Chapter 101
#101. A Story Hard to Believe
Duke Madeleine's drawing room.
The steam that had flickered above the three cups of hot tea had completely disappeared. Neither Jade, nor Conrad, nor the Duke, nor anyone else broke the silence.
It was the Duke who shattered the terribly long silence.
"...What on earth were you thinking?"
His low voice was imbued with an authority that dared not be challenged.
But Jade, who had been silently looking at his teacup, didn't even turn his head. His profile, half-visible, was expressionless.
"Jade Madeleine."
"......"
"Right now, your father is being very patient with you."
Jade's shoulders trembled slightly. The Duke suppressed his rising anger and spoke about the current situation.
"If you wanted to come all the way to the drawing room as you wished, you should have been preparing to clearly explain why you did what you did and present a solution, instead of gathering your thoughts now."
It was Jade who had wanted to return to the mansion, and it was Jade who had insisted on talking in his drawing room.
The reason the Duke had accepted Jade's words was because he thought Jade was an adult who could take responsibility for his actions.
So, the Duke said to Jade as if driving a stake.
"...That's what you, as a Madeleine, should be doing now."
Only then did Jade slowly raise his head.
Moonlight streamed in from the window, momentarily casting shadows over Jade's face. Beneath the fully grown man's face, Jade's childhood face was briefly revealed.
The Duke blinked.
The fleeting face looked as if it was about to cry. It disappeared in the blink of an eye. He must have been mistaken.
"I'll ask you again. What on earth were you thinking, doing that?"
"...To salvage even a little of House Madeleine's lost pride."
"What?"
It was an answer so worthless that the time he had given was wasted.
The Duke's eyes, which had maintained their composure, grew increasingly fierce.
"You, a member of the Imperial Faction's leading family, cornering the Princess in front of the entire delegation, that's Madeleine's pride?"
His calm voice gradually froze over.
The Duke looked at his son, who resembled him, with piercing eyes.
At least, he believed that Jade had cornered the Princess after giving it some thought.
But...
"You wasted time to come all the way to the mansion, to this drawing room, just to give me that kind of answer?"
His tightly closed mouth was filled with words expressing his disappointment.
His children, whom he had always cherished, were taking turns showing him a side that defied his expectations.
Why, what on earth was the reason?
The Duke closed his eyes, trying to sort out his chaotic thoughts. What on earth was the reason his children had started to change?
Ironically, one person came to the Duke's mind. That child. The child whose name caught in his throat, that child.
It was when he slowly opened his eyes.
"What I wanted to say in this drawing room is not about any solutions or seeking forgiveness."
An emotionless voice continued. Jade had a strange look on his face.
As if he had steeled himself for something, he raised his head and slowly looked around the inside of the drawing room.
"I just wanted to see this drawing room one more time."
"......"
"Because I really respect and love my father..."
Those words were not unfamiliar. It was what Jade always said on 'Father's Day,' even while feeling shy.
But today, his second son's voice was fragmented.
A strange unease shook the Duke.
Jade was now looking at the portrait above the fireplace, not at the Duke.
It was the portrait from 14 years ago, before the misfortune began. Everyone from the time when Hazel was still alive.
A moment of dull pain flashed across the Duke's usually cold eyes.
Because he knew that those days could never return. Regret for the missed moment always reflexively made him hate someone.
If it weren't for that child, that time would have continued until now.
While the Duke was looking at the portrait, Jade added in a low voice.
"...I still wanted to see this incredibly disgusting place again."
The Duke blinked for a moment.
This place was more precious to the Duke than any other place in the mansion. Jade, who couldn't have been unaware of that, dared to insult this place.
"Jade Madeleine!"
"When I was a child, I thought entering this drawing room was a privilege."
"......"
"Because Olivia couldn't come in."
Olivia. At those four syllables, the Duke gripped the armrest tightly.
The beginning of the problem was, as expected, that child.
"So, whenever I hated her, I came into the drawing room more often. Did you know that?"
Jade looked at the door for a moment.
The image of Olivia standing behind the door like a phantom was drawn before his eyes. As if to let Olivia, who was always looking at this door with envious eyes, hear, Jade always slammed the door shut with a loud bang.
As if this door was a line separating Olivia from his family.
"...I thought my mother's words that she was my sister were wrong."
