The Monstrous Grand Duke's Fake Lady

The wagon, which came to an abrupt stop in front of the inn for delivery, left a mountain of huge items right in front of the yard before disappearing without a trace. She had ordered the necessary items for the inn from the merchant earlier, but since she wasn’t aware that they would arrive today, Vivian wore a troubled expression on her face.

“How should I move these?”

It was definitely not aesthetically pleasing for the eyes to keep in the yard until Ez returned. However, if she were to move them one by one, a part of her body might get dislocated—no doubt.

Vivian heaved a deep sigh. Other than the fact that she could move them herself, no other particular ideas had popped into her mind.

She began to move them, starting with the small items, slowly into the inn.

The first few were quite fine, but the more she repeatedly walked in and out of the door, the harder it got. In addition, the sizes had also gotten bigger, making her feet tremble in response and it wasn’t just once or twice.

Nevertheless, Vivian still didn’t cease moving the items.

Although this place had been visited only by a few guests, she always welcomed them in the perfect condition ever. Her wish for her guests to be accommodated comfortably during their stay at the inn, even if it was only a little, had pushed her to overwork herself quite a bit.

“Ah!”

Her body began to sway as she strained her already trembling legs. Her body, which was staggering without having even the time to organize the items further, started plummeting down towards the ground. Vivian’s eyes were shut tightly in preparation for the cold ground that would welcome her soon.

But even though it had been quite a while, she never sank to the floor. When she opened her eyes in wonder, she noticed that someone was supporting her.

“Ah, thank……”

Vivian suddenly stopped speaking. The one who had caught her was none other than the man cladded in that black robe. He didn’t say anything and right away straightened her back again.

“Th-thank you.”

She relayed her thank you a tempo late, but the enrobed person was just nodding his head. Then, he picked up one of the items that were piled up in the yard.

“Ah, sir! You don’t have to help me yourself!”

Despite her shout, the man kept on lifting the luggaged before transferring them to the warehouse. Just as though she was embarrassed, she grabbed hold of him and stopped him, but the man had been stubborn as well.

Eventually, owing to the guest himself, Vivian had been able to move the items with ease, thus making her bow to the man in earnest.

“Thank you. It is because of you that I managed to move all of the items.”

“No, I’m……”

Surprised by Vivian’s act of bowing, he quickly shook his head.

“…not someone you should be treating respectfully.”

After saying that, the man hesitated for a moment before running away in haste.

What was that? Vivian tilted her head at the unbecoming response. In addition, the fact that his voice could be heard somewhat soggy—unlike before—was suspicious as well.

Nevertheless, the man in that robe still returned by dinner time without fail and took a seat while Vivian was all busy preparing the dishes. The man unfailingly emptied the plate before leaving and Vivian eventually forgot about that particular day’s conversation.

Then, a thing had transpired a few days after that.

As always, the weather had been very bright and the child was smiling cheerfully towards the sunshine. Vivian gazed lovingly at the child who was already clenching her fist, as if she was trying to grab a hold of the sunlight.

“Ma’am! The customer is calling!”

“Ah, okay!”

Ez’s shout that came from below had caught onto Vivian, who was still looking at her child. Vivian was about to draw the curtains close as usual, but then she stopped. She wondered if it would be fine to leave it just like that since her child was quite fond of the sun.

“Ashley, you should play quietly again today, okay?”

“Mwaa—”

Looking at her child, who was smiling while looking at her, Vivian chuckled. She caressed her child’s soft cheeks before closing the door and straight away went downstairs.

But the situation had a 180 degree turn when Vivian came in to check on her child before she started on preparing dinner. Her child was drenched in sweat and kept on crying profusely.

When Vivian eventually realized that she didn’t hear it clearly due to the fact that her child had been squirming in a small voice, she immediately turned pale and began hugging her child. As if she finally noticed her mother, the child gazed at her mother with such puffy eyes while sobbing even sadder.

“What’s wrong? What happened, my baby?”

Vivian soothed her child with a voice that was very close to tears. However, her child’s condition still didn’t get any better. When her child had ultimately vomited herself, Vivian embraced her child and proceeded downstairs with an ashen face.

“Ez! Please watch over the inn for a moment!”

“Pardon? Where are you going, ma’am?”

“To the doctor!”

When he saw that Vivian was already infused with tears, Ez could immediately sense that there might be something wrong with Ashley. However, as soon as he recalled the news he had heard earlier today, he put on a troubled expression.