The Murderous Duke's Domestic Affairs - 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
I pressed my forehead. Barely any time had passed since the meal with the Imperial family ended, and an invitation arrived asking me to attend the Empress’s tea gathering. A sigh threatened to escape. Aster Veil Lilywood, who had been watching me quietly, spoke.
“You don’t have to go if you find it uncomfortable.”
“It’s not that I find it uncomfortable.”
Though my tone was indifferent, I sensed concern in his words. Aster truly was a thoughtful and gentle person. Not wanting to worry him unnecessarily, I pulled the corners of my mouth upward. I wanted to appear unbothered, but I wasn’t sure if I succeeded. Judging by the furrow in Aster’s brow, it seemed I had failed.
“It’s just a minor concern. I’m simply not very skilled at dealing with people.”
A faint sigh mingled with the end of my words. I see. Aster regarded me quietly. Lauren not being skilled at dealing with people—he found it unbelievable.
She was always kind not only to him, Letti Torres, and Calvin Stewart, whom she had to face regularly, but also to the servants who performed menial tasks. All the servants in the mansion adored her. The proof lay in their faces—how they smiled and bowed their heads whenever they encountered her.
Did she alone not realize this? Lost in thought, he tilted his head to one side, and his golden hair cascaded smoothly past his shoulders.
Since she had begun staying at the Duke’s Mansion, the estate had grown brighter, and the air flowing through it had become gentler. The mansion, which had been sinking into the depths like something submerged in the abyss, had begun to come alive with her arrival. That transformation had emerged entirely because the kind and considerate Lauren treated others with genuine sincerity. To Aster, this was painfully obvious. Lauren was decidedly not someone unskilled at dealing with others.
“Still, it won’t be as crowded as it was at the ball. The Empress dislikes commotion.”
“That’s a relief.”
I laughed with my brow furrowed. I had tried to smile back reassuringly, to say it was fine and there was nothing to worry about, but Aster could not. A sigh threatened to escape, so he lowered his gaze to the documents before him. He couldn’t understand why Lauren cared so much about others’ perceptions. She was someone everyone would naturally love.
“Do you have a dress for tea time?”
“…Do you wear a separate dress just for having tea?”
It was a question thrown out for lack of anything better to say, but my face visibly crumpled. Aster smiled quietly and leaned his back against the long chair. His green eyes, directed toward me, shone softly.
It was that very gaze that remained in my memory from long ago. For some reason, my ears grew hot, and I coughed awkwardly, averting my eyes. Aster was a handsome man who drew attention without doing anything at all. Especially when those eyes, which held the color of a poisonous plant grown in shadow, shone like that.
My ears burning was simply because my ignorance of aristocratic society was being exposed. I told myself this deliberately. It had nothing to do with how impressive Aster was. I muttered to myself. I needed to get my head straight. I was no longer the young lady of a marquis house who could avoid social activities. I had to present myself as befitting the wife of the Duke of Lilywood, without shame.
“Don’t worry too much. Jasmine Aloria will have taken care of it.”
“I should check with Lise and Anna to be sure.”
“Yes, that would be best.”
Aster’s gaze returned to the documents, but I couldn’t suppress a sigh. What date was written on the invitation? What was certain was that it wasn’t far away. Or was it normal for the nobility to hold events in such rapid succession? Was it a trend? Whatever it was, it didn’t matter. I simply wanted to stomp my feet and complain. Because…
“Aster, I have a request.”
“Hmm?”
Our eyes met again as he looked up. I laughed weakly. Aster had been a high-ranking nobleman from birth. Though he didn’t engage in outside activities now, he had attended social gatherings in his childhood. I hated that I was about to reveal my shameful shortcomings to someone like him, someone I didn’t want to see them. Until now, I had never felt ashamed of not having entered society.
“Could I perhaps borrow a book on etiquette for high society?”
At my words, Aster’s brow furrowed faintly. Was it truly such an unreasonable request? The House of Siaz was not a famous and powerful family like the House of Lilywood.
An excessively small territory in the Southern Region. The only daughter of Marquis Siaz, who had lived almost like a commoner in a place worth seeing only for its warm climate and natural beauty, would certainly not be comparable talent to the Duke of Lilywood. I found myself revisiting a thought I had entertained before.
Etiquette is a social contract. Such things are naturally absorbed into one’s body. I had learned enough not to be ashamed in the Southern Region, but that level of knowledge only worked when I was a young lady of the House of Siaz, which didn’t participate in society. I had already made a tremendous failure at the moment of taking my first steps. Since trends in high society moved quickly, many things must have changed since that day.
I prided myself on being able to handle administrative work and territorial matters better than others, but as a duchess who had to present herself before others, I fell far short. So, in haste, I thought of books. If I read and practiced several times over, I could at least escape the level of being shameful. The Duke’s Mansion had a large library, so there should be books on etiquette.
“There are books on etiquette, but they probably won’t match current standards.”
What Aster murmured was the opposite of my expectations, but
“Why is that?”
“For the past ten years or so, no new books have been acquired.”
Because there was no one to read them.
Aster added this casually, but I could only move my lips without saying anything. The boy I had met in childhood seemed to love books. My gaze caught sight of Aster turning over documents. That image was identical to the boy turning pages in a book, and for no reason I could explain, I felt a pang of sorrow.
“Just do as you have been doing.”
“Pardon?”
