This time, the Baron’s face turned various shades of red and purple, clearly showing his intense anger. Yet, after a quick glance at Ian, he closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and, barely containing himself, began to speak, enunciating each word carefully.

“Joyce has kept to herself in the mansion, proving her innocence. I’ve been monitoring her, so I know this well. If she truly is pregnant, the child is undoubtedly my grandchild. So why would I harm the child?”

I replied calmly.

“Harm? I didn’t say that. I only mentioned that while Joyce was left without any help, she nearly lost the child once. Our doctor said her nutritional state was extremely poor.”

“… What? Did the butler neglect you?”

The Baron asked, clearly shocked. Joyce narrowed her eyes and replied.

“I assumed it was both of your wishes.”

“Impossible!”

The Baron jumped up. Then, turning to his wife, he shouted.

“What were you doing? Why do I have to hear about this from someone else?”

“Why are you blaming me? You personally hired that butler!”

“You were responsible for managing the servants, weren’t you? Did you never check on him?”

“Since it was your arrangement, I didn’t bother.”

This was quite a spectacle. I sipped my tea and added fuel to the fire.

“Now that I think about it, where on earth did you find a butler who didn’t even offer a guest a cup of tea? I didn’t realize your standards were so low, Baron.”

“…”

“Does he even know how to cook? I wonder what made you entrust Joyce to someone like him. It’s hard to believe this wasn’t intentional.”

The Baron cleared his throat, looking away from me and speaking to Joyce.

“Why didn’t you say something? I truly didn’t know. While it’s true I intended to monitor you, I never meant to mistreat you. The butler said it’d be easier to keep an eye on you without other servants, so I agreed. I was foolish. He must’ve been pocketing the money I provided. I’m truly sorry. I never thought he would…”

As his excuses dragged on, Ian sighed, causing the Baron to stop abruptly.

“Liv, may I say something?”

“What is it?”

“I’ve been listening to this for a while now, and it’s getting tiresome. One of the fools who challenged me to a duel back then was, come to think of it, your son, Baron. I spared him out of respect for him being your only son, but I never imagined he’d cause Olivia trouble over something like this.”

Ian looked at me apologetically.

“If I’d known it would lead to such a hassle for you, Olivia, I might’ve reconsidered.”

Wow… I was stunned, and the others seemed even more shocked. When I looked around, the Baroness appeared to be on the verge of fainting, the Baron’s mouth hung open, and even Joyce looked stricken. Seeing Joyce’s darkening expression, I scolded Ian.

“How could you say that in front of Joyce?”

“Oh, I apologize, Madam. Did I startle you?”

“No, not at all. Actually, I already knew. It’s fine,” Joyce replied, struggling to keep her composure. At that moment, Vanon entered and poured a drink, and Ian quickly gave an order.

“Escort Lady Molly to her room. She seems unwell. Summon the doctor as well.”

“Understood, sir.”

Joyce wobbled to her feet. I got up, concerned, but sat back down, worried about what Ian might do next. Once Joyce, supported by Vanon, left the room, Ian spoke calmly.

“Baron, you have remarkable patience. If it were me, I’d have disciplined my son long ago. As you know, I, too, am an only son, and I often defuse situations with gentle words. But Lord Louis ignored all unspoken rules and attacked head-on, so I had no choice.”

“Ian, that’s enough.”

“I’ve held back, Liv. I was careful not to hurt him.”

“Alright, stop now…”

Though embarrassed to be stopping him, I knew Ian was right. Typically, it’s considered unwise to challenge an only son to a duel, and the Baron, remembering this, turned pale and apologized.

“If my son behaved disrespectfully, I apologize on his behalf.”

Ian rebuked the Baron with a stern tone.

“Perhaps you’ve spoiled him too much as an only child? When he challenged me, he seemed sure I wouldn’t harm him. I’m a duke and know the value of caution, so what made your son, a mere baron’s son, so arrogant? Do you truly believe you bear no responsibility for how things turned out?”

I let Ian continue. He was absolutely right.

“When you return, I suggest confining your son this time. The Molly family’s lady will be under the protection of the Keppel household, so you can put any suspicions to rest. And remember that the only reason you’re having this conversation in my home is because of my wife’s generosity.”

