Chapter 16
What captured Adeline’s attention more than Cayla’s sharp voice was the man standing directly in front of her. His blue eyes were flashing menacingly.
And beside the Grand Duke was a woman. A woman with an enchanting smile was staring intently at Adeline.
*‘Who is she?’*
Adeline carefully examined the unfamiliar woman. She wasn’t the female lead. But the woman was clinging to the Grand Duke, fiddling with the bracelet on his wrist. Adeline’s mood twisted strangely.
“Oh my.”
The first sound to spread through the quiet corridor was Cayla’s shy voice. She grabbed the hem of her dress and bowed her waist.
“Your Grace, Grand Duke Blackwood, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I am Cayla Primrose.”
Wynster didn’t move a muscle. And neither did the woman beside him. Looking straight into Wynster’s eyes, Adeline asked Cayla.
“Cayla, you asked me if I was a widow, right?”
“Huh? Ah… well, yes, I did.”
“It just occurred to me, but yes, I am a widow.”
“……?!”
***
Wynster followed her all the way down the stairs, but Adeline didn’t give him a single glance.
“You, let’s talk for a moment.”
“Luca should be waking up from his nap around now.”
“Adeline.”
Wynster knew Adeline wasn’t listening to him at all. He couldn’t let her go like this, so he lifted her into his arms.
“That’s dangerous!”
Adeline let out a startled voice as the thick forearm slipped deeply behind her knees. Wynster let out a deep sigh. Stopping in the middle of the staircase, the Grand Duke stared intently at Adeline.
“So, will you listen to me now?”
“Put me down.”
“Are you trying to run away again?”
“I was just walking normally.”
“Your legs are long, I get it, so walk a bit slower.”
“I can’t even walk as I please?”
“I’m saying this because I don’t want you to get hurt. These are stairs. Don’t fall again.”
Wynster was referring to the time Adeline had fallen down the stairs at the Central Academy. Back then, Adeline had fallen on top of the Grand Duke, so she wasn’t seriously injured, but it wasn’t a particularly good memory for either of them.
*‘This man has a uselessly good memory.’*
They hadn’t seen each other in so long, yet Wynster spoke to her as if they’d met just yesterday.
“Hold on for now.”
Wynster slightly bowed his head.
“It’s fine. You can just put me down. This is uncomfortable.”
“If you don’t want to fall, you’d better hold on.”
“I need to go home now, so don’t worry about me.”
“Stop being so stubborn.”
“*You’re* the one being stubborn, Your Grace.”
“It’s just carrying you, that’s all.”
“It’s not ‘just.’ I told you I don’t like it.”
It was just as they were going back and forth a few more times.
“Your Grace Wynster, I will speak directly with Miss Primrose.”
An uninvited guest interjected into their conversation.
“Leonnie Flora.”
“Yes, Your Grace. It seems, about this bracelet…”
“Did you find my words amusing?”
“……”
“Don’t interfere.”
At the cold, razor-sharp voice, Leonnie straightened her posture and bowed deeply. Just then, Adeline looked directly at her and spoke.
“Since you’ve already interfered, why not interfere a bit more? I suddenly feel like hearing what you have to say.”
Wynster looked at Adeline with slightly surprised eyes. She was staring intently at Leonnie while firmly wrapped in his arms.
*‘This woman just called me ‘Primrose’ a moment ago.’*
How far had the rumor about her being from the Primrose family spread? Could gossip really travel fast enough for someone she was meeting for the first time to know?
*‘And she also wanted to talk about the bracelet.’*
A sense of unease refused to leave Adeline’s mind.
Adeline tapped Wynster’s shoulder. It was a signal to put her down, but the Grand Duke continued to carry her as he walked until they reached the lounge.
***
Silence flowed in the lounge, but Leonnie was the first to break it.
“You seem very close with His Grace Wynster.”
“Let’s stop with the unnecessary talk. It feels like a waste of time.”
“Quite frank and straightforward for a first meeting. I rather like that.”
“Let’s get to the main point. I’m not sitting here to be evaluated by anyone. You’re curious about that bracelet, right?”
“That’s right. I also have to enjoy the rest of the banquet.”
Leonnie smiled slyly, then placed the bracelet adorned with blue gems that she was holding onto the table. It was the same bracelet Wynster had been wearing until just a moment ago.
“This is a bracelet I gifted to His Grace Wynster.”
*‘Ah, I see.’*
“Your craftsmanship is truly excellent.”
*‘She’s not bringing this up just to compliment me, of course.’*
“Your eye for gems is also remarkable. It seems one couldn’t obtain these unless they were from the Bluesiel Atelier.”
*‘So, you felt uneasy about this bracelet and investigated me, is that it?’*
After lavishing a few more compliments, Leonnie soon pushed the bracelet toward Adeline with a hardened expression.
“But you know, it’s quite strange.”
“In what way?”
“This bracelet. The rumors about it are truly bizarre.”
“Do you want to spread malicious gossip?”
“Heavens, no. I don’t engage in such lowly acts.”
*‘It already seems pretty lowly to me.’*
“Some say they slept wearing this bracelet and slept well. Others say their colds were completely cured.”
