Chapter 13
The person the Duchess of Linhardt had taken Romian to was none other than the Duchess of Formier herself.
The group of noblewomen who had been laughing merrily and enjoying themselves after sending Romian into the forest stiffened when the Duchess of Linhardt—the leader of the opposing faction—appeared.
Naturally, the Duchess of Formier was the first to speak.
She concealed her expression behind her fan, but her sharp gaze swept over Romian, who was following closely behind the Duchess of Linhardt.
“Duchess Linhardt.”
“It has been a long time, Duchess Formier.”
“What brings you all the way here? And with Lady Veldegart, no less?”
Feeling the Duchess of Formier’s needle-sharp gaze piercing her, Romian instinctively hunched her shoulders and took a step back.
But to the Duchess of Linhardt, who had spent years fighting the Duchess of Formier on the battlefield of high society, such a gaze was neither painful nor irritating.
She crossed her arms with the utmost elegance and said,
“I accidentally bumped into Lady Veldegart, causing the necklace she was carrying to fall into the lake. I heard you were playing a game, so I thought I should compensate you for it.”
At the Duchess of Linhardt’s words, one baroness who considered herself one of the Duchess of Formier’s followers immediately interrupted.
“That wasn’t a necklace. It was a ring…”
That was precisely the stupidest thing she could have said.
The Duchess of Linhardt’s black eyes immediately narrowed into sharp triangles as she glared at her.
“Whether it was this or that, what difference does it make when I’m the one speaking? And who exactly are you to interrupt me?”
“Hic!”
The Duchess of Linhardt had already driven several formidable opponents out of the social arena.
The baroness belatedly realized what it meant to fall out of the duchess’s favor.
Her face turned pale, and she began hiccuping nervously.
The Duchess of Linhardt merely shrugged and turned back toward the Duchess of Formier.
It had only been a warning.
Honestly, she had no intention of stooping to such a low level by arguing over a trivial correction.
“I’ll have the Linhardt family compensate you, so send the bill to us. Then I’ll be taking my leave, since I also need to compensate Lady Veldegart for her dress.”
Whether the lost object was a necklace or a ring, or whether Romian had actually been searching for it when she returned, was irrelevant.
What mattered was that the Duchess of Linhardt had declared that she would pay for it.
With that single statement, the Duchess of Formier’s entire little scheme collapsed as fleetingly as a sandcastle before a wave.
Romian realized this and placed a hand over her chest before bowing politely.
“I don’t know how I could ever repay you for this kindness…”
“I’m merely compensating for something I accidentally lost myself. What kindness is there to repay, Lady Veldegart?”
The Duchess of Linhardt’s voice was completely relaxed as she replied to Romian.
By deliberately emphasizing that the mistake had been hers, she firmly cut off any possibility of further interference from the Duchess of Formier.
As she began to leave, the women from the opposing faction who were of lower rank than her all rose and paid their respects.
Romian was about to do the same when the Duchess of Linhardt’s low voice reached her ears.
“What are you doing? Don’t you intend to stay close behind me?”
She was not merely telling Romian to leave the predicament behind.
She was telling her to follow.
Romian followed her with a puzzled expression.
Only after they had moved sufficiently far away from the Duchess of Formier’s faction did the Duchess of Linhardt turn around and look at Romian, who had been quietly following her.
Her brows furrowed as she spoke, and her words seemed to press tightly against Romian’s throat.
“You really are a strange child. I thought you must be incredibly bold after selling Nella’s belongings, yet you can’t even do anything when faced with such a shallow trick.”
Flinch.
Nella’s belongings.
The meaning was unmistakable.
Romian stiffened completely, her eyes rolling nervously from side to side.
How on earth does the Duchess of Linhardt know about this?
Wasn’t Shihab the only person who knew about the pawnshop incident?
If this became known to other people, Romian would be in serious trouble.
Her nerves immediately went taut.
But the Duchess of Linhardt seemed entirely unconcerned with Romian’s anxiety and continued walking at an easy pace.
Should I follow her or not?
Confused, Romian slowly began moving her feet.
After following the duchess for a short while, Romian saw someone waiting for her.
A man she had met once before at the royal palace stood there in immaculate hunting attire, wearing a gentle smile.
“Ah, you are…”
“It’s a pleasure to see you again, Lady Veldegart. We have met before.”
His polite manner was familiar.
