Chapter 61
Vindia, feeling overwhelmed by the burdensome stares, wondered what she should do—should she at least greet him? But suddenly, her view was blocked.
Denros had stepped in front of her.
“Ahem. To meet the Duke of Calvermer here, what a surprise.”
Aska, realizing he had been staring too obviously, cleared his throat and offered a greeting.
Even so, he kept craning his neck this way and that to peek at Vindia, hidden behind Denros.
Each time, Denros would take a step to block him with his whole body.
The bizarre sight left both Vindia and Yulize speechless.
“Marquis Lawrence. It’s been a long time since I saw you as a child. I heard you’d returned from overseas, and now we meet here.”
Denros greeted Aska as if nothing was out of the ordinary. His brazen face seemed to be made of steel.
“Yes. You’ve grown since we last met. I wasn’t aware the Duke had ties with Lady Yulize.”
Aska’s irritation showed plainly, his patience thinning at Denros’s impenetrable wall of defense.
“We are acquainted.”
Denros didn’t so much as blink.
“And the one behind you? Won’t you introduce this old man?”
Having no other option, Aska played his final card. His sharply gleaming blue eyes fixed on Denros as if to say, What now?
Standing quietly behind Denros, Vindia thought, Here it comes.
She had prepared for this, even coming up with a name to pass herself off as the second son of a frontier family.
“An honor to meet you, Marquis. I am—”
“My attendant.”
“Yes, an atten—what?”
Vindia instinctively echoed, then whipped her head toward Denros. The name she had prepared never even left her lips, and suddenly she’d been reduced to his “attendant.”
“And which family’s son is this ‘attendant of the Duke’ that he greets Lady Yulize so familiarly?”
“He is from a frontier family, one you likely wouldn’t know of, Marquis.”
“And just which family might that—”
“Hahaha! Duke, thank you for coming! And thank you too, Max!”
Before the clash could escalate further, Yulize quickly intervened.
“Max…?”
Vindia muttered under her breath so only she could hear.
My name is Max?
She had prepared a grand name—Cavelenus—but Max? That sounded like the name of a stable boy!
“We had something to talk about, didn’t we? Max, let’s go over there!”
Before she could even explain her name, Vindia was dragged away by Yulize, hand in hand.
“Wait—”
Aska called out, but they were already far gone.
His gaze clung to Vindia as she was pulled along with Yulize.
“……”
Denros, with sharp eyes, kept Aska under watch until the very end.
Click.
“Sister! What’s going on?!”
Once the door shut and Yulize confirmed no servants were around, she turned with a startled face.
“Surprise! Did I scare you?”
Vindia beamed with delight.
“So much! I thought you wouldn’t make it…”
“How could I miss your birthday, my lady?”
“Sister!”
“Ugh—!”
Yulize hugged Vindia tightly, her face filled with joy.
Even after being hugged several times before, the sheer strength was overwhelming.
But because she was so happy, Vindia hugged her back.
“I’m always grateful. Happy birthday, my lady.”
“That’s what I should say! Thank you, Sister. For being my strength.”
Yulize laughed sheepishly.
Such humble words. Her strength?
From Yulize’s perspective, trusting Vindia enough to hand her the position of adviser had been no easy choice.
Desperate for even a strand of hope, she had chosen Vindia—who had neither wealth nor experience—yet Yulize had placed her full trust in her.
“By the way, how did you do your chest? It’s perfect!”
“My lady! Please stop touching!”
Vindia squeaked, covering her flat chest with both hands as Yulize kept patting it curiously.
Laughing heartily at her reaction, Yulize finally withdrew her hand.
“Sister. That elder by my side earlier—the Marquis Aska Lawrence. Do you know him?”
With sudden seriousness in her eyes, Yulize asked. She had found it strange that the old man, upon seeing Vindia, had brought up his deceased son’s name.
“No? I met him for the first time today.”
“Really? Sister, could it be that you…”
“Yes?”
“…Never mind.”
It wasn’t something she could ask lightly, nor was it polite to pry into someone’s family history, so Yulize left it unsaid.
Looking again, she thought maybe Aska had been reminded of his son because of Vindia’s blue eyes and the color of her wig.
“But Sister, your disguise suits you too well! All the young ladies are going to fall for you!”
