The urgent gaze of the Countess of Hetel pinned me.
“Duchess Blanchet. If you go out in this downpour, it won’t do your health any good. Why not stay at our Hetel estate until the rain stops?”
“Indeed! There are many interesting sights at the Hetel estate. How about stopping by for a moment to take a look?”
The Count of Hetel even began to plead with me. I looked away at John, who only tilted his head with an air of arrogance.
‘He means to tell me to do as I please, I suppose?’
I now studied the expression of the Countess of Hetel, who had just changed her attitude in an instant.
‘The most effective method at times like this is…’
From my days in Libertan and Dayle I knew very well how to make the other party the most tired and annoyed.
‘If I go wrong, my reputation in society could ruin me, but…’
Unfortunately, I didn’t have a lower reputation to fall. So it would be better to secure a firm constraint so they wouldn’t trample all over me.
“You’re not the one who should apologize, my lord. This isn’t your fault.”
I smiled and answered with an innocent tone.
“I don’t mind going somewhere else if that’s what the Duke desires.”
Even I indicated that I would rather return, and the Countess of Hetel’s face turned increasingly pale. But I couldn’t interrupt the conversation between John and me.
“Then shall we look for somewhere else, after all?”
“But…”
I watched the rain falling from the sky.
“Since it’s raining like this, for the sake of my entourage, it might be fine to stay at the Hetel estate for a while.”
With every word I spoke, the expressions of the people at the Hetel estate changed.
“There’s no need to overthink it. Do as the lady wishes.”
“Then…”
The people of the Hetel estate swallowed hard in unison. I looked at the Countess of Hetel and asked.
“Countess of Hetel, would it be all right if I stayed a day at the Hetel estate?”
“Of course! If you stay with us at the Hetel estate, it will be a great honor for us.”
“It seems I was mistaken after all.”
“What—what do you mean by that…?”
“I thought you were uncomfortable with me.”
The Countess of Hetel’s smile wavered. The Countess looked flustered and answered awkwardly.
“To think I would feel uncomfortable! Why would I feel uncomfortable with the Duchess?”
“Indeed? I mistaken you just a moment ago because you didn’t greet me.”
With my playful remark, the Countess of Hetel began to compose herself.
“You’ve been fatigued from the journey, it’s understandable. I sometimes misunderstand things when I’m tired as well.”
“How exhausting the rain must have been. Let us hurry inside to rest comfortably.”
The mood gradually warmed, until my question was returned with a light, innocent tone.
“That’s a relief. You mentioned you wouldn’t greet me earlier, which caused me to misunderstand. You didn’t even say hello, and you told me it was the gentleman’s room.”
“…”
“That’s something you wouldn’t experience in the capital.”
The Countess of Hetel clutched at the edge of her dress in embarrassment. The Count of Hetel could not bring himself to intervene, and the two noblewomen who were named together looked increasingly displeased. A long silence followed. In the end, the Count of Hetel pinched the Countess’s side. The Countess of Hetel, swallowing dryly, apologized.
“I’m sorry. I’ve been serving guests for so long that I must have inadvertently broken etiquette. I was in such a hurry…”
“It’s all right. It’s a misunderstanding, nothing more.”
Then a man walked out from inside Hetel Manor.
“What is going on here?”
He was tall, with dark blue hair and purple eyes. His eyes slanted as if to resemble a snake.
‘He looks a bit intimidating.’
A man I had never seen before. The couple of Hetel’s faces turned pale.
“Ortega Prime Minister! You were resting inside…?”
Ortega Prime Minister. Someone I had heard of in Libertan. The head of the Ortheka Marquis’s household, and one who holds one of the imperial state’s strings.
‘So he’s that kind of person.’
But why was the Prime Minister staying at Hetel Castle? The Prime Minister tapped the floor lightly with his staff and answered.
“I came out because I heard a disturbance outside. Now I see that the Duchess of Blanchet and the couple of Hetel have arrived. Was there any trouble?”
“Nothing in particular. There was a momentary misunderstanding, but it’s all resolved now. Right, Duchess Blanchet?”
The Countess of Hetel asked me with a gentle smile.
“Yes. It’s all settled.”
So I answered with a smile as well. The Countess of Hetel nodded awkwardly. The Prime Minister’s eyes narrowed.
“Resolved, you say. I’m not sure if that’s truly resolved, though.”
