If You Wish For A Married Couple’s Duties

Episode 41.
The Incident That Occurred At The Outing (1)

“Kyahhhhh—!”

“Duchess! Young Lady Pauline! Oh goodness, what should we do!”

The shrill screams of the ladies that were a distance away could be heard.

“Puha—!”

Dooha, who fell into the water, swung her limbs as hard as she could.

However, fancy dresses were heavy, and not practical in the slightest.

Rather, the more she struggled, the more her body slowly sank below the surface.

Her body gradually lost strength.

As she looked at the water above my head that reflected sunlight and rippled in colours of the rainbow, she became dizzy.

‘Why do I have to suffer like this?’

She has never been negligent in her efforts ever since she came to the Empire.

So that she wouldn’t be disregarded by Imperial citizens for being a Bashalian.

So that she would do well in her role as the Duchess of Esbaden.

However, regardless of Dooha’s efforts, bad luck and hostility came from time to time.  

‘I’m a little…tired.’

‘Perhaps it isn’t a bad idea to sink down like this for good.’

Just then.

“Then I wish you the best of luck, wife.”

Dooha recalled the last thing Leonhart had said before leaving for the monster subjugation.

She didn’t know why he came to mind in such a situation.

But strangely, as soon as she recalled the duke’s words, her mind magically became clear.

‘Right, how did I manage to get to this place?’

Dooha turned her arms to her back with all of her might.

She saved her insufficient breath and focused her attention onto her fingertips.

Dooha quickly undid the numerous buttons on her back.

Then, just like a pupa that broke out of its chrysalis and flew up, Dooha escaped from the hem of her lavish dress.

The dress which had been pulling her body down towards the floor was now slowly falling to the bottom of the lake by itself.

At that moment when Dooha was finally free and about to swim towards the surface.

‘Young Lady Pauline?’

A short distance away, Young Lady Pauline was slowly falling to the bottom of the lake without making any resistance.

She seemed to have already lost consciousness.

Dooha hesitated for a moment.

Pauline was a woman that tried to kill her indifferently.

It was the first time that she didn’t feel sorry for someone that was about to die in front of her.

“If I’m unlucky, I’ll be the only one that dies.”

When a person is trying to kill, they’re prepared for their own deaths. 

What Pauline did was resignation, not determination. 

Did that woman like the duke that much?

To the point where she’d want to kill herself after hearing that he was married to another woman?

‘I can’t understand.’

Dooha clenched her teeth.

She swam towards the surface with all her might.

On the contrary, Pauline’s pale face slowly sank down.

* * *

“Madam! Madaaam—!”

The head maid and Layla rushed to the lake upon hearing the news that the boat that the Duchess was on had sunk.

Behind them, the servants on the boat paddled as they scoured the lake.

“Madam, stop messing around with me and come up quickly! Madam!”

“This can’t, this can’t be happening.
How can the Duchess…”

When the duchy’s mistress wasn’t easily spotted, the head maid began to tear up.

“Instead of crying, hurry and look for the Madam, head maid!”

Layla retorted sharply back at the despairing head maid and shouted loudly.

“Duchess! Can you hear me? Please respond if you’ve heard me!”

However, Layla’s face was also filled with anxiety, unlike her loud voice. 

It had already been 20 minutes since they heard the news about the duchess falling into the lake. 

It would have been more than enough time for an ordinary person to drown, but Layla decided to place all her hopes on the fact that her master was different from the others. 

“D—Duchess!”

Splash—

Just as the head maid was about to call for the Duchess again.

Along with the sound of something breaking through the currents, someone’s head appeared at the bottom of the boat. 

Wet, glittering silver hair that reflected the sunlight could be seen. 

“D—Duchess!”

“Princess—!”

The two screamed at the same time.

The person that surfaced from the water was none other than the duchess, Dooha.

“H—Hurry and come up! Oh goodness, what in the world is going on!”

“Madam, it’s such a relief that you’re okay.
Hurry and get on the boat.”

However, Dooha refused to grasp both of their outstretched hands and continued to cough.

“Cough, no.
I’m just surfacing for a moment.”

“What? What do you mean?”

“Young Lady Pauline, who I was riding the boat with, has yet to get out of the water.”

Dooha seemed to find the jewelled accessories that were stuck in her hair cumbersome, and handed it to Layla after roughly ripping them off.

“I’ll be right back, so wait here.”

“No! It’s dangerous! Wait a mo—!”

The head maid reached out to catch Dooha, who was about to dive underwater again, but she had already disappeared into the water.

“O—Oh no.”

The head maid grabbed the hem of Layla’s skirt with a white face.

“Layla, why didn’t you try to stop her! Even though it’s an artificial lake, it’s very deep and dangerous! What if something happens to the Duchess—?”

Layla put away the jewellery that was entrusted to her by her master and gripped the paddles tightly.

