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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: Whispers and Fury
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I scooped up a piece with pink chocolate pearls and fruit with my fork and offered it to Gerard.
“I'm quite alright.”
“It's the best part, hurry!”
I fretted, worried it would fall.
Gerard reluctantly opened his mouth and ate the cake.
“Is it good?”
“Yes, you should have some too, My Lady.”
I smiled in satisfaction and put a large forkful of cake into my mouth.
“It's so good…”
The pure white cream tasted of peaches.
No, I think I taste a bit of orange too.
It tasted of many different fruits.
Huh? Come to think of it, it tasted similar to the cake Grandma Sophie made.
Although Grandma Sophie's cake is much, much tastier.
I was about halfway through the cake.
The music stopped, and I could see the musicians moving about busily, as if about to change songs.
Just then.
“A bastard child?”
In the silence between songs, I heard a voice I hadn't noticed before.
“Ah, so that's why…”
“The Marquis was carrying her around earlier. I mean that child.”
“Is he just looking after her for a while?”
“They say she's his bastard…”
“The Chancellor was unmarried, wasn't she? So she must have raised the child in secret. I don't know why she's being revealed now, though.”
“Perhaps he's thinking of taking a wife?”
“For a man like Marquis Leguire, a flaw like that is something one could overlook.”
I naturally turned my head toward the sound and saw two men and two women gathered behind the fountain, looking at me.
They looked a little older than Uncle, or perhaps around the same age.
Even though they were further outside than I was, the bright light from the banquet hall illuminated their faces.
Are they talking about me?
Mom… hid me?
That's strange. Mom was always so proud of me.
“Lies.”
Everything those adults were saying was a lie.
“I wonder if he really intends to make her his heir…”
“I doubt it. If she were the heir, he would have announced it already.”
“Exactly. Why else would she have moved out of the Valliat estate? It's not like Duke Valliat is a man without compassion, even for his own family, right?”
“Still, it must have been quite a blow. The nation's Chancellor having such a major flaw.”
“Don't you think the child might have thrown a tantrum?”
My heart ached with a sharp sting.
“Ah, that's possible. Just look at her. So the Marquis had no choice but to…”
“Still, isn't it a good thing that the Marquis doesn't seem to dislike the child?”
“Oh my, hehe. What are you thinking?”
“Well, you never know how things will turn out.”
Feeling awkward for no reason, I looked up at Gerard, and his face was murderous.
It seemed Gerard had heard something too.
Then again, his hearing is probably better than mine!
“I will go take care of it.”
“No, Gerard!”
Startled, I whispered and quickly grabbed Gerard's hand.
“My Lady.”
“If I cause trouble, Uncle will scold me.”
“This is not you causing trouble, My Lady. It is they who do not know the weight of their words and have let their tongues run wild.”
“But still…”
“They must be held responsible. Even if they've been drinking, how dare they speak so carelessly, not knowing their place.”
“I'm okay. None of that is true. It's all lies.”
I looked up at Gerard with a steady gaze.
The people showed no sign of stopping their conversation, even laughing merrily as they drank glass after glass of the bubbling wine.
They're bad people, talking about others so gleefully.
I shook my head and looked at Gerard, who was staring at me with wide eyes.
“My Lady.”
“My mom said I was her greatest pride in the world.”
“…You are right, My Lady.”
I glanced back at the group, and the people who had been talking about me now had their mouths shut tight, their faces pale.
I shrugged, wondering what was wrong with them.
“I'm really okay. To Uncle, shh, it's a secret, okay?”
“What's a secret?”
“Gasp.”
It's Uncle.
Startled, I snapped my head up.
I dropped my fork at the same time.
For a moment, I had the illusion that Uncle's red hair was on fire.
His expression was that terrifying.
Uh, when did he get here?
I was so focused on holding Gerard back that I hadn't even noticed Uncle arrive.
Did he hear? Could he have heard?
