Chapter 9

Chapter 9

It was more difficult to face this man today. She couldn’t count how many times she had expected and got disappointed today.

She just wanted to quickly finish with his business so she could go upstairs and rest. The situation about Isabella had already started to make her head ache.

“What did you want to discuss with me?”

“I heard you got a letter from Winston Estate.”

Did he already hear the news?

Kathleen nodded her head.

“No matter what Count Winston asks, say no. Recently, information has come in that he has been in contact with the Empress. Obviously his request has something to do with the Empress. Where is the letter?”

“…I burned it.”

“Burned?”

One of Alexis’s eyebrows raised.

“I thought I would wait and see. Isabella said she was going to make her debut in the social circles of the Capital, and she asked me to be her chaperone.”

“There’s nothing more to hear.”

Alexis, who cut off Kathleen’s words, laughed.

“I will reply that we have no intention of doing so.”

“The Duke himself?”

It was surprising.

“You don’t have to. He’ll be less angry if I send him a reply. He’ll get past it.”

“No, I don’t think so.”

Alexis firmly said as he sat down with his long legs crossed.

“The Count of Winston let his biological daughter leave the house and work as a maid for the Duke. He even took the dowry when you became the Duchess. The whole Empire knows that, but why should I tolerate it? If I let it go, it will throw the prestige of the Walten family to the ground.”

“…..”

“Don’t even think about being stubborn. Then, I’ll leave now. I have some unfinished business related to the management of the estate.”

“I.”

Kathleen impulsively grabbed Alexis. She realized that the golden eyes looking back at her had not conveyed any emotions, she regretted it immediately. However, her lips moved unknowingly.

“If rumors spread that the Duke sent a reply on my behalf, other people would criticize me for being a lacking wife.”

What was his reason for directly making a move even though he knew that fact?

“There are a lot of people who hate me because of the succession issue, but if the Duke covers for me, I will suffer the damage. They would misunderstand…”

“What would they misunderstand?”

“The relationship between me and the Duke.”

“Didn’t I say that such a misunderstanding is what I really want?”

There was no hesitation in his hand pulling away from Kathleen.

“That’s the only way we won’t be asked to divorce.”

“Divorce… huh.”

“Yes. Because I have no intention of letting go of the most suitable person for a marriage that won’t produce an heir.”

“…..”

Alexis left the dining hall.

Kathleen just stared at his back.

Without holding onto him any longer.

***

“Madame, a person came in a hurry from the Empress’ Palace.”

Five days after Alexis left, an invitation to a tea party arrived from the Empress’ Palace.

The Imperial invitation, sealed in a purple envelope with white wax, had an unexpected message.

“Today, they are asking you to attend a tea party instead of going to the Empress Palace.”

“Then other ladies are coming too?”

“I guess so.”

She looked at the invitation again, but there was no list of attendees. It was an informal tea party with only a small number of participants.

A long sigh came out.

“They’re telling me on the day of to prevent me from not participating.”

“Still, if it’s a tea party, I don’t think she would get angry openly. Well, I’ll prepare for it right away. All you need is a necklace and a ring.”

Emily’s quick preparation allowed her to arrive on time.

Since she couldn’t stay long at the tea party she attended last time, this time she had to show her face and talk. That was also one of the terms of the contract to receive the position of the Duchess of Walten.

‘To help the revival of the Walten Estate through appropriate social activities.’

Kathleen recalled one of the terms of the contract.

Alexis didn’t care about social activities. No matter how absurdly extravagant she was for her social activities, he never said a word. Rather, Alexis was not interested in the slightest even when Kathleen was subjected to humiliation. He often did not attend events for husbands and wives.

‘It will be the same today.’

It was a formal tea party, but because of the Empress’ silent permission, the other ladies could verbally attack Kathleen, and she had to endure it alone.

“The Duchess of Walten.”

When she reached the garden of the Empress’ Palace, the handmaiden announced her arrival. The chatter that flowed with a soft melody suddenly stopped. Kathleen walked in the middle of the path.

It was the moment she was about to pay tribute to the Empress.

“Sister!”

She heard a strange name. Kathleen doubted her ears.

‘It can’t be……?’

Concealing her anxiety, she bowed and turned to her side.

Contrary to expectations, there were no other ladies.

Instead, a woman with soft, curly chocolate hair and dark purple eyes approached her with a wide smile.

“Sister. It’s nice to see you like this.”

“Isabella?”

Her husband must have sent them a reply, so why did she come to the capital?

An unmarried young lady could not debut in the social circles and could not attend any party without a chaperone. Especially if the place was the Imperial Palace. But why was she here…

“I called her.”

The Empress, who was sitting on a large, soft chair as if lying down, said satisfactorily.

“Count Winston has been guarding the borders on the frontier for a long time, I should give this lady this much.”

“…I see.”

What Alexis said was true.

“Sit down. Shouldn’t the sisters who haven’t seen each other in a long time resolve their regrets?”

Contrary to her expectations, the gentle Empress’ attitude seemed very willing for some reason. She thought she was lucky that there was no verbal abuse, but her heart became uneasy. Kathleen sat down next to the Empress. Isabella grinned and sat across from her. It was a strange seating arrangement for an unmarried young lady of the Count.

She was nervous at the unusual atmosphere, but she couldn’t pretend she didn’t know the opponent in front of her, so she spoke out of courtesy.

“I didn’t know you were already in the capital.”

Then Isabella burst out laughing.

“Yes. I didn’t want sister to know, so I asked Father not to write the date on purpose.”

