Chapter 10
That was an absurd claim.
House Teze was the most ancient and prestigious family since the founding of the Empire, and it wielded enormous influence across society.
It could never have grown that powerful by the strength of one duke alone.
Count Lian believed that the branch families and distant relatives surrounding the ducal house played a major role, and because of that, he felt he had every right to secure his own share.
To be honest, he was not the only one thinking that way.
From distant cousins to in-laws several times removed, the entire family was living off House Teze alone.
The duke was not easy to deal with, so he did not give things away for free, but as long as they did not become too troublesome, he would usually let things slide.
For example, quietly getting involved in various business rights, or using the ducal family name to build prestige in front of the nobles.
Those things were practically tacitly permitted rights.
And if they wanted to keep enjoying those rights in the future, then the position of duchess was above all else important.
…To dare place that penniless woman in the position of Duchess of Teze? Impossible.
In truth, from the very beginning, he had not liked that woman much.
Since Count Ohara had called her his precious only daughter, Count Lian had thought of her as something like a naïve flower who knew nothing of the world.
But Evangeline was far too intelligent for that.
To everyone else, she might have seemed to have only a pretty face, but Count Lian thought differently.
My eyes will never be deceived.
In her calm and quiet eyes, he could see a personality no less formidable than Duke Teze’s.
At first glance, she seemed generous with what she had, but at times she clearly drew a line between herself and others.
The fact that she had only been in the ducal house for less than two years and was already trying to imitate the late duchess so perfectly was irritating enough to make him grit his teeth.
But now the situation had changed.
The money that had at least made that woman somewhat tolerable was all gone, and the late duchess had passed away.
Fortunately—or unfortunately—no matter how furious he became, Count Lian was not crazy enough to face Duke Teze directly.
That would be ruin.
If he provoked that terrifying man the wrong way, it was obvious what the end would look like.
But he also could not simply leave that woman alone after she had already taken everything from them and was now reduced to little more than skin and bones.
In the end, Count Lian chose a very simple and very certain method.
He would borrow someone else’s hand.
“To what do I owe the honor of your visit, Count?”
“Princess.”
Even the proud duke had someone he could not easily deal with.
In that sense, Princess Bellona was the perfect person.
“You acted like you would never come here again, so this is a surprise.”
“Not at all. It was not that I did not come. It was that I could not come. I simply lacked the proper decency…”
“Do you know that about yourself?”
“Of course. But what could I have done? Honestly, at the time, who could have been more suitable than Your Highness for the position of Duchess of Teze?”
“…Hmph.”
The princess’s snort did not seem entirely displeased.
Just as expected.
Having found the right person, Count Lian hummed inwardly.
Princess Bellona, the only younger sister of the current Emperor, liked Duke Teze.
At a glance, she was a quiet and refined beauty, but inside she was as hot as molten lava.
Once she set her sights on something—whether it was an object or a person—she would pursue it until she obtained it.
It was already a well-known story in high society that she had followed every event Duke Teze attended and even cried and begged her brother, the Emperor, over him.
Unfortunately, the Emperor was as rational as Duke Teze and hated troublesome matters.
Not long after ascending the throne, he understood very well that Decarno’s support, as the head of the nobles, was absolutely essential to stabilizing imperial authority.
If he forced a marriage on him, the backlash could shake the Emperor’s own position.
However much he disliked it, in the current Bellice Empire, Duke Teze really did stand in that kind of position.
In the end, the Emperor answered by attending Evangeline and Decarno’s engagement ceremony himself and raising a cup to congratulate them.
Even when his only younger sister caused a huge uproar that night, threatening to die over it, he did not care.
He simply scoffed and ignored her, assuming she would get over it.
But to his surprise, the princess’s feelings for Duke Teze surpassed even the Emperor’s expectations.
Driven by anger, she went so far as to become engaged to the prince of Lichten, who had come as part of the celebration delegation, saying she would marry a man better than the duke.
It happened only three days after the two met.
