Chapter 43
~Chapter 43~
As expected, the grandeur of the Kailas Ducal Mansion was overwhelming. The Pellan Count’s residence was no small place by any means, but this was on an entirely different scale. It was almost grand enough to call a palace.
‘In the end, this is just a house where people live.’
Harriet tried to calm her nerves before the tension could swallow her whole.
When the carriage arrived at the entrance, a handsome servant approached and courteously offered his escort.
“Lady Listerwell’s audience is scheduled to begin precisely at 11:30. Allow me to guide you to the waiting room first.”
Following him into the mansion, Harriet was startled to see the throng of people coming and going in the first-floor lobby.
They all appeared to be nobles of considerable standing in their own right. Some were chatting in small groups, while others were being led off somewhere by other servants.
It was a stark contrast to the eerily quiet corridors of the Pellan Mansion, which had been devoid of guests.
“Are all these people here to see the Duke?” Harriet asked in a low voice.
The servant replied with a polite smile. “Some have come to see Her Highness the Grand Duchess, and there are family retainers among them as well, but yes, most are here on business with His Grace the Little Duke.”
“Ah…”
Harriet felt a pang of embarrassment.
How naive had she been to think securing an audience with the Duke would be easy?
She had simply been lucky. The Duke stood at the pinnacle of the empire’s hierarchy, meeting countless people every day and making weighty decisions.
If she missed this chance today, she might never get another opportunity to discuss business or investment with Cedric.
“Please wait here for a moment.”
The reception waiting room wasn’t particularly large, but it was elegantly appointed—fine enough to mistake for a drawing room.
On one wall hung a portrait of the first Duke and Duchess of Kailas. The moment Harriet faced the late Duchess’s features, she realized just how much Cedric took after his mother.
‘He looks just like his mother. All he inherited from Rowan Kailas was that soldierly build, I suppose.’
Rowan Kailas was handsome enough himself—enough to make believable the rumors that Princess Jeremia had once ardently loved him.
But compared to Cedric’s calm aura, Rowan gave off a far colder, more aloof impression.
The couple in the portrait didn’t look particularly affectionate.
Their story was famous even among the nobility.
The princess had pursued him one-sidedly, and while Rowan couldn’t refuse the royal marriage proposal, he never gave her his heart in return.
To provoke his jealousy, the princess had taken lovers, but Rowan had simply turned a blind eye.
In the end, disillusioned and disheartened, she gave up on love and began changing lovers at whim.
‘And yet they never divorced. That’s the real mystery.’
Harriet couldn’t understand what meaning there could be in a marriage devoid of love, trust, respect, or even basic consideration.
Was this just how high society worked? As long as an heir was produced, the rest of the relationship didn’t matter?
‘But well… Cedric Kailas, born of those two, is still hailed as the rightful master of this house. Maybe it really didn’t matter.’
The imperial family hadn’t wanted to marry off their princess to the second son of a mere viscount family, so they had granted Rowan a dukedom.
But everyone knew the true owner of the title and wealth was Princess Jeremia.
And perhaps because of the couple’s estranged relationship, the imperial family had always treated the Kailas Ducal family as an extension of the royals.
Cedric himself carried such thick royal blood that no one would bat an eye if someone claimed the princess had borne him alone.
When Rowan was still Duke, there had been many who subtly looked down on him. But since Cedric inherited the title, attitudes toward the Kailas family had noticeably grown more deferential.
‘At any rate, he probably didn’t have a normal childhood.’
It was a world Harriet could scarcely imagine.
She felt a twinge of sympathy for a child raised amid his parents’ discord, but in Cedric Kailas’s case… somehow, she suspected he’d been just as he was now, even as a boy.
Just as she tilted her head, trying to picture his childhood, the door on the opposite side of the room clicked open.
An older man entered and approached her.
“Thank you for waiting. This way, please.”
“Ah—yes!”
So startled that she forgot Roxana’s lessons on graceful poise, Harriet shot to her feet.
Her heart pounded so fiercely she felt nauseous, but she gritted her teeth and followed the man—who seemed to be the butler—to the study.
“Please wait here a moment. His Grace the Little Duke will be with you shortly.”
He clearly knew who she was, yet showed no sign of acknowledging it. Unlike the guards at the city gates, his demeanor was consistently polite and proper.
The sofa was plush and comfortable, and to the left of the marble table sat a neat inkwell and pen.
The placement made its purpose clear. It was positioned for the master’s convenience.
Every agreement made in this room had to align with the Duke’s terms.
Harriet gave a wry smile. How many people had truly swayed Cedric Kailas’s heart in this room? No—by the time anyone reached this point, their proposals had likely already been vetted by his advisors. Perhaps that meant her odds of success were better than she thought.
Still, she could end up one of the rare failures.
‘Am I… doing something utterly ridiculous right now?’
Would the Duke of Kailas—who invested in massive ventures—really care about something as trivial as selling a few bars of soap?
Her mind went blank.
At that moment, the opposite door opened, and a tall man entered.
She knew instantly it was Cedric just from his blond hair catching the summer sunlight.
Harriet rose from her seat, waited for him to approach, and curtsied. Cedric watched her for a moment before speaking.
“I couldn’t help but wonder what business brings the lady who so firmly declared she wouldn’t tarnish my name.”
Harriet barely managed to curve her lips into a smile.
‘So he held onto that.’
She couldn’t snap back at him before even opening her proposal. But the strange antagonism she felt toward Cedric made her words come out less than gracious.
“It was only concern that the situation involving Sir Julian might blemish Your Grace’s reputation. I apologize for not considering that my words might seem rude, despite your good intentions in trying to help me.”
Her tone carried a subtle sarcasm—that even though she’d quickly stepped aside, he hadn’t understood. Both Harriet and Cedric knew the subtext, but neither could call it out directly.
Yet Cedric seemed amused by it. He let out a soft chuckle, his face lighting up with a full smile.
‘So that’s the smile he makes when he’s genuinely enjoying himself.’
Harriet had seen Cedric smile before—from afar when they’d crossed paths—but it had always seemed like a polite gesture, a mask of sorts. This smile, though, felt real.
She couldn’t pinpoint exactly why, but there was something different—warmer—in his demeanor.
Still, she wasn’t about to let his easygoing air fool her.
‘A man so versed in contracts and deals like this— this could all be calculated too.’
Determined not to shrink before him, Harriet clenched her teeth. Cedric gestured for her to sit.
“Please, have a seat. No need to stand when there’s no rush.”
His movements as he settled onto the sofa were graceful and dignified. It might have been her imagination, but he exuded an aristocratic air in every action.
Harriet straightened her back slightly, puffed out her chest, and tried to appear more confident.
“Whether from my convent days or the Vanderbilt party, I ask that you disregard any past rumors about me. I’m here solely to discuss business.”
Cedric’s crimson eyes sparkled with interest. Rather than replying, he simply gave a light nod of affirmation.
She didn’t enjoy feeling on the defensive, but what could she do? It was clear she was the one in need, not he.
“Before we discuss the business itself, I’d like you to sign this nondisclosure agreement first.”
“What exactly do you wish to keep secret?”
“It may seem trivial to Your Grace, but this proposal contains details known only to me. Don’t other businessmen require such things?”
If word got out about the superior quality of the Saint Clarissa Convent’s products, other entrepreneurs would swoop in with better offers to steal the contract. She’d already secured an exclusive deal to prevent that, but business offered no absolute guarantees.
Cedric didn’t answer her question. Instead, he signed the nondisclosure agreement she handed him without hesitation.
“Well then,” he said, amusement lacing his voice. “Now I’d like to take a look at this proposal so shrouded in secrecy.”
