I Married the Mad Duke Who Killed My Husband - Chapter 32
After my eventful story, the ladies completely let down their guard and began chattering about their own stories.
I thought there might be talk related to the First Prince or political conflicts since it was a tea party hosted by the Empress, but rather, it was more like a gathering for lamentations. Even those from different factions seemed to exchange stories quite well.
I took advantage of the scattered attention to quietly sip the tea that had suited my taste while listening to their stories.
There doesn’t seem to be anything particularly related to the original story’s events or that could be helpful to the Duke’s family.
It’s literally just gossip about married life.
“Countess, is something wrong? Your expression has been gloomy the whole time…”
“I… I…”
“Oh my, madam.”
Suddenly, a lady who had been sitting quietly with a depressed expression throughout the tea party burst into tears. So that person is the Countess.
“What’s wrong? Tell us about it. Who knows, we might be able to help?”
People’s attention was instantly focused, their eyes shining. They seemed to have completely forgotten about me now, and were on the scent of a new interesting topic.
As people were offering handkerchiefs and tea to the Countess, I quietly glanced at the Empress, and our eyes met.
There was still someone keeping an eye on me.
“I’m sorry. I’ve been so worried about our Lex lately…”
“You mean your second son? I heard he graduated from the academy with excellent grades and returned, is there a problem?”
Pretending not to be flustered, I naturally averted my gaze from the Empress, but this time a familiar name caught my ear, and I almost spat out my tea.
“I was happy when he returned. I thought he could rest a bit and talk with the family… I thought it would be nice to introduce him to some proper young ladies.”
“Young Lord Romenel is so outstanding in both appearance and character that there shouldn’t be any problem in that regard. The only issue might be if the young ladies start fighting over who gets to approach him.”
“The young lord is eighteen this year, right? It’s about time to start looking for a marriage partner…”
As the ladies were chattering away, the Countess’s sobs, which had seemed to be subsiding, burst out again. People were startled and tried to comfort her, and I quietly joined them, handing over a new handkerchief and participating in this little drama.
“Madam, your beautiful eyes will be swollen.”
“Sob, sob, thank you… thank you.”
She dabbed her tears with the handkerchief I handed her, but soon buried her face in it as tears flowed again.
“Eighteen! Yes, he’s only eighteen! But now he’s been assigned to guard the border in the frontier region.”
Just a moment ago, they were saying it was a sufficient age for marriage, so isn’t it also a sufficient age to be drafted for border protection? I put on a sympathetic expression while ignoring the situation where the seeds Cassion and I had sown were growing vigorously.
“You know how barbaric those vassal states on the border are, even though they’ve been incorporated into the empire now?”
“…Countess…”
“I heard that in this recent project hosted by the imperial family, those barbarians in the border region didn’t submit the goods on time! They don’t even understand the importance of promises, and I’m so afraid that something might happen to my innocent child that I can’t even sleep.”
As people tried to comfort her, the Countess gained momentum and started to vent her frustrations, but people actually started to distance themselves slightly from her and exchange glances.
This is the Empress’s tea party, and the young lord’s assignment to the frontier is likely an imperial order, and the failed project is also the business of the First Prince, the son of the Empress sitting right there.
Blinded by worry for her son, she was openly criticizing the imperial family.
“Madam, calm down and have another sip of tea.”
While everyone was glancing around nervously, the Empress opened her heavy lips. The Countess, oblivious to the atmosphere, thought she was being comforted and thanked her, dabbing her tears again with my handkerchief before drinking the tea.
“Children, no matter how old they get, always seem like little ones. I have a son too, so I understand your feelings well.”
“Your Highness…! That’s right. I worry about that child every day…”
“But it’s also a parent’s role to support their child’s growth and independence. At eighteen, he’s grown up. It’s an age sufficient to do his share of work.”
Only then did the Countess notice the changed atmosphere around her and froze. Everyone was avoiding her gaze, fiddling with their teacups or adjusting their dress hems.
“Rather, shouldn’t you be proud that he’s willing to accept a job that others refuse, in order to be of help to the imperial family?”
“Y-yes, of course, Your Majesty the Empress. I was just worried as a mother… I absolutely did not mean to refuse the imperial family’s orders.”
“That’s right. I know how loyal the Count’s family is.”
The Empress glanced at me subtly when she mentioned “others.” I felt her gaze but pretended to be looking at the Countess with a sympathetic expression.
