# 11
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It was at that moment that Ian, who was looking out the window, pulled back the curtain slightly.
“Sir, I am back.”
Hearing the voice of someone entering the office carrying documents, he turned his head.
It was Cale, his trusted assistant and the Grand Duke's personal wizard.
“You're late.”
"I was in the west until ten minutes ago. How can I get here faster? Do you know how much energy it takes to use a long-range magic circle?"
Kyle grumbled as he placed the documents on the desk.
“These are the papers you need to review by next week… but you'll finish them all tonight before bed, right?”
With a tone of disgust, Kyle shuddered.
Ian glanced at him and then put his glasses back on before sitting down at his desk.
“You ask even though you know the answer.”
“Honestly… how did I end up serving you, sir?”
It was a muffled lament.
Ian seemed to be listening to his words with one ear and letting them out the other as he picked up the feather, but then, he slowly stopped.
“...Kyle.”
"Yes?"
“Do you think I'm too cruel?”
“Do you really have to ask?”
“You are always so cruel. Where will you find another boss who makes his subordinates work so late at night? Thanks to you, my sleep is getting less and less day by day. If I die early, will you take responsibility? I may look like this, but I am the precious only son of the Elzer family.”
Ian added as he listened to Kyle's exhausted ramblings without expression.
“Not about you. I meant the Grand Duchess.”
"… Sorry?"
For a moment, Cale's expression became puzzled.
“Why are we suddenly talking about the Grand Duchess?”
His tone really indicated that he had no idea why.
Ian, who had been still, slowly began signing the papers again.
Kyle, who was standing there with his hands behind his back, stared at the scene in amazement, then suddenly gasped and covered his mouth.
“Sir, could it be...”
“Are you going to die of some disease?”
“You better keep your mouth shut.”
“No, it's just that you suddenly mentioned the Grand Duchess. Isn't this the first time you mentioned her?”
Ian remained silent instead of answering.
It has been two years since he maintained a relationship with her that could not be called marriage.
During that long period, Ian never mentioned Eloise.
They married out of mutual interest, and after they became husband and wife, she simply became the woman who stayed behind in the palace.
But lately, that ghostly wife has been acting strangely.
She talked about divorce, skipped breakfast without a word, and earlier, she smiled shamelessly, saying she would give back as much as she took. And now…
“She was crying.”
While out for a night walk, Ian clearly saw Aloise wiping away her tears.
Ian Cloud was surprised by the fact that she could cry.
More than anything, he was puzzled that Eloise cared enough about their marriage to cry over it alone.
“Since when did you start caring about such things?”
Meanwhile, Cale stood there with his mouth open at his master's sudden revelation.
“…The Grand Duchess, you say?”
"Yes."
“The Grand Duchess was… crying?”
Kyle let out a breath of disbelief, suddenly straightening up and looking at Ian.
“So...did you comfort her?”
“Why should I do that?”
“You're not really human, sir.”
“Thank you for the compliment.”
Kyle sighed deeply.
“If the Grand Duchess is shedding tears, it is one hundred percent your fault.”
“Don't be silly.”
“But it's the truth.”
Kyle took the opportunity to start babbling.
"Even if it was an arranged marriage, where would you find a couple sleeping in separate rooms? Honestly, have you ever exchanged more than ten words?"
“You were the one who insisted on avoiding unnecessary meetings inside the palace in the first place.”
“As Grand Duchess, she is provided with everything she could possibly need.”
“Are you managing employees now? Is this like welfare? Please give me some instead.”
“Kyle.”
“Just out of curiosity, do you know the Grand Duchess's birthday?”
At his question, Ian's face darkened again.
"See? Look at this."
Kyle clicked his tongue in disapproval.
“September 23rd. Even I know that, but you’re the only one who doesn’t know. If it weren’t for the grand celebrations that take place every fall, you wouldn’t remember, would you?”
“It's about the alliance between families. There's no reason to care about trivial matters.”
"Yes, yes. That's why you made the Grand Duchess cry."
Kyle was not at all afraid of Ian's cold aura, which would have silenced anyone else in an instant.
“Anyway, what I'm saying is that this is all your fault.”
Ian muttered.
“…That’s why I asked for a divorce.”
“What? Divorce?!”
Kyle jumped in place.
“Divorce? Are you telling me that the patient Grand Duchess mentioned divorce?”
"Calm down, Kyle. It's just something I considered as a possibility."
“How am I supposed to stay calm?!”
Kyle blinked rapidly, as if his red eyes were about to appear.
"The stunning Grand Duchess is talking about divorce! She even cried! Doesn't she feel anything at all?"
When Ian didn't respond, Kyle beat his chest in frustration.
"Oh, you're really getting a divorce at this rate. You don't understand how serious this is."
Despite Kyle's exhausted tone, Ian calmly continued to review the documents.
"If she chooses to divorce, that is her right too. To be precise, she is not the only one capable of fulfilling the role of Grand Duchess."
"certainly!"
Kyle's sarcastic tone caused Ian's eyebrows to twitch in annoyance.
"… What?"
“But it's true!”
Even under Ian's murderous gaze, Kyle raised his voice without hesitation.
“Lady Eloise Alpheus, a high-society beauty, has married you, and her reputation is in tatters because of it. What noblewoman in her right mind would marry you? No one who values his reputation would want to throw it in the dirt!”
Ian closed his mouth.
“Strange, that’s exactly what the Grand Duchess said.”
But Kyle wasn't finished yet.
“Suppose you two divorce and a new Grand Duchess arrives. How many people do you think could handle the overwhelming duties of this Grand Duchy better than Eloise? Is there such a person?”
Cale pointed to a huge pile of documents related to the administration of the Grand Duchy.
In fact, Eloise was exceptionally effective at her work. Even Ian couldn't deny this fact.
Since Eloise became Grand Duchess, he practically withdrew from supervising internal affairs.
“Sure, the Grand Duchess doesn't lack anything, so she can simply return to Marquis Alpheus and meet someone new. But what about you?”
“Do you really think you could handle this mountain of work if you got divorced now?”
Kyle rubbed his face in dissatisfaction.
“For your sake! At least for the sake of the Grand Duchy, please treat the Grand Duchess better!”
His tone was almost pleading now.
The reason why Cale ed so badly was simple: if the position of Grand Duchess became vacant, his life and the lives of the other staff would become unbearable.
It was clear who would be entrusted with the enormous responsibilities of administering the Grand Duchy if Eloise disappeared.
As Kyle sighed deeply, his eyes suddenly widened as if he had just remembered something and stared at Ian.
“Wait a minute… I heard that the Grand Duchess visited a dress store today.”
“Dress store?”
"She went to a no-name store and bought all the dresses and accessories. She even bought romance novels from the library."
“That must be what she was doing when she came out earlier.”
While Ian speculated briefly, Kyle responded as if the world was about to end.
“Oh my God, now I understand. Sir, don’t you feel any sense of danger? Seriously?”