The Duke stared blankly at Jade for a moment.
But Jade's face was not clearly visible, and only Hazel's voice was clearly heard in his ear.
"...She should be treated similarly to my children as Conrad and Jade's sister, as Esella's older sister."
"...I also. I have never thought of her as the same as you."
The words he uttered in a choked, suppressed voice were the same as the answer he had given to Hazel in the past.
At those words, Jade jumped up from his seat. Then he burst into a light laugh.
"I'm sure you did. That's why Father, my brother, and I..."
Jade's face twisted as if he was about to cry.
"...Didn't feel the grotesqueness of this drawing room."
Hazel's voice was faintly heard in Jade's desolate voice. The Duke lowered his head without realizing it.
Soon, silence filled the drawing room with the sound of the door closing.
* * *
A night when the moon was unusually high.
The sound of horses galloping faded away with the sound of hooves. At the same time, a knock was heard. Even when he said to come in, the Duke naturally assumed it would be Conrad.
"Your Grace. A person has come from the Imperial Palace. His Majesty has ordered you to enter the palace immediately. And this is a letter from Marquess Liveorn."
But the one who came in was the butler. While the butler, with a troubled face, handed over the letter, an Imperial Palace attendant was visible beyond the open door.
It was a natural course of events. The Emperor would demand loyalty once again, and the Imperial Faction nobles, with himself as their leader, would question Jade's intentions and demand a solution to the situation.
Instead of receiving the letter or answering, the Duke stared blankly at the portrait in the room.
The butler, keenly aware of the Duke's unusual appearance, was surprised. The Duke, who would immediately get up at the Emperor's command, was empty today...
The butler shook his head at the thought that came to his mind.
"...Conrad and Jade are..."
But when a low question was heard, the butler couldn't hide his surprise.
Even though an Imperial Palace attendant had come to urge him to enter the palace, he was talking about something else. This was the first time this had happened.
Eyes that were more deeply sunken than usual stared intently at the butler. The butler stammered as he answered without realizing it.
"The, the Young Duke is in his office, and the Second Young Master left a little while ago."
The Duke moved his lips for a moment. It sounded like the words 'Esella is' were heard between shallow breaths, but he didn't ask aloud in the end.
Feeling an unease that wouldn't disappear, the butler presumptuously informed him of the Princess's location for the first time.
"...Lady Esella is in her bedroom."
The Duke looked at the butler for a moment. The butler lowered his head without realizing it. Afraid of what words might fall, the butler handed the letter on the tray back to him.
"Your, Your Grace. The letter is..."
"...Leave it there and step out for a moment."
"......Yes."
The butler left the drawing room, suppressing the sound as much as possible. The Imperial Palace attendant, who had been pacing back and forth, widened his eyes.
"Is something wrong with the Duke? He would have already left if it were normal."
Then, as if realizing his duty again, the attendant let out a groan. He even asked for the summons to be repeated, but the butler pretended not to hear and only looked at the tightly closed door.
Just like he had pretended not to hear the low sigh when he left the drawing room a little while ago.
.
.
.
Silence settled in the drawing room.
The Duke, Giovanni, swallowed for a moment.
In the quiet silence, Giovanni's insides seemed to be constantly consumed by a hollow darkness.
He shouldn't feel this empty. He had everything now. He had protected his family, he had protected his family's honor.
Giovanni gave a bitter smile, then groaned.
Whether it was because his head was tangled, or because he had raised his voice until his veins stood out, a terrible headache instantly pressed down on him. The back of his neck twitched irregularly.
With trembling hands, Giovanni lifted the teacup on the table.
The cold tea tasted fishy. He had hoped that drinking the tea would make the headache disappear. The color of the tea inside the teacup he looked into was a pale green.
"Ah..."
Giovanni let out a low groan. Seeing the green tea, he was reminded of green eyes as transparent as this color. Useless thoughts kept flowing in.
From Sir Huxley's troubled face, saying that he couldn't find tea that would get rid of the headache, to Esella's appearance, often bringing tea before. And even the scenery from the time when this tea first started being served to him.
"May I come in? I found some tea that's good for the cardiovascular system. I'll just leave the tea and leave."
A voice with fragile expectations disappeared with a whoosh. Giovanni gritted his teeth.
