The Search for the Duchess’s Husband - Chapter 75

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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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In Search of the Duke’s Husband – Episode 75

Artia grasped Marigold’s hand and spoke with exaggerated concern.
“The wound is so severe. It must hurt terribly, mustn’t it? What if it leaves a scar? Oh, how dreadful….”
“…???”
Why was she here? Why was she pretending to be close?
Marigold’s mind reeled at the sudden turn of events.
Artia abruptly turned her head away from the frozen Marigold and looked down at Cecilia.
Cecilia had stopped crying and opened her eyes wide in shock. Artia addressed her directly.
“Little miss, tell me—who could have committed such a terrible and wicked act against the Countess Golzess, the most respected woman in High Society?”
“…!”
Cecilia had hurt Marigold many times before, just as she had today, but each time it had been brushed aside as a child’s mistake.
This was the first time anyone had reacted seriously to her actions.
“I, I….”
Cecilia stammered with a pale face, then buried her face in the Nanny’s arms again and burst into tears.
“Waaah!”
This time it was not a fake cry with only sound. Real tears streamed down her face.
A child, bewildered for the first time at having her wrongdoing pointed out.
The Nanny patted Cecilia while glaring at Artia.
“I don’t know who you are, but stay out of family matters and be on your way.”
Artia acted as though she hadn’t heard such words.
“Stay out? I merely came to see if there was anything I could do to help, having witnessed such a terrible wound on the Countess’s hand….”
Artia’s eyes sharpened once more, just as they had before.
“Besides, aren’t you all maids of the Golgers Earldom? Why are you dawdling about instead of thinking to treat the Countess’s hand as quickly as possible?”
The maids flinched at the sudden rebuke.
Artia pressed on with commanding force.
“Surely a mere maid isn’t actually committing the insolence of disrespecting the Countess Golzess?”
Her pink eyes were so sharp that the maids could only bite their lips in silence.
Turning away from the maids, Artia’s eyes returned to their usual clarity. She then carefully took Marigold’s hand, who still stood in shock.
“I cannot possibly entrust your care to such unreliable maids. Please follow me, Countess Golzess.”
Marigold gazed at Artia as though enchanted, then nodded.

* * *

“Cecilia seems quite shaken. Take her home, would you? I need a moment to collect myself.”
At Marigold’s words, the maids’ expressions soured with displeasure.
‘If she were her real mother, she would never send a crying child home alone.’
‘Besides, she deliberately seduced the master to claim that position. What did we expect from her?’
Marigold knew exactly what the maids were thinking from their insolent gazes, but she said nothing.
Any display of emotion would shatter her composure entirely.
After the maids departed, Artia led Marigold into the rest room within the dress shop.
Artia applied the medicine she’d requested from the shop staff to the wound on Marigold’s hand.
As Marigold flinched at the sharp sting, Artia spoke to her gently, as one might soothe a child.
“Just bear with it a moment. The salve will prevent scarring.”
“….”
Unlike her scattered demeanor from moments before, she now appeared composed.
After applying the medicine, Artia wrapped Marigold’s hand in bandages. Marigold frowned upon seeing her hand swathed so thoroughly.
“This wound hardly warrants such extensive treatment….”
“There’s no harm in being thorough with treatment. Besides, showing this level of injury will ensure your husband won’t say a word when you return to the mansion.”
Marigold’s eyes widened before she let out a bitter laugh.
“So that’s why you suddenly butted in so noisily despite us not being close. You saw everything from start to finish, didn’t you? You helped me to win my favor.”
“Yes, I stepped in hoping to gain even a shred of your goodwill, madam.”
In that instant, the sharp emotion that had hardened Marigold’s face dissolved, replaced by bewilderment.
Countless women had approached her over the years. Yet Artia was the first to openly admit she’d done so to become closer to her.
Artia continued.
“But my distress was genuine. Seeing the Countess Golzess endure such a situation….”
Did I look pitiful to you?
Or did my misfortune amuse you?
Yet this time too, Artia spoke differently from what Marigold expected.
“I was angry.”
“…Angry? Why?”
“The Countess Golzess is the most radiant and confident woman in High Society. Seeing the maids and a child gang up against you and act so foolishly made me furious.”
Artia continued, gauging Marigold’s reaction carefully.
“Still, it was terribly presumptuous of me to meddle in family matters with someone I barely know. I apologize.”
There was nothing to apologize for. Far from being displeased—in fact—transparent tears welled at the corners of Marigold’s eyes.
Marigold murmured as if speaking to herself.
“I truly tried so hard after the marriage.”
Every day I prepared Cecilia’s meals and clothes with my own hands, took her out shopping, and never missed tucking her in at night.
Yet no matter what I did, Cecilia complained that I displeased her. The maids constantly clicked their tongues, comparing me to the previous mistress.
What drove me to madness most was the look in everyone’s eyes—including my husband’s.
“A stepmother simply cannot be helped, after all.”
“What more do you want from me?!”
Marigold’s angry cry bordered on a wail.
Coming to her senses with a gasp, Marigold flushed and spoke.
“I got emotional and said something unnecessary. If you’re worried about whether you should comfort me, please don’t.”
I’m already embarrassed enough as it is.
Artia spoke with her brows furrowed.
“What would I know about your wife to offer comfort? But I think I understand a little of what Cecilia feels. My stepmother came into our lives around that same age.”
“…!”
Artia recalled memories from her childhood.
When I learned that the young, beautiful woman standing beside Father would become my stepmother, my first emotion was not excitement but strong rejection.
“She’s not my mother….”
But that feeling didn’t last long.
Catherine showed no interest in young Artia whatsoever.
She barely looked after her stepdaughter’s meals or studies, and the days they even saw each other’s faces were few and far between.
Some whispered that Catherine was a wicked stepmother, but young Artia actually found peace in it.
“For a child, it was too difficult to call someone who wasn’t my mother ‘mother’ and act like her daughter. Don’t you think Cecilia feels the same way?”
“Are you saying my attitude made Cecilia uncomfortable?”
“Probably.”
Artia continued speaking to Marigold, whose expression looked as though she’d been slapped.
“I’m not saying the relationship will never change. In time, Cecilia may come to accept you as her mother. But not right now. For now, wouldn’t it be better to step back and simply observe her?”
Marigold had been impatient ever since the marriage.
She believed that only by winning the heart of her husband’s most cherished daughter could she truly be recognized as a member of the Golgers Earldom.
Her parents and friends felt the same way. Every time they saw Marigold, they spoke with worried voices.
No matter how willfully Cecilia acts, never get angry with her—embrace her. Approach her first and show her affection. That’s how the child will open her heart.
…Artia was the first to say something like that.

* * *

A few days later, inside a shop on Diamond Street. Marigold and Cecilia stood facing each other.
Cecilia shouted at Marigold, who held a children’s dress.
“I really hate that dress!”
Just try it on once.
Normally, those words would have come out, but today’s Marigold was different.
“I understand. Then don’t wear it.”

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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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