Chapter 72
“Then you shouldn’t have suddenly dumped all the work on me. This is all your doing, Your Highness.”
I shrugged and glanced around. Johannes, who had been lingering within my sight just moments ago, was nowhere to be seen.
Maybe this is the right moment. If so, how do I lead the people out to the garden?
As I pondered, I decided to make slight use of Edward.
“It’s not my fault that everyone’s attention is on me. You’re the prince—shouldn’t you be the one drawing attention instead?”
“What a simplistic answer. But it is effective. So, Duchess, what do you suggest I do to become the center of attention?”
Since he was clearly curious, I figured Edward wouldn’t ignore what I said. As expected, he responded just as I had hoped, so I pretended to think carefully before replying.
“I’m curious about the garden. I’m sure others are too. You’ve planted Edenblanc there as well, haven’t you?”
“Exactly right. It’s a bit early, but I’m sure many attended the ball just for that reason.”
Edward promptly announced that he would guide the nobles attending the ball to the Edenblanc garden. Most of the nobles gathered in the Great Hall followed with eager expressions.
“You didn’t seem particularly fond of Edenblanc before. Was I wrong?”
We were walking ahead when he asked the question.
A subtle pang of guilt crept in. But I responded without showing it.
“Of course I like it. Who wouldn’t be intrigued by such a mysterious flower?”
“Then I suppose I should gift you one.”
Edward chuckled.
And then, we arrived at the garden. The moment he saw what was spread out before him, he came to an abrupt stop.
“You’re bolder than I thought, Duchess.”
Edward tilted his head slightly and let out a disbelieving laugh through his lips.
“So this is why you used me?”
Johannes Schultz began the day in a rather irritable mood. And that mood carried on into the evening.
There were countless reasons. Edward Windsor had dumped a new missing persons case on him, forcing him to send Edith to the ball alone. A police officer tasked with delivering evidence had bungled the job and caused delays.
And then, after all that effort, the scene he encountered at the ball only made everything worse.
The first thing he saw upon arriving at Castle Heibenstein was Edith Schultz surrounded by noblewomen.
His throat felt tight. Johannes loosened his tie.
The reason she was surrounded was obvious. Since he wasn’t with her, the nobles must have gossiped wildly and pretended not to know her at all.
Whether it was because they feared Edward Windsor, or simply held prejudice against a commoner woman.
Edward had clearly planned this. He wanted to see Edith in distress.
And if that tarnished the name of the Duke of Schultz along the way, all the better for him.
Johannes narrowed his eyes.
In truth, there was no need to worry about Edith. She wasn’t the kind of woman to be easily bullied.
But she hadn’t grown up as a noble. In high society, appearances are everything. No matter how polite they seem, nobles always have hidden motives.
Even seasoned aristocrats find it hard to navigate those waters. And Johannes couldn’t help but scoff when he realized the nobles acted exactly as he had predicted.
Ha.
He strode forward and pulled Edith into an embrace, gently grasping her slipping dress.
She trembled in his arms. Her breath came in uneven gasps—she must have been terribly shocked.
Who wouldn’t be? Damn it.
He slowly looked around at the surrounding noblewomen. At last, his gaze fell on Laura Hatzfeld, whose face had turned pale.
Still, like proper ladies, they quickly composed themselves. Only Baroness Vermont continued to tremble, her fingertips quivering.
Wasn’t she known for being timid?
Johannes met her gaze and chuckled softly.
He waited for Edith to calm down. When her breathing finally evened out, he acted without hesitation.
There were always inhuman types, no matter where you went.
After dancing with Edith, Johannes felt an odd irritation and headed toward the rear balcony.
“Why would I be upset?”
Edith had spoken as if she were nothing at all. Even though he had given her the Schultz estate and the title of duchess.
Sometimes she drew close, and sometimes she abruptly drew lines like this.
Johannes ran his hand through his windblown hair and pulled out a cigarette.
He should’ve been relieved that Edith had no feelings for him. Their marriage had been one of convenience, and if Edith developed feelings, it would only complicate things.
He wasn’t the type to say foolish things or act affectionately without meaning it. So he should be grateful that he didn’t have to deceive her emotionally.
Edith wasn’t making things unnecessarily complicated.
He should be grateful for that, but…
Why did it feel so damn awful?
With a heavy heart, Johannes exhaled a long stream of smoke.
His mind was tangled with emotions he couldn’t even name. And that’s when something else pushed his irritation further—voices whispering behind the curtain.
“Did you see the duchess earlier? I did. Her dress strap snapped. If I’d timed it right, I could’ve seen something. Damn shame…”
The drunken man who had been laughing gleefully fell silent the moment he pulled back the curtain.
Johannes was leaning against the railing, staring at him with icy eyes.
“Baron Berto.”
His low voice pierced the air.
“…Your Grace!”
Baron Berto’s flushed face turned deathly pale. He had just realized what sort of vile nonsense he had spouted. The shock sobered him up instantly.
“What did you just say?”
Johannes straightened and took slow steps toward him.
Berto stiffened like a statue, unable to even meet Johannes’s gaze, staring instead at the void with clenched eyes.
“I thought I smelled trash from the moment you entered. Windsor must’ve invited even the lowest of the low. No wonder this ball is in shambles.”
Johannes flicked his fingers. The cigarette between them fell onto Berto’s shoulder.
It slowly burned a hole through his tailcoat, yet Berto didn’t dare say a word—his mouth merely opened and closed silently.
“Next time, it’ll be that filthy mouth of yours.”
Johannes warned coldly, and Baron Berto frantically nodded.
No matter Johannes’s expression, Laura Hatzfeld was feeling quite elated.
“I wanted to ask you something privately, Lady. I hope it’s not too inconvenient.”
“Of course not! I don’t know what the question is, but I’d be happy to answer.”
Laura Hatzfeld chuckled softly.
She believed Johannes was just using an excuse to approach her because he couldn’t find another way to talk to her.
What he wanted was obvious. Most married noblemen all wanted the same thing.
“Miss Hatzfeld, I’ve never met a woman as wonderful as you.”
“You give me something even my wife cannot.”
A little thrill of infidelity with a new woman after growing tired of his wife. Maybe even more than that.
Perhaps Johannes found it hard to communicate with his commoner duchess and was seeking someone more suitable for conversation.
The way he had approached her was classic and almost cliché—but no less effective.
Besides, Laura Hatzfeld thought of herself as quite attractive. Why else would so many noblemen, even the young Count of Swabia, be infatuated with her?
She was aware of the strained relationship between the Duke of Schultz and the Swabian count’s family. She also knew the royal family was scheming to tie the Count of Swabia to the Hatzfeld marquisate.
An unwanted, unmarried lady from the Hatzfelds. A hopeless young count whose family had fallen into disgrace.
It was a ploy to exile them both from society. But Laura Hatzfeld wasn’t one to passively accept such a fate.
Maybe it’s because of me.
So lost in her own delusion, Laura cast a subtle, inviting glance toward Johannes.
“So then, what is it you wished to say to me, Your Grace?”