That child couldn't come into this room. Except for once, on the day she received a warning from the Empress.
Because it was only natural that bringing misfortune and finding good tea couldn't be paid for with equal value.
After making an irreversible mistake. With just, with just that.
"The mistake was made by Gio, you."
Painful words like shards pierced Giovanni's lungs. At the sound of Hazel's voice that suddenly came to mind, he reflexively looked at the portrait again.
Even though misfortune had come, his family had endured it with resilience until now. They had protected their smiles while trusting each other.
When did that precarious support collapse?
A child who was always watching from afar, both in the Imperial Palace and in the Duke's residence.
Giovanni's mind was filled with the image of a girl who was always ten steps away from them.
And also the green eyes that tried so hard to smile just as much.
* * *
"What?"
In the Princess's lavish room, the Princess, who was leaning against the bed, looked at Lady Libeorn as if she couldn't believe it.
"Can you tell me again, Bianca? Where did the other ladies go?"
It was the day after she had fainted.
The ladies and noblewomen who should have been flocking to her at the time she woke up and standing guard outside the bedroom were nowhere to be seen. The gifts that had filled the room were also only a few on the wall.
Only three ladies, including Lady Libeorn, were sitting in front of the Princess, exchanging awkward glances.
Anxious, the Princess gripped the blanket.
"I fainted, but my dear friends didn't come to me and went to Madeleine. What does this mean? And it's a Tea Party inviting the delegation. What is that...!"
Her voice trembled with uncontrollable anger. Among the ladies who were looking at each other, Lady Libeorn said.
"It's His Majesty's order."
"His, Majesty's?"
What does this mean? The Princess looked at Lady Libeorn with disbelieving, shaking eyes. The Marchioness, who had been looking at her, said calmly.
"Yes. His Majesty has ordered Lady Esella Madeleine to host a Tea Party after the luncheon with the delegation."
The Princess's face turned white. The Princess quickly threw off the blanket. Unlike her trembling fingertips, her lips formed a graceful curve as she continued to speak.
"What is that, there's no way His Majesty would do that. Bianca. I'm here. I must have been given such an important task because I fainted..."
"I think it's because of the rumors. Your Highness."
"Rumors?"
"Lady!"
The Princess, who had turned white, looked behind Lady Libeorn. At the same time, Lady Libeorn glared at Lady Shamin, who had spoken from behind her, as if rebuking her.
Ah.
Only then did Lady Shamin realize her mistake. Goosebumps rose on her skin. Baroness Luhan had clearly asked her to be careful with her words when she came in.
But even though she had come to the Princess's bedroom instead of the Madeleine Dukedom after looking around, the conversation was always only with Lady Libeorn. Just as she was feeling jealous, what she said to attract attention happened to be about 'rumors.'
It was a belated regret. The Princess asked again.
"What rumors?"
"It's, it's nothing. Your Highness."
Lady Libeorn hurriedly tried to smooth things over, but the Princess's gaze was already fixed on Lady Shamin.
She didn't know that this intense and desperate gaze would be so sweet.
Lady Libeorn is such a fool. To try to protect the Princess even after being ignored so much. At the same time as feeling pleased, Lady Shamin's nose was raised to the sky.
While feeling satisfied with the situation where the noble Princess was listening so desperately to her words, Lady Shamin pretended to be flustered and stammered.
"Oh my, Your Highness. Didn't you know? The rumors are all over the palace."
"Lady!"
"So, what are the rumors?"
The Princess, who was trying to smile elegantly, the Marchioness, who was angry and trying to stop her mouth, and herself. It was the Countess, herself, who was gaining the upper hand in this place.
A mouth that couldn't think about the aftermath moved recklessly.
"The rumor that Her Highness the Princess was humiliated in front of the foreign delegation because of the Second Young Master Madeleine. It has spread all over the Imperial City."
"Lady-!"
A stern order fell behind the light words that were spat out. As if she had just returned to the bedroom, the Princess's nanny, Baroness Luhan, was glaring at Lady Shamin.
Ah. Only then did cold sweat run down her spine. She didn't know what weight the words she had lightly uttered in the excited feeling of being watched would return with.
But the Princess's pale face was already slowly lowering.
"So, everyone is at Madeleine's..."
The Princess muttered as if trying to fill the place where her pride had been torn apart.
