Chapter : 6
The meeting with the new family happened quickly.
However, perhaps it felt awkward to introduce them as family after less than a day, so they used the excuse that they were merely guests.
Of course, thanks to Electra telling the whole truth, that effort turned out to be completely pointless.
The dining table was unbearably cold.
The servants held their breaths as they served the food, careful not to offend the masters.
The only sound breaking the long silence was the clattering of utensils.
The quiet meal finally came to an end when Calix rose from his seat.
“I’ll be leaving now.”
“Sit down, Calix.”
“Isn’t this enough?”
Patron’s thunderous command rang out, but Calix rebelled with a sarcastic tone.
At the defiance of a son who had always obeyed him, Patron’s eyebrow twitched.
The eyes of the two men locked.
They looked so precarious that it seemed as though something might happen at any moment.
“Sit.”
The single word was far more forceful than before, echoing throughout the dining room.
Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned their attention toward the two of them.
Calix glared at his father for a long while.
His lips moved as though he wanted to say something, but in the end, he could not say a word and stormed out of the dining room.
‘I expected it to be somewhat like this, but……’
It’s worse than I thought.
Clitaym quietly clicked her tongue and sighed at the situation unfolding before her.
The atmosphere had become cold so quickly that she lost her appetite.
She wiped her mouth with a napkin, intending to finish her meal as quickly as possible.
“I’m tired from riding in a carriage since morning. Would it be all right if I went upstairs with my daughter first?”
“Do so.”
With the Grand Duke’s permission, Clitaym stood up with Electra.
The two were shown to their rooms by the head maid.
When they reached the fork where they had to part ways, they stopped for a moment.
“Aren’t you going to sleep with Mom tonight?”
At her question, Electra straightened her back and answered maturely.
“Yes, it’s okay. Mom is tired too.”
Clitaym’s brow furrowed slightly at the sight of Electra deliberately acting like an adult when she was at an age when she should still be acting spoiled.
‘Even when she was staying at the Baron’s, she wasn’t this bad.’
Is she being careful because she thinks she’s imposing on someone else’s household?
Her heart grew bitter.
Clitaym held Electra’s hand tightly and whispered softly.
“It’s good to be polite, but don’t be like that with Mom, okay?”
At the gentle advice, Electra smiled innocently for a moment and nodded.
Still insisting that her mother needed to rest, Electra did not follow Clitaym and went into her own room.
“Make sure you rest!”
“I’ll definitely rest, so don’t worry.”
Leaving her daughter behind after being repeatedly reminded to rest, Clitaym entered the room assigned to her a little later.
However, Nestra had already settled in there.
The head maid looked troubled as she glanced at Clitaym, while Clitaym frowned at Nestra wandering around her room.
“What are you doing here?”
At her voice, Nestra crossed her arms and answered confidently.
“I’m in my room, so is there a problem?”
“……So this is the Duchess’s room.”
“Yes, Madam. His Grace instructed me to bring her here…….”
“I’m not blaming the head maid. On the contrary, you treated her well, so I should be grateful.”
Because she would soon become the Duchess.
Clitaym looked directly at Nestra and deliberately emphasized the words ‘the Duchess.’
The relaxed expression around Nestra’s lips immediately stiffened.
When her expression darkened, Clitaym continued speaking while keeping her gaze fixed ahead.
“Go inside and rest. It seems she’ll give you the detailed instructions.”
“Ah, yes.”
Sensing that the atmosphere was becoming unpleasant, the head maid decided to end things there and hurriedly left.
Clitaym quietly closed the door before slowly walking toward Nestra.
“You ate with my son?”
“Yes. We’re family now, so of course we should eat together.”
“Who decided that? I’m still very much alive and—”
“Then why did you run away?”
I hadn’t intended to say it yet.
But Nestra kept provoking her, so Clitaym felt that she needed to say at least this much.
Calix probably wouldn’t come to this room, at least.
There was no way he hadn’t heard that she was staying here.
“You’re the reason things ended up like this in the first place.”
Would any of this have happened if you hadn’t run away with that lover?
Clitaym let several somewhat emotional words spill out before letting out a short sigh.
She might be acting this way because she had no choice right now, but ironically, she hated nothing more than love triangles and affairs.
After taking a moment to catch her breath, Clitaym looked at Nestra, whose face had reddened, and continued in a calmer voice.
“Do you want to become the Duchess that badly?”
