I Seducing the Black-Hearted Duke Wasn't Me - Chapter 5

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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 5
[Where, exactly, has that Holy Knight’s chastity gone?
The shocking Dishonorable Dismissal of Leon, Grand Duke of Bernstein, has become the talk of the capital.
This morning, the Grand Duke informed the Imperial Court that he could no longer fulfill his duties as a priest. In response, the Court has notified the Holy Temple and, following protocol, demanded the Grand Duke’s removal from his position as commander of the Holy Knight Order.]
[Meanwhile, the Grand Temple maintains the position that “we are currently assessing the exact circumstances, and nothing has yet been confirmed.”
Whether the Grand Duke, known as the Gift of God, will step down from his position, or what will unfold next, has become the subject of intense speculation—]
‘Wow, this is…….’
The article emphasized how the Imperial Court and the Holy Temple’s positions did not align.
After skimming through the main points, I picked up the gossip column next.
[……Ladies of the Empire who were content merely to observe from a distance! Those who secretly harbored forbidden desires!
How do you feel now? The sacred object you believed utterly beyond your reach has been defiled by someone’s hand!]
“Ah, no—this is going a bit far, isn’t it?”
Anyone reading this would think I’d actually done something to the Grand Duke!
The provocative tone of the piece made my head spin.
[……Yet there are those who are thrilled by this news. Namely, the unmarried young ladies of society.
In an interview with the publication, one anonymous society lady revealed: “If anything, it’s good news. Until now, he was like a cake in a painting—something we could only look at and never taste. Now don’t we finally have a chance?”……]
[The prospect that a man deemed impossible to conquer is about to become the most desirable catch on Orden’s marriage market has set society abuzz!
Further coverage will continue in the special reports of the Empire’s leading daily, <The Crimson Rose>—]
“The Grand Duke receiving a Dishonorable Dismissal. And over such a scandal, no less!”
“It’s truly a shock. Just who is this brazen woman who dared lay hands on the Grand Duke?”
Lora and the butler, both thoroughly excited, launched into a chorus of similar exclamations.
I managed an awkward laugh and played along.
“Ha ha. Indeed. Who could it possibly be?”
That foolish woman who dared touch the Grand Duke.
* * *
To cut to the point: my escape to the Estate never happened.
Not that I’d given up.
Rather, a critically problematic variable had emerged that made executing the plan impossible.
“This really hasn’t helped at all.”
Now that I was trying to leave, I discovered just how much unfinished business had accumulated.
‘There’s no choice.’
While that clueless outsider had occupied my body, she’d done nothing but play and indulge herself, leaving a mountain of work behind.
I couldn’t abandon it all and simply depart, so I’d taken up my pen and thrown myself into clearing the backlog with manic intensity.
‘All right. If I push through tonight, I can leave the day after tomorrow.’
Even when I left, I had to finish what needed finishing.
“Your Grace, are you quite all right? You look rather pale.”
“I’m fine. I barely slept last night.”
I pressed my fingers against my eye sockets and reached for the teacup placed before me.
As I took a sip of the fragrant brew, a cool sensation spread through my mouth and my mind seemed to sharpen.
A tea that eased headaches.
It was a popular product from Roar, the trading house operated by House of Zaherete.
“Phew.”
After a brief moment to collect myself, I lifted my head.
I was currently in the main headquarters of the trading house, located at the heart of the Imperial Capital.
What had begun as a general store dealing in tea and spices had flourished into a tea salon and retail outlets since I’d become the head of the house.
By now, its worth was so recognized that we were supplying directly to the Imperial Court.
It was scarcely an exaggeration to say we’d come to dominate teatime throughout Orden.
“I feel better now. Continue with the report.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
With a nod, Jang, the house’s administrative manager, promptly replied.
“First, this week all of our stores have seen increased overall sales. The new Blending Tea we launched at the tea salon has been receiving quite favorable reviews.”
“That’s good to hear. Still, we shouldn’t be complacent. I’d like us to add at least three new products before year’s end. By the way, how are things on the overseas front?”
“Quite well, actually. Demand from the Roman Kingdom in particular has surged significantly. Since the Roman region tends to be cold, we’ve positioned a special spiced tea blend with a distinctive sharp flavor as our main offering, and it seems to have struck exactly the right note with consumers. We’re planning to develop similar variations and build them into a series.”
