Chapter 42

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‘How can a person be so shameless?’

It has been eight years since Mary had been by Ines’ side.

When the young lady lost her parents, made her socialite debut, befriended Charlotte, and met Ryan.

She watched the whole process of her getting married.

For all that long, Ines has always been true to both Ryan and Charlotte.

Devoted to her husband, and true to her friend. Nevertheless, Ryan and Charlotte had always been hard on Ines.

“How can the two do that to you, madam!”

Mary, who couldn’t help but express her resentment, but Ines said,

“It’s okay, it’s because I’m not good enough.”

Ines only smiled helplessly.

Fortunately, Ines had her heart set and finally cut off Ryan and Charlotte.

That did not mean that the wounds that Ines had suffered so far disappeared. The sound of her weeping softly as she was left alone every night, still sounded vividly in Mary’s ears. 

“Young Lady Jason.”

So Mary opened her mouth without realizing it.

“I know my actions are presumptuous and rude, but I have to tell you this.”

Her voice was terribly subdued.

“How long do you plan to cause trouble to the Lord?”

“Wow, what? Cause trouble?!”

“Up until now, the Lord has done so many things for you because you were her friend.”

Mary fixed her blue-edged gaze on Charlotte.

“Nevertheless, Lady Jason didn’t even thank her for that, but didn’t you avenge her kindness instead?”

“What are you saying now…… !”

Charlotte contorted her face horribly, as if she could grab Mary by the neck at any moment.

But then.

A carriage started running out from inside the townhouse’s garden.

It was a carriage with the coat of arms of the Count of Brierton.

Also, at this point in time, there was only one person in that carriage.

“Ines!”

Charlotte called out to Ines with a friendly voice.

As the distance between the carriage and the main gate got closer, the guards opened the front door so that the carriage could pass. 

Mary took a step back, making a sad face.

“My Lord….”

Through the window of the carriage, Ines could be seen.

Guilt flooded in.

‘I didn’t want the Lord to see Lady Jason.’

Seeing that brazen attitude, Mary raised her voice without realizing it. 

‘But I’m the Lord’s closest maid.”

Although she knew that every single one of her own demeanor was directly linked to Ines’s reputation, she became angry.

At the same time, Charlotte quickly shouted to Ines.

“Mary, how dare you slap me on the subject of a maid!”

“….”

“You’re bothering me. What are you talking about? How can that be…… !” 

Charlotte was now even pointing at Mary. She has no doubt that Ines will rebuke Mary, and she has an elated attitude while yelling at Mary.

Ines, who was staring at the frivolous figure, turned to Mary.

“Marry.”

“Yes, my Lord.”

Mary bowed her head.

At the same time, a warm voice rang out.

“Thank you.”

Huh?

At her unexpected thanks, Mary opened her eyes wide and looked up at Ines.

“Ines?”

Charlotte, meanwhile, looked like she had been hit in the face.

Ines, who smiled at Mary, gave an order to the coachman.

“Let’s go.”

The carriage ran out of the townhouse. Terrified, Charlotte rushed out of the way.

“Ines!”

Charlotte called the carriage as it was moving away again and again, but instead of stopping, the carriage increased its speed even more and disappeared.

‘Are you ignoring me now? Ines?’

Before the carriage left.

Ines’ expressionless eyes, who had glanced at her, pierced her chest.

Perhaps it would have been better if it was a contemptuous or angry look.

It was as if Ines was looking at a stone stuck in her feet, that gaze facing something completely worthless. It was a look that Charlotte never thought she would see in Ines…

‘… Uh, how could this be!’

Feeling her pride being torn to pieces, Charlotte bit her lips to bleed.

But she didn’t even have time to immerse herself in that sentiment for long. 

“Are you going to stay here like this?”

The guard asked Charlotte in a harsh voice.

Charlotte, who suddenly came to her senses, raised her head in a flash. 

‘No, if I go like this, I’ll lose Ines..!’

