Chapter: 85
The ladies were huddled together, their eyes sparkling.
It was almost as if they had just heard some incredibly exciting news.
There was a strangely excited atmosphere overall…
“So, this time, Young Master Gusto apparently…”
“But Lady Ansi said that never happened, didn’t she?”
Gregory and Larit?
For a moment, Seraphina’s face stiffened.
Could something have happened between those two without me knowing?
The reason she was filled with an overwhelming sense of humiliation even in that moment was because…
In the past… I never had to hear about things this late.
The center of high society, the purest lily.
People had once been desperate to exchange even a single word with Seraphina.
Even if she was physically sitting inside the communal townhouse, she could still receive all the latest news from high society through countless letters and postcards.
Those beautiful days now felt unimaginably distant.
No. First, I need to at least figure out what happened.
Seraphina shook her head, quickly put on a shameless expression, and joined the conversation.
“Excuse me, but what are you talking about? Are you talking about Larit and Gregor?”
At her question, the ladies who had been chatting glanced sideways at Seraphina.
There was a subtly condescending look in their eyes.
“My goodness, Lady Lopes, you haven’t heard the news yet?”
“You mentioned several times that you were very close to the Count Gusto family, so naturally, we assumed you would know.”
At their mocking voices, Seraphina’s face turned bright red.
How ridiculous. These women used to be unable to say even a single word to me!
However, she was somewhat hesitant to openly crush them as she had in the past.
Seraphina was now in a position where she could no longer receive the support of either the Viscount Ansi family or the Count Gusto family.
Seeing Seraphina at a loss for words, another lady spoke up as though she were doing her a favor.
“I heard that Young Master Gusto proposed to Lady Ansi this time.”
“What? A proposal?”
Seraphina was shocked.
But the lady’s bombshell was not over yet.
“That’s not all. I heard the two of them have already registered their marriage.”
That’s impossible.
Seraphina’s pupils shook violently as if an earthquake had struck.
Facing Seraphina, each of the ladies wore faint smiles on their lips.
They were openly mocking her.
“To be honest, I was rather surprised myself. Young Master Gusto always took such good care of Lady Lopes, after all.”
“I heard you had already broken off your engagement, but to think he would suddenly propose like this.”
“Perhaps Young Master Gusto was actually serious about Lady Ansi after all.”
“…I see.”
Seraphina forced herself to smile back as though she were perfectly calm.
“I have somewhere I need to go for a moment, so I’ll be leaving now.”
After leaving the gathering,
the strength drained from Seraphina’s legs, and she collapsed onto the floor.
This can’t be happening.
Her empty green eyes wandered through the air.
There’s no way Gregory would choose Larit over me.
Feeling dizzy, Seraphina squeezed her eyes shut.
She had always vaguely believed that,
although Seraphina would someday meet a wonderful man and have the wedding of the century,
Gregory would nevertheless remain devoted to her for the rest of his life.
That was why Seraphina had always said to Gregory,
“You’re Larit’s fiancé, aren’t you?”
The reason she had said those words was actually because she firmly believed that Gregory would never marry Larit and would always look only at her.
Larit had been a kind of insurance.
When Seraphina found the perfect husband and began living a glamorous life,
Gregory was supposed to serve as a means of ensuring that he would not become a burden to her.
But when she actually heard that Gregory had cut Seraphina off and chosen Larit,
Seraphina felt an anxiety so intense that it seemed to choke her.
No. It must be a misunderstanding.
Greg had said so himself.
That she was the most lovable person in the world.
That he had never even considered anyone other than her as a romantic interest.
Seraphina clenched her fists tightly.
I’ll go see Greg tomorrow and talk to him about this.
He’ll definitely clear up this misunderstanding.
There’s no way he would leave me…
Seraphina desperately tried to think positively.
But the sticky anxiety clinging to her entire body refused to disappear.
The next day.
The moment I woke up in the morning, I rushed to the Marriage Registration Office.
First, I checked the marriage registration form that Gregory had submitted…
Ah, my past self… What on earth were you thinking?
Unable to bear the throbbing headache, I pressed a hand against my forehead.
I was seriously going crazy.
I had figured out how everything had happened, but I had absolutely no idea how to resolve this situation…
Noble families generally assign a unique identifying phrase whenever a new member is born into the family.
You know how, when taking the Korean CSAT language section, there are phrases like, “The sunlight was vividly licking the leaves”?
It was something like that.
Each individual was assigned such a phrase.
Only the head of the family and the individual concerned shared that phrase, and whenever a new family member was born, the phrase was registered with the Imperial Family.
How should I put it?
It was almost like combining a Korean resident registration number with a personal seal.
So whenever various important identification documents were submitted, those phrases were always required…
Even if I was a complete idiot, how could I possibly have thought it was a good idea to tell Gregory that phrase?
I cried tears of blood internally.
Gregory, who remembered my identification phrase, had used it to submit a marriage registration form in my name.
And the Marriage Registration Office, unaware of anything, had accepted Gregory’s marriage registration!
I examined the documents with my eyes practically burning holes through them, but there was nothing wrong with the paperwork.
Even…
“…The seal of the Chairman of the Noble Council is stamped on it, too.”
I stared suspiciously at the marriage registration form.
Marriage registration forms for the head of a noble family and the heir who would inherit a title required not only the seal of the head of the Marriage Registration Office, but also the seal of the Chairman of the Noble Council.
That was because the heads and heirs of noble families would eventually become members of the Noble Council.
And since I was the heir of the Viscount Ansi family, I naturally needed to receive that seal.
But how on earth did Gregory obtain the Chairman’s seal?
For one thing, the act of stamping the Chairman of the Noble Council’s seal was itself a state secret.
Moreover, the seal was personally managed by the Chairman, so anyone who wanted to have it stamped would have to persuade the Chairman…
Doesn’t that mean all of this had proceeded without me, the person concerned?
“Haaaah…”
I let out a long sigh from the depths of my chest.
Did I really have to start a legal battle with the Count Gusto family?
But as far as I knew, a lawsuit to annul a marriage took at least three years, and before filing the lawsuit, I would also have to notify the Grand Temple in advance…
Wait.
I suddenly stopped.
Come to think of it, I haven’t checked the documents at the Grand Temple yet.
Under normal circumstances, registering a marriage at the Marriage Registration Office was enough.
But marriage registrations involving the head of a noble family or an heir who would inherit a title were handled a little differently.
The temple and the Marriage Registration Office each kept a copy of the same marriage registration form, creating a double safety net.
After all, the more important the head or heir of a family was, the more sensitive they tended to be about their title and wealth. This system had been created to prevent document fraud.
And since I was the heir of the Viscount Ansi family, a copy of my marriage registration should also have been kept at the temple.
Just like the Chairman’s seal, the fact that the temple kept a copy was confidential, wasn’t it?
Still, Gregory wasn’t exactly meticulous.
Who knew?
Maybe Gregory didn’t know that he had to submit the documents to the temple.
Or perhaps he had simply forgotten…
I hurriedly climbed into the carriage heading toward the Grand Temple.