The Prime Minister twisted the corners of his mouth and then returned inside the mansion. One of the Hetel estate’s daughters, one who had been mentioned as accompanying the Prime Minister, hurried after him. I didn’t know exactly why the Hetel family had a connection not only with the Blanchet Duchy but also with the Prime Minister’s side. But judging by the Prime Minister’s reaction now—
‘Either side would be hard to court.’
The Countess of Hetel stormed into the mansion.
“Did you see that adopted daughter of yours smiling at me like that? She’s not even a proper duchess, and she doesn’t even know her place!”
“Mother, are you sure she isn’t a proper duchess?”
The Hetel estate’s eldest daughter Rotte worriedly asked.
“From the Blanchet Duchess’s reaction, it doesn’t seem so at all.”
“Now you’re making sense. Just now I thought she didn’t greet me, so I misunderstood alone.”
With my amused remark, the Countess of Hetel began to recover.
“A journey can be tiring, I suppose. Even I sometimes misunderstand when I’m tired.”
“How tiring it must have been for you to have the rain pouring down. Come inside and rest comfortably.”
The atmosphere gradually became warmer. Before I could ask anything else in a meek voice.
“That’s a relief. If you’re not comfortable with me in front of your husband, you must have thought I wasn’t properly greeted, and I didn’t greet you either. You even said this is the gentleman’s room.”
“…”
“That’s something you wouldn’t experience in Libertan.”
The Countess of Hetel squeezed the front of her dress out of embarrassment. The Count of Hetel remained unable to intercede, and the two noblewomen who were mentioned looked increasingly displeased. A long silence followed. In the end, the Count of Hetel poked the Countess’s side. The Countess of Hetel swallowed dryly and apologized.
“I’m sorry. It’s been a long time since I’ve hosted a guest, so I must have broken etiquette without realizing it. I was so flustered…”
“It’s all right. It’s a misunderstanding, nothing more.”
Then a man walked out from Hetel Manor.
“Is something happening?”
He was a tall man with dark blue hair and purple eyes. His eyes were long, reminiscent of a snake.
“I am Ortega Prime Minister. You were resting inside…?”
Ortega Prime Minister. One I had heard of in Libertan. The master of the Ortheka Marquis’s house, one who wields power over state affairs of the empire.
‘So that’s what he was.’
But I was puzzled why the Prime Minister was staying at Hetel Castle. The Prime Minister lightly tapped the floor with his staff and replied.
“I came out because I heard a commotion outside. Now I see the Duchess Blanchet and the Hetel couple have arrived. Was there any trouble?”
“Nothing, really. It was just a misunderstanding that’s been resolved. Right, Duchess Blanchet?”
The Countess of Hetel asked me, with a gracious smile.
“Yes. It’s all settled.”
So I nodded and answered with a smile. The Countess of Hetel nodded awkwardly. Ortega Prime Minister’s eyes narrowed.
“Good to hear it’s resolved. I’m not sure it ever truly was, though.”
Ortega Prime Minister turned and walked back into the mansion, smirking as if amused. Behind him, Hetel’s daughter followed, anxious.
I didn’t know exactly why the Hetel family and the Prime Minister had both been drawn here. But from the Prime Minister’s reaction, it seemed difficult to guess which side to align with.
The Hetel family’s fortunes seemed to be going downhill anyway.
The Countess of Hetel, however, saw this as a rare stroke of luck. She decided to pair her two daughters with two powerful men and make good connections.
“Rotte, Flora. Don’t worry too much.”
The Countess looked at her two daughters, who were known as two of the neighborhood’s most beautiful women. No matter how pretty the adopted child might be, she could not compare with her daughters who had proven lineages.
“What matters is not the past, but the future.”
“Then…?”
“Mom will arrange a good opportunity for you. So don’t worry too much, and show as much restraint and beauty as possible to the Blanchet Duchess and the Ortezka Prime Minister.”
Rotte and Flora nodded shyly at their mother’s confident words.
Summer’s monsoon season seemed to be starting. The rain that was supposed to stop tomorrow continued to pour down.
‘At least there is one fortunate thing.’
Despite the initial trouble in the first meeting, nothing particularly problematic happened afterward. The only thing that remained troublesome, indeed, was the Ortezka Prime Minister.
‘Why is he here?’
When I asked about it during the dinner, the Ortezka Marquis pressed a friendly smile and answered.
‘I was visiting my territories for inspection. The sudden downpour forced me to seek help here.’
Yet I could not shake the feeling that something was being hidden.
‘Still, it’s not my concern.’
