The Survival Strategy of the Contract Duchess - Chapter 53

The Duke’s mansion was quiet as usual. Sasha was sitting beyond the boxwood hedge in the backyard with her eyes closed, and Kyler was lying stretched out on the sofa in his room.

Both of them were resting in the sunlight with their eyes shut.

“Why have they been sitting apart like that since yesterday?”

The maids, gathered near the back door, whispered to each other with worried faces.

When looked at individually, there was nothing unusual about either of them. But the real issue was that this had never happened before when both of them were in the house at the same time.

Whenever Kyler returned to the mansion, he would spend nearly every moment by Sasha’s side. This was likely the first time they had been apart for an entire day.

“You girls.”

“Eek!”

“L-Lady Rose!”

The maids, who had been talking while looking toward the hedge, jumped in surprise when Rose appeared. She hadn’t come to scold them, but they were so startled that Rose stood quietly, waiting for them to calm down. Sarah, who was the first to settle, gave a small bow.

“Is Lady Sasha over there?”

“Yes. I checked a little while ago, and it seemed like she was taking a nap.”

Rose nodded slightly, looked up at the sky, and then narrowed her eyes to glance past the hedge. She turned to Connie.

“The sun is quite strong. Wake Lady Sasha and ask her to come inside. If she insists on staying out there, set up some shade for her.”

“Oh, yes, of course!”

Before Rose had even finished speaking, Connie rushed off toward the hedge. When Rose looked back, the remaining three maids were watching her.

“We were worried about them being apart like this,” Sarah said carefully, reacting to the look in Rose’s eyes.

Rose had been concerned too. She had just checked in on Kyler and was now heading to see how Sasha was doing.

Sasha had been so full of energy earlier, heading to the library with purpose. Now, seeing her asleep under the strong sun seemed strange.

“Alright. If Connie needs help putting up the shade, go assist her.”

“Yes, understood.”

As Rose turned to leave, the girls held back the words they wanted to say. They understood there were things they could involve themselves in and things they could not.

They waited quietly, hoping that Connie would return soon with Sasha awake and walking beside her.

Rose headed to the dining hall to check on the preparations for dinner. Both Kyler and Sasha had skipped breakfast. For lunch, they each asked for a light meal to be brought to them where they were.

“Make sure everything is ready for dinner. I want both of them to come and eat at the table tonight.”

“Don’t worry. I can sense the mood too. I even roasted a whole pig. Just make sure they know, alright?”

The head chef grinned. Rose responded with a small smile and left the kitchen, acknowledging his effort.

After the banquet, the two of them had seemed fine. But at some point, they let go of each other’s hand, and things had grown awkward between them.

Sasha, who had recently spent her days in the library, was now back in her seat by the fountain beyond the hedge. Even Kyler, who usually spent his time working in the study, was now lying in his room on the long sofa.

It was clear something had happened between them. Rose didn’t know what it was, and that uncertainty made her feel uneasy.

She knocked.

There was no answer, just as she expected. She opened the door, walked inside, and stepped past the sofa. Kyler was still sitting there in the same position.

“Your Grace.”

Her calm voice filled the quiet room. But he did not respond. He sat there like a still painting. He looked striking as always, but Rose let out a soft sigh.

“Did something happen with Lady Sasha?”

At the sound of Sasha’s name, Kyler’s eyes moved. That confirmed it. Something was indeed wrong between them. Rose had come because she could no longer guess what had happened and wanted to ask directly.

“Your Grace, even Lady Sasha is not going to the library anymore. She is sitting by the fountain beyond the hedge, where she usually goes when she feels unsettled.”

She gave him a gentle report of Sasha’s condition. After hearing it, Kyler closed his eyes slowly. Then, with surprising agility for someone who had looked so lifeless, he sat up.

“Ah…”

The moment he sat up, he grabbed his head with both hands and let out a groan of pain. Rose, who knew exactly what kind of pain he was experiencing, only furrowed her brow. She didn’t ask if he was alright.

