GRAND DUKE, PLEASE MARRY ME!

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VOLUME 3: BEGINNING OF THE ENGAGEMENT

Chapter 28: The Mystery of Succession to the Title

As the cold winds of winter transitioned to the warm breezes of spring, my health had recovered since then. I spent my days preparing for the wedding while occasionally engaging in volunteer work at Mimi Clinic. The wedding dress was progressing smoothly, and it would be completed in another six months. Currently, I was in the process of listing the guests to invite to the wedding. To avoid chaos at the wedding, I planned to only invite my father. My brother, who seemed a bit suspicious, would be excluded.

Klaus, busy with his duties in the Cavalry and his studies, never bothered to show his face. Since we didn't exactly get along, I proceeded with the preparations on my own.

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Samples of the article printed by the publishing house arrived. It was an interview detailing the story of Klaus and me. It seemed the high society was intrigued by the scandal we caused at the royal palace. Since we had declined invitations like tea parties due to health reasons, there seemed to be even more interest. We reluctantly agreed to the offer from the newspaper company for an interview. The story of our relationship was carefully crafted by Marchioness Corvitz and me. Since it turned out quite romantic, everyone seemed pleased. Along with our story, there was also an article celebrating the birth of the new Duke of Schwerdt. Apparently, the Duke of Schwerdt had handed over the title to his eldest son due to his frequent illnesses. Normally, titles were held for life, but it seemed special permission was granted due to his poor health.

While reading such articles, I began to ponder. What did Klaus think about succession rights? The new Duke of Schwerdt, Gerion, was Klaus's cousin, but I had a premonition dream of him eloping with a married woman. The second son died of illness, and the third son disappeared with the family's fortune. Then Klaus's father, who inherited the title afterward, died in an accident. It was a series of coincidences that led to Klaus, at the age of twenty-five, inheriting the title.

Currently, Klaus was eighteen years old. Within seven years, many people from the Duke of Schwerdt's family disappeared. Klaus was more feared during the "Devil Prince" era than the current "Devil Duke" era, as those who succeeded to the title kept vanishing one after another. If Klaus didn't desire the title, the future needed to be changed.

A few days later - the article was successfully published, and we received a thank-you letter from the newspaper company, stating how well-received it was. There was another request for future interviews, but I declined due to being busy with wedding preparations. We were also in the midst of making dresses and I wanted to focus on that. The soothing part of my days was the time spent drinking tea with Marchioness Corvitz. I casually asked her about her thoughts on the succession of the Duke of Schwerdt.

"By the way, it seems that the Duke of Schwerdt has changed. What kind of person is the new Duke of Schwerdt?" "That child... Gerion."

Marchioness Corvitz began to speak with a sigh. "I can't believe how much of a womanizer he is. He has more mistresses than my husband? It's only been two years since he got married, and I feel sorry for his wife."

"I see..." Nobles are generally not allowed to divorce. Therefore, running away with a married woman was probably the only option. Even if I intervened, I didn't think it would change anything.

"What about the other siblings?" "The second son, Helge, seems to be weak and suffering from an incurable disease. He was talking about giving up his succession rights. He's the only one of the three brothers I've never met. The third son, Joachim, is a terrible miser and is said to be aiming for the title of Duke."

"It's absurd that despite having two brothers, he's aiming for the title of Duke. This man named Joachim must be quite ambitious."

"In addition, next in line for succession is Klaus's father, Bruno. That child isn't interested in the title of Duke at all; he's just a workaholic. He's quite similar to Klaus."

"I see..." I thought about greeting him once, but Klaus said he was too busy to meet.

Klaus's father, Bruno, was a diplomat and seemed to be away from home most of the time. "If my daughter were alive, she wouldn't have been such a boring workaholic..." Marchioness Corvitz's daughter, Klaus's mother, died of puerperal fever.

Listening to the story made my heart ache.

"Before getting married, Bruno tried to give up his succession rights because he found them troublesome, but his daughter stopped him."

"Why was that?"

"Because she thought holding the succession rights was cool," Marchioness Corvitz said with a chuckle. Thanks to Marchioness Corvitz, I was able to obtain information about those holding the succession rights to the Duke of Schwerdt's family.

The more I thought about it, the more absurd it seemed that the men of the Duke of Schwerdt's family were disappearing. Perhaps someone was pulling the strings behind these events? The most suspicious person would be the third son, Joachim, who was said to be aiming for the title of Duke. He was seven years older than Klaus, as Marchioness Corvitz had mentioned.

What I saw in my premonition dream was Joachim taking almost all of the Schwerdt family's property and disappearing to another country. Therefore, the Schwerdt family during Klaus's time was not as wealthy. If Gerion was encouraged to elope with a married woman, the second son, Helge, was persuaded to give up his succession rights due to his illness, and the third son, Joachim, aimed for the title of Duke—?

However, was Klaus's father, Bruno's death, an accident... or something else? For now, it wouldn't be good to change the future on my own. I needed to hear Klaus's

opinion. Tonight, Klaus was invited to a dinner party at Marchioness Corvitz's mansion. I hoped to have a little conversation with him afterward.

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