Former Fake Becomes Grand Duke of the North

Lady Adelheid was trying to romance me. While this seemed laughable at first glance, it wasn’t the most ridiculous premise. A warrior rescues a young maiden and the two end up falling in love with each other. Plenty of romances have started this way, both in reality and in the stories. I didn’t know if that had been her original goal in coming to Kaltbrand Castle ahead of time, or if she adapted her plans to the current circumstances.

By following that line of thought, it wasn’t difficult to guess Lady Adelheid’s goal. If she succeeded and ended up marrying me, she would become the next grand duchess. While it wasn’t as prestigious as becoming the actual head of House Kaltbrand, it wasn’t far below it either. She would still accomplish her goal of elevating her family and earning House Gerhard the respect it lacked at the moment.

From her perspective, it wasn’t a bad plan. Unfortunately for her, she chose me as her target. I wasn’t the real heir to House Kaltbrand, so even if she succeeded in romancing me, she wouldn’t get what she wanted. Not that she had any chance of succeeding in the first place. I loved Lina, and I planned on marrying her once I earned my title and left the Barrens. Lady Adelheid’s plan was doomed from the start. I almost felt bad for her.

However, this was all just speculation on my part. After all, I didn’t know much about Lady Adelheid as a person. There was only so much one could learn about someone through reports, gossip, and rumors. Perhaps all my predictions and guesses were wrong, and this wasn’t an act at all. I would need to spend more time with Lady Adelheid to figure out the truth of the matter.

“You speak too highly of me, Lady Adelheid.” I said, pulling away from her touch. “I only did what anyone in my position would have done.”

Lady Adelheid shook her head and stepped closer, closing the distance between us once more.

“Not just anyone saved me, Lord Wulfe.” she said, looking up at me with worshipful eyes. “You did. I owe you my life. How can I repay you? Ask anything you wish of me, anything at all, and if it is within my power, I will give it to you.”

When she said that second “anything”, Lady Adelheid placed her right hand above her heart. Either this was part of the pledge she made, or she did it to draw attention to her chest. Perhaps it was both.

Either way, I needed to be careful in how I responded. There were plenty of eyes on us at the moment, and I had no doubt that our conversation would become the subject of gossip and rumors. One wrong move on my part, and people might believe Lady Adelheid and I were more involved with each other than we actually were. That wouldn’t end well for either of us.

“There is no need to repay me.” I said, shaking my head. “I merely fulfilled the duties of my station. If anyone else had been in your position, I would have done the same for them.”

My firm refusal of her offer must have caught Lady Adelheid off guard, because she studied me for several seconds without saying a word. I caught a glimpse of something in her eyes, but it disappeared before I could figure out what it was.

“Regardless, the offer still stands.” Lady Adelheid said. “I value my life very much, and since you saved me, I must repay you somehow.”

I gave her a polite smile.

“I’ll keep that in mind, Lady Adelheid.” I said. “Since I see that you are settling in without issue, I shall take my leave. Have a good day.” I turned to leave, but stopped and looked back. “Oh, before I forget, feel free to join us for dinner tonight.”

Lady Adelheid gave me another shy smile and looked down.

“Very well, I shall.” she said. “Thank you for inviting me.”

With that, I left and headed towards my own rooms. After everything that had happened, I needed a moment alone to organize my thoughts. When I arrived in my sitting room, I saw no sign of the twins. Despite that, I had a feeling that I wasn’t alone. I hadn’t heard or seen anything, yet my intuition told me that there was someone else in the room with me. Maybe it was paranoia on my part, but it didn’t hurt to be careful.

“I know you’re here.” I said. “Stop hiding and come out.”

Several seconds passed and nothing happened. However, I didn’t relax.

“Now!” I said.

Another second passed, before the air on the other side of the room rippled and the twins appeared. Maria wore her maid uniform, while Rosalind still wore the outfit that hid her appearance.

“Aw, how did you know?” Maria asked, pouting. “What gave us away?”

I narrowed my eyes at her.

“I had a hunch,” I said. “How did you do that? Are you two magicians like Claus and you’ve just been hiding your magic until now? Or are you using a magic tool?”

The twins glanced at each other for a moment, shrugged in unison, before facing me again.

“We used a magic tool called a shadowstep,” Rosalind answered.

“It’s something the boss came up with,” Maria said, holding a finger to her lips. “However, it’s supposed to be a secret, so don’t let anyone know that we told you. Otherwise, we’ll be in big trouble.”

