A Saint Lives In The Demon Duke’s Mansion - Chapter 28

Chapter 28

Thank you for the Kofi Alyce [4 of 4] (*^ ‿ <*)~♡
 
It was pretty hot in the daytime now.
 
As I gulped down a glass of iced tea in the early summer weather, I received happy news.
 
“There’s a letter! But it’s from Vivi…”
No, of course it’s okay. They’re all my children that I needed to raise well. I wasn’t discriminating at all.
 
Even though I send him a postscript that I missed him every day, I don’t get a reply at all, so I was a bit frustrated. 
 
‘Was he busy because it was the exam period, or had he completed it and it was the closing ceremony soon?’
 
Hopefully he’d return soon. As soon as we have a wedding, the first thing I would do is fix that habit of his.
 
I opened the letter, while I tried my best to relax my expression.
 
Oh, yeah. Vivi, I’d heard you chewed up the entrance exam. How was your school life going?
 
Usually, the academy didn’t ask about status, but you shouldn’t care if they looked down on you because you were a maid…
 
[Got it.]
 
“Yup!”
 
I was so proud of you, my baby!
 
As I nodded my head proudly, Betty, who delivered the letter, cautiously said.
 
“My Lady, you need to go to the drawing room.”
“Why the drawing room?”
“Well… They’re here to see you.”
 
Who?
 
I looked at Betty, who spoke as if someone had just made an unsolicited request, so jumped out of my chair.
 
I didn’t think it was an assassin. But someone had dared to barge into this Bastion, and come looking for me.
 
I was heading straight out of the library when I ran into someone.
 
“Oh dear. Are you alright, Young Lady?”
 
I’d never heard that voice before.
 
I looked up while I rubbed my forehead. Hugo, Winston, and an old lady, who was similar in age to them, stared at me.
 
I was startled for a moment, and Betty moved in front of me.
 
“Mrs. Taylor.”
“Oh, Betty. It’s been a while. Has the master you serve changed?”
“Bastion is always my master.”
“You’re still straightforward.”
 
The old woman named Taylor folded her eyes thinly and smiled.
 
Sophisticated white hair, a wrinkle-free three-piece suit, as well as a sensible and sharp impression.
 
The overall appearance was one of distance, even when she smiled. Hugo suddenly came up behind her, while he looked exceedingly imposing.
 
“Taylor!”
“Noisy. I’m not deaf yet, you old man.”
“I told you to wait.”
“But she’s Master Levi’s fiancée, how could I bear with my curiosity.”
 
Taylor pouted her lips this time.
 
When she kept her mouth shut and stayed still, it felt like a cold wind would blow, but her actual personality wasn’t anything like that. 
 
She said, “By the way,” and looked at me again.
 
“You’ve passed!”
“What…”
“Cuteness is hard to find in Bastion. Good, very good.”
“You have a good eye.”
 
Apart from the inconvenience, she’d said the right thing, and a cheerful laugh burst out from her.
 
“Haha, my goodness! Where did this girl come from?”
 
She’d rolled into where I live, but who was she?
 
As I held Betty’s skirt tightly and looked up, Taylor bent down with one hand on her chest. 
 
“I’m late in introducing myself. My name is Taylor Dumas, the owner of Rapiden.”
“Rapiden?”
 
What’s that? I think I’ve heard of it somewhere…
 
“Oh, the Bastion boutique?”
“Yes, that’s right. I’m responsible for dressing all of the Bastion men, who don’t know how to have any fun.”
“A tailor…”
 
Hugo cleared his throat, as if to warn her to pay attention to her free-spirited behavior.
 
Personally, I felt a little bit of a favorability towards her, but while my brain was still subtly clicking, an eye-catching story appeared. 
 
“Anyway, it’s been a long time since I can do something interesting, I think since Mrs. Kathryn.”
“Did Taylor also make the clothes for Mrs. Kathryn?”
“That’s not all. I also made the wedding dresses and tuxedos for the previous generations with my own hands.”
 
Oh, she’s been associated with Bastion longer than I thought.
 
I didn’t want to know much about the painful circumstances in the family, but I was interested in small stories that seemed to be easy to hear.
 
Taylor reached towards my head as I snuck out from behind Betty.
 
A wrinkled, old woman’s hand.
 
My eyes reflexively closed tightly, but I didn’t feel her touch even after a long time. 
 
“Well, that’s about your height. I heard you’re the same age as Young Master Franz, but you’re very small.”
“Ah…”
“Then, is it okay to measure your exact size?”
 
I nodded at the voice that was asking me for permission. 
 
Taylor then smiled with a serious face that was different from before.
 
As if she was promising me that she wouldn’t touch me without my permission.
 
‘She saw through me.’
 
As expected, you shouldn’t underestimate the elderly. 
 
I felt ashamed and sorry for no reason, because I felt like I was caught in a bad way at our first meeting. 
 
Hesitatingly, I touched my fingertips slightly together.
 
“Let’s go to my room.”
 
The old woman’s smile deepened at the weak permission. 
 
“Thank you for inviting us.”
 
What did she mean, us?
 
At that moment, Taylor clapped her hands, and people appeared from somewhere.
 
All of them had an imposing look in their eyes.
 
“A girl…!”
“Oh, so cute!”
“She’s not scary at all!”
“I can make a dress!”
 
I’d made a mistake.
 
I hadn’t realized it until it was too late.
 
They each carried a tape measure and colorful pieces of cloth. They flocked me like dogs, and swept me away. 
 