Yulize teased mischievously and burst into laughter.
“Could he be an angel descended to earth?”
Her fears had come true.
Someone had actually fallen for “Max.”
Not far from the center of the garden, at a table, a young lady in a light green dress sat in a daze, utterly smitten.
“His face is like an angel’s, but that name…”
“Maybe it’s just a nickname? Like Maximus!”
Another lady’s lukewarm reply made the green-dressed young lady protest hotly.
She was Emily, daughter of Baron Lily.
“Lady Emily, did you really fall for him at first sight? They say he’s from the frontier. Most likely the second or youngest son of some obscure family.”
“But they said he’s the Duke of Calvermer’s attendant! The Duke doesn’t just take in anyone.”
Despite the snide remarks meant to dampen her spirits, Emily remained steadfast.
From the moment she first saw Max, she felt it was destiny. While everyone else stared at Denros Calvermer, she saw only Max.
At that instant, she could swear she heard an aria in her ears.
Golden hair as if sprinkled with fairy dust, and sorrowful blue eyes—
He was like a prince from a fairy tale. The one she had always longed for.
So his slender frame looked like he couldn’t even lift a sword? What did it matter? With a face that handsome, strength wasn’t necessary. She could always hire knights or mercenaries.
Emily’s older sister, who had married a handsome nobleman and was living happily with children, had deeply influenced her.
Her sister would always tell her:
“Emily. With men, it’s the face that matters. So what if he lacks ability? Our family has money. You can live off his looks alone. If he’s handsome, even your anger fades. But if he’s ugly? You’ll only get angrier.”
And she was right. With men, it was the face.
Emily waited longingly for Max to reappear, hoping Yulize would bring him back out.
“…But could it be that he has something going on with Lady Yulize?”
Come to think of it, they had gone inside holding hands, looking far too close…
Anxiously, Emily chewed her nails.
“You girls really have no sense. Especially you, Lady Emily.”
At that moment, another young lady spoke up, holding a champagne glass, arms crossed. She wore a brilliant red dress, as if she were the star of the party. With elegance, she swirled her glass.
The champagne shimmered as it spun.
“What do you mean, Lady Rachel?”
Emily asked.
Rachel, as she was called, cast a haughty glance toward Yulize’s window and said,
“Isn’t it obvious? That’s a woman.”
“What?”
“A woman.”
The ladies, including Emily, gasped.
“Did you really think that delicate face belonged to a man? How naive.”
Rachel smirked, mocking their ignorance.
“Lady Rachel, on what grounds do you say such a thing? He was introduced as the Duke’s attendant. How can you insist he’s a woman? Surely you don’t dislike Lady Yulize so much that you’d spout such nonsense?”
Emily couldn’t hold back her protest.
Clink.
In that instant, Rachel slammed her champagne glass hard onto the table. The smile vanished from her face.
Biting her red-painted lips, she glared at Emily with venom.
“I didn’t know Lady Emily could be so outspoken.”
“Ahem…”
Cowled by Rachel’s biting tone, Emily quickly averted her eyes.
Rachel, the only daughter of Marquis Aby, had been spoiled all her life. If she wanted something, her parents gave it to her.
Raised in such indulgence, Rachel demanded to have whatever she desired.
But there was one exception.
The first man she ever liked. She couldn’t have him—because he liked her friend, Yulize.
And Yulize had harshly rejected him.
She had never liked him, had no interest in romance, and was only focused on inheriting her family’s title.
News that Yulize had spurned Rachel’s first love spread quickly through the southern regions.
Rachel felt humiliated.
Even worse, Yulize continued to live happily, unaffected. And recently, wherever Rachel went, everyone was talking about Yulize.
With the sudden rise of The Line’s Second, Yulize’s standing in society had soared.
Everyone was desperate to curry favor with her, hoping for a portrait by her hand.
“My, look over there.”
Just then, one of the young ladies pointed her fan toward the mansion’s entrance.
Yulize was coming out, hand in hand with Max, smiling brightly—so brightly it was obvious to anyone that she liked him.
She likes him?
Rachel’s eyes gleamed with wicked intent.
This was Yulize’s birthday party. Of course, she should give her a “gift.”
“Shall we make a little bet?”
