⟡Prologue⟡
The Melancholy of the Grand Duchess of Apherhis
[Adjective] A term used to describe a being so adorable and beautiful that merely looking at them is dazzling, the most lovable existence in the world.
[Noun form] Anneliese
By imperial decree, a new word has been registered as above. Let it be widely announced.
※ Notice ※
If this term is used with derogatory or mocking intent, contrary to its dictionary meaning, summary punishment will be carried out immediately. Regional elders are advised to supervise their residents carefully.
“…What on earth is this?”
Silence.
Anneliese stared intently at the paper in her hands, as if trying to burn a hole through it.
Even seeing it with her own eyes, she couldn’t believe it.
“…You’re saying this is the official proclamation that was announced across the entire Grand Duchy today?”
“Yes.”
The blond, handsome man standing beside her answered, his silver eyes glinting.
He was Sir Isaiah, the Grand Duke’s right-hand man and Anneliese’s personal guard.
Still clinging to a shred of hope, Anneliese asked again.
Her hand gripping the paper trembled with embarrassment.
“It would be difficult to retract it, wouldn’t it?”
“That would be correct. How do you feel about it?”
“How do you think I feel?”
“I thought you might be pleased.”
“Are you kidding me? Who would like something like this?!”
At her outburst, Isaiah raised both hands to shoulder height.
His posture resembled that of a trainer calming an enraged beast, which only made her more irritated.
“Please calm down. Excessive anger shortens one’s lifespan.”
“…Sigh. Where is His Grace right now?”
“He said he would personally go out with a greatsword to ensure the contents are being properly enforced.”
“Ha!”
Of course he did.
Anneliese collapsed into her chair.
The Grand Duke’s actions were exactly as she had expected. A sigh escaped her lips.
After she sat in silence for a while, the attendants waiting nearby began murmuring among themselves.
They were all personal servants assigned to her by the Grand Duke after she had coughed once during a seasonal change.
Their mission was to ensure that the Grand Duchess lived safely beyond the empire’s average lifespan of eighty.
To an excessive degree.
“Madam, are you alright? Shall we bring more dessert?”
“Should we call a healer?”
Listening to their worried voices, Anneliese squeezed her eyes shut.
When would they ever realize it?
That she was not a newborn baby barely three days old, but a perfectly healthy adult woman.
‘Then again, even if I told them, they probably wouldn’t understand.’
Shaking her head weakly, she dismissed the murmuring attendants.
“I just want to be alone. Please step outside for a moment. I’ll call you again.”
In the now-quiet room, Anneliese let out a deep sigh.
A handsome husband, wealth so vast she could never spend it in a lifetime, power that even the emperor could not meddle with.
And the honorable title of Grand Duchess.
On top of that, loyal servants willing to die at her command.
A flawless life with nothing lacking, one might say.
But even the very person at the center of that perfect life—Anneliese von Apherhis, Grand Duchess—had her worries.
‘My husband is an insane, over-the-top simp, and it’s overwhelming!’
—Even if she said that, no one would believe her.
Every time she heard rumors that she ruled over her doting husband, anger welled up inside her.
‘I never once told him to create an adjective based on my name.’
She had never asked to have her beauty praised, nor had she ever forced him to glorify her appearance.
She had truly done nothing at all.
‘Come to think of it… those famous beauties in history who supposedly brought down nations—maybe they never intended that either.’
Maybe all they ever did was simply exist.
And then the people around them went mad, offering them kingdoms or making them empresses, only to self-destruct in the process.
Lately, that thought had been growing stronger.
Anyone would think the same if they had a husband who went crazy, calling them adorable and lovable just for breathing.
“Are you alright, my lady?”
Sir Isaiah maintained his ever-present smile.
Anneliese looked at his smooth, infuriatingly cheerful face with dull eyes.
What was he always so happy about?
She felt like her head would explode from a once-in-a-lifetime dilemma.
“Isaiah.”
Sadly, he was the only one in this mansion she could somewhat communicate with.
“Yes, my lady.”
“Be honest with me.”
“What are you going to ask this time?”
Isaiah’s eyes sparkled with interest.
“Am I really that pretty?”
Anneliese’s face was more serious than ever.
“…Pardon?”
Isaiah blinked.
“Like, do you feel like you’re going to lose your mind just looking at me? Am I so beautiful from head to toe that there’s not a single flaw, and just being near me makes you intoxicated by my scent?”
The knight who always wore an irritating grin fell noticeably silent.
“…Hmm.”
Whether he answered or not, Anneliese poured out the complaints she had been holding back.
“Do you feel like granting all my wishes? Like you wouldn’t even feel embarrassed saying cheesy things? Are all people from your side like that?”
“Well, I wouldn’t say it’s common.”
“Right? It’s not, is it?”
Bang!
Anneliese slammed her fist onto the desk.
A glass vase at the edge lost its balance and fell.
“Then why on earth is your master like that with me?!”
“Hmm.”
“Is this some kind of joke? Are you trying to drive me insane and then sacrifice me or something? Did he invent some new ritual?!”
Isaiah smoothly caught the falling vase as if it were nothing.
His silver eyes curved gently.
“No, my lady. Though I may be presumptuous in saying this…”
He paused briefly, smiling as if he found this all amusing.
“My lord believes there is no creation in this world more beautiful than you.”
It was an answer that made a sigh escape her lips.
“…Haa…”
Isaiah added,
“He truly means it.”
She pressed a hand to her forehead.
That’s exactly the problem!
“Do something about it. He’s your master.”
“My lord believes you are the most adorable and lovable being in the world, and that belief has nothing to do with me—even if he imposes it on everyone else.”
Even so, this was too much. Even favoritism should have its limits.
‘Why is he acting like this… when he doesn’t even love me?’
Anneliese swallowed her words.
“Sir… you know under what conditions I married him.”
“Ah, that ‘condition’? The promise that he would never love you?”
Isaiah shrugged.
“That’s not an issue, is it? It’s not love. He simply adores you excessively.”
“…”
“You said not to love you, not that he couldn’t find you adorable. Isn’t that right?”
In other words, you should have been more precise with your contract.
Even without him saying it aloud, Anneliese could read the unspoken remark clearly.
Communicating with expressions alone—he was talented in that regard.
‘So annoying, seriously.’
“Even if my lord goes mad over his wife and turns the territory upside down, well… that’s not really my concern, is it?”
“Isaiah.”
“Yes, my lady.”
“Be quiet.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Isaiah mimed stitching his lips shut.
Watching his shameless act, Anneliese dropped her forehead onto the desk.
The marble surface was cold.
It helped cool her overheated mind a little.
Slowly, she began to retrace her memories.
How had her life ended up in such an unsolvable mess?
‘That damned contract marriage.’
No matter how she thought about it, there was only one cause.
‘Was proposing a contract marriage to the Grand Duke really the right decision?’
It had been necessary to inherit her title—and it had helped her fend off the crown prince’s persistent proposals—but…
She had never expected a mutually beneficial contract to turn into this.
‘If I’d known, I should’ve added more detailed conditions.’
But Anneliese felt deeply wronged.
‘When he used to recoil, saying my very existence annoyed him!’
How could she have prepared for something she never even imagined would happen?
He had said she was too skinny to be attractive.
That he couldn’t understand why she was called the empire’s greatest beauty.
And most of all—
That he would never, ever come to like her.
‘At first… he wasn’t like this.’
It was true. Anneliese clearly remembered her first meeting with the Grand Duke.