Even though I struggled, Betty and Hugo could only laugh awkwardly and wave their hands. 
 
In particular, Betty made a face that said, ‘That’s why I described it as they barged in.’
 
Thud!
 
The library door closed right before my nose, and I lost a little bit of my humanity.
 
***
 
“That’s why you always have to be careful with what you say.”
 
I said ‘Let’s go to my room’ once, and I was almost dragged to the afterlife.
 
Ugh, I rotated my shoulder around in pain. My whole body ached because I’d suffered from Rapiden all day.
 
They, who were tired of only sewing clothes for the Duke and the two Young Masters over the past number of years, seemed to be using me for all the dreams they’d accumulated.
 
Their eyes were still sparkling as they swept away the high-end fabrics, and those colorful designs. 
 
‘I wonder how many pieces we decided on making in total. I’d lost count of them all.’
 
It was okay before because I was still young and didn’t have much status, but I would be the future Duchess soon.
 
I had to dress properly according to my circumstances, so I could make a good first impression. 
 
I heard that indoor and outdoor clothing were distinct, and there were detailed uses for each. 
 
For example; for salons, tea parties, and so on.
 
Also, a brand new dress that was made for every important banquet could never be worn again.
 
Even if they had to go into debt, a poor aristocratic family wouldn’t wear the same dress to a banquet again…
 
“Tut tut. It’s all bravado and waste.”
 
Of course, I was confident that I would do better than anyone else if I joined the bravado and waste game. 
 
I smiled and stretched out my body on the bed.
 
“…I can’t sleep.”
 
It wasn’t surprising. I was usually fainting as soon as I put my head on my pillow.
 
I tossed and turned all night, before I eventually sat up. 
 
Somehow it was dawn, a time when even the late working Wolfgang and Benjamin would be fast asleep. 
 
‘I want to get some fresh air.’
 
After I contemplated for a while, I crept out in my pajamas while wearing only my slippers. I felt like I couldn’t stand it unless I went out. 
 
How was my treehouse doing? After all these months, why not call the wolves and go check?
 
However, it was impossible to climb the back mountain, since I’d already created a lot of mental distance.
 
Well, it’s just…
 
“Let’s go to the stables.”
 
I often walked in the early morning summer air, which was neither cold nor hot. 
 
Come to think of it, the stables wasn’t a place with just good memories, since when did it become so comfortable?
 
Was it before, or after the engagement?
 
‘To be precise, it was since I was convinced he wouldn’t hurt me.’
 
A chuckle escaped me.
 
It was funny that I struggled, and it was ridiculous that it went as planned anyway. 
 
Now after the wedding…
 
‘What shall we do?’
 
Suddenly, I was worried about a common repertoire. 
 
This was a mutually beneficial marriage. Then what was next?
 
‘Divorce.’
 
It usually wasn’t a big deal when they had no use for each other anymore, and they would break up. Usually, key words like squabbling or obsession could be added to that.
 
What keywords would be added to use in the future?
 
“…Well, I don’t want to break up.”
First of all, I was like that.
 
As soon as our lives were separated, my end would be imminent. Most of all, it would be impossible for me to find another place where I could feel safe.
 
Bastion was the only place I could exchange holy power and dark magic.
 
By comparison, Levi’s options were not strictly limited to me alone.
 
Although they didn’t have as much as Aisha, there were countless priests with excellent holy power in this world.
 
‘Bastion is the only place for me, and I’m the best for him.’
 
Well, I won’t get too excited, as I did the first time I confronted Wolfgang. But I was sure that I was the best choice for Bastion. 
 
However, the more desperate side has no choice but to…
 
“Pureung!”
 
Already, the horses that felt my presence began to jump up and down, which made it difficult for me to think too deeply.
 
I tiptoed past Tony’s sleeping post, and entered the stables. 
 
“Hi, how are you?”
 
As I greeted the winsome horses and headed inside, Queensbury and a well-grown colt greeted me with a nod. 
 
By the way, the colt has a name. Tony and I fought hard and came to an agreement. 
 
I wanted to emphasize the black horsehair that he’d inherited from his parents, and Tony wanted his name to be like the standardized version for purebred horses. 
 
The name that was born.
 
“Darkhorse!”
[Baset: Oh god… her naming sense is horrible….]
 
No, it wasn’t. It’s just when Tony wasn’t here.
 
I looked around for no reason, and whispered to him. 
 
“Darkhorse, your sister is here.”
“Heehee!”
 
I wasn’t the only one who called him by a different name.
 
Tony also called Darkhorse by different names behind my back, things like ‘Dark Storm’ and ‘Dark Nebula’.
 
Darkhorse was the answer. Right?
 
After petting and playing with Darkhorse and the other horses for a while, dawn was about to break.
 
It was now morning, I asked him to rest after he drank some cold water, then I drew some clean water and poured it into the trough.
 
Alert
 
Suddenly, all the horses raised their ears and looked at the door into the barn.
 
“What’s wrong…”
 
The moment I stepped out of the stables. 
 
Hwek!
A shadow fell over my head.
 
‘Was this déjà vu?’
 
In front of the stables at dawn. A blaze of energy. A horseshoe threateningly hovered before my eyes, as if it would crush my face.
 
I was in the situation where I was one step short of being trampled to death by a black horse controlled by a certain force.
 
It was the same scene as in the past, but there was one difference, Wolfgang didn’t show up to stop it. 
 
“Aisha.”
 
Somehow, he looked more surprised than I did when he managed to stop. 
 
***