Translator: Latte Editor: Sasha

One afternoon

Caville called the two barons to the commanders office in the knights building.

He called them to the fortress so that his wife couldnt meet them.

Caville was already impatient even though he was only away from his wife for a short time.

Ill get this done fast.

Your Grace W-we are

Your Grace

The two barons started making excuses. But Caville hadnt called for them to listen to their nonsense. He had called for them to give them his orders.

After listening to my wife, I was told to consider your loyalty.

So, I decided to show mercy and give you more opportunities to show me your fidelity.

What could this?

Its been a while since we came back from the war, so Ill give you two months. In the meantime, Ill give you homework.

Homework?

This task is for you to write about the duchess qualifications. You dont seem to know how much work my wife has been doing these past seven years. Find out for yourself, write an essay, and report back to me.

Yes?

And for those two months, go have fun with your family before saying goodbye.

What? Goodbye?

Today, while patrolling the territory, I heard that the number of monsters in the Forest of Death had increased tremendously.

You must spend the rest of your lives in the Forest of Death and defeat those monsters. You two have a good relationship, so youll probably live happily, Caville said as he gave them an eerie smile.

Truthfully, Caville wanted to send them away right at that instance. However, Elody told him to give them two months, so he had no choice but to follow his wifes words

If they suddenly disappeared, my wife might misunderstand.

But the two barons stared at Caville with a stupid look on their faces.

They couldnt understand what he was talking about.

Two months? Goodbye? Monster? Forest of Death? Happy life? What did that all mean?

For those who did not understand, Caville kindly added, I am grateful to your loyalty, hence why I made this special order just for you.

Your Grace How could this be?!

Please dont do this, Your Grace!

Caville frowned at the cries of the two barons who finally understood the situation.

With emotionless eyes, the two barons slipped away from Cavilles line of sight.

However, no matter how scared they were, they could never accept this order.

For it was utter nonsense.

Your Grace, we have only just returned to our family! There are not many days left to live

Thats right! Shouldnt I have to spend the rest of my life with my family?!

At the words of the two Barons, Caville replied calmly, saying, Oh, of course, you can.

What?

Just move there with your family.

What?!

Your Grace!!!

Caville arched an eyebrow at them.

Since when have you been so upset about my orders like this? Did you lose your loyalty because the war is over?

Thats

Hmm? You werent talking like that before.

The two shut their mouths.

The duke was sincere. 100% sincere.

Caville got up from the seat with a happy face when the two finally shut their mouths.

After Caville left, the two barons looked at each other with vain expressions.

Two months.

They felt desperate as if they had been sentenced to a limited time.

I cant do this How could His Grace tell us to?!

He must have been possessed by the duchess! Like the enchantment of a Siren!

That wench!

They grind their teeth.

We cant go there.

We just came back

Both Baron Vendos and Baron Bernard shook their heads.

If they went to the Forest of Death under the dukes command as it is, then Baron Garcia and other vassals could get the opportunity to win his favor.

They didnt go through so much trouble on the battlefield for the others.

They had made up their minds to stick close to the duke, who had become a war hero.

No matter what!

Baron Vendos came up with a good idea after much consideration.

If Iris can win His Graces heart within two months, wouldnt it be different?

Oh, yes, thats a good idea!

The last hope left for the two barons was Iris. Their beautiful granddaughter, whom they had pampered as she was their favorite child in the house.

There was a good chance for them to come out alive. Though, they had totally and conveniently forgotten that their plan of making the duke fall in love at first sight with Iris had failed miserably before.

Nevertheless, to them, Iris was a beautiful and unique child. She was more than enough to seduce the cold-hearted-duke.

If Iris, who captured the dukes heart, said that it would be nice for her grandfathers to stay by her side

Then they could be saved!

The duke would not be able to do anything.

However, the problem was that the duke was much closer to the duchess than what they had thought initially.

Is it possible that His Grace is interested in the duchess?

No matter how close their relationship was as a brother and sister, they still had no contact for seven years.

Thats strange.

Could she have made a strange medicine, and His Grace was in a trance because of that magic medicine?

It was very likely.

The two decided to monitor the duchess by hiring a spy to figure out what had happened to him.

They had to find evidence and reveal it because theyre sure that she was hiding something sinister behind her back.

* * *

Iris was walking in the garden, waiting for her grandfathers.

Iris, who had become an invisible person earlier, still couldnt escape from the shock she had received earlier.

And Iris wore such a pretty dress too

It was her favorite pink dress.

She had heard that the design was also popular in the capital

Yet, she was called a monster.

What in blue blazes was that knight talking about? How dare he! To a noble lady as beautiful as me

Iris was upset.

Moreover, she didnt get the chance to greet the duke properly.