The Baron nodded in submission.

“Understood. We are grateful for your kindness.”

It wasn’t exactly pleasant to see my father’s old acquaintance bowing down like this. But I couldn’t fault Ian; he’d likely never have to deal with this if it weren’t for me. Part of me felt guilty for dragging him into this mess.

“Well then, I leave Joyce in your care, Duchess.”

The Baron and his wife left quietly. As I sat in the drawing room, lost in thought, Ian quietly asked, watching my expression.

“Are you upset?”

I forced a smile.

“No, I’m not.”
“Then why do you look so unhappy?”

I touched my face. Did I really look that unhappy?

“You’re upset because I didn’t listen, aren’t you?”

“No, actually, Ian, you didn’t say anything wrong.”

“I tried to hold back, but it felt like they were ignoring you, Liv. I couldn’t stay quiet.”

Ignoring me? When? I looked at him, puzzled, and Ian furrowed his brows as he explained.

“When you said you’d protect Lady Molly, they openly tried to convince her otherwise.”

Oh, I see. I looked down, feeling conflicted.

“Liv, are you alright?”

“Yes. I just feel a bit frustrated.”

“About what?”

“Myself.”

I hadn’t expected to admit this to Ian. He looked at me with concern.

“I feel like I’m not suited to be a duchess.”

“What are you talking about?”

Ian’s eyes widened, and I couldn’t help but smile at his expression, which I’d never seen before.

“Liv, why would you say that?”

His anxious tone made me feel bad for putting him on an emotional rollercoaster, so I could only smile again. Thinking about how much I’d had to tone down my personality to fit the role of a noble duchess made my heart feel heavy.

“It just… crossed my mind.”

“…”

“If someone more suited to the role were the duchess, you wouldn’t have to deal with this. I feel like I’m easy to dismiss, and because of that, people don’t take you seriously either.”

“Liv.”

Ian frowned.

“Don’t say that. No one could be more fitting in this role than you.”

“But—”

“No ‘but.’ Let’s imagine for a moment. If it hadn’t been you, then most likely, Lady Avery would’ve been my wife. Do you think she could have done as well as you?”

Oh. I couldn’t help but chuckle.

“A perfect match, you two.”

“Don’t laugh,” Ian said, scrunching his face as if the mere thought bothered him.

“If you think you’ve acted poorly, stop thinking that way.”

“Ian…”

“What I said earlier was genuine. If he weren’t the only son, I might have left him disabled. Maybe then the Baron and his wife would’ve been more respectful. Would that have been the better choice?”

I was so taken aback that I couldn’t find words to reply. Well… that would be…

“If I had done that, I would’ve been a bad person.”

“Oh, well… but you didn’t actually do that, did you?”

“Right. No matter how cruel I might be, I still have to function in society, so I stayed within limits,” he added.

“So, I’m saying, stop berating yourself for not having wicked thoughts.”

What is that supposed to mean? When did I do that? Now it was my turn to widen my eyes, and Ian laughed as he continued.

“Didn’t you say it yourself? That those who pick on others are the bad ones. It’s wrong of people to look down on kindhearted people, so why are you blaming yourself for seeming easy to dismiss?”

I couldn’t find any logical way to refute his point. I laughed, a bit exasperated, not expecting him to use my words against me like this. For once, I replied sincerely.

“…That’s comforting.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

Ian’s face lit up with genuine joy, but then he suddenly furrowed his brows again. Curious about what was on his mind, I asked.

“What is it? I mean it. I’m truly comforted.”

“No, it’s just…”

Ian sighed.

“It’s nothing.”

“It doesn’t look like nothing.”

“No, really, it’s nothing.”

“What’s nothing?”

Ian hesitated, then sighed again. I narrowed my eyes at him.

“You promised to be honest with me.”

“Well, it’s just… Phillip told me that when comforting someone, I should hug them. But since you’re already comforted…”

“What?”

“Comforting you… was surprisingly easy.”

So, he’s disappointed? Apparently, Ian had been getting tips from Phillip on dealing with women. Phillip, he’s hopeless. He’s told me everything. He should have mentioned the “secret training” too.