It was none other than Viscount Alfredo Linhardt.
The Duchess of Linhardt pursed her lips and spoke to her eldest son in an unmistakably cold tone.
“As you asked, I brought the young lady back safely. Now hurry back to the hunting grounds.”
“Thank you.”
From their exchange, Romian realized that Alfredo was the reason the Duchess of Linhardt had intervened on her behalf.
Why?
Romian had suffered so much in high society that suspicion came before gratitude whenever she encountered Alfredo’s kindness.
Perhaps because Alfredo was an obedient son, he did not argue with his mother’s words even once.
He simply bowed his head and immediately returned to the hunting grounds.
His complete lack of excuses or explanation only made Romian even more confused about the meaning behind his actions.
Was he really acting out of simple compassion?
Romian hoped that was all it was.
Just as she thought that and tightly clasped her hands together, the Duchess of Linhardt sat down and spoke to Romian in a somewhat lighter tone.
“My son has been behaving unlike himself lately. I hope you don’t misunderstand. He’s always been kindhearted by nature.”
“Yes, yes. I won’t misunderstand.”
Romian’s answer came immediately.
Rather than being reassured, however, the Duchess of Linhardt’s expression became even more displeased.
She stared at Romian, who remained standing, and suddenly asked,
“Doesn’t it bother you that I speak to you informally?”
“Not at all, Duchess.”
“Really? What kind of person do you think I am?”
“I…”
Romian’s dark-brown eyes blinked repeatedly.
Her confusion about why the duchess was asking such a question was plainly visible on her face.
After hesitating for a moment, she cautiously spoke.
“I apologize, but I haven’t known you long enough to say…”
In other words, she was saying that she did not know the duchess well enough to judge her, so she would rather remain silent.
It was an extremely cautious answer.
The Duchess of Linhardt sighed through her nose.
What an exasperatingly cautious child.
“If you had told me right now that you were offended by the way I spoke and intended to leave, I wouldn’t have stopped you. I would simply have thought you were an impertinent little girl.”
It was social advice expressed indirectly.
Just as Romian could have said that and walked away, she could also have objected to the Duchess of Formier’s treatment and left.
After all, there was no reason to believe that behaving politely toward those women would make them like Romian.
Nor could they do anything to harm her engagement to Shihab merely because she had refused to tolerate their treatment.
As she said this, the Duchess of Linhardt thought to herself,
Now I understand why Alfredo keeps worrying about her.
If Romian had been a shrewd girl who understood the ways of high society, the duchess probably would not have been concerned.
She would have simply watched from a distance, thinking:
She’ll eventually get tired of this.
Eventually she’ll fall into her own trap.
She would have let the matter pass like scenery outside a carriage window.
But after watching Romian spend ten years circling high society only to answer with the stubborn honesty and straightforwardness of a pine tree, the Duchess of Linhardt could not help but feel sorry for her.
“Nella and I were very close. She was, in many ways, unsuited to the royal palace.”
“Pure, fragile, and delicate.”
“This is advice I’m giving you because you resemble Nella so much.”
That was why the Duchess of Linhardt impulsively opened her mouth.
“A child like you is bound to wither away and die. So run away while you still can.”
“……”
I want to run away.
But how am I supposed to run away?
Was it ever something I could choose for myself in the first place?
Romian had already been thinking that she needed to escape ever since Shihab refused to accept her handkerchief.
Even if she somehow became Queen, as Countess Veldegart dreamed, how could she possibly live happily with a man who hated his wife so deeply?
But it isn’t something I can decide according to my own wishes.
Unable to do anything, Romian merely gave a faint, distant smile.
The Duchess of Linhardt grew irritated once again at her ambiguous response and was about to scold her when—
Suddenly, the hunting grounds erupted into commotion.
The murmuring that spread through the area was deeply ominous.
Both Romian and the Duchess of Linhardt frowned and raised their heads.
A knight came rushing toward them and shouted the news at the top of his lungs.
“Something terrible has happened! His Highness the Crown Prince has fallen from his horse!”
Romian’s face turned deathly pale.
A fall from a horse.
That was no trivial matter.
I couldn’t give Shihab either the handkerchief or the ribbon in the end.
The ribbon for praying for the safety of the Hunting Festival was still tucked inside Romian’s clothing.
The handkerchief was still in Henri IV’s possession.
