Chapter 3.4

They say bad things happen in succession.  

After the Grand Duke’s birthday, while the awkwardness between them still lingered, the incident occurred.  

“Who did you say?”  

“They said it was Lord Evan of the Viscount Clente family.”  

Anne repeated herself, but no matter how many times he heard it, the name was unfamiliar.  

“They said he’s someone who knows me well? Are you sure they didn’t mistake me for someone else?”

“Yes, well… he said you two were in a… close relationship, and that you’d recognize his name if I mentioned it. Are you sure you don’t know him?”  

Elena wondered if he might have come looking for another young lady staying here, but the man had specifically mentioned her name.  

“I’ve never heard of him. Who could it be?”  

It was strange.  

Not only was he someone she didn’t know, but even if they were acquaintances, the fact that he had come all this way to find her gave her an unsettling feeling.  

Still, since he had come asking for her by name, she thought it best to meet him. Quickly straightening her attire, she headed down to the first floor.  

Upon arriving at the drawing room, she found a man with an unfamiliar face.  

He appeared to be in his early twenties. His handsome features were complemented by his simple yet neatly arranged attire. Sitting with his hands neatly folded, he seemed somewhat nervous.  

As soon as he saw her, the man rose from his seat.  

At that moment, Elena believed he must have been mistaken. Surely, once he saw her face, he would realize his error, apologize, and leave.  

“You’ve come. Thank you.”  

Contrary to her expectations, however, the man greeted her as though they knew each other, leaving her quite flustered. His voice even carried a hint of warmth.  

“Hello. I am Elena Bellacita. I heard you were looking for me?”  

“Why are you acting so distant? It’s like we’re strangers.”  

“I don’t recall meeting you before. Are you sure you were looking for me?”  

“That’s disappointing. Are you pretending not to know me? We were in a relationship, after all…”  

A… relationship?  

Was he being serious?  

A chill ran down Elena’s spine.  

She noticed the maid beside her flinch as she set down the teacup with a slight clatter.  

“What nonsense are you talking about? This is extremely unpleasant. It seems there’s been some misunderstanding, but please stop being rude and leave at once.”  

He looked perfectly normal, but he was clearly insane.  

At that moment—  

“Greetings to His Grace, the Grand Duke.”  

The man suddenly bowed deeply. Turning to look, Elena saw the Grand Duke entering the drawing room.  

Why was the Grand Duke here?  

As she stood there, bewildered, the man sidled up to her and whispered softly.  

“I invited him. It’s only polite to greet the host when visiting someone’s home.”  

It was then that Elena began to feel that something was seriously wrong.  

“I am Evan Clente, the eldest son of Viscount Clente.”  

His greeting was perfectly composed.  

“I apologize for not sending word ahead of my visit. Thank you for granting me an audience.”

It was hard to dismiss him as a madman, considering how polite he was.  

The Grand Duke, with a slight tilt of his head, looked down at Evan with an indifferent expression.  

Although they were at the same eye level, whenever the Grand Duke looked at someone, it always felt as though he was looking down at them.  

Perhaps it was due to the unique dignity and grace he possessed.  

Seated leisurely on the sofa, the Grand Duke finally spoke.  

“I came because you said you had something important to say. But if it’s nothing significant, you’ll have to compensate me for wasting my time. So, what is it?”  

His cold voice made Evan rub the back of his neck nervously. Elena could even hear the sound of him swallowing hard.  

“I… I’ve come to take Lady Bellacita with me.”  

Elena had been prepared to listen, but what nonsense was this?  

Take who? Take whom? 

She almost raised her voice in shock.  

‘Stay calm. You need to stay calm in moments like this.’  

First, she decided to clarify anything that might cause the Grand Duke to misunderstand.  

“Your Grace, please don’t misunderstand. This is my first time meeting this man. Since earlier, he’s been saying strange things, as if he has delusions.”  

“Elie… Please, stop this.”  

Her head snapped around.  

