“Let me make one thing clear—this marriage was not my father’s idea.”
“Then His Grace does not desire this marriage?”
This was going to be troublesome. Her father had conveniently omitted such details.
“After losing my mother, my father has been wasting away, losing his will to live. His grief has taken a toll on his health, and he has been given little time left. I merely wished for him to spend his remaining days in peace. That is why I sought you out through Baron Rosenblatt.”
“So His Grace does not actually wish for me to be here?”
Of all the men she had married, this seemed to be the most difficult situation yet.
However, if the duke himself did not desire this marriage, there was no guarantee that she would achieve the same outcome as before.
This might be the most difficult bedside vigil yet.
“Also, given the status of the ducal family, you cannot be treated as the primary wife. Officially registering the marriage in our family records would be too complicated. Therefore, you will hold the position of an unofficial wife. That is acceptable, yes?”
Cornelia had never heard this before, but it seemed her father had already agreed on her behalf.
Nothing surprised her anymore.
“I understand.”
“I know this is an unreasonable request for someone as young as you. That’s why, regardless of the outcome, I will not blame you. Just do what you can.”
“Understood. I will do my best.”
Cornelia answered as if she were accepting a routine task.
There was likely no other woman in the world who had begun a marriage with such a purely businesslike exchange.
(This is my fate—an endless cycle of marriages.)
She no longer had tears left to shed.
The only thing she could do was accept her destiny and ease the final days of another grieving, dying man.
“By the way… you did not bring a lady’s maid with you?”
Iris seemed surprised that she had arrived alone.
Apparently, noblewomen marrying into a ducal family were expected to bring their own attendants.
“I was not born into as high a status as Duke Spencer.”
She was nothing more than the impoverished daughter of a baron drowning in debt. She had no personal maid to bring with her.
Cornelia glanced at Iris, wondering if he had made the remark to mock her lower birth.
Noticing her expression, he hurriedly clarified,
“N-No, I didn’t mean it that way. I simply thought it would be inconvenient for you. In that case, I will assign you two personal maids. You may rely on them for your daily needs.”
“…”
Cornelia was caught off guard.
None of her previous husbands’ households had shown her such consideration.
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