Chapter 10. Overdoing the Mistress Role
Razel’s eyes widened at the unfamiliarity of his words.
‘I thought he’d just leave me to my own devices. But since we’re married, we have to do things together.’
Was he saying he’d treat her like a wife on the surface?
Knowing Kylo, he was surely planning to torment her until she couldn’t even collect her bones.
As she stared at him tensely, Kylo glanced her way and said.
“Not coming? What are you doing?”
“Ah, I was just about to go…”
“Are you perhaps unwell?”
He strode over and silently scanned her condition.
Realizing that looking down would reveal the inside of her loose clothing, Razel belatedly gathered her nightgown closed.
Then, she raised her voice in protest.
“W-Well, nothing happened last night, so there’s no reason I’d be unwell.”
“Not going all the way doesn’t mean nothing happened.”
Kylo let out a scoff at her clumsy effort to hide her skin. Razel’s face heated up as the foreplay from the previous night belatedly came to mind.
Yes, it certainly wasn’t as if nothing had happened…
Razel bit her lip hard in embarrassment. Then, as she tried to rise from her seat, her body suddenly swayed, and she gasped.
Without warning, Kylo had slipped his arm between her knees and lifted her up in one swift motion.
Startled, Razel reflexively wrapped her arms around Kylo’s neck.
Startled, Razel reflexively wrapped her arms around Kylo’s neck.
‘What is he doing right now?’
When she came to her senses, Kylo was carrying her to the dining area.
Razel felt confused, not understanding why he was doing this. He had no reason to be considerate of her.
Maybe he wanted to start the meal quickly, and she had been dawdling too much?
“I-I can walk on my own. If you put me down now, I can manage…”
“You look exhausted.”
“That’s none of your concern.”
He wasn’t her servant anymore.
Like last night, she wondered if old habits from those days were unwillingly resurfacing in him.
But what returned was his gaze filled to the brim with displeasure. Somehow, an expression that seemed to hold many unspoken words.
Just as worry began to creep in that she might have soured his mood, Kylo casually turned his gaze forward.
And said indifferently.
“What kind of husband neglects his wife?”
“Uh…?”
Razel let out a dazed question. Did I hear that wrong?
But Kylo didn’t kindly repeat himself; instead, he pulled out a chair at the table and seated Razel.
Sitting across from her, Kylo spoke in an even voice.
“Eat.”
Razel, who had been stealing glances at him, picked up her fork amid the tension.
But before she could even spear and eat the food, he took the plate in front of her. In just a few minutes, the food was cut into bite-sized pieces and returned to her.
Razel’s mouth fell open in astonishment.
‘W-What?’
She was flustered by this unfamiliar kindness.
Noticing her gaze, Kylo answered before she could ask.
“I have no intention of watching you struggle right in front of me.”
Having finished his blunt words, he began his meal neatly.
No matter how she looked at it, his actions were considerate, and Razel couldn’t make sense of the confusion.
Captivated by the shock, she just sat still, until Kylo lifted his gaze. His cold blue eyes fixed on Razel.
“Are you going to start eating only if I force-feed you?”
At his coercive words, Razel cleared her thoughts completely.
“Ah, no. I’ll eat…”
With a clatter, Razel moved her utensils. She put the appetizing, bite-sized pieces of food into her mouth.
All the while, piercing stares poured down on her.
He was openly watching her eat from across the table.
Razel felt like she might choke, but she forced herself to ignore it. She could barely tell if the food was going down her throat or her nose.
“Drink.”
But if she seemed to eat even a little hastily, he immediately offered water.
‘This seems too kind… Why is he acting like this?’
Was his real intention to fatten her up like livestock at home, only to slaughter her when she was plump?
Or perhaps to stab her in the back when she felt most at ease?
Razel couldn’t fathom his motives at all.
Once the meal ended, Kylo placed Razel back on the bed and left without another word.
‘Will Kylo come back?’
She waited just in case, but this time it was a vain hope.
Instead of him, servants filed in to help with her morning preparations.
With their assistance, Razel donned a warmly insulated dress and layered on a thick fur coat, ready for a walk.
The servants had insisted that a post-meal stroll was good for her.
“This should be enough.”
“Your Grace, this too!”
