IDSTD 12

Chapter : 12

The first thought that came to mind was this.

‘I’m screwed.’

And the second thought was this.

Something… feels a little off.

“Laura. Don’t you think something about this is strange?”

“What? The fact that you suddenly have everyone’s attention overnight? Isn’t that only natural?”

“No, not that. I mean the composition of this photograph. How should I put it… Isn’t it too… perfect?”

No sooner had I finished speaking than Laura covered her mouth and laughed.

“So what you’re trying to say is that His Grace’s face is just too perfect, and you’re bragging about your betrothed—”

“No, no!”

My voice rose on its own out of sheer frustration.

Now is not the time for that.

‘There’s something suspicious about this photograph.’

I had been feeling uneasy about it for a while, and now I know why.

Photography had been invented as science advanced, but the technology was still limited at present.

For one thing, unlike portraits, photographs could only be produced in black and white, and if the subject moved even slightly at the moment the picture was taken, it would not come out properly.

And if the distance was too far, there was no avoiding the image becoming blurred.

But… What about this?

“It’s ridiculously clear, as if it was taken right beside him.”

It was obviously Leon Obsidian.

“Perhaps the reporters had been lying in wait for this? Ever since the first article came out, the reporters must have been keeping a close eye on His Grace’s movements.”

“You mean the reporters were following him?”

“Yes. It’s the hottest issue in the capital right now, so naturally they would be interested.”

And in the midst of all that, the Grand Duke had suddenly visited House Zaherette. Laura said there was no way reporters with a keen nose for a story would have missed it.

Right. That was what I had thought until a moment ago, too.

“But the Grand Duke is a knight, not an ordinary priest. Are you saying someone like that failed to notice reporters tailing him?”

And they were even taking photographs blatantly?

‘No. That makes no sense.’

He wasn’t merely a knight, either. He was the commander of the Holy Knights.

Which meant his skills had to be exceptional.

I had heard that among the magical beasts, there were even species specialized in concealing their presence.

There was no way someone who fought such beasts could fail to notice reporters chasing after him while carrying a huge camera.

Right. If that was the case—

“He let them photograph him on purpose.”

“What?”

“He deliberately let the reporters photograph him. By openly revealing himself.”

There was no other explanation.

‘That’s right. Now that I think about it!’

At that moment, a certain memory flashed through my mind.

“Well, that’ll be difficult.”

The day Leon Obsidian had come to see me.

When I asked him what he would do if I tore up the engagement papers after he had presented me with the port rights and engagement documents, that was how he had answered.

“I came today specifically to prevent that from happening.”

At the time, I hadn’t understood what he meant, but…

“So that’s what this was.”

I bit my lip and glared at the offending article, my face crumpling miserably.

Even if I went down to my territory now, it would be useless.

What could I possibly do when my name and even my face had already been plastered everywhere?

There was nowhere left in this empire for me to hide.

“My goodness. Still, this is a bit much. It’s practically the same as publicly announcing to the entire empire, ‘This woman is mine!’… Oh my goodness!”

Laura, who had been muttering with a small click of her tongue, suddenly looked at something and froze in shock.

“What is it? What’s wrong?”

“No, I mean… this… oh dear…”

Laura fumbled around before hurriedly hiding the gossip magazine in her hands behind her back.

As if that would work.

I gestured for her to hand it over at once. After hesitating for a moment, she reluctantly passed me the booklet.

What was written inside was…

“Oh, for God’s sake.”

It was the kind of article that made a curse slip out of my mouth.

[EXCLUSIVE] “Is the Marquis Already Carrying a Child?” Grand Duke of Bernstein, Responsibility Marriage Rumors on the Rise!

[……There are already rumors circulating that the Marquis is pregnant, and that the Grand Duke is preparing for marriage because he has no choice but to take responsibility.

If this is about responsibility rather than love, then perhaps this scandal is a far more complicated and serious affair than we thought……]

[……But who knows? Could it possibly be an elaborate scheme orchestrated by the Marquis herself to bask in the glory of ‘Bernstein’?

Considering that she is an ambitious woman who turned into the capital’s number one trading company in just four years, as well as the protagonist of the infamous ‘Crevan Collapse Incident,’ many believe the possibility cannot be ruled out.

― , Reka Valexi]

These people, seriously…!

‘How long are they planning to keep bringing this up?’

The Crevan incident.

