The Duke's Unwanted Wife

Natalia's Gift

The next person to present their gift was Adelie. She came as a representative of the Temple of Ducroft, presenting a holy artifact escavated from the ruins of the very first temple of Ducroft. The Queen was pleased with the gift but the people of high nobility knew she wouldn’t keep the gift. It had to be returned to the temple because it was a holy artifact. Presenting it was a symbol of the good relationship between the royals and the temple.

After a while, Alana came to present her gift. She was surprisingly escorted by Lord Orland which focused the attention of everyone on her. Lord Orland was another unmarried high noble who was overshadowed by Sebastian. Not only was he handsome, he was related to the future crown princess. It made no sense for him to be escorted by the irrelevant third princess but it was happening right before their eyes.

The only one amused by this was Natalia. In her past life, this never happened. Rather, the one who escorted the third princess to give her gift was the Grand Duke. At that time, her reputation as the flower of the capital was already diminishing so it just worsened the injury.

The jewelry set was just another indicator that things were different. Although Natalia had the nagging suspicion that she wasn’t the only one that returned to the past, it was almost impossible to prove. So, she chose to observe. She had changed quite a lot of things since starting this new life so it was inevitable that things would go as planned.

The jewlery set was enough to earn the favor of the Queen but it was enough to put the third princess in new light especially with Lord Orland by her side. He was a strong contender for the hands of the second princess so it was safe to say that none of the royal children were pleased at their union.

“Lord Orland, this is quite surprising” the queen commented as he gave his gift. He smiled, taking Alana’s arm back in his.

“I cannot be as bold as to say I want to court her highness but I want to escort her for the duration of the celebration”

In his words, he had more than basic interest in Princess Alana. The ladies who were aiming for Lord Orland were incensed by this. As for the man who was still deeply in love with the third princess, he looked like he wanted to snap the neck of the young lord. He was most likely to transfer the aggression later but Natalia was still very much amused by this. She could always find an excuse to leave his side.

It was finally their turn to gift the Queen something. After the Grand Duke presented his gift, Natalia smiled and waited as the cage was carried in by a bunch of knights she had requested from Sebastian. It caught everyone’s attention as they walked in with it, dropping it in front of the queen. Natalia gave a knight a look and they removed the tarp on the cage. The face of the cub was exposed to the dozens of nobles there.

“Natalia, your gift is quite…..unique”

“I thought it would suit your majesty best. I hear you’re quite lonely in your palace so I thought having a pet would be good for you. They make good companions and can be trained to protect you. This breed is quite strong but very poisonous in their adult stages. However, the poison comes from the herbs and animals they eat in the forest of damnation. And my last reason is, it’s quite cute, no?”

“I….cannot deny that”

The Queen had been gifted quite a few animals but they had all been forgotten, becoming one with nature that surrounded the palace. No one could tell Natalia’s intention in giving the gift she had given but the beast was quite cute. It was small with huge eyes that nvoked a sense of pity. Rather than attack right away, it curled up in the cage, looking around curiously.

“You can try living with it for a few weeks. Feed it yourself, pet it and try to befriend it. If it still doesn’t suit your majesty, I would send you a much better gift. How does that sound, your majesty?”

It was strange. The Grand duchess wasn’t such a carefree person. She wasn’t someone who would do things that were out of the ordinary at somewhere like the Queen’s gift giving banquet. But without the nobles there realizing, the issue of the two lords bringing unexpected escorts had been forgotten and would only be remembered at a latter date. The gift of the Grand Duchess would become a subject for discussion for a long time.

The Queen suddenly burst into laghter. It was the carefree type, drawing tears at the corner of her eyes. Natalia smiled confidently, surprising Countess Quartz who stood at the far edge of the banquet hall. Nobody could tell what was going on, only that the Queen had accepted the gift. They soon left the line, another noble couple coming up to give their gifts to the Queen.

“Your grace, that was quite an unexpected gift” the ladies all commented, rushing to her as soon as she was a distance away from the Queen. Because the Grand Duke hadn’t let her go, they kept their distance, speaking more cautiously because he was there.

“The southwest is quite famous its wildlife because of the forest of damnation. I thought it might interest the Queen to see something rare and different. Even knights find it hard to catch the Hallmand wolf, right, your grace?” she turned to him. Although his expression was cold enough to freeze hell, he answered.

“Yes, you’re quite right. They’re rare to sight and rare to kill”

“To think you’d gift something so precious to her majesty” the ladies gushed. To them, it looked like the two had a unique but close relationship. It was quite twisted in their minds but Natalia didn’t mind. If they gossiped about their ‘close relationship’ then they can pull off acting like a couple.

The ladies wanted to continue chatting with Natalia but the Duke’s expression was more than enough to drive them away. Natalia was suprised that he refused to leave her side. It made it difficult for her to approach Sebastian to tease him about his decision. Everyone else also found it difficult to approach the Grand Duchess. However, there was one person shameless enough.

“This has been one of the most interesting gift giving banquets I’ve witnessed in my lifetime and it would be thanks to your grace”

“I would take it that your highness was also impressed by my gift, no?”

“Yes, it was…..impressive” Willam mused.

“I’m glad then. It’s hard to find gifts that can impress the royal family”

“Yet you have outdone yourself year in, year out. It makes everyone’s gift pale in comparison, even mine”

“Your highness is flattering me. I’m surre her majesty appreciates your gift more than she does mine. You are her son after all”

“One would think that is true because it’s logical but my mother favors you. You should come to the palace to see her often. It’s true that she gets lonely”

“That would depend on the Grand Duke. As a wife, I am subject to my husband’s authority so I can’t leave when I want to”

“I’m sure the Grand Duke won’t oppose to you visiting the Queen. Right, your grace?”

“........of course not”

The couple, who for many reasons do not get along, only had one thought in mind; to get rid of the meddlesome crown prince. Soon enough, their excuse walked up to them.

“You look lovely tonight as well, Natalia”

“Did you make sure to compliment her highness that way, Sebastian?”

“I told her highness she looked as radiant as a rose in spring”

“I had no idea Lord Sebastian was a romantic” William commented.

“If your sister promised to make your life hell, you could even become a god”

“I made no such promise. I just said there would be severe consequences”

“What’s the difference?!”

“The difference is that you think I’m going to do something to you. As a lady, I shall do no such thing. I just implied that something would happen to you”

“That, in itself, is frightening!”

The two men watched as the siblings bickered back and forth. Even if they thought the relationship between the two was fake, they could no longer imagine it was anymore. It was evident that the two cared for each other more than they had cared for anyone in their lives.

The musicians started playing the waltz and before anyone could take his wife off for a dance, The Grand Duke dragged her to the dance floor. Even though he pulled her into a waltz, she matched his pace and they began dancing.

“I hope you do not wish to interfere with my plans by getting your brother to marry the Princess of Polivia”

“Nothing like that, your grace. If my brother is married to a foreign princess, it means he is choosing to remove himself from the politics of the kingdom so it’s nothing for your grace to be concerned about”

“Then are you responsible for setting Lord Orland up with her highness?”

“I am not as bold to interfere with the lives of the members of the royal family so I have nothing to do with it. It is up to your grace whether to believe me or not. I was just as shocked as you were”

It didn’t look like she believed him but Natalia wasn’t exactly lying. Now that her brother had chosen someone, it was time to move on with her plans.