It Turned Out to be a Useful Fraudulent Marriage - Chapter 21

The Duke, who thought Eric only knew the facts in the earlier part of the ledger he had taken, had already prepared an excuse. Of course, it would likely not cause any issues even if His Majesty were to be asked about all of this. After all, everything about the frontier expedition was probably true.

However, His Majesty the Emperor probably wouldn’t know about the treasury funds the prince had embezzled.

And the writing on the wall—

I will never commit suicide.

Eric calmly set down the necklace belonging to his mother, which had been hanging around his neck.

The Duke spoke.

“To be honest, I sided with Prince Robert. While it’s true the Princess has made many accomplishments, she doesn’t care much about her reputation. She’s entangled in too many scandals with noble children and–”

“I believe the Prince is more guilty of such things,” Eric spoke firmly.

The Duke glared at Eric sharply, as if trying to see right through him, but then softened his expression, like a father reprimanding a young son.

Looking back, the Duke had always had a strange attitude. Like now—he would try to speak to his 24-year-old son as if he were still a 4-year-old child.

As though Eric weren’t an equal, but rather the hunting dog he had raised.

“I hope you don’t get too deeply involved with the Princess either. She’s not someone who gives her affection to anyone. Even if you marry her, she would keep many lovers and try to politically use our family and the families of her concubine. At the very least, I hope you can find some peace at home, free from all the political games.”

The Duke’s gaze drifted to the late Duchess’s belongings placed on the table.

“Your mother… in that regard, she was a good woman… at least until her madness began to show.”

At those words, Eric felt a chill run through him. Was his mother really crazy? Or was it…?

Eric, doing his best to hide his agitation, spoke with difficulty. “Then what about Lady Helena? Does she bring comfort to you, father?”

Helena Wedgwood.

Why was his father trying to marry that woman?

At first, Eric had thought simply.

His father’s remarriage was something even the vassal families had wanted. They had constantly pushed women connected to their own circles into the Duke’s room.

So it wasn’t strange for the Duke to choose a woman completely unrelated to such schemes.

Helena was also beautiful and charming. She even had children from previous marriages, which left a sort of ‘flaw’ on her. Because of that, Helena wouldn’t be able to harbor too much ambition regarding the duchy’s power.

All these factors combined made Eric think his father could safely fall in love with Helena.

At least, that’s what he had thought, until he sensed there was something more hidden beneath his father’s actions.

“Helena? Not exactly. As you’ve probably noticed, she brings more amusement than comfort. It’s fun being with her… and she’s also quite useful.”

Useful?

Eric was puzzled by his father’s choice of words as he recalled Helena, who, despite being clever, didn’t seem to possess much knowledge or refinement.

The Duke stood up and walked toward where he had propped up his long rifle, fiddling with it.

Eric’s hand instinctively went to the hilt of his sword once again.

The Duke picked up the gun. Just as Eric tensed, preparing to draw his sword, the Duke grabbed a towel from the desk with his other hand and spoke.

“You’re at an age where it’s time to find a suitable match. That’s not a bad thing. But always keep in mind, Eric, that your wife will become the next Duchess. The next duchess will have access to much information about this estate.”

As he said this, the Duke wiped off the gunpowder from the barrel of the rifle. The smooth surface of the barrel glistened brightly as it was cleaned.

‘The next Duchess.’

Eric loosened his grip on the sword.

A strange thought whirled through his mind. There was no other way to describe it than… a strange thought.

While Eric, consumed by this strange thought, finished his preparations to head to the palace, an even stranger piece of news arrived from Lily.

 

✵ ✵ ✵

 

The aristocrat’s laughter echoed through the hall.

Most of those who laughed boisterously were lower-rangking nobles. Their laughter was more an attempt to appease the nobles of the capital, laughing at trivial jokes, desperately trying to catch their attention.

‘What a bunch of pretentious people.’

I turned my head away. Then, I saw Philip and Mother, doing their best to flatter the high-ranking nobles.

‘Ha… right. We were the most pretentious of them all.’

I was sitting in the most secluded corner, quietly, trying to maintain the facade of a Southern country bumpkin. It wasn’t the time for me to criticize others.

With a sigh, I glanced over at the nobles laughing so loudly that it hurt my ears. Vivian Cavendish was among them, laughing ostentatiously. I had been watching her all along.

‘In a little while, Vivian will walk over to my mother, casually spill the champagne she’s holding, and then pretend to apologize…’

“You’re quite skilled, you know. You always find a new husband within a year of your previous one’s death, don’t you?”

