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Chapter 26
“…Good heavens.”
Clutching the hem of my dress, I moved my body toward a secluded corner of the banquet hall. I had used the excuse of giving space to the nobles who were dying to strike up a conversation with Johannes.
“I’ve finally gone crazy.”
I muttered it quietly, low enough that no one around me could hear.
Earlier, I’d acted on impulse because I was so on edge, worried that someone might suspect something…
“But really, ladies.”
I heard the voices of several women whispering not far away. They were sneaking glances at me.
“Isn’t this the first time the royal family hasn’t sent a candidate for the next king as a guest to the Schultz family?”
“It is. It seems they’ve really fallen out of favor.”
“Wouldn’t you, in their place? They still haven’t found where that enormous embezzled sum went, and now they’re in a position where they have to pay war reparations…”
“And to make matters worse, he married a commoner woman. He didn’t even invite her to the banquet. Just how far does he plan to fall?”
“In any case, the one who benefited the most here is that woman. She’s climbed the social ladder properly. And she’s about to get hundreds of billions of Berk as well, so of course there’s plenty of jealousy. Even if the Schultz family’s reputation has taken a hit, the Duke of Schultz is still the groom every young lady dreams of, isn’t he?”
“Exactly. I hear there are still quite a few young ladies who adore His Grace. So why on earth did he marry a commoner woman with nothing to recommend her?”
“Why else? To turn public opinion around.”
I stopped walking. Thoughts of my kiss with Johannes vanished completely.
They’re talking this openly?
I pressed my lips together tightly.
I hadn’t expected a warm reception from the noble ladies. It was rare for the upper class to open their hearts to someone of common birth from the start.
But still…
I never imagined they would speak so loudly, as if they wanted me to hear—like they were certain I wouldn’t dare offer even a single word of rebuttal.
And they weren’t wrong. Just like before, I wasn’t confident I could beat them by appealing to etiquette and propriety.
Sir Fret had said my manners were flawless, but…
In my own assessment, I still hadn’t fully learned noble etiquette, and having lived my entire life as a commoner, I wasn’t eloquent enough to spar verbally with ladies who had survived the social scene for years.
So there was only one way I could strike back.
“Good evening, ladies.”
A head-on approach.
When I walked up to them, their eyes—clearly startled—ran over me from head to toe.
“…The Duchess of Schultz?”
“Sounds like you were having quite an interesting conversation.”
They looked flustered at first, then exchanged glances and looked down on me.
“Oh, yes. I suppose so.”
They’d been surprised that I approached them, but now they seemed to think someone like me would be easy enough to handle.
“It sounded like my husband’s name came up.”
When I asked with an innocent expression, one of the women replied in a dry voice. No—was she a young lady among them?
Her attitude was far more hostile than I’d expected.
“Oh. We were just talking about how you probably didn’t need a dowry.”
“What do you mean by that?”
When I tilted my head, she added casually, as if it were nothing.
“Because the hundreds of billions of Berk that disappeared must be sitting in an overseas account belonging to the Schultz family.”
My lips closed on their own.
These nobles, radiating hostility, seemed to have no intention of watching their words or behavior.
And they were doing it right in front of me, the lady of the Schultz household, openly insulting the Schultz family.
“Isn’t there only one possible reason why the whereabouts of such an enormous sum remain unknown?”
The young lady who’d mentioned overseas accounts brushed her glossy hair back as she asked. Her tone was gentle, but she made no effort to hide her mocking expression.
She took my hand.
“But don’t worry. It seems they hid it so well that there’s simply no way to find it. Isn’t that right, Duchess?”
After pressing me for an answer, she smiled brightly. Her sharp eyes curved into crescents.
She looked like she was waiting for me to get angry, burst into tears, or run straight to Johannes to tattle.
Do they think a commoner is some ten-year-old child?
Sorry, but I have no intention of doing that.
“Well, I’m not sure, miss.”
Their brows twitched upward.
“Are you pretending not to know? Then His Grace truly chose his wife very, very poorly.”
Of course, I understood perfectly what they were trying to say.
It was just that their intention—to stir up a scene at the reception and humiliate me—was so obvious that I didn’t even feel it was worth engaging.
“But don’t worry too much. We’ll help you adjust. Everyone’s a bit lacking at first, after all.”
I looked at them without changing my expression.
They seemed to think that someone born a commoner knew nothing, but this wasn’t a bad chance to shatter that narrow-minded view.
“That’s right. I didn’t receive much of an education, so there are many things I don’t know.”
The young lady’s brows knit together.
“But I’m quite good at remembering the things I do learn. I never forget.”
“…Pardon?”
“I’ve heard that many people open slush fund accounts in the neutral Kingdom of Chekhov.”
The ladies who had been relentlessly cornering me fell silent in an instant.
—
‘Given the current political climate, I hear everyone sets up at least one slush fund account in the neutral state of Chekhov. You never know how much the country might extract under the pretext of war reparations.’
Judging by their reaction, Sir Fret’s offhand comment had been at least half true.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
The young lady forced a smile. I could see the corners of her lips trembling.
It was time to drive the nail in.
“Oh. Don’t your families have slush fund accounts? I heard it’s illegal, but most families with significant wealth do it.”
Their facial muscles crumpled all at once.
They might want to accuse me of rudeness, but since they’d questioned me first, they didn’t really have much to say.
“…Is that not the case?”
I asked again, feigning indifference.
Instead of the reaction they wanted, my counterattack left them visibly shaken.
Creating slush fund accounts was illegal, so they couldn’t admit to having them. But denying it outright would hurt their pride.
“Well—”
As the young lady who’d picked a fight with me opened her mouth to say something, a lady beside her gently grabbed her wrist and pulled it down.
Taking a deep breath, the lady exhaled shallowly and spoke.
“…Of course not. How could that be? As people who should set an example for commoners, how could we engage in such illegal acts?”
“Yes, of course. You spoke so casually that I almost misunderstood and thought you might.”
Her eyelids fluttered briefly before she regained her composure.
“To ask a question that could cause such a misunderstanding—on such a happy day. I must have been overly excited. That was my mistake. I was thoughtless, Duchess. But let me say again: such a thing absolutely does not exist.”
“I see. It’s the same for us. As everyone knows, all of the Schultz family’s financial channels have been frozen, so we can’t move any tied-up funds anywhere.”
I lifted a faint smile to my lips.
“Even if there really were illegal funds in the Kingdom of Chekhov, the moment they entered the Schultz family’s Dochilia account, they’d all be tracked.”
“Indeed.”
“So please don’t worry—unless you consider Dochilia to be a country incapable of maintaining even basic state functions.”
The lady closed her mouth again. If she continued pressing the issue, it would be no different from insulting the royal authority itself.
They exchanged glances. When the other ladies shook their heads, the young lady who’d confronted me spoke as if she had no choice.
“How could that be? Once again, my apologies, Duchess.”
It seemed she’d decided that causing a scene wasn’t appropriate right now.
“Oh, we’ve kept you far too long. You must be very busy.”
Still, she couldn’t quite give up on trying to embarrass me. Knowing full well that I didn’t have a single acquaintance here, she deliberately mentioned how “busy” I must be.
“Then.”
The ladies inclined their heads smoothly, concealing their expressions, and walked past me. I quickly stopped them.
“Oh—one more thing.”
They turned back to me with puzzled looks. Clearly displeased that someone of common birth had dared to call out to them, their perfectly groomed brows arched sharply.
“What is it?”
A sharp voice answered. I continued without shrinking back.
“I was wondering who you are. I don’t believe I was formally introduced.”
