I’m In Trouble Because My Husband Is So Cute - Chapter 20

Having said that, Iellie wrinkled her brows. She began to question the Countess.

“The Countess is an outsider of the duke’s castle.”

At those words, the Countess’ face contorted. Nonetheless, Iellie did not hide the sharp look as she faced her.

“As the person of the Duke’s castle, I do not rule the servants with violence. However, why, the Countess, an outsider, behave like that?”

“How do you know if they will be disrespectful to Lady Hessenweitz?”

It was as if she had given them discipline in advance for Iellie.

She replied with a sigh.

“Watch out for what you say. No one in the Duke’s Castle has ever been disrespectful to me.”

“Isn’t that something you don’t know in the future?”

“Did you foresee the future? I, who will later become the mistress of the duke family, don’t intend to act like that.”

She pushed up the tip of her lips.

She shot at the Countess in a cold tone. “You probably wouldn’t know that this is an obvious act of overtaking authority against me.”

Having said that, the countess made a slightly tensed face.

She shook her head across.

“Besides, this is the former Duchess’s room. Don’t you know that it’s off-limits?”

“I know, but I’m in charge of Lady Hessenweitz’s education, am I?”

At her words, she was stunned for a moment. Iellie, who narrowed her brow, pointed a sharp shot at Countess Laurent.

“Being in charge of my education doesn’t give you the privilege of looking into the former Duchess’ room.”

“….!”

“Besides, it’s not anyone else, isn’t it the room the Duke loved so much?”

Iellie had a sad face now.

She asked Countess Laurent, pulling her lips together. “Don’t you think it’s too rude for the deceased to open the door recklessly like that?”

“I didn’t mean to…!”

“If you don’t have an excuse to convince me, don’t say it.”

The Countess could feel herself suffocating. Still, Iellie shrugged her shoulders as she sighed in relief.

“Besides, Countess…”

“…Yes.”

“I have doubts about whether the Countess is really qualified to teach others.”

At Iellie’s sincere words, the Countess flinched.

‘No, is that little thing ignoring me now?’

“What are you talking about? I came down here on the orders of the Imperial Family!”

The Countess, who remembered Iellie had done before that, shouted out at her harshly.

She smiled as she folded her eyelashes nicely.

‘Why would I know that?’ To be honest, if that wasn’t for it, she would have thrown the Countess out sooner.

“I know. The Countess was recommended by the Imperial Family.”

“But, why did you say that to me…!”

“Then, let’s go over each one.”

Iellie opened her mouth with a cool voice. The Countess, frozen, flinched her shoulder.

“Isn’t it excessive to interfere with the castle in this way, just because you were recommended by the Royal Family?”

“That, it…”

“I know we’ve already agreed on this issue in the past.”

Iellie tilted her head.

The light green eyes like spring buds filled with contempt.

“I am the one in control of the duchy’s internal affairs, and the Countess is the one who helps me by my side.”

“I’m just here to help Lady Hessenweitz…”

“To help me, did my father-in-law order you to do something that would offend me?”

She asked again. Because of that, the Countess’ eyes widened. Father-in-law. Since when did the relationship between the little girl and the duke become so close that she would bring up such a story? Her head is all over the place.

“Back off.”

“I—Lady Hessenweitz.”

“Before I get really mad, you’ll probably end up backing down either way.”

Iellie squinted her eyes and declared to the Countess. The smile on the tip of her red lips is cold. “Before this got into my father-in-law’s ears.”

“….”

Biting her lip, the Countess turned her body around instead of answering her.

Iellie, who looked at the back, felt a throbbing pain in her chest. It’s the former Duchess’s room, so it’s big. She sighed.

“Mary. I think we should close this room again…”

She had a troubled face. The Duke loved his dead wife very much. She also knew that he took special care of this room.

Fortunately, Mary took the keys out of the pocket in her apron.

“Yes, I got the key earlier.”

“Then, give me the key. I’ll lock the door quickly…”

Iellie, who said that, suddenly stopped in her tracks.

Inside the half-open door, a glimpse of the scenery inside was visible. A lonely-looking studio with various easels and paintings. It smells of dry dust.

“…There are a lot of pictures inside.”

“Yes, the former Duchess was interested in painting.”

“Yes?”

‘Hmmm…’

She narrowed her eyes. Come to think of it, she had hardly ever heard about the Duchess in the Duke’s Castle. Like an old secret, she is hidden behind. Her curiosity made her raise her head slightly.

‘Maybe just a little look.’

Suddenly, she entered her room.

Mary followed behind Iellie’s back with a perplexed look.

‘The former duchess must have had an interest in painting.’

She felt like she was one step closer to Zachary’s mother, who was wrapped in a veil.

If so, will she get to know a little more about her husband, whom she had never known before?
Her heart was beating wildly.

‘To be honest, I’ve been feeling left out all this time.’

It was true that the Duke and Zachary had more to say to her compared to the former days. Regardless, they always keep their mouth shut about the Duchess.

Iellie was frustrated. The feeling of being unable to narrow the minute distance…

‘…If I were Zachary’s real family, I wouldn’t feel that.’

