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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: What Do You Know?
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The red-haired man whispered lowly into Doana's ear.
“Do you like me, or do you like the Count?”
Instead of answering, Doana passionately explored the man’s lips, then smiled in satisfaction. Undeterred by what Eric might do if he found out, she was simply faithful to the instincts of the moment. After the intense moment ended, silence fell. The man glanced at Doana, then slowly got up. He then walked leisurely towards the exit. Before stepping out the door, he winked at Doana and said,
“If you ever need me again, just come find me.”
*Thud*. With the man gone, Doana was left alone.
‘That ugly thing.’
She frowned, staring at the spot where the man had disappeared. The red-haired man was a low-ranking knight from the Count’s estate. This was already the third time she had secretly met him, caught in Doana’s heated radar. She had intended for it to be a one-time thing, but it was just too good. So good, in fact, that his ugly face would come to mind on sleepless nights.
“Why would I call you again?”
As before, Doana sighed, thinking she should stop meeting him. Blinking her eyes, unable to hide her exhaustion, she fell into an almost comatose sleep. Two hours later. Doana, who had dozed off, checked the clock in the room and sprang up.
“It’s already past ten…”
Eric must definitely be waiting for her. She quickly washed herself with warm water and hurried to get ready to leave. It wasn’t far from the Count’s estate, only about a ten-minute walk, but her heart was filled with extreme anxiety. ***
“Move.”
A maid stood guard in front of Eric’s room. Doana pushed the maid away with an irritable voice, then cleared her throat.
“Ahem,”
And then, completely contrary to her previous tone, she called Eric sweetly with a charming voice.
“Count. I’m here.”
“Come in.”
Entering the room, Doana first gauged Eric’s mood. Judging by his expression, he didn’t seem to be in a good mood. He, who always used to rush to her, was sitting rigidly. Sitting on the bed with his arms crossed, tapping his fingers, Eric was clearly in a foul mood.
“Why are you late? I told you I detest tardiness.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be late, but someone suddenly asked me to run an errand.”
Doana found a suitable excuse and sat beside Eric, fawning over him. But despite Doana’s attempts at charm, Eric remained unmoved.
“Who would give you work? I clearly told the Head Maid not to assign you any tasks.”
His cold eyes swept over Doana’s body. At Eric’s words, Doana’s eyes darted around in panic.
“That was Roje… no, the Countess ordered me.”
“Roje?”
“Yes. If the Countess orders it, I must obey. I am merely a maid, but your wife is the Countess.”
At Doana’s words, Eric’s expression softened slightly. It would have been different if she had been late for no reason, but that wasn’t the case. Eric abruptly pulled Doana’s wrist, unable to hide the desire in his eyes.
“Today, you’ll do as I say.”
His expression was subtle, somehow different from usual. A wave of unease washed over Doana, but she obediently fell into his embrace. However, this was Doana’s mistake. It was the moment Eric’s unusual preferences were revealed.
*** Time flew by, and soon only three days remained until the banquet. Roje did not waste a single moment of the past week, determined not to make any mistakes at the banquet she was invited to by the Grand Duke.
‘I’ve roughly grasped the names and relationships of the nobles, but not knowing their faces is a drawback.’
It would be great if there were something like photographs, but this world didn’t have ‘cameras.’ If she could match their faces to their names, the banquet would be a great success.
“…Which group should I try to befriend first?”
Roje wrote down the name of Duchess Bella, who held sway over high society, then shook her head and crossed out her name.
“Duchess Bella’s circle won’t even look at me.”
She felt that they wouldn’t welcome her, essentially an outcast in high society. Their age group also didn’t match Roje’s, so conversation wouldn’t flow easily. The middle-aged nobles had grown children, and Roje was the age of their children.
‘And Tersia is in that group, too.’
Tersia was Eric’s birth mother. As long as she, who disapproved of Roje, was there, Roje wouldn’t be able to join Duchess Bella’s faction. Then… what about young ladies her age who weren’t yet married? Roje wrote down the names of the young ladies one by one, tapping her pen against the desk.
“It might be worth a try.”
Would they be cliquish? Roje was the daughter of a fallen noble house who hadn’t even had her debutante ball, so she didn’t even have a single friend.
“I’ll just have to go for it.”
Roje set her pen down on the desk with a *thud* and slowly closed her eyes.
‘By the way, what about that document…’
The Grand Duke Arteum’s execution plan. Roje had asked the butler to allow her back into the study, but Eric wouldn’t easily let her in. As a result, Roje had to receive her private lessons in the reception room instead of the study. And she had lost any chance to glimpse the problematic document. The protagonists in transmigration novels always solved things so coolly…
“Haa…”
The wall of reality was higher than she thought. As Roje propped her chin on her hand and sighed,
“You’re sighing enough to make the ground sink.”
“Oh, when did you arrive?”
Eric appeared. He stood leaning against Roje’s door, watching her. Then, without a word, he abruptly extended his hand towards Roje. Roje tilted her head, confused by Eric’s sudden gesture.
‘Does he mean he’ll escort me today?’
