Chapter 4 – Suspicion (Part 10)

Ronan Hass loved the trading company above all else, so he refrained from doing anything truly dangerous that would cross the line. Apart from his family, the only things he genuinely loved were Haas Trading Company, the goods he sold with his ability, and the profits generated from those transactions.

Ronan would do anything if it benefited the company. To him, nobles who prided themselves on family and honor were nothing but pathetic folks unable to keep up with changing times.

Because of this characteristic, stiff men like Duke Cassius were naturally at odds with Ronan.

‘The Duke is an idiot trapped in the framework of nobility, unable to utilize what he has. Or he’s so arrogant that he doesn’t even feel the need to utilize it.’

Ronan’s dislike for Cassius was partly due to his brother Aaron being Cassius’s secretary.

‘The academy lured away someone who would have been a great help to the company. He is a noble who only knows his family.’

It might have been a biased assessment, but Ronan sometimes thought he would like to see Cassius’s perpetually cold face shattered, especially because of Aaron.

‘If I can’t win the heart of the woman who will become the mistress of the Duke’s estate, then all the reputation I’ve built up until now would be wasted.’

It was a matter of pride for both Ronan himself and Haas Trading Company. Ronan resolved to do his best as he searched the warehouse for the ‘self-defense garden shears’ Tobias had requested for Elysia.

***

A few days after Elysia sent the letter to her father, in the late afternoon, Elysia was sitting face-to-face with Cassius in a small reception room attached to the Duke’s office, instead of taking her usual garden walk. Both were dressed formally and adorned for an outing.

‘Why?! I thought the Duke never attended social gatherings?’

Elysia was deeply puzzled.

Recently, Elysia’s waking time had been getting earlier and earlier, causing her to drink more coffee each morning, to the point where her stomach was starting to hurt.

Especially today, from very early in the morning, the head maid, Millie, and other maids were bustling about, saying there was somewhere she needed to go. After lunch, they dressed her up, saying she needed to look like the mistress of the Duke’s estate.

Fortunately, it wasn’t the dark Duke’s style but one of the dresses Elysia had brought, making her attire refreshing. The dress chosen by the maids to highlight Elysia’s eye color was decorated with purple silk and lace.

‘At least they didn’t cinch my waist with corsets like Daisy.’

Perhaps because there hadn’t been a woman in the household for a long time, it was a relief that they didn’t dress her up to the level of a noble lady’s social battle attire. However, she was displeased with having to dress up for an outing without prior notice.

Elysia asked Cassius,

“Duke, was there a gathering we were supposed to officially attend today? I was prepared without any prior notice. I’m concerned that I might not be dressed appropriately for the occasion.”

“The maids would have dressed you appropriately, so there’s no need to worry. The place we’re attending today is Earl Kumaran’s estate. They invited us for a dinner to celebrate our engagement.”

Elysia’s face twitched slightly at Cassius’s explanation.

Elysia barely managed to hold back a grimace as she realized that she hadn’t invited Sera to the Duke’s estate, prompting them to send an invitation to the Duke instead.

Elysia recalled the unpleasant gatherings from her childhood, organized by Sera. Those gatherings were always designed to make Sera shine, and Elysia, when invited, was often treated like a mere backdrop.

‘It was incredibly dull, and if it hadn’t been for the fact that we needed to stay on good terms with a high-ranking noble family my father did business with, I would never have attended.’

Elysia remembered attending Sera’s gatherings before receiving the Duke’s proposal.

***

It was not long after attending the Spring Ball that year. As usual, Sera sat in the seat of honor in the drawing room like a queen bee, surrounded by unmarried ladies from various noble families, discussing all sorts of rumors. The most popular topic was, of course, the kingdom’s number one bachelor, Duke Cassius de Grendel.

“He didn’t dance with a single lady at the ball?”

“That’s right. Not only did he refuse me, but he also didn’t even blink when Lady Kumaran approached him. Even His Majesty seemed flustered by his rudeness.”

Sera dramatically frowned at the other ladies’ words, as if she believed she was the only one entitled to be upset about being refused by the Duke.

“Even if he is a Duke… Our family is an Earl’s family as old as the kingdom’s history, and my father is a loyal servant who always attends royal court meetings. How dare he treat me like that? Duke Grendel doesn’t live up to his predecessor’s reputation. It’s a shame Duke Aisar passed away so soon.”

Elysia thought that even Duke Aisar wouldn’t have welcomed Sera with open arms and sipped her coffee, which was placed in front of her alone.

Noble ladies generally didn’t prefer coffee, calling it a worker’s drink due to its dark color and strong aroma. Elysia, despite her sensitive taste and smell, oddly preferred coffee to tea. It seemed to be due to memories from her past life.

The daughter of a Viscount family, a follower of Sera, asked,

“Even so, the position of the Duchess can’t remain vacant for long. Won’t there soon be a marriage proposal?”

