Chapter 9 – A Shaken Heart (Part 4)

As soon as Sandy left, Paddington entered.

“Your Grace.”

“What is it?”

“You shouldn’t let the servants have too much freedom.”

“It’s not like they’re defying me; it’s aimed at the nobles who look down on Tartenon with the Speraum title. That much is fine.”

“Still…”

“To be honest, even you feel relieved, don’t you?”

Reubellina’s eyes slowly turned to Paddington, scrutinizing him thoroughly. Under her gaze, he couldn’t lie. So, Paddington cautiously opened his mouth.

“Of course, I do feel that way… but I’m worried it might tarnish the Grand Duke’s reputation.”

“You don’t need to worry about that.”

“Pardon?”

“The moment they start spreading false rumors about Speraum, their family will be no more.”

A cold gleam flickered in Reubellina’s golden eyes.

Paddington felt reassured by that look. It was a look one could only see in someone who truly loved Speraum.

Paddington liked Reubellina. As the mistress of the North, she acted decisively when necessary and was clear about rewards and punishments.

To manage the cold-tempered men of the North, one needed to be at least as capable as she was. It was no wonder she was called the true ruler of the North.

The knights joked, but Paddington believed Reubellina was the real power behind the scenes in the North. Tartenon would never do something she disapproved of.

“Ahem!”

“So leave it to me.”

Reubellina answered confidently. Paddington, suddenly reminded of something, spoke up.

“Come to think of it, how much did you donate to the temple?”

“…Why do you ask?”

“The temple has sent a bunch of senior priests. They say they will treat the injured in Speraum Castle for free.”

“Oh, really?”

Reubellina replied nonchalantly. Even when she was at the Asillious Duchy, whenever she donated, the temple would send priests to take care of the people in the duchy. It was a common occurrence with large donations, so she didn’t think much of it.

“Let them be. It’s a gesture of goodwill from the temple.”

“Understood.”

“Are all the northern nobles here?”

“Yes, but some can’t enter without the Grand Duke’s permission.”

“I’ll handle that, so let them all in.”

“But without His Grace’s permission…”

“I’ll get the permission.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

Reubellina stood up and approached the mirror. Today’s dress was neither flashy nor plain, but the jewels adorning it were different. The finest rubies, intricately crafted, were embedded in the lace of the skirt, and the soft fabric was made of silkworm silk imported from the distant East, as explained by Brua.

There were more details, but she didn’t remember them. To Reubellina, a beautiful dress was just an accessory to signify her status.

‘I’ll sell it all off after the banquet anyway.’

That’s why she bought all the jewels for the dress. Some nobles borrowed or used fake jewels for their dresses, but Reubellina didn’t. She didn’t need to. The cost of this dress was covered by Tartenon.

In other words, it was practically a wedding gift from him. Most noblewomen cherished their dresses and repurposed the jewels into rings, necklaces, or earrings, but Reubellina had different plans.

She already had plenty of jewelry, so she planned to keep just seven jewels from each dress and sell the rest. With Armur, who could accurately assess the value of jewels, by her side, selling them would be much easier.

‘This money will become the foundation of the North.’

After meticulously inspecting her dress in the mirror, Reubellina stood up. It was time to meet Tartenon. As Paddington bowed and stepped aside, Reubellina walked past him with dignity.

Tartenon, who had left his office, was already approaching her. The late afternoon sunset dyed his hair red. Seeing his silver hair turn red, Reubellina felt a surge of happiness.

It felt like her hair color had rubbed off on him. Just as she had been influenced by him, it seemed Tartenon was influenced by her, making her feel delighted.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

Tartenon’s blue eyes met her golden ones. In the middle of the corridor, Reubellina extended her hand to him. Understanding her request for an escort, Tartenon took her hand.

“Because you’re beautiful.”

“Me?”

“Of course.”

Reubellina answered with a smile, causing Tartenon’s eyes to curve into a smile as well. Feeling uneasy at the sight of his curved eyes, Reubellina hesitated for a moment. Whenever he smiled like that, Tartenon would pounce on her.

“So, you refused to let all the northern nobles attend the banquet?”

She quickly changed the subject.

“Strictly speaking, I didn’t refuse. I told them to come if they wanted to die.”

“Since today is the last day of the banquet, let’s let it slide.”

“Just for today?”

“Yes, just for today.”

With that, Reubellina kept her promise to Paddington. She allowed some of the arrogant northern nobles to enter the banquet hall.

