Tatiana’s gesture of touching her collarbone while gracefully turning to her mother was the epitome of elegance. She had heard the instructions about how to receive the engagement ring today so many times her ears could form calluses.
As if completely surprised.
With tears of joy and innocence glistening in her eyes.
Whether anyone would actually be fooled was questionable, but pretending to be fooled was the rule of high society. Already bored of this predictable scene before it even began, Tatiana quietly rose. She had never envied men before, but now she slightly envied their convenient excuses of business or politics to slip away.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m a bit tired. I’ll just rest for a moment.”
“Well. The star shines brightest with a late entrance. Nobody will be allowed upstairs anyway, so go ahead and rest your eyes for a bit.”
There, move the table back further. Draw the curtains a bit more…
The Viscountess’s face glowed with satisfaction as she directed the servants, preparing for a proposal that would be remembered in society for ages. While her mother clasped her hands in rapture, already envisioning her daughter’s proposal scene, Tatiana offered a casual farewell and slowly made her way to the second floor.
“……”
Though everyone pretended not to watch, high society had eyes even on their backs, sensitive to the slightest movement. Everyone naturally cleared a path for her graceful steps. Their expressions showed absolute certainty that Tatiana would soon become the Duchess, even if she hadn’t received the ring yet.
“Lady Tatiana. You’re breathtakingly beautiful today as well.”
“…Countess Conrad.”
Some particularly brave souls would address her directly. Tatiana quietly regarded the very woman who had been gossiping about her moments ago, responding with her trademark beautiful smile.
“You’re too kind.”
“My eyes can hardly believe what they’re seeing. Isn’t that right, Countess Milias?”
“Indeed!”
Their voices grew artificially high, perhaps feeling guilty about their earlier loose tongues regarding today’s guest of honor. As Tatiana nodded with a picture-perfect smile, they grew even more animated.
“Actually, I wasn’t sure how to tell you this…”
“Please, go ahead.”
“Well, would you believe that Camille woman had the audacity to come here? The nerve of her!”
The Countess, slightly agitated, pointed toward a woman entering the hall. Except for her somewhat avant-garde dress that deviated from current social fashion, she was as beautiful as any noble lady with her navy blue hair, orange eyes, and alluring presence.
Thus, there could be only one reason why these women were so wary and trembling at her presence.
“She should know her place. How dare she come here when she’s not even nobility.”
“It’s embarrassing just to watch. And Count Therese, keeping such a woman as his mistress. He parades her everywhere, claiming she’s a designer.”
To them, there was no greater sin than not being nobility.
Whether men or women had affairs or committed even worse transgressions openly, high society’s unwritten rule was to turn a blind eye—as long as they were nobles. Conversely, their rigid tradition demanded scrutinizing even the smallest speck of dust on the clothes of those who weren’t noble.
“Just look at her attire. How utterly frivolous.”
“Viscountess Cartien will surely be furious. On such an important day, how preposterous.”
The ladies’ eyes sparkled with feigned concern for Tatiana. The Viscountess, about to reach the pinnacle of her twenty-year marriage business, wouldn’t tolerate such a vulgar woman worth less than dust.
“Shouldn’t we have her removed now? If the Viscountess notices her…”
“It will be fine.”
“But, my Lady.”
“Then perhaps you two could advise her directly. After all, you know quite well how to avoid my mother’s notice and mind your words and actions here, don’t you?”
“……”
After flashing an impossibly sweet smile, Tatiana turned away from the now ashen-faced ladies to look down at Camille, who still stood at the entrance. When the other woman noticed her and curtsied, Tatiana acknowledged it with a nod. Though her mother would be horrified, that was precisely why Tatiana didn’t particularly dislike her.
‘How remarkable.’
She admired the attempt to scale the high walls of society, more impenetrable than the Grand Cathedral itself. Whether it would succeed was another matter, but at least it was more refreshing than the usual faces she saw day after day.
The very act of doing something she herself could never do.
“Ah…”
Come to think of it, there was one more person who had scaled these walls—no, not just scaled them, but thoroughly trampled them.
The red-eyed reaper.
The moment she recalled their encounter, her fatigue vanished completely.
