The Grand Duchess of the North Was Secretly a Villainess - Chapter 10

“What?”

Did I hear it wrong?

“It doesn’t mean what I think it means, does it?”

There was no way that the Knights protecting the saintess would have been dismissed during this time. Could it be that it was cut in a different way?

‘For example, a very important part of the body…….’

Eloine burst into exaggerated laughter this time, as he noticed that my gaze was about to look down.

“You don’t have to worry about your brother’s manhood, Ellie. How on earth is your thoughts popping in that direction?”

I felt a little awkward, turned my eyes and took a sip of wine.

“When did my little sister, who ran to me every day, crying not to go to the capital, grow up like this? Did this happen because you were hanging out with the Knights?”

But I was glad that I didn’t have to worry. Yeah, it’s a national loss to leave no descendants with that face.

“So, does that mean you’re really fired?”

“Yes.”

How dare you fire Eloine. The eldest son of the Wayana family, and the Commander of the Holy Knight.

“So…”

Eloine’s words did not stop there. There was a sense of uneasiness. It seemed like Eloise’s intuition was shouting to leave here right now.

“I’m taking a rest in my hometown after a long time and helping you, what do you think?”

No, go back.

The sudden declaration gave me a headache. I pressed my finger between the brows firmly, and the door to the drawing room burst open.

“Your Highness! We are in trouble!”

Yeah, no. You go back, too.

Jayden made a fuss and stepped into the drawing room. Instead of reacting urgently, I rolled my eyes at Jayden.

‘I don’t think it’s really a big deal.’

If there was really a ‘big deal’ in the North, he wouldn’t have made such a fuss. He must have come in with a stiff face.

“Sir Eloine, oh, no, the Commander of Holy Knight…”

“The trouble you mean is me?”

“Huck!”

Jayden, who discovered the existence of Eloine only later, swallowed his breath in a hurry. He didn’t knock, and he seemed to think I was the only one in the drawing room.

“Oh, that’s no, not……”

His pronunciation is unclear, and I think he even chewed his tongue.

“That’s not it?”

Eloine asked back, staring at Jayden. He had a smile on his face, but his eyes were cold.

‘You look like that to other people. The original description is perfect. A cold face.’

“Oh, that’s not it….. Heup!”

Jayden even started hiccups, as if he were quite surprised. It was a situation that I couldn’t understand. Eloine didn’t even hold a sword, so why are you so scared?

‘Well, he’s Eloise brother, but to other people, it must be a scary existence. He was originally the Duke’s successor.’

I looked at Jayden rather pitifully and reluctantly opened my mouth. Anyway, it was also the boss’s role to save his subordinates from evil hands.

“Don’t pressure my aide for nothing, brother.”

“How dare I pressure your aide?”

This human being, I think he really after the position of my aide.

“I made him to do it.”

“What?”

“When my brother enters the castle, I should be the first to know.”

Only then did Eloine draw attention from Jayden. Jayden remained in his seat without being able to enter or leave, perhaps because the influence of Eloine. It was a stiff posture full of energy.

“Why? Because you want to see your brother’s face first?”

Eloine grinned with his chin on his palm. For some reason, if it’s Eloise, ‘No. I didn’t want to see that smile,’ I thought, but I chose to ignore it.

‘If I answer, I think I’ll get caught up in that person again.’

My head was already pounding because of a man who suddenly offered to assist me. I sighed and called Jayden.

“Jayden.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Jayden answered quickly. It was an expression that wanted me to issue a welcoming party.

“My brother will be staying in the castle for a while, so please tell everyone.”

I can’t just order you to celebrate now. I don’t know if I tell them both to leave.

“What?”

“For a while?”

Jayden and Eloine’s voices overlapped. I had an obligation to answer their questions.

‘Anyway, Jayden is my aide, so I’ll have to explain why Eloine came here. Including the reason for staying in the North for a while.’

When I clenched my lips, their eyes focused on me.

‘Eloine must be wondering why I dared to draw the line for the time being.’

I knew in my head that I had to come up with the answer they wanted.

‘The problem is, I’m in a state where I can’t even say that.’

I stood up and said.

“Let’s talk about the details tomorrow, brother.”

First of all, it seemed like I had to think about how to announce Caien existence to Eloine.

‘I can’t sleep properly today either.’

As I stood up, Eloine’s gaze followed.

“You must be tired, too. We’ll talk tomorrow. We have a lot to say.”

Really, there was a lot of work to do.
 

*****

“Ellie, what’s wrong with your face?”

Why would I do that, it’s because of you.

The next morning.

When I came out to eat, Eloine was already seated. It was one of the closest seats to the top seat. That’s on the right too.

‘It’s true that I thought it would be nice to have Eloine by my side because of Caien, but….. as expected, it’s rather uncomfortable.’

I’ve been sitting well in the top seat so far, but I felt uncomfortable sitting there because there was Eloine.

I don’t know if it’s a younger brother, but it was more uncomfortable because it was Eloise’s older brother.

‘Even though I’m a Grand Duchess, I have an older brother, but sitting in the top seat is a bit… Shall I sit across from him?’

When I peeked at the tableware, an empty bowl and a knife were placed on the top seat. Apparently, Eloise sat at the top of the table even when Eloine stayed in the north.

‘As expected, the position is the first priority here. I feel guilty because I’m a Confucianism girl.’*

I sat at the top of the table with a natural step so that I didn’t notice where I was going to sit.

