The Cold-Hearted Grand Duke Obsesses Over Me After My Death - Chapter 76

Chapter 76. Provincial Inspection

“Hmph!”

“Hah!”

In the darkness, the eyes of the two people met. Startled, both of them hurriedly turned their backs. After turning away, neither of them uttered a single word.

Thus the night passed in silence, and after that, a chill lingered between the two of them for quite some time.

Emilia stayed in her workshop, doing nothing but drawing dress designs, and Louid seemed busy with work even in the capital, so she couldn’t see him even at mealtimes. Still, he came to her bedroom to sleep after she had already fallen asleep, without fail, and left early in the morning.

***

“Your Highness, His Majesty the Emperor has sent word summoning you to the palace.”

A few days later, Louid went to the imperial palace at the emperor’s call. He sat facing the emperor on the sofa in the office, drinking tea.

“Louid, have you ever traveled with Emilia?”

“No. I haven’t.”

“Tsk, tsk. Married couples need to travel together sometimes. You didn’t even go on a honeymoon, did you?”

The emperor clicked his tongue as if frustrated while sipping his tea.

“That’s true.”

Louid nodded and agreed.

Traveling with Emilia… he hadn’t. The only time he and she had gone anywhere together was when they came to the capital this time. That couldn’t be called a trip, so it meant he had never once traveled with her. Even on the way to the Grand Duke’s territory, he had departed ahead of her.

Since he and Emilia were merely in a contractual relationship, it was only natural….

“Go and inspect the places listed here.”

As Louid sank into thought, the emperor handed him some documents.

“Inspect?”

An inspection, all of a sudden. Louid looked at the emperor with a puzzled expression.

“Yes. Go there in my place and see how severe the damage from the disaster is, and what is needed. With Emilia.”

“Yes, understood, Your Majesty.”

Louid accepted the documents from the emperor without complaint and read them carefully. The places listed were resorts famous throughout the empire for their beautiful scenery and pleasant weather.

“Aren’t these places famous tourist destinations?”

“That’s right. They’re also places that suffered damage from the recent disaster. You can inspect them and travel at the same time, and while you’re at it, it would be good if you brought back news of a child. The Richert imperial family is short on heirs, isn’t it?” William said with a smile, revealing his true purpose.

“…Yes, understood, Your Majesty,” Louid replied with a troubled expression.

The locations on the list were tourist destinations known for their beautiful scenery and places where the emperor had villas. If the purpose were purely inspection, there was no reason to send Emilia along. The emperor’s true goal was not a provincial inspection, but Emilia and his second generation.

“I’m thinking of passing the throne on to you soon and retiring comfortably to the southern villa.”

Leaning toward Louid, the emperor whispered quietly as if sharing a secret.

“Brother, you’re still young. To say such things….”

Startled by the emperor’s sudden words, Louid widened his eyes as he replied.

“It’s nice to hear you call me brother after so long. You had far more aptitude to be emperor than I ever did.”

“That’s not true, Brother. If it weren’t for you, the Richert Empire wouldn’t have remained peaceful.”

“That’s because you guarded the borders well. Thanks to you, I was able to play emperor comfortably inside the palace. And more than anything, I want to rest now. So the responsibility on your shoulders is heavy. This time, look around the empire and make a second generation with Emilia as well.”

The emperor and empress had been a very affectionate couple. Louid could understand his brother’s words, having lost the empress and the crown prince.

“Yes, understood, Brother. But if you ever wish to return, you must do so at any time. I’ll only hold the emperor’s position until then.”

“Yes, I will. Haha.

After having lunch with the emperor and returning to the manor, Louid thought he should tell Emilia about the inspection.

He went up to Emilia’s bedroom. Inside, Helen and the maids were diligently cleaning, and Emilia was nowhere to be seen.

“Your Highness.”

Upon spotting him, Helen and the maids bowed in unison.

“Where is the Grand Duchess?”

“She is in her workshop,” Helen answered.

As in the castle, Emilia’s workshop was on the same floor as the bedroom, in the room at the very end. She had chosen it herself, saying it got good sunlight.

Louid strode to the workshop and quietly opened the door.

“Emilia.”

Louid’s voice rang out from behind Emilia, who was absorbed in her drawing.

