The Grand Duchess of the North Was Secretly a Villainess - Chapter 9

Originally, to the nobles, an employee was nothing less than air. Anna was also used to being treated like air by the guests in the castle. Still, she was somehow suspicious of the Crown Prince.

‘How can people be so different?’

The honorable Crown Prince was smiling shyly in front of the Grand Duchess, like a boy who fell in love at first,

‘I mean, it’s very strange.’

It wasn’t that the Crown Prince was abusive to the maids. However, it was only in front of Her Highness Eloise that he smiled so beautifully.

‘He doesn’t have to smile at the maids. It’s not such a simple problem…. I mean, there’s something odd about it. The air is different, too.’

Anna recalled a few days ago. On the day when the physician came to see the wound, the Crown Prince refused to do so.

‘I don’t like other people touching me.’

Then he whispered to the Grand Duchess with a sad face like a puppy in the rain.

‘I can’t believe it unless it’s Eloise.’

The wound was not deep enough to require the hands of a physician. The Crown Prince said that he would apply the medicine himself, and the Grand Duchess nodded her head in contemplation. Instead, she promised to be by his side whenever she saw the progress of the wounds.

‘I think he was trying to get that promise on purpose.’

However, she was unable to report her guess to the Grand Duchess as it is. Anna was quick-witted, and she knew immediately of Eloise’s plans.

‘The Grand Duchess must be planning to raise His Royal Highness to be the Emperor.’

She couldn’t say to such a person, ‘His Royal Highness is strange’.

“Anna.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“I’ll be in the drawing room in 30 minutes, so please get me some wine.”

“All right.”

Anna, who left the room to follow Eloise’s orders, took a deep breath as she went to get the wine.

“It would be nice if there was Eloine.”

He was from a Duke family and was the Grand Duchess older brother, so she would have been able to say something like ‘Your Royal Highness the Crown Prince is strange’. It was when Anna, who packed the wine, pouted her lips and entered the drawing room.

“Long time no see”

Soon her eyes widened.
 

*****

After examining Caien’s wounds, I chatted for a bit and went outside.

‘The wound seemed almost healed. I’m glad.’

I was worried that the physician couldn’t handle it, but fortunately, the wound was healing well.

‘I think I’ll have to train him in swordsmanship soon. Should I add Johaim first?’

It was the moment when I opened the drawing room while thinking about how to nurture the Crown Prince. As usual, I entered the drawing room without any boundaries when someone grabbed my arm.

“…..!”

The moment I was about to swing my elbow reflexively to hit the opponent’s neck.

“Long time no see, Ellie.”

I made eye contact with my opponent. I couldn’t tell if it was the first thing my body instinctively stopped, or if the other party gently blocked my arm first.

When I saw his face, I opened my eyes wide in surprise.

‘Why are you here?’

The dark black hair, which seemed to capture the darkness of the deep forest, and the unique white skin of the north matched the man very well. His softly curved eyes were as red as a pure ruby.

The man with a cold, cool image raised the corners of his mouth and smiled slyly.

“Eloine…”

It was an unconscious call. Because I never dreamed that Eloine would appear here now.

“Oh, my, Ellie!”

“……”

“No matter how nice I am, can you just call your big brother’s name?”

Eloine let go of my arm, and whispered playfully.

“No, wait… why are you here?”

I frowned and turned to Eloine. At my question, he raised one eyebrow slightly.

‘Oh, I’m screwed. Did I have to use honorifics? Eloise’s personality might have used it with respect.’

So, the sudden visitor standing across from me was Eloise’s only blood brother. Eloine Wayana, the eldest son of the previous duke who suddenly disappeared one day, and the Commander of the Holy Knight who protecting the Saintess.

“My little sister….”

I caught my breath at the sound of a slow voice. Eloine was one of the dangerous people.

Although the proportion in the novel was not large, like Eloise, it had a great impact despite its small appearance. Contrary to his image as the Commander of the Holy Knights, he was also a man famous for his cold blood.

‘People in this family have beast instincts. You don’t think it’s strange, do you?’

The moment she hesitated and tried to be on alert, Eloine continued to speak slowly.

“Why are you so cute?”

Yes?

“You’re saying that for no reason because you’re embarrassed to see my face after a long time, right?”

Yes?

“Our Ellie is too shy, so that cold face is just a mask.”

Yes?

“As expected, why don’t you quit being the Grand Duchess? It’s too tough for you, who is weak.”

Weak?

“No…..”

“No~?”

Eloine followed my words and chuckled. His smile was so sly that he raised only one corner of his mouth.

‘Is that man smiling?’

The expression of the facial expressions that follow Eloine was very limited.

An expressionless face, a cold face.

‘I was surprised he can smile like that. Cold to others but warm only to my sister, something like that?’

It’s a rule in a romance fantasy novel, but I didn’t know that it also applied to the secret villain. I almost got goosebumps by such an obvious setting.

‘It’s better to have more allies than enemies.’

It would not be strange if the Duke suddenly appear one day.

“We have to talk, Ellie.”

When there was no more word, Eloine leaned his head and urged an answer.