In a situation where even convincing Ines wasn’t even enough! 

Nervousness engulfed her whole body.Charlotte ran frantically to the roadside.

***

The place Ines decided to visit today was Baroness Wickham’s townhouse.

She had sent the invitation to tea time directly to Ines.

Although she invited Ines this time perhaps because she was curious about the Countess of Brierton’s glamorous divorce case.

‘Not bad.’

Baroness Wickham was also fairly broad-minded in the social world.

Moreover, the other ladies who interacted with the Baroness had similar tendencies to her. It meant luxury.

So, if they talk about this divorce case in moderation, it will take care of spreading it widely.

Meanwhile,

Huh?

Ines, who was about to walk into the parlor, paused.

It was because during the ladies’ conversation, a familiar name was heard.

“Sir Duke of Sussex.”

‘The Duke of Sussex?’

Ines opened her eyes wide.

In fact, Ines was expecting her story to come out.

Because there was a lot of talk about her divorce.

But why suddenly the Duke?

“The first person to excavate Count Brierton this time is the Duke of Sussex.”

One of the ladies gathered in the parlor spoke in an interesting voice.

“Isn’t he truly unique?”

“That’s right. In fact, it is rare for an immediate royal family to directly run a business.”

“His Majesty the King and the Queen were also very opposed to this, saying that the dignity of the royal family was inferior, right?”

Hearing that story, Ines recalled her distant past, which had been buried in her memory.

By the way, the fact that the Duke took over the collapsing Elton Company itself was quite significant.

It was when Ines was still a girl.

The second Prince of Lancaster, Enoch, suddenly announced that he would take over one of the press.

There was a lot of buzz around him. Now, Elton was one of the kingdom’s leading newspapers, but at that time, Elton was a small, crumbling company.

So no one could understand the prince’s eccentricities.

“But now look, the Duke of Sussex is the most famous person in the kingdom right now, right?”

The lady was sipping her tea and talking. 

“Elton is the most trusted press in the kingdom, and as the Duke focuses on Elton, naturally, the issue of succession to the throne was resolved neatly.”

“I see, there was a time when it was quite noisy over the succession issue…”

Ines blinked quietly.

Maybe it was because she had been mostly exposed to Enoch’s business side.

She hadn’t thought of that part at all.

‘Then…… It seems that the Duke of Sussex had no desire for the throne at all.’

In fact, Enoch has always had outstanding abilities and was a promising talent in the royal family.

To put it more bluntly.

It meant that he was in a position where he would have been fine if he had tried to take the throne.

But looking back on his steps, it was like……

‘Doesn’t it look like he’s deliberately distanced himself from the throne?’

Just then, the lady opened her mouth again.

“Besides, all of the leading up-and-coming artists in the kingdom were discovered by the Duke.”

“That’s right, he recently discovered the Countess of Brierton.”

Ah, so that’s where the story of the Duke of Sussex came from.

Ines was convinced.

Apparently, while talking about her, the stem of the conversation extended to the people who discovered her and helped her. 

“Isn’t it amazing? Thinking about it now, the Duke of Sussex’s decision to run a press was the perfect choice in many ways.”

“What do you mean, do you call this a godsend?”

The ladies chattered in interesting voices. Meanwhile, Ines, who was unintentionally overhearing, showed her presence and entered the parlor.

“Oh my God, Countess of Brierton!”

The teatime organizer, Baroness Wickham, rose from her seat to welcome Ines.

“Welcome, everyone has been waiting for you.”

“You’re here. Countess?”

“It’s been a long time!”

Across the beautifully decorated tea table, the ladies who were sitting together also welcomed Ines. Ines responded to the ladies with a smooth smile.

“How are you all doing? It’s been a while since I’ve attended tea time, so it’s a bit awkward.”

At that moment, the ladies made sad faces without knowing it.

***

*I know it’s a slow novel but giving how much Ines had suffered, we need to give time to Ines to rebuild her life emotionally and physically.