Nestra flinched at the sudden informal speech.
But overwhelmed by Clitaym’s forceful attitude, she pretended not to care and answered.
“……Isn’t it obvious? It was originally my place. Of course I should be the one to have it.”
Nestra made no effort to hide her desire for the position of Grand Duchess.
Her appearance reminded Clitaym somewhat of Duke Verden, making her let out a hollow laugh.
“Since you’re putting it that way, I’ll be honest with you too.”
The position of Duchess.
It’s a temporary position.
I only borrowed it because my husband refused to divorce me.
At her words, Nestra’s eyes sparkled as she stepped closer.
Clitaym smiled sweetly at her sudden interest and made a surprising proposal.
“I’ll help you become the Duchess once the divorce trial is over. What do you think?”
As you said, you’re Calix’s mother. You have more than enough qualifications, don’t you?
Clitaym mixed in just enough sweet words to tempt Nestra.
Nestra was momentarily tempted, but she quickly regained her senses and became wary.
“How do I know that’s not a scam?”
At the relatively sharp question, Clitaym laughed as though it were ridiculous and answered.
“You’re not as clever as I thought. If you make good use of what you already have, people will support you.”
For example, you could have a tearful reunion between mother and son, something like that.
Clitaym offered her an alternative, but the wrinkles between Nestra’s brows did not disappear.
“Do you think I’m stupid?”
You expect me to blindly believe that without any guarantee?
At the negative response, Clitaym opened her eyes wide before curving her lips into a smile.
“……I suppose that’s true.”
“But one thing is certain: there’s nothing good for you if I stay here.”
“…….”
“I’m not leaving until I divorce my ex-husband.”
At the somewhat cheerful response, Nestra let out a hollow laugh as though she could not believe what she was hearing.
But Clitaym did not waver in the slightest.
She simply stared steadily at her.
“So, if you want to see me leave, help me get divorced first.”
It was similar to what she had done with Patron, but completely different.
The two situations were similar in that both involved a kind of half-threat.
But Clitaym was confident that anyone with even a little common sense would quietly help her.
It was easier to simply help her with her business and stay out of the way than to fight her directly.
After Clitaym stared at her for a while, Nestra finally opened her tightly closed mouth.
“What do I need to do?”
At Nestra’s question, Clitaym inwardly cheered before answering.
“Nothing difficult. Just stay quiet for the time being. I’ll get divorced as quickly as possible.”
It’s not exactly a bad deal for you, is it?
That was what she said.
But of course, Clitaym had no intention of giving up the position of Duchess.
‘Help you? The first person I’ll get rid of once I remarry is you.’
Well, it was true that she would eventually leave the position of Duchess, so it wasn’t entirely a lie.
She knew deceiving and being deceived was wrong, but she had no desire to apply such moral standards to people like them.
‘If that woman really cared about her son, she would have kept mentioning Calix until the very end.’
But Nestra hadn’t.
The moment the position of Duchess was mentioned, her expression had changed.
To tell someone like that that it was wrong to deceive her, or to ask whether she wasn’t pitiful—
Wouldn’t it be a waste to bring good intentions into this?
‘I’ll use whatever I can and throw her away afterward.’
Nestra still looked displeased, but she extended her hand as proof that she accepted the deal.
Clitaym lightly took her hand.
After forming a strategic alliance with Nestra, Clitaym went to see Patron late that night.
He had remained awake until late into the night, so he was surprised by her sudden appearance and asked what was going on.
“I came because there was something we didn’t finish discussing this afternoon. Would it be all right?”
At her proposal, Patron moved from his desk to the sofa.
He turned on the small lamp on the side table between them, straightened his posture, and spoke.
“Go ahead.”
“The divorce trial is in one month.”
We can’t waste time dithering around.
“…….”
“We need to bring the trial date forward.”
That way, Your Highness can get rid of your former wife even one day sooner, can’t you?
At Clitaym’s words, Patron lowered his eyelashes and shifted his gaze before speaking.
“The temple is difficult even for the Emperor to move. A temple within the capital would be even more difficult.”
“That’s true. It’s not as though those proud people would do that for my sake, would they?”
Clitaym still wore a bright expression, even smiling with her eyes.
“Unless the people around us become noisy because of my divorce.”
Although this was a different world, it was still a place where people lived.
Even a temple that pretended to be above everyone else would probably want to deal with an incident drawing public attention as quickly as possible.
