Chapter 14
The dance practice had ended up half-hearted and incomplete, and I ended up attending the banquet without sufficient preparation.
From several days earlier, Liah had been determined to make me the star of the banquet, and she woke me up at dawn.
Compared to the previous dance practice, Liah spent even more time carefully preparing me.
“Today’s makeup concept is ‘a fragile last petal that seems like it’s about to fall.’ We’ll emphasize my lady’s delicate beauty.”
“Yeah, sure. Just do whatever you think is best.”
Ah, of course, before leaving, I also remembered to take medicine to reduce my coughing and hemoptysis in preparation for the banquet.
After several hours of getting everything ready, I headed down to the manor’s entrance.
Kairon, who had already finished preparing, was waiting there.
“Have you been waiting long?”
As I spoke, he turned around to look at me.
“No, not really.”
I paused for a moment as I walked toward him with a bright expression.
Perhaps because he had put in extra effort to dress up today, he looked unusually handsome. He had always been quite attractive, but today it was enough to make me stop in my tracks.
I’d heard that before his marriage, many young noble ladies had chased after Kairon—and with that face, it was understandable.
His long, sharp eyes were like those of a predator, and his red pupils contrasted with his black hair and dark eyebrows, giving off a mysterious allure that seemed to draw one in.
Even the black clothes I usually disliked—wondering why he always wore such dark outfits—looked exceptionally good today. He looked like a black panther with red eyes.
“Eket.”
Lost in admiration of his appearance, I stood there blankly until he called my name. I quickly snapped back to my senses.
“Ah, yes. Let’s go.”
“You took your medicine, right?”
“Of course.”
We arrived at the banquet hall by carriage.
Before the banquet officially began, attendees had to wait in a holding room. Moreover, the waiting rooms were separated by gender.
In other words, I had to be apart from my husband until entry.
I didn’t feel any particular need to stay with him, so it wasn’t an issue—but something else bothered me.
Entry was ordered from lowest to highest rank, meaning the duke and duchess would enter almost last.
Waiting until the very end when arriving in order would have been perfectly reasonable.
Grumbling inwardly at such outdated customs, I parted ways with Kairon and entered the waiting room.
“Oh my, it’s the duchess.”
As if I were some kind of celebrity, all eyes turned toward me the moment I stepped inside.
“What brings her here?”
“Exactly. I thought she wouldn’t come.”
“Could it be that she’s attending with His Grace the Duke?”
She had risen to the position of duchess at the pinnacle of the noble hierarchy despite coming from a modest family, rarely attended events, and was rumored not to be loved by her husband.
In short, she was perfect prey for high society.
There were rumors about Eket ranging from “she clung to the duke to marry him but is now treated coldly” to “she’s only temporary, and once the duke grows interested in marriage and brings in a real duchess, she’ll be cast aside.”
That was essentially the entirety of Eket’s married life over the past year.
Gossip, disregard, and insults.
“His Grace the Duke doesn’t attend banquets often.”
“So she came without a partner?”
“Oh my, without a partner?”
“That’s right. She can’t ask another man to be her partner while her husband is present, and she can’t exactly ask His Grace to attend either…”
“…He doesn’t seem interested in her at all.”
Even as I walked to an empty table and sat down, their whispers—no, their open remarks—did not stop.
Was Kairon’s indifference to me such a widely known fact?
In such an atmosphere, how had Eket endured her solitary life in the capital all this time? Well, that must be why she stayed almost exclusively within the ducal estate—to avoid encountering other nobles.
Still, perhaps because I had mentally prepared myself, it didn’t hit me too hard.
And Kairon had handed me something in the carriage.
Perhaps he considered the duchess being insulted as a blemish on his own reputation.
“If someone looks down on you when I’m not around, record it with this.”
“What is this?”
“It’s a magical tool with shorthand recording functions. It transcribes and stores exactly what it hears.”
What he gave me was a small notebook slightly smaller than the palm of my hand, which unfolded like an accordion.
“What am I supposed to do with these records?”
“Deal with those who speak carelessly myself.”
I looked up at him silently for a moment.
My husband strongly disliked anything that tarnished the prestige of the ducal house. That was only natural. Having taken the position after killing his half-brother, he would fear even the slightest instability in his authority.
