“What?”
“I cannot just watch House Valencia collapse like this. Not for any other reason, but because you are losing everything over a woman, over love. I hate it! It is humiliating!”
Monet shouted. Despite everything, he had never once raised his voice before. That alone showed how close the crisis had come.
“The rain is getting heavier.”
“…”
“If this continues, the duchy will be flooded and destroyed before your title is even revoked. What did the people living here, trusting only you, do to deserve this?”
It had been a long time since the rain had stopped.
Before, even when the sun didn’t appear often, most days were merely covered with dull, dark clouds.
But recently, it was different. The rain had been falling without pause.
Valencia was slowly collapsing. There was a reason the Emperor had resorted to the extreme measure of threatening to revoke the title. He wanted Luzbel to come to his senses.
“Then at least go to the 500th Founding Day celebration and see Lady Aisha.”
“…”
“Use that strength to keep living!”
“…”
“And what about Lord Jeron? He is seven years old now. Did you know that? His birthday was not long ago.”
The relationship between the two, which had seemed to improve, had fallen into ruin once again.
Jeron had turned his back on Luzbel, saying he wouldn’t speak to him until Aisha was brought back, and Luzbel, overwhelmed himself, couldn’t bring himself to care for Jeron.
“If Lady Aisha is not here, then you, as his father, should take care of your son. Is giving birth all that matters?!”
He had heard this nagging every day now, to the point of exhaustion.
“Go to the party. If you do not listen to me, I will really quit.”
Monet spoke firmly, but strangely, Luzbel felt grateful.
Because if seeing Aisha could give him the strength to keep living, then perhaps he really could go on.
“…I’m sorry.”
“Hah. So you do know how to apologize?”
“…I will go.”
“I knew you would.”
Perhaps he had been waiting for someone to say those words to him.
The 500th Founding Day celebration was still far away, yet his heart was already pounding loudly. It felt as though life was returning to his body for the first time in a long while.
Without realizing it, Luzbel let out a hollow laugh.
It seemed he truly couldn’t live without Aisha.
Even if she was someone unbearably cruel to him, he couldn’t let her go.
“…Sigh.”
Luzbel looked deeply troubled.
There was no way he wouldn’t be. Letting out a short sigh, Monet opened the door to leave the office, intending to give Luzbel some time alone.
“…Young Master?”
But Jeron was standing right in front of the door.
It seemed he had heard everything that was said inside.
“I…”
“Yes?”
“I want to go too…”
Jeron spoke in a trembling voice, as if he might burst into tears at any moment.
“I want to see Mom too…”
Jeron had been just as deeply hurt as Luzbel.
Monet met Jeron’s eyes, wondering what he should do about this father and son.
But he was also worried whether it was right for the Young Master to attend the event.
Especially since Aisha, who already had a problematic temperament, seemed to be heading down the worst possible path.
“I am fine. I know everything.”
“Young Master.”
“But I still want to see her.”
From the beginning, there was no way Jeron would miss a chance to see Aisha.
Monet knew that refusing him would be useless.
Then Luzbel, who had been silent behind them, spoke.
“Jeron.”
“…Yes.”
“Let’s go together.”
***
Since Edith had said she would attend the 500th Founding Day celebration, House Capanteni intended to provide her with the greatest possible support.
It was the historic day when their daughter would appear before others for the first time in twenty-four years.
Originally, she should have had her debutante around the age of fifteen, but since it had been delayed so long, she had to be the star of that day.
Though it was very late, the 500th Founding Day celebration was the perfect occasion for her debutante.
Of course, Edith herself didn’t think of it as a debutante. She simply wanted to enjoy the kind of party that existed in romance-fantasy worlds.
“…Debutante?”
So she was startled when she heard the Duchess say it.
“A debutante is nothing special. It simply means your first appearance in high society.”
“I-Is that so?”
Even though it was said to be nothing special, she couldn’t deny that she felt slightly nervous.
“Don’t feel too pressured. Let us prepare slowly.”
Yet strangely, just hearing the word debutante made her heart race.
Thinking about it, since Edith had collapsed at the age of twelve, she had never had her debutante and remained an inexperienced young noble lady.
