Chapter 25

In time for dinner, I went down to the dining room wearing the dress Fabian sent me.

Before leaving the room, I looked at myself in the mirror. It gave me an elegant feeling without being too conspicuous.

I didn’t wear any jewelry and my gorgeous blonde hair was pulled tight and tied up to make it less conspicuous.

‘Come to think of it, this is the first time I’ve eaten in a place other than my room.’

What I envisioned was a place where I sit at the far end of a long, endless table, and communicate only by yelling at the person sitting at the other end.

However, the dining room I was guided into was dazzlingly splendid but smaller than I expected.

It would be good for only twelve people at most.

I swallowed dry saliva at the atmosphere that was too intimate than I thought.

As people entered one by one, they were guided to their respective seats.

Since Fabian had told me briefly about his relatives in advance last evening, I was able to guess who was seated.

My seat was at the end of the table, but it was across from Richard.

Richard, who came first, was already seated in his seat.

The thought of making eye contact with Richard throughout the meal already makes me feel uneasy.

Before I was seated, Fabian showed up at the dinner table just in time.

He was wearing a black suit that fit his body, making him look taller and more dashing than usual.

Fabian made eye contact with me and he greeted me lightly.

Between me and Fabian, a gorgeously dressed brunette girl sat first.

She glanced at me and gave me a slight polite smile.

‘Heloise Conrad. Fabian’s cousin.’

It is said that we are only one year apart, so if we got along, we might become friends.

I also smiled slightly at her.

As I sat down, the face of Richard sitting in front of me naturally caught my eye.

He brushed his dark hair with oil like adults, and exposed his forehead, but it was not a style suitable for a boy who was still growing up.

Like a kid pretending to be an adult, I had to bite my lip to hold back my laughter.

As soon as I sat down, Richard immediately spoke to me,

“What, what about the dress I’ve sent?”

It was an annoyed tone.

We haven’t even said hello yet.

I gave a common-sense answer like an adult.

“Hello. Sir Richard. Thank you for inviting me to the dinner.”

“I must have sent you a present, right?”

He cut my greeting and furrowed his eyebrows.

‘Weren’t you sent it to insult me?’

I glanced at the outfits of the women at the table.

Except for me, there were three women.

No one wore an overly fancy dress.

‘If I think about it, of course not. It’s a family dinner.’

I answered with a smile,

“Thank you for the generous gift, Sir Richard. But was that for dinner tonight? They’re too expensive for me……how dare I wear something like that.”

“Then you told me to wear it, or what?”

“I’ll give it back. As I said, it’s too much for me.”

“Don’t do anything useless. There’s no need for that.”

“Then, should I keep it well and sell it when I get home to help the household?”

“What? Do you know why I sent you that?”

I joked a little, but immediately Richard’s voice rose.

– I sent it on purpose because the lace matches your eye color…… Besides, girls love pink! But instead of wearing it, how can you even think of selling it!

I could hear his inner voice as if he was resentful.

What? You really sent that tacky dress for me to wear?

‘Are you blind?’

I just grinned and glanced at Richard.

Then the food was placed one by one in front of the people.

The supper had begun.

“Richard.”

People’s eyes turned to the woman sitting at the other end of the table.

She was a middle-aged woman who looked to be in her forties.

She must be Fabian’s aunt, Marchioness Valery Conrad, I guessed.

“There’s someone I haven’t seen. Who is that lady?”

Valerie said, dipping the silver spoon into her own soup bowl with her graceful movements.

As with her movements, her tone of voice was also graceful.

“Do you two know each other?”

“This is my guest. Aunt…… The aunt of Fabian’s aide……”

As Richard answered Valerie, he looked at me.

I chuckled.

‘He doesn’t seem to know my name yet.’

Instead of Richard, Fabian said calmly in a low voice.

“This is Miss Marcia, a distant relative of my aide, Aunt.”

“I didn’t ask you.”

Valerie turned her gaze towards me. She clenched her lips a little annoyed and wrinkled her eyebrows.

It was Heloise who asked instead of Valerie.

“Brother Fabian’s aide’s distant relative?”

She was looking at me with her curious face.

I answered politely.

“Yes, Young Lady. My aunt’s in-law’s cousin’s nephew is Fortus, who is Sir Fabian’s aide.”

“Then it’s nothing.”

Heloise didn’t listen, but she cut my words off.

She still had a smile on her face.

At first glance, her expression was soft, but her eyes were cold.

She looked at me for a moment, then she turned her face towards Fabian.

“Brother Fabian, it’s unimaginable for me, but when I heard about it, there were many people in the world who tried to suck blood by clinging to a living relative.”

‘… what? Now, are you talking about me?’

I was just about to eat my soup,

“There are people who come to me even though they are distant relatives who cannot be respected and they say that they are working as an aide in a great estate.”

– Ugly, just flirt with Fabian.

I almost vomited the soup I ate at the sound of Richard’s heart heard in an instant.

“No matter that Richard invited you, you dared to appear at the Grand Duke’s family dinner.”

Even though Heloise said such a thing, the way she spoke was cute.

I saw Richard wrinkle his expression from the other side of me.

The corner of one of his lips raised up, there is a smile on his face.

– That stupid even talk nonsense. Did you think it would catch Fabian’s attention? If your head is empty, keep your mouth shut.

Sure enough, I heard his heart as it is.

He must have felt that way when he saw the person he invited curse right in front of his eyes.

‘Or is it that they ​​don’t get along?’

Fabian was sitting upright without even looking at Heloise, who was leaning on him.

He said, picking up the wine glass in front of him.

“Clinging to a living relative…… That’s what happens regardless of your status. Laurent is no exception.”

A soft smile appeared on his lips as he spoke lowly, and soon red wine as the color of his eyes flowed between his lips.

As his neck moved and swallowed the wine, Heloise lost her words for a moment, as if in embarrassment.

“Oh my, Brother, such things happen only among those who have neither knowledge nor manners. It is a different world from people born of noble blood like us.”

Laughter crossed the faces of some at the mention of noble blood.

– Noble blood, even half a piece of shit is noble?

A middle-aged man sitting across from Valerie put the spoon down on the table with a clattering sound.

“Half right and half wrong, Heloise. If that dirty blood spilled around, it would contaminate Laurent’s blood.”

His voice was so loud that it echoed through the dining room.

I glanced at him.

‘This must be Count Dominic Laurent, who was originally going to be the next Grand Duke.’

“I don’t know whose son he invited a low-ranking person to a family dinner without even thinking about it.”

Valerie spoke to him in an elegant tone.

Dominic growled.

“Uncle Dominic, when I and Brother Fabian get married, Laurent’s blood will grow that much.”

Heloise added with a groan.

Meanwhile, the pale-faced woman sitting between Dominic and Richard didn’t say a word.

– Huff, I’m tired.

Her inner voice was not different from her expression.

Maybe that woman is Dominic’s wife, Emma Laurent.

The age difference between Emma and Dominic was ten years.

She must have given birth to Richard at a young age.

My eyes turned from Dominic to Emma, ​​and from Emma to Richard.

Richard was staring at me.

He said, “I invited two people. Why did you come alone?”