I Seducing the Black-Hearted Duke Wasn't Me - Chapter 56

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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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Episode 56
How childish everyone’s being.
Most of them are glaring at me with puffy eyes like they want to kill me…….
‘Predictable, of course.’
They must have spent last night weeping over my wonderful fiancé. How pitiful.
“Leon. Did you know this?”
“Know what?”
“When you said you’d become High Priest. A number of ladies in high society stopped eating for days and fainted.”
“What?”
Leon’s expression shifted to genuine surprise at the revelation.
So he truly hadn’t known.
He seemed rather displeased by the notion of it all, though to everyone else he probably looked appealing as ever—his brow furrowed in contemplation, as if wrestling with something grave.
“Wait. Were you one of them? Did you stop eating and fall into shock when you heard I was becoming High Priest?”
“No. I ate well, slept well, and did everything I needed to do. I’m sorry, but I was far too busy at the time to spare a thought for anything else.”
“That’s just like you.”
“Thank you for the compliment.”
The moment the praise left my lips, Leon let out a soft laugh.
But it didn’t last. The smile that had lingered on his face moments before faded once again into shadow.
The reason was obvious enough.
“Truly, there’s not a moment’s rest for me.”
He clicked his tongue softly, his gaze fixed on something in the distance as he muttered.
The Emperor’s Adjutant was hurrying toward us, looking flustered.
“Your Highness. His Majesty is asking for you.”
“Sigh…….”
Leon exhaled deeply, his eyes searching for something beyond the crowd.
Following his gaze, I spotted the Emperor far across the room, surrounded by nobles and waving in our direction.
“Wasn’t this banquet meant for us? How is it acceptable to separate the betrothed couple on a whim? Surely the conversation doesn’t grind to a halt without me.”
“Well, that is…….”
The Adjutant, unable to meet Leon’s eyes, bowed his head like a condemned criminal, clearly thinking even he had no excuse for this.
He even squeezed his eyes shut, bracing for the reprimand he knew was coming.
“What if I simply ignore it and don’t go?”
“That won’t do, Your Highness.”
“……Erna. You’re on my side, aren’t you?”
“Of course. But as I’ve said before, I’m on close terms with His Majesty. Leon.”
What—was he saying we should act like we were like brothers and sisters? That I should demonstrate to everyone around us how solid the bond between them was?
Perhaps my intent had been understood.
Leon grimaced for a moment before seeming to give up, turning to me with a wry smile.
“Fine. Since you wish it so desperately, I’ll go and shower him with affection. Watch me. My insincere performance.”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
“Promise me you won’t take your eyes off me.”
“I’ll do my best.”
“And if anyone bothers you, feel free to brush them off. After all, those people will analyze every detail—who you greet, how long you speak with them—and spin whatever nonsense suits them.”
He offered the counsel that no matter what we did, they’d let their imaginations run wild anyway, so it was best not to worry about it from the start.
“Though I’m sure my clever fiancée will handle it all quite well on her own.”
I nodded to signal I understood, and he let out a soft chuckle, adding quietly.
My fiancée.
I’d used the phrase ‘my fiancé’ myself just moments before, but hearing it from him made my cheeks warm.
Embarrassed for no good reason, I quickly urged him to go, giving his back a gentle push.
After Leon departed.
The nobles pressed forward as if they’d been waiting, greeting me with apparent naturalness.
Most were nobles I’d met a handful of times in business dealings, and conversations with them proved quite pleasant.
All this time, having forced myself into stuffy gatherings of high-society matrons just to get a taste of that world, I suppose that’s why it felt so refreshing now, as though I could finally breathe properly.
But this peace was not to last.
“Here you are, Marquis.”
A low voice arrived with heavy footfalls.
At the shadow that fell across my vision, my eyes sharpened instinctively as I focused on the newcomer.
“It’s been a long time, Duke Blanch.”
The head of the Blanch Ducal House.
Edgar Blanch took his place before me, his face adorned with a smile.
A visceral wariness thrummed through my being.
‘Why is this person suddenly acting familiar with me?’
We were clearly not on friendly terms before.
To be precise, we’d been mutually indifferent until the Valentine affair, though it wouldn’t be wrong to say we’d developed a slight wariness of each other since then.
After all, the Count was a man of the Blanch Ducal House through and through.
‘And he certainly won’t think kindly of me for bankrupting him.’
That’s why I’d expected him to bear a grudge.
Instead, this friendly demeanor felt deeply suspicious.
“Congratulations on your betrothal. And I’d like to introduce you to someone.”
“An introduction?”
“Yes. I believe it would be quite beneficial for you, Marquess.”
