The Duchess and the Devil

Clear skies were greyed out and yellow lightning flashed through the clouds several times like the tail of a dragon. Rainwater began pouring onto the cold ground shortly after the funeral began, as if to announce the bad weather to the untrained eye.

The mourners gazed up at the sky that was merging with the atmosphere of the funeral, each of them chattering with voices of different levels. Even among the disturbances, the depressing atmosphere was only becoming heavier as the rainwater fell from the sky.

In the midst of their gaze was a woman wearing a black velvet hat that had a veil casted over it. The ends of her pitch black dress were blown about by the wind. Because of the black clothes, from afar she was like a grim reaper who brings death.

“How come…. At such an early age.”

“That’s what I’m saying. The Duchess must have it really hard.”

The whispering voices did not subside. They buzzed with only shallow words of comfort. This meant that among these people, none of their words expressed condolences with sincerity to her.

In fact, all the mourners were really curious about was what the Duchess was thinking right now. They were well aware of the discord between the Duke and his wife, which had already spread throughout the capital.

Even in those scathing eyes, there was no movement in that small, slender back. As she mourned the death of her only husband, she just stood still as though she would die and turn into stone waiting for him.

T/N: 망부석 (Mangbuseok) – A legendary faithful wife, turned to stone waiting for her husband.

A deep black coffin engraved with a cross took its place on the ground which had been dug deeply. As the black soil got wet, the coffin shone as though it was reflective. The Duchess’s eyes that looked at him were as cool as the rainwater falling from the sky.

“My Lady.”

One of the knights who followed her husband called her in a rather soft voice. Only then did the Duchess look up. She was wearing a hat, so it was not at all possible that her face was struck by the rain, but her eyelids were wet as if soaked in a lake. Her face made those who saw her be evoked with a pitiful emotion. The Duchess nodded without saying a word. It meant to proceed with the burial. Four knights began to cover the top of the coffin with soil. Their physical strength was quite great, and they didn’t seem to be exhausted despite continuous shoveling.

After Judith, the Duchess, wiped off the rainwater splattered on her cheeks once, she stared at the coffin, which was gradually being covered with dirt, with cold eyes.

‘He’s truly dead.’

He was indeed a man who made people really amused until the end.

Judith could not relax throughout the funeral. If she did so, she felt like her scorn towards her husband, whom she hated so much, would burst out.

Anyhow, when the funeral service would end, it seemed that she would suffer greatly from the fatigue. The role of a pitiful, noble, and pure wife, who was lost in sadness due to the death of the head of the household who was maintaining the family, was really exhausting work.

As soon as the burial was finished, Judith turned around. As soon as she faced them, her eyes flickered through many of the people’s faces and watched their expressions thoroughly. The noblewomen, though with sad faces, for some reason did not hide their curiosity and inquisitiveness. The nobleman could hardly take their eyes of the pathetic and beautiful Judith even though they stood next to their companions.

There was an uneasy atmosphere that strangely seemed calm.

“I am truly thankful to you all for attending the funeral.”

She detested the surrounding situation as her voice trembled and filled with strife. Even so, no one questioned it as it only appeared very sad to them. It was a relief. After seeing off the nobles who were returning, Judith walked inside the mansion and took off her hat, which she had been dreadfully wearing, almost tearing it off and held it. She, then, quickly handed it over to the maid who was following her.

With nothing to keep it in place, her neatly groomed hair flowed down to her waist. Her silver hair, shining and sparkling, had a pale pink hue that stood out under the light of the lamp. Handing it over to the maid, she also removed the black silk gloves and a feather-shaped brooch that hung on her chest.

“Throw it all away. I’ll never use it again.”

“All- all of these?”

The maid asked, her eyes wide opened in surprise. Judith, after answering with a nod, went straight up the stairs.

Looking at the bedroom on the second floor, she focused on the window in the hallway. After the funeral safely finished, a towering mud tomb was seen among the servants who were cleaning up.

Her unhesitating steps paused for a moment.

Today his corpse was buried there only as a show to the mourners, but when things calmed, she’ll have it dug out right away, and, as a result, thrown away anywhere in Mount Kemel that was connected with the rear of the residence. If someone were to know of her intentions, they would think she was a cold lady with no sympathy, but Judith didn’t care.

This was only because it was her husband, not her, who died. If she had been the one to die, her husband would do the same thing to her. In actuality, her actions were in comparison nice to what he would have done. As he hated his wife, he might have not held a funeral at all.

‘Bye, Derrick.’

