I Seducing the Black-Hearted Duke Wasn't Me - Chapter 51

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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 51
A high-end tea salon located in the heart of Loar’s capital district.
Thanks to the pale rose marble floor and windows framed in glass, sunlight filtered in softly, as if conjuring the sitting room of a spring afternoon.
The fragrant aroma of tea and the gentle sound of piano filled the space, while laughter from the nobility drifted across the tables in scattered bursts.
Content with the peaceful atmosphere, I turned my gaze to Isabel across from me.
“I’m sorry—did you say the two of you quarreled?”
“Not exactly a quarrel. More of a light sparring match, you might say.”
“A sparring match with the Grand Duke himself…….”
Isabel regarded me with an expression of disbelief.
For a moment, I caught a hint of admiration flickering in those water-blue eyes.
Amusing. Admiration, when we’d supposedly fought.
“Oh, forgive me. I’m simply astonished. It’s just—I could never imagine such a thing myself.”
Isabel’s face went pale, as though the mere thought terrified her.
“But what were you quarreling about?”
“I asked Leon a pointless question.”
“A pointless question?”
“Yes. It’s a private matter, so it’s awkward to go into detail, but… I asked whether his first love was you.”
I hastened to add that it was purely idle curiosity—nothing more than that.
And yet.
……
What? This silence—what did it mean?
Wondering if perhaps I’d struck a nerve, I glanced up cautiously and saw Isabel sitting rigid with shock.
She’d forgotten all pretense of being a duke’s daughter, her teacup still poised at her lips, forgotten entirely, her face drained of color.
In that moment, I understood.
‘I’ve made a terrible mistake.’
“Absolutely not! Never!”
“All right, all right. Let’s just calm down for a moment—”
“I mean it. The first love of Leon—no, of the Grand Duke Bernstein—being me? That’s absolutely ridiculous!”
My goodness, so Isabel could raise her voice like that. How surprising.
The woman who usually spoke in such measured, gentle tones—I’d never seen her so animated.
‘She means it.’
The very idea of being paired with him seemed to upset her.
I took a quiet sip of tea and reflected in silence.
“I apologize. I misunderstood.”
“No, it’s fine. Really, I understand.”
Isabel offered an awkward smile as she spoke.
“I know there are unpleasant rumors circulating about me. But none of it is true…….”
“That seems to be the case.”
I nodded, and Isabel looked up, regarding me quietly.
In those blue eyes, a faint glimmer of hope.
I smiled warmly.
“It’s true—I’d heard unfavorable rumors as well. When I first heard them, I wondered if they might be real.”
Yes, that’s what I’d thought.
“But once I met you in person, I began to suspect the rumors might be nothing but lies.”
……
“So I believe what you tell me.”
I apologized for the misunderstanding and for having doubted the rumors, however briefly. Isabel blinked in surprise, her large eyes widening, and she waved her hands about in flustered protest.
Not at all, she said—it was only natural to have misunderstood, she understood perfectly, and so on.
Her cheeks flushed slightly with emotion, and I found myself smiling despite myself at how endearing she looked.
If I’d had a younger sister, I imagined it might feel like this. As that thought crossed my mind, my affection for her rose sharply.
“My, who is this?”
Ah, at moments like these, such greetings usually boded ill.
As I looked up, my suspicion was confirmed.
A battalion of women in brilliantly colored, ornate dresses came sweeping toward our table.
“It’s been ages, Isabel. You’ve been well, I hope?”
“Oh… yes.”
Isabel regarded the newcomer with a slightly blank expression.
I too glanced up at the woman who led the parade of dresses.
‘Bianca Rowell? What is she doing here when she should be in another country?’
The only daughter of the Duke of the Blanche Family, and the woman married to the Roman Kingdom’s second prince.
Just as with Isabel, I had never actually met Bianca before, yet the reason I knew of her was simple enough.
‘Every time I thought I’d forgotten about her, some newspaper would print an update about her.’
Certain newspapers regularly ran articles about her accomplishments and recent activities.
To hear the stories told, one might think she served as some vital bridge between foreign powers and the Orden Empire.
