Chapter 7
“Iām home!”
Around sunset, Hilde returned from going out.
“My goodness, there isn’t even a place to put my hat.”
The oak table was gone.
It had always been the place where Hilde left all her odds and ends while Clementine wrote.
Now there was only an empty space.
The new lord, Damien Lambert, had taken it away.
“This place just gets more miserable every day…”
In the end, Hilde casually tossed her hat onto the floor.
“Anyway…”
“Several gentlemen kept asking me to dance again today.”
Naturally, she began by boasting.
“It was honestly such a hassle turning them all down.”
In reality, she had even asked the least attractive man at the party to dance.
But Hilde conveniently left that part out.
What mattered was giving the impression that she was beautiful and popular in high society.
“Sounds like you had fun.”
Clementine replied while busily making cheese.
Hilde frowned at her sister.
What’s the point of being a noble…
When you live like this?
After their father’s sudden death, he had managed to leave behind only a small manor and a modest source of income for his daughters.
Very modest.
It was nowhere near enough for them to live comfortably.
As a result, Clementine was always trying to save every coin.
Hilde resented her for it.
Because her sister was so miserly, there was never enough money for nice clothes or accessories.
If only she spent more on herself…
People might actually compliment her beauty.
Hilde loved being told she was pretty.
Perhaps because those compliments were so hard to come by.
Feeling irritated, she decided to provoke her sister.
“Well…”
“You’ve never even had a gentleman escort you home.”
Hilde said.
“So you wouldn’t know how troublesome it is.”
The truth was…
Almost every gentleman in the village wanted to escort Clementine home.
But Clementine always found men’s attention uncomfortable.
She wasn’t obsessed with courtship or marriage.
Perhaps she simply wasn’t tolerant enough to spend time with someone just because he happened to be a man.
More importantly…
Clementine was tall.
And beautiful.
Even the handsome men who never spared Hilde a glance would often linger around Clementine instead.
The thought irritated Hilde once again.
But Clementine answered absentmindedly.
“That’s true.”
“I’ve never really wanted to spend much time around men.”
“That’s exactly the problem!”
Hilde snapped.
“The only way we’ll survive is by getting married.”
“And you’re doing absolutely nothing!”
“I’m not doing nothing.”
Clementine didn’t seem bothered by the criticism.
“I’m too busy trying not to ruin this cheese.”
She simply stirred it with her wooden spatula.
“Is it because you don’t like gentlemen?”
Hilde refused to give up.
“Are you waiting for some nobleman who’s more suitable for your status?”
She let out a mocking laugh.
“What nobleman would ever want this pathetic house?”
She walked over and poked Clementine in the back.
“In this age of industrialization…”
“Money is everything.”
She wasn’t only speaking to her sister.
She was also trying to convince herself.
“Old-fashioned nobles like Father have mostly fallen into ruin.”
“The wealthy gentleman class is becoming the new aristocracy.”
She continued,
“We’re dirt poor.”
“We should be grateful if even a gentleman shows interest in us.”
“I know, Hilde.”
No matter how much her younger sister lectured her, Clementine didn’t seem offended.
“I’m simply not interested.”
“It doesn’t matter whether he’s a noble or not.”
“That’s a lie!”
To Hilde, finding a husband and receiving marriage proposals was life’s greatest goal.
She firmly believed every woman felt exactly the same way.
“…What’s this?”
She wanted to continue annoying Clementine.
But something else caught her attention.
She noticed a luxurious envelope decorated with gold trim.
“It’s an invitation.”
Clementine shrugged, though her expression became slightly stiff.
“From that new lord who visited before?”
“The Duke?”
After hearing the explanation, Hilde nearly jumped with excitement.
“You were really invited?”
“Yes.”
“Both of us.”
“Well…”
“Even if we’re in this state…”
“The Cornille family is still a noble house.”
Hilde proudly lifted her chin.
Apparently she had already forgotten the lecture she’d given moments ago about how no nobleman would ever care about them.
“Of course we should be invited!”
“We live in the Duke’s territory!”
Clementine looked far less enthusiastic.
“So…”
“What was the Duke like when you met him?”
Hilde eagerly asked.
“People who saw him from a distance say he’s incredibly handsome.”
“He is.”
“Very handsome.”
Just like the first time I met him.
The words almost slipped out.
Fortunately, Clementine managed to swallow them before saying them aloud.
In truth…
In some ways, he had become even more handsome than before.
He was very tall.
His hair was neatly styled.
His dark eyebrows were perfectly shaped.
His high cheekbones stood out proudly.
His facial features were striking.
He looked powerful.
Yet at the same time…
His clear skin gave him an elegant appearance.
Even his voice was deep and warm, like the echo inside a quiet cave.
“And he even told us we don’t have to pay the rent yet.”
“He’s handsome and generous!”
Hilde practically wriggled with excitement.
“Honestly, I was worried.”
“Our father didn’t get along with him years ago.”
She continued,
“Father was so stubborn and old-fashioned.”
Count Montauban had firmly opposed Lady Saint-Fleur and her son’s very existence.
“I thought he’d demand all the unpaid rent.”
“But instead…”
“He’s showing us kindness.”
“I don’t know…”
Clementine murmured doubtfully.
“It’s hard to simply feel grateful.”
“He seemed…”
“Arrogant.”
During their short meeting…
There had been several moments that felt like mockery.
Like deliberate humiliation.
She couldn’t simply dismiss it as imagination.
Clementine had clearly sensed contempt in Damien Lambert’s attitude.
What she couldn’t understand…
Was why.
It didn’t feel like the ordinary disdain people showed toward fallen nobles.
It felt…
More personal.
“The fact that he even took such an ordinary old table…”
“…That table?”
Hilde casually kicked the hat lying on the floor.
“We didn’t need that stupid thing anyway.”
“The house actually feels bigger without it.”
Then suddenly…
She narrowed her eyes.
“Oh.”
“Come to think of it…”
“What?”
“Didn’t people once talk about you marrying that Duke?”
She slapped her knee as she remembered.
“The King’s illegitimate son.”
“Right?”
“…Yes.”
Clementine nodded.
It had been nothing more than a political arrangement.
The King had wanted his beloved illegitimate son to be officially recognized.
As part of that plan, he had begun searching for a suitable bride.
Meanwhile…
Their father desperately needed support to save his slowly declining family.
Their interests had aligned perfectly.
Yet…
The arrangement had fallen through.
“But why?”
“I don’t know.”
Clementine shook her head.
“I only remember Father becoming very angry afterward.”
He had finally agreed to accept an illegitimate son as his future son-in-law…
Yet somehow…
The engagement negotiations had collapsed.
As far as Clementine remembered…
It was Damien Lambert’s side that had rejected the proposal.
“What a shame.”
Hilde clicked her tongue.
“If you’d married him back then…”
“You’d be living proudly as a Duchess by now.”
“And I’d probably have benefited from it too.”
Still…
She wasn’t all that disappointed.
If Clementine had really become a Duchess…
Hilde would probably have died of jealousy.
Ever since they were children…
Her greatest wish had been simple.
To marry better than Clementine.
She wanted her older sister to become nothing more than her background.
She wanted to be the one everyone admired.
Surely I can outshine my sister.
She only looks impressive on the outside.
She’s really nothing special.
“Maybe…”
“This party is exactly the chance I’ve been waiting for.”
Hilde declared confidently.
“I don’t know what you’re planning…”
“But good luck.”
Completely unaware of the jealousy hidden in her younger sister’s heart…
Clementine simply dismissed it as another one of Hilde’s idle remarks.