She thought it was rather fortunate. She had read a great deal in novels about how high society operated, but seeing it and experiencing it herself would be very different.
Since there were no nobles who didn’t already know about Edith’s situation, they would treat her appropriately.
“What do I need to do?”
That didn’t mean she intended to stumble through it awkwardly.
If possible, standing on her own two feet rather than entering in a wheelchair was her first priority.
She resolved to work even harder on her rehabilitation, but the Duchess, smiling gently, said something unexpected.
“High society is all about connections.”
“…Yes?”
“You don’t need to do anything. I will take care of everything.”
Not long after that, Edith began accompanying the Duchess to small tea party gatherings held among noblewomen.
This was after she had already heard detailed explanations about noble relationships from Verina.
“Oh my, so you are Lady Edith.”
The Duchess introduced Edith without difficulty, thanks to the connections she had maintained for many years.
Her acquaintances all appeared kind and gentle.
Even when they saw that Edith had difficulty walking, they didn’t point it out and simply welcomed her warmly. Of course, Edith didn’t view their kindness as pure goodwill alone.
Not everyone, but there were certainly those who approached her because of the influence of House Capanteni.
“Hello.”
Still, Edith accepted their kindness as if she knew nothing.
***
As she continued accompanying the Duchess, the number of people she knew gradually increased.
Because of her age, it was awkward for her to associate with young unmarried ladies, so she instead grew closer to young married noblewomen.
However, since Edith was the only unmarried one among them, conversations about children or husbands sometimes created an unspoken distance.
They seemed aware of this and tried to avoid such topics as much as possible.
“Welcome.”
“Thank you for inviting me.”
Today, with the Duchess’s help, Edith had invited some of the women she had grown close to directly to the ducal mansion.
They were all people who treated Edith with kindness and consideration.
At times, their consideration felt excessive, almost insincere, but she chose to overlook it. After all, this was a world defined by status.
“Please enjoy yourselves.”
The Duchess briefly made an appearance at the small gathering Edith had hosted.
“Yes, Your Grace.”
The conversation flowed naturally.
It wasn’t especially exciting, but it seemed the gathering would end pleasantly enough.
“Oh, by the way, have you heard the news?”
“Was there something new?”
Since it was a small gathering, discussions about others often came up.
“I think I know what it is.”
“Hehe, so you have heard.”
“What is it? Now you have made me curious.”
Edith avoided those who enjoyed speaking ill of others, but sharing new gossip was an unavoidable source of entertainment among noblewomen, so conversations like this occurred from time to time.
“I heard Duke Valencia will be attending the 500th Founding Day celebration.”
“What?”
Hearing the sudden mention of Duke Valencia, Edith reacted without thinking and asked in surprise.
“Oh my, are you interested in Duke Valencia as well, my Lady?”
The noblewomen widened their eyes at Edith’s transparent reaction.
“N-No, that is not it.”
“Well, it is not as if you have ever seen him.”
“…That is true, but is he popular?”
He was the protagonist’s father—there was no way he wasn’t popular.
Although Luzbel himself had been completely obsessed with Aisha, now that they were divorced, it didn’t seem like he would have lost his appeal.
“He used to be popular.”
“What?”
“Recently, the Valencia Duchy has been struggling because of the weather. No matter how handsome he is, or that he is a Duke, there are no young ladies who would want to marry into such a gloomy territory.”
“Ah.”
“Though his looks are certainly undeniable.”
“But why are you so surprised that Duke Valencia is attending?”
Not understanding, Edith asked, and the noblewoman smiled at her fondly.
“Because a handsome man is pleasant to look at, even from afar.”
“Oh my, how straightforward.”
The noblewomen all burst into laughter.
In other words, they were saying they would simply enjoy looking at Duke Luzbel Valencia as eye candy.
It felt slightly absurd, but since these women were already married noblewomen, she supposed it made sense.
And what they said wasn’t wrong.
Verina had also said that House Valencia was falling into ruin.
What noblewoman in her right mind would marry into a declining House just for a handsome face?
She understood that.
But somehow, it still didn’t make her feel good.
