CHAPTER 11: PATRON

The sudden arrival of the Weinstein family’s youngest daughter at the Dickens family estate caused quite a stir among those around her. No one could understand what this young lady with a bad reputation was doing there.

Grace arrived alone and unaccompanied. When the beautiful young woman stepped out of the carriage, the servants nearby began to whisper.

"What’s going on? Did she mistake the duke’s estate for a brothel?"

But despite the gossip surrounding her, Duke Weinstein’s daughter remained unperturbed. Soon Roger himself came out to meet her.

"It’s you!" he said, greatly surprised. "What brings you to our house?"

Grace smiled warmly at him.

"Sir Dickens, I would like to meet your father."

"What...?"

"It’s very important."

The woman did not go into details, which only confused Roger even more.

"Is the Duke at home now?"

"Father..." Roger said slowly, "Father is at home, but he is a little busy..."

"That’s okay. This conversation won’t take long."

The young gentleman sighed.

"All right... But I can’t promise anything. Then let’s go inside."

When the maids saw that the young gentleman was personally accompanying this disreputable woman, they became even more indignant. Rumors were circulating that the Weinsteins’ daughter had had affairs with almost all the aristocrats in high society. By modern standards, this was simply outrageous.

"It can’t be!!! Is that bitch going to seduce our master too?!"

But, unfortunately, there was nothing they could do in this situation. The servants watched what was happening with disappointment.

Grace and Roger entered the grand hall of the Dickens estate. It was the largest house the woman had ever seen. No wonder the duchy was considered one of the most powerful in the empire.

"I’ll tell my father about your visit."

"Yeah."

Roger went upstairs to his father’s study, and I waited in the hall. From the atmosphere in the house, I realized that I was not welcome. My very presence cast a shadow over the decorum of this house.

Roger was gone for a short time. When he came back down, he didn’t look too happy.

"Father said..."

I sighed.

"I know."

"What?"

"The duke doesn’t want to see me, right?"

Roger pursed his lips. He was actually going to say the same thing to me, only in a gentler way. But I didn’t need that explanation. One way or another, I would see the duke today, despite his reluctance.

"It’s all right," I smiled. "In any case, I’ll tell him that you tried to stop me."

The young man froze in amazement, and I headed for the duke’s office without further ado.

"Lady Weinstein, wait...!"

I didn’t answer him and stubbornly continued walking forward. Roger had already given up trying to catch up with me. I burst through the door without asking and stood on the threshold. A middle-aged man at his desk stared at me indignantly.

"You...! How dare you?"

"Don’t worry, Your Highness. I won’t take more than five minutes of your time."

Roger’s father was very similar to him and could be described as an older version of his son. He had the same scarlet hair and iceberg-blue eyes. Usually, the duke was very serious, and it was impossible to make even a single muscle on his face twitch. But now he was clearly angry.

The duke looked at me as if he were ready to kill. But I didn’t show my fear in front of him. This man needed to know who he was dealing with.

Looking at me, William Dickens smiled coldly.

"I can’t believe it. Has our family lost so much honor that any servant dares to burst in here whenever they please?"

I responded with an icy smile in the same manner.

"Your Highness, I’m afraid you’re mistaken. Can the Weinstein family be considered among the above?"

"Lady, I think you know this better than I do."

The lightning that flashed between us was unfriendly. However, I had no intention of establishing a good relationship with him. The only thing that mattered was that this man agreed to make a deal with me.

"So you’ll take me on?"

"Do I have a choice?" the man smirked. "It seems you’re already here."

"Excellent."

I sat down in the guest chair and looked at him intently. He did the same, waiting.

"How can I be of service to the noble Lady Weinstein?"

His contemptuous intonation on the second syllable did not bother me in the least. I replied calmly:

"I want to make an agreement with you."

"Huh?"

"I am asking you to become my patron."

Duke Dickens was stunned. He did not expect me to propose something like this two minutes into our meeting. And from the look in his eyes, I immediately understood what was on his mind. Especially given my reputation.

"Lady, you’ve come to the wrong person. I’m not interested in..."

"It’s not what you think."

"What?"

"Our relationship will be strictly business. I want you to help me restore my reputation in society."

Hearing this, the previously cold duke laughed.

"Ha... Lady Weinstein, you are an interesting person. And what can you offer in exchange for my patronage?"

I smiled.

"That’s an interesting question. Whatever you want most."

"Hmm?"

It was obvious that this question was asked simply out of basic politeness. Duke Dickens did not take me seriously at all and had no intention of continuing this discussion. Probably a couple more sentences and he would have called his servants to throw me out. But I was ready to beat him to it.

"Emperor," I said slowly, "In recent years, you and His Majesty have had a rather tense relationship, haven’t you?"

Duke Dickens looked shocked. Obviously, he had no idea that I might know something like that. But I knew everything.