Even after she left the Winston estate, she had never heard her call her sister, but now she laughed at the change in demeanor by calling her such a name.

“Rumors spread all the way to the Winston Estate, saying that the Duke of Walten had liked older sister so much that he even burned all the letters from her family.”

“Oh my. I didn’t know it was that much. I’ve never seen the Duke of Walten care about someone so much in my life.”

The Empress interrupted the conversation with a smile on her lips.

“Of course, I feel proud that he loves his wife so much, but I’m still worried that you still haven’t given him children.”

The thorny words came out without fail. Kathleen lowered her gaze and clasped the cup in front of her.

“Not long ago, Duke Walten came to the Imperial Palace. There was no news of a child. Even if Prince Walten isn’t interested in a successor yet, you’ll have to persuade him well. Don’t you think so? After all, you’re not even an ordinary noble lady.”

“…..Yes.”

“Young lady Winston, did you hear that? You shouldn’t do that.”

The Empress, who seemed to be nagging Kathleen for a long time, suddenly changed who she was talking to.

“Yes, Your Majesty the Empress. I will not disappoint you.”

Isabella smiled softly and sat down with the Empress.

“Because the most important duty of the Crown Princess will be to continue the Imperial Family.”

Crown Princess?

As Kathleen’s pale blue eyes widened, Isabella looked at her with a more serious smile.

“Oh, that’s right. Sister doesn’t know yet, right? It was a secret marriage arrangement, so we kept it out of the public eye. So you wouldn’t know since you’re already part of the Walten family. You understand, right?”

Seeing the strangely sparkling purple eyes, she now understood Isabella’s attitude. Every time she saw her, she would be sarcastic or yell at her, no wonder her attitude changed.

‘A sense of superiority for being above me.’

Isabella had always been immersed in that feeling.

‘So when I said I was going to be the Duchess of Walten, she must have caused a mess.’

It was surprising that the Imperial Family had taken two women from the same family to marry into them, but it was not a problem as there was no such restriction under Imperial Law. In particular, these days, as the national defense issue in the border region resurfaced, the importance of the Winston Estate was being highlighted again.

“Yes, congratulations.”

So Kathleen greeted her calmly. Isabella’s eyebrows twitched slightly at her unwavering appearance.

“But the Crown Prince is not of age, so there will still be some time before the wedding. In the meantime, the succession of the Imperial Family must somehow be strengthened.”

The Empress interrupted again. The story of succession was brought up again.

“I have to ask you to do something. Promise me you won’t be jealous.”

“What do you mean jealous?”

“Promise that Duchess Walten will be generous even if the Duke gets a successor from another place.”

Kathleen’s hands trembled at the embarrassing words. She groaned involuntarily and set her cup down.

“What do you mean, Your Majesty?”

“Shouldn’t you know it well? It means that if an illegitimate child is properly admitted, the child can be recognized as the head of the estate.”

Isabella responded to the Empress’ words.

“Of course. Sister will not be harsh, because not only does she know it well, but she understands it too.”

Observing Kathleen’s hardened face with delight, she seemed to know something. Kathleen took turns looking at her and the Empress.

“Oh my. Did you not know?”

The Empress spoke as if she had been waiting.

“The fact that Duke Walten has a mistress?”

“……A mistress, you say?”

“Yes. Everyone already knows it.”

The Empress said as she leaned her body back.

“Not only in the capital, but they say that he is busy with at least one mistress in each territory. He rarely comes home to the residence, right? A castle is being repaired and all sorts of decorations were used. I heard that he packed all kinds of things, including clothes. How much must he have liked the mistress, to do things he has never done before?”

She was reminded of her husband, who emptied the Duchy from day to day saying that he had to manage the estate.

‘…I don’t think so.’

It was not a marriage of love anyway, so if he wanted to meet another woman, there was no reason to hide it. Besides, he didn’t want children, but a mistress…

‘However.’

While repeating to herself that it wasn’t the case, a question came to mind.

Kathleen had never once asked him if he had another woman. So Alexis didn’t have to deny or answer questions of whether he had a mistress. Besides, he only said he didn’t want to have an heir, but he never said he didn’t like sleeping around.

Her head felt dizzy.

“If possible, it would be nice to see a successor from the Duchess, but if it doesn’t work out, you have to get it from outside. Don’t you?”

To make matters worse, the Empress persuaded her to answer. Kathleen, clutched the handle of the teacup and bit her lip.

“If the mistress comes to the Duke’s residence with a child, older sister… Kyaaaah!”

Isabella screamed at her in a loud voice. Kathleen was startled by the sound and she hurriedly removed her hand from her cup. The Empress was surprised and let out a startled breath.

“W-What is this!”

But it was already too late.

Kathleen’s hot tea was frozen cold, and white ice crystals had already covered her cup and the table. Isabella and the Empress hurriedly got up, and the plates and glasses they dropped shattered and made a shrill sound.

Kathleen looked down at her hand. The ice crystals between her fingers were visible through her thin lace gloves.

She felt terrible and closed her eyes.

“Is the rumor of a cursed bloodline true?”

The Empress’ angry voice pierced her ears.

“I only thought that rumors were circulating because you were of mixed foreign blood, but how grotesque…!”

It was a secret that no one knew except the people of the Winstons. Her hair turned white, perhaps because the flaws she had been hiding all her life had been exposed.

As Kathleen leaned back, she bumped into someone from behind. A warm hand grabbed her arm and made her stand behind him.

‘Alexis?’