Secret Wardrobe Of The Duchess

A servant brought Rubica’s aperitif as soon as she sat down. It was sparkling wine that was just a little bit sour, perfect for arousing the appetite. The appetizer came out immediately after she took a sip of wine. It was a fruit she had never seen before.

“These are?”

“They are dragon’s eyes, Your Grace.”

The servant replied with a kind smile. Rubica was surprised and looked back at the dish. There were about four, five round and small purple fruits on it.

Dragon’s eyes.

She had never known she would ever get to see that fruit, much less eat it. Tasty fruit that could be harvested only in a dragons’ territory. It was known to contain a dragon’s energy and liked by dragons, so they severely punished humans if they ever found them harvesting it. In short, they had to be harvested by risking lives.

Rubica touched the round fruit with her fork. She didn’t like it.

‘If it is on a duke’s dinner, His Majesty at the capital must have it even more often.’

Aristocrats in this kingdom said extravagance had to be banned, people were short on money, import of wheat must be increased, and nobles shouldn’t hold balls except in winter when it was agricultural off-season, but in the end, they just did what they wanted.

Nobody objected when it was said it was to show off power and authority and solidify social order. Dragon’s eye was one of such things. It was proof that they had enough military power and money to fight dragons and get it.

Rubica made a dragon’s eye roll on the dish with her fork.

‘How many people have shed blood to get this one small fruit?’

Thinking about it, she didn’t want to put it in her mouth no matter how expensive it was. She removed the dragon’s eyes decorated on the piece of bread and ate it with just steamed pumpkin and oil.

“… you don’t like it?” Edgar looked at Rubica and asked. He was looking at the dragon’s eyes on her dish.

“Yes.”

He raised an eyebrow to hear that. However, before he could say anything, the servant took away the dishes and brought the next ones.

“Freshly roasted buntings hunted by the knights today.”

Looking at the roasted bird with beans made Rubica feel comfortable. She glanced at Edgar as she cut a leg with her knife. To her surprise, her eyes met Edgar’s.

“Say it if you have something to say.”

Rubica was so surprised that she almost dropped the knife. Edgar had finished cutting and was elegantly putting a piece of meat in his mouth. Looking at that, Rubica wondered for a moment if he had learned how to read minds at the Academy.

Anyway, as Edgar had asked first, she decided there was no need to hesitate and got to her point.

“I met your relatives today. I had a pleasant talk with one of them, Lord Sesar, and… my lord?”

Rubica was startled at seeing Edgar get mad so quickly. The man was fit for sitting on a desk and writing beautiful lines with a quill, but at least for now, he looked like a warrior whose destiny was to wield a sword.

“What kind of scheme is this?”

Scheme? What is he saying?

Rubica didn’t know what was going on and gulped hard. She wasn’t the only one surprised by Edgar’s abrupt anger.

All the servants and maids who were waiting froze on the spot. They couldn’t say anything lest they might light the bomb.

Am I the one who must take the burden…

Rubica wished she could hide herself in ordinariness again and spoke, “A scheme, my lord?”

Edgar got even angrier at this. He put down his fork and knife. Rubica wished she could know what this was about. She had done nothing wrong. It had been a normal conversation and she had even taken in Carl’s opinion and spoken politely to him. Really, Edgar had no reason to be mad. Rather, this is what he had wanted.

“It’s creepy.”

“Excuse me?”

“Has someone instructed you to speak like that to me?”

“Edgar.”

Rubica called his name to calm him down. She didn’t want to quarrel with him at the dining hall, but Edgar ignored her and continued, “Or did you want to make that deal with Lord Sesar happen so much that you used that pathetic way of speaking?”

Only then Rubica realized why Edgar was so mad at her.

“But Edgar, you said you didn’t like me talking down to you.”

“I don’t like it.”

“So, I am going to talk politely to you as you want from now…”

“It’s creepy.”

Rubia decided to shut up as there really were goosebumps on Edgar’s wrist. He didn’t like her talking impolitely to him, but he felt her talking politely to him was creepy. What was she supposed to do?

“Why are you suddenly doing this?”

“You didn’t care even a bit when I mentioned it to you, but now you have suddenly changed your attitude. I don’t like it. Ann, have you told her to change her way of speaking today?”

“Your Grace, how could I dare to say such a thing to Her Grace?”

Ann bowed, but it only made Edgar frown even harder.

“Then you are using that creepy way of speaking only because of some roses?”

“Your Grace!”

In the end, Carl spoke. He meant to explain it once Edgar cooled down, but now he had no choice.

“It was me. I asked Her Grace.”

Carl shook with fear. Edgar stared at him with eyes that couldn’t have been colder, and Carl immediately knelt down.

“It was wrong of me, Your Grace. I will gladly take any punishment.”

What was going on? They had been having dinner just a moment ago. And why was the butler kneeling down for such a thing? It made Rubica think eating alone while everyone staring at her as she had done in the morning would have been better.

“Carl, you!”

When Edgar stood up and pointed at Carl, Rubica couldn’t take it anymore. She grabbed his wrist.

“Edgar, stop. Please.”

His wrist was shaking. Was it something to be that mad about? Rubica was surprised to find his body so icy cold. Her warmth stopped his tremble.

He breathed hard and looked at her.

“He was rude to you and me.”

Oh, but how could that be called rude? Rubica didn’t know what he was thinking.

“Carl was just doing what he should do as your butler: giving advice. I also accepted that advice because I thought it was right.”

“And what about me?”

“What?”

“You didn’t listen when I spoke about it, but you listened to Carl. Why was that?”

Rubica let go of his wrist dumbfounded. Edgar was so mad because she had ignored him when he spoke about it and accepted someone else’s advice, even if the two had requested the same thing!

‘I’m the one who should be mad. Then you should have convinced me nicely instead of being so arrogant.’

Rubica couldn’t decide if she should call that immature behavior or lack of flexibility. Either way, she didn’t want to go on with that childish quarrel. It would have been different at the chambers, but now they were at the dining hall with so many watching eyes.

“My lord, I will speak politely to you if that is what you want.”

“It’s creepy. Don’t do it.”

Rubica held back a sigh. She had called him Your Grace and spoken politely to him till two days ago. Moreover, Edgar had heard that without any problem with his neck held high as if there had been a buttress supporting it.

And now he thought it was so creepy. Had something really happened during last night? Rubica had lots to talk about including herself smelling of his perfume when she got up.

It wouldn’t be easy for him at all to find an excuse for that one. She told herself she had to get patient for now for later.

“Then do you want me to talk to you as usual?”

“No.”

Ugh, then what do you want? Rubica could barely restrain herself from yelling so and looked at Edgar.

‘Huh?’

Then she spotted Edgar’s red ears. His face hadn’t changed color even a little even though he was mad, but his ears were strangely red. Rubica had been examining him, his ears didn’t change color even when his face did in anger.

‘… is he embarrassed?’

Rubica silently stared at him. His ears got even redder. It reminded her of the time they had had champagne at the carriage. His eyes and ears had been a little red back then.

Had he been embarrassed, not drunk? Was he really mad about her accepting someone else’s opinion instead of his own?

‘Why on earth is he doing this?’

However, she could calm down when thinking he was just embarrassed. It was better than not knowing why he was so mad at all. She decided accusing him of it would make things even worse and spoke softly.

“But I don’t know what you want.”

“… are you going to do what I want?”

Edgar calmed down just a little bit. Rubica resisted the urge to give him a slap and smiled.

“Yes.”

“Then…”