“Excellent. Oh, and be careful that the recipes don’t leak out.”
“Of course. However, there is one issue—the loss rate during transport remains problematic…….”
“Hmm. That’s always the thorny part.”
I studied the chart before me.
Roughly twenty percent of total production was recorded as losses.
Unfortunate, but unavoidable.
‘The trouble is, the tea plant varieties all grow in different regions…….’
House of Zaherete was a noble family that owned vast tracts of land throughout the empire—scattered in fragments across diverse regions.
This was due to Orden’s unique Nobility Law.
The Imperial Court grew wary of the nobility’s expansion of power, and to prevent it, when granting land, they deliberately refused to grant contiguous holdings; instead, they dispersed estates across distant territories.
The other nobles protested vehemently. Their argument was that dispersed investment across multiple estates yielded diminishing returns. Choosing a single territory to concentrate resources on was already a headache.
But House of Zaherete accepted the arrangement swiftly and without complaint.
From early on, they cultivated the scattered estates as they received them, and because of this foresight, they had since grown into a vast enterprise handling hundreds of varieties of tea leaves and spices.
“The problem is that freshness retention varies by tea leaf variety, and drying times differ as well.”
“Quite so. Sigh…… If only we had a mage on hand, this could be solved in an instant.”
“True enough. That might’ve been possible three centuries ago. Mages have been gone from this land for a long time now.”
I spoke with a bitter edge, closed the documents, and told myself, ‘We’ll set this matter aside for now.’
“By the way, my lord.”
“What is it?”
“Are you truly going down to the estate?”
As I moved to proceed to the next task, Zhane suddenly asked.
“Why the sudden question?”
“Just wondering. It’s been so long since you’ve visited.”
He said it should be time for me to take a proper look around, but inwardly, my conscience pricked me.
And with good reason, if I’m honest.
I was fleeing to escape the Grand Duke.
“The way you’re rushing off like this—it looks exactly like you’ve caused some trouble and are running away.”
“Periodic inspection of one’s estate is a lord’s duty.”
“Yet you haven’t done it until now. You’ve left estate management to a steward all this time.”
“……Which is why I’m going to do it now.”
Zhane studied me with a skeptical gaze and nodded slowly.
Yes. That was definitely a look of disbelief.
Why are all the household staff so perceptive?
I was searching for some excellent topic to escape this situation when—
“Oh. Lora, have you heard the gossip?”
“About the Grand Duke of Bernstein? Of course. It’s absolute chaos in the capital right now.”
Ah, though I hadn’t wanted this particular distraction.
Lora answered Zhane’s question without hesitation.
Their eyes gleamed as if stars had been embedded in them.
“Has the woman’s identity still not been revealed?”
“Not yet. But surely she must be an exceptional beauty? That’s the only way that iron-willed Grand Duke could have fallen for her.”
“Everyone’s in a frenzy trying to discover who the other party is. Incidentally, I’ve placed my wager on ‘one of the priestesses.'”
“Such indecency occurred within the Holy Temple itself?”
“It has to be, otherwise it makes no sense. Think about it—the Grand Duke, known for his devotion. Where does he ever go? Only two places: the Holy Temple and the battlefield. There’s no opportunity for him to catch a woman’s eye anywhere else.”
“Ah, that does have merit.”
Lora and Zhane, both keenly excited, put their heads together and launched into spirited debate.
Who could be the woman who seduced the Grand Duke, that paragon of masculine virtue?
The Imperial Capital was abuzz with this very topic no matter where one went.
The nobility was wild with gossip—a rare delicacy had emerged—and they threw themselves into guessing the identity of the woman who had beguiled the Grand Duke. Some, emboldened, were determined to lay eyes on the woman who had actually seduced him, and they were actively searching for her.
In other words, it was dangerous to remain in the Imperial Capital right now.
“You’re heading straight to the manor, then?”
“No. There’s somewhere I need to stop by first. That’s why I came out today.”
I caught Lora as she hurried toward the carriage. Unfortunately, the primary task of the day lay elsewhere.
I let out a sigh and withdrew a single sheet of paper from my pocket.
“Because I have to clean up someone else’s mess.”
It was that damned letter Park Su-min had left behind.

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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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