Chapter 185

It was quite tiring and difficult to deal with all of the visitors attending the funeral. The Duchess Efreni had not yet been able to overcome the wounds of her heart, but had to be subjected to the meaningless comfort given by the visitors. Duchess Efreni went into her room with a tired expression on her face. After the funeral was held, she felt like her son had truly left her side, and she could not help but feel even more depressed.

KNOCK KNOCK! After she heard someone knocking on the door, Duchess Efreni answered with a weak voice. “Who is it?”

“It is I, Duchess.” It was the voice of the butler. “A parcel has arrived.”

“A parcel, you say?”

At her puzzled question, the butler showed the parcel directly to her. Duchess Efreni took a close look at the surface of the parcel. In plain text was written only with To the Duchess Efreni, but there was no information regarding the sender anywhere. Duchess Efreni sent away all the servants, including the butler, and opened the parcel after she was alone.

“What… is this?”

There were a total of 17 letters in the parcel. Duchess Efreni started from the first letter from the stack. These words were written on the very first line of the letter. Dear Jany…

“Jany…?” The Duchess of Efreni looked thoughtful as she contemplated the name. Who was Jany? She started reading again from the second line of the letter.

——

You are with child? Congratulations. You have unfolded the first chapter of your grand scheme.

Even though the Duchess has a son, he is sickly, so it is not like you have no chance at all. As long as you manage to give birth to a son, there is still a chance.

As promised, I will help you to become the Lady of the Efreni household with all the resources readily available to me. If you help me, that is.

Anyways, I hope you are healthy and stay well. I will write again if something comes up.

Make sure to burn this letter.

From Your Rose.

——

“Ha…!” Duchess Efreni caught onto everything from the content of that single letter. ‘Jany’ was the nickname for ‘January’, and ‘Rose’ was…

“Marchioness Ethyller, you…” Duchess Efreni crumpled the letter she was holding when she realized that. -Help her become the Lady of the Efreni household? Push me out, the one who carries the actual blood of the Efreni family? Why, committed to killing both me and my son, both of you?-

Duchess Efreni burst into laughter at the absurdity. Since the signature of the Marchioness Ethyller was at the end of the letter, this letter was not fabricated.

She immediately read the second letter. It delivered her congratulations on the success of January giving birth to a son. There wasn’t much in the third and fourth letters. When it came to the fifth one, Duchess Efreni had to confirm in the letter what she thought only she had known.

——

My dear Jany, it has been a long time.

Today I finally met with Duke Efreni.

He finally found out that I knew about what happened to the dethroned Empress Alyssa. I have in my hands the very letter that he sent to the dethroned Empress Alyssa regarding Janet! You should have seen the look on his face at that moment! Such a shame.

If this goes into the Emperor’s ear, His Majesty will probably not forgive him. He will take revenge in any way to anyone who is directly connected to his mother’s death.

Duke Efreni knows it well, so he cannot do anything to me.

Of course, he might try to assassinate me, but he is not such a foolish man as to dare to get rid of someone who is favored by the Emperor. Moreover, the Imperial Guards are protecting me, so what would I have to be worried about?

I will write again if something else happens. Burn this letter.

Rose.

——

“So that was why Marchioness Ethyller… !” Duchess Efreni nodded as if she finally understood. She had thought it was strange when her husband had suddenly asked her to take in the Lady of a mere Baron’s family as an adopted daughter, but for it to have been this horrible reason… Duchess Efreni could not wipe the incredulous expression off her face.

The Duchess was already aware of all the information that Rosemond knew. There was no way that she could not know. It was she who had encouraged and helped with her husband’s plans.

Duke Efreni was originally a Marquis who wanted a higher status, and the fastest way to attain it was to make the green-with-envy Empress commit a grave crime and take away the Prime Minister position from her father, Duke Oswin. It was quite possible at that time, as Alyssa was so blinded by her jealousy.