“Yes, what is it?”

She answered without even turning around. She still seemed quite angry. The corner of Louid’s mouth twitched upward.

“His Majesty told me to go on a provincial inspection.”

“Yes, have a safe trip,” Emilia replied halfheartedly, as if she had no interest in what he said.

“You’re coming too.”

“What? Me too? Why?”

Emilia finally turned around with a startled expression.

“Well, he told me to bring you along as well. It’s His Majesty’s order.”

Louid deliberately emphasized that it was the emperor’s order.

“Ah….”

Emilia blinked her blue eyes silently.

“It’s His Majesty’s order, so I suppose I have to follow it.”

After thinking for a moment, she decided to go with Louid. She had promised to faithfully fulfill her role as Grand Duchess, so she couldn’t refuse.

Besides, he’d saved her life amid the rain of arrows in the gorge. His words about her looking for a remarriage partner had upset her, but if there was something he needed her for, she naturally had to cooperate.

“It’s close to the capital, so it shouldn’t be too exhausting.”

Louid did not mention that the emperor had sent the two of them together for the sake of a child. If he said that, Emilia would be shocked.

“Yes, I understand. When do we depart?”

“In three days.”

“Yes.”

“Your Highness, will you really be alright if I do not accompany you?”

After hearing that Emilia was leaving on a provincial inspection, Helen asked with a worried expression.

“Yes, it’s fine. I can manage on my own to some extent now, and there will be escort knights. Don’t worry.”

Traveling too conspicuously increased the risk of drawing assassins’ attention, so they decided to keep the party as small as possible. That was why Helen would not accompany them.

Having grown accustomed to traveling while coming from the grand duke’s castle to the capital, Emilia was not worried even without Helen.

“Yes, please be careful and have a safe trip.”

“I will.”

Three days later, Louid and Emilia departed in secret for the provincial inspection.

***

“We received word from Paul. His Highness the Grand Duke and Her Highness the Grand Duchess are leaving on a provincial inspection by order of His Majesty the Emperor.”

Jack, Lina’s escort knight, reported to her.

“When?”

“That much we haven’t yet learned. This is the list of destinations and personnel for the inspection.”

Jack handed Lina a note that Paul had sent by courier. Lina took it and read it. On the note Paul sent, the Grand Duke’s inspection schedule was written in tiny, cramped letters.

The Marquess of Carrion had long planted spies among the emperor’s close aides. That was why finding out the Grand Duke’s destination was as easy as eating porridge. Among them, Paul was Lina’s personal subordinate whom she herself had planted.

“Place a tail near the grand duke’s manor and find out when they leave.”

“Yes, understood.”

After Jack left, Lina clutched the note and paced restlessly around her bedroom.

‘The Grand Duke’s gaze when he looked at the bride during the wedding was definitely cold.’

But unlike a few months ago, when he treated her coldly, the Grand Duke’s gaze toward the Grand Duchess at the banquet had grown gentle.

‘Why doesn’t the Grand Duke hate the granddaughter of the man who tried to kill him?’

If it were her, she would have gotten rid of Duke Berthe’s granddaughter as soon as the marriage took place, just to make a point. The Grand Duke’s behavior was truly frustrating and incomprehensible.

The places written on the note Paul sent were travel destinations famous throughout the empire for their beauty. Though it was called an inspection, it was also a trip, so if the two of them grew closer through this opportunity and even had a child, that would be troublesome.

In the end, Lina decided to follow the two of them.

The way the Grand Duke looked at Emilia, different from before, bothered her, but for now, everything was going according to her plan.

She had made her presence known at the grand duke’s castle banquet, and even at the banquet hall, she had managed to leave an impression on the Grand Duke in her own way.

‘This time too, I have to go and show myself. I can just pretend we ran into each other by chance.’

Reading the note once more, Lina curled her lips into a smile.

Knock, knock.

A few days later, early in the morning, someone knocked urgently on the door of her bedroom.

“Come in.”

Replying half-asleep, Lina got up with a groggy expression. The door flew open and Jack rushed in.

“They say the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess departed at dawn today in a carriage.”

Lina’s eyes, which had nearly been closed from drowsiness, snapped wide open.

“Alright. Prepare the carriage. We’re leaving right now.”

“Yes!”