Chapter 60

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 60
Chapter Title: Reputation
-----------------------------------------------------------------

Nora finished speaking and smiled sweetly.

Naturally, her intention in saying this was to target Aracilla, whose reputation had recovered while her husband's had been tarnished.

The Ladies, sensing this, actively chimed in, subtly slandering Aracilla.

“Duchess Vandermir isn’t one to hold back out of concern for others, is she? It feels like she just does whatever she wants.”

“She really is quite talented. Regardless of what happened to her husband, she herself didn’t suffer any losses from this incident.”

“Indeed. Even after the incident was concluded, she didn’t give up, and there’s widespread praise for her persistence in catching the murderer by cooperating with the Knights.”

“If I were her husband, Duke Vandermir, I might feel a little hurt. He permitted her to cooperate with the Knights, but she hasn’t said a word about that.”

Nora had merely set the stage, and the Ladies, steering the conversation exactly as she wished, made her smile with satisfaction.

The current remarks made it seem as though Aracilla was someone who acted solely for her own well-being, disregarding her husband.

Naturally, as this was precisely what Nora had aimed for, no one tried to stop them.

“It’s like the Hunting Festival, too; Duchess Vandermir seems to make too few concessions to her husband. A person shouldn’t be that greedy.”

“Now that you mention it, I haven’t really seen her supporting Duke Vandermir since their marriage. Is her ambition to become the Magic Tower Master the only thing that matters to her?”

“Oh, if she’s only going to think of herself, she shouldn’t have gotten married in the first place. She claims it was a love match, but she shows absolutely no basic consideration for her partner.”

“Come to think of it, perhaps the Grand Duchess and Duchess Vandermir’s quarrel the other day wasn’t for nothing. Perhaps the Grand Duchess was worried enough about her grandson to act that way?”

The Ladies, like a runaway train, fueled the negative image of Aracilla.

Nora raised her teacup to her lips to hide the corners of her mouth, which were curving into a smirk.

‘No matter how little she cares about her reputation, she can’t keep that up forever.’

Noblewomen, especially after marriage, had to work harder at managing their reputations than when they were single.

This was because, after marriage, they were entangled with so many people that even a small fault could lead to significant repercussions.

Therefore, if the words spoken at this gathering slowly spread through society, Aracilla would undoubtedly suffer a blow.

Recalling her, who always acted so snobbishly, like a haughty swan, Nora tightened her grip on the teacup.

No matter how capable a Mage Aracilla was, in social circles, Nora was one step ahead.

Aracilla’s aloof attitude, always acting as if she alone was superior and indifferent to others, would this time work as poison against her.

Nora, almost certain of her success, opened her mouth brightly to deliver the final blow.

“A virtuous noblewoman should wisely support her husband, but Duchess Vandermir is rather lacking in that regard.”

Clink. She set her cup down with a sound, drawing more attention, and continued.

“But surely, she wouldn’t intentionally try to hinder Duke Vandermir’s future, would she? Perhaps she’s just clumsy, being newly married.”

On the surface, it sounded like a protective remark, but everyone knew the reality was quite the opposite.

Just a few days later, malicious rumors began to circulate in society that Aracilla was not properly supporting her husband and was deliberately obstructing his path.

* * *

A large hand reached across the table, offering an invitation bearing the Imperial crest.

Aracilla, who had been about to put a bite-sized piece of sausage and salad greens into her mouth, set down her fork and took the invitation.

She opened the paper indifferently, but her expression soon shifted to one of slight surprise.

“...It’s a return party for His Highness the First Prince?”

The Emperor of the Cetron Empire had several children, but unusually, none of them shared the same mother.

This was because the Emperor had only one child from each of his Empress and Imperial Consorts.

Among them, Lucas, the First Prince born to the First Imperial Consort, was the Emperor's eldest son, born before Frederick, the son of the Empress. He had been away for a long time, having left for another country as an envoy and student during his adolescence.

Even after becoming an adult, he had not returned to his homeland, instead traveling through various countries as a representative of the Empire, serving as a diplomat.

“Yes, he is returning after achieving the feat of concluding a peace treaty with the Silin Kingdom.”

“Is that so? I didn’t know.”

Aracilla, who had been too busy recently to pay attention to international affairs, was hearing the news of the Prince’s triumphant return for the first time.

Still, she knew that the Silin Kingdom had been a country threatening the Empire’s eastern coast, so she felt it was fitting for the Imperial Family to hold a return party.

“So, will you attend the party with me?”

“Hmm…”

Aracilla fell into thought at Demian’s calm question.

The end of the Jonny Pattinson incident didn’t mean she was free. She was refocusing on inventing Magic Tools based on her Floating Stone research.

At such a busy time, she didn’t want to waste time attending a party unnecessarily.

She was already famous for not attending parties often. Even if it was an Imperial ball, it was no different.

“Do I absolutely have to go with you?”

“Not necessarily. His Highness will not reprimand you for your absence, Madam.”

Demian said with a strange certainty in his voice. It was unusual for him to be so sure, given he wasn’t the First Prince, but Aracilla didn't think deeply about it.

“Then please excuse me, saying I’m ill. Since I often do that, no one will find it strange.”

“Understood.”

The conversation ended there. Unlike before, the two finished their meal in comfortable silence and parted ways for their respective workplaces.

Today, too, Aracilla put her head together with her two junior Mages, thinking about what kind of Magic Tool would be good to invent.