“…It’ll be alright, probably.”

“But—!”

“Haven’t the head maid witnessed it before already? The kind of person that the Madam is?”

Dooha was the person that returned safely after scaling a cliff during a downpour. 

As such, nothing big would happen, even if she fell into a lake like this. 

“So let’s have faith and wait.”

The reflections of their faces rippled silently, the two that were more concerned about the duchess’ safety than anyone else.

* * *

Dooha swam as fast as a fish into the deep end of the lake.

Fortunately, it wasn’t difficult to locate Pauline. 

She wouldn’t have found her if this wasn’t a calm lake, but a deep river or sea.

Dooha took off Pauline’s dress like she did when she had escaped and placed her arms under her armpit.

There was no time to lose.

She hugged Pauline from behind and headed for the surface with all her might.

Just as the bottom of the boat that Layla and the head maid were riding on was getting closer.

The strange ripples that Dooha felt from the tips of her toes elicited a frown. 

She might have felt that mistakenly, but it certainly seemed as though there was a current coming up from below.

However, she didn’t spot anything strange when she looked downwards and checked the bottom of the lake.

The pitch-black tinged bottom of the lake was strangely silent.

Dooha tried her best to ignore the ominous foreboding and headed for the water surface.

“Madam!”

“Oh my goodness—!”

“Young Lady Pauline is also safe!”

“Duchess, what on earth is going on!”

The wives of the vassals that had already approached on their boats and spoke one after another with widened eyes.

Countess Jive sat amongst them and covered her expression of disapproval with a fan.

Meanwhile, Dooha ignored the barrage of questions that were directed at her and pushed Pauline onto the boat. 

“Young Lady Pauline! Come to your senses! Young Lady Pauline!”

The head maid brought her ear to the unconscious Pauline’s chest while slapping her cheeks.

“Her heart is beating, but she isn’t breathing.”

“Layla, go and take a look.”

Upon the head maid’s words, Dooha gave Layla, who was trying to pull her up, a meaningful glance.

“Hurry and come up first, Madam.
Something bad will happen if you continue staying in the water.”

“I can get up on my own, so hurry.”

At her master’s words, Layla eventually turned while grumbling.

“Move!”

Then, Layla stepped up and grabbed the young lady’s corset roughly.

“Oh my, oh my gosh!”

At her unhesitating touch, exclamations flowed from the mouths of the aristocratic ladies. 

Without caring about their reaction, Layla placed her mouth onto Pauline’s.

How breathless she must have been.

“Gasp—!”

Pauline finally spat out the water and breathed heavily.

The head maid that was watching from the side tapped her face urgently.

“Young Lady Pauline, have you awakened? Young Lady Pauline!”

However, even though her breathing had returned to normal, she still couldn’t regain consciousness. 

“Erm, I think she fell asleep.”

“No wait, how can she sleep in such a situation?”

Layla’s mouth twitched like she was stunned by the head maid’s words.

However, unlike her curt manner of speech, her hands were moving busily. 

After covering her with a prepared blanket, Layla reached out to Dooha.

“It’s okay now, right? Hurry up here, Madam.”

“Alright.”

The moment Dooha smiled and was about to get onto the boat while holding her handmaiden’s hand.

“Madam, please relax your body.
No matter how strong I am, I can’t win against you.”

When she wouldn’t budge no matter how much she pulled, Layla frowned.

She got a bad feeling from Dooha’s countenance, which was pale for some reason. 

“…Layla.”

“Madam?”

“Get out of here as soon as possible, alright?”

Dooha’s voice was trembling slightly.

“Madam, what’s wrong with you all of a sudden…”

Before Layla could finish her sentence.

Splash—

Along with a loud noise, the duchess sank underwater once more.

She was sucked down helplessly, as if she was being pulled from below by something. 

Layla slumped down onto the boat as she looked at her empty hand.

“…Princess Dooha?”

Her master’s term of address in Bashal dispersed in vain. 

“Madam! Duchess!”

Meanwhile, the stunned head maid screamed urgently, but it was to no avail.

“What is this—?”

“Look for the Duchess again!”

Just as the servants on the boat began to move busily again. 

“Wait, don’t you think the boat is swaying a little right now?”

“What are you saying when it isn’t even windy? Oh, you’re right.”

On a warm and sunny day that was devoid of any breeze, the boats that were floating on the surface of the lake were swaying slightly. 

As if a wave was surging in the lake.

“It’s a monster, it’s a monster—!”

Just then, one of the servants farthest from the location the duchess was found shouted.

His face was petrified with fear.

“A monster?”

“Kyaaahhh—!”

The lake turned into a mess instantly.

The servants, as well as the ladies, forgot about dignity and zealously tried to escape to the lake shore with all of their might.

While they were running away, something that could be called a ‘monster’ finally appeared on the lake’s choppy surface.

It was the root of a plant that’s alive and moving.