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Translated by: Sienna
✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧
“Duchess, it’s been a long time, hasn’t it?”
Rone genuinely admired and liked this eloquent and beautiful noblewoman.
She smiled and greeted her cordially, and the Duchess smiled back softly.
“Yes, I’ve been quite busy lately. By the way, you don’t seem to be in a good mood. Did something unpleasant happen today?”
“Oh, n-nothing happened…”
Rone said, trying to dodge the question somehow.
“It’s okay; you can be honest. There’s no one to interrupt, right?”
At the Duchess’s words, Rone flinched.
‘No one to interrupt? Could it be that the Duchess did something that’s why there were no customers?’
However, if that were the case, the store employees would have warned her before entering the guest room.
‘And this place is frequented by both the noble faction and the Emperor faction, so even if it’s the Duchess of Lienheim, she can’t control them all.’
So, this was either a terrible coincidence or someone truly capable had intervened.
As Rone reached a conclusion, the Duchess of Lienheim spoke up.
“Rone, did you happen to visit the Blant Duchy today?”
“H-How did you…?”
Surprised by the sudden question, Rone stammered, and the Duchess of Lienheim shrugged with a smile.
“Oh, well, rumors fly in social circles, and it would be ridiculous if I didn’t know about it, wouldn’t it?”
“Oh, I suppose so.”
Just as she was about to brush it off with a smile—
“So, how was it?”
“Eh? What do you mean…?”
Rone froze as her eyes met with Duchess Lienheim’s.
“Did the ill-tempered old wildcat of Blant duchy like the gift her daughter-in-law gave her?”
The once gentle gaze of the Duchess of Lienheim had suddenly turned fierce, like that of a predator eyeing its prey.
Rone sensed her intention and swallowed nervously.
‘She’s trying to find out what happened at the Blant Duchy by probing me.’
A thought crossed Rone’s mind.
Should she reveal everything and feel relieved, or should she keep silent and endure?
‘Honestly, I hope the matriarch of Blant Duchy gets criticized.’
Originally, Rone wanted to win over Blant’s matriarch with beautiful jewelry and make her a customer.
She was undoubtedly the most respected figure in the Empire, and earning her praise would solidify Rone’s position as the industry’s top jewelry shop, surpassing Twinkle.
But after actually conversing with the matriarch, Rone’s desire to sell her the jewelry her sister painstakingly crafted vanished.
‘Our mother died after suffering from in-laws all her life because she only gave birth to two daughters.’
Even after their mother passed away, their father showed no remorse.
So she and her sister left home and opened a jewelry store.
At first, it was small-scale, but thanks to her sister’s exceptional craftsmanship and artistic sense, Shining Stone surpassed Twinkle and became the top in the industry.
‘But that woman criticized our store’s jewelry as inadequate.’
To be honest, staying silent wouldn’t appease the matriarch. She already seemed to dislike Shining Stone.
However, Rone couldn’t speak hastily due to potential retaliation from the Matriarch of Blant and Cornelia’s reputation.
‘No matter how much of a victim she is, garnering sympathy as a princess and duchess would only backfire.’
Nobles, by nature, are obsessed with appearances and consider showing weakness to be shameful.
But how could the daughter of the current emperor and a duchess endure such a harsh marriage from the Blant Duchy, a noble family with a strong influence?
While there may be immediate sympathy, it will eventually become Cornelia’s shackles.
‘Those who dislike the duchess will try to portray her as a pitiable victim, no matter what she does.’
In a noble society, being seen as pitiable was equivalent to being marked as insignificant.
In other words, the duchess might face social rejection based on her response.
‘So, I can’t say anything about the duchess.’
Though it was a brief encounter, Rone felt a liking for Cornelia.
She had a keen eye for beauty, knowing that even the simplest jewelry could be exquisite. She treated her kindly, despite being only a minor noble.
Moreover, she had willingly defended her earlier, knowing she could face backlash from the matriarch.
Rone was therefore determined to shield Cornelia from any harm.
‘But at least I can say this much.’
