Chapter -60-
After entering the count’s estate and passing through the garden, we arrived in front of the mansion where the head butler and the servants were waiting to greet us. As I got down from the carriage with Lucius, the butler’s face went pale, and with a nervous expression, he bowed deeply to us.
“Welcome, Your Highness the Duke, Your Highness the Duchess. It is an honor to have you visit our estate.”
With trembling lips, he cautiously glanced between Lucius and me before continuing.
“Apologies, but we had no prior notice of your visit and were therefore unprepared. The young lady is hastily making arrangements, so if you could kindly wait inside for a moment, we would be very grateful.”
“Understood. We are fine for now. Please tell the young lady to take her time preparing.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
The butler bowed deeply, and the servants standing behind him also respectfully bowed. All of them looked pale and were visibly trembling. It seemed there really had been some kind of misunderstanding, which made me feel a bit sorry.
We entered the mansion and, guided by the butler, went into the sitting room. It was the same calm sitting room I remembered before, but the atmosphere felt heavy—perhaps because the servants were anxiously watching Lucius and me.
As I sat on the sofa drinking tea brought by a maid, Angelica hurriedly entered the room.
She must have just gotten up, as her hair was still damp and her attire was less composed than usual.
“I sincerely apologize for making you wait, Your Highness the Duke and Duchess. Please forgive my shabby appearance. It seems there was some misunderstanding on our part. I am truly sorry.”
Angelica, clearly flustered, bowed deeply in apology. This was not how I wanted things to go. It was still unclear exactly where the mistake had happened. Lucius seemed to think the same, shaking his head before speaking to her.
“No, Lady Werner. This may not be the fault of the count’s household. Let us compose ourselves first. Please sit, and let’s talk calmly.”
“Yes… understood…”
She straightened her posture with a serious expression, glanced nervously around, and carefully sat opposite Lucius and me. Seeing how tense she was, I caught Lucius’s eye and spoke up.
“I’m sorry for the sudden visit and the surprise, Lady Werner. I think it’s best to clarify the situation first. Have you received the letters I sent? I have been sending them continuously for the past week.”
“Yes… I’m very sorry, but we have not received the letters you sent, Your Highness. I even checked all the letters in my possession just in case, but I could not find any.”
“The letters sent to the count’s estate should have been received by the head butler first. Did he not check?”
“Yes. I am sorry to say this, but we have not seen any letters from the ducal household. It is very unusual for any letters from your household to be lost… This has left us quite confused as well…”
The butler and Angelica exchanged glances, and I could clearly see their bewilderment.
If neither the butler nor Angelica had seen the letters, where on earth did the letters I sent go? At this point, it almost felt like the letters sprouted wings and flew away.
Lucius let out a short sigh after watching the troubled faces of Angelica and the butler, then said:
“We will have to investigate the letter issue in detail later. It seems some error occurred along the way. We should check with the post office. Diana, for now, please confirm the rest with Lady Werner.”
“Understood. Thank you, Lucius.”
His words seemed to ease the atmosphere. I expressed my gratitude, and the tension that had gripped Angelica eased slightly. I cautiously asked again.
“The reason we came so early today is because there was something I wanted to confirm. I apologize for coming without notice.”
“No, it’s quite alright, Your Highness. What is it that you want to confirm?”
“Have you heard the new rumor spreading around society lately? There’s a big rumor that you and His Majesty are engaged…”
“Excuse me? Engaged?”
She looked genuinely surprised, clearly unaware of the engagement rumor. I couldn’t believe it, but she really didn’t know.
“It’s been a week since the rumor started, and since you haven’t appeared in society, it has only grown louder. Why haven’t you been appearing at social events? Surely you’re not actually preparing for an engagement… are you?”
“No! There is absolutely no engagement between His Majesty and me. I have no idea why such a rumor started.”
She shook her head with a flustered expression. The butler and servants also looked shocked, as if hearing it for the first time.
“Someone supposedly saw His Majesty placing a necklace on you, and that’s how the engagement rumor spread.”
“Oh… so someone actually saw that moment…”
Angelica furrowed her brows as if recalling the incident. She frowned deeply, thought for a moment, then sighed.
