41. A Scandal to Shake the Empire (2)

Following Edward’s gaze, Larael also noticed the newspaper. Larael glanced at Sasha. Sensing Larael’s gaze, Sasha, who had been bowing her head slightly, looked up. With her eyes, Larael indicated the newspaper on the table.

Startled, Sasha quickly approached, hid the newspaper behind her back, and stepped away. Then, exchanging glances with the other maids, they all left the bedroom.

A quiet stillness filled the room, leaving only Edward and Larael.

“Your Majesty. What brings you here so suddenly?”

Even as she said this, Larael felt she knew why Edward had come. It was surely because of the article about Herwen and Ariella. Edward was always kind and attentive.

“I came because you kept lingering in my mind.”

“Pardon? …If it’s about Grand Duke Vellaus, I’m really fine.”

Larael truly was fine. It was a small, unsatisfying act of retaliation, but she was all right.

However, because Larael said she was fine, Edward couldn’t believe her. Worry clouded his face.

“Larael, if you’re not at ease, I’ll stay by your side all day.”

She really was fine, but Edward’s words touched her heart. There was no reason to refuse. Larael found Edward, who cared for her so much, unbearably lovable. She wanted to hug him tightly and breathe in his scent. She wanted to kiss his long neck and his lips.

Larael hadn’t realized she could be so proactive and honest with her desires. She moved to Edward’s side, wrapped her arms around his neck, and rested her face against his firm chest. Edward’s eyes flushed with heat. His steady breathing quickened, and a faint m*an escaped his lips.

‘Why didn’t I realize how gentle and loving he is? If only, before I returned to the past, I had…’

She repeated meaningless regrets and hypothetical thoughts.

Suddenly, Edward burst out laughing.

Her lips had been showering kisses along his neckline, but she paused and looked up at him.

“Why are you laughing?”

Meeting Edward’s gaze, Larael slowly traced the contours of his body over his clothes with her slender fingers. Edward grabbed Larael’s hand tightly with his own. Any further would be dangerous.

“Larael, are you planning not to let me go?”

“Didn’t you say you’d stay by my side all day?”

***

Duke Nox made no effort to hide his displeasure. The cane he always cherished had long been tossed aside.

He wanted to ask Ariella about the situation, but instead, he simply stared at her coldly, lips tightly sealed. Even before he could ask if the article was true, she shut down any conversation, making it all the more frustrating.

Even if the rumors were true, he had many questions—where his daughter, who rarely went out, had met Herwen, and how far their relationship had progressed.

Ariella came to see the Duke, who had been restlessly pacing his office all day, a little after lunchtime.

The Duke had finished a simple meal in his office, not having any appetite. Anyone who knew the Duke knew how devotedly he had raised his only daughter.

He had never imagined, not even in his dreams, that his precious daughter would become embroiled in such a scandal.

“Father…”

Ariella entered the office, calling softly for her father.

The Duke, who had been looking out the window, turned around when he sensed her presence.

“You came in without knocking?”

Normally, the Duke would never have been upset by such a thing. Ariella had never knocked in the ducal household.

It was almost the first time he had ever pointed out her behavior. Ariella’s expression turned cold.

This time, she didn’t feel certain her father would take her side no matter what.

“Father, please come over here and sit down.”

Ariella spoke as she sat on the sofa.

The Duke sat down and looked into Ariella’s pleading eyes. Meeting her gaze, the ice that had frozen his heart began to thaw.

‘How did I raise her…’

A surge of sorrow rushed over the Duke. If it weren’t for his status and pride, he would have wanted to cry like a child.

“You acted as if you wouldn’t speak to me at all, so what is it now?”

The Duke asked, his voice much gentler.

“Father, you’re not angry, are you?”

Seeing her father react to her expression, Ariella felt relieved.

She needed time to organize her thoughts. Ariella always had to be the perfect daughter. She took a deep breath. Now it was time to explain to the Duke why she had been photographed with Herwen.

“Her Highness the Empress Consort invited me. We were supposed to watch the opera together…”

Knock, knock.

With a knock, Demius, the butler of the ducal household, entered without waiting for a response. The Duke and Ariella both frowned at Demius.

“I apologize for interrupting, but Her Majesty the Empress Dowager has sent word that she is on her way to the ducal residence.”

“What?!”

The Duke sprang to his feet. Ariella also stood up, looking at her father in alarm. A sense of foreboding swept over them.

“She is expected to arrive soon.”

When the Duke remained motionless, Demius repeated the message.

“Ariella, go to your bedroom.”

The Duke left the office with a stern face.

Once he was gone, Ariella slumped onto the sofa, anxiously biting her lip.

‘I didn’t know Grand Duke Vellaus would come. I think I was used in a secret meeting between the Grand Duke and Her Highness the Empress Consort.’

Words she hadn’t been able to say to her father lingered on her lips.

Biting her lip and frowning, Ariella left the office. Anna and Rosalie, who had been waiting outside, followed her.

“Rosalie, go near the drawing room and watch carefully. Report back to me if anything happens.”

“Yes, my lady.”

Rosalie answered briefly and hurried toward the drawing room. Once Rosalie was out of sight, Ariella lowered her voice and spoke to Anna.

“You did tell them at the Vellaus estate that I wanted to meet, right?”

Anna was Ariella’s closest maid and the only one who knew about her meetings with Herwen. She couldn’t imagine what Herwen had told the Empress Dowager for her to come to the ducal residence in person.

“Yes, my lady.”

They had always been careful, not wanting anyone to catch on to their meetings and use it against them. Now, Ariella wondered if she should have met Herwen first. She just hoped Herwen hadn’t said anything foolish.

Ariella returned to her bedroom and stood by the window facing the garden, folding her arms.

She watched as the Duke and the household staff gathered at the front of the mansion to greet the Empress Dowager.

Ariella bit her nails and waited with a tense expression for the Empress Dowager’s carriage to appear.

When the carriage bearing the imperial crest glided up to the mansion, the Duke regretted having thrown aside his cane, which usually helped calm his nerves.

The carriage door opened, and the Duke personally escorted the Empress Dowager.

“With such a warm welcome from the Duke, I hardly know what to do.”

“Ah… yes, well…”

The Duke replied with a somewhat sour expression.

“Your Majesty the Empress Dowager.”

The Duke, momentarily dazed, came to his senses and greeted the Empress Dowager. The waiting staff bowed as well.

He escorted her to the drawing room. The Empress Dowager looked around as she entered.

The reception room always reflected the host’s tastes. Spotting a large piano in the corner, the Empress Dowager’s eyes widened.

“I didn’t know the Duke had such extravagant tastes.”

“Yes, I do like extravagant things…”

“Do you like the piano? I know a composer who would come and play for you at my request, without hesitation.”

The Empress Dowager smiled as she sat on the sofa. The Duke, without replying, sat beside her.