If the Blue Shadows had access to a type of magic tool that allowed them to move around unseen and unheard, that would explain a few things about them. However, I wasn’t happy about this. Quite the opposite in fact. What if they had used it to spy on me?

“If you’re worried that we used this magic tool to spy on you, don’t worry,” Rosalind said, as if reading my thoughts. “We stopped when you started working for House Kaltbrand.”

“Though I was tempted more than a few times.” Maria said, giving me a lascivious leer.

Meaning they had used this shadowstep magic tool to spy on me before I started working for House Kaltbrand. This unnerved me a great deal. As an Aura Master, I took pride in my sharpened senses. I didn’t like the idea that someone spied on me without my knowledge. It was bad enough when I thought Claus was the only one. Knowing that there were more of them disturbed my peace of mind.

“Good.” I said. “Keep it that way.” I released some of my pressure. “Let me warn you now. If I find out that you lied to me just now, I won’t be happy with you.”

“Understood.” Rosalind said with a nod.

“Aw, meanie.” Maria said.

I retracted my pressure.

“Now then,” I said. “I assume there was a good reason why you were skulking about just now.”

“Yes, there was.” Maria said with a huff. “However, I don’t see why we should tell you, if you’re just going to act like that. We’re on your side, remember.”

I sighed, before I sat down in one of the sitting room’s chairs.

“Maria, I am not in the mood.” I said. “So either say what you have to say, or get out. I want to be alone right now.”

Maria must have realized that I was being serious, because her expression turned sober.

“We were keeping an eye on Lady Adelheid.” Rosalind answered. “Given her position as a potential heir to House Kaltbrand, we thought it prudent to watch over her ourselves rather than leave it to others. Both for her sake and House Kaltbrand’s.”

I sighed again.

“Meaning you overheard our conversation just now.” I said.

“Indeed,” Maria said, putting on her flirtatious persona once more. “It seems that our little miss Gerhard might have a crush on you, Wulfe.” She tilted her head. “Not that I blame her. You’re the epitome of tall, dark, and handsome. Not only that, but you saved her life. Any woman would fall in love with you if they were in her shoes.”

I gave her a withering look, before facing Rosalind.

“What do you think?” I asked.

Rosalind took a moment before answering.

“While my sister’s words do have merit,” she said. “I think it’s more likely that this is an act on Lady Adelheid’s part.”

I nodded.

“I thought so as well,” I said. “Given the reports you’ve provided me, Lady Adelheid is acting out of character.” I shrugged. “Of course, I would need to spend more time with her to know for sure. For all we know, the reports are wrong and Lady Adelheid is being sincere.”

Maria shrugged.

“Can’t it be both?” she asked. “After all, it’s easier to act a certain way if there are genuine feelings behind them.” She grinned. “I would know.”

Rosalind sighed.

“Regardless,” I said. “Continue to keep an eye on her. Let me know if anything suspicious happens.”

“Yes, Wulfe.” the twins said in unison.

“Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like some time alone.”

The twins bowed and headed towards the door. However, before she left, Maria had one last thing to say.

“If you ever need some stress relief, let me know.” she said. “I’ll be sure to help you unwind, Wulfe.”

“Maria!” Rosalind said.

“What?” Maria looked at her sister, a faux innocent expression on her face. “I was just offering to give him a massage.” She tilted her head to the side. “What did you think I meant?”

I rolled my eyes as Rosalind pulled her sister out of the sitting room. Once they left, I looked up at the ceiling.

“I miss Lina.” I said.

My heart ached something fierce. In that moment, I wanted nothing more than to head to the Riverlands in order to reunite with the woman I loved. I stayed like that for some time, before I got up to continue on with my day. There was still so much to do and only so many hours in a day.

Dinner that night ended up being a…mixed affair. Grand Duke Kaltbrand and Count Wirner treated Lady Adelheid in a polite, but distant, manner. Lady Adelheid herself acted with the elegance and poise expected of a young lady. However, Knight Commander Bardin considered Lady Adelheid a nuisance. That wasn’t speculation on my part. She said that right to the young lady’s face. To her credit, Lady Adelheid managed to maintain her composure in the face of such blatant hostility.

As for me, I followed Grand Duke Kaltbrand and Count Wirner’s example. I treated Lady Adelheid with politeness, but I maintained a certain distance between us. This didn’t seem to deter her at all, because she continued to act like a bashful, blushing maiden around me. Knight Commander Bardin noticed this, which just further deepened her ill-will towards Lady Adelheid.