Judith bid her last farewell to her husband who was confined in his grave. And she resumed her steps again. Only the sound of her dress shoes click-clacked in the chilly hallway.

Today, her husband, Derrick Vaisil, was truly dead.

Judith Lipis.

She, who was the very precious youngest daughter of the Marquis family of Lipis, had gained a tremendous reputation upon her debut in high society. The reason was because of her fresh and gorgeous beautiful face, which was similar to that of a fairy.

Her silver hair, which had a pink hue at a closer glance, always flowed beautifully, and her features framed by a small face were so clear that even those just passing by could not forget it. The balance of the deep double-lidded eyes, sharp nose, and red lips did indeed appear as though from a fantasy.

When she first appeared, the entire ballroom was filled with silence, and it was such a famous anecdote that it was still talked about even years later.

As such, she was married at an earlier age than others were expected to, but her partner was the Duke of Vaisil, one of the most prestigious and powerful men in the Empire. Though only bonded through business exchanges done ever since she was a child, their fathers were finally linked through the unity of their descendants.

Judith knew that marriage was supposed to be an eternal promise to a loved one, but at the same time she knew well how absurd of a dream that was.

As she was an esteemed young lady of a Marquis family, naturally marriage to her must not be a “promise,” but a “business.”

Her older brother, Vinsen Lipis, who was the only one above her, was the reliable successor, who would be leading the Marquis family as the head in the future. Meanwhile, Judith was the foothold that would give support to Vinsen as such. In short, she was like a root that would help the tree grow straight in place.

She had to give Vinsen unshakable power through the business of marriage. That was exactly her role as the young lady of a Marquis family.

If one would encounter this truth all of a sudden, they might either not comply with it or feel repulsion over it. Isn’t it like being sold to a stranger only to strengthen the reputation of the family?

However, Judith learned from day one that sacrificing for the family was natural. She accepted marriage without love as an obvious thing. In the first place, there was no reason to believe in the feelings of love.

She was closer on the quiet and calm side than the cheerful one. Normally, a lady who has a character of knowing her manners and being moderately lively would gain popularity, but in this society, where appearance dictated many things, her silence became associated with a quick-witted loveliness.

The popularity of Judith in society was so great that there was a joke that the number of young people attending the banquet changed depending on whether she attended it or not.

She, who was normally quiet, naturally didn’t like noisy places, and wasn’t the type to attend every banquet. As such, when the occasional rumors circulated that she would be attending, the entrance of the banquet hall would be crowded with people.

Generally, if she did attend, Judith always had a moderately quiet time by herself, whether or not her surroundings were noisy. Usually she would dance with her older brother, Vinsen, once, and would end the night by simply sharing a conversation with the young ladies whose faces she knew. She behaved so neatly that one could never imagine a scandal that could cause a stir in a tea party.

The young lords would try to keep her from going back, but would usually lose sight of themselves. Even though they made a ruckus because of her, like the eye of a typhoon, although the reason for the uproar, she was still as if nothing was happening. Since she was such a person, she did not act unusual even when she first met her fiance, whom she had never seen before.

The motivation to be meeting up with her fiance was simple. The Duke and the Marquis just happened to be attending a place where they met by accident.

Judith first met her fiance, Derrick Vaisil, that day.

Only

It was the first time, but the reason why he didn’t feel somewhat unfamiliar with her was that Derrick Vaisil was as famous in society as Judith was. If the attribute that followed behind Judith was “beauty,” the attribute that followed Derrick could only be called “debauchery”. He was a man who had been living such a promiscuous life that it was to the point one could say that there was no esteemed young lady in high society who hadn’t passed through his hands.

Judith felt an intense feeling from the time of her first meeting with him.

‘Somehow I don’t think we fit.’

Was what she thought.

And just like she was worried about, Derrick Vaisil was a man who didn’t have the form of someone who could be accompanied with only one woman. He was promiscuous, cheap, and dirty. His looks, which had a reputation that was as incredible as his prodigal life, was so handsome that he had captured the hearts of many women, but not much came into the eyes of Judith, who looked at him unfavorably.

Judith always hated the acrid cigarette smell that was given off by him, and even though he stayed still, his attitude of having no manners, which he tried to hide but was still obvious, was also good to frown at in particular.

Derrick showed quite an interest in her after their first meeting, and he didn’t hesitate to make a pass towards her during the several dates they had as a formality before their marriage.

But Judith didn’t like his frivolous words and actions that seemed not only to be insincere, but also felt as if they were enraptured, so she constantly treated him coldly.

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