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Chapter 69
Countess Rabia glared daggers at the back of her husband’s head for putting House Krauh on the guest list, then hurried forward. The Duke of Spess, escorting her, was also quickening his pace, so their steps remained more or less in sync.
The two practically flew across the room and reached Eluana’s side. Countess Rabia was about to raise her voice and demand what they thought they were doing at her party when Eluana slowly turned her head.
The countess drew in a sharp breath.
Ah, Stella. She really does look just like you.
Unlike the bewilderment she had felt at their first meeting, a deeply moving emotion now surged through her.
While Countess Rabia stared intently at Eluana’s face, the Duke of Spess glared coldly at Cudas.
At the same time, Count Krauh, who had been watching from nearby, hurried over.
“Your Grace, it’s been a long time. Haha.”
“Ah, Count Krauh. You’ve come at just the right time. Tell me, when did your family become so great? I’ve become curious about this greatness you wanted to teach my daughter about.”
Count Krauh’s eyes trembled uneasily.
He had seen the Duke of Spess leave Eluana alone the moment he arrived and had mistakenly assumed that the duke had merely taken her in as an adopted daughter. That mistake had led him to overlook his son’s rudeness.
Under the Duke of Spess’s terrifying gaze, Count Krauh awkwardly placed a hand on his son’s shoulder.
“He spoke without thinking. You know how children are at that age. They tend to think what belongs to them is the best. Please don’t take it too seriously. Hahaha.”
But it was already too late.
The Duke of Spess had already taken it very seriously.
“I suppose the great House Krauh won’t need to buy grain from our family anymore. After all, you’re so great.”
“No. Why would you say something so frightening?”
Count Krauh’s heart sank.
He had recently heard rumors that Marquis Pegimul’s family was struggling because of grain shortages.
“Surely you aren’t doing this merely because my son made a small mistake with Miss Spess?”
“A small mistake? He spoke rudely to my daughter and treated her with contempt. I didn’t realize you wanted to make an enemy of House Spess.”
“No, that isn’t what I meant. I apologize. It was my failure. I will discipline him properly.”
Count Krauh, who had tried to smooth things over, took a step back beneath the Duke’s menacing aura.
“You should remember this. As long as Cudas Krauh remains your heir, House Spess will not buy a single grain of food from your family.”
Count Krauh’s face went pale.
He might have said it in anger, but the Duke of Spess was exactly the kind of man who would follow through.
The duke gave Count Krauh one last icy look before turning toward Eluana.
At the same time, his expression changed completely.
His eyes softened as though they might melt, and the smile that accompanied them was breathtaking.
“I’m sorry I left you alone.”
Countess Rabia sighed in relief, glad that everything seemed to have been resolved.
But something about Eluana’s expression was strange.
At first, she had clearly seemed pleased by the duke’s arrival. Yet her eyes were gradually becoming sharper.
Stella used to make that exact expression whenever she was displeased.
Ah!
Seeing the horrified expressions of the nobles standing nearby, Countess Rabia realized the Duke of Spess had crossed the line.
Right now, he looked like the most doting father imaginable.
And he was the Duke of Spess, no less.
There were supposedly only a handful of people in the entire empire who had ever seen him smile. Yet every guest invited to this party had just witnessed it.
He had so blatantly shown how much he cherished Eluana, and yet they had supposedly planned to conceal the fact that she was his biological daughter?
‘She’s going to be exposed today.’
This wouldn’t do.
Feeling a sense of crisis, Countess Rabia steeled herself. She was afraid that looking directly at Eluana would make her waver, so she focused instead on the ends of the girl’s hair.
Good heavens, her golden hair was beautiful.
No.
‘Get a grip.’
Countess Rabia lowered her voice.
“Your Grace. I understand that the girl resembles Stella. I also understand why you cherish her. But I’m afraid I cannot do this. She resembles Stella too much, and it makes me uncomfortable. Please find someone else to serve as her godmother.”
The Duke of Spess looked surprised.
Apparently, he had only just remembered their objective for today.
“I was confused at first as well. But—”
“No, Your Grace. Please don’t try to persuade me.”
Surely he won’t actually be hurt by this?
Countess Rabia nervously glanced at Eluana.
She nearly burst out laughing.
Because she could see Eluana’s lips moving.
Thank. You.
Eluana mouthed the words before letting the corners of her lips droop sorrowfully again.
After giving Countess Rabia an encouraging look, Eluana clasped her hands together.
“Please reconsider. I know I am still lacking in many ways. If you give me some time, I will show you that I can become someone you won’t be ashamed to have as your goddaughter.”
Eluana’s acting was extraordinary.
Countess Rabia rose to the occasion.
“To be honest, it is difficult for me to look at you, young lady. It isn’t your fault, so I hope you will simply think of me as a narrow-minded person.”
“Madam.”
Eluana subtly raised her thumb and then lowered her head miserably.
“I’m sorry, Lady Eluana.”
Countess Rabia turned away dramatically.
The Duke of Spess stepped in.
“Madam, I would like to speak with you a little longer.”
With an exaggerated sigh, Countess Rabia followed the duke as though she had no choice.
Once they returned to the study, her expression changed completely.
“If you act like that, how is it any different from announcing that she’s your biological daughter? You were the one who said we needed to maintain a proper distance.”
The countess scolded him, but the Duke of Spess remained unapologetic.
“I did maintain the line. Otherwise, I would have declared war on the territory.”
Countess Rabia pressed one hand against her forehead.