Apparently, I was lucky that I had chosen the captain of the guard branch at that time. Because now I was well aware of his background. And... their difficult relationship with my father.

Although the Duchy of Dickens held a high position in the empire and basked in honor and glory, at the same time it became a threat to them. After the imperial family, the members of the duchy were next in line for the throne. And obviously, the emperor couldn’t just forget about that.

As the influence of the Duchy of Dickens grew, the emperor became concerned. What if one day the duke decided to betray him and stage a coup? This thought haunted him with each passing year. And despite the fact that William had always been unconditionally loyal to his country, there was nothing he could do about it. Every ruler was suspicious to one degree or another.

Over time, the emperor began to give him fewer and fewer important assignments and invitations to the palace. And Duke Dickens, seeing the situation, decided to take action and retreat first. He voluntarily left his post as a court official and spent the last few years dealing exclusively with the affairs of the duchy. He did not want to get involved in politics so as not to arouse the emperor’s suspicions.

However... He did not expect that one day his own son would leave him and enter the service of the palace.

Roger had always dreamed of serving in the army. But his father did not share his aspirations. Roger was the only heir in the family; he had no brothers or sisters. And by entering the imperial army, he automatically lost his right to inheritance. One cannot be the heir to a duchy and captain of the guard at the same time. That would give one person too much power. This rule was introduced to avoid unrest in the country.

But Roger renounced his title and went to serve the emperor. The duke did not forgive him for this. After a loud quarrel, Roger left home and no longer communicated with his family.

In Roger’s storyline, they only met with his father at the very end. When he, suffering from a long illness, was on his deathbed. The reconciliation between the duke and Roger took place literally on his deathbed.

And although I knew about the sad fate of this character, I did not feel sorry for him. Now I was going to use this information to make a deal with him.

Edison was right: the Duchy of Dickens was very influential. William was the best candidate for the role of my patron. And although it was a risky move, I decided to take it.

"I don’t understand what you’re talking about," the duke said coldly.

"Really?" I smiled amiably. "Then it seems you don’t care that one day you may find yourself in danger."

The man flew into a rage.

"Lady, watch your words! How dare you question our loyalty to the emperor..."

"I believe in your loyalty," I replied, "but does the emperor feel the same way?"

A brief silence fell over the room.

"I have no idea what you’re up to, but..." The man clenched his teeth. "Keep in mind that I won’t fall for your provocations."

I shrugged.

"As you wish. But I’m only telling the truth. Someone had to tell you about this. As far as I know, the emperor has halved the reserves of your personal army in recent years, correct?"

William stared at me intently.

"How... How did you...?!"

"I already told you that I didn’t come here for no reason.

Of course, you won’t believe me just like that. That’s why today you will receive proof of the seriousness of my intentions."

While the duke was stunned by my determination, I guessed what he was thinking. After all, despite the apparent prosperity of the duchy, trouble could strike at any moment. Given the emperor’s suspicious nature, all he needed was an excuse to summon the duke for questioning and confiscate his property.

Although the Dickens family had remained loyal to the imperial family for many years, their power could not fail to alarm the emperor. Deep down, he longed to get rid of this threat.

Even in Roger’s romantic storyline, the emperor was initially opposed to his relationship with Angela. Despite promoting him to captain of the guard, he kept the young man on a tight leash, fearing he might betray him. Only at the end was this situation resolved, and the emperor finally accepted Roger as his son-in-law.

In the final battle in the palace, which occurred due to Rubiella’s attempted coup, Roger risked his life to protect the emperor and shielded him with his own body. Only then did the ruler believe in his sincerity. He gave his blessing to his daughter’s wedding and removed all suspicions from the Dickens family. This was the last thing Roger could do for his father, and unfortunately, the duke himself did not live to see it.

In other words, since Roger was a romantic interest, sooner or later this situation would have been resolved anyway. Angela couldn’t get married without her father’s permission, could she? However, it would take a long time for that to happen. Until then, relations between the ducal and imperial families would be very tense.

Therefore, this was the only way to get William’s attention now.

My words did not take long to be heard. After a couple of minutes of silence in the office, the servant suddenly knocked on the door.

"Sir!" he hurried to report, "A letter from the imperial palace!"

"What...?"

The man snatched the envelope into his hands, broke the seal, and began to read the contents. With each line, his pupils grew wider and wider.

He couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

"How... How did you do that?!"

The duchy’s army reserves had been officially restored. All restrictions on his bank accounts had also been lifted. And all this in one day.

The duke couldn’t believe that the problem he had been unable to solve for many years had ultimately been solved by none other than...

"The fallen woman of the empire."

Duke Dickens was taken aback and looked at Grace Weinstein seriously for the first time.

The young aristocrat smiled at him.

"So what do you say to my proposal?"