DYBAR - Chapter 66 < Maria Ethel's New Assistant >
Do Your Best And Regret It
The entrance to the Marquis Ethel's residence.
As soon as the carriage door opened, the youngest lady of the Ethel family ran into the mansion. The servants, who had been nervous since the carriage came in, bowed exaggeratedly.
"Have you been there, Lady?"
However, unlike usual, Maria passed by the servants and entered the mansion.
"My father?"
Maria shouted sharply and a servant came over. Come to think of it, the odds of her father being in the mansion were slim. He would have rather gone to the bars and casinos on Laheir Street.
It was then. The servant pointed to the drawing room on the first floor.
"The Marquis is in the drawing room now."
Maria blinked and smiled brightly. It looked like she was going to do it too. She never thought she would meet her busy father all at once!
Maria hurriedly ran towards the drawing room. The servant, who thought she had passed the conversation with her Young Lady without issue, suddenly missed it.
"Miss!"
The Marquis told him to bite everyone after the Duke of Elkin came a little while ago. The servant who was trying to follow the Young Lady stopped in place. In front of the hallway leading to the drawing-room, a large stag-hunting trophy looked down at the servant as a warning. The bright blue jewels embedded in the empty eyes looked just like the eyes of the Marquis Ethel.
At the same time a chill ran down his spine, the servant realized. Miss, it wouldn't be a big deal if she went in there, but servants like him are different. Even more so in this Marquis of Ethel, who is more merciless than any other noble family.
The servant shrugged his shoulders. And he went back to what he was doing.
***
As she approached the living room, Maria heard the sound of chattering. The reception room on the first floor was fancy, but not well soundproofed. It was when Maria stood in the doorway and was about to knock.
"... I should have eliminated the backlash. If only I had given him medicine...."
Maria took a deep breath before knocking on the door. The owner of the low voice was her father.
Medicine.
Before Maria could gather her thoughts, another voice spoke.
"Did you think of that at that time? I was just anxious to warn the Duke of Madeleine."
"But. That is correct, Duke."
"Still, the Marquis is right. If you hadn't looked half as good back then, the Duke of Madeleine wouldn't have given away his daughter."
"Should I say I'm lucky or not about that? Should we criticize him for living with evidence of infidelity, or should we admire him for being lucky enough to have a sacrifice to send into the imperial family instead of her daughter? Isn't it really embarrassing?"
"If it's an offering, you should say a prayer of thanks to us. Aren't we going to hire the dancer?"
Soft laughter went back and forth. Maria covered her mouth without realizing it. The person her father would politely call the Duke was the Duke of Elkin, the head of the noble faction and the older brother of Her Majesty the Empress. And the story that has come out now is probably, the story of the Duke of Madeleine's illegitimate child caused a stir in social circles about fourteen years ago.
Although it happened when Maria was six years old, she also remembered glimpses of Maria, as she said the Duchess died in the aftermath. That was a trap between Duke Elkin, head of the noble faction, and her father.
Maria clenched her fists. Her nails dug into her palms, but she felt no pain. All of this didn't feel real. She wanted to call her father, but she couldn't. It wasn't because of her disappointment.
Her strange joy enveloped her entire body. Olivia Madeleine. It's thanks to her father and the Duke of Elkin that that cloth was born. A miserable life where even being born is determined by us, the nobles.
How dare such a half-hearted person sit next to her lover!
While things were coming together in her mind, Maria caught her breath. She was only going to tell her father, but maybe she didn't know that now was the right time since the Duke of Elkin was with him.
If she wants to solidify my position as Crown Princess... Because she needs allies other than Leopold. Maria thought of Leopold from earlier and shook her head.
And she knocked on her door her eyes becoming even colder
Knock knock.
Even before the constant knocking noise ended, a roar broke out.
"Who is this? No one should come in or out this way...!"
"Father, it's me. Maria."
"Maria?"
The door opened immediately with a panicked voice. Doors that don't function properly anyway. Maria thought she would have to change the door and she looked into the drawing room.
As expected, it was like that. The Duke of Elkin was sitting elegantly on the sofa. His red hair and smiling face looked exactly like the Empress. Marquis Ethel had a troubled face.
"Oh, Maria. What are you doing now? The Duke has arrived now."
"I had something to tell my father about the summer banquet, but I didn't know you were there."
Maria, who spoke with an apologetic expression on her face, straightened her posture. She then bowed politely towards the Duke of Elkin, who was looking at her.
"Maria Ethel meets the Duke of Elkin. Have you been at peace so far?"
"Thanks to you, I was okay, Young Lady. No, you're now the fiancée of my niece, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. You must be from the same family."
The Marquis Ethel was delighted at the words that were thrown out like a joke. Maria smiled.
"Anyway, it's a summer banquet. It won't be my place, so I'll go first, Marquis."
“No, Duke.”
A sonorous voice stopped the Duke before the Marquis. The Duke of Elkin's eyes narrowed as he looked at Maria curiously. Over the face of Maria Ethel, who was smiling like a flower, a glimpse of her desire, something that had only been seen in her sister, the Empress, passed by.
"...Please say anything to me, Young Lady."
"Isn't it a summer banquet? Thankfully, Her Highness the Princess allowed me to come up with an idea for the banquet in celebration of becoming one family."
Everyone here knew that that was a lie. One family. A little while ago, the Duke of Elkin also used the same expression, but mentioning the Princess was a slightly different story.
Maria was a surrogate fiancée who would fill the place next to the Crown Prince only for a 'one-year grace period'. The Princess was his family and showed her grace to Maria.
