If I Disobey the Duke - Chapter 277

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As was the case with people outside of Arcadia, Antonio, who had regarded Vlad as the worst monster on earth, was startled at every moment he met him. Before he knew it, he was relaxed enough to speak to Vlad first.

The four kitchen servants set the plates down on the round table at the same time.

Looking at the sweet honey cake, Dandelion applauded, “Wow, this is so delicious! Sister, did you eat this every day? No wonder you look a little fat!”

“Brother. A little…”

“Why? It’s nice to see you like that. You’re much prettier than when you couldn’t eat at home before, Sister. It means you’re loved. It’s a compliment!”

Every time his brother spewed nonsense from his mouth, Anton looked into Vlad’s eyes. Vlad, leaning back, was no longer interested in Dandelion. He was just staring at his wife. Each time she smiled, his eyes softened a little. Antonio, who had been observing the scene, finally smiled mischievously.

As Antonio relaxed, Dandelion raised his voice once more, “But, Sister, are you really not going to have a baby? If the lord and your child look alike, I think they would be very pretty or cool. The princess said that I would never have a nephew. Is she kidding me?”

“Ah, Brother. Really…”

Lily’s smile stiffened. It was the same with Vlad’s mouth.  After reading the atmosphere, Antonio stepped on Dandelion’s foot. When Dandelion reacted, the child turned away from him.

A baby. How much suffering his sister had in her whole life because of the child she didn’t even have. His older brother, who couldn’t think about that, was pathetic, and Antonio shook his head.

In place of Lily, who was speechless at the sudden question, Vlad quietly opened his mouth, “You spent quite a long time with the princess at the luncheon. What else did the princess say to you, Dandelion?”

It was also the purpose for which he arranged a meal. Seeing that the princess really liked Dandelion, it was clear that she had a lot of conversations with him. All he wanted to hear from Dandelion was, after all, a story about Lily.

Hearing Vlad’s question, he seemed to remember something he had forgotten. Dandelion clapped. “Oh, right! There was a thing that the crown princess told me to tell my sister without the lord’s knowledge! I was very scared because she just said that if I told you, she would make me a slave.”

Even as he thought about it again, he shivered, wrapping his arms around his shoulders. Not noticing that his sister had hardened like a stone, he stretched his shoulders again and raised his chin. “But I’m on the side of Sister and the lord! I was just trying to tell you everything anyway! That’s right, Sister!”

“Y-yes. Her Highness… What did she say?”

“Well, it was nothing. She asked me about your achievements and I told her that you discovered the Ataka Mine. Her Highness may not have known that there are minerals in Ataka! That’s what I said!”

Vlad let out a short sigh. “You told her that.”

“…” Dandelion closed his mouth belatedly.

A heavy air crawled under the table that was incomparable to when he was talking. No one spoke easily.

The imperial family was unaware of the metal resources in Ataka and had not yet imposed a tax on it. It wasn’t tax evasion though. In the first place, borders were almost exempt from taxes. However, it was a different story when it came to the level of resources that Lily had discovered.

The princess’s message was this in the end.

[I will leave you to live quietly as you wish. The only condition is that as soon as I call, the duke will come to me.]

There were two options.

Firstly, if they told the whole world that their land is the richest place in the world. That meant that people with disabilities were again exposed to the threats they faced outside of his estate. Even near the chapel of Nerva, there were children who had walked half the continent with their toes on the sidewalk.

However, if he refused the princess’s proposal, he had to send his wife to hell where demons existed.

Vlad finally frowned. “…I’m tired of it.”

As he spoke to himself, Lily’s cheeks bled once more. The princess’s nasal laughter revolved around them like hallucinations. He didn’t want to admit it, but it seemed that the obsessive personality trait of the emperor was split in half between the princess and Vlad.

He had a promise to keep to the citizens.

Lily went pale to the tip of her fingers. The quiet gray eyes met her green eyes one after, both shaking with different anxieties.

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