In the noble society of the Crania Empire, where complex etiquette including age and status had already been established, not receiving a greeting was a big problem.
The Duchess of Monde clearly expressed how displeased and upset she was by ignoring Kaela’s greeting. Honestly, it was an emotionally driven action.
‘It would have been good if someone had seen…No, what does that matter?’
What use is it now? Kaela had already concluded after enduring the difficult times as the Grand Duchess of Lusenford.
Even if she complained about being wronged, no one would take her side. It was better to just swallow and digest it quietly. At least it would be peaceful that way. Nothing would happen. Or if she protested, she would only be seen as the strange and bad person.
‘Or everything would just fizzle out. In this case, they’d tell me to understand and let it go.’
The Duchess of Monde had lost a potential son-in-law, and poor Lady Ravalley had lost a long-time lover.
If Kaela made an issue of this, she’d be accused of being a wealthy heiress throwing a tantrum while already taking someone else’s man to marry.
Moreover, this is the royal palace. With the Emperor on edge because of the Empress, Kaela, who was walking on thin ice not knowing when she might die, didn’t want to become the protagonist of a commotion or gossip. She sincerely wanted to stay quiet.
“Miss. A guest has come to see you.”
So Kaela, who had returned straight home after finishing her business at the palace and confirming that her father wouldn’t have a private audience with the Emperor today, looked at the butler.
“It’s the Grand Duke of Lusenford.”
A name that made her feel even more tired just hearing it.
‘Why did he come? Should I have apologized to the Duchess of Monde? Has he come to criticize me for not doing so?’
It’s obvious, isn’t it? He always blindly defended Beatrice, after all. That’s why the time spent with her husband was always suffocating.
His unreadable violet eyes always silently accused her, and Kaela always struggled to endure that gaze and be perfect. A perfect wife. As if Kaela could ever be such a thing.
But because she kept having stupid, unbroken hope, Kaela just kept wearing away quietly. So as soon as she heard that the Grand Duke of Lusenford had come, she immediately thought of the silent accusations that would pour out with the silence.
“Why did he come?”
“He said he has something to give… If you’re tired, he said he’d come back in three hours.”
The Grand Duke had clearly conveyed his determination to meet.
“Tell him to wait a little.”
“Yes, Miss.”
Kaela eventually got up and tidied her clothes. Well, it couldn’t hurt. Let’s think positively.
She had already lost her temper, run away, and shown all sorts of unsightly behavior. If he was going to pick a fight over this incident, she had no reason to stay quiet either. Rather than pretending to be a good person awkwardly, she might as well live angrily until she dies. It’s fortunate that she can at least get angry.
Sitting in front of the mirror, she started to brush her hair but paused. The scene of the Duchess of Monde turning her head abruptly without answering her greeting came to mind again.
‘It’s not like I did anything wrong.’
If they want to get angry, they should go to the Emperor or the Grand Duke of Lusenford. Kaela, who usually greeted well and was polite, was just an easy target.
It would make more sense if Beatrice came and got angry at Kaela, but it was laughable that her mother was making a fuss.
If we’re matching status, shouldn’t the Duchess of Monde go to Duke Ostein and get angry about why he took away their potential son-in-law?
Everything related to that family or the Grand Duke of Lusenford is always like this. Much later, she’d find herself sitting alone at her dressing table, letting down her hair, or drinking tea alone, remembering and nursing her aching heart.
Kaela put down her brush with a clatter and walked quickly to the reception room.
The Duchess of Monde had taken out her anger on an innocent and easy target, so why shouldn’t she do the same? Of course, that doesn’t mean the man pacing in the reception room was an easy person.
“…I’m sorry for coming suddenly.”
He was exceptionally skilled with a sword, but when standing still, he also gave off the air of a well-educated scholar.
She had seen him a few times, returning with a war-weary face, quietly recording in his journal by lamplight. Kaela hated that she remembered such trivial scenes one by one and recalled them from time to time.
“I should have contacted you before visiting…”
“It’s alright. What brings you here?”
The overly formal atmosphere between the two was awkward and uncomfortable. One side was being very cautious, while the other was burning with determination.
If he came to confront her because of the Duchess of Monde, Kaela truly wouldn’t stay quiet. Yes, that’s it. She was already facing another marriage that would surely lead to her death, and there was a big difference between dying after saying what she wanted to say and dying without saying it.
The problem was that she had been patient for so long that she kept forgetting it was okay to get angry.
‘It’s okay to be angry. It’s okay to act as you please. You’re going to die anyway. It’s okay.’
Kaela muttered to herself as she stood facing Peon. He was so tall that she had to look up at him from a distance to avoid straining her neck. He was holding a rather large box with a dark expression.
“Um… I…”
Peon, who had been trying to speak, gave up and just spoke honestly.
“I came to apologize. I heard that the Duchess of Monde ignored your greeting today.”
Apologize? Kaela stared at the Grand Duke of Lusenford in bewilderment. He was hanging his head with his handsome eyebrows lowered. Is this man at a loss right now?
“You suffered humiliation because of me. I’m sorry.”
Is he mocking her? Or is this a dream? Until now, she felt like this was reality that she had returned to for reasons unknown, whether magic or curse, but seeing this man act like this, she wondered if she might still be dreaming while dying in the northern tower of Lusenford.
Kaela blankly watched Peon apologize sincerely and respectfully, then sat down.
“Please sit down first. Has such a rumor spread?”
“Yes.”
“I didn’t know there were eyes watching.”
If this indifferent and wooden man came to apologize with such a deathly pale face, it was safe to assume that the rumor had spread throughout Crania.
By the way, it’s impressive how quickly the rumor spread for Peon to visit within three hours of the incident. There must have been quite a few eyes watching. That was fortunate, but Kaela hid her relief.
“It’s my fault that the Duchess of Monde acted that way. I’m truly sorry, Princess.”
Kaela closed her mouth as she reflexively wanted to say “It’s not your fault.” It is his fault, largely.
“The Duchess came to see me this morning, but it seems she couldn’t understand my explanation and position. You, an innocent party, bore the brunt of her anger. I’m sorry.”
A man apologizing at the end of every sentence was very unfamiliar to Kaela. It wouldn’t be easy to apologize even to a younger sister, but he apologized respectfully as if it were only natural.
Well, she had heard that Peon was well-respected and very kind to his people. That’s what she had observed from the side as well.
It’s just that Kaela wasn’t one of Peon’s people, so she was excluded from that kindness. After hearing the declaration that she wasn’t his, she was driven to a dark place and had to watch kindness that wasn’t hers, feeling bitterly cold.
“I see.”
Seeing Kaela nod without showing any emotion, Peon felt his blood run cold. He didn’t want to provoke her at all, the woman who would get fiercely angry regardless of her fragile body’s condition, and who had even run away because she so desperately didn’t want to marry.
But things kept happening. If it was this bad this time, he shuddered to think how much the Duchess of Monde must have lorded over Kaela before he regressed.
A woman who knew how to get angry never once got angry and kept her mouth shut tight back then. There must have been many things that happened for it to get to that point. There must have been many terribly difficult things happening behind his back that he deliberately didn’t see.
“I’m ashamed. I’m sorry, Princess.”
“So you’re saying the Duchess of Monde ignored my greeting because of Your Highness?”
“I have no intention of making excuses. As you know, Princess, there were plenty of reasons for the Duchess to consider me as a potential son-in-law. But when the marriage announcement came out, she came to me to find out what had happened.”
