“Can’t I inherit the Winchester house?”

As soon as Diana returned home after finishing her conversation with her close lady friends, she immediately headed to the study to meet Duke Winchester.

No matter how she thought about it, it felt unfair. Why should only men inherit the family? If they married and then divorced, wouldn’t they become strangers?

Even though she knew that men had to inherit the family because it was established by law, Diana wanted to throw a tantrum at Duke Winchester. Though he didn’t have enough power to change the law, he was in a position where he could make suggestions to His Majesty the Emperor.

“Diana. What are you suddenly talking about? Seeing you say things you’ve never said before, you didn’t eat something wrong, did you?”

“Absolutely not.”

He must have known that she had a tea party with her close lady friends today. But since she came out of nowhere saying nonsensical things, Duke Winchester seemed quite flustered.

His obedient daughter was rejecting the man he had chosen, firing people, and wanting to inherit the family. From Duke Winchester’s perspective, it was enough to make him think that way.

But Diana wasn’t backing down. It was a matter of life and death for her parents and herself. So she had no intention of bending her opinion.

“I’ll show a dignified and serious appearance as a duke. I’ll work hard for the family. So please give me at least the opportunity to receive heir training.”

Originally, only the man who married Diana was supposed to receive heir training. For her, a woman, lessons on supporting her husband were sufficient.

She knew that Clive had struggled when he received the lessons in her previous life. But Diana couldn’t understand him.

Why can’t he understand that? He should endure it no matter what, so why does he just complain about it being difficult? 

She had often thought such things. Recalling that time, Diana also thought there was no reason she couldn’t become the family head.

What would be wrong with her becoming the family head and her husband assisting her?

“That won’t do.”

As expected, Duke Winchester didn’t readily give permission. Seeing his firm attitude, she felt that changing the law indeed wasn’t an easy task.

However, she had no intention of backing down like this. The prestigious noble Winchester family had to set an example first before other nobles would think about accepting women as family heads. Diana deliberately spoke provocatively to the duke.

“Father, you’re the head of one of the few ducal houses. But you can’t change a single law like that?”

“Are you taking the law lightly? If it could be changed that easily, all laws would have been changed easily. This isn’t something that can be done by throwing tantrums. Besides, do you think the other ducal families will just sit still?”

The duke seemed momentarily heated, but that was all. Duke Winchester seemed unwilling to get involved in troublesome matters. Next, she tried to persuade her father by appealing to his emotions.

“Is my future husband more precious to you than I am, Father?”

“That’s not what I mean. I would also like it if you inherited the family. But just because I want it, would the law change easily? Why are you throwing such an unreasonable tantrum over something so absurd?”

“If Father steps forward, people who trust and follow you will appear.”

If it had been Diana from her previous life, she would never have thrown a tantrum. But having already experienced all sorts of hardships, she wanted to express her opinion even like this.

“Then bring your husband candidate first and then talk. Then I’ll think about it. Since you said you dislike young master Orkney whom I chose, let’s see how good your judgment is.”

When Diana refused to back down, Duke Winchester presented a negotiation.

She had tried to find a man who wouldn’t say anything even if she became the family head, someone who would just listen to her well, but after having this conversation with her father, she realized she couldn’t just pick anyone.

Whether she could receive heir training would be determined by bringing a man who pleased her father.

“Understood!”

If she brought a much better man than Clive, her father would also be swayed by that persuasion.

The reason her father had chosen him as a husband candidate was because he showed polite and kind behavior even to his subordinates.

Then she should choose a man who wasn’t arrogant but humble, who respected his subordinates and set an example, right?

She needed to choose a man with a genuine nature, not a fabricated appearance like Clive, and above all, a man who wouldn’t betray Diana.

* * *

Which man would be better to choose?

Diana tried to show off her beauty at this ball by dressing up in a pink dress decorated with sparkling mesh and gorgeous accessories. Then she carefully observed the men who approached her, captivated by her beauty.

