I Seducing the Black-Hearted Duke Wasn't Me - Chapter 18

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

Episode 18
“I sent out invitations for our garden party this time, but she hasn’t gotten back to me for days.”
“What do you expect? Jaherlete the Marquess has always been like that. I sent her an invitation for a soirée I’m planning to host myself, and she hasn’t so much as twitched in response.”
“I’m concerned about it. If the rumors are true, she’s meant to become the Grand Duchess, yet she shows such contempt for society. Tsk, tsk. She cares about nothing but money.”
The ladies spoke with worried faces.
Doresa swallowed a laugh.
‘One should worry about people worth worrying over.’
They were all laboring under a misunderstanding. They spoke in unison about how the Marquess had snubbed their invitations, how they felt disrespected, all their petty grievances piling up — but….
‘The person in question isn’t even a Marquess’s wife — she holds a title in her own right. Inviting a Marquess with genuine peerage to their little gathering in the first place isn’t proper etiquette.’
And the same logic applied to herself.
Strictly speaking, she — Doresa, Countess of Eldbrelle — had no business being in this circle at all.
But not a soul in the room had noticed that.
They were simply viewing their social inferiors with genuine condescension.
‘A woman who inherited a title and manages her house’s affairs — in the end, she’s no different from us.’
They were truly insufferable people.
“Why on earth would the Grand Duke fall for such a tedious woman?”
“Perhaps the rumors are true. You know — that the Marquess deliberately seduced His Highness for business advantage.”
“Oh, you mean the story about her threatening to make him take responsibility for a child? My goodness, was that actually true? I’d heard something about it.”
“The article from the Evening Bell, you mean? Was it Reca Valexi who wrote it? I take everything that woman writes with a grain of salt. She spouts such utter nonsense.”
“Still! Where there’s smoke, there’s fire, isn’t there? Those rumors must have some basis to them.”
“Of course, of course.”
The noblewomen latched onto Doresa’s sensible call for discretion with sharp words.
As if to tell her to stop raining on their parade.
Doresa laughed awkwardly and changed the subject.
“By the way, I’m planning to host a party this coming weekend at a rented venue. It’s just a small tea gathering, but I thought I’d combine it with a charity event — nothing too grand, you understand….”
“Oh dear, I’m afraid I can’t. I have a prior engagement that day.”
“Me too. As luck would have it, I’ve been invited to another tea time on the same day. Ha ha.”
The ladies declined in perfect unison, as if they’d rehearsed it.
‘Well, of course.’
What did she expect from these people?
Doresa was drawing back into obscurity with a bitter smile when the door opened.
“Forgive the intrusion. It seems there’s an urgent matter….”
Doresa’s secretary stepped into the lounge.
All of the ladies’ faces soured at the sight. A worker entering their private salon — how offensive.
But their displeasure didn’t last long.
“What is it?”
“A reply has come from the household of Marquess Jaherlete.”
“What?”
“Did you just say Jaherlete? The Marquess Jaherlete?!”
At the mention of that familiar name, the ladies who had been eyeing the secretary with disdain suddenly erupted in excitement.
“Do read it at once, Countess.”
“Yes, quickly!”
Doresa, taken aback, tore open the letter and read.
“What does the Marquess say?”
“Well, she says she’ll be attending the party this week….”
“My goodness, Countess! You know Marquess Jaherlete? She’s never accepted any invitation until now. Why…?”
“Not particularly close, really. She just asked for my assistance with business matters some time ago….”
“You should have mentioned that from the start! Ah, so that’s how it is — when two people are both occupied with commerce, there’s bound to be a certain understanding. How wonderful.”
“Indeed. Ha ha.”
The ladies all gazed at Doresa with flushed cheeks, their eyes now warm with affection — a far cry from moments before.
“So this coming weekend, then? I do hope the weather is fair.”
“But didn’t you just say you had a prior engagement that day?”
“On second thought, I believe my schedule might just clear after all. A charity event, you said? One mustn’t miss a good cause.”
“I agree entirely. Charitable work is best done together.”
The ladies suddenly became intimate with one another, speaking with syrupy sweetness.
Watching them clamor to be invited as well, Doresa let out a hollow laugh. She could see right through them.
