Chapter 10

She hadn’t been told any of this. The shift from confusion to humiliation happened in an instant.

She’d called for Julia early in the morning, dressed and prepared for the couples’ gathering, completely unaware that she wouldn’t even be brought along. Now, looking back, she felt like a fool.

‘So I was the one who got excited, not even realizing I wasn’t meant to be included.’

Her heart and her spirits plummeted together at Pell’s words.

“Ah…”

Rabiana forced a smile. But trying to lift stiffening facial muscles only made it look awkward.

“I didn’t hear about that… Thank you for letting me know.”

She stood up. She moved to ascend the stairs as if nothing were wrong—then stopped.

She suddenly realized how pathetic she must look to others. A woman so clueless she tried to join an event her husband never intended her to attend—then to find out through someone else, not him…

The shame she felt now wouldn’t vanish just because she locked herself in her room and pretended it hadn’t happened.

“Ah, ah—now that I think about it, I do remember the Duke mentioning it yesterday. I totally forgot.”

Rabiana forced out the excuse clumsily. Whether it was Pell, or a maid, someone in this household would hear it.

“He said there was no need to come in the morning and to come later in the afternoon. I just forgot. Um, bring me a bottle of wine, please. I can’t go empty-handed.”

Even if it was a transparent lie, she wanted to protect her pride.

Even if that pride had already been trampled and crushed into a single grain.

***

“Alberto!”

Alberto, mingling with the guests, turned at the sound of his name. Standing next to his longtime friend Luis was a familiar face. At the sight, Alberto’s expression slowly twisted.

What is she doing here?

Her neatly tied-back hair, her elegant, vintage green dress—this wasn’t how Rabiana normally dressed.

Anyone could see she had made an effort. Even in her hands was a fine bottle of wine.

The woman, her gaze slightly lowered, had long eyelashes, and her tightly sealed lips were a striking shade of red.

She was his wife. The blind woman he had bought for a large sum of money.

As Alberto stood by the piano, placing a sheet of music, his gaze wandered—prompting the woman in question to turn toward him with a puzzled expression.

Next to him, Countess Scarlett, an unmarried noblewoman, lightly nudged his elbow.

“Do you know her?”

The words now rose all the way to his throat, but Alberto didn’t say them.

He hadn’t brought his wife to the couples’ gathering because she was troublesome. She was a woman who required too much care.

This gathering, of all things, included a regular hunting activity. While the men went off to hunt, the women were meant to socialize nearby. That setup made it inevitable that he and Rabiana would be apart for most of it.

If he had been a man who cherished his wife, he might’ve attended but skipped the hunt to stay by her side as her guardian.

But Alberto neither cherished his wife nor wanted to sacrifice his favorite pastime for her.

And yet, leaving her behind while he enjoyed himself was… bothersome.

‘Are you really not taking her? She’ll resent you later, my lord. She’s still the Duchess, after all—it’s a matter of appearances.’

‘I don’t need to bring a troublesome woman. I doubt she’d enjoy being around people either.’

That was what he had told his aide, Pell, this morning. Alberto had no doubt Pell had explained things clearly.

And yet, seeing her here now, there were only two possibilities: either she hadn’t been told, or she had ignored it and come anyway.

Knowing Rabiana, the latter was impossible.

“Alberto! Your wife came looking for you!”

Luis called out again, but Alberto kept unfolding the sheet music in silence.

He had been offering a bit of courtesy to the woman eager to show off her piano skills. Initially, he had planned to hand her the music and walk away, but now he didn’t feel like doing that anymore.

Luis, seeing Alberto deliberately ignoring the situation, called him again. Now that the word wife had been said, it couldn’t be ignored.

Suppressing his irritation, Alberto finally stepped toward Rabiana.

“I’ll handle this.”

He grabbed Rabiana’s wrist and led her away. Only after entering a guest room, away from the eyes of others, did he release her.

He let out a sigh, sounding thoroughly exasperated.

Rabiana had entered his domain without permission or discussion—and that deeply unsettled him.

This gathering was made up of his network and the people he maintained ties with. To Alberto, Rabiana’s sudden arrival without notice felt nothing short of rude.

The idea that she had the right to share in his connections simply because she had become his wife didn’t align with his values.

“What is this.”

“…”

“Weren’t you told not to come to the event?”

Rabiana gently rubbed her wrist, reddened in such a short time.

Alberto caught the gesture, but instead of calming down, his anger intensified. Why would she just come uninvited—

No. Wait. Maybe she didn’t know. If she had merely overheard something about a “couples’ event,” it was worth checking before getting angry. So he asked.

Rabiana paused. Then slowly shook her head.

“I heard.”

“You did?”

“I came because I wanted to know why. Why wasn’t I allowed to come?”

Rabiana had steeled herself to be scolded by Alberto. She had expected that showing up uninvited would upset him.

She had even considered turning back on the way, knowing full well how much trouble her presence might cause.

Normally, she would’ve just spent the time lying on her bed. But the kindness from the Duke’s staff—and that small opening Alberto had shown her—had given her unexpected courage.

Maybe he wouldn’t be as angry as she feared.

But she was mistaken. The kindness he showed while helping her write that letter had been a one-time thing.

Even without seeing his face, the uneven rhythm of his breath told her everything.

He was angry.

“Whether or not my wife attends my gatherings is up to me.”

“…”

“I just didn’t think there was any need to bring you today.”

Rabiana hesitated on the words caught on the tip of her tongue. It might only make him angrier, but she quietly pushed back.

“But… it’s a couples’ event.”

“Just because we’re married doesn’t mean we have to attend everything together.”

“…”

“I can just say you’re sick.”

It was the first event since their marriage, and naturally, people were curious about Alberto’s wife. He didn’t have to go out of his way to hide her, but since she was a woman he planned to separate from once she bore a child, he saw no reason to introduce her. Once faces were shown, things only got more annoying later.

Their separation was inevitable. If someone from this group were to see Rabiana again afterward and say, “Hey, I saw your wife there doing this and that,” that would be troublesome.

“Why should I introduce you when we’re going to separate anyway?”

“…”

She had no words.

Rabiana hadn’t been under any illusions—but she hadn’t expected him to say something so cruel to her face.

It was an action with no regard for her feelings.

Being treated like a complete interloper drained her strength. No matter what she said, no matter what excuse she offered, Alberto’s anger wouldn’t subside.

She knew theirs wasn’t a typical marriage. But there was still a gap between understanding it in her head and accepting it in her heart.

To be honest, it still didn’t feel real. Who would have expected a marriage contract based on pregnancy?

It wasn’t something agreed upon before the wedding either.

If he had at least warned her beforehand, maybe she could have mentally prepared herself. Maybe it would have been better than this.

She really shouldn’t have come.

Rabiana simply lowered her head. How ridiculous she must look in Alberto’s eyes. No—

He must’ve already seen her as pitiful. That’s why he’d proposed such an absurd contract in the first place.

“Go back.”

But Rabiana couldn’t easily accept his cold dismissal.

She had already left the mansion with desperate excuses. If she turned back now, it was obvious what people would say.

‘Oh my, why is she back already? Did she get kicked out?’

The imagined whispers echoed in her ears.

Alberto, expecting her to apologize and leave by now, looked down at her with confusion when she said nothing.