On the surface, everyone seemed polite and decent, which was confusing. However, Diana kept a smile on her lips without showing her feelings.

She tried to look for marriage prospects mainly among men who had been single in her previous life. She didn’t want to break up decent couples.

But finding a man who would please her father and wouldn’t betray her was more difficult than she thought.

Young master Cadogan seemed pure but lacked backbone, and young master Delaware had good abilities, but wasn’t he an opportunist?

She also conversed with the men recommended at the tea party and those who showed interest in her, but none of them appealed to Diana’s heart.

“Lady Winchester, how about a dance with me?”

Just then, Diana’s expression stiffened when she confirmed the face of the man asking her to dance.

Clive Orkney.

Originally, she should have attended today’s ball with his escort. That’s how it was in her past life. 

But Diana had sent a letter refusing his escort request on the day of the ball, and Clive seemed greatly shocked by this.

“If I have done something to offend you, please give me a chance to make amends through a dance.”

Clive seemed to think that Diana was thoroughly angry with him. Why would he think that when nothing warranting such anger had happened? And if he noticed such signs, couldn’t he just disappear on his own?

His attitude of trying to win her favor somehow made her furious. He must have been living by hiding his personality like this.

Does he think she will  give him the answer he wants? What would be better to say? It would probably be better to indirectly say that she had no intention of marrying him, right?

“If I received your escort, others might misunderstand. So I’ll gratefully accept just your goodwill. And as for dancing… I’ve been dancing continuously and I’m tired. I’m thinking of resting a bit before dancing again.”

Clive’s face clearly showed disappointment upon hearing Diana’s answer. If it had been her previous self, she would have felt sorry seeing that expression, but not now. Instead, she found it disgusting.

What had she gone through after being fooled by that appearance and marrying him?

Just having a conversation with him made her feel suffocated. The anger from being betrayed by him over the years surged up, and she couldn’t even tell if she was smiling properly.

She wanted to grab him by the collar and demand to know why he had done it, but since she couldn’t behave in such an uncultured manner, she had to endure it by clenching her fists instead.

For now, the best way to deal with Clive was to crush his spirit with the most arrogant attitude and gaze possible.

“Ah, I see. I understand.”

He tried to smile, but seeing Clive’s appearance that didn’t look okay made her feel somewhat relieved of her frustration.

But that was only momentary. Just being in the same space as him made hatred boil up again, and she felt defiant. She would definitely find a man she liked at today’s ball!

With firm determination, Diana moved to a corner of the ballroom. Standing there inconspicuously, she carefully observed the men.

Young master Townsend was supposed to be decent, wasn’t he?

When she sent him a glance, young master Townsend, who noticed the signal, approached and asked her to dance. With graceful movements, she took his outstretched hand and they headed to the dance floor together.

“Huh…?”

She could feel Clive’s great confusion at seeing Diana dancing so soon after saying she would rest. Tsk. She clicked her tongue and deliberately mocked him.

After confirming that his face had turned red from feeling shame, Diana looked at her partner with a satisfied expression.

He seems decent…

Young master Townsend had good manners ingrained in him, just like Lady Early had said. Compared to Clive, he seemed better, but she was confused whether this thought was an impulsive emotion or her real opinion.

After that, she also danced with the men recommended by her close lady friends and those who had unrequited love for Diana, trying to see who was decent.

She could tell they were definitely good men, but the more she conversed with them, the more her confusion seemed to intensify.

All of this was because of Clive. Her anger toward him had scattered her judgment.

Since Clive’s outward appearance was so decent, Diana couldn’t evaluate others based solely on their appearance and others’ recommendations. 

The problem was that even when they seemed fine, she would suddenly become suspicious.

Even if they were fine now, she feared they might later be consumed by power lust like Clive and betray the Winchester family.

Having been deeply hurt in her previous life, had her confidence dropped? But if she didn’t choose anyone, she couldn’t convey her intentions to her father, so she had to select at least one person.

Who on earth should she choose?