Episode 87. Cheap Warmth
Odette’s gaze was drawn to a lady with light brown hair.
The beautiful lady sat next to Countess Myra and smiled gently.
“Welcome, Duchess Ertmann. Is this your first time here? This is my cousin, Countess Noarch. And Ivonne, this is Duchess Ertmann.”
“……Thank you for inviting me, Countess Myra.”
As Odette paused, Lady Noarch lowered her head a moment later.
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Duchess Ertmann.”
“Nice to meet you too, Countess Noarch.”
Countess Noarch smiled brightly as Odette returned the greeting.
It seemed as though time had passed her by, for despite her middle age, she retained an undiminished beauty.
This beautiful lady’s name was Ivonne Noarch.
She used to be known as Ivonne Ertmann.
So, to summarize.
‘She was Walter’s biological mother…….’
After Walter’s father, Luther, ran away with the Princess, Ivonne requested the Imperial Court to cancel the marriage, saying she no longer wanted to be with Ertmann.
However, in the case of an annulment of marriage rather than a divorce under Imperial law, did not allow a woman to claim any rights to the family name, including children.
In other words, Ivonne was asking the Imperial Court to erase even her son, Walter, from her life.
Facing the disgrace that would spread alongside Ivonne, the royal family reluctantly accepted Ivonne’s marriage cancellation, and she soon remarried with Count Noarch.
It was only then that people realized why Ivonne had tried to keep her son away from her.
From the beginning, she had intended to leave Ertmann and remarried.
‘Maybe the cancellation of the marriage, separate from the remarriage, was intended to avoid the Imperial family’s wrath toward Ertmann.’
Regardless of the reason, the decision to erase even her own young son was quite ruthless.
Gossipy courtiers buzzed about this issue for a while, and thanks to them, Odette often heard about the story within the palace.
– Duchess Ertmann, or should I say, Countess Noarch now? She’s been quite aloof lately.
– After experiencing such disgrace, would she even want to appear in society? Since she’s remarried anyway, she’s probably staying at home.
– Count Noarch is quite remarkable too. She chased after him since her maiden days, and now they’re married…….
– Seems like Duke Ertmann’s heir missed out. I heard Countess Noarch doesn’t even give a second glance to Ertmann.
The people who said they felt sorry for Walter wore masks of kindness, but to young Odette, they didn’t seem much different from Ivonne.
‘In the end, nobody helps, do they?’
Odette remembered how people would often look down at her and click their tongues, saying “Poor thing.”
She knew that hastily melting into the faint warmth of their voices would only make the cold loneliness feel even colder.
‘I wonder if Duke Ertmann’s feels as lonely as I do?’
Maybe even lonelier than her. She doesn’t know her mother, but he knows what his mother looks like.
Odette had never seen him, but she felt a need to embrace him from her inner child’s heart.
‘I’ll hug him if I had meet him sooner.’
She thought to herself.
……It was now a faint memory.
Perhaps he should be grateful that she had brought back a memory he had forgotten.
Odette let out a small sigh.
Countess Noarch, Ivonne, hadn’t made any appearances in society since that incident.
It was only natural.
Who wants to go out into society to hear things about her husband running away from her with another woman?
Although she was related to Countess Myra, they hadn’t been frequent associates, so it wasn’t surprising that Emma hadn’t said much about it.
‘But why did she come here of all places…….?’
Odette thought it was because of her.
And if Countess Myra had intentionally set this up, then Odette would have fallen into a trap.
Especially since Odette had chosen a small-scale social gathering, the attendees were all close to Countess Myra.
Considering the favor Countess Myra might have had towards Erdmann, Odette thought it might be okay to go along with it, but now it seemed like it wouldn’t be so easy.
‘Well, nothing I can do about it.’
Odette nonchalantly took her seat, pretending to know nothing, and glanced at Countess Noarch.
Was she being friendly or hostile?
‘Maybe she came out of curiosity upon hearing news about her son she hadn’t seen for so long.’
Don’t get too nervous.
Maybe Countess Noarch missed Walter too.
Don’t rule out the possibility that she came with good intentions…….
“I think everyone is so liberal these days. Back then, it was considered proper to visit your in-laws right after getting married.”
…… That’s true.
Odette quickly dismissed any positive thoughts.
If anyone was lucky, it was Countess Noarch.
Countess Myra beside her chuckled and responded.
“Young people might have different thoughts. If you say something like that these days, you might hear that you’re old-fashioned. Isn’t that right, Duchess Ertmann?”
And then the conversation turned to Odette.
