Chapter 15
“Lady Vivian, I have something to tell you.”
“Hmm? Just a moment. I can’t decide whether this one looks better or that one.”
“They both suit you well.”
It was early morning on the day Vivian was scheduled to visit the Imperial Palace to meet the Empress with the Grand Duke.
Vivian was seriously debating between a light pink dress and a lively yellow one.
“Then I’ll go with this.”
Though she appeared deep in thought, she eventually picked up the pink dress she had chosen first.
Only then did Vivian turn her head and examine Betty’s face, which looked unusually serious.
“What’s wrong? Did you hear something bad? Is your aunt’s condition getting worse?”
Vivian’s expression quickly turned just as grave.
She had been so curious about Betty’s family that Betty had no choice but to explain bits and pieces over time.
As a result, Vivian now spoke of Betty’s aunt and cousin as if she were quite familiar with them.
“No, it’s not that. It’s about the letter you asked me to send to the Grand Duke.”
“What about it?”
“I wrote it as if I were you.”
“Well, I told you to do that.”
Vivian responded nonchalantly, as if she didn’t see what the problem was.
Realizing she’d chosen the wrong words, Betty decided to be more direct.
“No, I mean I really wrote it as if I were Lady Vivian. I wrote it completely in your voice, like I actually became the Lady of Charte.”
This time, Vivian appeared a bit more serious as she listened.
She set the dress down beside her, crossed her arms, and frowned deeply.
“You wrote it as me. Not just mimicking me, but you exchanged letters as if you were actually me?”
“…Yes. The Grand Duke received letters written entirely from my perspective. I think the reason he showed up unexpectedly last time was because he thought he and you had grown close through the exchange of thoughts and feelings. But that wasn’t really the case, so he must’ve found it strange.”
Betty honestly thought that if Vivian decided to dismiss her on the spot for betraying her trust, it would be more than a fair punishment.
Yet even as she squeezed her eyes shut and bowed her head low, Vivian remained silent.
Then suddenly—pfft!—a bright, cheerful laugh broke the silence. Vivian had sat down on the bed and was laughing so hard she nearly cried.
“So that’s what’s been making you gloomy since yesterday? Oh my gosh.”
Vivian rolled across the bed and flopped down close to Betty, resting her chin on her hands.
“For a moment, I thought I had developed some mysterious charm. The way the Grand Duke was looking at me was just too intense. I was wondering if he’d suddenly fallen for me or something. Turns out there was a different reason.”
She continued with a thoughtful tone.
“No wonder I felt something was off last time. So you weren’t just giving formal daily updates, huh?”
“No. Toward the end, I started putting more… emotions into them.”
“Hmm… emotions, huh. Looking at you, I can guess what kind of letters you wrote. No wonder he developed feelings. You must’ve written them sweetly and kindly. I’m terrible at that kind of thing.”
“I wrote about my thoughts—every little thing. That’s probably why he started replying from time to time.”
“What the heck? When I first met him, he was so blunt and curt that I thought he was just rude. But I guess he actually took the time to read and respond properly. He’s more decent than I thought.”
Vivian spoke with genuine interest, as if she were analyzing a complete stranger. Watching her, Betty suddenly blurted out a question.
“…Lady Vivian, aren’t you angry with me?”
“Hmm. Not really? Should I be? I don’t have any particular feelings about the Grand Duke. People say he’s charming, but that type of man isn’t really my style.”
Vivian looked more amused than upset, as though she had stumbled upon an entertaining story during a boring morning.
“But you’re supposed to marry him, aren’t you?”
“There have been plenty of men I was supposed to marry. I just do what I’m told for the glory of Charte. If they say he’s the one, I say yes. If they change him to someone else, I still say yes. That’s just my role.”
Vivian Charte answered flatly, then sprawled out lazily on the bed.
She turned her head and looked at Betty, whose expression was still deadly serious.
“Don’t worry, I’m not going to blame you. Even if you’d written insults to the Grand Duke in my name, I wouldn’t have cared.”
“Why not?”
“Just because. I hate that everything always goes the way my brother and father want. I want to do the opposite of whatever they expect. No one ever asks for my opinion, so what else can I do? It’s the only way I can express myself.”
Vivian, who had essentially been forced to live as the noble Lady of Charte, looked somewhat pitiful in that moment.
She seemed like someone who had been born holding all the luck in the world, and yet, her family viewed her as nothing more than a tool.
She had no true freedom in her own life.
“In that sense, my brother and father would probably praise you. They might even reward you. After all, it’s true that the Grand Duke became personally interested in me. And they’re the kind of people who only care about results, not the process.”
“…I’m sorry.”
“What for? It was just a letter. If the Grand Duke finds out and gets offended, I’ll make sure none of the blame falls on you. Even if he thinks I didn’t write it, as long as I pretend I had no idea, he can only suspect—it won’t go beyond that.”
Vivian shrugged like it was no big deal.
“You kept my secret, so I’ll keep yours. Sounds fair, right?”
“…Yes.”
“So lighten up already. I thought something terrible had happened. If someone heard you, they’d think you sent the letter without my permission.”
Faced with her indifference, Betty couldn’t help but awkwardly smile and nod.
Vivian was right. In the end, it was just a letter.
Even if the Grand Duke was initially drawn to the contents, eventually he would focus more on the person he was actually seeing and speaking with in real life.
* * *
Just before heading to the Imperial Palace, they received word that Grand Duke Daven had an urgent matter to attend to. Instead, he sent his aide, Sir Cain.
Cain had a naturally cheerful and sociable personality, and he kept the conversation going with small stories about his journey to the capital, so the atmosphere didn’t feel awkward.
“Her Majesty the Empress wishes to speak with Lady Charte privately.”
Thanks to the Grand Duke’s absence, Vivian now had to meet the Empress alone.
As soon as Betty heard this, she noticed a flicker of tension cross Vivian’s face and asked cautiously.
“Will you be all right, Lady Vivian?”
“I’ll be fine.”
Vivian donned the haughty and proud mask of a noblewoman and checked to see that her dress was still perfectly smooth.
Then she suddenly turned to Betty.
“If anyone gives you trouble, just drop my name and intimidate them.”
“Lady Vivian, surely no one would do that. This is the Imperial Palace.”
“Which is exactly why. There are plenty of people who can’t confront me directly and would love to attack me in other ways. You’re too naive. That’s your problem.”
Even if she had grown more kindhearted lately, Vivian’s core personality wasn’t going anywhere.
She wrinkled her nose at Betty with a look that said, You’re too good for your own good, her blunt manner of speech unchanged.
“I’ll protect you, Lady Vivian. Please don’t worry.”
“…I’ll count on you.”
Unlike with Betty, Vivian seemed to view Cain with a subtle air of displeasure.
It was probably because he reminded her of Rodrick, the knight from the Duke’s household who had once been her lover.
She stole a reluctant glance at Cain before stepping through the opening doors.
As soon as she left, Cain turned to Betty with a smile.
“You seem quite close with the Lady.”
“Well, I do serve her more closely than anyone else.”
“That sounds a lot like the relationship between the Grand Duke and us. I didn’t think they had anything in common, but maybe they’re more alike than I thought.”
The conversation seemed to trail off awkwardly—but the moment the Grand Duke was mentioned, Betty’s curiosity returned.
Even though they had exchanged letters, she had only received a few replies.
So in truth, Betty still knew very little about Grand Duke Daven.
