Chapter : 7
At his firm words, Clitaim responded with a faint smile and gazed at Patron.
His honest gaze, fixed upon her without the slightest wavering, made it impossible to look away.
His blue eyes, as though they contained the sea, and her green eyes, as though filled with lush greenery, gently curved toward each other.
“Goodness?”
And just then, another noble who had arrived to attend the banquet happened to witness the scene.
It was a staged performance, but their acting was so excellent that no one else could notice.
Even at the voice coming from behind them, the two calmly welcomed the guest.
“Thank you for attending the banquet, Marchioness Grace.”
Patron kissed the back of the Marchioness’s hand and gave her a faint smile.
The Marchioness Grace was surprised to see the Grand Duke behaving so unlike his usual self and teased him playfully.
“To think the cold-blooded Grand Duke would smile like this. I suppose the power of love really is remarkable.”
Strictly speaking, it was an affair, but the Marchioness smiled at Clitaim without discrimination as well.
“You two suit each other.”
Clitaim naturally returned her greeting, but since this was the first time she had received such a reaction, she tilted her head in puzzlement.
Patron noticed this and calmly explained as though it were nothing important.
“I heard the Marchioness became a widow when she was young and enjoys free relationships.”
“So I suppose she is rather open-minded about such things.”
“Ah…”
She quietly nodded in understanding.
“She has quite a bit of influence in high society, so it would be fine to become friendly with her.”
“She is rather loose-lipped, so she is also convenient for spreading rumors.”
At his final words, Clitaim’s eyes gleamed brightly.
‘She’ll be today’s target.’
Now that she had become the Grand Duke’s partner, she had already attracted attention. The problem was the rumors that would spread about her.
Thanks to the previous banquet at the Imperial Palace, Camilla’s existence was gradually beginning to emerge into the public eye.
Those who were quick to act had already learned rumors about the Baron’s household through their servants.
Of course, not every rumor would be favorable.
Clitaim stared for a long while in the direction where the Marchioness Grace had disappeared, then smiled brightly as other nobles began to arrive.
Since the ball was held in the evening, rather than lively music, songs suited to a calm and tranquil atmosphere were played.
People danced the Boston Waltz to the music, while the men and women enjoyed the party, showing off their elegant movements.
Meanwhile, the nobles who did not dance gathered in small groups and talked among themselves, and as expected, the subjects of their conversations were Clitaim and Patron.
“I heard Baroness Schultz had left her home. Who would have thought she was here?”
“But why did she leave?”
“My maid said that Baron Schultz hit his wife.”
After Clitaim left the Baron’s residence, Duke Verden stopped ordering the servants to keep quiet.
Rather, he encouraged them to spread the story far and wide, so naturally, rumors leaked out like water from a broken glass.
That was precisely why those who were quick on their feet had already learned what had happened at the Baron’s residence.
Clitaim felt both satisfied and strangely empty as she watched people pass the rumors around even without her doing anything.
‘I should have done this from the beginning.’
Why had she been doing everything on her own all this time, while leaving behind knowledge that could have been put to good use?
She found herself resenting the past, when she had struggled so hard to avoid becoming entangled with the characters from the original story.
‘Getting involved really does make things this much easier.’
As she wore a bitter smile, a familiar voice came from behind her.
“Hello, Madam.”
The Marchioness Grace deliberately omitted her title when addressing her. Clitaim erased the cold atmosphere from her expression, raised the corners of her lips brightly, and faced her.
“Hello, Madam.”
“You look especially beautiful today.”
I suppose it really is best when people live with someone who suits them, isn’t it?
At the rather direct question, Clitaim remained composed and answered calmly.
“Of course.”
“I’m glad you met a good person.”
Perhaps because she had just heard about the Marchioness from Patron, the expression on her face seemed more lively than before.
She had been asking questions without hesitation, but this time she paused and asked cautiously.
“So… did your husband really hit you?”
There was something heavy about the atmosphere, so Clitaim responded accordingly.
“Yes.”
She appeared calm, yet somehow pitiful.
At the short but weighty answer, Marchioness Grace’s expression darkened for an instant before returning to normal.
“I see.”
The Marchioness Grace gazed at Clitaim wistfully before suddenly taking her hand tightly.
Caught off guard, Clitaim looked at the Marchioness in surprise.
She blinked twice at the determined expression on the woman’s face.
“If you need help, tell me anytime.”
People in similar situations should help each other and live on.
The conversation, which had begun with goodwill, continued in a warm and friendly atmosphere, and the two exchanged trivial stories.
Everything seemed to be going smoothly.
But then—
“Mother, it’s here.”
A familiar face and voice appeared in the banquet hall. Clitaim was receiving a new glass of wine from a waiter when her eyes met theirs.
“……”
They were none other than Calix and Nestra. Electra was with them as well, but she wore an awkward expression and kept watching Clitaim’s reaction.
Clitaim, who had been happily chatting with the Marchioness, suddenly turned pale and forgot what she had been about to say.
“Madam? Are you all right?”
At Marchioness Grace’s worried voice, Clitaim waved her hands and stammered.
“I-I’m sorry, Madam. If you don’t mind, may I excuse myself for a moment…?”
“Yes. Go ahead.”
The Marchioness kindly let her go without trying to stop her.
Timing her departure with the beginning of the dance, Clitaim approached Nestra.
Nestra, who had been walking around the hall with her face hidden behind a fan, flinched in surprise and stopped.
“W-Who are you…?”
“Let’s talk for a moment, Madam.”
“No.”
Calix stepped in front of her, but Clitaim’s expression did not soften.