Gerard, who had his back to him while facing me, must have realized it late, as his body went rigid.
“Take the child and wait in the carriage.”
*Griiind.*
A sound like grinding—no, breaking—teeth came from Uncle's mouth.
Gerard shut his mouth.
I was about to grab Uncle, but gave up when I saw Gerard shake his head.
Nothing terrible will happen, right?
As I've said before, my uncle's nickname is…
The Mad Dog.
***
Rosina, giddy from drinking champagne like water, was enjoying the banquet with her friends.
A cake made by the most renowned patissier in the capital was brought into the center of the hall.
It was the creation of a patissier so famous that even the Emperor had to make a formal request to get him to set foot in the palace.
Rosina's eyes sparkled.
She'd heard that the Evosophie Bakery was also run by the Valliat family.
Marquis Cassel de Leguire.
And he would inherit everything of Valliat's.
He was renowned for his business acumen, so much so that it was said Marquis Leguire, not Duke Valliat, had truly built the family's fortune.
But what was even more wonderful.
The corners of Rosina's mouth lifted as she thought of Cassel.
He was a breathtaking sculpture just to look at.
Rosina had fallen for Cassel at first sight at her debutante ball several years ago.
She had been nursing a one-sided crush on him for nearly ten years since.
“Who is that magnificent man…?”
“You mean Cassel de Valliat? He is the eldest son of the Valliat family. The younger brother of the young Duke Valliat.”
Most of the young ladies there that day probably felt the same way I did.
By now, she was in a state of near-resignation, but she still wondered if an opportunity might arise someday.
If only she could properly strike up a conversation with him.
Out of the hundreds of times she had greeted him, she could only remember him returning the gesture once.
Still, there were other young ladies who had been told off for bothering him or had been hurt by his coldness and cried.
But that had never happened to her.
Once, he had even specially accepted the glass of champagne she offered him.
“Um… would you like this?”
“What is it?”
“It's champagne. I thought you might be th-thirsty.”
“What an annoyance…”
“If you accept it, I'll never bother you again!”
After that, he would occasionally return her nods…
And on a broader scale, her family's business was connected to the Valliats.
It seemed like she should be able to get closer to him, but it wasn't easy.
She secretly imagined that if she were to marry Marquis Leguire, their wedding cake would be made by that very patissier.
She had heard that Marquis Leguire, a rare sight at banquets, had come, and she'd thought about going to greet him.
But today, he had brought some child with him and was carrying her around.
The great Cassel de Leguire and a child.
She couldn't imagine a more mismatched pair, but seeing them together, Cassel was still incredibly dashing.
The child, seemingly clueless, was chattering and babbling nonstop.
Cassel, though frowning, indulged her every word and held the child securely.
That Cassel, the Cassel who was cold to everyone, was being affectionate.
It was the first time she had felt her heart flutter like that at the sight of him.
She never knew a man with such a fiery nature could have a side like that.
If he was that affectionate with a child that wasn't even his, what would he be like with his own?
On the other hand, she felt displeased.
That child was clearly the Chancellor's daughter, the one from all the rumors.
The one they said was kept hidden away, never shown to anyone.
From what she heard, no one even knew who the father was.
In fact, not a single central noble had ever stepped forward to claim to be her husband.
It wasn't uncommon for noble couples to adopt or take in illegitimate children, but if it were her, she would hate it.
“Hmph…”
She couldn't allow such a stain on her life.
If she were to marry him, it would mean she'd have to take responsibility for that girl.
The thought was deeply unpleasant.
The child was cluelessly eating cake and giggling.
“It's the best part, hurry!”
The sight of her offering cake to her own guard with her fork was utterly vulgar.
How could they be so different?
She didn't know about the late Chancellor's side, but the biological father was surely some noble from a backwater province without even a crest, or someone with no breeding at all.
“The Marquis may be fiery, but he has no such flaws. This is why breeding is so important, isn't it?”
She could never embrace a child like that.
