Chapter 7
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#7.
"Step back a bit, would you?"
Elena pressed down firmly on Demian's shoulder with her hand, creating distance between them. Demian yielded easily and chuckled softly.
"My summoning of Lady Lorke and the Grand Duke's son has nothing whatsoever to do with this."
So that's how he wanted to play it?
Elena's smile turned glacial.
"I hear the Grand Duchess burst into the Grand Duke's son's lessons."
After sending Roena away, I'd gleaned this information from her lady's maid, so I knew it was accurate.
The fact that Roena hadn't mentioned it directly suggested the Grand Duke had silenced her.
'I thought she was just a child, but she's become quite clever.'
As Roena's maid, she must have been acting on Roena's orders.
I found it delightful how she'd managed to honor her promise to the Grand Duke while simultaneously providing me with a clue.
It made me reconsider my earlier dismissal of her as merely a disagreeable daughter-in-law.
Demian shrugged with exaggerated emphasis.
"My, you knew even that?"
"Don't feign ignorance. Would you summon someone to your Study so openly if you were trying to hide them from me?"
"Well, I believed the Grand Duchess held me in complete indifference."
"Hmph."
Elena let out a derisive snort.
Just then, I recalled Roena's audacious kiss on my cheek from earlier. She'd disguised it as an innocent gesture while offering rather cunning advice.
'Why not ask Father directly? He's the type who craves attention, so if Mother gives him the attention she's been withholding, he'll spill everything.'
She'd said it with such an innocent smile: "Father is that kind of person."
I wasn't entirely certain what she meant by that particular phrase, but it didn't sound like a compliment.
Yet it was intriguing enough to redirect my heavy footsteps toward the Grand Duke's Bedroom.
I was genuinely curious about his reaction.
'Tsk, these young people invent words as they please. They seem to rather enjoy keeping adults in the dark, don't they?'
I dismissed it as nothing more than youthful slang.
Yet my expression betrayed genuine amusement rather than displeasure.
Indeed, just as Roena had suggested, showing the Grand Duke attention was beginning to yield results.
It seemed precarious, as though he might spill everything with just a little more coaxing.
Moments later, I turned my gaze back to Demian, intending to press him further.
But then―
"Why are you staring at me like that?"
Elena's face contorted upon seeing Demian's expression.
He'd been wearing a vacant look, but her words made him grimace. Then Demian spoke curtly.
"Why were you smiling just now?"
"Now you're criticizing me for smiling? Really."
Elena's amusement faded, her tone turning frigid.
Demian then closed the distance again, leaning one arm against the wall.
"I asked why you were smiling, madam."
"Please refrain from calling me 'wife'—it doesn't suit me."
Elena answered with a sharp edge to her voice and pushed his shoulder back again, but this time he didn't budge.
'How childish.'
When Demian showed no sign of moving, Elena closed the distance between them.
As she drew near enough to almost brush her lips against his, Demian startled and stumbled backward.
"W-what on earth—!"
"Well, you kept pressing closer and closer, so I wondered if perhaps you wanted to kiss."
"That's not what I—!"
Demian's face flushed crimson as words failed him.
Elena paid him no mind and shifted her weight to one leg, maintaining the distance between them.
It was almost amusing—a man who dallied with countless women trembling at the mere prospect of a kiss. Elena's expression turned glacial.
"I understand. You despise my touch every bit as much as I despise yours."
"...."
"No one in the entire Empire will ever know that we haven't even consummated our marriage—that we are, in truth, complete strangers."
Elena circled him with a sardonic smile, while Demian remained silent, offering no defense.
She raised her hand as if to touch his shoulder, hovering just above it as she spoke.
"If you don't want to be kissed, then tell me—what happened in the Study?"
Then, with a playful tap, she struck his shoulder lightly.
* * *
"You're back?"
I greeted Hannah warmly as she slipped back into the room.
"Yes, my lady."
"How did Mother react?"
"She didn't seem displeased, but her thoughts were utterly inscrutable. I'm not certain she fully understood."
"I see...."
As I trailed off, the maidservant Vivian burst through the door.
"My lady! The Grand Duchess just entered the Grand Duke's bedroom!"
"Hush, Vivian! Do you want everyone to hear? And 'my lady'? How long has it been since I became the Lady of this house?"
Shuri scolded Vivian from beside me, and Vivian pressed her lips together sheepishly. I turned to her with gleaming eyes and asked.
"She really went in? Truly?"
"Yes! Those two never set foot in each other's bedrooms—this is quite extraordinary."
Vivian's voice had grown quieter than before.
"What if they actually consummated their marriage and she becomes pregnant...."
Hannah expressed her concern, and I shook my head firmly.
"It won't be a consummation. I'm certain they'll emerge again."