"That is,"
When the Marquis of Ethel tried to speak impatiently, the Duke of Elkin quietly raised his hand. At his gesture to listen more, Maria rolled her eyes and smiled as she continued.
"...I told you before that I wanted to hold a grand engagement ceremony for His Highness the Crown Prince, and now I am thinking about holding an engagement ceremony during a banquet to solidify my position."
The Marquis opened his mouth. An engagement ceremony at a summer banquet that all the nobles of the empire would like to attend. This was too dangerous. But the Duke raised the corners of his mouth and brushed the tip of his chin with his index finger.
"... Does His Majesty the Crown Prince, our nephew, know?"
"Wouldn't be happier if it were a surprise gift?"
Maria Ethel smiled brightly without blinking. The Duke of Elkin looked at her face and did a quick calculation. Bright blonde hair and a face as pretty as a fairy. The boldness of going in and out of Tiese Palace since she was a half Princess. There was even a rumor that he had taunted the Princess by sending flowers in the name of the prince.
"I have to see Her Majesty the Empress."
It wasn't a bad loss. Duke Elkin, who had finished calculating, spoke kindly. Maria Ethel smiled brightly as if she knew that would happen.
She laughed so loudly that even Marquis Ethel, who was next to her, broke his mouth.
"If the Duke tells Her Majesty, it will be much easier for Maria and the future Princess to prepare for the banquet. Thank you, Duke."
Her Royal Highness the future Crown Prince. Maria smiled brightly at the pleasant-sounding title.
Her engagement ceremony would be more extravagant than that of any other Crown Princess in history. How much would a Leopold like it?
It was fun just imagining it. Even more so to think of Olivia falling to her knees in front of him with a desperate look on her face.
***
At that moment, I blinked my eyes and looked at Edwin with an incredulous expression.
"How is it? You like it?"
Regardless of whether I like it or not. I, looking at the satin jewelry boxes full of satin jewelry boxes and the sparkling jewels inside them, muttered my true feelings without realizing it.
"Well, rather than liking it."
Edwin's face clouded. I immediately changed her words.
".... I like it so much I don't know what to say"
Edwin smiled brightly like a flower again. Although I was glad to see that face, my eyes became dizzy when I saw the jewels that filled the table.
Delicately cut jewels, finely crafted necklaces, and bracelets, brooches, and earrings. There was even a tiara placed at the end of the table. Platinum tiara decorated with emeralds and teardrop diamonds. That was a jewel that could only be worn by the royal family, the Princess, or the Grand Duchess.
Even excluding that, it seemed like it would be difficult for even the Princess, or even the Empress, to buy this much jewelry all at once. I knew the Princess's budget as well as the palm of my hand. Thanks to me, I took a deep breath as I estimated the price of the jewels, as was my habit.
Edwin, who was watching me amused as I looked at the jewelry with a surprised face, lightly clapped his hands.
"Then what shall we do first?"
"Um, what? now?"
"Yes. It's Olivia's, but you might not like it, so you should give it a try."
"If I don't like it..."
"We should call Baron Stone and the Craftsman, right? Bring me something more beautiful."
Dean, who was standing behind him, was inwardly astonished as he watched the Grand Duke speaking so naturally. It was so hard to make a choice that it brought him to tears, but 'again'. Even some of the jewelry he brought were missing because they weren't pretty enough.
Dean looked at the Young Lady with eager eyes. Fortunately, the Young Lady seemed to agree with him as she waved her hand away with eyes as wide as a rabbit.
"No. I like it all. Even Her Majesty has such precious things...."
I, who had been thinking inadvertently, made a mistake. I didn't know exactly why, but even though I knew that the entire Vikander territory was hostile to the imperial palace, it wasn't something I would say. I always thought that I had to be careful, but after living in the system for 20 years, all my thoughts still revolved around the system and the imperial palace.
Edwin laughed lazily as he watched me taking a moment to choose my words.
"I will only give you things that are so precious that they cannot be compared to the Empress."
Edwin smiled brightly as if it was no big deal. Just when he thought he was lucky, Edwin took out a ring case covered in red satin from his arms.
I blinked my eyes as the ring case opened with a soft thud. A round ring made of platinum with a delicate diamond on top. The reason why an ordinary diamond ring seems so special at first glance is probably because there are only two of them in the world.
For some reason, my fingertips trembled a little. In addition to the red gem ring that had been bothering me all day, there was one more ring that bothered me.
"Of course."
Edwin narrowed his eyes and smiled softly.
"If only My Lady would put the same ring on me."
***
"Why are you dropping your hand like this? Cold?"
I didn't even have time to look away from the mischievous voice. Because I knew best now how much Edwin's hand was shaking when he placed it on top of mine.
"It's because Edwin's hands are heavy."
"No way."
While refuting at once, Edwin looked at my hand and then his own with worried eyes for a moment. Looking at my white hand, which was half the size of his hand, it seemed like it would be really difficult to support it. It was obvious what Edwin was thinking, but I was focused on putting on the ring.
Long, elegant, and strong hands. The moment I took the fourth finger of his hand and put the round ring on it, I let out a nervous breath without even realizing it.
"That's Okay."
Edwin looked at his ring-covered hand for a moment. He stared blankly at his ring with his unfamiliar eyes and then held out his palm towards me.
"I already put it on?"
"You only wore two."
My eyes widened again as he was trying to pass off the conversation in an inconsequential tone. It was only when Edwin grinned and pointed to the jewels on the table that I realized it was a mistake.
Oh my God.
Who would have thought she was really going to put the ring on all ten fingers.
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