“Right, Carl?”

“Yes?”

The butler replied with a question, not as an acknowledgment. Nevertheless, he did say yes. Rubica ignored that and continued.

“I like coffee, but I cannot drink it anymore as I am pregnant. So, the duke recommended that I drink tea instead. After trying it and finding it refreshing, I’ve decided to enjoy tea just like him.”

Of course, it wasn’t refreshing at all. Rubica hated tea. It only tasted like bitter grass, and she couldn’t understand how Edgar could even enjoy it. However, Zilehan was never going to find out about that.

“Well, um.”

Carl really wanted to say something since Rubica was wrong about one critical fact. Although coffee was bad for pregnant women, so was tea. He wanted to tell that to Rubica, but her auburn eyes warned him.

‘Carl, you can explain about your beloved tea later!’

Carl shut his mouth that was eager to explain the effects and side effects of the tea. The duchess didn’t like tea, and she was saying that only to get rid of Zilehan.

“It’s strange.”

Zilehan tried again for the last time, but only in vain.

“Shouldn’t Carl go for the stairs to take the tea to your chamber? He was instead carrying it to the duke’s office.”

“Lord Zilehan, it is possible to come to my chamber through this corridor.”

Rubica was surprised by her own talent. She was so good at lying. Maybe she should have sought Kirne’s help, the god of liars. Then, she would have been remembered as the greatest liar even before coming back in time.

“You might not know about it, but this mansion has a long history.”

Rubica spoke as if there was a secret passage. Was there really a secret passage that led from the duke’s office to her bedchamber? She didn’t know. However, almost every old mansion had at least one secret passage.

“Right Carl?”

“Yes, yes.”

This time, Carl was clearly acknowledging her words.

“I asked him to check on the duke on his way since he often skips his meals to focus on his work.”

Carl and Ann stared at her in a daze. She was so serious that they almost felt like there really was a secret passage which they didn’t even know about after working for decades at the mansion.

“Lord Zilehan, the duke is busy. Remember the food in this kingdom depends on what he invents. I will tell him you have come, so come back tomorrow after setting an appointment.”

‘Food of the people’. Rubica usually couldn’t say anything more when Edgar mentioned that. As a citizen of the kingdom that exported most of its food, she had to pay attention to that. Plus, she was offering to set Zilehan an appointment, so she thought he would back off now.

“But the matter about mana quartz is also about the people’s food. The management and expenses of the adventurers cannot be held lightly.”

However, he didn’t. He knew the duke would leave for the king’s castle first thing tomorrow morning, so he was worried the duke might make a deal with the king first.

‘There will be no going back if the king issues an order.’

He had to meet Edgar before that happened and get the promise about every gain he could get. Plus, he needed to find out what Edgar was up to.

“If it is that important, it will require a long discussion. I will tell the duke to make time for it, so you must go back for now.”

“Your Grace.”

Zilehan spoke firmly. He was leading the relatives for a reason. He was cunning and quick-witted, and he knew how to control those who were much smarter than he was.

“There are already several urgent matters, like what to do with the adventurers we’ve already hired. If His Grace is really not going to get mana quartz, we must do something about their payment. If he changes his mind later, I will be very troubled in the middle.”

Zilehan was going to hold on Rubica until Edgar came out. He had thought it was bad when the duchess came, but the crisis was also an opportunity. He was going to hold on her, and Edgar wouldn’t be able to take it anymore and run out.

“I can’t see why you are not letting us meet the duke. Your Grace, are you trying to send him to the king’s castle early tomorrow morning?”

Rubica’s eyelashes fluttered. Zilehan noticed her hands had been slightly shaking. Although she was pretending to be confident, she was actually very nervous. She was clearly out of excuses.

He thought he had gained higher ground. That was why he made a mistake that quick-witted talkers often made. In arrogance, he believed he could end Rubica right there. To put it short, he said something he shouldn’t have said.

“Lord Zilehan, you are being extremely rude.”

“Weren’t you putting up an act when you cried in front of us as you described how desperately you tried to stop him? Hasn’t it been you who convinced him to make that decision?”

Rubica’s hands shook in rage, and Zilehan was glad to see that. He thought he had scolded her well. Edgar hadn’t cared much about mana quartz originally. Although a lot of money was assigned to it, Edgar always had a lot to do. To him, it was nothing more than decorating the mansion’s garden. However, he had changed his mind about that after the duchess came. He now was only raising the right question.

“You are going too far. Her Grace even cried on that day, trying to stop the duke.”

Ann couldn’t stand it anymore and spoke up. However, Zilehan ignored her warning and arrogantly looked at Rubica, inviting her to do the best she had.

“Well, if I’m stressing you and causing the pain in your belly, I guess I have no choice but to leave.”

Rubica was now so mad that she completely forgot about her former anxiety. Zilehan was clearly implying she couldn’t use her pregnancy as an excuse to run away.

‘Edgar was right. His relatives are mean.’

If Rubica really said she felt pain in her belly and was dizzy, he would leave for now and spread words on how she acted like being pregnant made her the queen. The most irritating thing about guys like him was that they took their wives’ real pain of pregnancy as an act, even when they themselves were born after spending ten months in their mothers’ womb.

“Guards!”

Rubica decided to not be civil with Zilehan anymore. He was trying to stand on top of her head while she was the duchess. Clearly, he had crossed the line.

“Yes, Your Grace.”

“Lord Zilehan has been rude to me. Kick him out.”

Zilehan’s jaw dropped, and the relatives who had come with him were shocked as well. Yes, he was so focused on fighting with words that he had forgotten an important fact.

The privilege of the duchess which the butler and the housekeeper didn’t have. The family hadn’t had any mistress for a few years that they had forgotten about it.

Even if he hit the butler with his cane and insulted the housekeeper, they couldn’t have the duke’s guards kick him out. However, the duchess was different. She could give orders to the duke’s guards.

“This is…”

“The Noble’s Guide says it is only right to kick a man out if he insults the mistress.”

Zilehan had underestimated the duchess too much. He regretted it, but it was too late. The knights who had been guarding the office’s door took him by the arms and dragged him out.

“Your Grace, as a relative of Claymore, I…”

Zilehan tried to protest again, but the knight who was holding his right arm poked his side with his dagger scabbard. His brown eyes were clearly saying, ‘Shut up now or you will pay for it.’ Therefore, Zilehan had no choice but to shut his mouth.

“Your Grace, this is a little too…”

One of the relatives spoke at seeing Zilehan being dragged out, but his wife poked him.

“… too right.”

Thankfully, he understood what his wife meant and wasn’t sentenced to the same fate.”

“We were so worried about Claymore that we were rude to you.”

“It is all our fault, we failed to stop Lord Zilehan.”

Rubica looked at the remaining relatives. They had stood together with Zilehan as their leader only a moment ago, but now they were making it clear that they had nothing to do with him. She felt even dizzier at listening to their apologies that were nothing more than excuses. How was she supposed to get rid of them?

“Her Grace is tired. You should leave now.”

Ann ventured, clearly implying she could take care of those underlings herself. She used the fact that Rubica was pregnant. Still, they tried to linger and by the time they got rid of them, the sky had turned red with the sun already setting.

“Shouldn’t Edgar have finished his work by now? He hasn’t been able to even have a cup of tea because of what happened today…”

Carl was surprised to hear that. He had been so busy helping Rubica that he had forgotten about the most important man in his life. Of course Edgar knew about what was happening outside his office, but still, he should have taken care of him.