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Chapter 34
Fake Wedding Night (2)
The anxious gaze of Countess Hetel pierced into me.
“Duchess Blanchet, it will harm your health if you go out while it’s raining like this. Why don’t you stay at Hetel Castle until the rain lets up?”
“That’s right! There are plenty of interesting sights at Hetel Castle. Wouldn’t you like to stay and enjoy them for a while?”
Even Count Hetel chimed in, pleading with me. When I turned to look at Johann, he only tilted his head arrogantly.
‘That must mean he’s leaving the decision up to me.’
I studied the suddenly transformed expression of Countess Hetel.
‘The most effective method at a time like this is…’
Having been thoroughly tempered in Libertan, I knew well how to make someone feel exhausted and irritated.
‘If I do this poorly, I might end up infamous in society…’
Unfortunately, I had no reputation left to lose. So it was better to make sure they wouldn’t dare to treat me carelessly.
“The Duke has nothing to apologize for. This happened through no fault of his own.”
I smiled innocently as I replied.
“If the Duke wishes, I’d be happy to leave and head somewhere else.”
At my own suggestion of departure, the faces of the Hetel family grew paler by the second. Still, they couldn’t rudely interrupt the conversation between Johann and me.
“Then should we look for another place?”
“But…”
I lifted my eyes toward the falling rain.
“Since it’s raining this heavily, perhaps it would be better to stay at Hetel Castle for the sake of our attendants.”
With each word I spoke, the expressions of the Hetel family shifted drastically.
“What’s there to hesitate about? We’ll do whatever the Duchess wants.”
“In that case…”
The Hetels all swallowed hard. I turned to Countess Hetel and asked,
“Countess Hetel, would it be alright for the Blanchet couple to impose on you for a night?”
“Of course! It would be the highest honor for our family to host the Blanchets.”
“Then I suppose I must have misunderstood.”
“W-what misunderstanding…?”
“I thought Countess Hetel found me bothersome.”
The countess’s smile faltered. Flustered, she clumsily replied,
“Bothersome? Why would I ever think that of the Duchess?”
“Of course, right? You didn’t greet me earlier, so I misunderstood.”
I laughed lightly. Countess Hetel scrambled to cover up.
“You must have been exhausted from travel. It’s only natural you’d feel that way sometimes. I, too, get mistaken when I’m tired.”
“With the rain pouring like this, you must be even more weary. Please, come inside and rest.”
The atmosphere slowly lightened. That is, until I innocently added,
“I’m glad. For a moment I misunderstood when, with me standing right there, you asked your adult daughter to escort my husband to his room. And that you specifically mentioned a gentleman’s room without greeting me first.”
“…”
“That sort of thing would never happen in the capital.”
The countess’s hand clenched her dress tightly. The count couldn’t interfere, while the daughters involved grew pale. Silence stretched unbearably until Count Hetel nudged his wife’s side. Swallowing hard, she stammered out an apology.
“I-I’m sorry. It’s been so long since I entertained noble guests, I must have forgotten myself in the chaos…”
“It’s fine. Just a misunderstanding, that’s all.”
Just then, a man walked out from inside Hetel Castle.
“What’s going on out here?”
He was tall, with deep navy hair and violet eyes, his long slitted eyes giving off a snake-like impression.
‘He seems intimidating.’
I’d never seen him before. The Hetels’ faces turned ashen.
“Chancellor Ortega! You should be resting inside…”
Chancellor Ortega. I had heard of him in Libertan—the head of House Ortega, one of the most powerful figures shaping the Empire’s governance.
‘So that’s who he is.’
But why was someone like him staying here at Hetel Castle?
Tapping his staff lightly against the ground, Ortega answered,
“I heard a commotion outside and came to see. So the Blanchets are here. Did something happen?”
“It was nothing. Just a little misunderstanding, but it’s resolved now. Isn’t that right, Duchess Blanchet?”
The countess smiled sweetly as she turned to me.
“Yes, everything is settled.”
I smiled back. The countess nodded stiffly. Ortega’s eyes narrowed.
“Good to hear. Though I wonder if it’s truly resolved.”
Twisting his lips in a wry smile, the Chancellor returned indoors. One of the Hetel daughters quickly followed him.
I didn’t know exactly why he was here, but it was clear the Hetels had been trying to form connections not only with us but also with Ortega. Judging by his reaction, though—
‘They won’t succeed with either side.’
Inside the mansion, Countess Hetel fumed.
“Did you see how that orphan smiled at me? Not even a proper duchess, and she dares act above her station!”
“But, Mother… is it really true she’s not the official duchess?”
The eldest daughter, Lotte, asked anxiously.
“Judging by Duke Blanchet’s behavior, it didn’t seem that way at all.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. The execution date of the Libertan duke and duchess has already been set. If that adopted girl were truly recognized, the Libertan line wouldn’t be wiped out. Isn’t that obvious?”
“Yes… then why did the Duke treat us so coldly?”
