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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 50
Chapter Title: The First Test
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A moment later, he seemed to come to his senses and said.
“You’re loud.”
“You always say I’m loud.”
I retorted sullenly and looked around the bedroom. Whatever the case, no matter how spacious this bedroom was, being made to stay here together from now on was definitely…
“The Duke’s scheme. Right? To test us…”
Just as I muttered that, Nina’s voice came from outside.
“Young Madam, Young Master. The Duke has requested your presence for dinner.”
✵ ✵ ✵
Dinner with the Duke proceeded like a very bizarre role-play.
The Duke acted like a father who deeply cherished his son, showing me a mixture of slight hostility and slight favor, and I, in turn, acted like a woman who had fallen into a love for the ages with Eric.
“Since when have you been so… fond of my son?”
“I knew it was destiny from the moment we first met.”
The Duke’s acting was excellent, but my performance was so spectacular that the servants attending the dinner kept clearing their throats.
I stepped out of the dining room for a moment and overheard them talking amongst themselves. Nina was among them.
“Of course, things have gotten noisy in the household, but… did you see how Young Lord Eric couldn't take his eyes off Lady Imeline throughout the meal? I think I’m already halfway convinced.”
Convinced of what? No, more importantly, was Young Lord Eric really looking at me the whole time?
His acting has improved a lot… It’s like his skills suddenly skyrocketed since yesterday.
Anyway, the other servants all looked confused.
“But still, Lady Imeline’s background is…”
My background is what! I have a feeling that’s the girl who spilled tea on me…
Then, another servant spoke.
“The butler looks quite pleased, doesn’t he?”
“He does. After all, there were even rumors that the Young Lord preferred the company of men…”
Oh, my. So there were rumors like that.
I finally understood why the butler was so happy about this marriage.
In any case, the servants seemed to be divided into two camps: those, led by Nina and the butler, who were willing to give Eric and me a chance, and those who thoroughly despised me, citing my background and the family’s honor.
And Lily—
She was on neither side.
When I returned to the dining room and continued the bold conversation—
“I will be sure to make your son happy.”
“He can be a bit rigid, but I’ll teach him well…”
“We will live a long and happy life together…”
“He’s the greatest man I’ve met in my twenty-two years of life…”
She was in a corner, staring blankly out the window with a look that said she wanted to throw up immediately.
Eric, as if deciding he couldn’t help my performance but shouldn’t hinder it either, simply feigned shyness, bowing his head deeply to hide his expression.
Despite this, I carried on the conversation. The Duke maintained a peculiar expression in response to my answers, and I thought I knew what that look meant.
He was so busy wondering, ‘What is that wench thinking?’ that he couldn’t let anything show on his face.
The Duke didn’t know how far my goals for this marriage aligned with Eric’s.
Of course he didn’t. He hadn’t figured out just how much had been exposed.
Whether it was just that he supported Prince Robert, or that he was colluding with Prince Robert to plot treason, or even…
That his true identity was that of a monster.
Every time his expression grew strange, I was struck by the chillingly clear realization that the man before me was a psychopath with no interest whatsoever in the feelings or pain of others.
A man who could kill people simply because they got in his way.
Was I able to recognize such a man because I was a monster, too?
By the time my thoughts reached that point, the dinner was over.
✵ ✵ ✵
At the end of the meal, the Duke announced he would be leaving the estate on business. He then ordered the butler to bring out the numerous congratulatory letters and gifts that had arrived at the duchy.
I was simply delighted by the news that the Duke was leaving and that there were presents.
More shiny things?!
Eric, on the other hand, looked reluctant. While the Duke stepped away for a moment, he leaned in and whispered to me.
“You’ll have to start receiving guests soon. Can you handle it?”
“Can’t I just throw some money around, serve delicious food, and call it a day?”
At my simple words, Eric looked like he was getting a headache.
“…Do you know how to reply to letters?”
At Eric’s question, I rolled my eyes.
Re… plies?
I have to write replies, too…?
I stopped my excited unwrapping of a gift and picked up one of the letters. Then I casually held it out to Eric and said.
“…Thank you… Thanks for the gift?”
Upon hearing that, Eric immediately gestured to the butler.
When the butler approached, Eric spoke in a low voice.
“The Young Madam is not accustomed to writing aristocratic correspondence, so please instruct her. It would also be good if you could teach her the etiquette of high society…”
Instruct me! I’m someone who shudders at the very mention of education!
I glared at Eric, but he gently smiled and blocked my rebellion.
“As a rule, the lady of the house replies to letters sent to the estate, so you must be the one to write them.”
His tone suddenly changed. At least he wasn't calling me 'wife'…
I gritted my teeth and said.
“We both got married, so why am I the only one writing letters…!”
They’re congratulatory letters for our marriage! Can’t I just take the gifts and have Eric write the replies?!
“As for the reason, you can ask God while praying in the chapel… I don’t know why they live like that either.”
Eric gritted his teeth, saying the last part so only I could hear.
“You have to at least show you’re making an effort like this so there won’t be any problems when you attend social gatherings…”
Ah, is that so? Dammit… Why are there so many rules and customs in these damn social circles? They’re so good at following rules and customs, but when you look closely, they’re not very moral. So this is a kind of test, too.
