A Fierce Formal Dinner (2)
The beginning wasn’t bad.
Nate kindly guided the Duke and Duchess to the dining room and offered them seats.
However, they couldn’t put anything in their mouths in front of the prepared dining table.
This was because the last person who was supposed to attend today hadn’t shown up.
As time passed helplessly, Nate’s previously relaxed face began to show signs of anxiety and irritation.
At that moment, a servant hurriedly ran to him.
After hearing a whisper from the servant, Nate forced a smile.
“I’m sorry. Daniel isn’t feeling well and will be a bit late.”
Contrary to the smile on his face, his furrowed brow was filled with anger.
He seemed very displeased that his son had suddenly reported being late to an event he was hosting.
“We must be hungry, so let’s start without him.”
Leonhardt, who had been sitting silently like a statue until then, sneered.
“Still as rude as ever. Always using his weakness as an excuse, as usual.”
It seemed that Leonhardt didn’t like Nate’s son any more than he liked Nate himself.
“You know better than anyone that Daniel has a frail constitution.”
After throwing a jab at the Duke, Nate turned his head towards Duha.
“I’m sorry for the first meeting. I’ll have Daniel apologize when he arrives.”
“That’s alright, you don’t need to worry.”
When Duha replied with a gentle smile, Nate naturally changed the subject as if he expected that response.
“By the way, our niece-in-law is much more beautiful than the rumors.”
“Thank you for the compliment, Sir Nate.”
“There was a reason His Highness the Fourth Prince was envious, haha.”
Why bring up the Fourth Prince out of nowhere?
Despite her displeasure, Duha put some vegetables in her mouth with a nonchalant expression.
“But I’ve heard that the Bashar people all have strange talents, don’t they?”
The so-called strange talents of the Bashar people were not so cheap as to be called mere tricks.
“Are you talking about the power of nature?”
“Yes, yes. That’s what they call it.”
Nate nodded with wide eyes, making a fuss.
“Recently, I went to the slave market and saw a slave conjure fire out of thin air. When I asked the merchant, he said the person was from Bashar.”
At the word ‘slave,’ Duha’s brow twitched for the first time.
To bring up the story of a Bashar slave in front of the princess of Bashar.
The intention was so clear from the beginning that it was nauseating.
“So I’m curious. Can our niece-in-law also perform such a marvelous trick like that slave? If possible, could you show me?”
Duha gripped the knife in her hand more tightly.
It was absurd to belittle the sacred power of nature, revered by all Bashar people, as a mere trick, and now what?
She glared at the old man sitting in front of her with a sly smile.
If she said she couldn’t perform the trick, she would be treated as less than a slave, and if she did, she would be scorned as no different from a slave.
At that moment, as Leonhardt, who noticed the strength in her hand gripping the knife, was about to speak with a frown.
“Father, you’re being quite mischievous.”
It was a voice resembling a clear metallic sound.
“If you want to see such a trick, you should ask me.”
A small butterfly flew onto the back of Duha’s hand.
The butterfly, with faint warmth, had wings that flickered like flames in a crimson hue.
“Quite impressive, isn’t it?”
Duha slowly turned her head to the side.
The man who suddenly appeared was looking down at her with the gentlest eyes.
Indeed, he was a man of pure beauty resembling a lily.
His platinum blonde hair that flowed down to his shoulders, deep green eyes like thick summer foliage, and bright features had a charm that caught the eye.
Meeting Duha’s gaze, the man cutely curved his upturned, cat-like eyes.
“Pleased to meet you, my Lady.”
The man, Daniel, took her hand where the butterfly was perched with the utmost elegance and kissed it.
“I am Daniel von Esbaden.”
A ruby earring dangled from the right ear of the man who smiled more radiantly than sunlight, reflecting the light.
*** *** *** *** ***
“With such a beautiful new Duchess, the Duke must be very pleased. Congratulations.”
Daniel von Esbaden.
He was a smooth talker in a different sense from his father or cousin.
It seemed to be due to his attitude that could be described as frivolous at worst, or cheerful at best.
“If you’re here, sit down. Stop dragging out your words.”
“My, after three years, you don’t seem very happy to see me. Though I’m very glad to see you, Duke.”
This time, Leonhardt glared at him instead of responding.
Daniel shrugged and took his seat.
“I’m truly sorry for being late. Last night, I had an important…”
“You had a sudden attack, so it couldn’t be helped. That’s what happens when you waste your energy on useless things. Just eat your meal.”
Before Daniel could finish, Nate cut him off with a stern face.