When she suddenly thought of that, she was startled. She suddenly realized where her feelings came from.

‘That’s right, I—I wanted to be part of Zachari’s real family.”

Normally, this curiosity could easily be quenched. Although she is now trying to find out about the ex-Duchess, catering to her stubbornness.

Slowly, she entered the room with a strange feeling.

‘Even if I can’t ask who she really is… I want to see even the traces.’

Zachary’s mother. The Duke’s wife.

She was really curious as to who the ‘beautiful Adelaide’ is, who was wrapped in a veil. Maybe she can just look at it a little bit.

Curiosity triumphed over reason.

In the air of the room where the door had been sealed for a long time, dust shimmered in the light.

“Did the former Duchess own everything in this room?”

“As far as I know, yes.”

Mary nodded her head. Come to think of it, neither Duke Hessenweitz nor Zachary liked this studio very much.

One thing the two had in common was the strangely entangled feelings they had for the former Duchess—

Resentment and affection based on guilt.

She glanced around the room.

“There aren’t many finished paintings…”

Only a couple of small pieces of flowers and still lifes are completed. Although her painting skills were considerable, she did not seem to have the will to complete the painting. As Iellie looked around the room, she found a small croquis book.

“This croquis book…”

She fluttered through the croquis book. In the drawing drawn with a pencil, some employees of the Duke’s castle remain—maids and servants, and even the gardeners.

The only one who wasn’t there.

‘Zachari and the Duke… There is not a single picture.’

No matter how much they are family, the duchess tenaciously excluded the two family members from the pictures. Was there any story?

Seeing how the Duke and Zachary act, there must have been something.

In an uncomfortable feeling, Iellie folded the croquis book again.

Then, Mary said,

“Ah, it is said that a picture of the madam is hanging in the ‘Portrait Room’.”

“Really?”

The ‘Portrait Room’ was a room in which portraits of the people of the duke family were collected. It was also the room where portraits of the couple will be housed when Zachari takes the title.

She gently furrowed her eyebrows.

Although I’ve never been in that room before.”

The reason was that the Duke and Zachary didn’t like Iellie going to the room. Along with this room, it was one of the places that she had not been to while living in the Duke’s Castle for several years.

She’s kept her curiosity dead all this time, but when Mary says that, she would like to see it.

Iellie asked Mary, with her eyes shining. “Did the portraits the former Duchess paints hang there, too?”

“As far as I know, yes.”

“Who’s portrait remains?”

“Perhaps… it’s a painting of the Heir Apparent?”

It’s not a confident tone. Too much that Mary didn’t know too, Iellie peered curiously at Mary.

“Perhaps?”

“That’s… I’ve never been there.”
“Didn’t Mary work here long?”

“Still, the maid chief is in charge of the room…”

Mary curled her words. Iellie had strange feelings.

The maid chief cleans the room herself?

Why…?

No matter how important the room is, the maid chief of such a family won’t do such a job.

“Hmm, I get it, anyway.”

Iellie struggled to fold her curiosity about the portrait room.

She felt like she wanted to visit there too, but she still didn’t want to make the Duke hate her. Isn’t this room a secret as well?

‘Now, because of Countess Laurent, she can say that it is an excuse for being forced to come in.’

However, in the portrait room, the situation was different. She gazed around the room one last time and closed the door with a sad face.

The studio was once again immersed in shady darkness. The scene looked somewhat lonely.

Late that evening, Iellie received a call from the Duke. It was a message telling her to come to his office for a while.

“Iellie.”

“Yes, Your Excellency.”

She quietly nodded her head.

The Duke’s mood looked quite uncomfortable. He said, “Countess Laurent touched my wife’s room.”

“I’m sorry. I’ve warned her, it’ll never happen again.”

It was true that she had even looked into the room herself, so she had a slight expression on her face.

Iellie struggled to smile.

It is said that curiosity kills the cat. Nevertheless, she had no idea that the Duke would come to investigate.

“…No, I didn’t mean to reprimand you.”

The Duke’s sharp expression softened somewhat.

‘Thank God.’

She was glad he wasn’t angry at her. With that thought, Iellie stroked her chest inside.

Tsk. The Duke clicked his tongue and spoke coldly

“Countess Laurent’s arrogance is going too far.”

“It’s my fault.”

“No, that woman who wields the identity as the Royal Family’s spy is presumptuous.”

The Duke casually called Countess Laurent ‘the woman.’ The emotion in those blue eyes that looked just like Zachary’s was close to contempt.

After a while, the Duke turned to her again. He then opens his mouth slowly.

“Rather than that, if you had seen the room, you might be curious about the ‘Portrait Room’.”

“Oh…”

‘Of course, I was curious.’

Iellie swallowed her thoughts. Meanwhile, the Duke’s eyes stared at the girl in front of him quietly.

“You must be curious.”

“To be honest, yes.”

“I see…”

The Duke nodded his head slightly.

Quiet eyes whose thoughts can’t be understood slowly went out the window.

“I plan to show you the ‘Portrait Room’ soon.”

“Is that true…?”