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Chapter 10
Morning. As usual, Lauren visited Aster’s office. The moment she knocked, the door flew open.
Retty—who always wore a smile—greeted her with an unusually flustered expression.
“This is bad.”
Aster muttered in a low voice, his brow deeply furrowed.
He looked tired somehow.
A newspaper lay on the table in front of him as he leaned back in his long chair. Naturally, Lauren’s eyes drifted toward it.
“Sit.”
What Aster indicated wasn’t the duke’s work desk where she usually sat.
Seated opposite him, Lauren watched as he raised a hand and ordered Retty to bring tea.
Aster wasn’t someone who drank tea often to begin with, so Retty preparing tea was rare.
And when he did, it tasted horrendous.
“It’ll be better than having nothing.”
Come to think of it, there was a liquor glass in front of him.
From early morning…
Just as Lauren was about to say something, Aster pushed the newspaper across the table toward her.
Her pale violet eyes followed the printed words.
Waiting for her to finish reading, Aster lifted his glass and took a sip.
“Aster, this is…”
“I didn’t exactly hide information, but I never expected such a ridiculous article to come out like this.”
Lauren scanned the newspaper company’s name printed at the top.
Then she sighed and rubbed her face.
Of course.
Now she understood Retty’s panicked expression and Aster’s irritated reaction.
Aster had been right.
No matter how awful the tea tasted, having it was far more helpful than not.
She picked up the cooled tea and drained it in one gulp while Aster watched silently.
‘Murderer’ Aster Lilywood’s Secret Marriage!
Exclusive Report! Who Is the Veiled Duchess?
The sensational headline, written purely to provoke curiosity, was noisy enough on its own.
They’d been caught perfectly.
‘Murderer Lilywood’s secret marriage.’
Like Aster said, that part alone wasn’t important.
People would have learned eventually.
But the article didn’t stop there.
Wild speculation poured out regarding the “mysterious duchess”—Lauren.
Claims that the murderer who rejected becoming the Emperor’s son-in-law had made a prostitute—or perhaps a mistress—into his duchess.
That an unworthy woman had thrown herself at a murderer to change her life and seize the position beside him.
That Aster secretly married without a wedding ceremony to avoid the Emperor’s wrath after rejecting the imperial princess.
To begin with, the newspaper that published it wasn’t respectable.
Nothing more or less than a third-rate gossip paper infamous for sensational stories.
But it was incredibly popular.
Because people loved stimulating rumors.
The downfall of famous figures.
Messy romances.
The idea that Aster Lilywood—known as a war hero despite his notorious title of murderer—had chosen some woman of unknown origins made for excellent gossip.
“I’m sorry. I couldn’t stop the article.”
“No. You didn’t know either, Aster.”
Aster lowered his head apologetically, but Lauren shook hers.
This wasn’t his fault.
It wasn’t as if he’d spread those articles.
And it was already too late.
You couldn’t collect newspapers after they’d been distributed.
It was better to think of countermeasures.
That paper was notorious.
Rumors had probably spread everywhere already.
How could they suppress them?
“Should we publish a rebuttal article?”
Aster muttered quietly, biting the inside of his lip.
Lauren, who’d been glaring down at the newspaper, abruptly lifted her head.
Her pale violet eyes sparkled as she looked directly into his dark green gaze.
“That’s not a bad idea.”
“Hm?”
“Retty, could you bring me all the newspapers that come into the duchy? Every single one—even those the servants read.”
At Lauren’s words, Retty hurried out.
Smiling faintly, Lauren turned toward Aster.
The abrupt shift in attitude was startling enough that Aster let out a disbelieving laugh.
“Aren’t you angry?”
“I am. But getting angry won’t change anything.”
Better to spend that time thinking of a solution.
Lauren was right.
Aster had no choice but to nod.
Separate from that—
Her mental fortitude was incredible.
It was genuinely impressive.
“Aster, could you go along with me on something?”
“Something?”
“Yes. You mentioned publishing a rebuttal article.”
He’d only said it out of frustration.
But Lauren seemed to like the idea.
Still, would an article really quiet rumors that already existed?
Especially ugly, sensational rumors—
Those clung like labels that never came off.
Like the stigma of murderer attached to him.
“What are you planning?”
“If we properly reveal who I am and show how much we love each other, wouldn’t that work?”
“That’ll solve it?”
“I think we can even threaten legal action against whoever provided information or the paper that printed false reports. Hmm… maybe actually suing the informant as an example wouldn’t be bad.”
Lauren grinned.
Would that really work?
To Aster, it sounded absurd.
