Duchess in the Attic (Manga)

On the night of her high society debut, an unknown culprit assaulted Countess Opal. That single incident led to the loss of her reputation among the nobility, and she has faced years of isolation and malicious gossip. Then, one day, she suddenly finds herself married off to Duke Hubert! It turns out he needs Opal’s family fortune to save himself from debt, despite his unsavory attitude towards her. Opal’s newlywed life begins in a dusty old attic. Hubert’s mansion is full of hostility for his new bride, and even the staff begin to bully her and spread rumors. On top of that, Hubert’s childhood friend, a young woman called Stella, already resides in the mansion, and everyone utterly adores her! Forbidden from helping to manage the duchy, the stubborn Opal decides to take matters into her own hands. Looked down upon and underestimated, she formulates a plan to outsmart them all. The new duchess’s brilliant reversal of fortunes begins in the attic!

After successfully finding the culprit behind the duchy’s embezzlement, Opal returns to the capital to expose the truth. However, the temperamental Duke Hubert refuses to listen, leaving her ostracized again. Realizing that playing nice won’t help, Opal decides it’s finally time to go on the offensive. She draws up a plan of action to turn the tables on her ignorant husband and the mansion’s insolent staff. Opal’s brilliant counterattack begins at last!

After a shrewd counterattack, Opal takes the duchy and all its assets from her ignorant husband, Hubert. Now it’s time to fix all the damage he did by neglecting his domain and kick her grand reformation plan into motion! Leaving Hubert and Stella behind in the capital, Opal moves to an estate in the ducal lands. There, she recruits the newly rehabilitated Omar to help with the next steps, and the duchy starts to thrive. However, Opal has a bad feeling when Hubert pays the estate a sudden visit—and her fears are quickly proven right when she realizes her husband has done the unthinkable...

Though Opal is horrified by Hubert’s rash purchase of the infamous Manthest land, its fortunes fare better than feared thanks to Marquis Roussel, an investor from the neighboring nation. But Opal’s relief is short-lived, as her world is turned upside down once more when Hubert suddenly confesses his love and says that he wants them to be a true couple! Will she accept his advances? Or will the sudden return of her childhood best friend alter her life’s course yet again?

Now that Opal and Claude are finally engaged, they decide to leave their home nation behind to move to the Taisei Kingdom, where Claude has earned himself the rank of marquis and the friendship of King Alessandro. However, not everyone welcomes Opal with open arms—the temperamental Baron Pradeaux openly loathes her, and even the king seems to harbor suspicions. Opal was prepared to leave high society and retire, but she finds herself once again forced to take center stage and rejoin the subtle battle of political intrigue.