“Useless? I try so hard to spend my time productively and enjoyably. Thanks to that, even two bodies wouldn’t be enough…”
“Daniel, I don’t recall teaching you to chatter during meals.”
“Yes, then I’ll quietly eat as ordered.”
“I’m sure I taught you not to drag out your responses either.”
“My, with so many restrictions, this feels more like a temple than a Duke’s mansion.”
“Daniel!”
“Yes, I’ll be quiet. How could I say anything when father is so frightening?”
Daniel didn’t back down from a single word of his father’s.
Watching this, Duha let out a small laugh.
The man who had been so stern just moments ago now looked like an ordinary father powerless against his child.
“By the way, the Duchess seems to be enjoying herself.”
Duha looked at Daniel who suddenly addressed her.
He cut his meat with perfect elegance while giving her a smiling glance.
“If it were me, I’d just want to finish eating and leave quickly. It’s fortunate you have the composure to smile like that.”
Somehow, she wondered if it wasn’t just her imagination that his words carried thorns.
‘No, it’s not my imagination.’
Duha’s face hardened as she looked at Daniel, who was still smiling at her.
“Well, you’ll need that kind of strong mental fortitude to endure life in this Duke’s mansion going forward.”
A wind full of hostility was blowing from the man sitting directly across from her.
For reasons unknown, Daniel didn’t seem to welcome Duha very much.
She had thought he might be somewhat favorable since he had helped her with his father, but it seemed he was an enemy too.
They were truly a father and son pair that couldn’t be taken lightly.
“Enough.”
Just then, a firm, low voice rang out.
It was Leonhardt.
“This is the first time I’ve seen hosts so determined to upset their invited guest.”
A quiet anger lay beneath his voice.
“My, you seem quite upset, Leon.”
Nate apologized with a face that showed no remorse whatsoever.
“On Daniel’s behalf, I…”
“No apology is needed. We’ll take our leave now.”
At that moment, Nate leaned back against his chair as if in disbelief.
“My, the one who used to grind his teeth at the mere mention of marriage is now angry because someone touched his wife. I guess blood really doesn’t lie.”
He sneered openly at the Duke, making sure he could hear.
“If I had known this would happen, I would have forced him to marry early. At least then, there wouldn’t be any more common blood mixing into the Esbaden family…”
“It’s laughable to hear you say such things.”
Duha looked at Leonhardt in surprise as he interrupted his uncle. Unlike before, he was now smiling with his teeth showing.
“Is there really such a thing as common blood? Those who would stain their hands with their own kin’s blood for power are the ones born with common blood.”
Nate’s previously relaxed face turned cold at the Duke’s words.
“I understand you’re upset, but you shouldn’t lose your composure. You haven’t forgotten that I’m your uncle, have you, Leon?”
“How could I forget? If I had, we wouldn’t be sitting here having a meal together.”
Feeling the anger in the air, Duha involuntarily swallowed quietly.
“You should be grateful that we’re of the same bloodline. If not, you wouldn’t have set foot in this castle the day I became Duke.”
“Well.”
Despite the murderous aura emanating from him, Nate smiled leisurely as if watching a child’s antics.
“Leon, you seem to have a tendency to overestimate yourself.”
He put down his utensils and dabbed his mouth with a napkin.
“Didn’t your father teach you that restraint and humility are virtues of a noble?”
“Well. Thanks to someone, I never had the chance to learn such things.”
Leonhardt briefly glared at Daniel before curling his lips into a smile.
“So there’s no need to go to the trouble of arranging such a disgusting gathering just to insult me.”
He roughly wiped his mouth with his fingertips and stood up.
It wasn’t the kind of behavior the Duke, who valued appearances, would normally exhibit.
“Let’s go, my Lady.”
Leonhardt extended his hand to Duha, not taking his cold gaze off his uncle.
“It seems my uncle isn’t in the mood to host guests today.”
Duha looked at the rough hand extended to her.
The veins on the back of his hand were bulging as if they might burst at any moment.
She quietly chose to take his hand and stand up.
“It was a pleasure meeting you, Sir Nate, Lord Daniel.”
With a perfect imperial bow, Duha turned to follow the Duke.
“Do you not know which side will suffer from such arrogance, Leon?”
“You speak as if I’ve never suffered losses before. How novel.”
A menacing voice followed them, but the Duke still wore a smile on his lips.
“It would be wise for you not to act rashly. Unless you want to see your only son exiled from the territory again.”
Daniel shrugged as if amused, but his father did not.
Duha took one last look at Nate’s face, which had twisted horribly, before leaving his residence.
The tense dinner had come to an end.
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