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Chapter 32
‘Well, anyway, that works out. Thanks to that, I’ll get to go again for the first time in a really long while. Come to think of it, I wonder if “that boy” is doing well too? His name was….’
After a long time, Lillian sank into her memories. Her parents had absolutely hated even the mention of the orphanage. Probably because if it became known that she had once been left at an orphanage, they would have felt ashamed themselves.
‘Come to think of it, I can’t remember his name. Ka… something, I think.’
She tried to dig through her memories at the sudden question, but it only lingered on the tip of her tongue and stubbornly refused to surface.
‘He was a boy who used to trail after me everywhere—so why can’t I remember…?’
In the midst of her frustration, her eyes met Cartan’s. For a moment, she almost asked him, then shook her head.
‘No matter how frustrated I am, it’s not like His Grace the Grand Duke would know that friend.’
Just then, the butler informed her that dinner was ready. Her train of thought broken, Lillian ultimately gave up and rose from her seat.
‘Well, I’ll remember sooner or later.’
If she went to the orphanage, surely at least some small clue would come to mind.
“Bella, congratulations! His Majesty the Emperor has sent you a proposal! Now you won’t have to leave the capital against your will.”
Duke Ariana, who had been looking into Bella’s marriage prospects as promised to Cartan, was overjoyed.
However, Bella was merely anxious that only she had not received an invitation to the charity gala. Already on edge, her father struck a nerve.
‘Ha, who asked him to propose? This is seriously irritating.’
Although it was a relief in one sense, she had ended up drifting impossibly far from the Grand Duke.
Seeing Bella’s lukewarm reaction, Duke Ariana pressed her.
“Don’t tell me you still haven’t come to your senses?”
“Father!”
“Get a grip! What’s so special about being the Grand Duke’s wife? If you set your mind to it, you can rise to the very top—somewhere no one else would even dare to look.”
Bella snorted.
“I’m Bella Ariana, your daughter. As if I’d be so desperate that I’d hang my entire life on one man.”
“Is that so?”
In that instant, Bella’s pride took a sharp hit.
“Yes. I will become the most perfect empress in the history of the Empire. After that, no one will dare touch me.”
“But… His Majesty says he would like to keep the contents of this proposal confidential for the time being. So for now, you should go down to a provincial estate for a while.”
“…….”
The Emperor never handled matters properly. Even while proposing to her, he was still worrying about the Grand Duke’s reaction.
“No, Father. Since it’s bound to become known anyway, we should spread the rumors as widely as possible.”
“What are you talking about? What if things go wrong because of that?”
At her father’s question, Bella slowly lifted the corners of her lips.
“If the rumors spread beyond the point of being containable, then no matter how powerful the Grand Duke is, how could he possibly stop it?”
Only then did the duke understand, nodding his head. With a satisfied expression, he patted Bella on the shoulder.
“Good. You’ve finally come to your senses. You thought this through well.”
“…….”
Bella’s smile deepened. She had no intention whatsoever of marrying the current Emperor.
‘Oh, right—there was that. I’d shoved it away because they said it had no effect on men, but who would have thought it’d find a use like this.’
Bella immediately summoned the well-known gossip-loving matrons of high society.
“Oh my, Lady Bella, to think you’d invite all of us—what an honor!”
“Indeed. We thought you wouldn’t even share a table with old women like us who are all talk, ho ho ho.”
Despite the elderly ladies’ self-deprecating remarks, Bella never lost her smile.
“How could that be? The black tea His Majesty recently bestowed upon me was so delicious that I wanted everyone to try it. Let’s make gatherings like this more often.”
“We’ve already heard the news. You received a proposal from His Majesty, didn’t you?”
Bella nodded readily.
“Yes, it just happened that way. I suppose I’ll need to grow closer to Lady Lillian from now on, since we’ll be family.”
At that, the old ladies unanimously showered Bella with praise. She was the rising sun now.