The Hetels had assumed that ignoring Estelle would amuse the Duke, since rumors abounded that he had only taken her in as a temporary plaything.
“Who knows. Maybe we were too hasty.”
The countess bit at her nails.
‘And worst of all, we embarrassed ourselves in front of Chancellor Ortega.’
For a declining house like theirs, having two such great powers visit at once was a miracle. That was why she had tried to tie her daughters to them.
‘The Chancellor is impressive, but…’
The Blanchets were immensely wealthy. That alone made them valuable to the Hetels.
‘I can’t give up on the Blanchets.’
“Lotte, Flora. Don’t worry.”
She gazed at her famously beautiful daughters. No matter how pretty that orphan Estelle was, she couldn’t compare to noble daughters of true bloodline.
“What matters isn’t the past, but the future.”
“S-so then…?”
“I’ll prepare opportunities for you. Just focus on showing Duke Blanchet and Marquis Ortega your most demure and charming selves.”
Blushing, the sisters nodded at their mother’s confident words.
The summer monsoon had begun in earnest. The rain, expected to stop by tomorrow, poured endlessly.
‘At least it hasn’t led to anything worse.’
Despite the rocky first impression, no further incidents had occurred—though the presence of Chancellor Ortega lingered uneasily.
‘Why is he here?’
At dinner, I asked. With a kind smile, the Marquis replied,
‘I was on my way to inspect my estate. The sudden downpour forced me to seek shelter here.’
Still, I couldn’t shake the sense he was hiding something.
‘But it has nothing to do with me.’
I put on a light dress and went to see the orchestra the Hetels had arranged. They must have spared no expense for Ortega and us, because it was a famous ensemble. Count Hetel beamed with pride as the musicians played.
Not particularly interested, I drifted toward the garden. The rain had eased, and gardeners in raincoats were tidying up.
Then I spotted a familiar man among them.
‘That man… Baron Fenula?’
He had been the warden in Johann’s memories.
‘What is he doing here?’
He was the very one who had accepted bribes and helped torture young Johann.
‘Could I be mistaken?’
It had been years, and I hadn’t seen clearly. So I asked the nearby trees. As a fairy, they eagerly answered.
—“The gardener with the white-streaked red hair? His name’s Jake, I think. Not sure.”
Sadly, trees rarely cared for human names.
—“When did he come here? Hmm… I only remember he suddenly appeared as a gardener despite lacking any real skill.”
—“Oh! And he’s the one who buried strange things beneath my roots and checked them each night.”
‘He buried something under the roots?’
Suspicious. I slipped out to the garden under pretense of needing air. The tree kindly shifted its roots, pushing up a box.
‘It really was Baron Fenula.’
Inside were keys and documents. The key belonged to the capital’s most famous bank vault. The documents listed nobles who had bribed Fenula, including those who had tried to gain favor with Libertan through him.
‘What should I do with this…?’
I asked the trees to hide the box elsewhere, then returned calmly to my room.
As I was changing dresses, a maid appeared.
“Duchess Blanchet, the Countess requests your company before she retires for the night. Would you be willing to visit her?”
“At this hour?”
“Yes. She seems to want to ease your heart.”
‘Suddenly seeking reconciliation?’
Not impossible, but it felt off. And soon I learned why.
As I left my room to meet her, Johann appeared. He grabbed my wrist.
“Do you know how many nobles are desperate to sell their daughters? Some even sneak them into men’s chambers late at night.”
I blinked, confused. He guided me to sit on the bed and whispered,
“Tonight, the count’s daughter invited me to her bed. Judging by her face, if I refused, she intended to come here herself.”
“….”
“Of course I’ll refuse. But will that be enough for you?”
A heat flared inside me.
‘So that’s why the countess called me so late?’
Even if Johann refused, I couldn’t stand the idea of another woman entering his chamber. Carefully, I asked,
“Then… what should we do?”
“Well, since they don’t seem to know how close we really are…”
He smiled slyly, his eyes narrowing.
“…we should show them properly.”
My face burned.
“What do you say?”
The night deepened, the ticking clock louder, the candle flickering in the breeze.
“Don’t worry. If you don’t want this, we don’t have to do anything. Deceiving them is something I can handle on my own.”
Johann lowered his voice so only I could hear. Slowly, he removed his shirt, revealing firm, sculpted muscles. I swallowed hard. It was still too sudden for me, yet the situation spurred me on.
Knock, knock. Someone tapped at the door. Whether a maid or the count’s daughter, their purpose was the same.
“…No.”
I finally made up my mind.
“I’m fine with it.”
If we didn’t go all the way, no one would discover my scars.
“I don’t mind being close to you, Duke.”
Johann’s breathing grew heavy, barely restrained.
“Not… unpleasant?”
The blanket covered us, but beneath it, his half-bare body pressed against mine sent strange shivers through me. My heartbeat thundered in my ears, drowning out all outside sounds.
“Estelle.”
Johann growled low into my ear, his voice dark and rough.
“Pretend to touch me more.”
He guided my hand to his chest, pressing it against his firm muscles.
