🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 10
Morning. As usual, Lauren made her way to Aster’s office. The moment she knocked, the door swung wide open. Leti, who always wore a smile, greeted her with a thoroughly flustered expression.
“This is a mess,” Aster muttered in a low voice, a heavy frown creasing his brow. His face looked somehow exhausted. Sitting propped up on the sofa, a newspaper lay spread out in front of him. Naturally, Lauren’s eyes drawn straight to it.
“Sit.”
What Aster offered was not the duke’s executive desk where she usually sat. Taking the seat opposite him, Lauren watched as he raised a hand to instruct Leti to bring out some tea. It was rare for Leti to serve tea, as Aster wasn’t much of a tea drinker under normal circumstances. Besides, his tea tasted terribly awful.
“It’ll be better than having nothing at all.”
Come to think of it, a glass of liquor sat in front of Aster as well.
First thing in the morning…?
Just as Lauren was about to say a word, Aster spun the newspaper on the table around to face her. Her light lavender eyes traced along the printed characters. Waiting for her to read through it all, Aster raised his glass and took a sip.
“Aster, this is…” “It’s not as though I hid the information, but I didn’t expect a utterly ridiculous article like this to come out.”
Lauren scanned the name of the newspaper company printed at the very top. Then, she let out a sigh and covered her face with her hand. Ah. Given such content, both Leti’s flustered expression and Aster’s irritated reaction made complete sense. Aster was right. Even a terrible cup of tea was far better than having nothing to hold onto. Aster watched in silence as she picked up her teacup and downed the cooled tea in a single gulp.
<‘Murderous Demon’ Aster Liliwood’s Secret Marriage!> <Exclusive Report! Who Is the Duchess Veiled in Mystery?!>
Written sensationally to stir up excitement, the article was chaotic from the headlines alone. They had really taken the bait properly.
The secret marriage of the ‘Murderous Demon’ Liliwood.
Just as Aster said, that part wasn’t particularly important. It was a story bound to be revealed sooner or later anyway. But the article didn’t stop there. Speculation was pouring out regarding the ‘Duchess’ veiled in mystery—about Lauren. Claims ranged from the idea that the murderous demon, who had kicked away the position of the Emperor’s son-in-law, had made a woman of unknown origin—who might be a prostitute or a mistress—into his duchess, to the notion that an unqualified woman had thrown herself at him to turn her life around, snatching the seat beside the murderous demon. Or that marrying in secret without holding a wedding was Aster’s way of avoiding the Emperor’s wrath after rejecting the Imperial Princess.
In the first place, the publishing house responsible for the article wasn’t even a proper newspaper. It was nothing more and nothing less than a third-rate gossip rag famous for sensationalism, yet its popularity was immense.
‘Because people love scandalous rumors.’
The downfall of someone famous, or a filthy love story… The idea that the woman chosen by Aster Liliwood—a man who bore the notorious epithet of ‘Murderous Demon’ yet was equally famous as a war hero—was someone who had crawled out of nowhere must have been quite a palatable story for the public taste.
“I apologize. For failing to block the article.” “No, Aster. You couldn’t have known either.”
Although Aster lowered his head toward Lauren in apology, Lauren shook her head. It wasn’t something he should apologize for. It wasn’t as if he had leaked such an article himself. Besides, it was already too late; they couldn’t recall newspapers that had already been distributed. Rather than dwelling on it, it was better to devise a countermeasure. Since that rag was infamous, the rumor would have already spread as far as it could. How could they put the rumor to rest?
“Should we release a rebuttal article on our side?” Aster muttered softly, biting the corner of his lower lip.
Lauren, who had been staring down intently at the newspaper on the table, snapped her head up. Her light lavender eyes sparkled brightly as she looked straight into his deep green eyes.
“That sounds great.” “Hm?” “Leti, could you bring me the newspapers coming into the ducal estate? Every single one of them, without leaving out the ones the servants read.”
At Lauren’s words, Leti dashed out of the room. Lauren turned her gaze toward Aster with a smile on her face. Stunned by how absurdly fast her attitude shifted, Aster let out a dry laugh.
“Are you not even annoyed?” “I am. But getting annoyed won’t change anything, will it?”
It’s better to spend that time thinking of a way to resolve it. Because Lauren’s words were sheer logic, Aster had no choice but to nod. Separate from that, her mental fortitude was truly impressive. He could only marvel at it.
“Aster, will you coordinate your story with mine?” “Coordinate?” “Yes. You said we should issue a rebuttal article.”
He had brought up issuing an article simply out of frustration, wondering if they should do something, but Lauren seemed to have taken a real liking to the idea. However, publishing an article wouldn’t just quiet down a rumor that had already taken root. The more scandalous and filthy a rumor was, the more it would cling like a persistent tag—just like the dishonorable title of ‘Murderous Demon’ attached to him.
“What are you planning to do?” “Wouldn’t it be enough if I properly clarify who I am and show how much we love each other?” “You think that’ll be enough?” “I think it’d also be fine to issue a threat about suing the person who leaked the info or the newspaper company that ran the false report. Hmm, using the informant as an example by actually suing them wouldn’t be a bad idea either.”
