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Chapter : 10
Devotion held a value even higher than affection.
Ray still could not understand his father, who had remained so concerned until the very end about something as sentimental and trivial as love or affection.
The woman’s singing had no end.
The voice, as if it would break off yet never did, kept circling back again and again, stripping Ray of all motivation.
Perhaps he would never understand either of them. Not his father, and not that woman.
He no longer wasted any more time and turned away.
It was the day of a nationwide conference held at the Conservative Party Central Secretariat in the capital.
This time, unlike usual, not only party politicians but also their families and related guests were allowed to attend.
Rose stepped out onto the balcony for a moment, avoiding the nonstop political chatter of the legislators.
Even when she had lived in Bolton, she had never cared much about politics, but now she often found herself overhearing foreign politicians discussing tariffs, diplomacy, and policy as if it were casual talk.
The cold wind blowing in from the balcony clearly brushed against her cheeks, yet somehow she could not shake the feeling that none of this was real.
The crowds gathered outside the party conference building. The louder cheers when Ray Crawford appeared compared to even the Prime Minister.
Even though there were concerns that his reputation might be at risk because of her, his popularity did not seem bad at all. In Orthuran, he was more than just a minister.
Only now did she truly realize his position in this country. And how significant the marriage she had chosen so carelessly actually was.
In any case, because of his position, people kept approaching him one after another, allowing her to step away alone for a breath.
“How are you finding the party conference, Mrs. Crawford?”
It was precisely at that moment, when a stranger suddenly pulled back the curtain and interrupted her brief moment of peace, that Rose jumped in surprise.
A neatly dressed middle-aged gentleman stood in front of her.
“I was worried you might be bored. It’s all rather uninteresting political talk for women, isn’t it?”
He spoke casually, as if they were already familiar, and she quickly recalled who he was. The man who had even given a speech in front of the legislators earlier that day.
“Oh, have you only recently come to Orthuran and not recognized me? I’m Archibald Avery.”
He introduced himself before she could even open her mouth.
“…I know you. You’re a minister of Orthuran. How could I not know?”
Archibald Avery.
A Conservative Party member and the Minister of Internal Affairs. And also the owner of the newspaper her mother-in-law Agatha so despised—the Daily Oakley Review.
The man she now met in person had a gentle, likable appearance. He looked to be in his mid-forties.
“I’ve always wanted to meet you in person.”
Just as charming as his appearance, he seemed skilled at initiating conversation and guiding it smoothly.
“You wanted to meet me?”
“Ah, you may not know this, but I do have a connection with you.”
However…
Despite his appearance, there was something unsettling about him. Rose suddenly remembered Agatha’s strict warnings before coming here.
She had repeatedly told her to be careful, as if she were going into a battlefield.
“I’m curious about this connection I don’t even know about.”
“For now, let’s just say I know your father, Mr. Davis. I’ll tell you the rest once we become closer.”
The vague answer did not please her. And her father? That fact did nothing to improve her impression of him.
“Still, seeing you in person, you are far more beautiful.”
“…Ah, you own the newspaper that published my photo, don’t you?”
A flicker of artificial embarrassment crossed Archibald Avery’s friendly face and disappeared quickly.
“Oh dear. You didn’t like it? That’s understandable. It wasn’t a very flattering photograph.”
“Well… it’s more that in Bolton, we don’t really have candid photographs like that taken of people.”
That photo had been taken before she married Ray Crawford, not even in Orthuran but on a street in Bolton.
The moment she remembered that fact, she became even more uncomfortable with this man.
“Well, your husband is quite a famous figure, isn’t he? Everyone wants to know everything about Duke Crawford.”
Avery’s cheerful smile showed no trace of apology.
“In the newspaper business, we sometimes have to publish what people want to read, regardless of personal taste. It’s not an easy job. Ah, I do hope you can understand that difficulty.”
Casually, he took a cigarette from his pocket and placed it between his lips.
“As for me, I’ve met many Orthuran gentlemen who are more interested in important matters than seeing women eating fruit on the street.”
“Showing the upper class as natural and approachable is also important.”
He lit the cigarette and inhaled.
With a satisfied smile, he exhaled a long stream of smoke, then took out another cigarette and quietly offered it to her.
As if telling her to smoke.
Rose simply stared at the cigarette held out toward her.
“You don’t smoke, do you, madam?”
“…Me?”
Instead of answering, she asked back, and Avery’s dark eyes swept over her with obvious amusement.
As if he knew everything about her.
Yet Rose had never once smoked since coming to Orthuran.
After a tense silence, a smile appeared on his face.
“Oh, I must have been mistaken. Some ladies do enjoy smoking occasionally.”
There was no way an Orthuran noblewoman would smoke.
He likely only knew that she had been photographed before her marriage. From there, it would not be difficult to assume she had smoked.
If she accepted and smoked, it was obvious what would happen.
There was only one reason for his behavior.
Malice.
With a bright smile, the man lit his cigarette again, and the smell of burning tobacco filled the balcony.
“I had never heard of noble ladies in Orthuran smoking before.”
“Those kinds of people are usually not invited to respectable gatherings, so it’s understandable you wouldn’t know.”
Hah.
Rose almost laughed but held it in and looked up at him. He still wore a pleasant smile.
Talking about “low-class women smoking” as if he knew nothing.
“So you’ve been to such places, then?”
“Good heavens, of course not. But scandals have a way of reaching my ears without me needing to attend such places.”
What exactly was he trying to do?
Just as Rose seriously considered whether he wanted to provoke her, the man suddenly smiled brightly and changed the topic.
“Do you like your husband?”
It was a completely abrupt and rude question.
At the same time, it was a question that did not require an answer. In Orthuran, people called her Cinderella. The only acceptable answers were “yes” or “more than I deserve.”
“Of course, you must be very satisfied. He was the most eligible bachelor in Orthuran, after all.”
Perhaps thinking the same, Avery answered his own question without waiting for her response.
“You should be grateful to me, madam.”
Just as Rose frowned at his strange self-congratulation, the curtain was pulled back.
Standing there, backlit by the light of the hall, was Ray Crawford.
Rose did not miss the subtly stiff expression on his face the moment he saw her.
He must have escaped the many people trying to speak with him and been searching for her all along.
“Oh dear, it seems my chance to monopolize such a beautiful lady has ended.”
At Avery’s regretful tone, Rose silently muttered, ugh.
No matter how many times she heard it, she could not get used to Orthuran speech. Especially when such an unpleasant man spoke so disgustingly politely.
“As expected of newlyweds, Duke Crawford cannot leave his wife alone for even a moment.”
“As you know, there are more people interested in my wife than just you, Lord Avery.”
With a courteous smile, Ray placed his hand on Rose’s back and naturally pulled her toward him.
There was no hesitation in the way he applied gentle pressure, guiding her back into the hall from the balcony.
Even though his smile looked decorative and formal, Rose could tell. He disliked Archibald Avery.
Whenever there were gatherings like this, Rose always observed Ray. She had little else to do, and he often stayed near her.
Even when dealing with the same politicians, the tone of his smile and the degree of physical contact he used with her changed subtly.
With Archibald Avery, Ray Crawford clearly showed dislike.
