Chapter 31
~Chapter 31~
“You seem to have had a bit too much to drink, Sir Julian.”
A large shadow fell between Harriet and Julian.
Julian, who had been irritably furrowing his brow, froze in surprise the moment he saw who it was.
“D-Duke of Kailas……!”
Even in his drunken state, he recognized the man right away, so he clearly wasn’t as intoxicated as she’d thought.
As Cedric slowly approached and fixed his gaze on Julian, both Harriet and Julian froze in place.
“Is something the matter? Your voice was raised rather loudly for such a pleasant party.”
“N-No, not at all! Haha! I just got a bit carried away seeing an old acquaintance after so long.”
At that ridiculous excuse, Cedric glanced briefly at Harriet.
“An old acquaintance…… So the two of you know each other well?”
“W-Well, not exactly…… haha……”
Julian looked around, sweating profusely, then suddenly waved toward the far side of the hall.
“Oh! Long time no see!”
Backing away as he muttered, “Someone’s calling me, so I’ll take my leave……”
He then hurriedly departed.
Watching his retreating figure, Harriet clicked her tongue.
Just moments ago, he’d been so confidently threatening her, but the moment a man with greater power and stature appeared, he tucked tail and fled.
She wasn’t sure whether to be relieved that the confrontation had ended peacefully or bitter that she seemed like too easy a target.
Feeling someone’s gaze, she turned her head to find Cedric staring straight at her.
“They say people change after spending time at St. Clarissa Convent…… and it seems they were right. I almost didn’t recognize you.”
She couldn’t tell exactly what had changed, but the look in his downcast eyes didn’t sound like a compliment.
‘What does that mean? Is he saying I’ve changed just because I got some nice clothes from my new patron?’
‘To His Grace the noble Duke, I must look pathetic and vulgar. Well, I don’t particularly like you either.’
Harriet barely suppressed a scoff.
“Others might have changed a little, but my entire life was turned upside down. God’s grace knows no end.”
“I didn’t know you were such a devout believer.”
“You don’t know anything about me, Your Grace, so that’s only natural, isn’t it?”
Cedric gave a slight smile. It didn’t seem mocking, but it wasn’t warm either.
“That’s true. You always do the unexpected.”
His words were hard to interpret once again. Was it an insult or a compliment?
‘It feels more like an insult, judging by how it rubs me the wrong way.’
Harriet had no desire to continue the conversation with Cedric. He was the last man tangled up in her final scandal, and now here he was again at her first party back in society. She had a bad feeling this would spark unnecessary gossip.
“In any case, thank you for the help. I wouldn’t want to tarnish Your Grace’s noble name, so it’s probably best if I disappear from your sight now. Have a pleasant evening.”
She gathered her skirt and curtsied gracefully before leaving without a backward glance.
Neither of them noticed Julian watching from afar with eyes wide in shock.
Left alone, Cedric leaned against the terrace railing.
“Harriet Listerwell…… She seems like a completely different person. Or maybe she’s just as brazen as ever. No, perhaps even more so now.”
He had overheard a young lady near the entrance complaining in that tone the moment he arrived at the party. What caught his attention was the name ‘Harriet Listerwell.’
‘She’s finally left the convent. I’d heard rumors she was back in Genoa, but I didn’t expect her to dive straight into society.’
He had planned to ignore it.
But as he scanned the party guests, his gaze lingered on a man known for his shrewdness. The man was eagerly talking to a woman in a green dress.
‘Greg Lambert? Looks like he’s scouting another easy mark for his family business.’
Greg had a habit of targeting naive country nobles or wealthy widows, luring them into investments with exaggerated promises.
If Lambert’s ventures actually succeeded, it wouldn’t be fraud but wise investing—but the odds of that were exceedingly slim.
Still, that was their way of doing business. In the end, it was the investor’s responsibility. Cedric could only hope the woman in the green dress would make a smart choice.
‘Though she doesn’t seem like she will.’
The woman was nodding and asking questions, clearly interested in what Greg was saying.
Cedric decided to leave them be and exchanged greetings with nearby acquaintances.
He sipped champagne while engaging in polite conversation disguised as information gathering.
‘Marquis Pascal isn’t here tonight.’
One of the first things he checked was Marquis Pascal’s movements. The man who had tried to cut off army supply lines during the war (and briefly succeeded).
‘Count Hayward is here instead. I heard the marquis couldn’t attend due to gout.’
‘Gout is supposed to feel like being sliced with a knife. Is this his punishment for defying my late father?’
At that thought, Cedric let out a dry chuckle.
‘Hm. Gout is hardly sufficient punishment…… but what can you do.’
The marquis’s relentless interference and near-treasonous actions had caused Loen immense suffering, leading to his death on the battlefield. Was there any reason to pity a man whining in bed at home?
‘In any case, I just need to keep an eye on Count Hayward tonight.’
He already had someone watching the count, so there didn’t seem to be much more for him to do at this party.
One might think that would put his mind at ease, but Cedric didn’t enjoy these events. Endless meaningless chatter was excruciatingly boring to him.
Unconsciously, he checked his watch and was startled.
‘Only five minutes have passed?’
The thought of enduring until midnight made him sigh inwardly.
As he stood silently sipping his champagne, his acquaintances began chatting among themselves.
“Oh! Did you see that young lady earlier? Harriet Listerwell. Countess Felon brought her.”
More talk about Harriet Listerwell. Not gossip about current society stars, but rumors about the woman once driven out of Genoa.
At this rate, she might be the most talked-about person in society.
Well, it wasn’t so strange—trashing and criticizing others was always more entertaining than praising them.
“I heard her new patron is Countess Felon?”
“Really? That’s odd. The countess isn’t the type to take in a scandal-ridden distant relative out of pity or some dusty family tie.”
That was true. Trisha Felon wasn’t the sort of woman to bring someone into her home for charitable reasons or old connections.
“I don’t invest in failures.”
If a woman with that kind of confidence had taken in Harriet Listerwell, it meant her assessment of the girl was very different from others’. What exactly had she seen in her to deem her worth investing in?
Cedric recalled everything he knew about Harriet.
‘Contrary to the rumors of her chasing after men, she always carried herself with remarkable boldness. She was the only woman who didn’t look away first when our eyes met.’
He still remembered the time she had stared straight at him and asked, “What? Do I amuse you?” It had been an unexpected audacity, refreshing in its own way.
Perhaps Trisha had seen that boldness too. But was it worth risking all of society’s condemnation?
Meanwhile, the others kept chattering.
“She’s really become beautiful. I don’t know what they did at the convent, but those strange skin blemishes like a disease are completely gone.”
“The green silk dress she wore today suited her perfectly. It must have been expensive. The countess must have given it to her……”
At the mention of ‘green silk dress,’ Cedric’s gaze shifted back toward where Greg Lambert had been. Sure enough, Greg was still talking to the woman in the eye-catching green dress.
He quickly scanned the surroundings, and just then, he spotted the green dress heading toward the terrace.
Cedric lightly shook his nearly empty champagne glass before handing it to a passing servant collecting empties.
“Shall I bring you another, sir?” the servant asked.
Cedric glanced toward the terrace again and shook his head.
“I’d like to check the champagne vintage myself. Where can I get another one?”
