I Was Tricked Into A Fraudulent Marriage By The Obsessive Villain - Chapter 6.3 - Invitation

The lady tried desperately to salvage the situation. The Grand Duchess merely sipped her tea without a change in her expression.

At that moment, as she lifted her teacup, the sleeve of the Grand Duchess’s dress rolled up.

Simultaneously, Madame Lezak’s signature mark, engraved on the inside of the dress sleeve, was revealed.

“…It’s real.”

Someone muttered.

“Goodness. It’s Madame Lezak’s latest work…?”

If it was unfamiliar to the eyes of the ladies gathered here, it must certainly be the latest design.

The latest creation from Madame Lezak, which couldn’t be obtained even if one offered an entire mansion.

The one that’s not even shown in salons and only presented to customers she personally selects!

“Ah, no, I…”

In an instant, the lady who had failed to recognize the latest dress design became frozen stiff, reduced to an ignorant outsider.

Iona, regardless of this, focused on drinking her tea.

‘The aroma is nice.’

If she had been an ordinary noble lady raised in a greenhouse, coddled like a delicate flower, the ladies’ attacks would have been effective.

But Iona had not only done all sorts of tough part-time jobs in her previous life, but in this life, she also had the experience of running a guild for three years, paving her own way.

This level of verbal attack was nothing to her.

‘The scariest thing is an attack with money. They don’t know anything.’

If she were those ladies, she wouldn’t just be sharp with her tongue but would have threatened them by controlling their financial sources.

Amateurs, amateurs. You’re not ready to step up yet.

Iona inwardly clicked her tongue and bit into a cookie.

The properly melted chocolate chunks crumbled in her mouth, spreading a sweet sensation.

“……”

The Second Empress was sitting in the highest seat, observing the entire scene.

Her sharply honed gaze fell upon the composed Grand Duchess.

The Second Empress, who had intended to use this occasion to make the Grand Duchess never set foot in high society again, changed her mind.

She had thought it would be easy to deal with a newcomer who had just entered society.

‘Seeing that behavior, this method won’t be enough to take her down.’

The Second Empress soon gestured to one of her maids.

“Find out if she really has been cooped up in the mansion all this time.”

Something smelled suspicious.

How could someone who had never set foot in high society handle all these attacks so nonchalantly?

“There must be something. She’s not ordinary.”

The Second Empress’s eyes glinted.

*** 

Floyd’s villa near the capital.

“……”

Austin tightly gripped the newspaper in his hand. He was squeezing it so hard that his hand was trembling.

<Hidden Thanatos Grand Duchess Reveals Herself>

<Union of a Beautiful Couple… Is This Proof That the Hardin Family Supports the Grand Duke?>

<Strikingly Beautiful Grand Ducal Couple Continues to Be the Talk of the Town… Even Forgave a Servant Who Announced Them Incorrectly at a Party… ‘My Wife is Both Lady Hardin and the Grand Duchess, So It Wasn’t Incorrect’ Grand Duke’s Statement Causes a Stir>

<Society Figure We Want to Know More About: What’s the Secret Behind the Grand Duchess’s Beauty?>

Blue eyes scanning down the newspaper darkened deeply.

He had been relieved when he received word that the carriage had arrived safely.

He had thought Iona would be safely hidden in his villa.

But what was all this about?

When he rushed over, there wasn’t a sign of life to be found in the villa.

“I, I had no choice!”

“And you’re telling me this now?”

“Suddenly, knights barged in and held a sword to my neck… They told me to drive the carriage straight to the villa. I had no choice, I tell you! D-don’t hit me, Austin. Don’t hit… Eek!”

Only after Austin, his eyes wild, found the coachman did he finally explain the whole story.

“Who was it?”

“I, I don’t know. All I know is that it was a high-ranking noble… No! I’ll think hard about it! Just don’t hit me…!! Ah, yes. Some Grand Duke. They definitely called him Your Grace the Grand Duke!”

“…The Grand Duke of Thanatos.”

Austin bit out, chewing on his lips.

Sparks were flying in his blue eyes.

*** 

After the Second Empress’s tea party, Iona attended numerous social gatherings.

As if Carvain’s words about having many enemies were true, sharp reactions towards Iona always flew, even though she only attended relatively friendly parties.

“Ho ho. So, speaking of which, this time in the southern territory…”

“Oh my, is that so~ Oh dear. I should have gone there too. Ho ho.”

“Oh dear… The Grand Duchess doesn’t know much about this matter, does she?”

They would either talk among themselves like at the Second Empress’s tea party.

“Oh my. Yellow dresses aren’t in fashion these days. After all, aren’t deep and intense colors more charming for dresses?”

“Of course. Pastel-tone dresses are a bit… you know? The higher the status, the more one should exude a noble and elegant atmosphere. Don’t you think so, Your Highness?”

Or they would pick on Iona’s attire and try to provoke her.

Every time, Iona just thought of it as dogs barking.

Yes, you bark. I’ll go on! With this mindset, she would tilt her teacup or put a dessert in her mouth and chew slowly.

As a result, she had come to enjoy tea a little these days.

When Iona, who they thought would crumble immediately, showed no reaction, a rumor spread among the Second Empress’s faction ladies that the young Grand Duchess was a formidable opponent.

Moreover, the trends in the social world were flowing in a strange direction.

The Grand Duchess’s style had started to become fashionable.

The dresses worn by the Grand Duchess, the Grand Duchess’s hairstyle, even golden hair dye.

Before they knew it, everything about the Grand Duchess was leading the trends.

The ladies who showed hostility towards the Grand Duchess in public were secretly ordering dresses similar to hers behind the scenes.

Orders flooded into every salon to make outfits similar to the Grand Duchess’s.

The Second Empress was grinding her teeth at the current situation.

“This little brat dares……”

“Your Majesty. I have a clever plan.”

When the Second Empress was filled with anger, one of her confidants spoke with gleaming eyes.

“A clever plan?”

“Yes. A plan that can blow away that young thing in one go. Please leave it to me, Your Majesty.”

The Second Empress listened to her confidant’s words, and that’s how a book club came to be held in the Second Empress’s glass greenhouse.

It was to take turns reading passages from the same book.

Today, Iona was again wearing a dress by Madame Lezak, a gift from Carvain.

It was a dress with intense colors mixing purple and burgundy, reminiscent of Iona’s eye color, and revealing her thin waistline.

As Iona sat down and took in the book’s cover, she felt something was off.

“Hmm……”

This cover looks unusual from the start?

Iona, who was a veteran of R-rated romance fantasy novels, had already reached a level where she could tell if a book was R-rated or not just by looking at the cover.

Originally, if it was an R-rated book cover, it would be something dark, red, gloomy, intense, and contrasting. Such covers were usually R-rated.

But the book cover in front of her now had all of those elements.

…they actually did it.