I dressed in a light gown and moved to watch the orchestra Hetel’s estate had prepared for the Ortezka Prime Minister and the Blanchet couple. It was a highly renowned orchestra. Hetel’s face wore pride as he watched them perform. Honestly, I wasn’t very interested in music and stared blankly toward the garden. The rain seemed to have lessened, and gardeners wearing raincoats were tidying the grounds. Then among the gardeners I saw someone who seemed familiar.
‘That person… Baron Penula?’
The man who had been the jailer in John’s memory.
‘Why on earth is he here?’
Wasn’t he the one who accepted bribes from the Libertan Marquis’s house and helped torture young John?
‘Did I missee him?’
A lot of time had passed, and I hadn’t really seen him clearly before. So I asked the trees nearby. The Hetel trees, being fairies, cheered loudly when I spoke and answered.
-A gardener with those white-red hair? The name of the gardener? Jake, was it? I don’t really know.
Unfortunately, the trees didn’t seem to remember humans well.
-When did he come here? When was it… I only remember that he suddenly became a gardener despite having no skill.
-Oh! Now I recall. He was that guy who secretly dug under my roots to hide something and checked it every night.
‘He dug under my roots, did he?’
That behavior was quite suspicious. I left for a moment, claiming I wanted to rest, and went out to the garden to go under the roots. The tree kindly moved its roots and pulled a box out.
‘Indeed, that Baron Penula was right.’
In the box were keys and documents. The key was the famous bank safe key of the capital I knew well, and the documents contained the list of nobles whom Baron Penula had recorded. It included not only those who took bribes to conspire against the Libertan Marquis but also those who sought an alliance with the Libertan Marquis through the jailer.
‘What on earth should I do with this?’
I asked the trees to hide the box somewhere else and calmly returned to my room. When I returned to my room to change into a dress, a maid at the Hetel estate spoke to me in a strange way.
“Duchess Blanchet, the Countess of Hetel would like to see you before you go to bed. Could you come?”
“Late at night?”
“Yes. It seems she wants to smooth things over with you.”
‘Why invite me to reconcile so suddenly?’
It wasn’t strange, but it left me with a creepy feeling. Yet the reason for my unease quickly became clear. It was time to meet the Countess of Hetel. As I was about to leave my room, John appeared, who had not shown himself during the day. And he grabbed my wrist as I tried to step outside.
“Madam. You know how many among the nobles are anxious to sell their daughters and don’t know their place? They even let them into a bed at night without any warning.”
What John was saying didn’t make much sense to me, and I blinked. He seated me on the bed and whispered in a soft voice.
“Tonight, the Count’s daughter called me to her bed. If I don’t go, she’ll come herself.”
“…”
“Of course I’ll refuse. But is that enough for you?”
Something inside began to boil.
‘So this is why she called me late at night?’
No matter how much John would refuse, I did not want another woman entering his room. I spoke softly.
Then what should I do?
“Well, I suppose we don’t really know how close we are yet.”
John whispered tenderly with a sly smile, his eyes narrowing.
“It would be best to show you properly.”
His words made my face burn.
“How about you, madam?”
As the darkness outside grew thicker, the ticking of the clock sounded louder. The candle that quietly lit us trembled with the wind.
“Don’t worry. If you don’t want it, we won’t do anything. I can seduce the other person all by myself.”
John lowered his voice to a whisper heard only by me. He slowly began to unbutton his shirt. A strong, sensuous chest and defined muscles were revealed. I swallowed hard. This was all very sudden for me, but the situation made me feel proactive. Knock, knock. Someone was knocking on the door from outside. Whoever had come to fetch me or a maid from the Hetel estate likely had one goal.
“No.”
In the end, I decided.
“I’m fine.”
If we didn’t intend to go through with it to the end, there was no chance of revealing scars.
“I, too, don’t mind being closer to the Duke.”
John seemed to suppress a sharpened breath.
“Don’t you mind?”
The bed’s cover obscured our bodies. But in this moment, with John half undressed and pressed against me, I felt an odd sensation. My heart pounded loudly in my ears. I stopped worrying about anyone outside.
“Estelle.”
John’s voice rumbled in a rough, almost menacing whisper close to my ear.
“Pretend to touch me more.”
He pulled my hand toward his chest, pressing it against his taut, muscular chest.
~·~·*· . ·**##^^##**· . ·*·~·~
Hey there, It’s Green Rose 😉
Since I human I might have make some mistakes while translating so please if you find them let me know here in the comments or in the Discord group so I can correct them and be careful in the future so they do not repeat.
Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
~~~Next Chapter~~~
Next chapter will be released Tomorrow.
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