Atthy looked at Helena who bravely held her hand when she was about to sign the divorce papers. Helena immediately withdrew her hand because she herself was surprised by her actions.
''Helena!'' shouted Atthy reflexively reprimanded Helena's actions.
“Duchess, pardon my impudence. But, Duchess... Please think again. This, maybe a misunderstanding'' said Helena immediately, while trying to subdue herself for having made a mistake earlier.
''No... I promised your master this morning'' replied Atthy firmly.
“Duchess! Please Duchess, hold on!... I will ask His Majesty the reason why the Duke...'' said Helena with a worried expression on her face. Helena can no longer be professional, she shows her emotions very clearly.
''Helena...'' Called Atthy while holding Helena's hand, which was already wrinkled due to old age.
“Thank you… At least, you accepted me sincerely. But, Helena, that's enough. Your Master and I have discussed it, and I have agreed. I'll go after I sign this divorce document, that's my promise to him...'' Atthy said with a calm expression. But, unfortunately, Helena felt very clearly that Atthy's body was shaking with her emotions.
“Duchess! Please, Duchess... Don't make a rash decision! The Grand Duke doesn't know anything about this either...'' Helena said in a panic.
''Helena!'' cried Atthy, calling Helena with sharp eyes. She looked at Helena very seriously. "Don't make me repeat my words... I'm sure you know that I'm not in a good condition," said Atthy, continuing her words.
“Duchess…” Helena replied with a giddy expression.
"Helena... That's enough. I'm very grateful for your help during these three months. I probably wouldn't have survived to this day without your presence...'' Atthy said, sincerely expressing her feelings.
“Duchess!” Helena exclaimed with a face like she wanted to cry, but a moment later, suddenly Helena's expression changed. “I'm sorry… I can't take it. I'll find out what the Duke was thinking about sending you the divorce papers'' Helena said firmly.
Helena didn't care about ethics or anything, she didn't want to hear Atthy's explanation anymore. The woman in her forties was indeed not from a respectable family. She was just a war orphan who was brought up by the Grand Duke when she was ten years old. It has been thirty-five years since she has served the Drustan family as a servant, from just a lowly servant to now Helena has served as a high-class servant. However, her basic nature of being just an ordinary person couldn't just disappear.
Helena immediately went out of Atthy's room after saying goodbye to her, although Helena sometimes seemed indifferent and didn't seem to care, it was all because of the professionalism taught by her seniors. She quickly went into the dining room hoping Hugh would be there enjoying his lunch, because she thought Hugh wasn't going anywhere today.
"What's wrong, Mrs. Whitmore?" asked a waitress who was clearing the table.
"Didn't my lord Duke eat today?" asked Helena in answer to the waiter's question.
"I don't think so, ma'am, because earlier one of the waiters said that he canceled lunch because of business."
“What?!… Then, where's Alwyn? Is he coming with the Duke?'' Helena asked, then immediately changed her question.
“No ma'am, Mr. Alwyn might be in the office, because the Duke suddenly had some business and he went with Mr. Randy. Mr. Alwyn will tidy up the documents that will be submitted next, it seems like that''
''Well. Thank you... Continue your work!'' exclaimed Helena, ending it by giving directions.
"Yes, madam..." replied the maid, "Ah! Mrs. Whitmore..." cried the maid, suddenly remembering something.
"What's wrong?" Helena asked. She couldn't wait to approach Alwyn.
“What about the Duchess? Should we prepare lunch for her?'' asked the waiter with a worried face.
''Yes. Do it!... Call the Duchess' personal maid to immediately approach the Duchess in her room'' shouted Helena, giving orders to answer the maid.
"Yes ma'am," replied the maid respectfully.
Helena did not want to linger in dealing with the servants, she wanted to quickly resolve this divorce matter. For him now, Atthy is more important than the affairs of the management of the castle. He feels bad, he feels the problem must be resolved immediately. For some reason, his heart had not calmed down since he found out about the divorce documents.
**
Helena rushed into Alwyn's study until she forgot to knock on the door. She just rushed in without thinking, because there was only Atthy's face that wanted to cry all the time pictured in Helena's mind.
“Mrs. Helena! What are you doing?!'' Alwyn asked loudly.
He didn't like Helena's presumptuous attitude. Bloodline, Helena was just a commoner when compared to Alwyn, who was descended from a respectable family. Even if he doesn't belong to the ranks of the nobility. But, in terms of seniority, of course, Alwyn is far below Helena, who has devoted herself to the Drustan family for thirty-five years, even though in her position, Helena is still under Alwyn's position.
"What is the meaning of the document you gave me this morning?" Helena asked Alwyn firmly.
Alwyn was silent for a moment digesting Helena's words, then he finally understood.
“You mean the divorce documents for the Duchess from my majesty Duke Hugh?!” exclaimed Alwyn, confirming it.