She had no intention of showing mercy to those who had been watching and testing the waters. If they didn’t die by Tartenon’s hand, she planned to use the influence of the Asillious and Musen trade companies to drain their family’s wealth.

There was no need to keep those who didn’t recognize their master and chose the wrong side. If they had changed their minds at the beginning of the banquet, it would have been different, but now that everything was settled, they were unnecessary.

‘The North is stabilizing, so there’s no need to take them along.’

Seeing Tartenon’s lips curl up, Reubellina smiled in return. The corridor to the banquet hall was quite long. By now, Paddington would have let all the northern nobles into the banquet hall.

“Shall we go in?”

Standing in front of the banquet hall, the two held hands tightly. Paddington announced their arrival loudly, and all eyes turned to them. Reubellina noticed the evident bewilderment in their eyes and followed their gaze.

The face she saw in portraits was there.

Viverna Speraum. She was in the banquet hall.

Seeing Viverna for the first time, Reubellina thought.

‘She’s not an easy woman.’

Her subtly smiling face was beautiful enough to evoke goodwill from anyone. However, her eyes were cold.

‘I understand why the people of the North fear her.’

She might seem kind and gentle at first glance, but those who felt the coldness in her dark eyes could not treat her lightly.

‘And she resembles him.’

Viverna had many similarities with Tartenon. More precisely, she resembled the previous Grand Duke, which was quite significant. In the North, ruled by the Speraum family, a woman who resembled the previous Grand Duke couldn’t be treated lightly.

According to Paddington’s subtle hints, the Speraum family had always had few descendants, and daughters were even rarer. Hence, Viverna grew up surrounded by northerners who adored her. She only slightly came to her senses when the previous Grand Duke died due to her excessive demands.

Reubellina glanced sideways at Tartenon. He widened his eyes momentarily upon seeing Viverna before regaining his composure. But no one missed that brief moment of turmoil.

As everyone in the banquet hall watched Tartenon, Reubellina laughed. Her light laughter broke the tense silence in the hall. The eyes that had been on Tartenon now turned to Reubellina.

“Everyone seems too tense because it’s the last day of the banquet.”

The palpable tension crumbled instantly. Her soft words, accompanied by a gentle smile, made the attendees laugh.

“Since it’s the last banquet, don’t worry too much and enjoy yourselves. When you return to your territories, you’ll have to get back to work, right?”

It might have sounded like a casual remark, but it meant not to waste time on unnecessary worries and focus on enjoying the rare break. It implied that they should ignore Viverna and focus on the present.

The nobles, who understood the hidden meaning of her words, glanced at Viverna. At that moment, Reubellina, who had subtly checked Viverna’s expression, thought to herself.

‘Interesting.’

Viverna’s expression showed no change at all. As if Reubellina’s words were not worth paying attention to.

Reubellina hadn’t expected her to react easily. After all, she was a woman who had been opposing Tartenon for a long time in the North; it wouldn’t be interesting if she were easy to deal with.

Reubellina smiled at Viverna. A slight crack appeared in Viverna’s facade at her smile. No matter how great a woman she was, it seemed she couldn’t keep smiling at Reubellina’s openly dismissive attitude. 

The nobles, despite being told to enjoy the banquet, hesitated and couldn’t even dance properly. Tartenon and Reubellina sat in the most honored seats, but there was no place for Viverna.

Despite being from Speraum, Viverna, like the other invited nobles, had to roam the banquet hall and rest in the lounge if tired. This treatment denied her acknowledgement as a member of the household. The northern nobles who noticed this now openly stared at Viverna.

As if pushed by their gazes, Viverna stepped forward. Reubellina held her breath and scanned the faces of the nobles watching Tartenon and Viverna.

“It’s been a long time, Tartenon.”

Viverna spoke first. Reubellina barely suppressed a scoff, raising the corners of her mouth as she looked down at her.

‘She didn’t even show her face at the wedding. Is she getting desperate now?’

She already knew that Viverna wanted to present her greetings under the pretext of maintaining order in the north. But that wasn’t all.

The nobles who sided with Viverna, who expressed discontent about a new mistress of the North being a young lady from the capital who knew nothing about the North, only stepped into the banquet hall after receiving threatening letters from Tartenon.

It was clear she felt a sense of crisis. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have come here. She likely intended to use her refusal to acknowledge Reubellina as an excuse to consolidate her power.