That’s what she’ll say.

The capital’s nobility actually had little interest in the affairs of the South.

Even though Vivian Cavendish might hold some influence as a young lady in the South, she received no attention here.

Why, you ask? Because the capital’s nobility believed themselves to be the best and the center of the world.

Thanks to that, most people only knew my mother as a lower noblewoman from the South who managed to capture the Duke’s heart and remarried.

The fact that she had lost all four husbands—a rather terrifying track record—was still unknown. But today, thanks to Vivian, that terrifying record would be exposed, and my mother would face the scorn of all the nobles.

In that atmosphere, the Duke would step in and save my mother, which would make her trust him even more. But, strangely enough, the Duke had yet to appear.

In that case, I would be the one to save my mother instead of the Duke.

‘I’ll take this chance to rip out every single one of Vivian’s hairs!’

I made a firm determination and looked towards my mother.

From now on, I had to protect her. After all, she had always protected me. While all her short-lived husbands had died, my mother had protected Philip and me.

‘Though, honestly, with my mother’s track record, no noble family would normally be allowed to marry her without the Emperor’s approval…’

But then again, that is the House of Orleans.

If you set aside the grand duchy in the North, they are the wealthiest and most powerful noble family on this continent.

The Emperor had no intention of interfering with any marriage the Orleans desired. In fact, he gladly welcomed the idea that such a mighty Duke would marry a Southern country bumpkin instead of forging alliances with other powerful families.

There’s even a saying: after His Majesty the Emperor comes the Princess, after the Princess comes the Grand Duke, and after the Grand Duke comes the Duke of Orléans.

‘And the next one is Prince Robert.’

Prince Robert was watching the princess dancing with various men with a bored expression.

The princess, capitalizing on her reputation as a flirt, seemed determined to dance with every influential figure attending the party.

‘She’s surprisingly smart.’

On the other hand, the prince was fending off the approaching ladies like they were the snout of hell.

Was it because the Prince was so easy to handle that Duke Orleans had chosen to ally with him? Was he planning to make the Prince the emperor and manipulate him at will?

It was a reasonable theory.

Even though the energetic Princess may be a cunning flirt, the cranky Prince would certainly be an easier opponent to control.

While thinking that, I turned my head towards Vivian again.

‘…?’

Vivian had disappeared.

I suddenly got up from my seat.

Now that I looked around, my mother was gone too. In the brief moment I had lost focus, both women had vanished.

I suddenly felt a wave of panic wash over me, realizing that the situation had slipped out of my control.

I stepped out of the corner and began searching my mother around the ballroom.

Splash!

Just then, as my gaze darted around in confusion, I felt a coolness spreading over my chest, followed by a damp sensation.

“…?”

I widened my eyes and looked ahead. Vivian Cavendish stood there, holding a champagne glass that was half-spilled, looking down at me with a smirk.

“Oh my, I’m sorry.”

She said it with a face that didn’t seem the least bit sorry.

I tilted my head.

‘Something feels… off here.’’

Wasn’t she supposed to spill the drink on my mother?

But my mother was nowhere to be found, and all I could see were Vivian Cavendish and her friends, whom I had seen at the dressmaker’s.

“It’s a relief to see you looking healthy, Emeline. After causing that scene at the dressmaker’s and disappearing without a word of apology, I thought something was wrong with you!”

At Vivian’s words, nearby nobles began to murmur. It seemed everyone had been quietly gossiping about this incident.

Only then did I realize why Vivian Cavendish’s behavior was different from what I had seen in my dreams.

My actions had slightly altered the future due to my knowledge of what was to come.

While Vivian Cavendish’s desire to harm my family and the Duke’s intention to kill us remained unchanged, the minor details had shifted, right?

‘So, the Duke not being here yet is also because I changed something…?’

Thinking that even the Duke, who seemed indifferent to my antics until now, might be affected by my actions brought me a sense of relief.

I looked down at my damp dress with a sense of satisfaction before raising my gaze.

When I fixed a cold stare on Vivian, she flinched and instinctively touched her hair.

“… You realize how precious each strand is now, don’t you?”

Vivian’s face turned rigid. Fear replaced the victorious smile she had just worn.

When we were in the South, I had merely frightened her. But after tasting my power at the dressmaker’s, Vivian wouldn’t be able to forget my ‘handiwork’. She would likely continue to yearn for it.

“Is that a wig? Can I touch it?”