“I was a bit worried someone might have seen us, but I thought it would be alright, so I didn’t think much of it…”
“Did His Majesty really give you the necklace as a gift?”
“No. That necklace was mine. That day, I happened to meet Rose with His Majesty. Rose, who was leaning on me, moved and accidentally touched my necklace with her claws, causing it to fall off. His Majesty picked it up and put it back on.”
“Oh… so it wasn’t a gift, just that the necklace had come undone and he put it back on for you?”
“Yes. I just asked him to put it back on, and since Rose wouldn’t let go, he kindly did. I couldn’t refuse, and I never imagined that would spark engagement rumors…”
There was no sign of deceit in her earnest explanation. It was clear what she said was true. So between Lucius and Angelica, there was no reason for the word ‘engagement’ to come up.
I had hoped, just in case, that maybe it was true—but of course not. It would have been strange if something had progressed that quickly. I wonder if it was the Baroness of Tiben who spread the rumor? If I ever met her, I’d want to give her a slap for the trouble.
Feeling a bit deflated after confirming the facts, I glanced at Lucius, who seemed relieved as well. Our eyes met and we smiled at each other.
Ah, there was something else to confirm.
“Then why haven’t you appeared in society for the past week?”
“I’ve been busy with the upcoming product launch.”
“The count seemed busy lately, too. Was that also because of the product launch?”
“Yes. My father is putting everything on the line with this launch. He’s been checking every detail, and I’ve been helping, so I haven’t had time to go out.”
“I see…”
So it was business that kept them busy. If this product launch could restore the count’s family reputation and business, then they had no choice but to focus on it.
For the count’s family and Angelica, it was unavoidable. Maintaining the business was more important than attending social events, and unfortunately, the timing just happened to coincide with the rumors.
“I understand the situation now. I was worried, but it was because of business.”
“I apologize for causing you concern unintentionally.”
“No, it’s alright. But since the engagement rumor has spread widely, how do you plan to handle it?”
“I will have to clarify the truth. I don’t know who started the rumor, but it must be corrected.”
She spoke firmly, but I worried it wouldn’t be easy to undo the rumor after it had spread so much.
“I heard the rumor was spread by the Baroness of Tiben. Apparently, she witnessed the scene herself.”
“The Baroness of Tiben…”
“You know her?”
“Yes. I know her well. Of course, it had to be her who saw and spread the rumor.”
Angelica frowned deeply, displeased. She sighed deeply and said,
“Actually, it might be fortunate that the Baroness of Tiben saw it instead of the Lady Huijet… I can’t even imagine if it had been her.”
“Well, I heard Lady Huijet also knows about the rumor and is speaking ill of Lady Werner. Since she’s close to the Baroness of Tiben, she probably heard it first.”
“That figures… people just can’t keep quiet, can they?”
Angelica shook her head, exhausted by the situation. I looked at her with sympathy as she sighed again. As the main lady involved, many people would be tangled up in this mess, but it was unfortunate she got caught among such troublesome women. I truly understood her plight.
As we talked, the heavy atmosphere slowly lifted. Since we hadn’t drunk much of the tea that had cooled, Angelica ordered the maid to bring fresh tea. I watched her whisper instructions to the maid with curiosity.
Soon, the maid returned with new tea. Seeing the teacup placed on the table, I understood what Angelica whispered.
“This… looks similar to the teacup I received as a gift before. Is this one of the new products?”
“Yes, that’s right. Since you came by, I wanted to show you the finished items.”
She nodded shyly. The design was indeed unique and beautiful. The tea in the cup was a lightly scented black tea, which suited the cup perfectly. Certainly, flower teas or black tea fit this kind of teacup best.
I glanced at Lucius, who looked equally impressed and clearly admired it.
“How do you like it, Lucius? You received a similar teacup as a gift last time. Isn’t it beautiful?”
“Yes, it’s splendid. No wonder Count Werner is so invested. If the launch timing is right, they could make a good recovery.”
“Right? I hope the timing works out well…”
With the current engagement rumors and other bad rumors, the timing might not be ideal. But waiting for the rumors to settle after explaining things might take too long.
As I was thinking about a good plan, Angelica hesitated before speaking.
“Excuse me, if it’s not too much trouble, may I ask for a little help from Your Highness the Duchess?”