In truth, several ideas had come up, but the problem was that none of them truly captivated her.

Aracilla, with her arms crossed, leaned back in her chair and tilted her head all the way back. Through her inverted vision, the bright blue sky outside the window caught her eye.

At that moment, Aracilla casually thought,

‘Hmm, it would be interesting if there were a ship that could travel through the sky…’

This thought instantly transformed into a brilliant idea.

She suddenly straightened up and blurted out her thoughts to her juniors.

“How about inventing a ship that floats in the sky?”

“What…?”

“Why, there are carriages on land and ships on the sea, but nothing in the sky, right? Let’s use Floating Stones to create a flying vehicle.”

Aracilla didn’t just want to make objects float in the air with Floating Stones.

The core of invention was always practicality.

No matter how groundbreaking an item was, if it wasn’t useful, people would quickly lose interest, and the value of the item and research would naturally diminish.

Not wanting to see the results of their diligent research fall to such a fate, the three of them had spent a long time deliberating.

“Oh, I think that’s a great idea.”

Sally was the first to agree, and Rudy chimed in.

“I like it too. We’d be creating a new mode of transportation! If we do it right, we’ll achieve even greater commercial success than Senior Travis’s lab!”

Competition between seniors also affected the juniors beneath them.

Rudy and Sally were just as eager as Aracilla to beat Travis’s side.

“Since we’ve reached a consensus, let’s focus on this direction and start development.”

“Yes, Senior!”

* * *

“The Duchess Vandermir sent this.”

Aracilla, returning home late, received a letter from the Head Maid. Her expression became displeased as the sender was unwelcome.

Aracilla ascended the stairs while reading the letter. She skipped the superfluous greetings and went straight to the main point.

The two-page letter, filled with accusations and threats directed at her, could be briefly summarized as such:

“Your reputation in the capital’s social circles is quite terrible these days. Aren’t you properly supporting Demian? Do you want a divorce?”

Aracilla carelessly folded the letter and handed it to Audrey. Her expression was quite serious.

Her poor reputation in social circles was nothing new, but for the Duchess to even bring up divorce meant the situation was more serious than usual.

‘What on earth are people saying for her to be like this?’

Divorce was still somewhat inconvenient, so Aracilla felt it was necessary to thoroughly understand the current social situation. Therefore, the next day, she visited Paula.

Her older sister, Iris, was also knowledgeable about social rumors, but it felt a bit awkward to ask a family member about her own bad reputation.

Aracilla, who had briefly embraced Paula, who welcomed her warmly, immediately brought up the matter.

“Paula, I have something I want to ask you.”

“Hm? What is it?”

“Is my reputation bad in society these days?”

Paula, who had been smiling brightly, happy to see her friend’s sudden visit, flinched. She rolled her eyes, looking troubled.

“You can just tell me honestly. You know I don’t get hurt by things like that.”

“...Well, there are some strange rumors circulating.”

Paula hesitated before answering. She had been debating whether to tell her this.

She usually didn't bother relaying bad rumors circulating in society, knowing that Aracilla wasn't someone who cared about her reputation.

But this time, her husband, Demian, was also being dragged into it, which made Paula deeply troubled.

“It’s not as bad as Lexy Ritterson, but… um, there are rumors that you deliberately married Duke Vandermir to obstruct his path.”

“What?”

“And that Duke Vandermir is either blindly in love with you, or he’s a naive man who doesn’t understand women and is being deceived.”

What in the world was this bullshit?

Aracilla couldn’t maintain her composure and frowned. Far from obstructing Demian’s path, she was actually helping him, so why was she being portrayed as a villainess who lured a naive man and ruined his life?

The absurdity was beyond words, and she gulped down her herbal tea as if it were alcohol.

But Paula’s words weren’t over yet.

“There’s also the matter of you surpassing Duke Vandermir and winning the Hunting Festival, and then being in charge of that unfortunate incident involving the Red Hawk Knights…”

“...”

“All these unfortunate things happening to Duke Vandermir have led some people to start questioning your relationship as a couple.”

These were all the result of Nora’s words, spread through her social gathering, snowballing.

Suddenly, Aracilla found herself with a headache and pressed her temples.

“...I understand, Paula. Thank you for telling me.”

“It’s nothing. If you ever need help, just tell me, Aracilla.”

After leaving Paula’s mansion, Aracilla immediately went to find Demian.

If left alone, the gossip circulating in society would only worsen and never subside, so it was necessary to quell the scandal.

“I’ll go there too.”

Thus, she burst into Demian’s office and declared.

“...To the internal Knights’ meeting?”

Demian, who had been reading documents related to the meeting scheduled for tomorrow morning, asked in surprise.

“No, not that. The First Prince’s return party.”

“Didn’t you say you weren’t going?”

“My mind has changed. We’ve only shown conflicting sides recently, so I think it’s time to show off our relationship as a couple.”

Since the First Prince was returning after nearly ten years, there would be many attendees at the party.

If they showed themselves as an affectionate couple there, the baseless rumors people were spreading would surely die down to some extent.

Aracilla explained the situation, then gently gripped Demian’s shoulder and asked.

“Demian, do you remember when my mother visited us in the hospital?”

“Yes.”

“At this party, you need to act even more in love with me than you did then. That way, they won’t be able to say strange things. Understood?”

Demian briefly looked uncertain, then, seeing Aracilla’s burning expression, nodded.