Chapter 6 – Part 13

“So you don’t want anything?”

Zetahan asked, knowing it couldn’t be true.

“If you were me, would you trust me, the same person who caused the civil war?”

“…If you wish, I will even swear an oath. I won’t engage in any military actions until our dealings with the Luben Empire are finished.”

Zetahan’s jaw clenched, and he let out a troubled groan at his brother’s seeming resolve.

“I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt, but if you know what you’re getting yourself into, you’d better not pull any stunts.”

“…Alright.”

“Do as you planned.”

Neskan’s brow twitched for a moment at Zetahan’s words.

His words sounded like he was commanding a servant.

But he soon cleared his expression and smiled.

“Understood, brother.”

* * *

“A letter.”

“Give it to me.”

Marie rose from her seat with a grin and accepted the stack of letters from the guard.

She hastily placed the letters on the table and quickly opened them, her desperate gestures reflecting her state of mind.

However, the replies to the letters were not what Marie had hoped for.

“I doubt I can be of any help to you, Dowager. Ah, you’re no longer a Lady Grit, right? I heard you were expelled from Lord Grit’s house. It’s truly unfortunate. But regardless of the pity, you have nothing left now.”

The rejection letter was sarcastic, as if there was no point in returning the favor.

The replies she received from nobles, both those she thought would help and those she had little affinity with, differed only slightly in degree but were similar in content.

“These are…….”

There was no one to help her now.

Marie packed up the letters in her hands.

As usual, the nobles of the capital were a bunch of crooks, and she couldn’t trust them.

Not giving up hope, she opened the letters to the vassals.

“They can’t turn their backs on me, after all I’ve done for them.”

She muttered to herself.

Even though she had been mistreated by Eli, she still held onto the vague belief that even the vassals would not turn away her plea for help.

But when she began to read the letter from the vassals, her expression faded, as did her mantra.

The letter, written on behalf of the vassals, stated that they no longer wished to abide by her opinion.

They cited several reasons, but the bottom line was that nothing she had to offer at this point would help the Marquis of Grit.

Not only did she give the Marquis of Grit the chance to allow Emily to succeed her, but his marriage to Lady Miles was also a meaningless defeat at this point.

“Rather, our family name has become ridiculous because we tried to entangle ourselves with Lady Miles?”

None of it registered in her mind.

As her hands involuntarily lost strength, the letter she was holding slipped from her grasp.

Just then, a knock came at the door.

“Read them when you’re bored.”

Even though it wasn’t mentioned, Marie knew the one giving the order was Eli.

Without bothering to bring it to the table where Marie sat, the guard placed it on the dresser closest to the door and left.

Marie’s body went there of its own accord, overwhelmed by the sudden kindness.

There lay a newspaper with an article about the affair between the Emperor and Lady Miles.

* * *

The Duke of Mile’s carriage drove for a long time and finally entered the capital.

But Arlen’s mood hadn’t improved by then.

“Who said I looked pathetic?”

Eli’s words didn’t need to be heeded, but it was true that Arlen had never heard such words in her life, so it bothered her.

“Stop for a moment.”

Since they were back in the capital, it was a chance to change her mood, vent her frustrations, and let go of bad thoughts outside.

“It’s been a while since you’ve been here.”

The owner of her favorite dessert shop recognized her and responded with a friendly smile.

She nodded her head slightly with a friendly smile, as if she hadn’t been in a bad mood herself.

“I’ll show you to your favorite seat.”

The service provided to customers here was excellent.

As such, it was often frequented by other nobles besides Arlen. As she followed the owner, the nobles noticed her presence and glanced at her.

She was used to it, as whenever she visited this place, she would be greeted with such stares from those who wanted to speak to her.

As she made her way to her seat, she recognized a familiar face and gave it a friendly wave.

She wasn’t one to greet people just because they were familiar, but she did greet people who were worthy of her acquaintance, giving them a subtle signal that she considered them her friends.

She knew that this subtle distinction would create a sense of superiority among them, causing them to constantly strive to please her.

But the noble young lady, who would normally have happily pretended to know her, remained seated and returned the greeting with an awkward smile and a nod.