Is she expecting me to feel guilty or uncomfortable?
But unless she outright says that the Duke’s family refused her son’s order so the Count’s son had to go, I will consistently pretend not to know anything.
“The goods for the project overseen by the First Prince would have undoubtedly been beneficial to the dignity of not only you all but all of us, yet it became nothing but foam due to the excuses of those shameless vassal states. Managing and dealing with such people, we have high expectations for the young lord.”
“Th-thank you, Your Majesty the Empress. My son will serve His Highness the Prince with utmost loyalty and protect the border.”
“Good. I believe so, now dry your tears.”
Though her tone was calm and gentle, there was a subtle coercion in her voice that finally silenced the Countess. I could see the handkerchief I had given her being crumpled almost to the point of tearing under the table.
“B-but! I heard they were making ornaments with minerals that can only be found beyond the border. I was so looking forward to it, as they said the color of the mineral was unprecedentedly beautiful and hard.”
“Besides ornaments, as it’s a mineral not found in the empire, we could have prepared various new things.”
As the atmosphere became unprecedentedly cold, someone who couldn’t bear it changed the subject first. Or rather, it wasn’t much of a change as the topic was still quite close.
But perhaps because she didn’t dislike the comment showing interest in the business her son had conducted, even if it had failed, the Empress added to it, and others who sensed the opportunity also chimed in.
It’s perfect for flattery since it’s a business invested in by the Empress’s family and conducted by the Empress’s son.
“I’ve seen the real thing! Even though it was just a small, unprocessed piece, it was so beautiful, incomparable to marble.”
“Is it that good? I was thinking of making a bust of my husband, and now I’m interested.”
“But I heard that the mountain where they were going to mine the mineral collapsed due to the recent heavy rains. It seems they sent only fragments, saying the submission period was delayed because it was buried too deep for people to dig out…”
“That’s really an excuse only subordinates would make. It’s no different from what my disobedient maid says. ‘Madam, I can’t reach to dust under the drawer!'”
A lady who seemed to be of slightly lower rank volunteered to be the jester by imitating her maid’s words, making others giggle.
“I heard they built three dams this time, which reduced the damage. It would have been good if they had built one on the border too…”
However, the atmosphere, which had lightened, became chilly again due to the words someone blurted out with loosened lips. I tried hard to suppress the laughter rising inside me and tilted my head with an innocent expression.
As if the contribution to the dam construction was entirely Cassion’s idea as if I were just an innocent new bride who knew nothing.
“Ho, hoho. That’s right. This rainy season was unusually short. I’m glad the gatherings could resume quickly because of it.”
“Indeed. I was feeling so stuffy being cooped up at home.”
Short my foot, this rainy season was even more intense and longer. But they desperately ignored the facts and watched the Empress’s reaction.
At the beginning of the tea party, I felt like they were talking about living without power struggles between the First Prince and the Second Prince, but that was just my misunderstanding.
Before talking about the princes, they were busy watching the Empress’s reactions, and the Empress took this for granted.
The fact that these suffocating gatherings are held regularly must be the Empress’s small hobby to sift through new information that leaks out through the cracks in gossip and to discern who to keep close.
Outwardly, the First Prince steps forward to solidify his power, while inwardly, the Empress steps forward to check if the consolidated power remains unshaken.
I racked my brain to think about whether it would be beneficial to attend the Empress’s tea party that would be held again, or whether it would be more advantageous to find some excuse not to attend.
“Your Highness.”
At that moment, an attendant who had carefully entered the indoor garden bowed deeply and whispered something to the Empress.
Then, the Empress’s expression, which had been inorganic throughout, became subtle, and her gaze turned towards me.
Unlike before when she was secretly observing, this was an open stare, and the ladies’ gazes followed hers and gathered on me.
“It seems it would be best to end today’s tea party here.”
“Oh my… It’s over already when we haven’t met in so long?”
“It’s too disappointing, Your Highness.”
Their hands move quickly as they subtly brighten up while verbally matching the Empress’s courtesy. Some are even noticeably tidying up their surroundings and dress hems, preparing to leave, but the Empress just looks at me and raises the corner of her mouth.
“On such a hot day, Duke Yeager has been waiting for his wife for over two hours. As regrettable as it is for me, it can’t be helped.”
“…Pardon?”
For the first time, it wasn’t a pretense of being dumbfounded, but a genuinely dumbfounded response that came out.
Cassion has been waiting for me for two hours? Outside?
