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Chapter 11
The awkward atmosphere lingered all the way through the formal dinner.
Vanessa, glancing nervously at the duke, barely managed to tug her lips up into a smile.
“I meant it in a good way. I just hoped Rianel would meet a good match and find stability….”
Then she hooked her arm around Rupert, pulling him into the conversation.
“Meeting him gave me peace of mind too. Rupert said the same thing. Didn’t you?”
When she gave his arm a little shake, Rupert—who had been standing stiff as a stone—nodded like a puppet on strings.
The duke’s brows curved sharply.
“Do you truly think I asked that question because I wished to hear excuses like that?”
Vanessa’s forced smile vanished instantly.
“I… I think I was careless, Father.”
Normally, the conversation would have ended there.
But the duke glanced sideways at Rianel, applying pressure.
“Is that all you have to say?”
The meaning behind his look was obvious: Apologize to Rianel.
Vanessa’s pride was wounded, but reality quickly reminded her to swallow her emotions.
She wasn’t married to Rupert yet—she was merely a candidate for daughter-in-law.
Letting the duke view her unfavorably at a moment like this would be risky.
She forced her head down.
“I’m sorry, Rianel. I really didn’t mean any harm. Can you forgive me?”
Even though her words were full of nothing but malice, she said it sweetly.
At the same time, she had prepared to argue back—if Rianel accused her of arranging “pathetic” suitors, she planned to bring up the incident where Rianel ruined the meeting by bringing people from the Tax Bureau.
But the response she received was something Vanessa could never have predicted.
“That is not how the word understand is used.”
…Huh?
Rianel’s voice was calm—so calm it felt even colder.
“‘Understanding’ is used when you grasp a concept you previously did not know, or when you come to realize someone else’s circumstances. But there is no circumstance of yours I am unaware of, my lady.”
Thus began Rianel’s literature lecture. Vanessa stared blankly at her like a student who couldn’t follow the lesson.
“You wronged me by attempting to proceed with an engagement without my consent. So seeking forgiveness is what you should be doing.”
“R-Right. Then… would you please forgive me?”
“Forgiveness is something you request—not something you extort. Therefore, ‘please’ is the wrong phrasing.”
You wretched humanities student.
Vanessa felt genuine murderous intent.
The only reason she wasn’t glaring daggers was because the duke was present.
Why bring up forgiveness if you weren’t even going to grant it?!
Just then, while she clenched her fist out of sight—
“Um, my lord. Outside, there’s….”
A knock came, followed by a servant’s voice.
Granted permission to enter, he stepped in and faltered upon seeing everyone gathered.
But he was pushed aside as a small boy rushed in.
“Please let me see the lady quickly! I have to deliver this and then make other deliveries!”
He looked about ten years old, covered in sweat and breathing raggedly. But the moment he spotted Rianel, his face bloomed with a bright smile.
“You’re the one who ordered flowers, right? I filled the whole bundle with dahlias, just like you asked!”
Like a student seeking approval, he thrust the basket toward her.
“Yes, that’s correct.”
Rianel handed him three silver coins.
“Thank you! Please order again!”
Clutching the coins, the boy bowed deeply and sprinted out.
Once the brief commotion ended, Vanessa glanced at the basket.
Colorful dahlias—flowers resembling chrysanthemums—were arranged neatly. Her lips curled in mockery.
How tacky. Flowers? Really?
Rianel responded calmly.
“Today is the anniversary of the late duchess’s passing. Of course I should offer her favorite flowers at her grave.”
Vanessa’s expression stiffened.
“Of course, you wouldn’t know. You’ve never visited the duchess’s memorial, have you, my lady?”
Aside from the funeral itself, yearly memorial visits were family responsibilities.
Vanessa, who had not yet been granted the Binsenhain name, was not allowed to attend.
Rianel had just pointed that out—using the very word understand that Vanessa herself had misused!
Seriously?
Having perfectly crushed her with logic, Rianel said calmly:
“Now that everything we need is prepared, let us go.”
Rianel’s reasoning was simple.
Her plan to meet the major tax delinquent through Vanessa had been ruined, so there was no reason to waste more time here.
“Yes.”
The duke gave a curt nod. Rupert glanced at Vanessa—and then casually unlinked their arms. His touch slipped away coldly, like water running off stone.
Without even looking back, he followed the duke and Rianel.
Left alone, Vanessa bit her lower lip hard.
She had believed that once she became Rupert’s fiancée and pushed Rianel out, her time would finally come.
Eventually Rianel would marry out, and she herself would remain in the ducal house forever.
So I thought I would obviously be the winner.
Reality, however, was different.
To them, “family” meant Rianel. Vanessa was merely an outsider—an almost-daughter-in-law.
She bit her lip harder. A metallic taste spread in her mouth, but there was no one to notice her pain.
The family mausoleum where the duchess was buried was quiet.
Only family members ever came here, so silence was expected.
Even the duke’s loyal butler waited at a distance and did not step inside the burial ground.
Yet the atmosphere was not heavy.
Sunlight fully illuminated the gravestone; the open wind kept away any moisture.
The bright, peaceful air felt as if it were honoring the deceased.
Standing before the gravestone, the duke murmured:
“I’m sorry, Lisa. Once again, I failed to keep my promise to visit more often this year.”
The facade of the Minister of State fell away before the grave of his beloved wife.
He let out a bitter smile, like revealing a regret long buried.
Rupert watched silently from one step behind.
His still expression made him look as though he mourned his mother—yet also like someone dragged somewhere unfamiliar.
Rianel placed the dahlias she had brought before the grave.
As the former empress, she had never met the duchess in life.
But she knew the woman had been youthful in spirit, had spent her childhood in a temple, and had been kind even to Rianel—born of a maid.
And perhaps…
She had been someone who often smiled at flowers.
Otherwise, how could she have shaped the duke into a man who knew longing?
“…”
The three stood silently before the grave.
A gentle breeze seemed to offer comfort in place of the departed.
After a long time, the duke spoke, head bowed to hide his reddened eyes.
“Still… you came this year.”
His voice trembled, damp with emotion.
Only then did Rianel realize—this was his first visit in three years.
“Lisa would… be glad.”
Rianel did not like the duke, but she knew this was not the moment to express personal sentiment.
“…Yes.”
She nodded quietly.
“Since you’ve stopped by the mansion after so long, have dinner before you leave.”
Rianel had resolved not to argue with the duke—at least for today.
But the moment she heard what came next…
“There is no reason for you to struggle outside and live alone like that. If you’re upset with me, let it go and come back home.”
Her resolve shattered instantly.
“No.”
