If You Wish For A Married Couple’s Duties

to deduce if I put together everything that I have heard, Sylvia.”

 

In response to her answer, the maid lowered her gaze as if unsure.

 

“…It’s not important as long as Madam is the Duchess.
Do you still want to hear it?”

 

“I think it’s up to me to decide whether it’s important or not.
And after seeing Sylvia’s reaction to it, I don’t think it’s something to be taken lightly.”

 

In response to Dooha’s words, Sylvia looked at the teacup and opened her mouth with difficulty.

 

“This is something I found out just a while ago, too.
The duke told me when he ordered me to receive His Highness, the Prince, instead of his wife.”

 

The maid told her two things.

 

The first was that the Fourth Prince and the Duchess were supposed to get married and that they would have become a married couple if the Duke had not accepted the Emperor’s order.

 

The second is that both of the Fourth Prince’s wives were beaten by him for very trivial reasons.

 

“As expected, it wasn’t an accident that the women died.”

 

“Did you guess that too?”

 

“Actually, I inadvertently overheard their conversation in front of the dining room door during the day.”

 

The face of the maid turned white at Dooha’s words.

 

“Madam! If you run into His Highness, the-”

 

“I don’t understand, Sylvia.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“What does the Fourth Prince beating his wives to death have anything to do with the Duke forbidding me from seeing him?”

 

“Well, that’s…”

 

The maid quivered for a while with a bewildered face before answering, a sigh mixed in with her voice.

 

“I don’t know if Madam knows this, but His Highness, the Fourth Prince, likes women very much.
Especially beautiful women.”

 

“Yes, is that so?”

 

“And the Fourth Prince’s wives, who died, were also great beauties.”

 

Dooha made a confused expression, she didn’t understand anymore.

 

“So, why does that matter?”

 

“His Highness, the Fourth Prince, is someone who gets whatever he wants.
How would such a person react if he met Madam, someone who would have been his wife?”

 

“Of course, there would be no reaction, because I am not a beauty.”

 

“What?”

 

“You said His Highness likes only beautiful women, right? Even if he meets me, how would he react?”

 

Dooha seemed really upset and disappointed.

 

“Maybe, the reason that you can’t meet His Highness is because of the fear that the Fourth Prince might have a liking towards you…”

 

“Oh, do you really think so?”

 

In the silence of the maid, Dooha’s face hardened without realizing it.

 

“…Really?”

 

“…Madam seems to be very unaware of her appearance.”

 

“No, I…”

 

At that moment, Layla, who had been quietly standing behind Dooha, stepped forward to help.

 

“See? I told you so, right? Madam is very, very, very beautiful in imperial standards of the Empire!”

 

“Certainly, the word ‘very’ is not needed.”

 

Dooha blinked her eyes, embarrassed by the compliments from the two of them.

 

She coughed in embarrassment, and then she immediately turned to face Sylvia and questioned,

 

“Even so, I’m already married to the Duke, so what would be the problem if the Prince likes me?”

 

“They say, ‘If you make it a problem, it’ll become a problem.’”

 

The maid answered calmly.

 

“Madam, the Krone Empire is where the Emperor’s Order is absolute.”

 

Unlike the Bashal Kingdom, which is a federation of five tribes, in the Krone Empire, the authority of the emperor, the absolute monarch, was given priority above all else.

 

“If the Fourth Prince begged the Emperor for Madam, and if the Emperor accepted the request, then the Duke would have to give Madam to the Fourth Prince.”

 

“No, does it make sense to ask for a wife who is already married? What kind of bullsh*t is that?”

 

When Layla got heated up instead of her master, the maid replied in a calm voice once again.

 

“It is possible if the opponent is His Highness, the Fourth Prince.
He is second in line to the throne and the third most powerful in the Empire.”

 

“Huh! Nonsense!”

 

Unlike her maid, who was constantly angry, Dooha was quietly immersed in thought.

 

The maid, who had been watching her, opened her mouth once again.

 

“The Duke tried to prevent the worst possible situation in advance.
He is well aware of how hard his wife has prepared to take care of His Highness, the Fourth Prince, for the past 15 days.”

 

She bowed her head as if pleading with the duchess.

 

“Nevertheless, Madam must understand that the Duke made such a decision for the sake of his wife’s safety…”

 

“Okay, I’ll stop going out.”

 

“What?”

 

“I now know the intentions of the Duke.
As he wishes, I’ll stay still here.
Please tell the Duke not to worry.”

 

“Oh, yes.
I see.
Then I’ll get going now.”

 

Sylvia didn’t think that the Duchess would understand the situation so easily, and so the maid left the room with a shocked look.

 

“I’m glad the Duke seems to care a lot about his wife though.
It’s not very romantic, but still…”

 

Dooha was thinking about her husband, while the words of Layla, who was standing next to her, only went in through one ear.

 

Unlike his mouth that spit out sharp words, she never expected him to be this considerate.

 

What on earth was the man’s true self?

 

“…Weird person.”

 

“Yes, Madam? What did you say?”

 

“No, it’s late, so you should go to bed now.
I want to sleep now as well.”

 

Dooha ended the day by forcing her body to go to bed.

 

She hated moving according to other people’s intentions, but this time, she was thinking about whether to move her feet after knowing the duke’s intentions.