Upon hearing of her husband’s plans, Duchess Efreni had agreed. It was for the family, so she had no reason to object. Duchess Efreni and her husband got into contact with the dethroned Empress Alyssa, endlessly driving a wedge between her and Janet, and caused her to hate Janet.

Eventually, Empress Alyssa was dethroned and sentenced to death, and Duke Oswin went into self-isolation. Naturally, the position of the Prime Minister went to the highest-ranking Efreni family, and after a few years, the Marquis was recognized for his contributions as a Prime Minister and granted the title of a Duke.

But for Rosemond to have known about it… According to the contents of the letter, Duke Efreni did not directly disclose all of this to her, and Rosemond seemed to have found out from somewhere else. Duchess Efreni chewed her nails impatiently.

Anyway, Rosemond would be brought to trial soon and put to death unless something specific happened. Until then, she just had to not open her own mouth accordingly. Either that or she would kill Rosemond without anyone knowing. Rosemond’s life was forfeit anyway, so even if she suddenly died, no one would be particularly concerned.

Duchess Efreni considered the matter as she read the next letter. The content was mundane. The next letter was as well, and the next letter after that… As she became accustomed to the consistent mediocrity of the letters, a striking phrase caught her eye.

—

Duchess Efreni is very pitiful.

—

Duchess Efreni froze when she saw that one phrase in the letter. -Pitiful? She dared to call me that?-

She quickly read down the next verse of the letter.

—

To put it bluntly, there seems to be no woman more pitiful than her.

Born the daughter to the Efreni family, she handed the title over to her husband instead of taking it on herself. And instead of a man of a similar position, she gave it to the son of an insignificant Baron.

Duke Efreni is also very shameless; he should have behaved with the utmost sincerity to his wife, but he fell for the seduction of a mere prostitute and even gave birth to a son?

Not only that, this is something you did not know, but the Duchess Efreni became pregnant after being raped by Duke Efreni. Of course, the Duchess does not know this fact. Without knowing the truth, she firmly believes that she was the one to have chosen him. The person who really got to choose was not her, but him.

—

The letter fell from her hand. Duchess Efreni’s fingertips shook uncontrollably.

“Ho… How, something like this…”

Duchess Efreni’s face began to turn pale in shock and anger. She wrapped her hands around her face without even thinking about picking up the letter that had fallen under the chair. It was something that had happened twenty years ago. A memory that was faint now…

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Translated by Haeli

Edited by RED

“Lady Iz.”

Iz Efreni turned around to the sound of someone calling her name. The handsome blonde man seemed to have called her name. She replied, feeling her heart beginning to pound naturally. “Yes, Sir. What is the matter?”

The Marvinus Empire had just finished the coronation of the new Emperor and was buzzing. Banquets were being held all the time, and the nobles spent their joyous nights intoxicated with luxury and pleasure. As the daughter of a Marquis, Iz Epreni was no exception.

“You dropped your handkerchief.” The blond man politely handed over a white handkerchief.

Iz Efreni blushed as she accepted it. “Thank you, Sir. I was so careless.”

“Not at all. I am relieved that I discovered it.”

“Right, more than that… How did you know my name?” When asked by Iz Efreni, the man raised a friendly smile.

“I had heard that there was a famous beauty about, and I was able to figure out you were the one right away, Lady Iz.”

“Oh my.” Iz Efreni’s face reddened further at the compliments from the man. She asked him, “But who are you? I do not remember meeting you…”

“Ah, I have not yet introduced myself.” The man greeted her politely with a bow. “I am James Newton Lee Headwick from the Headwick family.”

“I am Iz Catia La Efreni from the Efreni family. Are you then the son of Baron Headwick?”

“That is correct.”

“Ah.” Iz internally muttered her disappointment to herself. He was a handsome-looking man who also seemed affectionate. However, he came from a much lower-ranking family. A marriage to a lower nobleman. Her father would never grant permission for such a marriage. She tried to hide her disheartened expression as she told him. “Thank you anyway, Sir. Then, I hope you enjoy the banquet today…”

“Wait a minute, my Lady.”

