Chapter 30

Marian rubbed her cheek against Lionel’s broad shoulder, smiling bashfully. It was a textbook seduction, and normally, he would have gladly accepted the invitation of such a beauty…  

But today was not the right time, even for Marian.

“Sorry, but I can’t. I should head back to the auction hall soon myself. As the host, it wouldn’t do for me to be absent.”

“That’s a lie. It’s because of a woman, isn’t it?”

Marian narrowed her eyes, almost accusingly, and whined. Lionel quietly lowered his gaze to look straight at her.

“Did you eavesdrop? On my conversation with Thiago?”

“Yes, I did. I wanted to talk to you myself, Your Grace, so I waited for you to finish.”

“I see. Actually, you don’t seem drunk at all, do you?”

At Lionel’s sharp question, Marian grinned and pulled away. She had indeed drunk, and her cheeks were red, but she was perfectly sober.

Lionel frowned slightly, seeing her brazen lies.

“I’ll give you credit for your nerve. But if you don’t have a good reason, you’d better be prepared for trouble.”

“Oh, don’t make it sound so complicated, Your Grace. What I’m about to say is very simple. I’m going to talk about money now.”

“Money? Your business, you mean? If it’s that, you could have discussed it plenty at the auction earlier.”

“No! Not my business, your business, Your Grace. To be precise…”

Marian smiled sweetly, pausing before she whispered,

“I want to talk about your debt, Your Grace. You have quite a lot, don’t you?”

Lionel was inwardly surprised but kept his face neutral.

As far as he knew, the Valentin Duchy had never been in debt to the Belvard family. Had Richard, who’d been with Marian all day, revealed some secret of the Duchy?

He kept his composure as much as possible, despite his suspicions.

“Sorry, but I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“It’s no use denying it. In fact, I bought the Valentin Duchy’s debt.”

She began to tell the truth. Marian looked at Lionel with a bright expression, as if expecting his reaction to change.

“The 250,000 gold you owe to the Asilique Merchant Guild. Now, you can just pay it all to me.”

* * *

The auction was nearing its end. Clarette, while chatting with those around her, occasionally glanced toward the entrance of the auction hall.

It had already been an hour since Duke Valentin left.

‘Did something happen? I thought he’d be back soon.’

There was no way something serious could have happened to the Duke. He was the master of this place, and there were plenty of servants to help him everywhere.

Still, Clarette had a bad feeling. For some reason, she felt she ought to go find him herself…

“Miss Sollier, are you not accepting any more commissions?”

“…Pardon?”

While Clarette was thinking about the Duke, a man asked her. He was a wealthy commoner who ran a merchant group in the southern continent. He smiled broadly at her.

“I saw your painting at the Lowd Earldom. You painted the Countess of Lowd so elegantly. I’ve always wanted to commission my own portrait if I ever had the chance.”

“Thank you. But for now, I’m focusing on His Grace’s commissions.”

“I see. Well, you should prioritize the Duke’s portrait. Still, if you ever get the chance…”

Everyone assumed she would paint the Duke’s portrait. Clarette didn’t bother correcting them, but she was a little worried.

‘If none of the works I paint at the ducal mansion are made public, everyone will just see me as the Duke’s mistress, not a painter. I should probably produce something to show people first.’

Maybe she should paint at least one portrait of the Duke. He had only recently inherited his title, so he would need such a painting—a grand portrait worthy of the head of a noble house.

‘I’ll ask His Grace when he returns. I feel like he’ll say yes.’

Clarette wanted to paint him as soon as possible. Whether it was his splendidly dressed appearance, his relaxed everyday look, or even his bare form. After tonight’s auction party, the Duke would have more free time, and she’d be able to spend time with him soon.

She smiled unconsciously, imagining the moment she would paint him.

“Clarette.”

At the unexpected voice, she turned her head. For some reason, Thiago was looking down at her with a faint smile.

“Thiago…? You haven’t left yet?”

Clarette asked in puzzlement, and he snickered, stepping closer.

“I was about to, but I saw your seat was empty.”

Thiago plopped down in the seat where the Duke had been sitting. The people who had been talking to Clarette exchanged glances in surprise at his boldness. Though the Duke had been away for a while, Clarette’s seat was implicitly reserved for him.

“Thiago, that’s the Duke’s seat.”

Clarette pointed out gently, but Thiago didn’t care, just grinned.

“Oh, is it? Then I’ll move when His Grace returns. Until then, does it really matter?”

They say famous artists are often eccentric—indeed. People watched Thiago’s behavior with curiosity, but not wanting to join in his rebellion, they eventually scattered.

Only the two of them remained. Clarette lowered her voice to Thiago.

“What are you doing? When His Grace returns…”

“Don’t worry. Duke Valentin won’t be coming back for a while.”

“What? How do you know that?”

“He’s in the garden right now. With that woman from Asilique.”

When Clarette fell silent, Thiago added quietly,

“She’s incredibly drunk. She was clinging to the Duke, making quite a scene. The Duke looked so uncomfortable.”

“You should have helped. Instead of coming alone.”

“Well, does the Duke want my help?”

Clarette recalled the tense atmosphere earlier, when the Duke and Thiago had confronted each other. Thiago had been quite hostile, as if the Duke were his rival.

“Then I’ll go and help.”

Clarette got up and headed toward the auction hall’s entrance. Thiago followed, standing beside her as if to escort her.

“Well, maybe going now isn’t the best idea, Clarette. Who knows what kind of relationship those two have.”

“What do you mean, relationship? They only met for the first time today…”

As Clarette replied and stepped out of the annex entrance, she spotted a familiar figure and stopped.

Far away, heading toward the main gate where the carriages waited, Duke Valentin was walking. Beside him, under the softly lit garden, was a woman.

Just as Thiago had said, Marian Belvard.

“…So that’s how it is.”

Thiago, standing next to her, spoke meaningfully. Clarette couldn’t take her eyes off the Duke and Marian’s backs, murmuring,

“Miss Belvard is very drunk. He must be escorting her to the carriage.”

“You think so?”

Thiago teased, but Clarette stood silently. The tall, dignified Duke Valentin and the slender, beautiful Marian looked like an illustration from a romance novel. Normally, she’d be itching to sketch such stunning models.

But right now, Clarette just wanted the Duke to come back soon. Even if he was in the middle of the garden, she hoped he would suddenly turn around. She wished he’d realize she was waiting here.

But contrary to her hopes, the Duke got into the carriage with Marian and closed the door.

Why close the door? What are they going to do inside? Clarette’s imagination started to run wild.

The carriage with the Duke and Marian began to move, slowly passing through the ducal mansion’s main gate. Clarette stared blankly at its departing figure.

The host of this grand auction party, Duke Valentin, had left the party before it even ended.

Leaving his partner behind, taking another woman he’d just met today.

* * *

It had been a long time since Lionel had ridden alone in a carriage with a woman late at night.

He accepted Marian’s familiar, almost brazen attitude, as she leaned in, smelling of alcohol. Memories of dealing with countless women like her in the past flashed through his mind.