But strangely enough, her smile inspired confidence.
Lauren was, as she herself claimed, exceptionally capable.
Aster crossed his arms and leaned back deeper into his chair.
Lauren lowered her head, absentmindedly tracing the rim of her empty teacup as she thought.
What on earth goes on in that head of hers?
Without realizing it, one corner of his mouth lifted.
A knock sounded.
Retty returned carrying an impressive stack of newspapers.
Following Lauren’s instructions, he spread them across the desk with each paper’s name visible.
Since she’d even requested the servants’ newspapers, there were quite a lot.
Lauren selected several and placed them on the lower table.
“I think choosing two or three from here will do.”
“Based on what criteria?”
Aster asked, touching his chin.
“Gossip papers won’t publish serious articles. The ones I picked rarely cover gossip and print proper journalism instead. Nobles mostly read this one, while this other paper is popular among commoners.”
“Oh—and this newspaper company apparently has a camera! If we use a photo of us together, it’ll help change public perception.”
“A photo?”
As Lauren explained each paper, Retty’s eyes widened.
The reaction was unlike him.
Lauren looked up.
Retty shrank his shoulders and avoided her gaze.
“You mean those things…? If you photograph a living person with one, their soul gets sucked out…”
“No way!”
Lauren’s voice rose instantly.
Aster stopped mid-sip.
Retty remained hunched.
Lauren narrowed her eyes at him.
Did he only look sensible on the outside and actually lack common sense?
At work he seemed fairly sharp.
What he’d just said was unimaginable coming from him.
“I genuinely don’t know how to respond to something that stupid.”
“But Aunt Doris says it all the time…”
“Oh, really? Then I’ll write that in my next letter. Leonora would probably enjoy hearing it.”
“W-Wait a moment, Your Grace!”
Aster crossed his arms and laughed at Retty.
Meanwhile, Retty had gone pale.
Probably because of the name Leonora.
His lover, perhaps?
Since he was always smiling, seeing such an expression was strangely new.
The fact he believed such superstitions was even more surprising.
“Older people sometimes say things like that. Because photographs of people often look blurry around the edges. But that’s only because taking pictures takes time. Souls have absolutely nothing to do with it.”
Hands on her hips, Lauren lectured Retty.
Despite frowning, he listened obediently.
“Technology develops continuously. Trains were once considered ominous too. But what about now? Photography is the same. Decades ago, taking a photo required twenty minutes. Now it only takes a moment.”
“Right now newspapers print illustrations, and everyone commissions portraits—but someday photographs will replace them.”
“Definitely.”
Retty couldn’t argue.
Naturally.
Nothing she said was wrong.
Aster smiled faintly and emptied the rest of his liquor in one gulp.
Then he stood and draped an arm over the still-dejected Retty’s shoulders.
“That settles it, right? Go to those newspaper offices and arrange meetings. Tell them the sooner, the better.”
Retty recoiled in disgust, slipped out from under Aster’s arm, straightened himself, bowed, and left.
Lauren watched his retreating figure before lowering her hand from her waist.
A small sigh followed.
“You know quite a lot.”
“Hm?”
“About cameras.”
Aster sat on the edge of the desk with folded arms.
His face carried a faint smile as he looked at Lauren.
Unlike the sharp grin he’d shown Retty earlier—
This one seemed strangely relaxed.
Maybe it was imagination.
Whenever he smiled, whether she wanted to or not, Lauren’s mind drifted somewhere far in the past.
To meaningless memories—
Sunlight pouring down like now.
Wind brushing through hair.
Things like that.
There was no need to think about useless memories.
Lauren smiled bitterly at Aster.
“The Shiaz barony invested in several technologies. Cameras were one of them.”
Money had never been enough even just to improve life for the people of the territory.
When Lauren first began learning estate management, she once asked her father why they bothered investing at all while reviewing expenditures.
Her father had smiled gently, stroked the black hair she inherited from him, and answered.
Lauren recalled those childhood conversations.
A rare snowy day.
A roaring fireplace.
Steam rising from teacups.
Small, insignificant things.
At the edge of her bitter smile, Lauren bit her lip.
In the end, those little things were what made her who she was.
Not every memory she carried was meaningless.
So perhaps—
She didn’t need to force herself to erase them.
“Technology makes life a little easier for people.”
“Things like photography and electricity are still only curiosities for the wealthy.”
“But wait and see.”
“Before long, people will think of them as ordinary conveniences and enjoy them freely.”
Lauren spoke with shining eyes—
Looking directly into Aster’s green gaze.
