A Battlefield Of Flowers (7)

Sir Kaltz’s eyes widened, and then he sighed.

“So that was why you had been so dispirited. You heard some pointless gossip.”

After saying that, he gave a short nod.

“Yes. It is true. Duke Welch supplied provisions to the Mort Knights while they were on the battlefield, and in return, he demanded an engagement to his daughter. His Grace had no choice but to accept.”

My heart sank with a thud. I lowered my eyes sorrowfully.

“So what everyone said was true…….”

“But that engagement was broken off long ago!”

Kaltz hurriedly leaned forward, and the force of it made the carriage lurch from side to side.

“Ah, my apologies.”

After apologizing, Kaltz shook his red head.

“Duke Welch broke off the engagement the moment he learned His Grace was ill. His Grace brought you here afterward. Lady Nanael Welch has absolutely nothing to do with him anymore.”

“But.”

Had the noblewomen not spoken as though the two had been forced to part?

It was not difficult to imagine Victor and such a lovely young lady acting as husband and wife. They must truly have made a well-matched pair…….

My stomach suddenly burned, and I set down the grilled skewer I had been holding. Kaltz turned pale.

“Madam, you left food unfinished…….”

I stared down at the carriage floor with a shadowed face.

I hated how ashamed I felt for caring about this the entire time. I hoped Victor would never learn of these base emotions of mine.

I asked Sir Kaltz for a favor.

“Please keep it a secret from His Grace that I asked about Lady Welch.”

Kaltz watched my expression carefully.

Then again, he was Victor’s knight. He was obligated to report any irregularity he noticed to his master.

But truly, if even Victor looked at me with disappointment, I did not think I could endure it anymore.

I had no choice but to say something I did not particularly like saying.

“If you tell him…….”

“?”

“I will cut you down.”

Kaltz recoiled in horror and dropped his skewer.

I stared at the lavish mansion with clouded eyes.

The House of Cattaleang. It was the residence of a marquis family famous for being both highly prestigious and the wealthiest in the Empire. The “Golden Chamber” of Cattaleang Territory, where jewels were supposedly piled higher than a person, was also a favorite subject of minstrels.

But to me, it was merely another torture chamber.

After entering the salon, I immediately greeted the Marchioness of Cattaleang, then went to lean against the wall. The marquis family’s chandelier, made with no expense spared on costly crystal, helped distract me.

But the voices of Lady Welch’s group were too loud to ignore.

“Grand Duke Mort is every woman’s dream, is he not?”

“Of course. Is he not the greatest knight on the continent? And that noble appearance! Even the knights in old tales could not compare to him.”

“They say the grand ducal residence has been quiet lately, so surely we will hear good news soon, Nanael?”

“Oh my, why would you ask me that? How embarrassing!”

After their bell-like laughter, Lady Welch fluttered her fan and smiled like a flower.

I could not bear to watch any longer. I staggered over, took a glass of champagne, and sat in a chair tucked away in a corner. Since Kaltz had driven off the count on the first day, no one had openly provoked me, but the gazes filled with curiosity and ridicule remained. I lowered my head. I thought the shadow beneath the curtain suited the person I was now.

At that moment, a shadow fell before my feet.

“I greet Her Highness the Grand Duchess.”

There should not have been anyone here who could address me first.

Startled, I instinctively raised my head.

A young lady I had never seen before stood before me. She wore an extraordinarily lavish dress and a sapphire necklace with stones so large they left me speechless. Jet-black curls cascaded over lace woven strand by strand with jewels. The moment I saw the dazzling diamond circlet resting atop her hair, I forgot all the etiquette I had been taught and let my mouth fall open.

Even after visiting social gatherings every day, I had never seen a woman dressed in anything this expensive. Could she be a princess from somewhere?

As I wondered, she sat beside me without hesitation.

“Please forgive my rudeness, Your Highness. I am Katarina Cattaleang, daughter of the Marquis of Cattaleang.”

Only then did I realize that she was Lady Katarina, daughter of the hostess who had organized this party. When I hurriedly tried to return her greeting, she stopped me.

“Please remain seated. I broke etiquette as well.”

With an elegant gesture, she summoned a servant and took a glass. I stared blankly at her profile.

Why had she spoken to me? There was nothing to be gained by being seen at my side now.

Had she come to ridicule me as well?

“What brings you here?”