“Oh my, family? Strictly speaking, His Grace the Grand Duke isn’t of the imperial bloodline, you know. He’s on a different level from you.”
Bella delivered the decisive line she had prepared.
“Not at all. I meant as co-wives. Now that I’ll have a concubine sister-in-law, I should take even better care of her.”
For a moment, even the world-weary ladies were utterly stunned.
“Th-the Emperor is setting his sights on Lady Lillian, the Grand Duke’s lover? If His Grace finds out, there’ll be a bloodbath…!”
“Exactly. If things go wrong, couldn’t the Emperor of the Empire change again? Once is hard, but twice is—well….”
Having listened that far, Bella finally put on a flustered expression.
“Oh, I’ve said something I shouldn’t have. It was my mistake, so please forget what I just said.”
The ladies all nodded, promising secrecy. But Bella didn’t believe them in the slightest.
‘Before long, a scandal of the century will rock high society.’
Bella couldn’t suppress her laughter. In the end, she had no choice but to pretend to sip her tea and hide her mouth behind the teacup.
‘What’s going on? I’m sure this wasn’t the location of the charity gala.’
Lillian looked around in confusion as she stepped down from the carriage with Cartan. The place they had arrived at wasn’t the orphanage that had originally been planned, but an unexpected imperial-sponsored venue.
“Your Grace, I think we may have come to the wrong place?”
“Ah, apparently the number of attendees exceeded expectations, so they had no choice but to change the venue.”
“…Ah, I see.”
‘Still, that’s good. The more attendees there are, the more funds will be raised. And the orphanage isn’t going anywhere—I can go anytime. I’ll just go next time.’
Soothing the inexplicable sense of disappointment in her heart, Lillian forced a smile.
As always, she entered the annex palace under the Grand Duke’s escort. But today, the way people looked at her felt strangely off.
‘What is it? Did something happen?’
The moment their eyes met, the Grand Duke tilted his head.
“What is it?”
“Ah, well… the atmosphere feels a bit cold today.”
With an indifferent expression, he casually scanned the banquet hall and added,
“Does it? I don’t really notice.”
‘If it’s just me, maybe I’m imagining things?’
People avoided her the moment their eyes met hers, then whispered among themselves.
“Excuse me for a moment.”
“Alright, go ahead.”
She stepped away because she felt uncomfortable, but she didn’t really have anywhere to go. After some thought, Lillian headed into the powder room. She sat in front of the mirror and rested her chin on her hand.
“It seems I’ve really been singled out. Is it because of what happened at the Sun Festival banquet last time?”
Just as she let out a sigh, the door opened and a group of young ladies poured in. As soon as they entered, they began talking about her.
“Did you see Lady Lillian earlier? If it were me, I’d never show my face here. She’s got some nerve.”
“And really, how could His Majesty do such a thing? As if Lady Bella weren’t enough—now even his uncle’s woman….”
Hearing what followed, Lillian was struck with shock.
“Well, men are all the same. But I wonder if His Grace the Grand Duke knows about this. If he finds out that His Majesty and Lady Lillian have such a filthy relationship, it’ll be a huge blow to him.”
“There’ll be bloodshed in the Empire once again.”
‘Filthy? What does that even mean?’
Lost in thought, chin still propped up, she accidentally knocked the brush resting on the vanity.
Thud.
As she stood up to pick up the brush that had fallen to the floor, she locked eyes with the young ladies who had been gossiping about her. They shrieked in shock.
“Good heavens!”
Then, as if fleeing, they rushed out of the powder room in a flurry. Only then did Lillian fully grasp what they had meant. She stared blankly at the wall.
“Honestly, the things people come up with. Me, with who, doing what….”
She was so dumbfounded that no words came out. Even for aristocratic society, where all kinds of speculative rumors ran rampant, this was beyond absurd.
‘Ah, so that’s why everyone was looking at me like that.’
She felt it wasn’t even worth clarifying.
“Well, whatever. If I go and ask, I can set things straight properly then.”