“Frankly, no matter what gift we gave, it would have been useless. It seemed like the matriarch didn’t fancy our store’s items.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yes, especially since her favorite jewelry shop is Twinkle…”
At that, Duchess Lienheim folded her eyes into a half-moon shape and laughed.
“Well, Twinkle is operated by Marquis Arzen, so I suppose you must be rivals.”
As Rone smiled in agreement instead of giving a direct answer, the Duchess of Lienheim spoke.
“But is there anything else? Like if the matriarch is mistreating her daughter-in-law or something?”
Seeing her probing again, Rone quickly replied.
“Other than that, it’s the customer’s privacy…”
“Rone, I thought you were quick-witted, but you’re not as sharp as I thought.”
“Excuse me?”
“Who do you think would have the power to send me here? And furthermore, they had the power to dismiss all the guests present here simultaneously.”
“That’s…….”
Rone remained silent. The emperor himself was the only one capable of moving nobles of that caliber.
‘Even if they are from the noble faction, they would have to respond to the Emperor’s summons.’
Seeing Rone’s silence, Duchess Lienheim chuckled and spoke.
“I’ve said it before, haven’t I? When you gain a reputation in society, you will eventually have to choose between two paths. The noble’s or the Emperor’s faction.”
Duchess Lienheim looked at Rone and smirked.
“Well, it seems like you’ve already involuntarily chosen the same side as me.”
Normally, Rone should have denied her words and remained neutral, but she couldn’t.
After all, if he had to choose, he didn’t want to align himself with the matriarch of Blant.
‘For now, I need to understand the Duchess of Lienheim’s intentions.’
Rone swallowed dryly, then opened her mouth.
“Your Grace, you could have gotten what you wanted from me without revealing the truth. But why are you telling me all of this?”
At that, Duchess Lienheim laughed.
“Well, it was quite endearing and admirable to see you awkwardly trying to divert attention for the Duchess of Blant.”
At her response, Rone chuckled foolishly before speaking.
“So, does that mean you’ll protect me even if I speak ill about the matriarch of Blant?”
At Rone’s probing question, Duchess Lienheim narrowed her eyes.
“Oh, of course! That’s why I’ve taken time out of my busy schedule to come.”
Rone, who didn’t understand Duchess Lienheim’s intention, asked in confusion, “Pardon? What do you mean by that?”
“In a little while, the guests will return. At that time, you just need to respond with, ‘Yes, no.’ If it’s too sensitive to answer, keep your mouth shut and look flustered.”
In other words, the Duchess of Lienheim would ignite the rumors, and she should react appropriately to fuel them.
‘Surely, if this is the woman, she can handle the matriarch of Blant.’
The Duchess of Lienheim, with her unique eloquence, firmly held a top position in high society.
Moreover, revealing the Emperor’s intentions meant she would definitely provide protection.
Rone opened her mouth.
“I thank the Duchess of Lienheim for her favor.”
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The next morning, I stretched and got out of bed.
‘Hmm, did I get too immersed in acting yesterday? I feel a little groggy.’
As usual, I quickly washed up and got ready for breakfast.
Moments later, someone came in dragging a tray.
“Landon? What brings you here?”
For a moment, I was puzzled by his unexpected visit to my room instead of hovering around Xenon and the matriarch. However, I was taken aback when I noticed the dark circles under Landon’s eyes.
“No, but what is the matter with your face? You look very tired.”
“Well, madam…… it’s no big deal; go ahead and eat. Your baby will grow up healthy if you eat well.”
‘No way, how can I eat casually with such a face next to me?’
Anyway, I’m using Landon now, so I blurted something out.
“Alright, thank you.”
At that point, Landon spoke up.
“Don’t worry, this food is safe. I watched over the entire process from start to finish.”
‘No, I didn’t say anything about spying on the chef……’.
At this point, I don’t know if he’s being obtuse or if he’s just trying to do his best at everything.
However, being human myself, I did feel a sense of guilt for manipulating Landon.
‘I suppose it’s okay to let him get his job back.’
With a smile, I turned to Landon and asked,
“By the way, did you try to look good in front of the matriarch?”
“That, that… hiccup!”
Seeing his hesitant expression, I furrowed my brow.