"So you know?" Helena asked with an angry face.
''Of course, I take care of everything'' replied Alwyn calmly.
''What does all that mean?'' exclaimed Helena asked aloud.
“Mrs. Helena, I assure you. We are only servants, it is not appropriate for us to interfere in all matters concerning our master. We just need to do as we are told'' Alwyn replied calmly.
''That's the principle of a buffalo to me'' replied Helena curtly.
"Mrs. Helena!" cried Alwyn, warning her.
“Mr. Alwyn Gusev. I know how your relationship with His Majesty the Duke is. I know you understand very well the meaning of the divorce document''
''Of course. It's a divorce document, obviously, it's meant to end the marriage relationship between My Lord Duke Hugh Ethan Drustan and Duchess Atthaleyah Romanov Drustan."
''Don't mention that title and last name again. When the letter is approved by both parties, the title and last name will no longer be in the name of Lady Atthaleyah Romanov. Only Lady Romanov…”
''Sorry. Well... I corrected that... Then, why is that problem bothering you, madam?... It's all their business, husband and wife."
''I understand. But, what is the reason? That's what I wanted to find out...''
"Should a servant like us find out about it?!... That's absolutely none of our business"
“That's for you, Mr. Alwyn, but not for me… What's more, the Grand Duke himself entrusted the Duchess to me”
Alwyn looked at Helena's face, who saw it with sharp eyes. Alwyn understood what Helena was worried about. Because he himself had been surprised this morning when Hugh ordered Alwyn to make divorce papers and hand them over to Atthy.
Alwyn took a deep breath to calm himself so as not to be provoked by the emotions that were clearly visible from Helena. Helena also started to lower her tension when she saw Alwyn, who finally gave up and wanted to explain everything in more detail to Helena. Just as Alwyn was about to open his mouth, the two of them in the room were startled by a knock on the door.
"Mr. Gusev. Excuse us, sir, is Mrs. Whitmore in there?'' asked several people from outside the room.
“Come in!” shouted Alwyn, the owner of the room, who gave permission.
"What's wrong?!" Helena exclaimed, asking Atthy's three personal maids who had come in a hurry.
"That madam... Eumh... That..."
''Don't beat around the bush!.. Hurry up, say it!'' Helena shouted, rebuking those who stuttered.
“We can't find the Duchess anywhere…” said Stella, the senior maid who served Atthy.
“When we were going around looking for her, one of the guards said she saw the Duchess coming out of the castle through the back gate,” Bela and Rossa said almost simultaneously, continuing Stella's words.
The three of them looked breathless, making Helena tired and anxious when she saw it.
''WHAT?!''
exclaimed Helena and Alwyn asked in unison in a surprised tone.
Since Atthy came to this castle, Atthy never once complained or even tried to step out of the castle. Everyone in the castle knew that Atthy only came from a poor lower-class aristocrat. However, they also greatly admired Atthy's elegant demeanor. Atthy understood the ethics and manners of a noble very well, so they were quite surprised to hear Atthy come out of the castle without even a personal servant or bodyguard by her side.''What do you mean? What is she doing outside the castle alone?!” Alwyn asked with a very serious face."Sorry... I'm sorry Mr. Gusev... We... We didn't know about that either... Only one of the guards said that he saw the Duchess walking towards the back gate" Stella said, frantically seeing the look on Alwyn's face.They didn't have long to talk, and there was another knock on the door.“Come in!” shouted Alwyn, the owner of the room.“You?!... Aren't you a newly recruited guard?” Alwyn asked, surprised. How dare a new guard come to him in his office.''Yes.