“You look like you didn’t sleep well. Have you been unable to sleep after meeting your older brother after a long time?”

No, I didn’t sleep well because I was thinking about how to tell my brother about Caien existence.

“Tell me what you were going to say yesterday.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You said you was cut off. There wouldn’t be many people who could get rid of my brother.”

First of all, it seemed that I should know how Eloine was fired.

‘It’s obvious who it is.’

“Is it Duke Ilysian?”

I asked in a calm tone. At this time, there was only one person who could fired Eloine.

“As expected, my Ellie is smart.”

“He’s keeping me in check.”

That was a given. I rarely get out of the north, but no aristocrat has as strong a military force as I have. And military power was power.

Eloine, who shrugged his shoulders, answered while drinking wine.

“It must have bothered him. I was an older brother of the Grand Duchess of the North and leads the Knights.”

“It’s not just a Knights, it’s a Holy Knights Guarding the Saintess.”

He habitually tapped on the table and continued his words.

“He must have done something in advance for fear that I would use a Saintess to wield the temple power.”

“The existence of the Wayana family in the capital itself may have bothered him.”

A smile leaked out of Eloine words. The situation in the Imperial Palace was a story that had nothing to do with me. No, I wasn’t even interested.

‘I don’t want to get entangled with the Imperial Palace itself….. already entangled.’

The thought of Cain waiting patiently in my room gave me a headache.

“The Commander of Holy Knight. Do you want to go back?”

“Are you kidding me, Ellie?”

I shrugged my shoulder.

“Well, Eloine didn’t want to be a Holy Knight in the first place.”

Eloine was called to the capital for one reason that he couldn’t handle his holy power. Considering that no one from the Wayana family deals with holy power, it was quite a special talent.

‘Eloise can’t handle holy power either.’

He was from the north, and he could even handle Holy Power.  He was a talented person that could only be coveted in the capital.

‘Eloine went to the capital and his father suddenly disappeared, so Eloise became a Duchess.’

It was an unconventional move for Eloine to join the Holy Knight. The voice of concern was not small. There were concerns that too much power might be concentrated on the North.

‘It’s in the past anyway… …Eloine’s past. It’s useless in this situation.’

The finger, which was regularly tapping on the table, stopped. My worries didn’t last long.

“It’s better to be in the north, brother.”

Eloine, who was cutting the steak with a knife, stopped moving as he was surprised.

“Honestly, I didn’t expect you to say that. Until yesterday, you said it was for a while, didn’t you?”

I didn’t know that I would make such a decision until I heard that Eloine had been fired.

‘I’ll have to save Eloine as well. I can’t live alone, can I?’

In the original story, Eloine dies. Eloise died, so it was a natural ending.

‘He had a chance to live, but he died.’

Eloine had a chance to abandon her sister and save his life.

‘He gave up his life to fulfill what his little sister wanted.’

The reason why Eloise was able to kidnap the Saintess in the original was because Eloine used his hands.

‘Because Caien needs a swordsmanship teacher …… Even if it’s not that, Eloine knows more about the Imperial Palace better than I do, so it’d be better to keep him by my side.’

I opened my mouth, looking straight at Eloine.

“Because I’m your little sister.”

“……”

“I can’t do anything that puts my brother in danger with my own hands, can I?”

He burst into laughter when I returned the words Eloine had said yesterday.

“When did my little sister grow up like this?”

“I actually need my brother help.”

It was time to get to the point. Eloine raised his eyebrows.

“Are you ready to have your brother as an aide?”

“No.”

I answered with a straight face.

“I need a swordsmanship teacher for the Crown Prince.”

There’s a crack in his handsome face.
 

*****

“Greetings, Your Royal Highness.”

Eloine knelt on one knee in front of Caien and bowed his head.

‘I didn’t think you were in the north.’

It was a few weeks ago that he was relieved to hear that Eloise had locked the gate. But he didn’t expect to meet the Crown Prince here.

‘It wasn’t entirely unexpected, but… he made an excellent choice.’

Apart from praising Caien choice, he was not happy with the situation. It was an excellent choice for Caien, driven by a struggle for the throne, but it was a gamble with too much risk for the North.

Caien did not tell Eloine to get up. He just looked down at it with indifferent eyes.

“You are the only blood relative of Eloise.”

Eloine, who was kneeling on his knees, frowned at the voice pouring over his head

‘Why are you calling Eloise’s name?’

Thanks to his head down, his frowned face would not be revealed. No matter how much he lost his memory, his opponent is the Crown Prince. Eloine did not set boundaries.

“That’s right.”

“Get up.”

As soon as he raised his head to get up, he made eye contact with Caien.

“..….”

I have never served the Crown Prince, but whenever he encountered him from afar, he always had a face like that. A cold, expressionless expression. It was a familiar face for Eloine.

‘Even if you lose your memory, your nature won’t go anywhere.’

Eloine thought nothing of it and got up.

“I’ll be in your care, Eloine.”

That is, until Caien smiles at him, as he got up.

‘Why are you smiling all of a sudden? Don’t tell me……..’

An ominous intuition flashed through his mind for a moment. Eloine rolled his eyes and turned to the side. Sure enough, Eloise stood where Caien eyes met.

t/n : *the ethical teachings formulated by Confucius and introduced into Chinese religion, emphasizing devotion to parents, family, and friends, cultivation of the mind, self-control, and just social activity