It had happened just after I inherited the marquisate in place of my late father.

There was little I could do about the surrounding nobles looking down on me because I was young and a woman.

‘Especially because House Zaherette was so wealthy. There was hardly a single noble involved in business who hadn’t borrowed money from House Zaherette.’

In other words, although we were both nobles, there was still a clear creditor-debtor relationship between us.

And overnight, that creditor had become a girl young enough to be their daughter.

Baron Crevan was one of them.

At the time, he tried to pull a trick to avoid repaying the money he had borrowed from House Zaherette. He forged a false certificate claiming that the debt had been fully repaid and presented it to me.

It was a good attempt, but the result was disastrous.

‘He must have thought that just because I was a young Marquis’s daughter, I wouldn’t know how to read ledgers.’

But I had been the top student at the academy throughout my entire time there.

Besides, from a young age, as part of my education as head of the family, I had learned everything from the trading company’s ledgers and accounting records to previous transactions and all manner of commercial knowledge.

I went through several years’ worth of ledgers and records in one sitting and not only proved his claim to be false, but also formally reported the baron’s family to the court on charges of fraud, embezzlement, and violating business agreements between nobles.

As a result, I successfully extracted compensation amounting to three times the original principal and ultimately drove the baron’s family into bankruptcy.

After that, the nobles were divided into two groups.

Those who continued to look down on me, saying that a mere young girl had no business being involved in commerce, and who resented me because they owed money to my family.

And those who believed that credit should be given where it was due and accepted me as an equal business partner.

Unfortunately, the former group was still larger.

At the same time, because of this incident, I seemed to have earned a reputation in high society as a ‘formidable lady.’

“Are you just going to leave it alone?”

“There’s nothing I can do. What could I possibly do about it? If I respond, it’s obvious that it’ll only make things worse.”

Things were already this chaotic. If I spoke up personally now?

There was no doubt that a single word from me would spread in dozens of distorted forms.

“So for now, let’s just watch the situation. If I keep refusing to respond and endure it until the rumors die down to some extent…”

“Marquis!”

“Ah! You startled me.”

In the middle of our conversation, the study door opened and Valen, the butler of the marquis’s residence, entered.

“We have a serious problem.”

“Another one?”

Why have so many serious problems been happening lately?

Already accustomed to this pattern, I resigned myself to it and nodded.

“There are reporters gathered outside the residence. To prepare for any possible incidents, it would be best for you to remain inside the residence for the time being.”

“What?”

I jumped to my feet and hurried out onto the balcony.

Just as Valen had said, I could see an enormous crowd filling the area in front of the main gate in the distance.

At the sight of me, they became even more excited and began shouting at the top of their lungs.

“Marquis! Have you seen the article? Please give us a comment! Even if it’s brief, just say a few words!”

“Is it true that you and the Grand Duke are lovers? Please, an interview! Just give us a moment of your time!”

“This is ridiculous! It’s all lies! There’s no way Lord Leon would do such a thing. It’s all fabricated!”

“That’s right! Lord Leon would never have such poor taste! Marquis Zaherette, come out immediately and reveal the truth!”

Wait.

There seemed to be something strange mixed in there.

Amid the nonstop flashes, I could see angry ladies dressed in colorful gowns.

They were all united in one voice, shouting, ‘Down with the Marquis of Zaherette!’

Honestly, they were terrifying.

Even more terrifying than the reporters.

“How should we handle this? Do you have any measures in mind?”

“No. I don’t. For now, I’m just going to endure it no matter what. They say time heals all wounds, after all.”

As I had said earlier, even if I tried to offer some clumsy explanation now, it would only be distorted and spread in all sorts of directions.

“As long as I don’t respond to anyone, there’s no one who can force me to answer. Isn’t that right?”

“Yes. And that is precisely the second problem.”

“There was a second one?”

As if he had been waiting for me to ask, Valen handed me a letter he had been holding.

When I stared at it questioningly, he calmly explained.

“It is an invitation from His Majesty the Emperor.”

“…What?”

Who had sent… what?

Unable to comprehend the situation, I stared blankly at the letter before accepting it with trembling hands.

A golden seal was stamped onto the cream-colored envelope.

There was no mistaking it.

It was the Imperial crest.

I calmly broke the seal and opened the envelope, revealing a short message.

[Tomorrow at 11 a.m. The Imperial Palace.

Let us have tea. There is something I wish to discuss with you in private.]