, leading a puppy. The woman wore pants and a blouse, and a long sword hung at her waist.

‘A puppy? No? What is that crawling along?’

Asher’s eyes widened. The animal that looked like a puppy was red all over.

“Grrr, grrrr.”

The puppy the woman was leading suddenly made a strange sound when it saw him. Looking closer, it wasn’t a puppy but unmistakably a monster.

“……?”

When the monster stopped, the woman looked at him curiously.

“Lady, th-that’s a monster, isn’t it? Are my eyes deceiving me?” Asher asked in a frightened voice.

“It is indeed a monster hatchling, but there’s no need to be afraid. It has a proper chain leash.”

The woman answered brightly, proudly shaking the iron leash.

‘What use is a leash on a monster…’

“By the way… who are you?” asked the woman as she tilted her head.

“I’ve come to see the Grand Duke Richert.”

Was there someone here who didn’t know him?

‘Must be a new servant. Or perhaps a monster tamer?’

Asher was very curious about the woman’s identity.

“The Grand Duke is out at the moment, but I’ll show you to the butler.”

The woman turned as if to lead him. Then she suddenly stopped as if she had remembered something.

“Oh, right. Because of Levi, that won’t work. If Levi goes inside, the servants will be frightened. On the second floor is the butler’s office. Could you go there instead?”

“Very well.”

Asher stood there for a long while, watching the woman walk away leisurely with the monster. There was something about her that left a vivid impression at a single glance.

***

“Count Asher?”

A moment later, the butler came running out of the building to greet him warmly.

“It’s been a while, Philip.”

Asher’s father, the Count of Dalton, was the Foreign Minister of the Richert Empire, in charge of the nation’s diplomacy. Ten years ago, when Duke Berthe tried to kill Louid, he was the one who informed the Emperor of the fact and saved Louid.

Now his son Asher had inherited his father’s title and continued the diplomatic work.

Asher had been in the Kingdom of Billiot for several months on diplomatic negotiations, so he hadn’t been able to attend Louid’s wedding. Thus, he had come to the Grand Duke’s castle as soon as he returned, to congratulate him and see his friend’s face.

“How is the old Count?” Philip asked first about the health of Asher’s father.

“He is resting well in the countryside. He grows grapes and makes wine. I brought a few bottles.”

Asher pointed to the carriage he had ridden in. The carriage was loaded with hundreds of bottles of wine.

“I heard the Grand Duke is out. Where is Her Highness? I would like to pay my respects.”

“Didn’t you already meet her? I came out after seeing the two of you talking.”

Philip had looked out the window of his office and seen the Count of Asher talking with the Grand Duchess, and had rushed out.

“……”

Met? I only met one woman. Wait. The Grand Duchess everyone said was frail… was that lady just now?

To call her frail was an understatement. He had heard every kind of cruel rumor about the Grand Duchess before coming here: that she was like a ghost, like a demon from the underworld, like a walking skeleton, that she looked as if she would collapse and die at any moment.

‘Completely different from the rumors?’

The woman he had just met had rosy cheeks brimming with life. A woman with a long sword at her waist, walking a monster, was supposed to be the frail Grand Duchess? Even having seen her with his own eyes, Asher couldn’t believe it.

“That lady just now was Her Highness the Grand Duchess?” Asher asked, his face showing his astonishment.

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“……”

At a loss for words, Asher looked again toward where Emilia had disappeared.

“My lord, instead of standing here, won’t you come inside? His Highness the Grand Duke will return shortly.”

“All right.”

At Philip’s urging, Asher asked no more questions and followed him into the castle.

***

“Asher, it’s been a long time. I’m glad to see you.”

When he waited a while in the office, Louid, who had been out, returned. Asher was sitting on the sofa in the office, drinking tea. Meeting for the first time in a year, the two men embraced and patted each other’s backs.

“Congratulations on your marriage, Your Highness the Grand Duke,” Asher said with a bright smile.

“Thank you. Speak comfortably.”

Louid also smiled, tapping Asher’s shoulder. The two had been inseparable childhood friends.

“There must have been a reason for marrying so suddenly. Haha,” Asher said casually.

“……”

“I didn’t know she was such a beauty. Of all the women I’ve seen, her beauty is the most outstanding.”

“……”

At Asher’s words, Louid’s expression suddenly darkened, and he pressed his lips shut.

“I was worried because she was Duke Berthe’s granddaughter, but it seems my concern was unnecessary.”

Whether he knew or not, Asher continued to praise Emilia.

“…Did you meet the Grand Duchess?” Louid asked in a low voice with a subtle expression.

“I happened to meet her earlier. She seemed like a good person. Quite the opposite of Duke Berthe.”

“……”

Louid found himself irritated that Asher and Emilia had met. They were bound to see each other anyway. At meals, over tea, at banquets. The Grand Duchess Emilia and the Count Asher were people who could encounter each other anytime, yet he couldn’t understand why it bothered him.

“By the way, the Kingdom of Billiot. It seems dangerous.”

Asher, sitting across from Louid on the sofa, brought up the matter of the Kingdom of Billiot, where he had recently been.

The Kingdom of Billiot was a large kingdom east of the Richert Empire, and eighteen years ago, it had waged war against the Empire.

After six months of war, the two sides declared a truce, but Duke Berthe, Emilia’s father, and the King of Billiot had both died in battle. Even after that, the Kingdom of Billiot continued to covet the Empire’s territory.

“This time, I saw that they had reinforced their forces considerably. They say their armory is full of weapons.”

“Is that so?”

Louid’s expression grew serious.

“They also say that with years of good harvest, they have stocked up a great deal of provisions.”

During his time in the Kingdom of Billiot, Asher had secretly investigated their military and war supplies under Louid’s orders.

“I see. I’ll hear more details later. Well done.”

Louid rose from his seat and patted his friend’s shoulder in thanks.

“You must be tired. Rest for now. Let’s dine together this evening.”

“All right.”

Leaving the office, Asher followed the attendant to the guest chamber.

After unpacking his things in the guest chamber on the second floor of the south annex, he went to the dining hall on the third floor of the main castle in the evening. In his hand he carried several bottles of the wine he had brought.

The Grand Duke and Grand Duchess had arrived first and were waiting for him. Asher sat opposite the Grand Duchess.

“Your Highness, it’s our first… no, we’ve already met, haven’t we? Hahaha.”

Asher greeted Emilia with a delighted expression. This time, she was dressed formally, unlike earlier. Asher thought she was pure and beautiful, whether adorned or not.

“Nice to see you, Count. I apologize for not realizing who you were earlier.”

Emilia also greeted him with a bright expression.

“Not at all.”

The two continued their conversation cheerfully.

“This wine is produced in the Selgona region of Dalton County.”

Asher opened one of the bottles he had brought and poured into their three glasses.

“Ah! This is the wine I drank at the knights’ banquet before. It had such a unique flavor. Thank you.”

Taking a sip of the wine poured by Asher, Emilia spoke with a pleased expression. It was the very taste she remembered.

“I brought plenty, so please enjoy it at leisure. If you ever need more, just let me know.”

“Oh my, thank you, Count.”

With the exception of one person who had been silent since earlier, the two of them continued happily conversing until the banquet ended.

‘Count Asher…’

Slightly tipsy, Emilia looked at Asher and fell into thought.

He was a bit slender, but with fair skin and tall stature, he looked like a prince from a fairy tale.

“Count.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Have you and His Highness the Grand Duke been friends since childhood?”

Since she had met the Grand Duke’s friend, Emilia decided to take the opportunity to ask about Louid’s childhood, which she had been curious about.