James called out to stop Iz. Iz peered up at the tall James with a puzzled look on her face. He showed her a smooth smile as he asked. “If you have not found a partner yet.”

“…”

“Lady Iz, would you please be my dance partner?”

“Ah.” Iz could not refuse and gave a small nod. She definitely had a crush on him from that moment on. With her agreement, James’ smile became brighter than before.

“It is an honor, my Lady.”

“…”

Iz’s cheeks continued to be colored pink. The two soon began dancing together. James waltzed expertly, as if he was a longtime socialite, and led Iz well. Iz, who was confident in her own dancing skills, had no choice but to fall for him even more. After the dance ended, Iz bid her farewell with a slightly flushed face. “I had a great time today, Sir.”

“I did as well, Lady Iz.” He did not lose his respectful smile to the end as he asked her. “Are you thirsty? I will bring you a cocktail. Please rest for a moment.”

“Ah… Thank you.” Iz nodded and moved over to a secluded corner. He was a caring man. If only his father’s status had been just a little higher…

“What are you thinking about, my Lady?”

While Iz had been thinking about this and that, he had come back. Iz replied with a soft smile on her face. “Just, some useless thoughts.”

“You must have a lot of thoughts.”

“Just a little.” With that said, she downed the cocktail that James had brought. It was sweet. She asked him. “I have a low tolerance when it comes to alcohol. I am afraid I am going to get drunk and show a bad side of myself.”

“Please put away those concerns, my Lady.” James smiled charmingly as he whispered in her ear. Was it because he also drank some alcohol? Her ears felt hot at the touch of his breath. As Iz felt a bit lightheaded and stumbled, James was right there to catch her. “Be careful, my Lady. No matter how low the alcoholic content in the cocktail is…”

“Oh dear, I did not think I was so weak that I would get drunk off of one glass of cocktail. I must be getting old now.”

“Please do not say such sad words.” He shook his head as if it was not true. “Then, shall we go to the terrace?”

“Sounds good.” She agreed, and the two moved to the terrace. The two of them sat on the bench of the terrace, as they continued to sip their remaining cocktails. Iz felt she was starting to feel the effects of the alcohol, as she started to feel good. Iz murmured, thinking that it might be because of the person sitting next to her. “It is a little hot.”

“Are you hot?”

“My body… seems to be getting hot… ugh!” She suddenly let out a shriek. Ah, it was strange. Her body was not the same as usual that day. It seemed like heat was coming out from the core of her body… She spoke with a shaking voice. “My body feels strange.”

“Oh my.” He muttered with a shocked voice. “Are you feeling uncomfortable anywhere?”

“Ugh… just…”

“You put so much effort into your dancing earlier, your body must have been shocked.”

He placed a hand on her body with a worried tone. “I can loosen up your muscles.”

“I am fine… haugh!”

James pretended to loosen up her muscles and discreetly stroked her bare skin. The truth was, the cocktail that James had given her had included an aphrodisiac and sleeping pills. There was no way for Iz to know this, as she begged James with a face full of tears. “Strange, Sir. My body is too… because it is hot…”

“My Lady,” James called out to her in a subtle voice. Iz looked at him with reddened eyes. He whispered to her carefully. “I love you.”

“I am sorry?”

At the sudden confession, Izu forgot all the heat radiating from her body, and asked him in a startled voice. He confessed to her with a shy-seeming voice. “To be honest, from the very moment I laid eyes on you…”

“…”

“I fell in love at first sight.”

“But, we met for the first time today… Ah!”

Iz could not finish her sentence. It was because James kissed her right away. Iz thought that she would not be able to keep her senses with his soft lips, so she pulled her body away from him. As she did so, she could feel her awareness gradually fading.

“Ah… Sir… ”

With those words, Iz lost consciousness…

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Translated by Haeli

Edited by RED