Duchess in the Attic: Volume 3 (eBook)

MORI (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2025 | 1. Auflage
250 Seiten
J-Novel Heart (Verlag)
9781718336810 (ISBN)

Infos

After a brief discussion with Claude, Opal heads to the Bocceli Duchy in Taisei Kingdom. While she still doesn't have the whole picture yet, she understands her role clearly: bait. She must act as a diversion to assist her husband and Alessandro's faction. She goes headfirst into danger, with her first step being the reform of the Bocceli Duchy, a region woefully behind on technology due to fears that using such items will bring upon the curse of the devil! As Opal patiently tries to encourage the duchy to embrace new technology and efficiency, she quickly finds herself under the strict surveillance of Julian. Just who is he? Why does Opal seem so oddly fixated on him? And what about the rumors that she's gone and eloped with the man?

Textauszug

1. The Duchy

It had been a few days since Opal and Claude parted ways on the outskirts of the capital, where they had met at the royal villa. Opal waved her hand at the people who were lined up on the roads for her arrival as she let out a small sigh. Everyone bowed their heads, so they couldn’t see her face. She hadn’t given prior notice of her visit to the Bocceli Duchy, but somehow the residents had already been informed. Opal didn’t expect it and thus hadn’t prepared herself for a warm welcome—but all the villagers had stopped their work and gathered to greet their new mistress.

When I arrive at the duchy, I must tell everyone that such a grand welcome is unnecessary, Opal thought. She wasn’t sure if these warm greetings were due to meeting their new duchess for the first time, or if they were always this welcoming, but neither she nor Claude wished for such gestures of grandeur.

But despite such a formal welcome the residents couldn’t entirely hide the state of their land, and in the grand scheme of things, Opal felt that her sudden visit was a success. It wasn’t as if she thought the land manager was neglecting their duties, but generally, people in that position tended to try to obscure things if the land they were responsible for wasn’t in the best shape. Prior reports had shown that the land’s poverty wasn’t due to the mismanagement of the person in charge. Hence, Opal had arrived to rectify the situation. She didn’t expect to solve every little issue with her visit, but if she didn’t start somewhere, the situation would never change. I have to say, the state of these people is quite alarming...

The residents that came to greet her weren’t exhausted or weary from their daily labor—no, they were clearly trembling in fear at the sight of their new duchess. Some were even trying to hide their repulsion, a clear sign that her next challenge would be no easy feat.

Do they despise the fact that Claude wasn’t born in Taisei and is somewhat lowborn, as the son of a baron? Is it me they dislike, since I am from Socille? This territory has somewhat oppositional leanings—are they wary of Claude since he’s close with His Majesty Alessandro? To be fair, while Claude might be related to Earl Roussel, he’s a young man who came from the Socille Kingdom and almost overnight became a marquis. Now, he’s been bestowed the title of Duke Bocceli and has been given a plot of land. From an outsider’s perspective, I can see how this all might seem a bit too convenient.

As various thoughts swirled around in her mind, the carriage clattered into the Bocceli Duchy. The ladies-in-waiting all let out gasps of awe and Opal looked up, shocked by the manor that stood solemnly in the distance.

One of her attendants, Nadja, couldn’t stop her jaw from hitting the floor. “I’ve never seen such a magnificent castle in my life!”

“Quite right,” Opal agreed. “It’s no wonder it’s called the ‘Palace of the North.’”

She’d heard rumors, of course, but she hadn’t expected the manor to be so impressive, majestic, and beautiful. Also known as the Pearl Palace, the Palace of the North was owned by the house of Duke Bocceli, a household that in generations past had held great power. They had been so powerful that they had practically split the nation in two with their influence and had been hugely threatening to the royal family. During that split, this manor had been built, a proud display of Bocceli’s power. The building was constructed from white marble, a material that could only be harvested outside the duchy, and was another display of their wealth and power.

The nickname ‘Pearl Palace’ was due not only to the milky-white color of the manor but also the ocean route required to transport the material. Transporting all this marble by land would be a trial. Opal began to envision where the marble would come from. The northern region where the Bocceli Duchy was based was highly mountainous. Time, funds, and manpower were essential to carry all this rock, and thus, any ores and minerals that had been excavated from the duchy were most likely sold abroad, carried across the ocean to be sold to foreign nations, including Socille. The duchy would also import any heavy materials. I’m pretty sure that the stone was imported from Socille, then.