Until now, they hadn’t even walked together, let alone had an escort. While remaining wary of Eric’s unusually gentle demeanor, she cautiously extended her hand. Roje’s hand gently rested on Eric’s. Eric frowned fiercely and brushed Roje’s hand away.
“Not your hand. Give it to me.”
“…Give you what?”
Roje didn’t have time to calm her surprised heart as she looked at Eric with wary eyes.
“My gift.”
“A gift?”
“Yes. I know you’ve prepared my birthday gift.”
Eric pointed to the elegantly wrapped box on Roje’s desk.
‘That’s…’
Roje stared intently at the gift she had prepared. He misunderstood. She hadn’t prepared a birthday gift for him at all.
“Eric. I’m sorry, but I haven’t prepared a gift for you.”
“You haven’t prepared a gift?”
She used to lavish him with luxuries to the point of breaking her back, but this time she bought nothing? And yet, a gift box was clearly visible right there? Eric found Roje’s attempt at playing hard to get, which wasn’t working anyway, amusing.
“Then what is that?”
He pointed once more, pointedly, at the wrapped gift box.
“That’s a gift for Grand Duke Arteum.”
“…A gift for Grand Duke Arteum?”
Eric’s expression slowly hardened. He raised an eyebrow, radiating a chilling aura.
“How laughable. You come empty-handed to your husband’s birthday, yet you bring a gift to Grand Duke Arteum.”
“He invited me to the banquet.”
“You give him a gift just because he invited you to one banquet?”
Eric approached Roje with wide eyes and roughly grabbed her hand. He squeezed so hard that Roje’s left wrist, caught in his grip, throbbed with a sharp pain.
“It hurts. Let go!”
“A gift for Grand Duke Arteum. You’re making a mockery of the House of Wens’ name, and there’s a limit to how far you can go.”
Eric pushed Roje against the wall. He glared at Roje with a displeased expression, pressing her against the wall so she couldn’t move.
“Of course, someone like you wouldn’t understand politics. That’s why you’re doing such useless things.”
He mocked Roje with scornful words. Her giving a gift to the Grand Duke clearly displeased him. At the Count’s mocking words, a surge of indignation rose within Roje.
‘No matter what, how could he say such things to Roje?’
Even though he knew that Roje was his wife, and that her heart was set on him… She felt sorry for Roje, the heroine. The fact that she struggled so much to be loved by Eric despite being treated like this. Filled with anger, Roje kicked Eric’s shin with all her might. He seemed quite surprised, stumbling back and releasing Roje.
“You know, too, what my standing is in society. Everyone treats me like I’m invisible, yet the Grand Duke invited me. Can’t I bring a gift like this as a token of gratitude?”
Roje clutched her left wrist and glared at Eric. He truly had a terrible habit of using his hands. Her wrist throbbed with pain every time she twitched her fingers. He stared at Roje with a bewildered expression, as if he couldn’t believe she had kicked him. Roje ignored Eric’s gaze and picked up the gift box from the desk. Then, without looking back, she left her room. ***
‘It would have been better if he had said he wasn’t coming.’
The carriage heading to Grand Duke Arteum’s mansion was incredibly quiet. They didn’t exchange a single word, nor did they make eye contact. She had hoped he would say he wouldn’t attend Grand Duke Arteum’s banquet, but contrary to her expectations, Eric had already boarded the carriage before Roje.
“……”
Eric glanced at Roje occasionally, but Roje paid him no mind. The carriage, filled with a chilling atmosphere, slowly came to a halt. They had finally arrived at Grand Duke Arteum’s mansion. Eric opened the carriage door and exited first. It was customary for a gentleman to escort a lady in a dress, but Eric showed no such courtesy. Instead of escorting her, he just strode off alone.
‘I didn’t expect anything anyway, you hateful Count.’
Roje muttered to herself that she wouldn’t even take his hand if he offered it, then carefully stepped out. Perhaps she was too excited about attending her first banquet and wore something too elaborate, but she ended up stepping on her own skirt.
“Oh, oh no!”
In an instant, Roje’s body tilted forward. To trip and fall on her skirt as soon as she arrived! The pain was secondary; if she got covered in dirt, she wouldn’t be able to enjoy the banquet and might have to return to the mansion immediately.
‘I’m going to fall!’
The carriage was quite high. Her body began to fall rapidly. Roje squeezed her eyes shut, seeing the ground drawing closer. *Thump*. Just then, someone caught Roje’s falling body and lifted her up. Roje’s body suddenly floated into the air, and she startled, her eyes flying open.
“Oh, oh my.”
Her relief at not falling was short-lived; she soon realized she was dangling over an unknown man’s shoulder. The man, who had Roje slung over his shoulder, carefully set her down on the ground. Roje lifted her head to express her gratitude and her eyes widened when she saw the person standing before her.
“G-Grand Duke Arteum?”
“It’s been a while, Countess Wens.”
She had thought a guard or the coachman would have helped… Instead, standing before her was Grand Duke Arteum, his eyes a chilling blue, gazing at her.