The gesture felt shaky, as if it were a grudging greeting, making Arlen feel an odd mix of confusion and suspicion.

“May I offer you your usual drink?”

“Thank you.”

The owner ushered her to a table and took her order quickly, and she nodded.

Once the owner was out of sight, she realized that the strange air flowing through the shop was not due to her mood.

People who would normally have rushed to her as soon as she sat down remained seated, even glaring at her.

Eventually, Arren found herself unable to remain seated, leaving half of her tea untouched. 

She had hoped for the usual interest and attention from others, but seeing them whispering amongst themselves in such a manner made it clear that it wasn’t positive attention. 

Feeling even worse, Arlen left the shop. In any case, her visit to Shuban had been unpleasant from start to finish.

* * *

“Lady Arlen, have you arrived?”

“Yes. Was there anything wrong at home?”

Arlen asked as she stepped out of the carriage. As always, the question was asked out of courtesy, but uncharacteristically, the butler was silent.

That struck her as odd, and she looked back at him.

“What’s wrong?”

“Well, the…… Duke is waiting for you.”

“My father?”

“Yes. Please follow me; I’ll lead you to him.”

Without further explanation, the butler led Arlen to the Duke of Miles’s office.

“Lady Arlen has arrived.”

As the butler knocked to announce her arrival, she heard Duke Miles’s voice on the other side of the door, instructing her to come in.

His voice sounded slightly irritable.

“I’m back.”

She was tired, frankly, and irritated.

Still, Arlen forced a smile and greeted the Duke of Miles with a smile. She couldn’t wait to end the conversation and get some rest.

“Sit down.”

The Duke of Miles was always affectionate, and when Arlen returned from a trip to the estate or somewhere far away, he would hug her and ask if she was all right.

Today, however, he simply gestured across the couch and told her to sit down.

Not knowing why, Arlen sat down across from the Duke of Miles.

“What’s wrong, father? I haven’t seen you in a long time, and you don’t look well……”

“Where have you been?”

The Duke of Miles had always been patient with her, but today his patience had run out.

“…I went on a trip. I told you, didn’t I?”

Arlen, startled by her father’s behavior, managed to speak as if everything was fine.

“You mean to Shuban, the Marquis of Grit’s estate?”

“…What are you talking about? Suddenly mentioning Shuban like that…”

Arlen answered, pretending to be confused and wanting to erase even the fact that she had been there.

“Is it because of rumors? You know rumors are unreliable.”

The Duke of Miles’s expression didn’t soften at her words.

His next words proved that he didn’t believe her at all.

“What exactly do you want when you’re acting like this? Did anything I said even reach your ears?”

He had made it clear to her that he would not hear about her desire to marry Marquis Grit.

“I’d understand if you said you were in love with the Marquis of Grit, but that’s not it.”

Arlen listened wordlessly. When he was finished, she was about to say that she had changed her mind.

But the sudden question caught her off guard, and she couldn’t say anything.

“Did you do this to provoke the Emperor?”

To her surprise, Duke Miles tossed her a newspaper instead of an explanation.

The scandal between Shannua and Arlen was on the front page.

“What is this…….”

Arlen’s movements as she reached for the newspaper seemed incredulous.

“How could this…….

Arlen’s eyes flickered in disbelief.

“Is it true?”

Duke Miles clenched his fists on the armrests of the couch, struggling to contain his anger.

“I’m asking if it was true!”

When Arlen didn’t answer, he finally lost his temper.

With his outburst, the newspaper Arlen was holding fell onto the table.

“If you loved each other, you should have become the Empress! Then you wouldn’t have lived with shame in the eyes of others!”

While reading the article earlier, Duke Miles remembered the Emperor’s persistent inquiries and objections to the marriage.

He thought it was because he cared about the Marquis of Grit and his daughter and wanted to make sure they didn’t become uncomfortable with each other, but in fact, he was against the sudden decision of his daughter, whom he had been meeting secretly.

“Do you have any idea how shocked and upset your mother was?”

He had to console his crying wife for days and eventually send her to rest in Devens.

“Did you go to the Grit estate after meeting His Majesty? ”