Chapter 57
So, I didn’t become the Empire’s first commoner-born Duchess, but I did become the wife of a fearsome and remarkable man who, as the head of the Empire’s greatest information guild, subdued the city’s underworld in just a few days with a single sword. And while I was at it, my face became widely known, too.
After removing the former Duke and formally inheriting the title, Claude chose to return the title and step down on his own. Of course, he had already discussed this with the Crown Prince, so the imperial family naturally accepted his resignation.
As for what happened to Claude, who was demoted to a commoner overnight…
“But are you really okay with this?”
As he peeled the blanket off me like a candy wrapper and pressed close to my chest, he lifted his head and looked at me with a hint of curiosity.
“Living as Claude Bell, I mean.”
He had abandoned his old surname and, upon our marriage, casually took mine as his own. It all happened so quickly that I honestly felt quite dazed and bewildered.
It was just a passing question from me, but Claude, who had been all relaxed, suddenly frowned deeply.
“Why do you keep asking about that? Do you regret taking in a man without a title or family name?”
It wasn’t that I regretted it, but I was worried. Not because of the title, but because, after a lifetime as a noble, wouldn’t living as a commoner be difficult for him?
“I don’t know what you think being a noble means… But you saw for yourself, didn’t you? Did any of that look like real living to you?”
True enough. I had seen him, not as a sheltered young master, but being driven like a fighting dog.
“No matter what you say, I’m very satisfied, Ayla. Most of all…”
He mumbled as he bit down on my chest as if punishing me for teasing him.
“I don’t think you’re so heartless that you’d abandon a husband who even took your surname.”
The more I thought about it, the more I realized my worries had been pointless. Claude definitely seemed much freer and happier than when he’d been at the mansion.
Titles and family names really didn’t matter. The Imperial Crown Prince wasn’t a stingy man. Though the ducal lands and knight order once owned by the ducal house had been confiscated, he still gave us a considerable portion of the estate. It was more than enough for us to live comfortably for the rest of our lives.
Claude just wanted to leave this wretched empire behind, but the Crown Prince didn’t seem inclined to let him go. As soon as things settled down around the Clausewitz family, the Crown Prince began calling Claude back.
So instead of putting himself at the forefront, Claude now quietly ran the guild and supported the Crown Prince from behind the scenes.
“If you really want, I’ll put in the effort to get a new title. Building up the Bell family with you wouldn’t be such a bad idea.”
He murmured teasingly, his face now somewhere down between my thighs. It was a bit much to be talking about reviving the Bell family while in that position…
And really, I never wanted anything like that.
Unlike me, though, Claude seemed to have a strange sense of obligation about my thoroughly commoner surname, and sometimes he got oddly fixated on it.
Other than that… he seemed to genuinely enjoy living as Claude Bell.
Of course, I was happy, too. It was almost hard to believe that just a short while ago, I had left the one I loved and fallen into despair. Now, every day felt overflowing with happiness.
Even if he was still out there getting mixed up in dangerous business I couldn’t even imagine, my life now was that of a fool hopelessly in love, clinging to my unexpectedly clingy husband.
For a maid who lost her family and survived alone in this harsh world, wasn’t this more than enough of a happy ending?
“To make the family flourish… we need to have lots of descendants, Ayla. So, as husband and wife, shouldn’t we work hard together?”
Honestly… it’s more than I ever deserved!
Discussion
0 CommentsNo comments yet.