Chapter 9

Because it was the title of her beloved father, her grandmother.

Honestly, how easy would it be to just grab anyone and get married? Why, even the so-called contract marriages that are popular in clichéd novels—there was nothing stopping her from doing that. The position of Lord of Estellon’s consort was one that anyone would covet, even by such means.

The family had always been wealthy, held a place in the Imperial Palace by default, and was famous for being devoted to their spouses without a single incident of infidelity or scandal.

But Dione could not do that. There was her grandmother’s will, which was nothing short of a final request.

‘So, should I just choose between the two?’

It all felt like a complete lie. The moment she resolved to marry, someone appeared and confessed their feelings—whether sincere or not set aside. She hadn’t even told society about the will stating she needed to marry to inherit the title…

And if Yurik’s words were true, then Raihan liked her. Liked her enough to stay here.

‘It’s hard to believe.’

It was difficult to tell if someone truly liked her. Dione had plenty of romantic experiences, but most were as empty as a hollow sandwich. Her lovers seemed to like ‘being by her side’ rather than actually liking ‘her.’

Of course, among those she’d dated, there had been men who genuinely liked her. But could she say there was no ambition for her title mixed in with that emotion?

But Raihan and Yurik were not like that.

They had no need to covet the position of Lord of Estellon’s consort; both already held far higher ranks and greater power than she did.

As she habitually traced the patterns on the ceiling, Dione suddenly turned her head to the left. The first thing her eyes landed on was the blue jewel embedded decoratively in her vanity.

Blue, vivid blue… eyes. Eyes that had gazed at her so intently, as if trying to engrave her onto their corneas.

The man who confessed to her today.

‘Does that even count as a confession?’

To be honest, it didn’t feel like a confession at all, but more like a ‘confession attack.’

She’d heard somewhere that at the academy, the second-ranked student would sometimes confess to the top student just to throw them off their game.

When Dione first heard that story, she’d thought, ‘Is it really an attack just to confess?’ But after experiencing it herself, there was no room for argument—it was absolutely an attack.

Even while doing other things, the memory of that moment lingered, and the confusion it caused matched the story perfectly.

‘And above all, it doesn’t feel real.’

Of course she would think this way. For him to say he liked her, there hadn’t been any event or time for them to fall in love. How could running into each other a few times at the Imperial Palace be a reason to fall in love?

She even wondered if the Duke might know about the will.

It was well-known that Crown Prince Durant and Yurik were close. So, for a moment, she wondered if he knew about her grandmother’s will—but then quickly shook her head. Durant wasn’t that kind of person. They weren’t close enough to call friends, but she knew him well enough to be sure.

If only she could just accept a confession as a confession.

“It’s all Mom and Dad’s fault.”

Rolling around on her bed, Dione grumbled, blaming her parents.

But really, wasn’t it true? Who told them to share every detail of their love story with her as a child? That only raised her standards, filling her with fantasies—what a disaster.

In fact, the most memorable thing her father had ever said to her while he was alive was this:

“Our sweet Dione, when you grow up and meet a man, make sure he’s someone who would jump into deep waters for you without hesitation.”

When Dione had thought, ‘Isn’t that a bit much?’ her mother, who was beside them, had laughed and said, ‘He’s just telling you to meet someone like himself, but in a roundabout way.’ She’d even heard they’d once been stranded at the Maillak Sea, so it wasn’t far from the truth.

Anyway, to Dione, who grew up listening to love stories that seemed straight out of a novel, love always felt like a grand, lofty ideal.

“Sigh…”

Deciding to stop worrying about Yurik, Dione got up from bed, pulled the bell cord, and calmly ordered the maid who entered quickly,

“Check what happened to the September 9th issue of Chronicles Weekly tomorrow.”

2. Distortion

The power of the biggest investor was overwhelming.

Or rather, should she say the power of House Schwitz was overwhelming? After lunch, a discreet servant from the Schwitz mansion arrived, saying the Duke had asked him to inform her that everything had been taken care of.

Sure enough, when Dione checked, the September 9th issue of Chronicles Weekly was nowhere to be found, no matter how hard she looked.

“Amazing.”

“Isn’t it? Oh, and I sent someone to the Imperial Palace to check.”

“What did they say?”

Dione had sent a servant to the palace first thing that morning to confirm if Raihan Elvirtein was still in Essen.

Yurik had said he’d seen Raihan off in her place on the last day, so it was probably true, but Dione wanted to be sure. If it was true, she wanted to ask Raihan directly why he stayed.

“They said it was true. Normally, they wouldn’t have announced it yet, but they made an exception for you.”

“…Is that so?”

“Why do you think he’s still here? Everyone else has gone back.”

Dione didn’t bother answering that question. Mary didn’t seem to expect an answer, simply standing quietly by her side.

She’d have to hear the details directly, but Yurik’s words weren’t very convincing. He was just giving his own impression, and it could be wrong.

‘Does it make sense that he stayed just because of me?’

It was more realistic to think that Raihan stayed because he wanted to visit Crescent Hall.

“Anyway, put in a request for an audience.”

“With our Crown Prince?”

“Yes. That’s the official line.”

Durant would probably realize her true intentions right away. If the request was accepted, she would be able to meet Raihan. As Mary left to carry out her order, Dione began sorting through the pile of letters she’d received.

People called her the flower of society, but that didn’t mean she ruled over it. Those people were usually called the queens of society.

To be a ‘flower’ meant having some influence, setting trends, not making enemies, and, above all, being the most beautiful in society at the moment.

In Dione’s case, she’d lost much of her influence after taking the Young Heiress seat…

But the influence she lost was absorbed by her close friend, Nina Chapelle, who played the role of society’s queen, so it wasn’t a big problem for her.

As she sorted through replies, Dione opened a letter from Nina and raised her eyebrows.

“Asking if the newspaper article is true?”

For reference, Nina’s specialty was blunt speech. She always managed to walk the fine line without being rude, though some sensitive people might find her a bit much. But since that was just her personality, everyone more or less accepted it.

And clearly, Nina’s bluntness was being used on Dione as well.

Taking up her fountain pen, Dione reread the letter and calmly wrote her reply. Since things were like this, she had a favor to ask Nina.

* * *

“Please wait here for a moment.”

“All right.”

The request for an audience was accepted almost immediately—within an hour at most. The place where Dione sat now was the Crown Prince’s reception room, but the person she would meet was not Durant.

As she passed the time, she suddenly remembered what Durant had written in a small note allowing the meeting.

「Young Heiress, you have many sins.」

‘What nonsense…’

Did she really have so many sins? What a thing to say. Ever since she’d grown up, she’d worked so hard to make a name for herself in Essen Empire’s diplomacy, just like her predecessors.

So even for this delegation, she had done her best…

‘…Or maybe not?’

After all, she’d made that mistake at the end, so maybe it hadn’t gone so well. And instead of making a name for herself in diplomacy, she was about to become famous for a scandal.