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Chapter 50
“…”
“Seems so. He’s a person with a strong sense of responsibility, after all.”
Gregor shook his head lightly.
“Lately, he seems to be especially concerned about the Young Master.”
…That’s right. A doting uncle.
He used to be a discreetly doting uncle, and now he’s become an obviously doting uncle.
“Thank you for listening to my concerns about my acquaintance.”
“Not at all.”
I returned to my room and slumped down weakly.
‘This is all because he suddenly tucked my hair behind my ear, and then suddenly held my hand.’
The tension had completely drained away.
‘It’s a good thing Lucas wasn’t there.’
If I had asked him directly, I would have died of shame by now.
‘I must never get carried away like this again.’
I vowed to myself, engraving it into my bones.
* * *
The Vaalze estate was in an untimely uproar. An uninvited guest had forced his way in.
And he was dragging a limp man along with one hand.
“What? The Duke is now?”
The Marchioness of Vaalze heard from the servants that Lucas was entering the estate, having knocked out the knights.
She, who had been leisurely enjoying a cup of tea, was seized with anxiety from that moment.
Even if he was of lowly illegitimate birth, he was a man who knew how to perfectly mimic a noble.
For him to act like a ruffian meant that something had gone wrong.
And when she faced Lucas directly, the Marchioness felt herself shrinking like a mouse before a cat.
However, her innate noble pride did not permit her to show weakness.
“D-Duke! To barge into our estate so suddenly without any prior notice! This is beyond rude!”
As frightened as she was, she reacted with even greater malice and anger.
“Rude? I’d be hurt if you put it that way. I merely came to return a little rat.”
Lucas threw the limp man towards the Marchioness of Vaalze.
“Kyaaak!”
She let out a startled scream, but then her breath caught in her throat as she saw the man thrown before her.
‘So that’s it. The reason Lucas Igaluk is enraged!’
He was the servant of her son’s friend, who had been staying at the estate for a few days. She had only spoken to him briefly on the day he arrived; that was the extent of their interaction.
No matter how thoroughly they searched that man, there would be no evidence linking him to Vaalze.
But how did he connect him to them? She gritted her teeth.
“Is that little rat this man? I know nothing about him! He has no connection to Vaalze whatsoever!”
The Marchioness of Vaalze opened her fan, feigning ignorance.
Even if she didn’t know how he connected it to Vaalze, there would be no concrete evidence.
She acted on the thought that perhaps Lucas wasn’t completely sure either.
However, the cold atmosphere surrounding him didn’t dissipate; instead, it grew even more frozen.
Her misfortune was underestimating just how keen the sense of smell of the Beast Lord was.
“That perfume you’re still wearing now, it’s custom-made, isn’t it?”
“What of it?”
“That scent was also on this man. And I detected the scent of the whiskey the young Viscount enjoyed alongside it.”
Viscount Witro enjoyed an unpopular, niche whiskey that was expensive but not well-known. Its scent was pungent, sharp, and uniquely distinctive.
“Is it common for those two scents to overlap?”
Lucas trapped the Marchioness, who looked like she might faint at any moment, within his gaze.
“What does Vaalze possibly gain by targeting the Duchess, who even declared she wouldn’t hinder Faye’s future!”
“How can you be so sure the little rat was targeting Helen?”
The trembling of the Marchioness was minutely transmitted through her fan.
With each step Lucas took towards her, the pressure weighed down on her.
Where in her life as a born noble would she have ever felt such terror?
It was as if a giant gill was opening and sharp fangs were about to take her life at any moment.
“Marchioness, the reason I turned a blind eye to whatever you’ve been doing until now is because you are Faye’s grandmother, and Vaalze is Faye’s maternal family.”
Lucas stopped close to her and declared quietly.
“It will be the same this time.”
She was spared.
The Marchioness of Vaalze let out a deep breath in momentary relief.
Lucas tilted the corner of his mouth crookedly, as if her reaction was pathetic.
Then, even the sneer disappeared from his expression as he issued a warning.
“But there won’t be a next time.”
Grrrl. A dangerous, throat-ripping-like rumble was heard.
“If you cross the line again, I won’t care if you are Faye’s grandmother or if the Vaalze family is Faye’s maternal family. I will erase you from history.”
With those final words, Lucas turned his back on her.
The Marchioness of Vaalze watched the Duke’s retreating back, her lips twitching before she finally gritted them firmly.
‘It can’t be.’
Wasn’t she just a woman he brought in because he was annoyed by the continuous marriage proposals, even though he didn’t love her?
