Bab 4: Is it Normal for the Archduke to Have a Woman?

The archduke smiled, but it was a smile that seemed to be a sentence worse than death. Miel grumbled without uttering a word, but he threw Artie back on the couch. However, he stood closer to her in case she would want to grab the archduke again.

Artie Shen breathed loudly from fright. It felt like she was beginning to see the difficulty of this mission. Why was her first task set to be five-star? Couldn't she be out there killing rats and rabbits for beginners? She didn't even know how much power she had.

She could only make use of her only skill for now… which didn't seem to be working on Lord Ellis.

"Your Grace, with all due respect, this angel could be a spy. Coming down here to respond to the prayers of the people? Why would anyone believe a lie like that?" Miel started convincing the archduke to throw her away instead. "Moreover… if the prince sees her..."

"Let me deal with that prince on my own. I have decided to keep her around." Lord Ellis just continued to sip on his wine. "Miel, bring her to someone who could clean and dress her. I'm expecting to see her properly clothed later at dinner. Move along.

"Commander, let's discuss what happened in the king's palace." Lord Ellis started a conversation with the marshal, and Miel knew he had no more chances of making him change his mind. For now, he could only convince himself that Artie would become a target practice stand.

He then turned to Artie. "Come. I don't have all day."

Artie Shen got up and fastened her hold on the carpet. She walked slowly behind Miel, but she was moving so slow. Her legs couldn't really bear the pain—not to mention that she was hurled to the couch earlier as well.

Miel only stared at her before deciding to carry her the same way Lord Ellis did earlier. Even if he didn't want to do so, he had to make sure she would be presentable if the archduke decided to dine with her at his table. Anything unsightly from thereon would be on Miel.

A hesitant grunt came from Artie as she was being carried like a princess again. She then eyed Miel who had a very sharp gaze. His face was actually very palatable, but Artie Shen wasn't into younger men. She could only stare at him and study his features, only to notice something.

"...Seneschal, are you the archduke's son? You look very much like him."

"I do?" Miel changed his expression as if he was torn between being happy about the compliment or shocked that he was compared to the archduke. He then realized he was looking at Artie, and so he turned away and regained his cold composure.

"No, I'm not the archduke's child. I was just accepted into his family when he found me in the capital. Don't say that again. I'm not willing to reveal weaknesses to the enemy." Miel took another glance at her and sighed. "Why does he have to show interest in an angel? Will you please listen to me?"

Now that Miel was speaking in a mellower tone, Artie Shen smiled at him and nodded. He didn't react all that much, aside from a few seconds of looking at her face. "You probably have the wrong castle to come to. You see, this is Kingdom Achlys, one of the seventeen devildoms in Galacia."

Artie's eyes widened. 'Devildom?'

He heard no reaction from Artie so Miel continued, "Galacia had been dominated by demons for a very long time. When the other races arrived, they continued waging wars against the angels and the demons to gain territories. In the end, they only snatched the ones from the angels.

"It's been said that angels had abandoned Galacia." He glanced at Artie's horrified expression. "Sending you down here was nothing close to glory. Angels had been abhorred by both demons and humans. If anything, we're supposed to kill you upon sight. You're lucky Lord Ellis spared you."

"A-Any reason why Lord Ellis would… actually let me live?" Artie gulped the lump in her throat. It was a good thing that she wasn't impulsive and arrogant as to tell everyone in the chamber earlier that she was an angel. She could have been killed without mercy.

"None that I could think of." Miel only hummed before reaching the baths. "We've arrived in the baths. I need you to behave yourself. I can only make you stand in as Lord Ellis's miraculous woman for now. If you show your wings to anyone, I will skin you myself."

Artie only nodded before she was let down. Miel opened the door and asked her to stay inside as he waited for a maid to come and help. He left Artie in the company of three maids as he moved around to arrange for her clothes.

The maids were all quiet as they bathed Artie and made sure that she was clean for the archduke to 'consume'. The angel could only cry inwardly at the notion of being served as a concubine to the archduke. If this was just an otome game, perhaps Artie Shen would have felt fine.

…

Artie Shen's eyes blinked as she watched Miel prepare her for today's dinner. As much as Artie remembered, on the basis of these kinds of games—medieval Europe, dinner was meant to be 'lunch' while supper was the 'dinner' she knew.

Then again, it was still a time when the highest members of the castle would be dining altogether. That was why she must have a very presentable image. That was also why Miel was painstakingly making sure that everything about her wouldn't embarrass the archduke.

From the gown she wore to the style of her hair, Miel seemed to be so used to handling women. It was making Artie wonder if the archduke had a lot of women before. To her, there was no way Miel and the archduke weren't related by blood. They had the same eyes and the same expressions...

"You better be very behaved, Artie Shen. No sudden yelling at the archduke's face, no sudden loud reactions to the other nobles." Miel sighed as he finished combing her hair into a classy bun with a braid around it. "Please don't embarrass the archduke."

"Erm, is it normal for the archduke to have a woman?" Artie asked in an innocent tone. "I just thought maybe I should be ready to be compared or questioned by the others."

Miel stopped his hands midair and ended up staring at the vanity in the guest room where Artie was. He then cleared his throat. "No, he's not into having a lot of women. All his children had the same mother. They were all just… separated from him, from their mother, and from their very heritage."

Artie frowned, but before she could ask, Miel turned his back on her and walked to the door. "You should move along now. Don't make me skin you."

She only smiled. "Don't worry, it's not my first awkward family dinner."

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