The white snow kept falling one after another on Atthy's head, she struggled just to step her foot on the snow pile along the way. Atthy was getting confused. Where should she go? During this time she had never left the Castle. She knew nothing at all about the territory outside the castle.Atthy kept walking aimlessly because she couldn't tell which way to go. Everything looked the same, covered in thick snow on top. Atthy continued to walk and instead entered the forest deeper and deeper. Atthy, who had been living in the hot and scorching desert, had a hard time dealing with the fiercely cold weather in front of her now.While at Castle Atthy, she was always served by servants and was never far from the fireplace. Now she had nothing but thick clothes that wrapped her body. But, sadly, it didn't last long. The thick clothes could not dispel all the cold temperatures that surrounded Atthy. Atthy, who was in a bad condition, fell down on a large tree whose ground seemed to be slightly
A few moments later, Ashton's face returned to an expression of astonishment and disbelief. He glanced at his father and looked at the letter over and over again.''Are my eyes shortsighted?'' Rowtag asked with an expression mocking Ashton.''Dad... This proposal is for Arthy'' Ashton asked with a face that was very surprised and couldn't believe it.“Yeah,” Rowtag replied, replying to Ashton with an expression made to sound like he was making fun of him.''From a Grand Duke?!'' exclaimed Ashton, who still couldn't believe it.''If our eyes are both normal... That's what's written there'' answered Rowtag with his face showing the sentence ''what did I say''“Is there a possibility that the Royal Capital made a mistake?!” Ashton asked. He still couldn't believe it.''You're asking me?... I don't know anything about it. I've never once attended an academy, unlike you...'' Rowtag said to Ashton with a made-up face, teasing his only son.Ashton plopped down on the couch in front of his fat
After finishing dinner and talking for a while, they immediately returned to their respective rooms and got ready for bed. There were four rooms in this modest house. Rowtag, and Ashton to their own. Aydan shares a room with Cleo's twin brother Damon, while Atthy shares a room with Cleo. Cleo was born with a weak body condition, but despite that Cleo is always cheerful and chatty, she is one of the sources of noise in this simple house after the naughty Damon. "Sis... Are you going to accept it?" Cleo asked with sparkling eyes. ''What?'' Atthy asked nonchalantly, lifting the clothesline she had lifted earlier. "That marriage proposal?!" Cleo exclaimed, frowning. However, she kept moving her hand to help Atthy fold the clothes. "Hm?..." Atthy smiled seeing Cleo's enthusiasm, "I don't know..." Atthy replied while shrugging her shoulders, "I don't think about it" Atthy added again. "Sis... If you go to the Capital City, you will see many new things that you have never seen here" sa
That morning, the Romanovs went about their work. As usual, Rowtag would cook breakfast, assisted by Cleo, and Damon would take care of the pets, and stock up on animal protein for the family. Ashton and Aydan cared for the skins and furs they hunted, and apart from being blacksmiths, they were also hunters, a legacy of skill passed down from Rowtag for generations. The reliability of the desert people in processing animal skins and furs made them quite famous among traders. The prices for the skins and furs produced by the desert people were very high in the market, because of their very superior quality compared to others. The proceeds from the sale of skins and furs are sold to meet Cleo's very expensive pharmaceutical needs and also pay taxes.''Dad, Grandpa... I've been thinking about the marriage proposal,'' Atthy said during their free time after breakfast.''Atthy, don't rush into a decision, think it over carefully! It was only last night that we told you'' cried Ashton, remi
**When Ashton and Aydan head downtown to do business and send a reply letter to Edna's proposal, there are too many scary rumors about the Grand Duke Drustan, who is known as cruel and cold-hearted. Because of that, he was able to conquer the Alps and become the ruler there.Aydan immediately rebelled against his father, Ashton, on the spot when he heard that his future brother-in-law was a cruel person when they were looking for information about The Grand Duke Drustan in downtown Nauruan a month ago."Father, I don't care about the position he has, even though he was a Grand Duke, I don't want my sister to be the wife of a selfish human who only cares about himself like that... Father, please refuse the proposal," Aydan said firmly and loudly to his father.''I understand your concern, Aydan. Before becoming your sister, she was my daughter in the first place. Do you think I want to have a son-in-law who is the same age as your grandfather, not to mention his authoritarian attitude
Finally, the day that Rowtag's family feared arrived, even ten days earlier than their expected arrival, making Rowtag and his family even more convinced that there was a plot planned from this marriage proposal. It was just that Rowtag couldn't understand what they could get out of the Rowtag family by doing all this, it just didn't make any sense.The bride's envoy had arrived in a horse-drawn carriage and several knights on horseback came that morning to Rowtag's residence. A man in the neatest and classiest suit in the group dismounted and immediately greeted Rowtag and Ashton.''Good morning Baron Romanov, I'm Billy Kutcher, envoy of my lord Grand Duke Drustan... We will take your daughter to the Alpen now'' greeted the head of the envoy who was present at that time.The head of the envoy who came did say hello to Rowtag and Ashton first, but the arrogance was clear from the look in his eyes and the way he spoke. Ashton already didn't like the first greeting given by the head of
Ashton and Rowtag finally gave in. Atthy had made up her mind. Atthy wasn't the type of girl who could talk and be feminine, but Atthy had received a good education from her mother, Laura, as well as her father, Ashton, over the years. Atthy lived and was raised as a commoner girl all this time, but the knowledge that Atthy had to become a noble was very qualified. She had that quality, and Ashton understood it very well.Because of that, Ashton almost always felt guilty seeing Atthy, especially when Laura's mother was still around. He paid attention to how Laura trained and educated her to be able to live as a lady, because at that time, Laura believed that one-day Atthy would be able to live a better life, as a noble.If Ashton can enjoy life as a noble because his father, who is a commoner, received a gift from the King, it is different from Laura, his wife, who from the beginning was born of noble descent from generation to generation. Laura was against her family living with Asht