If he loved her, he couldn’t have chosen Faye over the person who is a part of his beloved.
Lucas was abused by Faye’s birth mother.
Knowing how vicious that torment was, a hypothesis she had tentatively formed took deep root in her heart.
But the words Lucas Igaluk just said sounded exactly as if…
‘He was saying that line is Helen, that woman.’
As she recalled the hypothesis she least wanted to consider, goosebumps rose all over her body.
But she couldn’t bring herself to think her assumption was wrong.
Her pride wouldn’t allow it.
Instead, she formed a new hypothesis: that perhaps Lucas had opened his heart to Helen after her grandson’s birthday party.
‘To prevent this very thing, I told Peridot to seduce the Duke!’
Her hand gripping the fan tightened, and a vein bulged on her forehead.
“Where is Peridot?”
“She should be in her room.”
The Marchioness headed for her daughter’s room.
Peridot, who had been reading a book, stood up when she entered.
“Mother. What brings you…”
*Smack!*
A harsh, abrasive sound rang out.
Peridot’s head snapped to the left.
“Because you failed to properly seduce the Duke, I almost suffered a terrible humiliation.”
“……”
“We even had the betrothal proposal withdrawn and got the order of confinement lifted, yet you still haven’t fulfilled your purpose. Just what is the problem?”
The Marchioness voiced her disappointment.
“The Duke probably isn’t completely in love with that Helen woman yet.”
Even counting from Faye’s birthday, there hadn’t been enough time for a deep love to form.
Even if he had fallen in love, it didn’t matter.
Time was on her side.
“Fortunately, the rainy season is coming soon.”
Peridot’s shoulder flinched.
She stared at the Marchioness while holding her cheek.
“Use that time to make the Duke your man.”
The Marchioness pulled her lips into a meek line, but her eyes remained imperious.
“Don’t disappoint me. Understood?”
“Yes. I will do that.”
“Now that’s my good daughter.”
The sharpness in her eyes from moments ago softened.
The Marchioness stroked the area around her daughter’s swollen cheek.
“Sorry for being rough with you.”
“……”
“But it’s all for you. You understand?”
“Yes.”
“The position of Duchess Igaluk is the highest status a noble lady can attain, so please don’t give up, Peridot.”
Just then, the Marquis rushed in noisily from outside.
“Madam! Are you alright? Peridot! Good heavens…! Your cheek…!”
The Marquis of Vaalze had hurried back to the estate as soon as he received the news.
He saw Peridot’s cheek, his eyes widening, and hurriedly approached his daughter.
That sight displeased the Marchioness, and she narrowed her eyes.
“Surely not… was it you, Madam?”
“Hmph. You were nowhere to be seen when I was about to be humiliated, and now you show up saying that?”
“Madam.”
“Well. Not that your weak, pathetic body could have protected me anyway.”
The Marchioness looked her husband up and down and left for the hallway.
Rather than her ever-disappointing husband, she missed her son.
Even though said son wasn’t at the estate, as he was out drinking.
The Marquis stared at the space where his wife had left, then turned to look at his daughter.
Peridot gave her father a soft smile.
“It’s okay, Father.”
“…I’m sorry.”
Despite his daughter’s smile, the Marquis’s shoulders felt heavy.
His face was filled with deep worry and a fog-like anxiety.
* * *
The sky was filled with dark clouds.
The rain would stop briefly only to pour down again, and just when it seemed to calm down, it would turn fierce as if it had never stopped.
The dreadful rainy season had begun.
I kept glancing at Peridot’s cheek during the lesson.
Although the swelling had gone down compared to before, her still-puffy cheek bothered me unnecessarily.
‘I wonder what happened.’
Since we weren’t close enough for me to ask, the question I couldn’t voice out of fear of being rude swirled in my mouth again today.
“Let’s end today’s lesson here, Young Master. You’ve worked hard.”
“Good work, Teach~er!”
Faye, who had been oddly listless since the dark clouds gathered, became thoroughly gloomy once the rain started falling.
Yet, whenever Peridot spoke to him, he tried to appear energetic.
‘Seeing it from a distance makes it more apparent.’
He said he hated the rain; he must really detest it to this extent.
Then, Peridot approached me.
It seemed to bid farewell before leaving.
“Thank you for your hard work again today.”
“Not at all.”
Peridot bowed to me according to etiquette and turned the doorknob.
A cool draft of air came through the opened door. But instead of leaving immediately, Peridot closed the door again.
And she turned back to me.