‘Well, naturally.’
The Marquess, the much-discussed Grand Duchess-to-be, was currently in seclusion, avoiding contact with society. Now she was finally appearing in public again.
‘And not to respond to any other lady’s invitation — but to accept mine.’
Doresa’s gaze swept across the eagerly bobbing heads of the delighted noblewomen.
Her lips curved upward.
‘This could be amusing.’
* * *
‘I still can’t get used to this.’
If there were a few things I disliked in this world, parties would certainly rank among them.
From glittering galas to intimate tea gatherings like this.
To be precise, it wasn’t tea itself I objected to — it was these tedious social rituals, sitting in a circle and engaging in pointless mind games.
‘Still, I make my living selling Tea Leaves. I can’t skip every Social Circle gathering. There’s nowhere more attuned to the latest trends than these tables.’
So I’d made it a habit to attend similar events two or three times a year, despite my aversion.
And it wasn’t only because nobles were my primary clientele.
Nobility’s culture has always been what commoners aspire to.
While expensive luxuries and precious gems were difficult to imitate, habits like dining customs were accessible.
Right. So what I’m trying to say is.
‘This is work. Endure it. Jaherlete. You’re working right now.’
With that resolve, I quickly composed my expression and lifted the teacup.
I could feel eyes tracking my every movement.
Assessing gazes. Curious ones. And beneath them, a current of jealousy and spite……
This was unbearable.
“So, Marquise?”
“……”
“May I ask what exactly your relationship is with the Grand Duke?”
A young noblewoman seated at the far end of the long table spoke up boldly.
I faltered at her words and set the teacup back down.
Sigh.
‘Wherever I go, there’s always someone tactless.’
But before that——
‘Why did so many people show up? I thought this was supposed to be a small Charity Event.’
I narrowed my brow slightly and scanned the hundreds of eyes fixed upon me.
‘Small, my foot. I should have anticipated this when the venue changed.’
The event, originally scheduled for another location, had been moved to a rooftop garden at the Eldbrelle Hotel just days ago.
It was hardly an exaggeration to say that every noblewoman and young lady of standing had gathered for what was ostensibly a tea party.
“I’m terribly sorry. Word somehow spread that you’d be attending our gathering, and everyone wanted to participate so desperately……”
Doresa, the Eldbrelle baroness and host of today’s event, spoke with an apologetic expression.
‘I can see that smile twitching just fine.’
Rumor had it that the baroness had invoked “limited seating capacity” and distributed invitations primarily to those who’d purchased annual hotel memberships.
As a result, noblewomen had felt compelled to buy those memberships just to receive an invitation.
“The Eldbrelle baroness is as much a merchant as you are, Marquise. She’s certainly trying to exploit this situation. Are you really going through with this?”
Lora’s concerns, voiced even as we left the residence, had proven accurate.
And I’d thought the same.
‘We might actually work well together.’
Despite the ten-year age gap, considering our circumstances and positions, she seemed like she could be a useful ally.
Indeed, the Tea Monopoly Contract detailed in her letter had been finalized smoothly before the party — so there was profit to be had.
Now, back to the matter at hand.
“Marquise? Why aren’t you saying anything? I asked what your exact relationship is with the Grand Duke.”
“That’s right. Is all that gossip true? How on earth did you manage to win His Highness over?”
The young noblewomen at the table’s end pressed for answers.
“Goodness, my dear. To say ‘win over’? Such crude and unrefined language isn’t appropriate. She is a marquise, after all.”
So they did know I held the Peerage of marquise.
Yet the girl who’d been corrected merely glanced at me—she couldn’t have been more than five or six years younger—and proceeded to brush off the rebuke with unabashed confidence.
The noblewoman who’d offered the correction simply smiled, clearly relishing the entire spectacle.
“How scandalous—seducing a Holy Knight.”
A young lady with reddened eyes spoke out in a voice tinged with resentment.
Though much had been omitted in the name of propriety, her meaning was clear enough.
What she’d truly wanted to say was: ‘How vulgar—seducing a Holy Knight.’
“Of course, I’ll become the common enemy of the Orden Ladies. You know, the enemy of all women.”
Ah, so that’s what Lora had meant back then.

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