Chapter 68. I’ve Surrendered Completely

“Actually, the cake at our wedding was the most delicious…”

“I remember that too! The wedding cake was made by a patissier from the Bios Empire, right?”

“The cream was so unique!”

Emily turned to Yuelina and spoke.

“Yuelina, what kind of cake did you have at your wedding?”

“Ah… I…”

“Oh! I’m sorry! You didn’t have a wedding ceremony, right?”

Emily laughed heartily inside.

Yuelina, with her hunched shoulders, looked like a rain-soaked puppy.

That expression and attitude was exactly what Emily had been hoping for.

“But why didn’t you have a wedding ceremony, Yuelina?”

“Madam Brown! That’s enough!”

Maelyn, unable to contain herself any longer, raised her voice at Emily.

But Emily just shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly.

“No, Maelyn. I’m just curious. There’s no reason not to have a wedding ceremony with His Highness the Grand Duke, right?”

“N-no!”

“Surely His Highness didn’t say not to have a wedding ceremony?”

Maelyn bit her lip. Emily raised one corner of her mouth in a smirk.

“No, did he really say that? Even for a loveless marriage, that’s too much.”

“……”

“My husband promised before marriage that he would give me a grand wedding ceremony, and he kept that promise.”

Yuelina hung her head low.

“It’s the same for Teresa and Chloe, right? And Mary is famous for receiving such a large ring her finger feels heavy.”

“……”

“It’s so sad not to be loved by your husband.”

Emily stared at Yuelina with a victorious smile.

She had humiliated her so much that it would be fortunate if she didn’t cry.

Maelyn looked worriedly at Yuelina, who kept her head bowed low.

If it weren’t for her, Yuelina wouldn’t have had to endure such humiliation.

“Aren’t you all being too harsh? You all know what kind of person His Highness is, and how they came to be married!”

Maelyn spoke with tears in her voice. Only then did Yuelina raise her head.

“Maelyn, I’m fine.”

“But Your Highness!”

“Emily is right. I married His Highness without having a wedding ceremony, and without even seeing his face.”

Yuelina began speaking matter-of-factly.

“I married without love. That’s why I want to love even more.”

Emily and the other noble ladies’ eyes widened at Yuelina’s direct words.

“Emily, how should I capture my husband’s heart? Please tell me.”

“Uh…”

Yuelina looked at Emily with sparkling eyes.

Emily was truly, truly perplexed by this situation.

“Even holding hands was really difficult for us. Do you know how hard I tried just to hold His Highness’s hand once?”

Yuelina detailed the day she had managed to hold Theo’s hand.

How Ulysse would call Theo away whenever she tried to hold his hand, and that ridiculous day when she tried to subtly hold his hand in a crowded square only to find it empty.

The noble ladies found themselves unconsciously being drawn into Yuelina’s story.

“No way, His Highness is too much! Is it a problem to talk with his secretary?”

“So how did you end up holding hands? Did you make the first move, Yuelina?”

Yuelina also detailed what happened after people suddenly crowded into the square.

It was a meaningful memory of walking around the square together eating caramel-coated fruit.

“Yuelina, that’s amazing. So you held hands first?”

“Yes. Even holding hands took a really long time. But recently, we even hugged.”

The noble ladies’ eyes sparkled.

“How? Did you initiate it this time too, Yuelina?”

“This one’s a bit ambiguous, I think.”

Yuelina ran her fingers through her hair and smiled awkwardly.

Emily, who had been listening intently with her head tilted, slowly opened her mouth.

“We’re quite good at judging ambiguous situations.”

“Really?”

Yuelina smiled brightly and told them about the day she saw him off.

“So when I said he should go, he said I hadn’t seen him off properly.”

“Oh my, oh my!”

“Did His Highness really say that?”

The noble ladies, now completely absorbed in Yuelina’s story, found their lips naturally curling up.

Yuelina’s story wasn’t much different from their own newlywed experiences, making it increasingly engaging.

Above all, other people’s love stories are always the most interesting.

“This time I didn’t initiate the hug, right?”

“Well, it’s ambiguous. You did move in for the hug first.”

“From what I saw, I think His Highness approached first. He used seeing him off as an excuse to hug you one more time.”

“What do you think, Emily?”

Emily was seriously considering Mary’s question when she suddenly realized.

What am I doing right now?

She had become so engrossed in Yuelina’s story that her intention to trample her had completely disappeared.

No, could she have ever really cleverly trampled Yuelina from the start?

Yuelina was someone who didn’t understand the subtle machinations that frequently occurred in the principality’s social gatherings.

Emily realized this fact too late.

Suddenly, she felt foolish.

This was a woman who took even Emily’s attempts to shame her at face value.

How could such a woman have framed the noble men at the hunting grounds?

It was nonsense.

Clearly, the noble men at the hunting grounds must have provoked Yuelina first.

What could they have said to Yuelina to upset Theo so much?

Emily heaved a deep sigh.

“Your Highness.”

Just then, Raye entered the garden carrying an armful of something.

Emily had been so focused on Yuelina’s story that she hadn’t even noticed Raye’s absence.

“These are gifts from His Highness for the ladies.”

“F-for us?”

Raye handed out large boxes to each of the ladies.

Emily immediately opened the box she received.

“This is…”

“Oh my! It’s an Armand plate!”

“Goodness! And it’s the limited edition!”

Theo’s gift was a handcrafted premium plate from an artisan who produced less than fifty pieces a year.

It was a precious gift that left the noble ladies speechless.

Raye continued speaking with an expressionless face.

“His Highness said to serve Yuelina’s pie on these, but I forgot. I apologize.”

In truth, Raye hadn’t forgotten Theo’s request. She had deliberately brought them late.

She thought that if she had brought the plates with Yuelina’s pie, neither the pie nor Theo’s gift would have stood out.

So she created a time gap and brought Theo’s gift later.

Emily completely surrendered.

It had been a one-sided battle with Yuelina, who had neither the intention nor knowledge of how to fight from the start.

Naturally, the victor of this pointless battle could only be Yuelina.

Meanwhile, Yuelina looked at Raye with a bewildered expression at Theo’s sudden gift.

Raye approached Yuelina and whispered quietly.

“I only received the notice last night. You spoke with His Highness through the communication stone, right?”

“Yes… that’s right.”

Yuelina nodded slowly.

She never dreamed that Theo would prepare something like this behind the scenes after hearing her story.

And that while he must have been busy traveling to the southern region…

Yuelina was truly grateful to Theo.

“Yuelina, no, Your Highness. I should be the one asking for advice.”

“Pardon?”

“My husband has never prepared anything during our gatherings.”

Emily laughed heartily as she transferred Yuelina’s pie onto the Armand plate.

“The pie is delicious too. Worthy of being served on an Armand plate.”

“…Emily.”

“Please forgive my rudeness today, Your Highness.”

Emily stood up and bowed to ask Yuelina for forgiveness.

Yuelina approached Emily with an awkward expression.

“Why, why are you doing this? Emily, I’m fine!”

“I knew you would say that. I am very ashamed. I think we should end the tea time here.”

Just as she had said to Yuelina, Emily was ashamed of today’s tea time.

No, she felt deflated about all the gatherings where she had worn masks.