“I will discuss this with the duke when he comes back. Lord Zilehan, even if I decide to not follow his will, I have a duty to tell him about it first.”

“Your Grace! Now isn’t the time for that.”

Zilehan glared at Rubica on purpose. She could see he was trying to pick a fight with her, so she didn’t get mad and glared back at him like an idiot. Instead, she looked down.

Then, she tried to recall the sad and painful things she had witnessed. She was sorry to use the noble people who had sacrificed themselves for others to put an act. However, as she was stopping people from dying for nothing, they wouldn’t mind.

First, she recalled a child who had covered her little sister from the bombs. Then, a mother who tried to breastfeed her baby while dying. Then, a father who volunteered to join the army for his family.

War was were the humans’ evilest side was shown. But, at the same time, humans’ best side was also there. Her eyes became teary in less than ten seconds.

“… Lord Zilehan, please remember I am from a lowly family and have nothing to depend on except my husband’s love.”

The coldest breeze went through the room. The other relatives were already looking at him as if he was the dirtiest trash in the world.

Zilehan regretted what he had said. He hadn’t known the duchess would use the fact she had nothing like that. No, ‘use’ was a little too strong. He pressed her too much. If she had been from a count’s family or a marquis’ family, she would have been able to protest to Edgar… but she was from a baronet family. He sighed.

‘Edgar, is this why you didn’t get yourself a wife from a good family?’

Edgar had refused all the marriage proposals he received, so Zilehan just came up with a conclusion like that. People tend to see what they want to see and judge everything with their own criteria.

Should I back off here for now?

However, he wouldn’t be able to come back tomorrow after leaving like that. The duchess was the person who could press the duke the most, and he couldn’t let her take care of the problem like that. Therefore, he decided to convince her again for one last time.

“But you are Duchess Claymore now. You have the duties to protect this family’s traditions and history…”

“Lord Zilehan!”

It was Ann who couldn’t take it anymore and yelled while glaring at Zilehan.

“You’ve done enough.”

That was clearly a warning. Cold sweat ran down Zilehan’s back and his palms got sweaty. Ann had been working as the Claymore’s housekeeper for a long time and she had no small amount of influence.

However, the matter of getting mana quartz had to be taken care of as soon as possible for him to get paid.

Before he paid the adventurers, he put the money in a bank for a short time and took the interest. It was neither illegal nor embezzling money. It was a profit he made with his wits, and he thought he deserved that much as it was his idea. He had gotten rid of the guilt a long time ago and thought he deserved that much money for his hard work.

He would lose a lot if getting mana quartz was delayed like this. It wasn’t his money in the first place, but he took it as a loss. He had money to pay for small gambles and bets done at the coffee house and had to pay for a business he was investing in. He had to get mana quartz again to pay for all that.

‘Even though she has worked at Claymore for a long time, she is just a lady-in-waiting. I was careful with her because she managed the budget, but not anymore.’

Money gives people the judgment to interpret the situation in one’s favor and the power to behave without thinking. He just didn’t want to be defeated by the housekeeper.

“Ann, as this family’s relative, I have the duties to say what is right.”

“Do not hurt her feelings anymore!”

Ann yelled so loudly that the sound resonated through the room. She looked at Zilehan as if he was a new servant who knew nothing. He thought it was unfair, and it wasn’t like he had said something really bad to deserve that look.

“But…”

“She tried to convince her husband while crying yesterday. He is the one who didn’t listen to her. If you want to protest about it, you should do it to him. Why are you blaming her when she has done nothing wrong?”

It made Zilehan shut his mouth. A relative sitting next to him thought Ann was being too hard on him and spoke up for him.

“Ann, we are just letting her know about what she must do.”

“You let her know by storming in and complaining?”

That made everyone shut their mouth. The duchess had been sitting on the sofa with a sad expression without saying anything. To talk and insist on their opinion, the young duchess was an easier target than the housekeeper.

However, next to Rubica was Elise glaring at them like a guarding dog. The tall girl wearing Edgar’s grandmother’s dress was quite threatening.

It looked like the late duchess would suddenly possess Elise and slap them if they said anything wrong to her granddaughter-in-law. Ann was also blocking every complaint.

‘This is overprotection.’

Ann was right. To complain about it, they had to go to the duke as he was responsible for it. However, none of them were unafraid of Edgar. If they complained to him, he was going to listen to them without saying anything, find out about every wrong they had done like tax evasion and embezzlement, and report it to the government or use it against them to get something more. They wanted to win the duchess to their side or press her to get what they wanted rather than taking such a risk.

“Your Grace, could we have your ladies-in-waiting leave the room?”

Zilehan couldn’t take it anymore and eventually asked to speak in private.

“What are you talking about?”

Ann asked, but he ignored her and kept his eyes on Rubica.

“As it is about the family, I wish to speak in private. I fear words about it might leak, so please make your ladies-in-waiting leave.”

“No!”

Ann couldn’t restrain her anger and yelled. Meanwhile, Rubica just sat on the sofa and looked at Ann who was doing all the work. She was blocking every attack so well that Rubica’s determination was being wasted. However, it wasn’t like she could always hide behind Ann. If she had to go through this eventually, it would be better to do it sooner.

“No, Ann. Lord Zilehan has made a reasonable request. It wouldn’t be right to refuse when he has something to tell me in private. Please give us a moment.”

“But madam…”

It made her heart ache. She could see what Zilehan and the other relatives were up to. Actually, they had come so early in the morning because they were shocked but, at the same time, they decided now was the right time as Edgar was gone.

‘Even if it is important, there is a line you should keep.’

Ann felt enraged. Rubica wasn’t someone they could easily bend to their will, but she couldn’t back off when she could plainly see their scheme.

“I cannot leave.”

“Ann!”

“How dare you be so rude?”

Ann decided to not listen to Rubica as well. She had lost her favor anyway, so she just wanted to protect her.

“How can I leave when I don’t know what you will say to her in private? I have a duty to protect her. His Grace has asked me as well.”

“Ann, you are taking it too far. It’s not like we are going to eat her. She is an adult and you are being overprotective.”

“She, she must rest and not be surprised. You are giving too much stress to a pregnant woman!”

Rubica’s eyes were wide open, and the relatives were surprised as well.

“Preg… what did you just say? Pregnant?”

Yes, there was no reason to hide it now as quite some time had passed since the wedding. As Rubica’s belly hadn’t swollen yet, it looked like they could lie about when she had become pregnant. And, even if that would become hard after giving birth earlier than expected, they could just say the baby was blessed by the gods and was much bigger and healthier than normal.

“She is pregnant with the duke’s baby!”

Ann closed her eyes and yelled while everyone in the room panicked. Rubica, however, was the one who was shocked the most.

‘I, pregnant?’

She couldn’t say anything as she was too dumbfounded.

‘It doesn’t make any sense.’

She had shared kisses with Edgar a few times, but that was all. That wasn’t enough to make her pregnant, but Ann looked so confident.

“Oh, you are pregnant… um, congratulations.”

“No, um…”

Rubica tried to say she wasn’t pregnant, and it was all a misunderstanding, but she was so shocked that she stammered.

“Congratulations.”

“… we were too harsh on a pregnant woman.”

“Please forgive us, we didn’t know.”

Now the tide had been turned, and the relatives all apologized for their behavior while Ann looked at them in triumph.

“Now then, please leave. She must rest now.”

Everyone nodded, stood up, and bowed.