Chapter 5 – Adaptation (Part 7)

“Aaron, I’m heading to the Academy, so you may take the lady to the Ducal residence and then take the rest of the day off.”

Aaron had been at the Administrative Palace during the luncheon and had prepared the carriage in advance to be ready when it ended. After following the Duke’s instructions to take Elysia to the Ducal residence, Aaron, having received a rare afternoon off, headed to the Haas Trading Company.

The trading company was bustling, busy reorganizing the warehouse goods. Ronan, too, was half-unbuttoned, sleeves rolled up, moving items and comparing documents with goods while giving orders to the staff.

“Brother! Are you doing a major cleaning today? All the goods are out.”

“Aaron? I’m a bit busy today. Wait in the parlor; I’ll come as soon as I’m done.”

While Aaron was relaxing and drinking tea brought by the company maid, Ronan came in, brushing his hair back.

“Are you done? You came sooner than I thought.”

“I can’t finish today anyway. Since my adorable brother is here, I’ll use that as an excuse to take a break.”

Ronan joked, but he couldn’t hide his fatigue as he sank into the sofa.

“Is something going on? I saw the warehouse was completely overturned earlier.”

Ronan let out an exaggerated sigh.

“When your Duke and his fiancée came to buy things, we showed them items that didn’t match the Haas reputation. I’m reorganizing everything now to prevent that from happening again.”

“Items that didn’t match… Ah! The frog sculpture? I wondered why you displayed something so strange in the special showroom. I thought you did it on purpose to tease the Duke.”

“No matter how much I want to tease the Duke, I wouldn’t damage the company’s reputation. Sigh… It’s a shame. If it had fallen into the hands of someone who likes unique things, it would have been a great exhibit, but now it’s in the Duke’s warehouse and will never see the light of day again.”

“It’s well placed on the Duke’s bedroom table.”

Ronan’s eyes widened in surprise.

“The Duke put that bizarre item in his bedroom?”

“Yeah. The Madam said she chose it thinking of the Duke and told Chief Butler Pedro to place it on the decoration table next to his bed.”

Ronan was briefly surprised by the unexpected destination of the ornament and wondered if it would suit the Duke’s bedroom.

Ronan recalled the day he went to the Ducal residence with his father, the head of the trading company, when he was still learning the ropes. It was shortly after they started trading at the Duke’s request, and the late Duke Aisar had them tour the interior as if he were going to redecorate the mansion extensively. He remembered his father’s indignation when, afterward, instead of large transactions, the Duke only demanded information from the Haas Trading Company.

Imagining the frog sculpture in the dark, black-toned bedroom, if the interior was still the same, gave Ronan the chills.

“It doesn’t match.”

Ronan muttered.

‘According to the former staff, the only place in that house that was decorated like a living space was the former mistress’s room… And even that’s not used anymore.’

“Even if the item is strange, I’m glad the two seem to be getting closer.”

Hearing this, Ronan looked at Aaron, who had dreamy eyes.

“Were the prospective couple not on good terms?”

To Ronan’s question, Aaron replied.

“Rather than not being on good terms, it was more like they were very awkward. They treated each other politely but were like strangers living in the same house. The staff at the Ducal residence are working hard to help them get closer, but it doesn’t seem to be happening. So I’m worried that the Duke might end up like the late Duke with the Madam… That’s why, Brother, you must keep your distance from Lady Serenze! Not even a tiny spark should be allowed!”

Aaron trailed off, then shouted at Ronan. Ronan replied without even raising an eyebrow.

“The former Duchess falling for another man was largely the late Duke’s fault. But your current Duke doesn’t seem to be that bad, does he? According to you, he treasures that strange item enough to keep it in his bedroom.”

“Still, the Duke is rather cold, so if there’s a kind outsider, the Madam might fall for him. What if she ends up exiled to a rural estate like the former Duchess? I want them to become a loving couple.”

“Exiling his wife to a country villa based on rumors without concrete evidence shows how nasty the late Duke’s temper was. The social world is full of both true and false words. He himself had mistresses everywhere, yet he overreacted to rumors about his wife with another man. I can’t understand such a person, even as a fellow man.”