I smiled sweetly and reached out towards her hair.

At that, Vivian stepped back, panic etched on her face as she clutched her champagne glass.

“D-Don’t come any closer!”

She held the champagne glass out like a weapon. A few nobles watching couldn’t help but chuckle and hid their faces behind their fans.

In fact, the chaos between Vivian and me at the dressmaker’s had ended ambiguously.

Immediately after the incident, Vivian and her friends spread malicious rumors about me, but for the past few days, they had suddenly gone silent, as if they had swallowed honey.

It seemed likely that the Duke Orleans had intervened. After all, there was the forged note from Philip.

However, since there was no excuse for me tearing Vivian’s hair, Duke Orleans did not offer any formal justification.

In the end, the victim suddenly became a silent bystander, while the perpetrator seemed inexplicably unscathed. The nobles in the capital, wary of Duke Orleans, could only whisper behind their backs.

Vivian likely wasn’t pleased with this stalemate.

‘This time, it won’t just end with a few strands of hair… poor woman…’

I rather liked it.

Right now, I needed a rebellious image to ruin my mother’s wedding—

I quickly glanced around.

The eyes of the nobles, eagerly watching the fight between Vivian and me, sparkled with excitement. My mother, Philip, and the Duke were nowhere to be seen.

‘Ah, what a perfect situation.’

I looked at Vivian and grinned.

“Foolish Vivian. Haven’t you learned that pouring champagne on a person doesn’t kill them? To actually kill someone, you need something else.”

As I subtly slipped my hand into my pocket, Vivian flinched back. Naturally, I wasn’t hiding anything like a knife; I raised my empty hand.

“Why are you so scared?”

The onlookers couldn’t suppress their laughter and sneer.

Vivian, her face flushed, shouted, “Are you crazy? It wasn’t this chaotic in the South!”

Well, back then, if I got kicked out of Viscount Wedgwood’s house, I had nowhere to go. Did you think it was because I was scared of you?

Vivian huffed for a moment, then seemed to gather herself and took a cautious step toward me, as if preparing some secret weapon.

Vivian spread her fan and she spoke in a low voice.

She opened her fan and whispered, “Well, there were indeed ominous rumors in the South. They said Bluebeard… took care of the Violet merchant.”

Vivian mimed cutting her neck with the fan.

Violet merchant.

The instant that name slipped from Vivian’s lips, chills ran down my spine.

Without realizing it, my fist clenched tightly. It was a reflexive action.

Violet merchant. Ahabit from dealing with my biological father, always ingrained in me.

Vivian flinched back, startled.

What a coward. I glared at Vivian.

“I guess you also want to become the subject of a scandalous rumor.”

Vivian quickly grabbed my fist tightly. She stuttered her words with a scared look on her face as if she was afraid I would hit her.

“It seems the rumors are no longer just rumors? I heard the Southern sheriff discovered new facts about the death of the Violet Company’s head. Something like a… a pearl hairpin found at the scene…”

Even though Vivian was scared, she seemed relieved to finally say what she had prepared.

A pearl hairpin?

Old memories came rushing back like a meteor striking the back of my head.

“Let’s go, Emeline. It’s time to escape this wretched house.”

“Yes. Whether we like it or not, family stays together, Emeline!”

Philip, who had been foolishly smiling in front of me, and Helena, who gently took my hand and led me. And then… the bright light that flooded in as soon as we stepped out of the small room where we had always been trapped.

We thought our future would be so bright…

Suddenly, Helena’s scream echoed.

“Aaaah!”

“You ungrateful wench! Where do you think you’re going? How dare you take my daughter away? Even stealing things from Violet Company as well?”

The silver candlestick and expensive jewels fell to the floor. Along with them, a hairpin slipped from my hair.

No. No way. Did I really drop the hairpin? Is this a memory created because of Vivian?

‘Did I really… drop the hairpin that day? Really?’

While I stood there, unable to say anything, cold sweat trickling down my back, Vivian stepped back, looking smug.

She spoke loudly enough for everyone to hear. “Oh, by the way, someone said they saw you at Roses That Bloom at Night last night. Wasn’t it the eldest son of Marquess Hailow?”

But I couldn’t focus on Vivian’s voice at all. I was completely submerged in the memory replaying in my mind, a memory from 10 years ago.

‘…I–I can’t breathe…’

A memory so old, something that should be completely irrelevant now.

At that moment, a familiar face appeared behind Vivian. It was the man who tried to drag me away last night at Roses That Bloom at Night.