What? Elie? Elie?!  

Even the Grand Duke hadn’t called me by that nickname—who did this man think he was to use it?  

Her blood pressure rose, and she felt like her vision was flipping. Despite her resolve to stay calm, her agitated tone burst out.  

“What on earth is wrong with you? We’ve never met before! Why do you keep spouting such absurd lies? Your Grace, there’s no need to listen further.”  

“Why are you pretending not to know me? Were you just toying with me? We promised to get married. Have you forgotten the night we first spent together?”  

“What nonsense…”  

For the first time, Elena truly understood what it meant to be so shocked that words failed her.  

Even the maid serving tea to the Grand Duke was so startled that she dropped the teacup she was holding.  

“My apologies! I’ll clean it up right away.” 

The maid stammered.  

But Evan paid her no mind and continued speaking.  

“Fine. I understand your desire to become a Grand Duchess rather than a Viscountess. But you shouldn’t treat me like this. We loved each other.”  

“Hey!”  

This man was impossible to reason with. As the saying went, it was better to avoid madmen than confront them. There was no way to deal with someone so completely detached from reality.  

What on earth was I supposed to do?  

“Go on, keep talking.”  

It was the Grand Duke who interrupted Elena as she was about to retort.  

The Grand Duke granted Evan permission to speak.  

‘Why? Why is he believing this absurd story?’  

The Grand Duke’s face had long since been clouded with displeasure. His brows were deeply furrowed, and his gaze was sharper than ever.  

It was only natural for him to feel offended—after all, the woman who had come as a potential candidate for the position of Grand Duchess was allegedly involved with another man to the extent of spending the night together.  

Elena grew uneasy. 

Was the Grand Duke considering this as a chance to send me away?  

Evan, emboldened by the Grand Duke’s permission, continued to pile on his lies.  

“Miss Elie and I—ah, let me correct myself—Lady Bellacita and I were deeply in love.”  

“Lies. What nonsense are you saying? Your Grace, it’s all lies!”  

The Grand Duke remained silent. He merely gestured toward Evan, as if to say, “Continue.” Elena had no choice but to close her mouth.  

“A year ago, we fell in love at first sight, and we’ve been secretly maintaining our relationship ever since. It was her request to keep it a secret until marriage because she felt embarrassed. We had planned to announce it to everyone before the wedding, but suddenly, she cut off all contact. Still, I waited. I waited until now and finally learned that she was here.”  

Listening to this quietly made Elena feel like she was going insane. If only she could open her chest and show her true feelings, she would.  

“Elie, let’s leave together now. I’ll forgive everything. Let’s build a happy family together, just as we promised in the beginning.”  

“Are you completely insane? Why are you doing this to me? This man is not in his right mind—he’s definitely crazy!”  

By now, she was too exhausted even to shout.  

The realization that no one believed her made her feel as though the ground beneath her was crumbling.  

Why was this happening?  

Did Evan hold some kind of grudge against me or my family?  

What frustrated her most was the fact that the more she firmly denied his claims, the more suspicious and strange she appeared.  

At that moment, several servants were coming and going in the drawing room.  

Some were serving tea, others cleaning up the spilled tea, and others checking whether the tea cups were empty.  

Each of them pretended to be busy, but they were all pricking up their ears and stealing glances in her direction.  

After all, where else would they find such an entertaining spectacle?  

Each of them pretended to be busy with their tasks, but they perked up their ears and stole glances in this direction.  

There probably wasn’t a more entertaining spectacle than this.  

The current situation appeared to be that of a pitiful man abandoned overnight and a cold-hearted woman denying everything.  

No one spoke, but the gazes directed at her said it all.  

She understood why. Evan’s expression and tone were so desperate and earnest that even she began to wonder if he believed his own lies to be true.  

She felt so wronged that she wanted to cry, but she held her breath and bit her lip.  

If she cried here, it could be misunderstood as fake tears meant to evade the situation.