I recalled the Duke’s red eyes.
His plan is to torment me with whatever mess I make while he’s gone.
I whispered to Eric with a weary expression.
“You’ll still help me, right? Secretly?”
I looked at Eric, my eyes sparkling with anticipation.
Just then, the Duke returned.
The Duke watched the two of us standing close together and smiled faintly.
“Eric. You will leave with me and finalize that contract with Mr. Holland.”
What contract!
I finally realized the Duke was trying to separate Eric from me as well and squeezed Eric’s hand tightly.
‘Don’t go… Don’t you go, you fool!’
Eric let out a deep sigh.
“I have to go now.”
Eric whispered in my ear.
“I’ve already spoken with Lily and the butler, so don’t worry too much.”
I looked at Lily and the brightly smiling butler, then hung my head sullenly. Lily, in particular, had a look that said, ‘Don’t even think about asking me for help.’
‘Dammit… I have to stay alone in this huge mansion on the first day of our honeymoon?’
I snapped my head up and glared at the Duke.
He had a mocking expression on his face. He and the servants with him were looking at me with contempt.
Alright, let’s see about that.
I gritted my teeth and reached for Eric’s waist.
“What are you doing…?”
I wrapped my arm around the waist of the retreating Eric, almost pinching him, and rose slightly on my tiptoes. Then, I pressed my lips firmly against his cheek before pulling away.
“Have a safe trip, darling. Ohohoho.”
“…”
Eric’s face soured at the word ‘darling.’ He touched his cheek as if he’d been burned. I mouthed.
‘It was an unavoidable situation. An. Ex. Cep. Tion. Al. Sit. U. A. Tion.’
The butler, watching the scene, said with a moved expression.
“…Ah, newlyweds…!”
But the expressions of the servants and the Duke who were watching us twisted. When the Duke’s face contorted, the butler quickly shook his head and wiped the happy look from his own.
I looked at the Duke while still clinging to Eric’s shoulder.
‘…Test us if you dare.’
✵ ✵ ✵
‘It wasn’t so bad up to that point…’
Until Eric left, the butler, with his light brown hair, almost blond, combed back smoothly, had worn a very gentle smile.
He told me I absolutely had to reply to most of the letters by tonight.
It was the social season, and if I didn’t receive at least ten invitations within a few days, the honor of the ducal house would be dragged through the mud.
In short, there was no way Eric could have written the replies for me in the first place.
‘…I mean, how can honor be dragged through the mud over something like that…’
The honor of a noble family was truly a trivial thing.
Anyway, this blond butler whose name I still didn’t know. He seemed to be the most favorable person toward me among the servants of this household.
Considering that butlers usually identify with the master of the house, treating the family’s honor as their own, it was rather strange.
‘…At the social gatherings I went to, the butlers ignored me even more than the hosts did…’
But why does this man like me so much? It’s strange, anyway.
In any case, the important fact was that even he, as he sat with me in the study and began writing letters, gradually…
“We do not often use the word ‘meal.’ You should write ‘supper,’ you see?”
“Young Madam, your penmanship is quite poor…”
“Madam! No! Not like that!”
“The wax hasn’t fully melted, and you’re—!”
“…Write it again.”
“…Madam, please…”
“I heard you curse just now.”
“That is a vulgarism, Madam!”
“Oh, heavens…!”
His smile faded, and faded, and faded away. Not only that, but the space where his smile had been was filled with resignation, shock, sorrow (?), and frustration.
“Have you… never written in cursive before?”
He finally asked me cautiously. As he did, he offered a handkerchief from his pocket, and only then did I see my reflection in the shiny paperweight. There was a smudge of ink right under my nose.
I mumbled as I wiped under my nose with the handkerchief the butler gave me.
“I’ve lived my whole life without really writing much…?”
Where would I find the time to write?
After running away from the Violode Merchants empty-handed, I was caught by a loan shark and lived doing all sorts of shady things. Then I ran away and lived for a while in a hut at the foot of a mountain, eating tree roots, only to be caught again…
Anyway, there was simply no room in my life for things like letters, ink, or documents. I learned how to read a secret ledger from a witch, but that wasn’t something I wrote.
“Then how do you intend to look at the ledgers…? Tomorrow, the branch families will come to pay their respects and hand over the family’s accounting books, which have been managed by the council of elders until now…”
The butler said with a worried expression.
At his words, I smiled brightly and said.
“I’m good with ledgers! Really good!”
“…?”
“I’m stronger with numbers than with letters, you see.”
“…”
“You look like you don’t believe me.”
This man… It seems he’s completely lost all faith in me in just two hours.
“I’ll just rest for a little bit…”
My arm felt like it was about to fall off, but I still hadn’t finished a single letter.
It was because of the butler’s demanding standards for penmanship!
For a rich household, they could at least feed a person before putting them to work!
I put on my most pitiful expression and looked up at the butler.
The butler shook his head.
“You said the same thing earlier and then slacked off for thirty minutes, did you not?”
Hmm?
Did I do that?
