Chapter 41

With the distraction gone, Harriet focused on clearing the work she couldn’t attend to during the honeymoon and funeral period.

She was engrossed in work, skipping lunch and reviewing documents, when an unexpected visitor made her put down her pen.

“Are you very busy?”

“Olivia.”

Family members could easily access the office even without prior appointments.

“You’ve worked hard. You should have enjoyed a happy honeymoon, but it’s unfortunate how things turned out.”

“I feel like I’ve heard that a hundred times.”

“Really? I’m not interrupting, am I?”

“No. I was just about to put away the documents.”

Stretching and yawning, Harriet got up from her seat. Her back was sore from sitting in the same position for so long.

As they sat across from each other on the couch, Olivia started talking rapidly about what she had prepared.

“I know you’ve been busy and distracted, but how could you not show your face once after coming back? It’s disappointing.”

“We saw each other at the funeral, didn’t we? You, Mother, and Father.”

“That’s that, and this is this.”

“Okay, okay. I’m wrong. It’s my fault. Is that enough?”

Harriet, who surrendered to the impending nagging, changed the subject.

“How have you been? How’s Ted?”

“The same every day. He doesn’t seem to be seeing any women lately.”

“……What about that woman?”

“Nothing special. Oh.”

As if something came to mind, Olivia took something out of her bag.

“She asked me to give this to you.”

What Olivia handed over was a letter. It was written neatly in clumsy handwriting.

[Chess, I can play a little now.]

It was a roundabout way of asking when she would come. Harriet, who was about to laugh, put down the letter before Olivia noticed.

“So why are you here? To scold me?”

“No. Father asked us to have dinner together tonight.”

“Lennox can’t come.”

In fact, she hadn’t seen much of him in recent days. He was already gone when she left the mansion for work, and he wasn’t there when she returned home from work.

“Of course, His Grace must be busy. Father said you could come alone.”

“……Alright. Then.”

The faces of her father, Franz, and mother, Margaret, flashed before her eyes.

“I’ve said everything, so I’ll be off.”

“Mother…”

Hesitating, Harriet called out to Olivia, who was turning to leave.

“……Is she well?”

“If you’re curious, come and see her yourself.”

Olivia, who replied spitefully, left the office briskly.

* * *

It was a long-awaited dinner for the Vanetti family. The dining table was filled with all sorts of luxurious dishes, as if they had put in a lot of effort. From tender duckling dishes to fish seasoned with expensive spices, and all sorts of labor-intensive dishes were appetizingly laid out.

“The Duke seems to be quite busy.”

Franz, seated at the head of the table, naturally opened the conversation.

Harriet nodded and moved her cutlery.

“Well, he has inherited the title and suddenly taken over the business.”

“Having graduated from the academy and returned not long ago, he must be overwhelmed with marriage, title succession, and business succession.”

Aaron, who interjected, transferred the deboned fish dish to Harriet’s plate. Not knowing what he was up to, Harriet glared at her younger brother and put it in her mouth.

As she quietly savored the melt-in-your-mouth taste, a thunderous statement suddenly dropped from above.

“Right. How about stepping down from your position, Harriet?”

“……What?”

Harriet couldn’t believe what she had just heard and doubted her ears.

“What did you just say?”

“Are you deaf? Didn’t you hear Father clearly telling you to step down?”

Theodore, who had been waiting, grinned and answered instead.

Glaring at Theodore with eyes that told him to shut up, Harriet put down her cutlery.

“Why should I quit? What does his being busy have to do with my job?”

“Nothing to do with it?”

Franz laughed as if it was absurd and spoke.

“You are now a Duchess. Not just the wife of the Young Master.”

“……So?”

It felt like blood rushed to her head in an instant. Barely suppressing the urge to explode, Harriet gritted her teeth. Franz replied with a serious face.

“A Duchess should assist her husband and manage the household. Entertain guests and oversee the household affairs. Bear and raise the heirs of the Duke’s family.”

“Father.”

Harriet, raising her voice, couldn’t hide her anger and quietly watched Franz.

“The household management is done by the butler, and the head maid handles the guests. They are veterans who have worked in the Duke’s family for decades. They’ll do better than I ever could.”

“No matter how capable they are, they can’t fill the role of a Duchess. And what about children?”

It felt like talking to a solid wall. Unable to suppress her frustration, Harriet abruptly stood up.

“Let’s end this here. You told me to get married within the year, so I did. I followed your words obediently, and is this the result?”

“You’ve lived a rather indulgent life until now, so settling down at your age is what everyone does.”

Franz, indifferent to Harriet’s flushed face, coldly replied while eating.

“Now live like a proper woman, supporting your husband. Like your sister-in-law.”

“Ha…”

Harriet couldn’t help but glance at Olivia at the blatant comparison.

She sat with her lips firmly closed, unable to do anything in the tense atmosphere.

“Live like Olivia?”

With a deflated sound, Harriet burst into a hollow laugh and spat out sharp words like thorns.

“Living quietly at home, wasting all your talents, and living only for your husband? The kind of woman who silently supports her husband even when he has an affair and brings home a child with another woman?”

“Sister!”

“Harriet!”

Startled by her biting remarks, Aaron and Theodore almost simultaneously tried to stop Harriet. But she continued without caring.

“I don’t want that! I won’t live like that.”

Her breath was caught in her throat. She felt like she was going to go crazy with anger, with nowhere to vent it. Feeling the ruined atmosphere, Harriet took a deep breath and left her seat.

“I’ll be going now.”

“Harriet!”

As she left the dining room, someone hurriedly followed and grabbed her.

If it were anyone else, she would have coldly ignored them, but when she turned around, Harriet stopped still.

“Mother…”

“I’m sorry about earlier.”

Margaret, letting out a low sigh, held her hand tightly.

“…No. It’s not your fault, Mother.”

Her cheeks burning, Harriet couldn’t meet Margaret’s eyes.

The ‘woman’s life’ she had just expressed such disdain for included Margaret, who had raised and loved her.

“Your father… didn’t mean it in a bad way. Don’t misunderstand. He’s just old-fashioned. He said it all for your sake.”

Margaret’s voice was calm and filled with concern. Not wanting to speak harshly to her mother, Harriet quietly listened.

But at the following words, she finally shook off her hand.

“Besides, living quietly as a wife isn’t so bad. It’s better than you think.”

“…Isn’t it just because?”

“What?”

“Because I’m an illegitimate child, and you don’t want me involved in the family business anymore?”

“You…”

Margaret quickly looked around to see if anyone was listening, her face turning pale as she covered Harriet’s mouth.

“What are you talking about?”

“I know everything. That all your expressions are just a mask.”

“Harriet!”

“Stop pretending. You feel the same way, don’t you, Mother? You can’t stand the sight of a child you didn’t even give birth to blocking the path of your own child…”

Slap!

Before she could finish, her left cheek burned. Harriet remained turned, blinking for a few seconds.

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry, Harriet. This is…”

Realizing what she had done, Margaret placed her hand on Harriet’s reddened cheek.

“…It’s fine.”

Roughly shaking off her hand, Harriet turned and walked away.

Margaret watched Harriet leave, eventually collapsing to the ground.