She knew perfectly well that he was capable of doing exactly that.
If there was one consolation, it was that everyone else also knew his temperament.
“That is true. You held back quite a lot. But you need to hold back even more. It would be disastrous if people discovered she was your biological daughter.”
“I want to allow Eluana to follow the path she wishes to take. If necessary, I will endure more.”
“What does Eluana want?”
“I intend to find out together with her. What would make her happy? To be honest, I only became a father recently. I don’t really know what makes a good father. I keep thinking about it.”
Countess Rabia’s smile softened.
She never expected to see this side of the Duke of Spess again.
“Your concern over that question is proof that you are already a good father, Your Grace.”
Father, you really don’t know the meaning of ‘moderation.’
That morning, Eluana had told the Duke of Spess that it was important to ‘act moderately affectionate.’
She had reminded him in the carriage, too.
And again right before they entered the banquet hall.
He had even told her not to worry.
Watching the Duke of Spess and Countess Rabia disappear into the distance, Eluana thought:
‘I think it’s all ruined.’
One of today’s goals had been to emphasize the resemblance between herself and Stella.
Countess Rabia had responded even better than Eluana had expected.
The problem was her father.
The Duke of Spess.
The Spess family owned all the empire’s most valuable land, and he had threatened House Krauh using grain sales.
In front of everyone.
As a result, everyone Eluana encountered now immediately lowered their gaze.
If they happened to make eye contact, they hurriedly turned away and walked off.
‘Don’t leave. I won’t hurt you.’
Eluana wanted to cry.
Her last hope was Daize, the girl who had approached her first.
But the moment the Duke of Spess appeared, Daize had vanished with an impressive backward retreat, and Eluana couldn’t see her anywhere.
‘Fine. Let’s find her.’
Eluana decided to take the initiative.
She passed by the noblewomen who stood awkwardly staring at her while making meaningless conversation, and headed toward the garden connected to the banquet hall.
As she peeked into the garden, she spotted Daize, who resembled a deer, through the leaves.
Eluana was about to approach when she noticed a young nobleman standing in front of Daize.
That rectangular back of his head could only belong to Krauh.
Even from a distance, it was obvious he had followed Daize there to harass her.
Eluana stepped onto the garden lawn.
Daize’s ordeal continued as she approached.
“Why are you doing this?”
“Do you have any idea how much trouble you’ve caused me? You need to mediate between me and Miss Spess.”
“Me? I’m not even close to her.”
“I don’t care! Take responsibility and mediate between us. Otherwise, our family won’t supply any more iron ore.”
“What? You can’t suddenly do that.”
Daize’s face went pale.
“Of course, depending on what you do, I might change my mind.”
When Cudas reached toward Daize, Eluana’s blood boiled.
She grew frantic.
She had to stop that filthy hand before it touched the deer.
“Wait.”
Because she was in such a hurry, her hand moved before her words could.
Eluana grabbed Cudas by the hair, which had been neatly tied into a single ponytail.
His head jerked backward as his hair was yanked, and he let out a shriek.
“What the—?!”
Instead of answering, Eluana shook her hand as though she had touched something filthy.
That sounded like a pig being slaughtered.
When Cudas realized that Eluana was the one who had grabbed his hair, he lowered his voice.
“H-how dare you? What kind of rudeness is—”
“You are the one who has been consistently rude, Mr. Krauh. If House Oreuon needs iron ore, House Spess will sell it to them, so don’t worry.”
The iron produced by House Spess’s iron mines was famous for its high purity.
Because the Spess family consumed a large amount themselves, little iron ore was sold externally, and many families were waiting in line to purchase it.
That was why House Oreuon, despite being a viscount’s family, had been purchasing iron from nearby House Krauh instead of waiting in line.
“…Miss Spess.”
“You shouldn’t suffer because of me.”
Daize’s face flushed like that of a girl falling in love.
She had already been staring at Eluana with sparkling eyes ever since Eluana grabbed Cudas by the hair.
“You think I’ll let this go just like th—”
Cudas huffed as he interrupted, but his threat carried little weight.
The little metal sphere resting in Eluana’s brooch rolled restlessly in place, as though ready to spring out at any moment, making its presence known.
“What if you don’t let it go?”
“House Krauh will—”
Cudas was about to raise his voice, but he suddenly fell silent under a look that seemed to say, Are you the only one here with a father?
He had just witnessed the Duke of Spess openly protecting his daughter.
Eluana pressed her advantage.
“Mr. Krauh, if you’re going to use your family’s influence to crush people, then go ahead. I’ll do the same. Is there anyone here with more influence than me?”
Cudas couldn’t answer.
He backed away.
For a moment, Eluana felt the joy of victory.
Then she heard the whispers around her and realized something had gone wrong.
Apparently, in trying to help a deer, she had earned herself the title of the local troublemaker.
‘How am I supposed to fix this?’
Just then, the murmuring banquet hall suddenly fell silent.
Everyone’s attention turned toward the person who had just entered.
Prince Cazar Arcas Fortuna had arrived.
With a face seemingly sculpted by the gods, he was a genius swordsman, an aura user, and a prince of the empire.
His consistently cold demeanor only made the young ladies his age more determined to win him over.
Cazar looked around as though searching for someone, then walked straight toward a particular spot.
Everyone watched where he was going.
And where his gaze landed was—
the lucky girl who resembled Princess Stella,
the adopted daughter of House Spess,
the troublemaker who had just subdued another troublemaker.
There stood Eluana Vita Spess, casually resting her weight on one leg.