Aaron couldn’t refute and became gloomy. As Ronan playfully ruffled Aaron’s hair, a sudden question arose in his mind.

The late Duke Aisar was widely known for his ruthless personality, and it was also well-known that he didn’t have a good relationship with his wife. If they weren’t fond of each other, they could have lived separately with their own lovers without interfering in each other’s private lives. Sending his wife to a country villa over rumors didn’t fit with Aisar’s usual behavior.

‘Sending her to the countryside itself became a bigger scandal. If he wanted to quash the rumors, he should have managed the people coming in and out of the mansion and kept his wife at the Ducal residence. If he really couldn’t stand his wife’s infidelity, he could have filed for divorce. A divorce wouldn’t have significantly tarnished the Ducal family head, and the wife would have suffered a much greater blow.’

Ronan thought that perhaps the Duchess wasn’t exiled to the villa because of the rumors, but rather the rumors were created to justify sending her there.

***

Emilliano, appearing at the Royal Academy of Advanced Studies with Cassius, smirked at the research students scattering like cockroaches in a lit house at the sight of him. The two entered Emilliano’s lab.

Before even sitting on the sofa, Emilliano spoke.

“So, tell me everything.”

“About what?”

“Don’t play dumb. I saw you dissolve the pill you took from me into the teacup at the luncheon. What did you hear? No, before that. Was this your first time using it? Did the effect last until the end of the luncheon? To what extent could you hear the sounds?”

“Didn’t you say you were no longer conducting that research?”

“What researcher wouldn’t be curious about the results when they see their own drug being used right in front of them?”

Cassius replied as he sat down.

“There was nothing beyond the effects you mentioned. This was the second time I used it; the first time, it seemed to last about four hours, and this time it lasted until the end of the luncheon. I don’t know exactly when the effect wore off since she’s not beside me now. The level of hearing was just as you said—only the intense thoughts directed at a specific target, nothing more.”

Emilliano also sat down, staring intently at Cassius.

“So, is your fiancée the spy of the Earl, as you suspected? Did you catch all the suspicious points?”

“Not at all. On the contrary, she seems to dislike the Kumaran family. There were some odd points, but nothing harmful, it seems.”

“Odd points?”

When Emilliano asked again, Cassius fell into thought for a moment. Emilliano couldn’t contain his curiosity and asked again.

“What’s wrong? What was odd? You were twitching the whole time listening to your fiancée’s inner thoughts during the luncheon. What did she say?”

“…Her thoughts are somewhat… crude.”

Emilliano blinked in surprise at the unexpected answer.

“Crude… You mean vulgar and coarse, that kind of crude? What on earth was she saying in her mind?”

“It seems crude, yet her thoughts are unique… Honestly, I don’t really know.”

Cassius paused for a moment before continuing.

“Are all noblewomen like that? Do they all have inner thoughts completely separate from their outward appearance, like my fiancée? Outwardly, they all seem demure and polite.”

Cassius, who usually paid no attention to others’ words or thoughts, was, for the first time, pondering about someone else. Emilliano replied cautiously.

“It’s probably not just noblewomen; it could be true for everyone. They might maintain etiquette outwardly, but their inner thoughts could be different. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. If everyone spoke exactly what they thought, what would happen to the world?”

“You speak your mind as it is, don’t you?”

Emilliano chuckled awkwardly.

“I’d prefer if you didn’t jump to conclusions. Even so, I act politely in front of His Majesty. Although His Majesty is generally straightforward, he maintains decorum in front of diplomatic envoys.”

“…But my fiancée’s inner thoughts and outward appearance are too different. She’s showing a side completely different from her usual thoughts. She seems to have many complaints about the Ducal house, yet asks for nothing.”

Emilliano was almost moved to see Cassius pondering over someone else for the first time. Judging by his concerns, it seemed he didn’t completely dislike his fiancée. Emilliano had a proud smile, as if watching a grown child.