I Married the Mad Duke Who Killed My Husband - Chapter 110 - Side Story 6

After the power struggle for the throne was resolved with the help of the Duke and Duchess, Eugene found everything else to be mundane.

That’s why, unlike the days that went by like a hamster wheel, he felt different even with the sudden summons from his master, but he never expected to be given such a task.

“I heard the Duchess is pregnant. I’d like you to deliver a congratulatory gift.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Since becoming the Crown Prince, there were fewer occasions where he had to do rough work behind the scenes, but he wasn’t the type to assign such a task to a spy.

Eugene was momentarily puzzled, but it didn’t cause any hesitation in his voice as he answered the command. After all, a spy does what they’re told.

“And you don’t need to come back.”

“……Yes. It has been an honor to serve Your Highness all this time.”

However, even for Eugene he couldn’t help but be silent for a brief moment at his master’s next order, which left no room for even the slightest doubt. So, I’ve finally become a stray dog.

“Be careful, there are many expensive items that shouldn’t be shaken. Also, tell the Duke to visit occasionally, not just stay in his domain.”

“Yes. I’ll be careful.”

“Good.”

That was the end.

There were no awkward words like ‘thank you for your hard work,’ but now he realized that he was no longer the Crown Prince’s spy.

Not all dogs are the same, after all.

If the Duke was the dog who ran at the forefront of the war, staying by the Second Prince’s side during his lowest times, he was no different from a ghoul tearing at the throat of a half-corpse that hadn’t yet breathed its last after the war ended.

A hunting dog is no longer needed once the hunt is over. The mad Duke, who was once called the Second Prince’s dog, found a new master, but…

“Eugene.”

“I apologize.”

Even if it’s the end, I was too emotional.

From the beginning, there was no personal loyalty in choosing the Second Prince as his lord. It was because that was the best path he could think of, and he wasn’t the type to easily change his mind once he had chosen his place.

Eugene quickly blinked once and stood up, about to bow to the Crown Prince again when their eyes met for a brief moment.

He flinched at the Crown Prince’s gaze, which seemed somewhat amused with crinkled eyes, as he turned away.

“Farewell. I was quite fond of you.”

…What does this mean?

***

‘When our child is born, I want you to be in charge of the child’s protection.’

But who would have thought that the severed leash would be tied to a new place? Just as the Duke found a new master, with a single word from the Duchess, he too found a new master.

“Eugene! Eugene, where are you? I know you’re around here somewhere!”

Airis. His small and delicate new master was more mature and confident than other children her age. It was a confidence different from childish naivety.

“Didn’t I tell you to be especially careful in the Imperial Palace?”

“Oh, come on, I just wanted to see the Imperial Library. I heard he doesn’t come here often, so I barely got permission on the condition that you’d come with me. Besides, I heard he’s receiving royal education around this time.”

“He probably skipped class to see you, young miss.”

Just look at the son of his former master, now the Emperor. That’s typically what the confidence of a pampered and arrogantly raised child looks like.

The young miss’s confidence was so… like the madam’s. Most people say that while her appearance resembles the madam, her quiet personality takes after His Grace, but I’m not so sure.

To Eugene, this young miss seemed like a child born solely from the madam.

“Oh, really. This is dangerous. If we meet often from a young age, the flag will be deeply planted.”

“Please try to avoid him. But don’t jump out of windows like this time.”

“Do you even understand what you’re advising about?”

“It’s something the madam and young miss often say. I assume it’s some kind of weapon, right?”

This young miss would have surely jumped out calling for me even if the Imperial library wasn’t on the first floor.

Suddenly, he remembers the time when he was poisoning the Duchess’s food. His heart raced unusually then. Was it tension about something going wrong or fear of punishment for acting without orders? But now he knows.

He was truly tense about whether the Duchess would actually eat it, and whether he had adjusted the type and amount of poison well enough not to kill her.

‘Urgh.’

Even while coughing up blood, those eyes remained calculating and cold.

The eyes that searched for me while throwing her small body out the window to avoid the prince were exactly the same. That attitude without a hint of hesitation or fear, when charging forward.

This mother and daughter pair strangely draws people in.

“Please listen to me when we return. And don’t think about stopping by the art shop.”

“……You noticed?”

“Rather than avoiding it, you’re planting another ‘flag’, aren’t you?”

“You’re using that term quite appropriately, like you actually understand. But unlike the prince, he’s… concerning. He should be more gloomy.”

If there’s any consolation, it’s that my young master is slower to recognize her own feelings than the madam. Though is this really a consolation?

If forced to choose between the two, I’d rather pick the willful prince.

A few months ago, at the prince’s birthday celebration, the young miss knocked down the small boy who was muttering depressing things about how he should die. Since then, she’s been quite attentive to him.

Even agreeing to be his model for drawing practice.

“If this gets found out, my head will roll, young miss.”

The madam asked me to be a spy who could poison for the young miss’s sake. If I were still serving the Second Prince, I should immediately twist that gloomy boy’s neck.