“Don’t joke around. Why have you come up to the North all of a sudden?”

I was embarrassed by the sudden appearance of my older brother, but I asked about the matter first. Since she was the only daughter, she didn’t know how to respond to Eloine joked. It was easy to change the topic of conversation because I couldn’t show that I was embarrassed.

“I miss my one and only little sister.”

When I frowned openly, Eloine laughed out loud as if he was having fun. Judging from his reaction, it seems that Eloise reacted similarly to mine.

“Let’s sit down first and then talk.”

The story seemed to be getting longer to see a person who should have been in the Imperial Palace came here.
 

*****

Eloine, who sat on the sofa, wiggled his feet.

‘I can’t help being nervous.’

It wasn’t Eloise’s subordinate, it was her blood brother. I didn’t know the details of how close their brother and sister relationship is.

‘So I have to be more careful.’

He might think something is wrong with my behavior.

‘Looking at the reactions of my subordinates, I don’t think my personality is very different from that of Eloise. Let’s go long though.’

Eloine drank the wine without saying a word.

‘What should I say to him? What brings you here? The commander of the Holy Knights……’

“I don’t think it’s a light job to be able to come all the way up to the North.”

Because I was nervous, my thoughts just popped out of my mouth. It was a sarcastic tone even to anyone who heard it.

“If you say it so coldly, your brother’s heart hurts.”

Eloine turned the wine glass around and showed signs of being upset in an exaggerated and gloomy tone. The problem was that his face was not hurt at all. Rather, the corners of his mouth were full of laughter.

Thanks to him, I was able to infer the relationship between Eloine and Eloise without difficulty.

‘They got along well. That’s a relief.’

Although there is a difference in expression, the two seem to have been close siblings. Well, if the relationship was awful, you wouldn’t even be able to go through the gate.

‘He wouldn’t help when Eloise rebelled against the male lead.’

“I mean, the Emperor’s seat is vacant, is it okay for my brother to stay here?”

“Hmm.”

Eloine slowly drank wine, blurring his words instead of answering.

‘Something suspicious.’

It was a suspicious attitude. Somehow, I didn’t think he would answer me obediently, so I decided to change the subject first.

‘Should I ask about the situation of the imperial palace?’

By now, public opinion must have arisen that Duke Ilysian should be put on the throne.

It wasn’t difficult to guess because I knew the contents of the original story, but I thought it would be better to hear the situation of the capital through the mouth of a person who was working in the Imperial Palace.

‘By the way, did Eloine see Caien? No, we didn’t bump into each other on the way to the castle. I don’t know yet.’

The existence of Caien had to be announced as well.

“How’s the situation in the Imperial Palace?”

I asked calmly, pouring my wine.

“I didn’t expect you to be interested in the news of the Crown Prince’s disappearance, Ellie.”

“No matter how much I’m stuck in the North, but it’s an incident where the Crown Prince disappeared, brother.”

At my words, Eloine gasped and laughed.

“Even if the Crown Prince is missing, but it’s running just fine. Thanks to Duke Ilysian.”

I narrowed my eyes at that subtle nuance.

‘Does Eloine know something? Or a hunch.’

Perhaps the reason he came to the North was because he needed my strength. The seal with my name will have a greater effect than recruiting several nobles.

‘I mean, Eloise’s influence is that big.’

“And so. Is that why you came to the North?”

“No.”

“No?”

“Do you think I’m going to put you in danger with my own hands?”

I shut my mouth at the unexpected words. In the original, Eloine opposed Eloise rebellion. I thought it was simply the opposition to the survival of the family…

‘He certainly really cared for his sister. It’s because she was the only daughter, but I feel strange.’

It was my first time feeling family love after I came here, so I felt strange.

“Then why did you come to the North? It’s not like the Commander of Holy Knight is free enough to come here? What I said earlier, I’m not kidding.”

“I heard, the forest has been strange recently.”

“The monsters are running wild. The number of people trying to cross the border has increased.”

Eloine was a Northern man who lived here until he was fifteen. He was also a man who would have inherited the status of a Duke if he had not become a Holy Knight.

‘In a word, he knows the situation here better than I do.’

Of course, almost 10 years have passed since he left for the capital, so the person who knows better about the situation in the North now is Eloise.

‘But I’m not the real Eloise. Unfortunately.’

I didn’t know much about the situation in the North except what was written in the Eloise diary.

“Hmm. Did you send a scout?”

“No. I don’t want to make a useless death for nothing. Are you changing the subject?”

“Oh~. Was it that obvious?”

As I clenched my fists, Eloine glanced at my hand and laughed while letting out a rustling sound.

“You didn’t come all the way here to talk about that.”

I felt like I was being caught up in that sly attitude.

‘It’s totally stupid. No matter how old you are, I shouldn’t get involved. I don’t like the feeling of being rolled up by others.’

Besides, Eloine said the same things to me about being cute and weak. Maybe it’s because of him that’s why my employees and knight are making such a fuss about me.

I frowned slightly, meaning to answer quickly.

“Yes, it’s not really because of that…”

It was only after I frowned that Eloine brought up the main point.

“I got fired.”