I Seducing the Black-Hearted Duke Wasn't Me - Chapter 12

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 12
My first thought was simple.
‘I’m ruined.’
My second thought followed close behind.
Something… feels off about this.
“Lora. Doesn’t this seem strange to you?”
“What do you mean? That you’ve suddenly become the center of everyone’s attention? That seems perfectly natural to me.”
“No, I mean the composition of this photograph. How do I put it… it’s almost too perfect, isn’t it?”
Before I could finish, Lora let out an amused sound and covered her mouth with her hand.
“So what you’re saying is that His Highness’s face is simply too flawless, and you’re bragging about your fiancé, that sort of thing?”
“No, that’s not it!”
My frustration made my voice rise without thinking.
Now wasn’t the time for that.
‘This photograph… something’s wrong with it.’
I’d felt uneasy about it from the start.
As science advanced, cameras had come into existence, but the current technology had its limits.
For one thing, unlike portraits, they could only produce black-and-white results, and if the subject moved even slightly during the shot, the image would blur beyond recognition.
And if the distance was too great, the image would inevitably lose focus.
But this…?
“It’s far too crisp, as if they’d shot it from right beside him.”
It was unmistakably Leon Obsidian.
“Perhaps the journalists had been lying in wait for just this moment? Ever since the first article broke, they’ve been following His Highness’s every move.”
“The journalists were stalking him?”
“Yes. It’s the hottest topic in the Capital right now—they can’t help but be interested.”
And then there was the matter of the Grand Duke suddenly visiting the Zatherete marquess’s house. Lora had reasoned that any decent journalist wouldn’t miss such a moment.
Yes, I’d thought the same thing just moments ago.
“But the Grand Duke isn’t an ordinary knight. Are you saying he didn’t notice journalists tailing him?”
And they were taking photographs so openly, no less.
‘No, that doesn’t make sense.’
Especially since he wasn’t just any knight—he was Commander of the Paladin Order.
Which meant he was extraordinarily skilled.
I’d heard that some monsters even specialize in concealing their presence.
A man who fought such creatures wouldn’t have failed to notice journalists trailing him with large cameras in hand.
Which meant one thing.
“He let himself be photographed on purpose.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“He deliberately let the journalists capture him. By making himself visible like that.”
There was no other explanation that fit.
‘That’s right, now that I think about it!’
A memory suddenly flashed through my mind.
“I don’t think so.”
The day Leon Obsidian had come to find me.
When I’d asked what he’d do if I tore up the Engagement Papers he’d thrust into my hands along with the Harbor Rights Certificate, he’d answered:
“I’m here today to prevent exactly that from happening.”
At the time, I’d had no idea what he meant.
“So this was it.”
I bit my lip and glared at the article in question, my face twisting into a grimace.
There was no point trying to escape to my lands after this.
My name was already ruined, my face exposed to the world—what good would it do?
There was nowhere left in this empire where I could hide.
“Good heavens. This really is overkill. It’s practically a public declaration to the entire empire that ‘this woman is mine’… oh my.”
Lora had been muttering softly while shaking her head, when suddenly she caught sight of something and went pale.
“What is it? What’s wrong?”
“Well, you see… oh dear…”
Flustered, Lora quickly hid the Gossip Magazine she was holding behind her back.
Fat chance.
When I gestured for her to hand it over, she hesitated for a moment before reluctantly producing it.
What was written inside was…
“For heaven’s sake. Insane.”
A curse escaped my lips on its own. The article was maddening.
[EXCLUSIVE] “Is the Duchess Already Pregnant?” Grand Duke Bernstein’s Shotgun Marriage Rumor Explodes!
[……Word around town has it that the Duchess is already carrying the Grand Duke’s child, and he’s being forced into marriage arrangements. The whispers grow louder by the day.
If this were about responsibility rather than love, the scandal could be far more complicated and grave than anyone imagined……]
[……But who’s to say? What if—just what if—the Duchess orchestrated this entire affair to capture the Bernstein name for herself?
Consider the facts: in a mere four years, she transformed Roar into the most prestigious merchant house in the realm. An ambitious schemer, and the mastermind behind that infamous Krevan Incident. The possibility is hardly remote.
— Evening Bell, Reporter Reka Valex]
These people are absolutely insufferable!
