🔊 TTS Settings
~Chapter 39~
Every evening, there was a concert in the Rose Palace of the imperial palace.
It was one of the easiest social venues to enter, so even nobles with no connections would rent a house nearby just to attend.
But that didn’t mean only unimportant nobles came.
“My head hurts so much these days.”
A noblewoman who worked in palace administration complained elegantly. Another noblewoman agreed.
“Have you tried that new medicine? They say nothing works better for stress headaches. The apprentice is supposed to be a shaman—maybe even more skilled than the master.”
“I’ll get through with tonight’s concert and take a day off tomorrow to try it.”
Everyone working in the palace was an elite.
The higher their rank, the better their family and schooling, but the more stressful their job. Of course, with more responsibility came more stress.
These elite people attended the concerts to relax.
So it was only natural that the concerts became a meeting place for all kinds of noble groups.
And all the gossip in high society always started at the palace concerts.
“Why do you think Lady Fox did such a thing? I thought she was a person who cared about honor.”
These days, people at the concerts were focused on just one story, not the music.
It was about the letter Blake sent to Count Fox.
“The newspaper says there was family trouble… but still. There are such rough barbarians living in the Uffus duchy. How could Lady Fox go there? What if she gets eaten up?”
It was clear this would become the biggest gossip of the year.
“I heard a rumor, you know, that actually the duke and Lady Fox fell in love…”
“Oh my, how shocking…”
Just as Blake planned, everything was beginning.
Nobles who once admired Lily in high society kept talking about where she had gone.
“There’s more than one insider who says they saw the divorce papers she left. At this point, shouldn’t we call her Miss Hedwick instead of Lady Fox? Hahaha…”
The rumors grew like a snowball rolling downhill.
Stories spread that Count Fox beat her every night, or made her do such strange and indecent things that Lily ran away.
Some said Lily and the duke had fallen for each other.
Others guessed that even after seeing the divorce papers, Count Fox had the nerve to pass out flyers saying she was missing.
Surprisingly, about half of these rumors were true.
Sometimes, the truth is scarier than the rumors.
“Damn it.”
Count Fox couldn’t even go to the concert, or leave his house.
He was the type to spend time showing off Lily, proud of her.
People in high society never liked him much, but since Lily was with him, they had to go through him to meet her. Thanks to that, he got more attention than he deserved.
“Who’s going to talk to me now?”
Count Fox knew that. He had no idea how to fix this.
“Who’s going to talk to me?!”
“Master…”
As the count nervously paced around the house, the butler made a suggestion.
“For now, I think bringing madam back is the most urgent thing.”
“Of course I know that, you idiot! But that man won’t let Lily go, so it’s impossible!”
Still, he had to stop things from getting even worse.
Count Fox asked again,
“You made sure to burn that… document Lily left behind? The divorce papers?”
“I checked that even the ashes were gone after I put them in the fireplace.”
“Right. Right. As long as no one finds out about that… I don’t know which loose-tongued servant blabbed about the divorce papers, but that’s not proof.”
If people found out the divorce papers really existed, he wouldn’t be able to show his face anywhere.
So he went to see Lily’s parents, the Marquis and Marchioness of Hedwick.
‘Maybe they’ll give me some advice?’
The Hedwick family had always held seats in the senate.
Plus, the current marquis was called a political demon because he had outsmarted many rivals.
“Count Fox is here.”
The count’s butler knocked on the marquis’s door, announcing him loudly. A maid came out.
“What is it?”
“Sorry for the sudden visit, but the count wishes to see the marquis and marchioness.”
“We’re not accepting guests right now. Please leave.”
But the marquis’s house had suddenly become closed off.
In a rush, Count Fox grabbed the door himself. The rumors had already spread among the servants, so the maid, understanding the situation, said,
“Then please wait on the first floor. I’ll inform the master and mistress.”
Finally, Count Fox met the marquis and marchioness, but they didn’t look the way he expected.
The old couple looked very embarrassed.
“Ahem, ahem…”
“You’re here. I expected you’d come soon.”
The marquis and marchioness were very proud people.
Normally, they could have married Lily to someone more powerful than Count Fox, and they still pretended not to regret it.
Count Fox knew this, so he had always watched his behavior around them.
He thought,
‘They’re going to yell at me again today, aren’t they?’
He was sure they’d be furious that this mess happened because he didn’t handle Lily properly.
But today, the old couple looked defeated.
Was it the rumors about Lily that made them like this?
While the gossip tormented Count Fox, it didn’t make daily life impossible for the marquis and marchioness.
They always liked to act proud and use their authority. How could a little scandal make them look so weak?
Count Fox was confused, but didn’t question it. Instead, he greeted them.
“I’m sorry I haven’t visited, Marquis Hedwick. Marchioness Hedwick. I also apologize for coming unannounced.”
“We know you’re busy. Don’t worry about it.”
The marchioness replied in a weak voice.
Count Fox realized they were hiding something, but pretended not to notice.
“I came for advice. As you’ve probably heard the rumors…”
“How exactly did my daughter disappear?”
Count Fox explained, leaving out the part about the divorce papers.
“One day, I came home and Lily was gone. That’s all. After handing out missing posters, I finally learned she was at Winter Castle, but I couldn’t talk to her. Duke Uffus has blocked all access.”
He felt guilty about lying about the divorce papers, but since they were burned, he thought it didn’t matter.
He was too young and naive to match the marquis and marchioness.
The couple didn’t like him either, but for now, they were too distracted to care. They just gave him advice.
“File a kidnapping and confinement lawsuit against the duke. My friends on the committee can get it to court quickly.”
“Will I be able to get Lily back?”
They tried to get rid of Count Fox as fast as possible, reassuring him that it would all work out and giving him different ideas.
“Then, I’ll be going.”
Thanks to them, Count Fox left with a little hope.
Only the marquis and marchioness remained in the sitting room.
The marchioness went to the window, pulled back the plum-colored curtains, and secretly watched Count Fox’s carriage leave.
She spoke in a worried voice.
“I can’t believe this. Why did Lily go to the duke’s territory? Could it be…?”
“Stop. No wild guesses.”
But the marquis felt just as uneasy.
“All we have to do is keep quiet.”
“Do you think Lily remembers when she was little? Even her childhood maid said Lily never mentioned that boy.”
“…”
“She shouldn’t know Blake Uffus, so why did she go there?”
Actually, it didn’t matter if Lily remembered her childhood.
What really worried them was something else.
“…Do you think she’s figured it out?”
“If she did, would the current Duke Uffus have taken her in? She definitely doesn’t know.”
“Just to be safe, let’s stay out of this. Let that foolish Count Fox fix his own problems.”
Count Fox also cursed at the marquis and marchioness on his way home.
“Damn old couple. Always shutting me out. Foxy old people…”
Suspicion and mistrust only grew between everyone.
“Finally, the lawsuit arrived!”
Excited cheers filled the peaceful Winter Castle.
“Our master has finally been sued! A lawsuit!”
“The lawsuit really came?”
A maid held out the official lawsuit from the imperial palace to Blake.
“Congratulations on being sued, Master!”
“You worked hard, Master!”
“That’s great!”
With all the praise and encouragement, Blake had a strange look on his face.
‘Well… this is what I wanted, but still… hearing them say it like that feels weird.’
