CH 31.1

After that, a few gentlemen greeted him. The Grand Duke did his duty as a host by nodding his head.

“I’ve been curious about you for a while because you rarely show your face. Were you not feeling well?”

“Since you guys are doing well, why should I show my face?”

“My late father often said that Your Grace’s father was a very good looking person when he served Your Grace’s father. But now I see it, all the Grand Duchy’s blood leads to excellent beauty.”

He chuckled as he brushed his mustache. The nobles standing in the back agreed and responded. As the Grand Duke said, their reaction was as if they had seen Daymond for the first time.

Then, the attention that had been focused on the Grand Duke soon reached Anne. The piercing eyes scanned her as if searching for her. The gaze was unpleasant, but Anne only held a soft smile in place because she couldn’t ruin her first impression.

Most of them expressed favor, but there were some ladies who were gossiping with their mouths covered with fans. They knew for some reason why Anne had come here. No matter how far away it was from the capital, it was not unreasonable since this incident had been on the nobles’ lips for a long time in the capital.

“I heard that Lord Libelois is a playboy. He touched His Grace’s mistress, and instead of compensation, they sent Libelois’ daughter . . . If it were me, I wouldn’t even be able to show my face from embarrassment.”

“Still, she became the Grand Duchess. The Libelois is selling the Cromund family name here and there in the capital.”

It was a story that caused a stir in the capital, so no one would not know about it, but it was unfair to Anne. As she came to the North for marriage, Anne’s upright character was placed on the same line as that of her brother, Robert, the promiscuous man.

As she closed her ears, the women continued to speak, believing that she was powerless to even question them.

“Oh. Can she hear us?”

“She can. Look at how she was lavishly decorated to be the Grand Duchess. What kind of place is the north? This isn’t a place to indulge in pleasure like the capital city? Does she even know what the nobles have been protecting so far?”

Northerners born and raised here were very proud and conservative. Although they did not openly reject the people of other regions, they could implicitly show antagonism. A woman from the capital city who appeared out of the blue would not look good in their eyes.

In addition, due to the scandal related to her background, her image got even worse.

How long do I have to listen to this?

Despite her position as Grand Duchess, Anne wasn’t sure if she had the power to break the atmosphere and rebuke them. As she struggled to gather her mind that it was not worth dealing with, an arm stretched out without hesitation gently wrapped around her shoulders.

When Anne, who was shoulder to shoulder with the Grand Duke, glanced up at him, the Grand Duke let out a smile and spoke to the audience.

“Today is an event prepared to introduce Grand Duchess Angroanne Cromund. I’m not the main character for today, but she is. So, if you came here with the intention of showing off to me, you better show it to the Grand Duchess.”

As the solemnly decreed command cut through the wide hall, all the nobles’ eyes turned to her.

“Your Grace is so beautiful, I don’t know where to put my eyes.”

“Weren’t there rumors that the daughter of County Libelois is elegant and full of dignity?”

A few quick-witted people who recognized the Grand Duke’s intention as he formally introduced Anne, gave words of praise in time. It was a quick read that the favored figure had changed.

The sight of the Grand Duke suddenly taking her side made Anne feel unfamiliar. No one has never been on her side in her entire life, and yet the first one to do so would be the distant Grand Duke.

The Grand Duke gently caressed her back and brought his lips closer to her in a mysterious light.

“The wife hates me killing people. Is this to your liking?”

She couldn’t tell whether he was on her side or just being sarcastic, but Anne looked calm. She thought he would never introduce her since he didn’t acknowledge her anyway, but her position had elevated thanks to him.

The Grand Duke was the second most powerful person in the Empire, after the Emperor. He may not be active publicly, but his name itself was awe-inspiring. As he officially confirmed her position as Grand Duchess, it was clear how this would affect other nobles.

For example, everyone who made eye contact, including those ladies who had been discussing her, had their eyes lowered in a hurry when Anne made eye contact with them. Seeing them changing their attitude, Anne mercilessly opened her eyes.

Whether it was the capital or the North, humans were the same everywhere. They had an ugly habit of lowering their head— infinitely subservient to the strong, and trying to bite off the weak. The world that was disgusting enough to make her sick was the nobility, and this place was just an extension of that.