I smiled bitterly and looked back and forth between the man and Vivian.

Vivian said to me, “He really wanted to see you again, so I decided to introduce you properly.”

The surrounding nobles began to whisper. Vivian and the Marquess’ son exchanged glances and smiled slightly.

‘Oh, great… That Marquess’ son must’ve spread the rumors about Eric and the princess, and now he’s been talking to Vivian about me, too.’

A meeting between unmarried men and women at Roses That Bloom at Night. Vivian probably thought that while such an encounter wouldn’t be a big deal for a nobleman’s son, it would be a huge blow to me..

But that’s not the case at all.

The reason I’m standing here with a flustered expression, sweat trickling down my face, isn’t because of something like that.

I looked up at Vivian and thought.

‘I should’ve plucked out every last strand of her hair.’

“Lady Emeline Wedgwood, you look quite different from last night. It’s an honor to see you again.”

Everyone paid attention to me and the Marquess’ son. Even the Princess who was dancing in the distance was now looking our way.

Just as the Marquess’ son knelt before me and tried to forcefully take my hand to kiss it, someone intervened and grabbed his hand.

“…?”

Vivian, the Marquess’ son, and everyone else looked up in confusion.

I looked at the back of the person standing in front of me.

Jet-black hair. Pale white skin. Red lips. His profile looked like that of a jaguar. I smiled bitterly as I stared at him.

‘Eric Orleans.’

In the end, the future has ultimately changed; in which the daughter takes the place of her mother, and the son replaces his father.

I pressed my chest with my hand, struggling to breathe.

Still holding the Marquess’ son’s hand, Eric smiled gently.

“It’s a pleasure to see you again, Gary Hailow. I see the leg that broke from my wooden sword during the knight entrance exam has healed.”

At Eric’s words, the Marquess’ son, ‘Gary’ grimaced in displeasure.

His leg broke from a wooden sword? I had heard the entrance exams were usually taken lightly, and hardly anyone suffered such a serious injury.

The nobles seemed to be thinking the same as they all glanced down at Gary’s weak-looking legs, each making a remark. Gary’s face turned red as he tried to stand. He spoke in a servile tone.

“Uh, uh… E-Eric, you’re here… Did your father come as well…?”

It seemed Gary had planned to make a fool of me while Duke Orleans wasn’t around.

Whack!

Eric kicked Gary’s leg just as he was about to stand.

“Agh! What are you doing?!”

“What does it look like? I’m vigorously protesting against your inappropriate behavior last night when you grabbed my sister’s hand without her consent, Gary Hailow. When rejected, it’s the duty of a gentleman and a knight to respectfully withdraw.”

Sister.

‘Who–whose sister…’

Both Gary and I grimaced at the word.

“I-I never! And any unmarried woman who comes alone to Roses That Bloom at Night knows the implicit agreement–”

“My sister was there at the Princess’s invitation. The Princess had some questions about the Southern region to her.”

Eric’s gaze shifted toward the Princess. But the Princess winked at me with a smile.

“The passionate red-haired lady.”

That confirmed Eric’s words for the nobles around us. Eric looked coldly at Gary and spoke. “And even if that wasn’t the case, my sister has the freedom to be where she wants, with whom she wants, in whatever way she wants. She has the right not to be dragged around by so-called ‘implicit agreements’ and to be free from harassment.”

Some noble ladies began to criticize Gary, agreeing with Eric. Perhaps Gary didn’t have a good reputation to begin with.

Gary, clutching his knee in pain, looked over at me with pleading eyes, as if asking for mercy.

Someone might think this was a triumphant moment, that it felt satisfying, but–

‘How pathetic…’

I shifted my gaze from Gary to Eric and thought.

‘Utterly pathetic.’

I stared at Eric’s calm expression, then turned away.

I felt like I was going to vomit. Old memories kept rising up inside me.

It felt as if I had returned to that time when I was just a pitiful, country bumpkin, waiting for someone strong to come and save me.

I left without speaking to either Gary or Eric. I didn’t even repond to the voices calling me from behind.

“Repeat after me, Emeline. It wasn’t your fault that Violet died. You didn’t kill Violet. And you are Helena Violet’s daughter. Now, repeat!”

Only Helena’s words echoed in my ears.

I mumbled like the little 12-year-old girl I had once been.

“I–I didn’t kill him. I am… Helena Violet’s daughter.”

As I gasped for breath and looked around, I found myself standing in the middle of the dark royal palace’s garden.