I Seducing the Black-Hearted Duke Wasn't Me - Chapter 21

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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 21
Silvia’s smile vanished in an instant.
Then, with triumphant flourish, she pointed at my hand and announced:
“That’s right. The very ring bestowed upon the head of the house—the one you always wore, sir. Look, everyone! Notice how bare his hand is now?”
“My goodness, it’s true!”
The guests who’d been observing my empty finger for days now erupted in astonishment.
“Oh my, this is unmistakably a proposal!”
“Exactly. To gift not just any ring, but the very emblem of the House Seal Ring—what else could his intention be? It’s a promise to share the future together!”
Every eye in the room pivoted from Silvia toward me.
As if daring me to contradict her.
“To be perfectly honest… I’m rather bewildered. You see.”
I forced my scrambled thoughts into some semblance of order, suppressed every emotion, and spoke with deliberate calm.
“The truth is, I lost that ring on Roden Street several days ago. I’ve even had people searching for it since then—so how did it end up in Yeong-sik Valentine’s possession?”
“Wait. You’re saying you lost the Seal Ring?”
And now that lost ring was in Yeong-sik’s hands?
The onlookers’ eyes widened anew, and whispers rippled through the crowd.
“Are you suggesting I’m lying? How could you say such a thing? I would never lie about something like this. And to suddenly claim I lost it only now… doesn’t that strike you as odd? Has anyone here ever heard the Duke mention losing his ring before today?”
“Well… no, not really.”
The other ladies began nodding in agreement, one by one.
I felt the injustice of it rising in my chest.
Yet there was merit to Silvia’s words.
Having said nothing all this time, to suddenly claim loss now—it did sound like an excuse.
‘Even I have to admit, it sounds like an excuse.’
Credibility seemed impossible to salvage.
“Still, if you truly won’t believe me… I can prove it!”
Silvia cried out, her voice trembling with apparent tears.
“Though he and I were in a relationship approaching a betrothal, the ceremony hasn’t taken place yet, and such arrangements can fall through before then. That’s why I’ve tried to be understanding, tried to let this matter pass gracefully.”
“…”
“But if you’re going to slander not only my brother but me as well, I have no choice. I must prove my innocence to everyone.”
Silvia’s voice rose with passionate appeal, as if genuinely left with no alternative.
She meant to make this public—to expose the truth.
All while subtly emphasizing that Yeong-sik and I had already promised marriage to each other.
‘This woman never stops.’
I shot Silvia a look of pure exasperation.
But that was all I could do. I had no words.
Because this situation, unfortunately, was decidedly in my disfavor.
‘I’ve been caught.’
If the ring truly was with Yeong-sik and not simply bluffing—
This was a nightmare.
‘But even if it is a bluff, there’s no way to verify it right now.’
Either way, the situation worked against me.
“Your Grace? Won’t you say something? Is the Countess’s account… entirely accurate?”
“…”
“Your Grace?”
Even those who’d maintained neutrality wavered, their eyes searching mine.
As if commanding me to offer a rebuttal—but I couldn’t speak.
Watching my silence, Silvia’s mouth curved into the faintest smile before she spoke again, her voice thick with tears.
“Please, everyone, don’t press His Grace so hard.”
“Madam.”
“I have personal affection for him, and my brother held him dear. If he would apologize to my brother and me right now… I would let the matter rest entirely.”
Silvia spoke with the magnanimous tone of one bestowing mercy, her eyes glistening with tears.
I furrowed my brow.
‘An apology? Not a chance.’
If I apologized now to escape this situation, I’d be admitting everything she’d said.
But if I refused to apologize, the gossips would have a field day either way.
And I would be branded.
‘A despicable woman who abandoned her betrothed for a man of better station.’
This was different from the scandal with Leon.
With Leon, one might argue that Leon—having shed his priest’s robes—was technically the victim, though the situation arose from both parties; reasonable adults would say we should take responsibility or settle it between ourselves. That was the general sentiment.
It had only spiraled this far because Leon was Leon Obsidian.
But.
‘If this goes wrong, I could end up cast as the deceiver, the perpetrator—and both of them as victims who fell for my lies.’
If that happened, my reputation would be ruined, and they might very well demand compensation for emotional damages.
‘There was a similar case last year, I think. A precedent where a betrothed lover was abandoned because of infidelity, and the court ordered alimony.’
The crux of that trial was whether the two had truly been in a marriage-bound relationship.
And my situation is.
‘If I present the House Seal Ring as evidence, I’ll be hopelessly disadvantaged.’
Look at this very moment. Everyone here is already reeling from the ring’s appearance.
So what I need to do now is……
“I’m afraid that won’t be possible, madam. It’s not you who owes me an apology—it’s the other way around.”
My flat refusal made Silvia’s brow twitch. She hadn’t expected me to turn her down.
‘Did she think I’d fold? If I apologize now to douse the immediate fire, I’d essentially be admitting the relationship. Then in court, I’m finished.’
Either way, thinking it through to a courtroom, denial was the right call.
Especially since it’s the truth.
“So you’re really going to see this through to the end? I gave you your last chance.”
“That’s my line. I gave you a chance too. But you were the one who threw it away. Mrs. Oscar.”
I deliberately named the house she currently belonged to—Oscar.
Silvia’s face darkened instantly.
Why wouldn’t it.
‘From this moment on, this isn’t a personal dispute—it’s a battle of honor between two houses: Jaherete and Oscar.’
“Would the Oscar family’s lady really go this far if she were lying? Think about it. Does it make sense that the Marquis happened to lose a ring?”
“Exactly. A necklace might be possible, but a ring? You don’t lose a ring unless you take it off. And a Seal Ring at that. Much harder to misplace.”
People who thought Silvia’s logic held water.
“I don’t know. I’m inclined the other way. Haven’t you all noticed the Marquis is responding with unusual firmness? That’s not like him.”
“True. And everyone knows Yeong-sik has been spreading rumors about the Marquis all along, right?”
People who found my words more credible.
And finally……
“The Marquis was definitely in a relationship with Yeong-sik of Valentine, but then switched to His Highness the Grand Duke halfway through. No question about it!”
“Right! They were serious enough that he was proposing, but when it looked like the Grand Duke might be interested, he dumped Yeong-sik!”
“Oh my. I feel so sorry for His Highness!”
And then there were the young ladies who were absolutely convinced I’d been serial dating.
The salon had fractured into three factions.
I swept my gaze across the suddenly divided party and bit my lip.
Meanwhile, Silvia—who’d been shedding crocodile tears and delivering an Oscar-worthy performance just moments before—smiled sweetly.
‘I bought myself some time, but without the ring in my hands, I can’t win this fight.’
So now……
……what on earth do I do?
This was serious.
Everything ahead looked blank.
* * *
And the next day.
“……I knew this would happen.”
Orden’s high society was thrown into chaos once again.
“It’s finally out.”
[EXCLUSIVE] Was ‘Love with the Grand Duke’ a Lie? — Grand Duke’s Paramour Suspected of Serial Dating! (SHOCKING INTERVIEW REVEALED!)
[……When this publication contacted Valentine Yeong-sik for comment, he confessed to feeling “deceived and deeply exhausted at this time”……]
[……Notably, throughout the interview, a ring bearing the rumored “Jaherete House Seal Ring” was visible on his left index finger, enlarged in the accompanying photograph.]
Damn.
‘So he really had it.’
I stared at the photograph accompanying the article.
It showed Yeong-sik Valentine with his head hung low in despair, and a close-up of his hand—his left index finger adorned with a jeweled ring bearing the Jaherete crest.

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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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