In the following days, Lady Adelheid and I bumped into each other often. I suspected this was deliberate on her part. If it was once or twice, I would have chalked it off as coincidence. However, it happened far too often for that to be the case. It also happened when we were in public, within view of the servants. We never talked about anything significant, nor did we talk for long. However, she was my guest, so I couldn’t just ignore her or brush her off. Did she just want my company, or was she planting the seeds for something bigger?

It was difficult to tell, since Lady Adelheid continued with her act. In fact, she put on such a performance that I had trouble believing that it was a performance at all. What if she was being sincere? This troubled me. Not because it would change my feelings for her, but because it would make dealing with her more difficult, as cold and callous as that sounded.

According to the twins, the only thing suspicious about Lady Adelheid’s actions was that she questioned the servants to dig up every bit of information she could about me. Well, she had her maid question the servants. This was either because she wanted to know everything she could about her rival (me), or she wanted to know more about the man she had feelings for.

Regardless, her actions led to a number of rumors spreading among the servants. Viscount and Viscountess Holtz did their best to squash these rumors, but their efforts were futile. Soon, word spread throughout all of Kaltbrand Castle that Lady Adelheid was in love with me. A few rumors even suggested that I reciprocated her feelings.

Rather than let things spiral out of control, I decided to take a gamble and tackle the issue head on. I invited Lady Adelheid for a cup of tea in my sitting room. When she arrived, I couldn’t help but stare because she looked resplendent. When I first met Lady Adelheid, I thought she looked pretty but bland. In this moment, that couldn’t be further from the truth.

Her makeup was subtle and light, yet it elevated her features from pretty to beautiful. Her long hair was tied up in a simple arrangement that highlighted her beauty rather than distracting from it. She wore a blue dress embedded with enough jewels to make her sparkle, but not enough to make her seem gaudy. It wasn’t just her looks either. Even her movements seemed more elegant and refined than usual.

Despite looking like she was dressed for a ball or some other social event, Lady Adelheid didn’t seem out of place even though we were just going to share a cup of tea together. It was as if she had been hiding her true beauty until now, and this was her real self. If that was the case, it made for an impactful reveal.

So much so, that it took me a moment to regain my composure. I loved Lina, but I wasn’t blind. Lady Adelheid’s personal maid, who had accompanied her mistress today, looked rather pleased with herself. No doubt Lady Adelheid’s current appearance was her handiwork.

“Welcome, Lady Adelheid,” I said.

“Greetings, Lord Wulfe,” she said, giving me a bow. “Thank you for inviting me.”

I gestured for her to sit down. She did, while her personal maid stood behind her. Once I sat down as well, Maria arrived to serve us tea. Afterwards, Lady Adelheid and I went through the usual round of polite small talk as we sipped our tea. This went on for five minutes.

“Lady Adelheid,” I said, once I had my fill of talking about the weather. “I invited you here because I wished to discuss a matter that concerns us both.” I frowned. “Recently, I heard some rather disturbing rumors about us and I believe we should deal with those rumors before they grow out of control.”

“Ah,” Lady Adelheid said. She clasped her hands together and looked down at her lap. “I believe I know what you’re talking about.” She looked back up at me. “However, I should admit that there is some tru-…”

I held up a hand and cut her off. Some flashed behind her eyes, but it appeared and disappeared so quickly that I wasn’t sure if it had ever been there in the first place.

“I believe we should continue this conversation in private,” I said. “Everyone leave us.”

Maria bowed, before exiting the sitting room.

“You as well.” I said to Lady Adelheid’s personal maid, who hadn’t moved an inch.

She shook her head and opened her mouth to say something, but Lady Adelheid spoke up first.

“It’s okay, Josepha.” she said.

This caught the personal maid, Josepha, off guard.

“But, my lady!” she protested.

“I’ll be fine.” Lady Adelheid said, giving her a gentle smile.

Josepha looked conflicted at this, but she obeyed her mistress and left the sitting room. Once we were alone, I dropped my polite mask.

“Now then, Lady Adelheid.” I said. “I think it’s time that you and I have an honest and frank discussion with one another. By doing so, I hope that we can both get what we want from each in a mutually beneficial arrangement.” I bared my teeth in a smile at her. “However, this is a one time offer. If you insist on continuing with this performance of yours, I will have no choice but to assume that you have malicious intentions and will act accordingly.”

Lady Adelheid’s eyes widened and she gave me a dismayed look.

“Lord Wulfe, I don’t know what you mea-…”

I gave her a warning look. She stopped mid sentence and narrowed her eyes at me. Several seconds passed before she spoke again.

“When did you figure it out?” she asked, her voice sharper than before.

She leaned back, transforming from blushing young maiden to someone sharper and far more dangerous.