The Duke of Blanch spoke in his characteristically domineering tone, then turned his head.
“Come introduce yourself.”
As the person who stepped out from behind him came into view, I let out a small, silent laugh.
“My daughter, Bianca. She’s currently visiting from the Roman Kingdom, where she’s married off. I hear you two have already met outside—quite a fortunate connection, wouldn’t you say?”
The Duke chuckled heartily, his voice laden with meaning.
I offered no response, merely observing her in silence.
Bianca Rowell.
I’d expected to see her, given that she’d returned for the betrothal banquet, but I hadn’t anticipated being introduced in this manner.
‘I thought she’d have the sense to avoid me, given what she’s done.’
I’d even wondered if she might skip the event entirely.
It seemed I’d underestimated her.
Her shameless bearing and gaze remained unchanged. And that wounded pride flickering behind her eyes—those of someone with an inflated sense of self-worth—were fixed upon me.
She looked as though she’d long since forgotten the incident at the Tea Salon.
“We happened to meet at the Tea Salon and had a brief conversation.”
“Ha, this girl keeps coming home to visit even after striking out on her own—homesick, I suppose. Living abroad must leave her feeling a bit hollow. She’s always been rather shy and doesn’t fit in easily anywhere, which worried me. But who would have thought she and the Marquess were close enough to confide in each other? This is truly reassuring.”
The Duke laughed exaggeratedly, as though reciting dramatic lines.
At his words, my brow furrowed.
Wait. Something doesn’t add up here. When did I ever suggest we were the sort of people who confide in each other? I said we merely happened to meet and exchanged a few words in passing.
But whether I showed my displeasure or not, the Duke simply continued laughing and saying whatever he pleased.
“Since you’re the same age, I hope you’ll become good friends. And if you ever need someone to rely on, Marquess, please don’t hesitate to speak to Bianca. She’s my daughter, but she’s quite capable. I’m sure she’ll be of great help.”
“…….”
A tactic I’d grown all too familiar with.
First: treating me not as an equal noble, but subtly as someone beneath his daughter, looking down upon me with quiet condescension.
“Like a dear sister, supporting each other when troubles or concerns arise—that sort of intimate bond. Of course, the Marquess has a reputation for wanting for nothing, but still, one never knows.”
“…….”
Second: feigning warmth while ingratiating himself.
All while quietly overstepping boundaries and cementing his superiority.
The Duke, who’d been droning on about some well-worn notion of the importance of cultivating good connections in high society, laughed without shame.
Of course, I said nothing.
I’d come to understand something from the start.
‘He couldn’t have heard any of this from his daughter.’
There was no other way he’d dare speak like that in front of me.
“Did you just hear? The Marquess Zaherette and the Duke of Blanch’s daughter have a connection?”
“They meet privately outside and discuss things together?”
“My goodness, wasn’t the Marquess supposed to have ties with the Merciel Household? That’s what I heard…….”
The surroundings stirred at the Duke’s remarks.
‘So this is what Leon was talking about.’
Everyone knew that the Duke of Blanch had made an enemy of the Imperial House over his daughter’s betrothal.
But now, as his new family member—who would soon be tied to the Emperor through a betrothal—appeared to be on friendly terms with the Duke of Blanch rather than with the Emperor’s betrothed?
It was the sort of development that could shake both high society and political circles alike.
‘So I really have ended up entangled with quite a significant man.’
But still.
‘That doesn’t mean I’ll tolerate being used as a pawn in power struggles.’
And there was more to it than that.
What mattered most to me had always been Zaherette and Roar.
Of course, Leon had been added to that list recently.
From that perspective, it was abundantly clear where my priorities lay.
“I appreciate the kind offer, but I’m not sure. I doubt Miss Bianca would think the same way.”
“What do you mean…….”
“You haven’t heard yet, it seems. I thought the Crown Princess would have mentioned it.”
When I looked at Bianca with eyes that said I knew nothing of what she was talking about, her face went pale.
“Bianca. What is all this supposed to mean?”
“Father. I—that is to say. Well……”
Bianca’s voice trembled faintly.
But the words wouldn’t come; she only bit and released her lip repeatedly, never quite confessing.
‘Bold enough when she’s surrounded by her followers, but alone she’s helpless. Or is it that she crumbles before the Duke?’
She looked like a foolish young lady who’d caused some terrible mischief and now feared her father’s wrath.
But I was mistaken.
“Ah, I think perhaps the Marquis has simply misunderstood something.”
“Misunderstood?”
“Yes. A misunderstanding.”
Bianca smiled awkwardly and nodded.
Yet that hastily assembled smile soon shifted into something steady and composed.

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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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