‘They could cover it up without resolving it, but Duke Verden wouldn’t let that happen.’
Because he wanted me to get divorced.
The reason for the divorce was also her husband’s domestic violence, so the circumstances were entirely in her favor.
Having roughly guessed Clitaym’s plan, Patron stared at her, waiting for her to continue.
The upright candle flickered with Clitaym’s movements, casting a curved shadow.
“Please become my lover.”
The Grand Duke is desperately clinging to me.
Because there was not much distance between them, Clitaym leaned forward slightly, bringing herself much closer to him.
It was late at night.
Most of the servants were asleep, making the sound of each other’s breathing much more noticeable.
Yet neither of them showed any intention of backing away.
They simply stared at each other more intently.
“Can you do it?”
Do we need to practice?
At her question, Patron gave a short, breathy laugh before answering.
“We’ve both had experience, so I don’t think that will be necessary.”
At Patron’s answer, Clitaym also let out a hollow laugh and leaned back.
“From now on, don’t do things like choking me. Treat me kindly.”
Because I’m the woman the Grand Duke loves.
He looked at Clitaym as she brought up what had happened previously and let out a hollow laugh.
“You’re surprisingly narrow-minded.”
“I was prepared for it, but it hurt much more than I expected.”
The heavy atmosphere eased, and his equally heavy lips finally opened.
“Let’s proceed with the contract right here.”
There’s no benefit in having more people know about it.
“You’re finally making sense.”
“You said you’d shorten the contract period as a favor, so I can at least extend you this courtesy.”
Clitaym achieved a fairly satisfactory result and bowed politely.
Patron sat elegantly on the sofa, lazily curling the corners of his lips as he continued.
“Let’s do our best and each get what we want.”
“I agree.”
There was no guarantor and nothing was written down, but the contract carried a stronger force than any written agreement could.
They both knew exactly what they wanted, and each held a weakness that could be used if things went wrong.
“I’m thinking of holding a party at the mansion in a few days. You should prepare it yourself.”
You’re the future Duchess, so you should be able to handle at least that much, right?
At Patron’s question, Clitaym answered confidently, displaying an air of composure.
“Of course.”
Although she was merely the wife of a baron in name, she had organized a party that was genuinely necessary before.
The scale might be larger, but it shouldn’t be all that different.
Even if she couldn’t do it, she would have to pretend that she could.
Otherwise, Patron would look down on her.
“I’ll start preparing tomorrow.”
But a low voice stopped her in her tracks.
“However.”
“……?”
“Didn’t the child say anything about the divorce?”
At the unexpected question, Clitaym was unable to choose her words for a moment and fell silent.
“Electra didn’t really say……anything.”
If anything, she seemed happy about it.
“I suppose it’s because my husband is such a piece of trash.”
She explained it with a fairly reasonable reason, but Patron’s expression remained dark.
‘Is it bothering him?’
He hadn’t seemed like this normally.
Not normally, nor even at dinner today.
From what she had witnessed, Patron and Calix seemed less like a father and son and more like master and servant.
“……Children know more than you think.”
Maybe it would be better to tell him honestly?
It was nothing more than meddling.
She herself did not know why she had decided to meddle like this, but the words simply came out.
After hearing Clitaym’s answer, Patron wore an unreadable expression before turning his head away.
“Take my hand, Madam.”
It was the day of the first party held by the Grand Duke Ludwig family since that night.
Patron proudly chose Clitaym as his partner for the ball.
Leaving the busy servants behind, the two walked side by side along a path decorated with electric lights.
Despite the path being quite long, the softly glowing lamps created an unusual atmosphere that kept it from feeling boring.
“It’s beautiful.”
“Not as beautiful as you.”
At the somewhat unnecessary tenderness, the corners of Clitaym’s mouth awkwardly lifted.
‘No wonder he said we didn’t need practice.’
He was really good at this.
She felt goosebumps rising all over her body.
Patron went a step further than simply holding her hand and interlaced his fingers with hers, acting even more affectionate.
“People can appear anywhere, after all. Aren’t you being too careless?”
Despite the practical advice that contrasted with his behavior, Clitaym corrected her careless attitude and played her part more actively.
Just like a man and woman who were truly blinded by love.
And their performance reached its peak when they returned to the entrance of the mansion.
“Tonight, you’re going to be the star.”
Because I’m going to make you one.