He had given me not only the shorthand notebook but also several other magical tools.
The original Eket would likely have been helpless against noble harassment.
For now, I decided to set aside the shorthand tool for later use when needed. I walked over to a table filled with snacks and placed several cookies onto a plate.
Since the lower-ranking nobles were still entering, it would be a while before my turn. I didn’t know anyone anyway, so I might as well fill my stomach.
I began eating the cookies one by one.
Mmm, delicious.
After finishing about two pieces, someone took a seat at my table, which had felt like a deserted island.
“Hello, Duchess.”
It was the first time someone had directly spoken to me.
“Long time no see. I heard rumors that you would attend today’s banquet, but I didn’t expect you to actually come.”
With lifted eyes, plump lips, and well-maintained brown hair with a smooth texture, she was clearly someone who took great care of her appearance.
Lady Lucy Stover. Eket’s memories told me who she was.
Although we hadn’t spoken face-to-face many times, there was a reason her name was firmly remembered.
We were not exactly on good terms.
“Were there rumors?”
“There were talks that you had commissioned a banquet dress.”
“I thought I had been moving quietly, but it seems word got out.”
“Everyone is quite interested in the Duchess.”
Interested—or perhaps jealous, or even dismissive?
How much gossip must have spread about a woman from an unremarkable family who managed to secure the position of duchess, surpassing all the prestigious noble houses?
Wasn’t this simply an attempt to find any flaw to trample and humiliate her?
A reasonable conclusion based on Eket’s remembered life.
Especially accurate when it came to the noble lady before me.
“Did you attend this banquet with His Grace the Duke? People who don’t know better are saying you came alone, but I didn’t think that was likely.”
Right. As if she would have come alone.
Why were they so fixated on this whole “partner” thing?
I was about to snap back, of course I came with my husband—but I changed my mind.
“Well, you’ll see.”
From the past, Kairon had been admired by many young noble ladies for his handsome appearance and sharp charisma.
Among them, Lady Stover had not only an attraction to Kairon but also strong ambition regarding the position of duchess itself.
Her family was a rising marquis house that had been steadily gaining power and influence. They were more than qualified for a marriage with a duke.
Lucy Stover had judged Kairon to be the most suitable match for herself. Naturally, her family had also put effort into securing the marriage.
A man with the ambition and ability to seize the ducal title by killing his brothers, combined with excellent looks.
Though she wasn’t fond of the fact that he was a second wife’s child, that flaw wasn’t a significant issue.
So when Eket was suddenly chosen as the duchess, she must have felt considerable betrayal and humiliation.
That such a woman had been chosen over herself.
Her evaluation of Eket was that she was overly naive, ignorant of how to handle power, unfit for noble society, and shameless.
And her belief was that anyone occupying a position beyond their means deserved to be trampled and brought down.
I wasn’t sure by what standards she arbitrarily judged someone’s “place,” but that was how she thought.
In fact, she spoke her thoughts so openly that Eket herself had heard them before.
“Ah, I suppose you’re avoiding answering.”
Lady Stover interpreted my silence in her own way.
“It seems all this attention is a bit overwhelming. And not in a good way either.”
“You really didn’t come alone, did you?”
“Do you hope that I did?”
“It’s just that His Grace isn’t the type to attend events like this, so I wondered.”
“Is the reason you’re asking so persistently because you’re waiting for my husband?”
Lady Stover, who had been responding without pause, leaned back slightly and laughed.
“Haha, of course not.”
“Right? It seems your husband isn’t particularly interested in you anyway.”
At that, her expression crumpled like paper.
Kairon wasn’t indifferent only to me—he was indifferent to you as well. In a way, that could be called fairness.
“Perhaps it was a bit sharp meeting for the first time in a while. I apologize.”
At her now-calm tone, I raised an eyebrow.
An apology first? It was rare to see her, proud as she was, lower herself like this.
“Today, rather than engaging in such sharp conversation, I’d actually like to get closer to you.”
“With me…?”
I had no intention of becoming close to her.
“That’s because you don’t have any close friends in social circles, Duchess.”
Lady Stover’s lips curved into a crooked, ominous smile as her gaze swept over the surrounding people.
“Isn’t that right, everyone? None of you have any close relationship with the Duchess, nor any intention of becoming close to her, do you?”