When I asked hesitantly, she replied sharply.

“They truly are shameless people. Would you not agree?”

Her gaze was fixed on the center of the ballroom. When I followed it and found Lady Welch, I flinched in surprise.

It was the first time anyone other than me had criticized Lady Welch. Seeing my surprise, she continued in a rough manner completely at odds with her attire.

“I do not wish for people like that to soil my family’s salon, but our merchant guild receives protection from the Welch Knights, so I could not drive them out. Once again, I apologize for the discourtesy, Your Highness.”

“N-no, it is all right.”

Even hearing you say that was enough to make me grateful.

I swallowed those words and moistened my dry throat. She frowned as she explained.

“Nanael Welch has been acting like the mistress of the grand ducal house for quite a long time. Whenever His Grace distinguished himself on the battlefield, she boasted as though it were her own achievement. Even if she had truly been his wife, she would not have had the right to be that arrogant.”

“I see…….”

I nodded, feeling a strange pleasure at having someone insult Nanael on my behalf.

Katarina clenched her fist.

“Then His Grace married, and she began spreading rumors like those. Apparently, once His Grace recovers completely, she believes she will take the grand duchess’s seat in place of Your Highness. It is so absurd and vulgar…….”

Katarina shuddered with anger and drained her wine in one gulp. Overwhelmed by her forcefulness, I could only keep nodding. Unlike the many women of high society, she seemed to dislike Nanael immensely. She set her glass down with a sharp tap.

“Your Highness is the rightful mistress of the grand ducal house. What they are doing is dishonorable. I am ashamed that we have shown only such ugliness to Your Highness, who came from another country.”

I gazed steadily at Katarina.

She seemed to possess tremendous pride as an Imperial noblewoman. The sight of her, dressed in a gown and openly denouncing dishonor, was truly befitting the daughter of a noble house.

The words left my mouth before I could think.

“Lady Katarina, you truly are noble.”

“Am I?”

She smiled brightly. As she moved, jewels whose value I could not even begin to estimate glittered brilliantly. Her family’s wealth sparkled across her entire body.

Katarina spoke with serious eyes.

“As the heir to Cattaleang, I never forget either the rights I may claim or the duties I must bear. If that is what it means to be noble, then I suppose I am a very noble person indeed.”

Rights and duties…….

I looked at her, then silently nodded.

After that, for the first time since the social season began, I laughed and conversed with someone in a salon.

Perhaps thanks to Lady Katarina, I did not feel particularly miserable that day.

I ate dinner and washed in unscented water to rinse away the perfume clinging to my entire body. Once I pulled on a shirt, everything somehow felt lighter.

Katarina had dismissed it as nonsense, but Nanael Welch truly had been a suitable fiancée for Victor. She was the daughter of an allied house, of similar status, and the finest prospective bride in the Empire. Perhaps she had been Victor’s lover, and perhaps one day she would become Grand Duchess in my place. After all, I was not even a noblewoman capable of acting as the mistress of the house.

I had come here as though I had been sold because of my duty to my territory. So this degree of suffering was simply something I had to endure.

I curled up on the bed with my sword in my arms.

I had always lived a difficult life, so I was accustomed to swallowing my pain alone. Even so, the reason I felt so miserable now was probably because Victor had been too kind. He had been the first person like that in my life. So…….

Just as I buried my face in my arms, the bedroom door suddenly flew open.

“Marion!”

Victor strode inside and looked at me with desperate concern.

I greeted him awkwardly.

“Welcome back, Grand Du—”

“What happened?”

He was suddenly right in front of me.

When I avoided his gaze, his eyes followed mine.

“What happened?”

“N-nothing.”

“You are not looking at me.”

I squeezed my eyes shut and clutched the sword as though it were my lifeline. Every time I looked at Victor, useless imaginings flooded my mind, and I could not bear to face him.

When I stubbornly refused, he stopped moving.

“……Do you realize we have barely spoken properly for several days?”

“That was because I was tired…….”

“The servants told me that even when you are in the dining room, you go upstairs when I arrive.”

I bit my lip hard.

There were so many people in this mansion. Of course someone would talk.

I cleared my throat with difficulty and raised my head. Victor’s eyes were frighteningly still. Swallowing the sorrow rising in me once more, I forced a smile.

“I truly only wanted to rest. Nothing happened.”