The Murderous Duke's Domestic Affairs - Chapter 66

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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 66
The invitation to the Winter Gathering included a dress code. According to Jasmine Aloria, the Winter Gathering had long since transformed from a simple celebration of noblewomen into an occasion for recommending Imperial Court business products.
The dress code changed each year depending on the Empire’s major industries, and this year the theme was “knitwear.” Lauren recalled a newspaper article she’d read recently—something about machinery that could mass-produce knitwear becoming commercially available. Jasmine had smiled knowingly when she explained that this very knitwear was an Imperial Court business venture.
Images of the noblewomen from the Siaz Territory, whom I’d seen in childhood passing their idle hours with knitting, flickered through my mind. Since I had no talent for knitting or embroidery, such work had always seemed tedious and time-consuming to me. To think that machines could now produce such items in an instant—truly, machinery was remarkable. And the Imperial Court had invested in it.
Yet this development was not entirely fortunate. Knitting would no longer serve as a profitable pastime for noblewomen. And it wasn’t just knitting. Though the handicrafts produced by the people of the Lilywood Dukedom currently generated decent income, the day would come when machines would manufacture those as well. Perhaps sooner than one might expect. I would need to devise alternative enterprises quickly.
What could possibly retain its value in a world where mechanization was advancing relentlessly? It would certainly not be an easy problem to solve. As I exhaled softly with that thought, the carriage came to a halt. We had arrived at the Empress Palace. The carriage door opened, and beyond it appeared Garnet with an expressionless face. I took the hand he offered and descended from the carriage.
“Thank you.”
At my soft whispered gratitude, Garnet’s eyebrows furrowed faintly before he turned away. I smiled slightly and looked up at the building before me. The Empress Palace was not as tall or grand as the Emperor’s Palace, yet it remained imposing and formidable nonetheless. I took a small, deep breath. Somehow, the tension I’d felt upon my first visit to the Empress Palace was awakening once more.
No matter how favorably the person within might regard me, I could not control the feelings of everyone else. The nightmare from long ago, when I first appeared before people, began to seep into my consciousness. The shrill voices of children echoed in my mind—mocking laughter.
“Are you well?”
Garnet’s low voice pulled me from my reverie. Oh, I had lost myself in thought again. I straightened my shoulders, which kept drooping, and pulled my lips into a smile for him.
“Yes, of course.”
Garnet studied my complexion for a moment, as if sensing something, then stepped back. I knew better than anyone that I couldn’t possibly look well. Those shrill voices and laughter were an ancient, unforgettable trauma for me. But I had come this far. Not as Miss Lauren Siaz of the Baronial House, but as the Duchess of the Lilywood Dukedom. So I could not retreat now. I clenched my clasped hands tightly.
“Let’s go.”
With my posture straightened, I spoke briefly to Garnet beside me. Then I stepped forward with confidence. It was the gait I had chosen for myself as Lauren Veil Lilywood.
* * *
“Welcome, Lauren.”
“I pay my respects to the great pillar of the Empire.”
The Empress herself came to greet me as I arrived at the venue slightly ahead of the appointed time. I lifted the hem of my long coat and bowed deeply to the Empress, whose cotton-candy-pink curls were elegantly pinned up and adorned with a jeweled crown.
“Thank you for making room for me.”
The Empress, greeting me warmly, summoned the Head Maid to show me to my seat. The other attendees exchanged distant greetings with the Empress and received guidance from the maids. This unexpected special treatment drew all eyes toward me. My ears flushed at the attention I wasn’t accustomed to. But I could not let that show. I followed the Head Maid with a smile seemingly drawn upon my lips.
The seat I was shown to was at a round table near the Empress and the Imperial Princess. I thought it was because of the title of Duchess attached to Lilywood. But when my eyes met those of Gloria, who smiled shyly in my direction, I wondered if that was truly the only reason. Whatever others might think, the Imperial Princess—Gloria—genuinely liked me. This was different from that first social gathering where they had mocked me with shrill laughter. At least in this place, there was someone who liked me.
I was equally unfamiliar with both goodwill and hostility. But goodwill was far preferable to hostility, which I didn’t know how to handle. I couldn’t return hostility, but I could return goodwill with goodwill.
The fact that goodwill toward me existed in this unfamiliar place was a great encouragement to me. I was truly grateful for it. I returned Gloria’s smile with genuine joy.
I entrusted the bundle and coat I had brought to Garnet, who stood behind me, and took my seat. Murmurs arose from those around me at my appearance. I sat with a smile as if I couldn’t hear them. The dress code was knitwear—anything made of knitwear would suffice. That’s what Jasmine from the Aloria Dressmaking Studio, who was well-versed in high society, had told me. I was no longer an ignorant child unaware of society’s fashions. Those people’s voices meant nothing to me.
They don’t understand. What truly matters. Why I wear this dress and stand in this place.
So there’s no reason to be intimidated. I wore the smile I had learned to create from Aster Veil Lilywood and straightened my posture. I gazed down at the golden nameplate before me, inscribed with the name of the House of Lilywood. To become someone worthy of that name. To sit beside Aster Veil Lilywood without shame.