It was obvious what they wanted.
‘They’re hoping I’ll play along with them while they lead the conversation.’
If she chuckled and played along, it would be just as they wished. If she remained serious or got angry, they would label her as oversensitive.
‘That’s probably the reaction they’d most like to see.’
The first question is whether Odette recognizes her mother-in-law whom she meets for the first time.
And how Odette reacts to the presence of her mother-in-law is secondary.
If so, the response is obvious.
With a slight smile, Odette tilted her head.
“Well, it depends on the person…… but I think Countess Noarch said is right.”
“……Is that so?”
A faint smile seemed to grace the lips of both Countess Myra and Countess Noarch, as if they found Odette’s response somewhat amusing.
Odette, pretending not to notice their expressions, continued nonchalantly.
“Of course. It’s only natural.”
“As expected, this is the etiquette of the Princess.”
“You’re too kind, Countess Myra.”
As Odette responded gracefully, Countess Noarch smiled and inclined her head.
“However, I do wonder…… if the Duchess of Ertmann is so adept at observing etiquette, why did she not offer her greetings to me when we were first introduced?”
Her beautiful face had a hint of bitterness in it.
But Odette, feigning ignorance as if she knew nothing, widened her eyes in apparent surprise.
“I’m not sure what you mean, Madam. We thought we exchanged greetings in the proper order.”
Traditionally, when introducing someone, the person of lower rank should greet first.
For example, if Odette were introduced to Arnold, Arnold should greet her first.
However, in a situation like now where Arnold is Odette’s maternal uncle, it is a sign of respect for Odette to bow first as a gesture of reverence towards the senior member of the family.
“Since I am of the Duke’s family and you are of the Count’s, isn’t it the proper order for me to bow to you?”
“Of course it is, unless I am your husband’s biological mother.”
Countess Noarch spoke with a hint of sadness in her voice.
“Even if I am no longer a member of the Duke of Ertmann’s family, it doesn’t change the fact that I am his mother, and it is very sad that I should be treated in this way.”
“Oh, don’t be so upset Madam. I’m sure Duchess Ertmann didn’t mean any harm.”
“You’re right, Madam. Duchess Ertmann probably wouldn’t have been taught such manners…… this kind of common sense. It’s a mistake a social novice can make.”
As tears welled up in Countess Noarch’s eyes, other noblewomen were taken aback and tried to comfort her.
There was no malice towards Odette from any of them.
It’s just that the person who caused this situation had malicious intent.
And that fact upset Odette.
“……That’s strange. As far as I know, the only person I should show respect to is Lord Arnold, but for someone I’m meeting for the first time to demand respect from me.”
“Madam, didn’t you hear what I said? I am Walter’s mother. You may still be young, so you might not understand-“
“No, I know everything I need to know. I know that my maternal uncle is Lord Arnold and that there are no other elders in Ertmann.”
And that person who was supposed to be Walter’s parents at the wedding hadn’t even shown up.
“I haven’t seen you where I should have, so why should I follow your etiquette just because you say so? You’re not even part of Ertmann?”
Odette’s words made Countess Noarch flinch.
“W-What are you saying? Everyone here knows that I’m Walter’s mother!”
“I don’t know. If I should have known, then my husband or Lord Arnold would have told me sooner. Unfortunately, I haven’t heard a word about it.”
As Odette coldly retorted, a sorrowful tear welled up in Countess Noarch’s eyes.
“H- How could you do this to me? Even if I left Ertmann, the ties of blood don’t just disappear…… how could you show me such disrespect…….”
“Madam, the ties of blood don’t just disappear, you say?”
In the end, Odette couldn’t help but let out a bitter laugh.
“So what have you done for your unbroken child all this time? Have you tried to contact him even once? Or seen his face? Have you written a single letter while your child shed blood on the battlefield?”
“I-I……. I was worried about him too…….! Do you think I could have been at peace after separating from my child?”
“Of course, you couldn’t have been at peace. But that’s all there is to it.”
Empty sympathy that doesn’t help at all.
Even if Walter had died on the battlefield, she would have simply clicked her tongue and said it was a pity, such cheap kindness.
Both Odette and Walter had long passed the age to melt their hands in such hopes.
“If you still want to claim to be my husband’s mother, come to Ertmann and be recognized.”
Before saying such things, shouldn’t you have done that first in the appropriate order? Well…….
“…….I can’t expect etiquette from someone so shameless.”
With those words, Odette got up from her seat and left without a word of apology or farewell.
She didn’t feel good at all.