“I wish you luck.”
“Is that pity?”
“…Pardon?”
“I told you I don’t need such things anymore.”
Tatiana’s breath caught mid-step on the stairs as a low male voice echoed in her ears.
I shouldn’t do this. How well do I even know that man?
She repeated the words inside her head like a spell to ward off the terrifying rumors circulating about him.
‘Engagement, my engagement, yes, my engagement.’
Tatiana wasn’t ignorant of this society’s open nature, being at its center. But thinking of another man on her engagement day was going too far. Whether it was pointless loyalty or unnecessary courtesy, she needed to fulfill her duties as a fiancée completely, at least today when she would receive the ring.
“Haah.”
Whether thinking about that man or not, her drowsiness had completely disappeared. Yet there was nowhere to return to, with the vast ducal residence packed with guests.
A hundred-carat diamond, was it?
Tatiana headed upstairs, trying to focus on something that might hold her interest.
It won’t wear out just from looking at it early.
On the second floor, off-limits to most, she pulled up her lace gloves habitually as she searched for a quieter spot.
“……”
In truth, whether it was a hundred carats or two hundred didn’t matter. She already had more jewels than she needed, and a larger size would only make her finger heavier.
Still, one couldn’t propose empty-handed. Tatiana smiled vacantly as she absently looked down at her hand.
‘Do other brides feel this way too?’
I should have asked my eldest sister.
Tatiana’s proud eyebrows curved slightly upward. Surely for a once-in-a-lifetime engagement and marriage, shouldn’t there be at least one thing she intensely desired?
“Ahh, more, more!”
Yes, just like that, loud and intense.
“……”
Walking quietly down the hallway, Tatiana stopped in front of a slightly ajar door. Though she wasn’t yet a member of the Ducal family and had no obligation to concern herself with what went on in this house, she found it impossible to ignore.
“Ahh, Your Grace!”
“Haaah.”
How could she, when the title of the man meant to give her a ring was being called out?
Without so much as a furrow of her brow, Tatiana was drawn toward the room. The door, already slightly open, swung wide with just the touch of her finger.
“Ahh, Your Grace. Be gentler, please. What if your beautiful fiancée catches you?”
“Do you think she’s anything more than a doll? I doubt she can even think for herself. She probably spends her days in her mother’s lap, trying on one jewel after another until the day is gone.”
“Oh my, Your Grace, how could you say such a thing?”
“……”
It was as if they had been waiting for her to see this, putting on a show just for her.
“Stop talking and lift your legs higher. Now.”
“Alright, alright, no need to rush—kyaaa!”
The woman, who had been deliberately moving slowly to tease the Duke, suddenly let out a scream. Fortunately or unfortunately, the sound didn’t carry to the lower floors.
Click.
Tatiana stepped into the room, closing the door behind her. She removed her gloves as she locked eyes with the woman who had just noticed her.
“Would you mind shutting your mouth? I’m the one who should be screaming.”
△▲△▲△
Years ago, when her second brother-in-law had an affair and her sister came home in tears, Larissa Lauren de Cartien, mother of the five sisters, had said.
“Men can have affairs.”
Even Tatiana, who was usually obedient to her mother, thought this was too much. As for her fiery sister Regina, there was no need to ask—she was on the verge of flipping the house upside down. To her, their mother added.
“Of course, women can too.”
That was how their household operated.
If men do it, women do it too.
This was her mother’s idea of the most rational and logical way to navigate high society. While the Freya Empire was already quite liberal, especially its social circles, her mother had little to do with such trends.
For her, it was all about calculating which side would gain more from a divorce in such situations. Back then, Tatiana had shaken her head in disbelief, but now, faced with this moment herself, she couldn’t help but acknowledge that she was indeed her mother’s daughter.
“T-Tatiana. How are you here…”
“I apologize for the rudeness of entering uninvited, Your Grace.”
“N-no, that’s not it. I mean, this is just…”
“Put on your clothes and lower your voice.”
“……”
At her calm, almost emotionless tone, Alexei, Duke Atlas, hesitated. While it was a relief that she didn’t burst into tears or clutch her chest and faint, her utterly detached demeanor was equally shocking.
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