North of Manthest, the city Opal co-owned, there was a huge mine boasting a large nearby port. Trade was seemingly booming; nearly all the silver mined from the duchy was making its way to that port. The sales from this trade were most likely what was funding the king’s opposition—and had probably also funded the opposition to the king’s younger brother eight years ago.

The Bocceli Duchy and the royal capital were a fair distance from each other and were additionally separated by quite a few mountainous areas. Once the duchy claimed its own trade route, their threat to the royal family’s power had been firmly solidified.

Eight years ago, that threat had turned into reality. Yet even after the civil war, King Alessandro hadn’t tried to place the duchy under the royal family’s direct control because the royal family was unable to comfortably manage such a large plot of land. The area itself was much too tricky for someone like a young prince to manage. And here Opal sighed, reminded of the king’s cunning once again.

His Majesty always had a smile on his face and was prone to humor, so it was quite easy to be friendly with him. But underneath that sunny veneer was an astute man, highly observant of his surroundings, with a clever mind that quickly solved any manner of issues that arose. He was, quite simply, a brilliant monarch. He played up his favoritism toward Claude so he could draw out those who opposed him. And if Claude’s enjoying himself, there’s nothing I can do.

Opal had spent the past eight years apart from her beloved, and there were many things she didn’t know about her husband yet. Still, there were quite a few things about him that hadn’t changed. He could find joy in the most tedious of tasks and was endlessly kind to those less fortunate than him.

The citizens of the duchy had suffered from the negative effects of a tyrannical ruler for a long time and were battered by poverty. Though the management of the land had fallen to someone else for quite a few years now, any decisive push for reform had yet to come to fruition. The previous manager had reported that outsiders were treated with much suspicion and that the residents generally looked upon newcomers unfavorably. And so, Claude had been forced to shoulder all the trouble.

The timing was eerily perfect. Clearly, this decision had been made because Opal’s skills and funds had helped rebuild the McLeod duchy. Claude was asked to return, even if that meant kidnapping me, wasn’t he? It was apparently what King Alessandro had said when Claude left Taisei to ask for Opal’s hand in marriage. His Majesty’s casual remark most likely had quite a few different meanings. It occurred to Opal that her visit here on her own had been spurred by His Majesty calling away Claude on business.

The two men had apparently become close from the civil war that had occurred nearly a decade ago, in which Claude had served as a replacement for his grandfather, Earl Roussel. But even after Alessandro had claimed the throne, he continued to joke with and prank Claude every chance he had. His Majesty’s cruel. How could he work a newly married man to the bone?! I’ll restore this land and return it to him at once!

Gradually, her anger toward the king had begun to grow. But above all, the scene that she’d witnessed in the royal villa had caused her anger to reach a near breaking point. Though she had been able to appear calm, on the inside what she had seen had shocked her to her core. The only reason she’d let Claude off easy was because she believed in him. He even seemed to have in mind a clear suspect who was behind sneaking a woman into his bedroom, and he was hard at work to take care of the issue. All Opal could do was fulfill her role as well.

The Bocceli Duchy was an important plot of land. Opal was aware that once issues here were resolved, it would likely be exchanged for some other plot of land from the royal family. She had no complaints on that end; she expected it to happen. Even so, she wasn’t going to sit back and take it easy. Filled with renewed resolve, she clenched her fists and braced herself.

“Madam, your face is terrifying,” Nadja remarked. “You’ll make everyone tremble in fear even more than they already are.”

“Oh dear. I’m sorry,” Opal apologized.

It seemed she’d furrowed her brow and stiffened her face quite a bit. Her jokingly snooty response earned a few chuckles from her lady-in-waiting and maid. The two had been brought along from the manor of Marquis Roussel, formerly owned by the earl, Claude’s grandfather.

Before Opal knew it, the impressive manor was right in front of her eyes. The doors of the entrance were wide open, and servants lined up to greet the new duchess.

“Will things be all right for me here?” a maid murmured anxiously.

“Of course they will!” Nadja assured. “You’ve got madam with you!”

She spoke with confidence, and Opal smiled and nodded in agreement. Both the maid and lady-in-waiting breathed a sigh of relief. Eight years ago, Opal had been all alone. But it was precisely because she...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 19.2.2025
• Reihe/Serie: Duchess in the Attic
• Illustrationen: MORI
• Übersetzer: MORI
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Fantasy / Science Fiction ► Fantasy
• Schlagworte: aristocracy • Contract Marriage • female protagonist • Historical • Light Novel • marriage • strong female lead
• ISBN-13: 9781718336810 / 9781718336810