As if I couldn’t feel the gazes directed toward me, I smiled faintly. The name of “Murderer” Aster Veil Lilywood would mean nothing to others. The tragedy of the House of Lilywood, the high nobility. A name stained with blood before even reaching adulthood, and ultimately the savage, ominous “Murderer” who swept across the battlefield and brought victory to the Empire. Everyone feared that name while scorning him as inhuman.
But that name held a different color for me alone. It had been so since I first met him in childhood. The girl who had secretly sought out newspapers when rumors spread of a boy not yet grown taking to the battlefield—I had not forgotten the feelings I thought I would keep to myself alone, the name I thought I would eventually forget.
Though it was only in name, I had become his wife, and there was a small joy in that. But that joy soon melted away and disappeared. The Aster Veil Lilywood I had remembered alone was different from what I had imagined. Yet he was not the “Murderer” of the rumors either. The Aster I faced directly was neither savage nor ominous. He was not a “Murderer” who reveled in slaughter.
He was simply the most sincere person I knew. Though he no longer smiled warmly, he remained delicate and tender. So much so that he would do anything for those by his side. And he was wise enough to recognize his own shortcomings and ask for my help.
But he was weak.
The master of the battlefield, the young general of a hundred victories, was nowhere to be found. A man who could barely endure the tragic memories of battle that suddenly surfaced with merely a cup of wine. A man who couldn’t actually sleep alone. Watching him, I realized anew that the soldiers who had come to rest in the Siaz Territory were truly strong people. The strength to endure the horrors experienced on the battlefield and take another step forward.
I looked around the hall now filled with people. The thread of thought that had begun with Aster branched out in all directions, reaching even those seated in this place. How many of those gathered here had experienced the battlefield, even indirectly?
If one were to name who benefited most from the war, it would be the Emperor. He had the Crown Prince and the Imperial Princess support the battlefield. But the nobility? They had not gone to war themselves. They had simply sent soldiers composed of their own knights and their own people.
I looked down at the sleeves that covered even the backs of my hands. The “knitwear” I wore was unfamiliar to the nobility. It was the clothing of commoners, whom they looked down upon.
Though the Emperor may rule the Empire, it is the people called commoners who live it. Without them, neither nobility nor Emperor would be anything. I turned over this newly apparent truth in my mind. The noblewomen here might laugh in scorn if they heard such words, but that was what I believed.
Those who fought for the nation, those who directly operated the machinery to produce knitwear—they were commoners. Not those who, as if they could be anything, held their chins high and hid their contempt behind their fans, the fortunate ones born into noble houses.
If anyone were to speak of who truly owns this Empire, wouldn’t it be those who quietly live their lives? It might cause a scandal if it reached the ears of the Emperor or Empress, but what of it? I’m not saying it aloud, after all.
Lost in contemplation with a faint smile, I heard the Empress’s voice raised in announcement. Ah, the gathering was being called to order. The tension that had enveloped my entire body when I first stepped into the hall had vanished somewhere along the way. The Empress offered words of commendation to the humble noblewomen who had come from afar. Everyone raised their teacups at her brief toast.
“As you all know, this year’s dress code was knitwear. So, shall we start with Baroness Pirot and hear what she’s brought?”
Ah, so that’s how this works.
This was my first time attending the Winter Gathering. Of course, Jasmine Aloria had given me a rough overview beforehand, but I hadn’t imagined anything like this. So the dress code was determined by whatever happened to be trending that year—perhaps this gathering was actually a kind of exhibition. A report on each territory’s industries, the fashions of the season, and a bit of trade mixed in as well.
I couldn’t help but smile to myself. No wonder Mother always seemed anxious whenever the Winter Gathering approached. She’d said there was so much to prepare for, far more than one would expect for a simple commendation tea. Now I understood. What had been the theme when Mother participated? And what had she prepared? I wished I could have asked her. But now it was far too late.
As I pondered these thoughts, the exhibition proceeded smoothly. Shawls that the ladies of various territories had created from colorful yarn. Large flower-shaped corsages and hair ornaments made from delicate knit lace layered generously upon itself. Bags sewn together from pieces bearing different patterns. Oh, I rather like that one. I studied the bag with interest.
The presentations continued. Mostly fine accessories followed—chokers and gloves with intricate craftsmanship. Everyone brought what could be called the finest from their territory and displayed it proudly before the assembled crowd. Of course, some of it was rather questionable. That woman brought a bag made to look woven from leather strips. Could that really be called knitwear?
Explanations and applause followed in waves. That tide had now reached the table where I sat. The Countess at my table finished presenting an ornamental skirt adorned with a rose pattern, woven from small jewels mined in her territory, and returned to her seat. Perhaps it was my imagination, but her gaze toward me felt sharp. Why? I couldn’t recall ever doing anything to deserve such a look from someone I’d just met.
“Then, Duchess of Lilywood, what have you prepared?”
At the Empress’s gentle voice, I rose from my seat. Whispers rippled louder in my direction. There was no reason to be intimidated by such things. I pulled the corners of my lips tight, forming a firm smile.

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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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