I asked for clarification, but Aster didn’t answer. He picked up the quill pen that lay obediently on the table, signed the documents, set them down, and stretched languidly. Then, focusing his gaze entirely on me, he smiled softly. It wasn’t the bitter smile that seemed etched into his face. I regarded the beautiful arc drawn by his red lips with a somewhat bewildered feeling.
“You don’t need to worry about such things, Lauren. You’re a good person who knows how to treat others with sincerity.”
Am I really that kind of person? At Aster Veil Lilywood’s words, I found myself reflecting inward. But no matter how much I thought about it, I wasn’t the good person he described. If I truly were, I wouldn’t have been afraid to face others, neither as a child nor now. Yet separate from that, his words were pleasant to hear. The Lauren he spoke of was closer to the person I wished to become.
Then what if I tried to become that person? I pressed my lips together, then released them. I’d managed to avoid it all this time, but it seemed the moment had come to face it. Not as a young lady of a remote marquis house, but as the wife of the Duke of Lilywood.
“Still, I’d like to have some books, if possible.”
I murmured softly, biting the edge of my lip. Aster Veil Lilywood had said it was fine, but even so, I needed at least some minimal defense against embarrassment. He watched me with serious eyes, then rang the bell on the table. Shortly after, Calvin Stewart appeared from beyond the office door, carrying a tray with coffee.
“Call Jasmine Aloria for me.”
Aster Veil Lilywood gave the brief command while waiting for Calvin Stewart to set down the coffee cups. Calvin Stewart bowed and disappeared. I stared at him with wide eyes. It was certainly Aster Veil Lilywood who had mentioned that Jasmine Aloria would have taken care of the tea dress. Why would Jasmine Aloria be needed to find an etiquette book?
“The dressmaking studio that Jasmine Aloria runs is quite well-known.”
I had no idea what he was trying to say. Without thinking, I tilted my head. There were two coffee cups. He held his own cup and leaned back in the long chair. One was naturally his. I sat across from him, sipping my coffee while listening to his words.
The coffee that had once been dark and bitter had now become a fragrant beverage full of rich flavor, even a restorative tonic that invigorated the spirit. Before, it had been such an expensive luxury that I couldn’t even touch it, but the wealth and authority of the Ducal House were certainly pleasant. And the more I felt it, the heavier the burden pressed upon my shoulders.
“I’ve heard that dressmaking studios are social gathering places where noblewomen congregate.”
“Ah!”
I let out an exclamation without thinking. If I could receive direct instruction from the owner of the Aloria Dressmaking Studio, which was famous even in the Capital, I could learn in much greater detail. This was far better than an etiquette book. Perhaps because I understood this better than anyone, my violet eyes sparkled. Aster Veil Lilywood seemed quite satisfied with that.
“Thank you, Aster Veil Lilywood!”
With an intensity that was almost like embracing him, I leaned forward. At my gesture, he flinched and stiffened. It was because of the surprise at seeing my face suddenly so close. He gazed quietly into my eyes. Round eyes brimming with light, long lashes—anyone would call them beautiful. Even if he were not the one looking.
At this rate, I would be completely enchanted by her. I might thoughtlessly tell her she was beautiful, so Aster Veil Lilywood closed his eyes tightly, then opened them. What happened to his own heart didn’t matter. It wasn’t as though he could tell her anyway.
If he could fulfill what Lauren wished for, then his role would end there. It had to end there. Taking a deep breath without Lauren’s knowledge, Aster Veil Lilywood curved his lips into a smile. He hoped it looked natural.
“I’m glad it was helpful.”
Then he brought the coffee cup to his lips again. Wondering if it had seemed awkward, he glanced at Lauren and ended up laughing. Lauren, who had only just realized what she’d done, had turned completely red.
She coughed awkwardly and sat back down. Embarrassed, she avoided his gaze and drank the still-warm coffee in one gulp. Oh no, if she burned herself doing that, she’d have quite the ordeal. Concern flickered in his eyes as he watched her cough softly. Though the smile at the corner of his mouth never faded.
“P-please call me when Jasmine Aloria arrives. I’ll go check if there are any tea time dresses available.”
After wiping her mouth with a napkin, she hurriedly stood up. It wasn’t even that urgent a matter, yet she disappeared in haste. As the door closed with a thud, Aster Veil Lilywood could no longer contain himself and burst into laughter. Lowering his head, covering his mouth with his hand, his shoulders shook as he laughed for quite some time. Lauren was truly a beautiful and adorable person.
Once he finally composed himself, Aster Veil Lilywood wiped away the tears that had gathered at the corners of his eyes with his fingertips. Then he let out a low sigh and leaned back in the long chair. His gaze turned toward somewhere on the ceiling. His eyes, blinking slowly, somehow looked bitter.
How strange it was. The more he told himself he shouldn’t take an interest in Lauren, the more helplessly he found himself falling for her. Perhaps it was natural, since she was beautiful and wise. But for him, it couldn’t be natural.
What if they had met under different circumstances? If he had truly been the only son of House of Lilywood? Wherever they met, wouldn’t he have fallen for her at first sight anyway? And perhaps he would have obtained permission from Marquis Emel Siaz and taken her as his wife. Then he wouldn’t have needed to hide his feelings and could have expressed his affection freely. How she would have accepted him—that one thing, he simply couldn’t know.
Aster Veil Lilywood ran both hands over his face. He shouldn’t be thinking meaningless thoughts, yet he couldn’t understand why he kept having such pointless thoughts. This heart was his own, yet he was helpless against it. He truly was pathetic.

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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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