“This is a secret…”

The Baroness’s daughter began, prompting everyone to lean in closer.

“My family’s coachman’s lover’s sister works as a maid at the royal palace, and she heard that His Majesty the King scolded the Duke, saying, ‘Marry someone immediately, anyone, or else.’ So, soon there will be a proposal for a meeting with a family suitable for the Duke’s estate, with marriage in mind.”

Upon hearing this, the ladies present were filled with their own hopes, their faces flushed with excitement.

“If it’s a suitable family, it has to be this Earl Kumaran’s family.”

At Sera’s words, the other ladies briefly showed disappointment but soon agreed, congratulating her as if it were a foregone conclusion. Sera accepted the compliments as if they were only natural.

“Oh, right. Lady of the Serenze quasi-Baron, didn’t you say that there was a proposal from a Viscount or Baron? It seems I’m not the only one to be congratulated.”

With Sera’s sudden remark, all eyes turned to Elysia. Their gazes were filled with mockery, as if they were confirming a marriage proposal with a lowly noble family lacking wealth. Elysia replied that she had declined the proposal, but that only led to subtle criticism for not knowing her place.

‘It’s always an insufferable place.’

Elysia had to endure the miserable time, hoping for the gathering to end quickly.

***

Recalling the past gatherings worsened Elysia’s mood.

Sera had openly declared that only the position of a Duchess would be suitable for her, so it was obvious she was furious that Elysia, whom she always looked down upon, had gotten engaged to the Duke. It was going to be an exhausting evening.

Cassius pushed the teacup in front of Elysia slightly forward.

“I prepared a tea to calm your mind as an apology for not informing you in advance.”

Elysia hid her displeasure as she brought the cup closer at the Duke’s sudden offer. She didn’t particularly want to drink it, but refusing something prepared especially for her without a specific reason would be impolite.

She wished he had prepared coffee, or better yet, strong liquor.

‘Hmm? The scent is unique. It’s slightly different from the usual tea scent, with a hint of sourness…’

Cassius tensed as he watched Elysia pause to smell the tea, but she soon emptied the cup. Cassius had already taken the blue pill he was supposed to consume, from those received from Emilliano, and had dissolved the yellow pill into the tea he gave Elysia.

Seeing the empty teacup, Cassius wanted to confirm immediately if the medicine was working, but there was no way to do so yet. He could only hope the effect lasted long enough.

The butler knocked on the door.

“Duke, the carriage is ready.”

Cassius stood and extended his hand to Elysia. Reluctantly, Elysia took his hand and left the room.

***

Elysia, escorted by the Duke, boarded the Duke’s carriage, which was smaller than the one that had come to fetch her last time but still black. Seti was on the coachman’s seat again. While Seti’s driving was stable, he seemed somewhat restless.

As the carriage slowly traveled down the road and stopped briefly at an intersection, they could hear children outside watching the passing carriages and chatting.

“Wow, look at that carriage. It’s totally black! Is it a hearse?”

“Watch your words. Look at that crest; it’s the Duke’s carriage. If you speak carelessly, the ghost of the former Duke will appear and take you away!”

Elysia felt embarrassed to be in such a conspicuous carriage and worried that such comments might upset the Duke. However, Cassius seemed not to hear them at all, looking at Elysia with his usual expression.

“Have you had any interactions with the Earl Kumaran’s family?”

Elysia wondered if her reluctant attendance at Sera’s gatherings could be considered interaction.

“My father had minor dealings with the Earl’s family, so Miss Kumaran, considering it a connection, occasionally invited me to her tea gatherings.”

“Then you must be quite close. Could we say you are friends?”

‘What! That arrogant fox as my friend?’

Elysia strongly wanted to deny the Duke’s ridiculous assumption. If it weren’t for her father’s business connections, she would never have associated with Sera.

“How could someone like me, from a quasi-Baron family with no special talents, be friends with the only daughter of an Earl? It’s just that Miss Kumaran was kind enough to show me some courtesy.”

Cassius hid his dissatisfaction at Elysia’s self-deprecating response. He didn’t like her belittling herself.

“Since you are going as the future mistress of the Duke’s estate today, perhaps this time you will be the one showing kindness to the daughter of the Earl?”

Cassius’s tone was sharp, and his cold gaze made Elysia’s spine tingle. It was hard to tell what he was thinking as usual, but the Duke seemed to be serious. Elysia wondered if she had said something to offend him but couldn’t pinpoint anything.

Cassius couldn’t shake the suspicion that Elysia’s words, though polite, lacked sincerity. He couldn’t discern what she was hiding, and the pill he had given her in the carriage seemed to be a complete failure, as he heard nothing like the voice of her heart.

Considering Emilliano’s usual character, it was unlikely he would have kept a completely ineffective drug. It seemed he would only be able to verify the drug’s effect at the Earl’s residence.

Their conversation ceased, and the carriage, enveloped in silence, headed toward the Earl’s estate.