SBMFMIL 01

Chapter 1. Prologue

Listea Imperial Calendar, Year 562.

Rosena Osborne looked around the banquet hall of the Hayes Ducal Mansion with eyes brimming with emotion.
The sparkling lights of the grand chandelier seemed to be blessing her future.

Today was the day her husband, Evan, was officially recognized as a member of the Hayes Ducal family.
Just a few days ago, it had been revealed that Evan, who had lived his whole life as an orphan without even knowing his parents’ faces, was the hidden son of the late Duke Hayes.
Reiner Hayes, the younger brother of the late Duke and the current Duke, had found Evan and adopted him, completely turning his life around.
He was no longer Evan March, a commoner businessman, but Evan Hayes, heir to the Ducal house.

‘It feels like a dream.’

Rosena savored this ecstatic moment, watching Evan mingle naturally with the high nobility.
Only a few months ago, the people here had pointed fingers at her and Evan.

‘A dirty man who committed adultery with his fiancee’s friend.’
‘A wicked woman who coveted her friend’s fiance.’

People had whispered about him and Rosena like that.

‘That damned girl, Cecilia, because she caused such a scene…’
Recalling the past humiliation, Rosena unconsciously bit her lip hard.
When Cecilia publicly exposed Rosena and Evan’s affair, the relationship between the two, who had grown up like sisters, became irreparable.
To make matters worse, Rosena was pregnant with Evan’s child at the time, leaving her with no way to handle the situation.
Because of that incident, she spent her entire pregnancy hiding from people’s gazes, holed up at home, and couldn’t even have a proper wedding, having to substitute it with a simple vow at a church.
Her son, Jeremy, born in such circumstances, also once felt like a seed of misfortune rather than a blessing.

‘But now it’s different.’
Rosena lifted her chin with a triumphant expression.
Evan had become the heir to the Hayes Ducal family, which had collateral imperial bloodlines, and she too had risen to the center of Ristenian high society.
Jeremy would now be treated as a legitimate bloodline of the Ducal house.
No one would look down on them anymore.

“Madam.”
Noblewomen gathered around Rosena, who was smiling triumphantly.
“You’ll soon become the Duchess Hayes. Congratulations.”
“Oh my, ‘Duchess’ is too early. The current Duke is still very young.”
“I heard you gave birth not long ago? Congratulations. And yet you look this beautiful, I’m so envious. Hahaha.”
“You flatter me. I’m even more grateful that you see me that way.”
Rosena smiled behind her fan, feigning shyness at the noblewomen’s flattering chatter.
They were the same people who had pointed fingers at her scandal just days before, but Rosena decided not to dwell on it.
Her mind was already busily occupied with other thoughts.

‘The current Duke Hayes also promised to pass the title to Evan.’
Strictly speaking, Evan was the true legitimate heir of the Hayes Ducal family.
His father, the late Duke, was the family’s firstborn.
Before finding Evan, the late Duke had unfortunately passed away, so his younger brother, Reiner, had only temporarily inherited the title.
In the end, it was only natural that Evan would take that place.

‘Duchess Hayes… No one would suit that title better than me.’
Rosena firmly believed that reaching that dream-like position was now only a matter of time.
Thinking that, Cecilia abandoning Evan and leaving was rather an opportunity.

‘Should I even thank her if I meet her next time?’
Cecilia had disappeared without a trace, and there had been no news of her for months.
She was probably hiding somewhere out of shame for losing her fiance.

‘Once I enter the Ducal house, I should try to trace Cecilia’s whereabouts. There will be many capable servants there.’
Considering the disgrace she suffered because of Cecilia, she almost wished she were dead.
How refreshing it would be to see that with her own eyes.

“Rozy.”
Just then, Evan approached her.
When he bent his head and kissed Rosena’s cheek, admiring sighs mixed with envy flowed from the surroundings.
Rosena looked up at her man with a coy smile.

“Congratulations on becoming the Young Lord, Evan Hayes.”
“What, this is just the beginning. Rosena Hayes, it’s with you.”
Rosena Hayes.
What a splendid name!
Satisfied, Rosena smiled and clinked her glass with Evan’s.
It seemed only glory and happiness lay ahead for the two of them.

“His Grace, Duke Hayes, is entering.”
At the loud shout of the ducal attendant, the banquet hall quieted down.
As if by promise, everyone’s gazes simultaneously turned towards the entrance.
A tall man with a solid build and impeccable formal wear entered the hall.
Reiner Hayes, the sole Duke of the Listea Empire.
Beneath hair darker than ebony, his face held a cool dignity.