"How can you be so sure?"
Hannah, Vivian, and Shuri all turned to stare at me simultaneously.
'How would I know? I read it directly in the book. Those two are nothing but a business couple.'
I chose not to voice this thought and simply smiled mysteriously.
After all, it was I who had lured the Grand Duchess into the Grand Duke's bedroom.
Arkid only knew that I'd kissed the Grand Duchess—he had no idea I'd whispered something in her ear as well.
The Grand Duchess blushed at the kiss that followed, but she was likely turning my whispered words over in her mind, lost in thought.
'Come to think of it, my in-laws' relationship is rather peculiar.'
In the original story, the two of them remained at odds with each other.
They barely spoke to one another, and whenever they crossed paths, they'd snarl at each other without fail.
Yet when they did work together, their hearts aligned so perfectly.
'Well, that's probably how they maintained their business partnership all these years.'
I pushed thoughts of my in-laws from my mind.
I'd already had Hannah slip a subtle clue to the Grand Duchess, so the rest would unfold naturally on its own.
From the start, I had no intention of choosing between the Grand Duke and the Grand Duchess.
'Rather, I plan to win them both over.'
To gain the favor of both, I couldn't afford to appear to be taking sides with either one.
That's why I hadn't spoken directly—instead, I'd arranged for the Grand Duchess to hear it from the Grand Duke himself.
'This much should be enough. The rest is up to them to sort out.'
I smiled wickedly, like someone who'd just finished a long-standing task. Then Vivian spoke up.
"My, the young mistress has such a strange smile again."
"What's wrong with my smile?"
"Well, lately you've been smiling with your mouth all twitchy like this, you see."
"I, I suppose that could happen."
I recoiled in horror at the face Vivian was mimicking. Then she grinned and murmured.
"Either way, it's lovely to see the young mistress smiling so much more."
"That's right. I do love seeing the young mistress smile the most."
Hannah giggled and chimed in agreement.
"Our young mistress's smile is priceless, truly it is."
Shuri added her playful remarks.
"Why are you all being like this, all of a sudden?"
I felt oddly self-conscious at the attention directed toward me and responded with feigned coolness.
Hannah, Vivian, and Shuri had all followed me from Count April's Estate as my attendants.
Though I hadn't known them for long, they remained Roena's most trusted confidantes.
They were seasoned attendants, skilled enough to manage Roena's difficult temperament.
At first, I'd worried they might notice I wasn't actually Roena, but that concern proved unfounded.
Instead, they were delighted that I seemed to be returning to my former self.
Apparently, I'd been acting strangely, as if going through an early adolescence.
Of course, that was their assessment, but perhaps Roena hadn't been inherently wicked after all.
If she'd simply become sharper due to her inability to adapt to her drastically changed circumstances, it wasn't entirely incomprehensible.
Though of course, I still couldn't forgive Roena for tormenting Arkid.
I suddenly felt a mischievous impulse and opened my mouth.
"If you're really curious, go spy on the Grand Duke and Duchess's bedroom. I'm betting that Mother returns to her own chambers."
At my sudden wager, the three women's eyes widened. A moment later, Hannah asked.
"Young mistress, are you now trying to empty our pockets as well?"
"Who wants to bet? How about a chestnut flick?"
"Oh no, how could we possibly flick the Young Mistress on the forehead?"
Shuri trembled and tried to dissuade me. I flashed them that wicked smile of mine and goaded them on.
"Afraid, are we?"
"Well, I...!"
Vivian's competitive spirit ignited, and she bristled with excitement. Shuri laughed and spoke up.
"Fine. Since the Young Mistress insists, we have no choice. You won't cry and complain about the pain later, will you?"
"Shuri might just see stars from my spicy flick."
"Oh my, how terrifying."
Shuri giggled, her face showing no fear whatsoever.
After the bet was settled, Hannah returned from quietly spying on the Grand Duke and Grand Duchess's bedroom, her expression dejected.
"The Grand Duchess has retired to her own bedroom."
"Yes!"
I clenched my fists and bounced with glee. Then, with a cunning smile, I prepared to deliver the chestnut flicks.
"Here goes."
"Young Mistress..."
Shuri groaned.
"Come now, how spicy could a lady's hand possibly be?"
Vivian tried to act unbothered.
"Should I go first?"
Hannah stepped forward without hesitation.
"Hehehehe."
In a bet, there was no such thing as mercy. I smiled wickedly and spoke.
"Let's go see the stars, everyone."
The next day, red chestnut marks were vivid on Hannah's, Vivian's, and Shuri's foreheads.
When other servants asked in confusion, they could only mutter strange things like "We saw the stars..."
Indeed.
The young mistress showed no mercy.
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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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