She was supposed to go to the parlor to meet with His Grace the Duke, but she couldnt because that lousy knight was blocking her way.

When she finally gathered some courage to reply back to that rude knight, her grandfathers had burst out from the parlor.

Why did my grandfathers do that?

They didnt know how embarrassed she was when she saw her grandfathers running out of the parlor so brashly.

And now, Iris grandfathers hurriedly took her back to the parlor, saying that they needed to take action.

It seemed as if something had happened.

But they didnt tell Iris anything in detail as the two only talked in small voices.

Eventually, Iris took a nap using her grandfathers murmurs as a lullaby.

And after a while, someone approached and spoke to her grandfathers.

Upon hearing that, the grandfathers contemplated and headed to the knights building. Leaving Iris unattended

This led Iris to explore the garden by herself. Alone

If she knew it would be like this, she would have brought her maid to accompany her

Iris grunted, remembering the maid waiting inside the carriage.

Oh Pretty!

While grunting, Iris walked over to find a pretty pink rose in the garden.

Pink was Iris favorite color. It had always been that way since she was very young.

The reason was apparent.

A long time ago, when Iris was eight years old, she had a fateful encounter with a handsome young man who had caught her from falling.

He was definitely a looker, the most beautiful thing she had ever laid her eyes upon.

And as her eyes landed on his hair, she had to stop. It was the most beautiful color she had ever seen. It was pink.

Thus, the pink-haired young man became Iris first love.

Looking at the pink petals, Iris was lost in her memories, reminiscing about her first love.

Are the roses pretty?

Suddenly, she heard a voice from behind.

Iris was so surprised that she almost fell.

She turned her head with a fiery gaze.

How could you just suddenly talk to me like that?

Ah Im sorry for surprising you.

Hearing the soft voice, Iris puffed her lips.

The duchess

There was only one person in this mansion who could dress like that.

Iris glanced at the duchess, who seemed different from what her grandfathers had said.

Then, she carefully grabbed the ends of her skirt and dropped into a curtsy.

So you are the granddaughter of Baron Vendos and Baron Bernard, Elody said.

Do you know Iris? Iris asked in amazement.

She wondered if the news about her beauty had spread throughout the duchy.

Who is Iris?

..?

I am Iris.

Ah, I see.

Elody laughed awkwardly.

Someone speaking about themselves in third person was relatively unfamiliar to her.

Caville would sometimes do that when he was young

Caville likes his wife.

Caville is full.

Elody smiled as she remembered those blissful memories.

On the other hand, Iris stared at Elodys pink hair as if she was captivated.

It was pink. Her favorite kind of pink. The prettiest pink ever

Your pink dress is beautiful, Elody complimented, Well, I must go, I have a prior engagement to go to. Have a good day, Lady Iris, she said as she disappeared into the mansion.

Huh Was that a compliment?

Iris snorted.

It was clear that His Grace the Duke didnt greet her because he was shy and fell in love with Iris.

However, Elody was the first to praise her after she had come to the mansion.

Iris unexpectedly felt a little better after being disappointed by the countless people she had met.

Hence, the girl returned to her carriage with a lighter gait than before.

* * *

Both Baron Vendos and Baron Bernard decided to buy one of the dukes servants.

They were in a hurry because they had to reveal the duchess true colors as soon as possible.

But their attempt failed.

No! It doesnt make sense that none of the servants want to leak even a bit of information!

Its like a wall, what is this?

The barons secretly contacted some of the dukes servants, but they flatly refused.

Even a frail-looking-maid didnt hesitate to say, If you touch our duchess, I will kill you along with your family.

Their loyalty was terrifying.

Hummel, the barons servant who was sent for the errand, returned crying and tattered as if he had gotten beaten somewhere.

In fact, he did. It was done by the servants of the dukes mansion, whom he tried to contact today. They flatly denied Hummels offer and beat him up to a pulp.

They even said that they would come after him until he revealed who his masters were.

After he barely escaped, Hummel declared that he wouldnt continue because he was scared of the servants.

However, if they could bribe a new servant in the dukes mansion, they would be able to let their people in

And yet, they couldnt even find a single servant who was willing to do so. Thus, their plans were forced to be put on hold

The two barons clenched their fists in anger, She must have given drugs to all the servants of the mansion!

What kind of potion did they take?

Damn. Should we burn it all up? Both the lab and the greenhouse? Shell never be able to make weird medicine ever again!

Yes! Thats a good idea!

But that plan also failed.

The greenhouse had fire-prevention magic that Elody had studied for over several months. So, there was no way they could burn the whole building down.

The two barons were in huge trouble.

It seemed as if there was nothing left that they could do.

So, for the time being, they decided to find out what the duchess had done so far and write reports about her suspicious acts.

And leave everything to Iris.

After all, she was the only person that the two barons could trust.