The Emperor, who was stunned by his sister’s impulsive engagement, decided it was actually for the best and gladly offered a massive dowry.
He must have thought it was better to send her far away to Lichten than keep her around and get a headache.
And then, exactly three months later, she returned to her homeland.
As a far more terrifying broken engagement victim, now carrying twisted resentment as well.
“Honestly, I suspect the two of you went through all that trouble just so this would happen.”
“…Ah, so the rumors are true?”
Bellona’s green eyes sparkled with a rather innocent look, even though she had already bought every newspaper published in Roark.
At least when it came to Duke Teze, she was endlessly pure-hearted.
“My goodness, what should we do? For something like that to happen to such a noble duke.”
“How kind-hearted you are, Your Highness.”
“Just thinking about the wound it must have left on such a man makes me resent the world.”
Bellona even looked teary-eyed as she pressed a handkerchief to the corners of her eyes.
She seemed to instinctively guess what Count Lian was about to say.
“…Anyway, Count Lian, the reason you came to see me was…”
“Naturally, Your Highness is the only one who can heal the duke’s wounded heart.”
“Oh my. How could you say such a thing!”
She covered her mouth, looking as though she were suddenly embarrassed.
But beneath those trembling eyelashes, her gaze was highly meaningful, as though saying, Go on.
“Still, how could the duke possibly cast Lady Ohara aside? If he did, he might end up hearing unpleasant things about himself.”
“That is exactly what I mean. Being forced by public attention to endure and marry a woman like that… sigh.”
Count Lian’s sigh sounded convincing enough.
He did not miss the sharp look that immediately flashed in Bellona’s eyes at the mention of the duke’s marriage.
Now it was time to reveal the real point.
“So, if the split were not initiated by Duke Teze but by Lady Ohara instead, things would be different, would they not?”
“Sorry? What do you mean?”
“Exactly as I said. If Lady Ohara were the one to break the engagement first, then the duke’s dignity or reputation would not suffer at all. If she chooses to withdraw on her own, who could possibly object?”
“But would Lady Ohara really step back so easily? Everyone knows how strongly she has wanted the duke from the very beginning…”
Bellona’s eyes narrowed.
As a princess, she could not say openly what she really thought, but her expression made it clear.
She believed the broken engagement was entirely Evangeline’s fault.
If that woman had not used every trick she could to seize the position of duchess, then the duke would naturally have become hers, the most noble woman in the Empire.
“She will not step away easily. Her attachment to anything precious is very strong.”
“But she has a pride that does not match her station, does she not?”
“…Pardon?”
At Count Lian’s pointed words, she opened her ears wide.
The words that had already intrigued her two years ago had now ripened into something even sweeter.
“Who knows? If her pride were wounded enough to become unbearable, she might step back in anger.”
◇ ◆ ◇
Bellona was not the kind of woman who delayed and dragged things out.
The moment she heard that the duke had gone out, she immediately sent an imperial carriage to the Teze estate.
As a result, the princess was able to face her rival in less than a day.
“My, your face is badly hurt, Lady.”
“Thank you for your concern, Your Highness.”
Evangeline bowed with a formal greeting.
She did not need a mirror to know what she looked like.
She had been summoned without even enough time to properly prepare herself, so at the very least she was not dressed in a way suited to the luxurious tea room of the princess’s palace.
“Did I invite you too suddenly? I should have made an appointment first.”
“It is fine, Your Highness.”
“Well, I thought you probably had no prior plans. I heard you have been avoiding going out.”
Bellona smiled sweetly and lifted her teacup.
It was a subtle way of reminding Evangeline of her current position, but Evangeline remained calm.
Aside from being less polished than usual, there was little sign on her flawless face of the troubles she had recently gone through.
Trying to act like everything is fine.
Bellona felt uneasy at her elegance, which did not suit her current circumstances.
It would have been more fun if there were at least some sign of anxiety or bitterness, but Evangeline’s eyes were as still as a winter lake.
“Still, I’m glad you happened to call me here while the duke was away. Thanks to that, I could come out like this.”
“…I see.”