“I suspected you from the very beginning.” I said. “However, you put on such a good performance that I questioned myself several times. You’re a talented actress.”

Lady Adelheid smirked.

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” She clicked her tongue in displeasure and shook her head. “If that was the case, couldn’t you have played along for a bit longer? Josepha put so much effort into my appearance today. It’s a shame that all her work has gone to waste.”

“As I mentioned earlier,” I said. “I wanted to settle things between us before the rumors about us grew out of control.” I narrowed my eyes at her. “Though, I have a feeling that was part of your plan.”

Lady Adelheid just smiled at that.

“If we are going to have an open and frank discussion, I believe you should go first, Lord Wulfe.” she said instead. “It was your idea, after all. What do you want from me?”

Fair enough. I nodded in acquiescence.

“Simple,” I said. “I want your support. While your faction is the smallest among the three potential heirs, or former potential heirs I should say, it isn’t nothing. Considering the difficulties you must have faced because you are a magician and not an Aura user, I’m impressed that your faction is as large as it is. Not only that, but House Gerhard has connections with a number of noble houses in the Riverlands. I want to make use of those connections.” I gestured to her. “Your turn. What do you want?”

“House Kaltbrand.” Lady Adelheid stated without hesitation. “However, I know that will never happen. My chances were low to begin with, but your appearance has made achieving my goal all but impossible.” She sighed and shook her head. “I worked for years to get to where I am, all for the sake of becoming the next head of House Kaltbrand, only to have it all become meaningless thanks to you. You can imagine how…frustrated I felt when I found out that His Grace had intended to appoint his hidden illegitimate son as his heir this entire time. It would have been better not to give me and the others hope if that had been his plan all along.”

I felt a little bad for Lady Adelheid, as well as the other potential heirs. While I was a fake, Grand Duke Kaltbrand did have an actual heir hidden away, rendering all of the potential heirs’ efforts up to this point moot. That said, according to the grand duke, he didn’t consider any of them worthy successors, so perhaps none of them would have been appointed as his heir anyway. I don’t know if that made me feel better or not.

“So,” Lady Adelheid continued. “I will have to settle for the next best thing: becoming the spouse of the head of House Kaltbrand.” She smirked. “As a woman, I have an advantage over the others in this regard.” She paused. “Unless you favor men over women.”

I shook my head.

“No, that is not that case.” I said.

Lady Adelheid clapped her hands together and smiled.

“Excellent! Then I believe that, yes, we can both get what we want from each other. You want my support and I want to become your wife. The solution to both is simple: all we have to do is marry each other.”

I sighed. This wasn’t going to be as easy as I hoped. Well, I never expected that it would.

“Unfortunately, I can’t marry you, Lady Adelheid.” I said. “I love someone else and I intend to marry her.”

Lady Adelheid’s expression grew cold.

“Love?” she scoffed. “Why, I didn’t expect you to be so…naive and simple, Lord Wulfe. Love has no place when it comes to marriages between nobles. It is a legal contract, a business deal, and a political alliance all rolled into one.” She gave me a disdainful smile. “Unless your lover isn’t a noble. Given your history, that is possible. In which case, I suggest you give up your delusions and face reality. The northern lords will never accept a commoner as the next grand duchess.” She gestured to me. “That said, I am not heartless. You can marry me and keep your lover by your side as your mistress, if you wish. As long as she knows her place, I have problems with that arrangement.”

I couldn’t help but feel disgust at her words. The…arrangement she described wasn’t unusual when it came to married noble couples. In fact, it was common. For nobles, marriage was a calculated and cold-hearted affair. However, they were still people; people who loved and wanted to be loved. And so, nobles often had paramours.

I could not accept a marriage like that, not after growing up in House Guld. Father and Mother…I mean, Duke and Duchess Guld genuinely loved each other. It started out as a political arrangement, for Her Grace’s sake, but the two of them ended up falling in love anyway. That was the sort of marriage I wanted, and I wouldn’t settle for less.

“The answer is still no, Lady Adelheid.” I said. “I cannot marry you.”

Lady Adelheid clenched her fists together and her body trembled. Not out of fear or embarrassment, but from anger. Considering what the reports said about her temper, this reaction was mild for her. That spoke well of her self control. If I had been anyone else, she probably wouldn’t have bothered.

“In that case, I believe it is time for me to leave, Lord Wulfe,” Lady Adelheid said in a clipped tone. “If you’re unwilling to budge on this, then I see no reason why we should continue this conversation.”

With that, she stood up and walked towards the door.