“This is not something the young master needs to involve himself in.”
“She is my mother.”
He stubbornly insisted on the fact that she was his parent, making things extremely troublesome for Clitaim, who had to worry about the attention of the other nobles.
She even considered leaving the child with the Grand Duke Patron, but he was busy talking with the others.
With no other choice, Clitaim took Nestra and forcibly led her out onto the balcony. Calix tried to shout, but Clitaim stopped him with her next words.
“If you shout and draw everyone’s attention, it won’t just cause trouble for me. It will cause trouble for everyone.”
Is that really what you want?
No matter how emotional he might be, surely a noble’s son was not lacking in common sense to that extent.
Once Calix realized that “everyone” included his parents, he shut his mouth and followed her onto the balcony.
Among the four people who made up this strange combination, Clitaim was the first to speak.
“What are you doing?”
Clitaim roughly grabbed Nestra by the wrist and glared at her.
At her threatening attitude, Calix tried to intervene, but Electra, who had quietly followed behind them, stopped him.
“Are you trying to ruin everything?”
She wanted to say whatever was on her mind, but with the children present, she firmly bit her tongue.
Nestra remembered the alliance she had reluctantly formed and cleared her throat.
Considering the situation, it was practically the same as breaking her promise to stay quietly at home.
“I only came out for a little while. It’s suffocating staying inside the house all the time.”
It was only a half-hearted excuse, but the damage had already been done. Clitaim sighed and clicked her tongue.
“Don’t act like a child.”
Clitaim did not know why Nestra had not informed her family that she was there, but she still could not let her guard down.
‘And here I thought everything was going smoothly.’
She had come here in a hurry, but it seemed that the only person capable of controlling Nestra was the Grand Duke.
Because Nestra wanted to reclaim her position as Grand Duchess.
While Clitaim was lost in thought for a moment, Calix, who had been arguing with Electra behind her, roughly pulled her away from his mother.
“Stop.”
Calix looked worriedly at his mother’s reddened, swollen arm before glaring at Clitaim.
His expression was filled with disgust, as though he were looking at a parasite. Electra likewise responded with an unpleasant expression.
“I’ve had enough of this!”
Electra, who had been quietly holding herself back, finally raised her voice.
“What did I do wrong?”
“You and your mother did something wrong. Why did you come down here and cause all this trouble?”
“This is our house, you know?”
“From now on, it’s our house!”
The adults’ quarrel spread to the children, turning into a childish argument as they bickered back and forth.
Eventually, each adult ended up trying to restrain their own child.
Just when they had barely managed to calm the two children down—
“You left home just so you could be cursed at by a child like that?”
They came face-to-face with Hailey, who had come outside with a mocking grin.
“Then, I suppose we should end things here.”
After talking with the high-ranking nobles for quite some time, Patron decided to end the conversation at an appropriate point and go find Clitaim.
However, Duke Verden, who was among them, stopped him.
“There is something I would like to ask you privately. Could you spare me some time, Your Highness the Grand Duke?”
“……Very well.”
Recognizing him as Duke Verden, the Grand Duke had no choice but to stop.
The Duke walked out onto a secluded balcony and leisurely sipped the wine he had brought with him, deliberately taking his time.
Patron wanted to return to the banquet hall immediately, but patiently waited for him to speak.
“How is my daughter?”
The question he had expected.
Patron did not know how much Clitaim had told her father, but that gaze was filled with greed.
It certainly did not look good.
“You could find that out quite easily by asking your daughter herself, couldn’t you?”
He avoided giving a direct answer, expressing himself indirectly instead.
If he said that things were going well, the Duke might start talking about her becoming Grand Duchess or even Queen, trying to turn the rumors into fact.
Wasn’t this the family of the Duke who had been forgiven even after insulting a god?
There was no way anything good could come from telling someone like that every little detail.
Of course, completely ignoring him would mean breaking his contract with her…
‘I should have taken in the Baron’s daughter instead of the Duke’s daughter.’
He clicked his tongue softly to himself.
It was frustrating that he could not behave as he normally did.
Meanwhile, Duke Verden even smiled as he asked again. Yet the answer he received remained much the same.
“In any case, seeing that you have even held this banquet for my daughter, may I take that as a positive sign?”
At the completely blatant question, Patron, who had been dodging the issue this way and that, let out a hollow laugh as though he were exhausted.
‘I should just behave as I normally do…’
He opened his mouth, about to rebuke the Duke as he usually would, but stopped when he heard murmuring coming from the balcony across from them.
“I’ve had enough of this!”
Unless he was mistaken, the owner of that voice was Clitaim’s daughter, Electra.
Until now, the only side of Electra that Patron knew was her quiet and well-mannered nature.
Puzzled, he unconsciously turned his gaze toward the source of the sound.
“What did I do wrong?”
Then came Calix’s agitated voice.
Judging from their conversation, he did not know what they were fighting about, but it seemed that the two were arguing.
He slowly blinked as he remembered what had happened during dinner.
“Duke Verden.”
“Yes, Your Highness the Grand Duke.”
“I apologize for interrupting you, but I must excuse myself.”
“Yes? What do you mean by—?”
While the Duke stood there, bewildered and unable to understand what was happening—
Patron quickly used magic to cross over to the neighboring balcony.
“You left home just so you could be cursed at by a child like that?”
Just as Clitaim’s former husband entered while sneering—
—“The Grand Duke is the one clinging to me.”
Upon seeing Hailey, Patron remembered Clitaim’s request from before.
He kissed the back of her hand and whispered softly.
“What are you doing here, Clitaim?”