‘How much longer are they going to dredge this up?’
The Krevan Incident.
It had happened when I first inherited the dukedom after my father’s death.
The surrounding nobility couldn’t help but view me as easy prey—young and female both.
‘Especially Zatherete. The family had wealth in abundance. There wasn’t a single merchant noble who hadn’t borrowed money from us.’
In other words, we were peers, but the debt relationship was entirely real.
And then, overnight, the creditor became a mere girl—their daughter’s age.
Baron Krevan was one of those debtors.
Rather than repay what he owed Zatherete, he resorted to scheming. He forged a false debt repayment certificate and thrust it before me.
The attempt was clever enough. The outcome was disastrous.
‘He must have assumed I, a mere duke’s daughter, couldn’t read the ledgers.’
But I had been the top scholar at the Academy the entire time.
Moreover, as part of my upbringing as house heir, I’d been trained in the merchant company’s books, accounting records, transaction histories, and every facet of commercial knowledge from childhood.
I uncovered years of ledgers and records in a single sweep, exposing his lie. I formally prosecuted Baron Krevan’s house on charges of fraud, embezzlement, and violation of inter-noble commerce agreements.
The result? I extracted damages worth three times the principal amount, and ultimately bankrupted the entire baronial house.
After that, the nobility split into two camps.
Those who still dismissed me as a child playing at business, and who resented me for holding their debts.
And those who acknowledged reality and accepted me as an equal business partner.
Unfortunately, the former still vastly outnumbered the latter.
At the same time, this incident had earned me a reputation in society: the Iron Lady.
“You’re truly going to let this stand?”
“What choice do I have? There’s nothing I can do about it anyway. Responding would only make things worse—that much is obvious.”
With things in this state already, if I open my mouth?
That single statement would fragment into dozens of different interpretations.
“So for now, we watch and wait. We hold the line with no response whatsoever. Once the rumors die down enough, we can…….”
“Duchess!”
“Oh, you startled me.”
The study door swung open mid-conversation. Valen, the Duchess’s steward, strode in.
“We have a crisis.”
“Another one?”
Why did disasters keep multiplying these days?
Already numb to the pattern, I simply nodded.
“Reporters have gathered outside the mansion. For safety’s sake, I’d strongly recommend you remain indoors for the time being.”
“What?”
I shot to my feet and rushed onto the balcony.
Just as Valen said, a massive crowd filled the entire front gate in the distance.
At my appearance, they grew visibly frenzied, shouting in excitement.
“Duchess! Have you seen the article? Please, just a comment—anything brief will do! Give us just one word!”
“Is it true you’re romantically involved with the Grand Duke? Please grant us an interview, just a moment of your time!”
“Impossible! It’s all lies! The Grand Duke would never! It’s all fabrication!”
“Right! The Grand Duke has far better taste than that! Duchess Zatherete, come out this instant and tell us the truth!”
Wait. Something strange seems mixed in there.
Between the flashing cameras, I could see angry ladies in colorful dresses.
All united in a single chant: “Down with Duchess Zatherete!”
Honestly, it was terrifying.
More so than the reporters.
“How should we handle this? Do you have any contingency measures in mind?”
“No. Nothing. For now, I’m simply enduring. Time heals all wounds, as they say.”
As I’d said before, any clumsy denial would only warp and spread further.
“As long as I don’t engage with anyone, there’s no one who can press me. Isn’t that right?”
“Yes, but that’s precisely the second problem.”
“There’s a second problem?”
Valen produced a letter as though he’d been waiting for this moment and held it toward me. I regarded it in silence, and he spoke matter-of-factly.
“This is an invitation sent by His Imperial Majesty.”
“……What?”
Who on earth…… sent what?
Unable to make sense of the situation, I stared blankly at the envelope before accepting it with trembling hands.
A golden seal impressed upon cream-colored paper.
Unmistakably the Imperial crest.
I broke the seal with care and opened the envelope, revealing a brief message inside.
[Tomorrow at eleven in the morning. The Imperial Palace.
We shall take tea together. There is much we need to discuss.]
Nothing but cold, perfunctory lines stating the bare facts.
‘I’m truly finished.’
How could His Imperial Majesty himself have become such an avid reader of gossip?

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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