“My goodness, the rumor that he’s Listea most handsome man isn’t an exaggeration.”

As if by promise, people collectively held their breath and watched Reiner.
Unfazed by the surrounding stares, Reiner walked gracefully towards Evan and Rosena.

“Congratulations, Evan.”
“Yes, Duke… I mean, Father.”
Evan grabbed Reiner’s hand and nodded repeatedly.
At that sight, the corner of Reiner’s mouth lifted subtly.
It was a smile closer to a sneer than a congratulation.
But Evan, busy being obsequious, failed to notice.

“Calling me ‘Father’ with just a four-year age difference.”
Reiner raised his hand and straightened Evan’s collar.
As he said, they looked more like brothers than a father and son.
“Adoption was simply the most convenient procedure among many. So, no need to think too hard about it.”
Reiner lightly patted Evan’s shoulder.
His gaze slowly swept over Evan and Rosena in turn.
A father and son with only a 4-year age difference, and that daughter-in-law.
An indefinable tension flowed between the微妙(mibyō: subtle, delicate) relationship.

“Your Grace, will we finally get to see the Duchess today?”
It was Rosena who stepped forward to break the awkwardness.
The news of Duke Hayes’s secret marriage had heated up high society for a while.
But with no information about the Duchess revealed, people’s curiosity and speculation only grew.

“A secret marriage, we feel a strange sense of kinship, don’t we? It seems fate is similar between father and son.”
Rosena smiled, laying on the charm to win Rainer’s favor.

“Well, Miss Rozena.”
However, Reiner’s response was cold.
Rosena also flinched.
She hadn’t expected to be treated as a daughter-in-law by a father-in-law with only a four-year age gap.
But ‘Miss Rosena’?
She had formally exchanged marriage vows with Evan!

“I think my case and yours are completely different. At least, I received people’s congratulations.”

At Reiner’s sarcasm, Rosena’s face flushed hot.
His words were clearly a mockery of their past scandal.
She thought that now that Evan was the Young Lord, she wouldn’t have to hear such insults anymore.

“Hahaha, r-right. We were a bit immature in the past.”
Sensing the chilled atmosphere, Evan hastily stepped between them.
He too didn’t like Reiner’s words, but after all, he was the one who had brought him into the Ducal family.
Moreover, having earned merit in war and being close to the Crown Prince, starting off on the wrong foot would only hurt him.

“Anyway, we are also very curious about the Duchess. After all, she will be like a mother to me.”
“A mother…”
Reiner repeated Evan’s last word with interest.
“An impressive expression. Be sure to show proper respect to your ‘mother’.”
“How could I not?”
Evan nodded repeatedly, as if flattering.
Reiner seemed satisfied and tapped Evan’s shoulder.
“As Miss Rosena said, you’ll get to meet her today.”
“Today?”
“Of course. My wife has also been looking forward to this day.”
“Ah, I see.”
Evan slightly winked at Rosena beside him and nodded.
It was a silent signal to ‘make a good impression since it’s the first time meeting the Duchess.’

“…….”
But Rosena’s face remained stiff at the still-used derogatory address from Reiner.
This feeling of humiliation wasn’t easily soothed.
“Rosie!”
“Ah, I know! I said I know!”
Only after Evan poked her side with his finger did Rosena nod reluctantly.

Then, the loud voice of the ducal attendant rang out once more.
“Her Grace, the Duchess Hayes, is entering.”
The murmuring crowd quieted, and all gazes shot towards the door.
Everyone held their breath to see the Duchess.

Creak.
As the heavy door opened, a woman revealed herself from beyond.
The moment they saw the woman walking in gracefully, dressed in a pure white gown,
Evan and Rosena felt as if they had been hit hard on the head.

“What?”
The person walking towards them, shining with a dazzling smile, was…
“Ce… Cecilia? Cecilia Fanning?”
“The that’s impossible. How is she…?”
Evan and Rosena muttered with widened eyes and dumbfounded faces.
The two stared blankly as Reiner naturally took Cecilia’s hand.

“You’re late. Every minute and second of waiting felt like a year.”
“I’m sorry, I was too nervous.”
Then, Cecilia’s gaze turned towards the two of them.

“Hello, we’re old acquaintances, aren’t we?”
Cecilia stood before the two, who had turned pale.
She turned her body nonchalantly towards her former fiance.
“I look forward to getting along, my son. And…”
Cecilia’s gaze slowly moved to Rosena.
Her lips drew a soft arc.

“My daughter-in-law, Miss Rosena.”