Lauren gave a sharp grin. Will that really work? Aster thought it sounded like a stretch. Yet, looking at Lauren’s smile, it was also true that a baseless sense of optimism washed over him, making him feel that things might actually go well. Because Lauren, just as she had claimed herself to be, was remarkably competent.
Aster crossed his arms and leaned back into his chair. Lauren, lowering her head, was lost in thought as her fingers lightly traced the rim of her empty teacup. He wondered what on earth was inside that head of hers. Without realizing it, he pulled up one corner of his mouth.
A knock sounded, and Leti entered, clutching a considerable stack of newspapers in his arms. Following Lauren’s instructions, he placed them on the desk so that the names of the publishing houses were visible. Having asked for everything down to what the servants read, the quantity was indeed large. Lauren selected a few among them and placed them on the low table.
“I think we only need to pick two or three from here.” “What’s the criteria?” Aster asked, raising a hand to stroke his chin.
“Gossip rags won’t print proper articles anyway. The ones I’ve selected here rarely write about gossip and instead publish legitimate news. This one is primarily read by nobles, while this one, on the contrary, is a newspaper popular among commoners. Ah, this newspaper company is said to have a camera! If we can use a photograph taken together, it’ll be great for shifting public perception.” “A photograph?”
Lauren explained while pointing at the newspapers one by one. At the word she uttered, Leti’s eyes widened in shock. Since it was an uncharacteristic reaction for him, Lauren looked up to examine him. Leti pulled his shoulders in and avoided her gaze.
“A camera… isn’t that that thing? The one where if you take a picture of a living person, their soul gets sucked out…” “Of course not!”
Lauren’s voice rose. The hand of Aster, who had been sipping his drink, froze mid-air. Leti remained with his shoulders hunched. Lauren narrowed her eyes and stared at Leti. Was his sensible appearance just a front, and was he actually a foolish person deep down? Yet, when it came to work, his brain seemed to turn quite well. The statement he had just made was truly unimaginable considering how he usually was.
“I don’t know how I’m supposed to take that stupid remark of yours.” “But Mrs. Doris tells me that every day!” “Ah, is that so? I’ll make sure to write that down in my next letter. Leonora would probably love to hear it.” “Wait—hold on a second, Your Grace!”
Aster, crossing his arms, let out a dry chuckle at Leti. In contrast, Leti had turned deathly pale. It was likely due to the name ‘Leonora’ that Aster had uttered. Was she his lover? Because he always wore a cheerful, smiling face, seeing an expression like that on him was a bit… novel. The fact that he believed in such a superstition was even more so.
“Older folks sometimes say things like that, because when you look at a photograph of a person, the surroundings look blurry. But that’s simply because taking a photo takes a long time. It has absolutely nothing to do with souls or anything of the sort.”
Lauren placed her hands on her hips and preached to Leti. Even with a furrowed brow, Leti listened quietly to her words.
“Technology advances relentlessly. Trains were also shunned at first for being ominous. But look at them now! Photos are the same. Decades ago, taking a photo took twenty whole minutes, but now a brief moment is enough. Right now, people use illustrations in newspapers and paint portraits, but one day, photographs will surely take their place. Undoubtedly.”
Leti couldn’t refute Lauren’s words. And understandably so—there was nothing wrong with what she said. Aster grinned and downed the rest of the liquor in his glass in a single gulp. Then, rising from his seat, he wrapped an arm around the shoulders of the still-pouting Leti.
“Satisfied now? Now then, run over to that newspaper company and set up an appointment. Tell them the sooner, the better.”
Slipping out of Aster’s arm with a look of utter distaste, Leti straightened his posture, bowed deeply, and headed outside. Lauren watched his retreating back before lowering her hands from her waist, letting out a small sigh as a bonus.
“You know a lot.” “Pardon?” “About cameras.”
Aster leaned his hips against the desk and crossed his arms. He turned a face wearing a faint smile toward Lauren. Unlike the sharp laughter he had shown Leti a moment ago, he looked somehow comfortable. Though it might just be her imagination.
Whenever she saw him smile, her mind—despite her efforts—would fly back to a time long ago. To meaningless memories, such as whether bright sunlight was pouring down like this back then, or whether the wind was fluttering through someone’s hair. There was no need to bring up useless thoughts. Lauren offered Aster a bittersweet smile.
“The Shiaze Barony was investing in a few technologies. Cameras were one of them.”
Funds were scarce even when used solely to help the estate’s people live well. Around the time she began learning administrative work, Lauren—while reviewing the expense logs—had once asked her father why he bothered making investments like that. With a benevolent smile, her father had patted Lauren’s black hair—which matched his own—and answered her.
Lauren recalled that day in her childhood when she had spoken with her father. A day when snow had fallen, quite unusually. Minor details like the fiercely burning fireplace and the steaming teacup…
At the end of her bittersweet smile, Lauren bit her lip. In the end, the things that made up who she was were those very minor details. Not a single memory she held could be entirely meaningless. Which meant she didn’t need to force herself to erase them.
“Technology makes people’s lives a little better. Right now, things like photographs or electricity are nothing more than novelties for people with money. But just you wait. Before long, people will come to enjoy them, thinking of them as everyday conveniences.”
Lauren spoke with a glowing face, looking straight into Aster’s green eyes turned toward her.