But the truth was far simpler—she used a small newspaper owned by the Blanche Family to stubbornly maintain her position within the Empire.
She was no longer an imperial citizen, yet she couldn’t seem to let go of her ties to the Empire, which made me wonder…….
‘Now that I hear Isabel’s perspective, I think I understand it better.’
But that didn’t answer why she should be in the neighboring kingdom, not here.
I glanced toward Isabel with an unspoken question, and she shook her head.
So she didn’t know either.
We were exchanging silent words amidst the delicate psychological maneuvering that characterized high society, when it happened.
“You are Marquis Zaherette, aren’t you? How wonderful to meet you. I’ve been wanting to introduce myself properly for ages.”
“Pardon?”
“Would you mind if I joined you?”
She hadn’t even waited for permission.
Bianca, wearing a bright smile, spoke in honeyed tones as she gracefully settled into the seat beside me.
As if on cue, several other ladies and noblewomen who had been attending her followed suit, each claiming an empty chair nearby.
Before I knew it, Isabel and I were hemmed in by a sea of uninvited guests.
‘This doesn’t feel right…….’
“I’ve always regretted that we never properly introduced ourselves. If you had been in high society rather than at the Academy, we might have become the closest of friends.”
“And you think so?”
“Of course. A Duke’s daughter and a Marquis’s daughter—we’re perfectly matched, don’t you think? True friendship requires people of equal rank and standing, after all. Otherwise, the conversation simply won’t flow.”
Bianca laughed softly behind her fan, her eyes crinkling with amusement as she spoke.
In that instant, I saw it clearly.
Her gaze flicked toward Isabel, then back to me.
The other uninvited guests did much the same—giggling openly while giving Isabel pointed looks, yet deliberately refusing to truly acknowledge her.
Some had even turned their backs to her completely.
Perfect isolation. Deliberate ostracism.
‘Now that I have both pieces of information, the picture is becoming clearer.’
My grip tightened on the teacup.
“I heard you were currently residing in the Roman Kingdom, Miss Bianca. May I ask what brings you to Orden?”
“I simply missed my family. My husband adores me terribly, you see. He indulges my every whim.”
Bianca spoke with barely concealed pride about how, thanks to her husband’s devotion, she could move freely between her natal home and her married life abroad.
“And soon there will be a celebration for His Highness and your engagement, won’t there? I thought I should attend that as well.”
Bianca spoke of genuinely wishing to bless both your futures, and she truly looked like an angel.
Beyond her striking doll-like beauty, there was that radiant smile.
Had this been how she appeared when I first saw her, I might have been completely taken in…….
“But I must say, you must have such worries. I heard that Isabel was taking charge of the engagement celebration? Bell, are you truly certain you can manage it alone?”
The smile vanished from her face, replaced by something subtly twisted, though her voice quickly smoothed over it with honeyed concern.
To the casual ear, it sounded like genuine worry, but listening more carefully, one could detect the naked contempt beneath.
“Well, I…….”
“That’s right, Princess Mersiel. Even if you are His Highness’s fiancée, I do worry whether you can truly manage an event of such magnitude. Are you quite certain it will be alright?”
As Isabel opened her mouth to respond, the followers quickly piled on. At their words, Isabel pressed her lips together and lowered her gaze.
Satisfaction bloomed across Bianca’s and her followers’ faces.
“Ah, it would have been so reassuring if Miss Bianca were available to help.”
“Quite right. She’s had thorough training as a future empress since childhood, after all.”
“I hear she’s doing wonderfully as the Second Princess Consort in the Roman Kingdom as well. The Queen must feel so secure.”
“As for our dear Roselin…….”
Several matrons murmured vague expressions of concern about uncertain futures, their sighs heavy and pointed.
‘This is quite something.’
I had anticipated that Isabel would be isolated, but witnessing it firsthand was something else entirely.
They envied and resented the woman who would one day be empress, singling out the one who was merely a fiancée.
Now I understood all too well why Isabel had spent so much time hiding away from Jedo’s high society all this while.
I found I didn’t care for this at all.

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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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