“That’s why you need to help me not get caught, right?”

But seeing that smile, I simply can’t refuse.

I realize, embarrassingly enough, that ‘what’s good for the master’ and ‘what the master wants’ are different things.

Though I don’t know why, if the Duke and Duchess, who despise Lorang’s son Tieche as much as the prince, find out, my head will truly roll, not just figuratively.

While everything seems fine on the surface, the Duke, who will never forget that I once poisoned the madam, is surely watching for an opening.

“Young miss, the boy’s house…”

“Ah, we’re meeting on the street today, not at his house. Let’s go that way!”

“……That’s an alley, not a street.”

Truly, Eugene made his presence known, feeling his neck wouldn’t last much longer. If it’s a deserted alley anyway, it might be good to show himself openly and intimidate the boy a bit.

“There’s no point in staying long since we’ll get caught anyway. And it’s not good to draw the same space every day for art practice.”

“That boy wouldn’t care about such things.”

“Airis!”

While I was deliberately blocking the young miss from the boy who was hiding like a mouse at the end of the alley, he squeaked loudly. For a mere six-year-old illegitimate child to charge forward without crying when threatened shows that he, too, is unlike other children in a different way.

“Tieche! Did you wait long?”

“Mmm, just a little…”

“Oh my, we need to draw, but look how cold your hands are. You’ve been out here since morning, haven’t you? I know everything without even looking.”

“I didn’t mind waiting because I wanted to see Airis.”

“…Well, well, is it because you’re one of the main characters? Or because you’re an artist? You’re going to break many hearts when you’re older.”

“I don’t understand what you mean, Airis.”

The boy, smiling creepily, uses his small frame to nestle into the young miss’s arms. The way he curls up to appear more pitiful and melancholic is quite different from their first day on the terrace, but frustratingly, the young miss doesn’t notice.

How can this mother and daughter pair be so sharp and rational, yet so oblivious in these matters?

While Eugene continued to direct his hostility toward the filthy boy, wondering if the two really needed to be this similar, the pair facing each other finished preparing for drawing.

“This alley might be narrow and dirty, but the walls are pretty. The background should come out well.”

“Yes, yes.”

“Of course, the most important thing is that I’m a great model.”

“Everything you say is right, Airis.”

“You’re not listening to a word I’m saying because you’re focused on drawing, aren’t you? Really now.”

…Perhaps this aspect of the madam’s intuition completely disappeared in the process of being passed down to the young miss. Looking at the boy who persistently stared at the young miss while drawing, Eugene contemplated whether he should snap that thin, dirty neck today.

“You know where the Baron’s house is, right? It’s not far from your house, and it’s where they regularly buy your father’s paintings.”

The boy, who usually doesn’t like talking about his father, didn’t respond to the young miss’s words for the first time, but she continued chattering like a bird, unbothered.

“Their daughter is already talking and walking! Do you know how cute she is? We’re having a small party at our house soon, and the Baron and his wife will come, so you should see her then. You won’t be able to resist her cuteness.”

“…Mmm. But I want to play with Airis and draw Airis.”

“No, you’ll think differently when you see her. Just meet her once. She’s really cute.”

Though the young miss seems to be trying to remove the deeply planted ‘flag’ in her own way, it’s ridiculous if that means trying to set up a date between a one-year-old and a six-year-old.

Especially when that six-year-old is completely smitten with the nine-year-old young miss.

“I’ll do everything Airis says. But you have to keep playing with me, okay?”

“Of course!”

Eugene looked up at the sky for a moment, wondering whether the young miss would reach adulthood first or his head would fall first. As the sun was setting, he sensed that if they didn’t return now, today might be the day his head would fall to the Duke.

Side Stories END

T/N:

Am I the only one who expected a bit more from the side stories? Don’t get me wrong, the plot twist with the daughter was amusing, but honestly, I had hoped to see more romance and perhaps some deeper moments between Asil and Cassis. Cries in R15 ( ╥ω╥ )

In the main story, their romance somehow felt too brief. The story was good, just felt like something was missing. Usually, I always enjoy “what if after the story” content with children, etc., but in this case, the short storyline with the daughter could have been left out entirely. It was interesting and, as mentioned above, funny, especially since she has the same talent as her mother when it comes to changing the original story, and in Airis’s case, it wasn’t even planned xD.
Under different circumstances, I would have liked to read more about her, but – and this was the first minus point that Cassis earned – it was his behavior during the pregnancy. I briefly thought about all those shitty fathers who neglect their children because the mothers died during childbirth, and I was a bit disappointed that this would very likely have been his future too if the worst case had occurred. On one hand, I found it super romantic that Asil always remains his number one, but saying it the way he did during childbirth wasn’t the best option.
All in all, a very good novel, and I’m really glad I spontaneously decided to translate it. But now, over to you. What do you think about the story? Let me know, I always enjoy comments. I hope to see you again in one of my other projects. ★~(◠‿◕✿)