Before leaving the bedroom, she was stopped again and had a fluffy bonnet pressed onto her head.
This level of lavish treatment was something Razel hadn’t experienced since her time in Pelsio.
She looked at her reflection in the mirror.
Wrapped head to toe, she looked nothing like a dignified grand duchess.
With the thick clothes, it wouldn’t be strange if she rolled around right now.
No matter how she thought about it, this seemed excessive…
“What do you mean, Your Grace?!”
Her absentminded mutter prompted the servants to rise in protest, insisting it wasn’t. Their eyes were all sincerely earnest.
“We’ve heard from His Grace that madam has a frail constitution. So even if you go for a walk, you must be careful not to catch a cold!”
As Razel listened to each of their worried words, she suddenly felt at a loss for how to respond.
Back home, who had ever worried about her?
There had been only one person who did—Kylo—but he had been pushed away by Razel’s harsh actions and absent from her side for four years.
Without him, all that remained around Razel was contempt, abuse, disgust, and violence.
Thus, selfishly, Razel had slightly regretted driving him away.
“Your Grace?”
“Ah, yes.”
With her cheeks tinted by an emotion hard to define—whether embarrassment or awkwardness—Razel nodded.
‘This must be how Sister Ronedy always felt, being pampered…’
Warmly bundled, Razel left the room accompanied by a few maids.
Unlike the grand duchess’s bedroom, which at least looked decent on the outside, the shabby and chilly corridors of Windmore Castle came into view.
A sigh escaped reflexively upon seeing them.
‘It’s so rundown.’
No matter how many times she saw it, she couldn’t get used to the sight. To think this was a grand duke’s residence.
And the dust everywhere was another matter.
‘Since I’m out anyway, I should take a closer look at this unsightly castle.’
From around the time she came of age, Razel had been pushed by her stepmother Clonda to handle all the household’s troublesome tasks.
From managing servants to interior and landscape decoration, organizing banquets, and entertaining guests.
Her stepmother, who didn’t even like Razel, exploited her in every possible way.
And if things didn’t suit her taste, she’d even grab a switch.
“You’re trying to embarrass me on purpose! The guests will laugh at our Ephor County!”
Perhaps because of that, Razel, who had been harshly drilled in estate management, couldn’t stand the castle’s filthy appearance.
‘What is that…’
The old chandelier hanging from the corridor ceiling looked like it would shed dust in heaps with the slightest shake.
It wasn’t that the servants lacked initiative; the workforce seemed disproportionately small for the castle’s size, making it hard to blame them outright.
‘The castle’s eerie atmosphere isn’t just a matter of cleanliness…’
She felt discomfort throughout her body as she viewed the worn, dust-filled corners of the castle.
‘As the mistress, couldn’t I make some changes to the castle’s appearance?’
Razel thought as she surveyed the castle on her way outside.
Outside, where the snowstorm from last night had ceased, was white like an untouched canvas. Faint breaths puffed out visibly.
Razel walked through the snow-covered garden of the old castle in her thick boots, then turned back.
The full view of the large, ancient castle came into sight. With her nose and cheeks already reddened, Razel inhaled the crisp air.
She pondered deeply on how to transform this dilapidated castle into a livable place.
Then, she paused, her lips parting slightly.
‘Wait, even though I’ve become the mistress of Windmore… Do I really have the authority to change this place?’
It felt presumptuous for her, who had become a mere figurehead wife due to his vengeful intentions, to alter the castle at will.
It was overdoing the mistress role.
“The moment you board this carriage, the Ephor name will be discarded. Until you marry me in Crombel, you’ll be a lowly commoner, and even as my wife, you’ll be a war trophy.”
On the day they reunited after the long war, he had clearly said that.
Of course, contrary to his words, she hadn’t been treated as a lowly commoner before the marriage, but Razel thought she still couldn’t escape being a trophy wife.
“You’re nothing in our Ephor household, Razel. You shouldn’t act like you’re something.”
Suddenly, Ronedy’s words from the painful past resurfaced. Razel, who had clenched her fists tightly, soon dropped her head limply.
‘Yes, who am I to claim the authority of a mistress who can sway the grand duchy? I’m just filling the wife’s position…’
I’m utterly useless, after all.