She had seen too much of his suffering over the years to offer him empty words. She had learned long ago that asking if he was alright would do nothing for him.

When there was nothing else, she could do, simply being there was the best support she could offer.

“Was Sasha upset?”

“Yes. Could you please tell me what happened between you two?”

Rose had known Kyler’s nature since they were young. Although he wasn’t good at expressing affection and often came across as cold, he naturally became gentle and caring toward those he considered his own.

He wasn’t particularly expressive, but he regarded Rose and Pavan almost like family, and he even showed occasional kindness to the chatty maids.

That was why Rose didn’t believe this awkward distance between him and Sasha was anyone’s fault.

“Well, about yesterday,” Kyler said slowly, letting out a deep sigh after the noise in his head seemed to settle.

He explained how he had tried to stop Sasha from going to the banquet, how she had brought up the same topic in front of the Emperor the next day, and how she had negotiated so that he didn’t have to attend if he didn’t want to. She had even arranged things so his participation would depend on his condition.

“She’s very bold,” Rose said quietly.

Even with a kind smile, Emperor Lydian had eyes that carried a terrifying sharpness. Rose had met him once when he visited the Duke’s estate, and from just a brief encounter, she could tell he was someone with a dangerous nature.

For Sasha to stand before such an Emperor and speak on her husband’s behalf, even though Kyler was a duke, was almost unimaginable.

Kyler nodded at Rose’s reaction.

“After the banquet, I returned and went straight to my desk. I had urgent tasks to finish. I planned to take care of them quickly and spend time with her afterward.”

His voice trailed off, something rare for him. Rose could sense that he was unsure of what to do.

“What did Lady Sasha say?” she asked.

“She told me to rest. Over and over. Then she said she was sorry for pushing her opinion too much and left the office.”

There were clearly parts he left out, but Rose could more or less understand what had happened.

“Your Grace, are you upset with her?”

She asked the question gently. When it came to work, she knew how to read his limits, but in moments like this, there were no such restrictions. Kyler paused, thinking deeply, then turned his head and looked up at her.

“I’m not upset with her. I just wanted to finish my work quickly. But I think it must have been hard for her to see me like that, so I let go of her hand and allowed her to do what she wanted.”

He wasn’t usually the type to fumble his words, but when it came to Sasha, something always felt off, like something was missing.

“Rose, can you tell me why she is upset?”

This was the real issue. Understanding her feelings would help him know whether Sasha was angry, hurt, or simply sad. But because he didn’t know, both of them were stuck in this silent tension.

Rose parted her lips, offering a gentle, warm smile. She rarely hesitated before speaking, but this time she wanted to choose her words carefully.

“Your Grace, Lady Sasha was worried about you.”

“I know that. Still, I had made a promise to get my work done. I planned to finish quickly so I could spend time with her afterward.”

Her concern was touching, but the problem was something else.

“Did you tell her that? Did you explain that you had promised yourself to finish certain things, and after that, you intended to rest just as she wished?”

At Rose’s words, the frustration in Kyler’s eyes softened. He slowly exhaled and nodded as if finally understanding what she was asking.

“That promise was something you made to yourself. Maybe Sasha didn’t know about it.”

“I see.”

“Then after you returned from the Imperial Palace and she had asked you to rest even in front of the Emperor, what do you think she felt when she saw you working instead?”

Kyler thought about it seriously.

“She must have felt hurt.”

He didn’t understand everything, but he wasn’t foolish. When he finally gave the right answer with a quiet nod, Rose smiled.

“I believe that if you had come straight to the bedroom and rested, even just for a short while, she would have been incredibly happy. She truly treasured having you at home. Even a few days apart made her feel very lonely.”

Kyler listened more seriously than ever. One of his strengths was that he could take advice from anyone, even a maid, when it mattered.

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