“And so?”
Expecting the words she wanted to hear to spill from Leonnie’s lips, Adeline raised the corner of her mouth.
“At first, I thought they were cute rumors. I even thought the owner must be quite clever, weaving such plausible rumors around a mere bracelet made of simple gems.”
Leonnie raised her eyebrows and twisted her lips into a strange, displeased expression before continuing.
“Frankly, there’s no way a mere bracelet could have such mysterious power.”
“If you have something to say, why not say it properly? That way, I can also hear what I want to hear properly.”
“If you mix appropriate lies with innocent people, they naturally assign special meaning themselves.”
“Are you trying to say I committed fraud?”
“No. His Grace the Grand Duke kept this bracelet by his bedside, and that day he slept in late for the first time in a long while.”
*‘Do I have to care about Wynster sleeping in too? He slept fine at the hotel last time too.’*
While grumbling inwardly, Adeline was also curious about how Leonnie knew such trivial details about Wynster.
“It’s really strange, isn’t it?”
As if she couldn’t understand, Leonnie continued while stroking her own hair.
“His Grace is someone who has never properly fallen asleep…”
“Such private matters seem like a conversation to have with the person involved, not with me.”
“It’s a part I can’t help but know.”
*‘How on earth does this woman know whether Wynster sleeps well or not?’*
Adeline thought hard about Leonnie, but she knew nothing about her. She wondered if she was a woman Wynster met before the female lead, but the more she looked, the only conclusion was that she wasn’t Wynster’s type.
“Let’s stop the unnecessary talk now.”
“Miss Primrose…”
This time, too, it wasn’t ‘Frensia’. She was deliberately calling her ‘Primrose’. Cutting off the woman’s words, Adeline asked,
“Miss Flora, you knowing I’m from the Primrose family is probably related to that bracelet, isn’t it? Or am I wrong?”
“Why is such a topic coming up now?”
“Don’t tell me, after investigating me, His Grace ordered you to spread some malicious gossip? That’s a dirty trick.”
“That’s going too far. Please refrain from mentioning His Grace Wynster.”
“I’d like to, but my personal information is being spread all over the place. If I want to claim damages from someone, I need to know the inside story, don’t I?”
“His Grace was only curious about this bracelet.”
“While investigating the gem used in this bracelet, investigating my background would have been natural, and problems must have arisen during that process. Don’t you have more to say?”
“……”
“Well, whatever. As the head of a family, he might conduct background checks. But if it gets out that he’s harming someone in this way, it would be quite a stain on the family’s reputation, I think…”
“……”
“What do you think, Miss Flora?”
Leonnie, who had been biting her lower lip tightly, finally spoke.
“I was the one who investigated you, Miss Primrose. Please stop saying things that could cause trouble for His Grace Wynster.”
“Then, why is my personal information being spread around?”
“It was just bad luck. Who could have known the guild member I commissioned would sell the information to the Count Hamel family?”
“So, are you saying you’re not at fault, Miss Flora?”
“It wasn’t a mistake I made intentionally, so don’t be so narrow-minded.”
“Miss Flora, you are consistently shameless. Moreover, it’s an incident that happened because of you, yet you say you have no responsibility?”
“Th-that’s…”
“Miss Flora, I think you’ve quite abandoned your morals. What do you think?”
“You seem to be going too far. I think your words and actions are extremely rude. What do you think about that?”
“It’s a drop in the bucket compared to the rude actions you’ve taken, Miss Flora. So, speaking of which…”
Leonnie had an expression curious about what would come next.
“How will you take responsibility for the leak of my personal information?”
“……”
“Does His Grace not know that you are the reason my personal information was spread?”
“……”
Leonnie chewed her lip, avoiding a precise answer.
Whether Wynster knew that the information Leonnie investigated was sold to Count Hamel would become clear with time.
“Miss Primrose, in this situation, is that really the important thing to talk about?”
Well, whatever. It didn’t matter whether she lived as Frensia or Primrose. It wasn’t a terribly important secret in the first place.
She had lived as Frensia to avoid getting entangled with her family as much as possible, but even if she lived as Primrose now, it wouldn’t be a big deal. The Primrose family wasn’t particularly famous or powerful enough for others to be interested.
“Miss Flora, I don’t know exactly what point you want to argue with me about regarding this bracelet, but if you suspect some evil magic is attached to it, commission an investigation with the temple. Ah, you’ve probably already tried that, haven’t you?”
“Miss Primrose…”
“And since you’re already at the temple, you might as well confess your sins regarding the illegal background check.”
“Is this how you rudely end a conversation?”
Adeline surveyed Leonnie’s face, which had turned pale, and slowly lowered her gaze. The hand swayed by emotion was trembling.
At this point, any further conversation would just devolve into a childish emotional fight. Adeline rose from her seat.
“My. Miss Flora, you look pale. Is it because you realized yourself how rude you’ve been?”
“……!”
“I hope you can enjoy the rest of the banquet, Miss Flora. Though it seems you need to calm down a bit before enjoying it.”
“……”
“I’ll take my leave first.”
Adeline smiled faintly. What an unpleasant woman.
