My Sister Took My Fiancé and Now I’m Forced to Marry the Ugly Duke

Calling Him Husband

“Until now, the young lady has been financing it for us, but she has already left this place.”

The Duke of Serravalle grew increasingly pale. He had no idea that his daughter even paid the wages of the servants.

“……T-then, for the time being, go ahead and borrow it from somewhere else. If you tell them that we’re from the royal family, they will lend you as much as they can.”

“Yes, sir.”

The duke was relieved when the butler backed down.

‘Yes, even if we’ve weakened on the inside, we’re still associated with the royal family. No matter how much we put on the tab, the common people would be happy to pay as much as they could.’

With this thought in mind, the duke was slowly remembering the distant past.

The previous Duke of Serravalle – his father – had been a playboy. To make up for the huge debt he had incurred, his son had been forced to marry Lucrezia’s mother, the daughter of a wealthy family.

The Duke of Serravalle knew that he had been able to do without bothering with complicated money calculations so far because of his father and because Lucrezia was doing well after his father’s death.

However, he had no idea that Lucrezia was even responsible for the employment costs of the servants.

‘Where did she get that kind of money?’

The Duke of Serravalle couldn’t stop his hatred.

‘What a creepy girl.’

After all, the blood of an unknown commoner should never have been allowed into the duke’s family.

He hated his ex-wife’s bloodline with all his heart. When he was ordered to marry her, he felt nauseous.

Why should he, a royal, marry the daughter of a banker who was a banker only two generations ago? Blue blood only became the real deal after three generations. In his opinion, his wife was as good as a commoner, even though she was the daughter of a marquis.

But it was also true that her dowry had brought the Duchy of Serravalle back on its feet. He was grateful only for that, but when she died of puerperal fever, he remembered thinking that she had deserved her share of punishment, a divine punishment. It was an outrageous arrogance for a commoner to try to mix with the royal bloodline.

He thought it was too presumptuous for Lucrezia to even call herself the daughter of the Duke of Serravalle, so he abandoned the newborn baby in the mountains.

It is customary in this country to give children to nannies as soon as they are born, rather than raising them with one’s own hands. And a percentage of the children entrusted to nannies die. It is difficult for infants to grow up safely.

The Duke of Serravalle was convinced that he had gotten rid of the nuisance, but eight years later, just as he was about to report to his late wife, the Marquise, when the time was right, that the child had died, it happened.

Lucrezia had suddenly returned.

Even if he wanted to claim that she was a fake, she looked just like her mother, with the same silver hair and golden eyes as the Duke of Serravalle, anyone would have thought they were related.

‘But why? I’m sure I left her on the mountain at that time. No one had seen me. There’s absolutely no way that they could have known about her connection with me….’

Thus, the Duke of Serravalle was forced to raise a creepy little girl.

“How long are you going to bother me? Quickly get out of my life…..!”

He said to himself, clutching his head. His eyes were filled with a hatred that he could not hide.

***

After withdrawing cash from the bank, Lucrezia immediately decided to buy some clothes. No matter how kind her husband was, a single piece of clothing is still a disgrace.

“I wonder what kind of clothes my husband likes.”

When Lucrezia asked the old butler while he was instructing the tailor on how to design the clothes, he smiled at her.

“Whatever you wear, I am sure Master will be pleased as long as Lucrezia-sama wears something that puts a smile on your face.”

“Well, I’m glad to hear that. But I am not particular about my clothes. If I make them according to my taste, they might be too plain.”

Lucrezia was concerned about how this would be seen by Ramilio.

‘I wonder if my husband dislikes plain women? Would he still be willing to consider an engagement if I wore something I liked?’

“I am a little reluctant to do so, because it goes against the teachings of poverty, but I’m willing to dress up if it suits my husband’s taste.”

“That is a very lovely thought. Please speak directly to Master about what you just said. I am sure he will be more than pleased with any piece of clothing.”

“D-do you think so?”

Lucrezia was embarrassed and wondered if she could ask such a bold question.

“I am sure that Master is probably relaxing in his office at the moment. Please visit him.”

At the butler’s suggestion, Lucrezia took the tailor downstairs.

Ramilio was sitting at his desk in his office, idly looking at something. He must have been taking a break, because there was a tea set on the table next to him.

“Husband―”

When Lucrezia called out to Ramilio, he turned around in an instant.

“H-husband?! Eh―m-me?”

“’Since we’re going to get married, you will be my husband…..”

“Y-you’re going to call me husband?!”

While she wondered if it was such a surprise, Ramilio put down the papers in his hand with a somewhat jerky motion.

“N-no, it’s okay if you don’t mind, but…… w-what do you want?”

Lucrezia repeated the question she asked the butler earlier.

“I was wondering if my husband could tell me what his preference in clothes is. My taste might be a little too plain, so I thought I would tailor it in the image that my husband likes.”

“P-preference?! I don’t have a preference! N-no―y-you―as long you wear anything, it’s fine…. Yes, you should wear whatever you like!”

Ramilio looked very flustered.

“I think the clothes you’re wearing are quite nice, too. They’re refreshing, and the quality of the material really stands out…… though I don’t think that’s the right way to put it. Well, I think you look good in anything.”

“I’m glad to hear that. I, too, like this kind of simple things. We seem to get along so well, having the same tastes.”

“O-oh…… I guess so. Hahaha…….”

The unexpectedly warm response made Lucrezia completely happy and she returned to her room.

“Well then, I would like the dress to be grey and brown, please. Please keep the colors as muted as possible, with no frills or lace, and omit the bulge of the large skirt as much as possible…..”

Just as Lucrezia began to give instructions to the tailor, someone knocked on the room.

The visitor was a young man who was standing beside Ramilio. He was probably someone who has a close relationship with him.

“Excuse me, Madam. I just wanted to leave a message.”

Lucrezia’s cheeks flushed when she was called “Madam”.

‘It’s kind of embarrassing when people say that.’

“How can I help you?”

“I’m here because I thought I might be able to give you some detailed advice on your husband’s preferences.”

“Well, I see you two are on good terms?”

The aide nodded, “Yes”.

“We have known each other since we were children, so I know everything about him.”

Lucrezia leaned forward a little.

“……Would you be willing to tell me about it?”