SMR | Chapter 11

~Chapter 11~

The fact that his twin brother had been chosen by the princess and made into a duke was the most painful thing for Benedict.

“Damn luncheon…!”

Every time he thought about it, his teeth clenched.

The luncheons hosted regularly by the Empress every quarter were boring events where one had to agree with the idle chatter of the older ladies.

Benedict, who had gone with his mother a few times and ended up completely exhausted, generously passed this task to his younger brother, Roan. And at the very first luncheon, Roan attended with their mother, the grown-up Princess Jeremiah appeared. She had come to greet the noblewomen before her debut in society.

“If I had gone, I would’ve been the one to marry the princess!”

Jeremiah fell in love with Roan at first sight, and openly showed her feelings, and the Kingsley family unexpectedly ended up sending their second son to marry into the royal family.

Since Jeremiah, who was adored by the royal family, couldn’t have her husband be just the “second son of a viscount,” the former emperor gave Roan a status of duchy.

Of course, the real head of the ducal family was Jeremiah, but as the saying goes, “The position shapes the person,” and Roan also grew into someone fitting for his title.

“A dukedom is just an empty title. Look, in the end, he couldn’t refuse the emperor’s request, went to war, and came back as a corpse.”

Benedict tried to act as if he was fine with it. But he couldn’t help wanting the business rights monopolized by the ducal family.

“What matters to us is practical gain. Cedric is just a 25-year-old kid. If we can sweet-talk him, we’ll be the ones wielding the ducal family’s power.”

“That boy already seems sly.”

“He’s just acting that way. After coming back from the battlefield and suddenly having to bear the weight of the ducal family, there’s no way he isn’t feeling overwhelmed. We need to take advantage of this opportunity.”

Just as the father and son were exchanging glances with gleaming eyes, a small commotion at the entrance occurred, and Cedric Kailas appeared.

Benedict, suddenly acting as if he hadn’t been grinding his teeth moments earlier, rushed down the stairs with a welcoming expression.

“Cedric! You came!”

“Uncle.”

Cedric briefly bowed his head in greeting.

Even though Benedict found his behavior somewhat arrogant, he had to admit something.

‘He really does stand out. Is it because he has royal blood?’

His blonde hair, inherited from his mother, was dazzling, and his reddish-brown eyes, known as “blood eyes,” were equally captivating. But Cedric’s hair and eye color weren’t the only things that defined him. He was unique in every way.

Even as a child, he commanded attention without saying much, could express anger with just a smile, and never let anyone get close to him easily.

Yet everyone still wanted to have even a brief conversation with him.

So, even if it wasn’t today’s event, Cedric was always the center of attention.

Thanks to that, those who earned Cedric’s favor or the families he acknowledged were also in the spotlight.

Now that he held a dukedom, whoever he chose as a business partner was sure to become even more talked about.

That was precisely what Benedict was aiming for.

‘Yes, I’m not flattering him. I’m using him.’

The Kailas ducal family controlled numerous lucrative businesses. If the Kingsley family could influence those businesses, their standing would surely surpass the hollow title of the ducal family.

With a hand on Cedric’s back, Benedict began introducing him to his close acquaintances.

He had deliberately dressed in clothes that matched Roan’s preferred style, so at a glance, it almost felt like Roan had come back to life.

“Seeing the two of you like this, the duke and Viscount Kingsley really do resemble each other. I suppose it’s only natural since your father was twins with the former duke! Ha ha!”

“That’s right. It’s truly heartbreaking that your father passed away, but I’m sure Viscount Kingsley’s presence must be a great comfort to the Duke.”

Benedict’s acquaintances kept bringing up the resemblance between him and Roan, almost as if they had planned it beforehand.

However, Cedric merely smiled politely and nodded, clearly out of courtesy. Then, as if on cue, he shifted the conversation.

“I’m sorry to interrupt, Uncle, but I’ve been working all afternoon without even a sip of water.”

It was a moment that left Benedict a bit embarrassed, realizing he hadn’t offered Cedric anything to drink while dragging him around.

“Oh, how careless of me! I was just so happy to see you…”

“It’s understandable. Hosting a party is a busy role. Don’t worry about me. Please, continue your conversation. I just need to get something to drink.”

With that, Cedric smoothly excused himself and headed straight for the drink table, where a champagne bottle sat in an ice bucket.

No one dared approach him as he pulled out the champagne and poured himself a glass. It was customary for nobles of lower rank to wait for an introduction or have a good reason before initiating a conversation with someone of higher rank.

While there were exceptions, the fact that this was Cedric Kailas made people anxious, hoping to catch his attention without overstepping. Fully aware of this, Cedric gave no one a glance and coolly drank his glass of cold champagne.

‘Uncle seems to have put a lot of effort into this party.’

The quality of the champagne, casually left for anyone to grab, was quite impressive. Only then did he glance at the vintage on the bottle. It was a Rousseau Blair from 1953. Clearly, it hadn’t been picked by someone with no taste.

Just as Cedric was washing away his frustration, he heard someone approach from behind. He was curious about who had the nerve to cross the line he had drawn, but he didn’t bother to turn around.

“Excuse me.”

A young woman casually stepped forward and poured herself some champagne. She had her thick blonde hair tied up and was wearing a striped dress, which was the latest trend. At first glance, she looked ordinary.

But Cedric guessed she wasn’t. And as expected—

“Oh my! You’re the Duke of Kailas!”

She acted as if she had only just realized, with a look of surprise so innocent that anyone might have been fooled.

Cedric gave a slight nod to acknowledge her greeting but didn’t say anything. As she expected, she hesitated for a moment before speaking again.

“Um… I didn’t expect to meet you here, but I wanted to apologize to you again whenever I had the chance.”

Only then did Cedric turn his gaze to her.

“Again? Have we met before?”

For a brief moment, the woman’s face showed a hint of panic, but she quickly smiled, looking as if she was uncomfortable—or at least trying to seem so.

“I should’ve introduced myself first, I’ve been rude. My name is Bella Listerwell. At the victory banquet last May… well, my cousin stole your brooch and wore it, so we met then…”

“Ah, the Listerwell family.”

A memory he had forgotten was dragged out again. Did this really need to be brought up so often?

It wasn’t a pleasant memory. How could something like this get more attention than his father’s death?

“I already mentioned at the time…”

“Yes, and of course, you were very kind to us. You don’t know how grateful my father is to you. My cousin, who caused the trouble, was sent to a convent as a sign of repentance.”

Cedric lowered his gaze to the champagne in his glass.

Seeing that Cedric had completely stopped talking, Bella dropped her head sadly, but not so much that her face was completely hidden from his view.

She subtly pushed her shoulders forward, making her cleavage and ruby necklace more noticeable.

“My family didn’t intend for that incident to happen, nor could we have predicted it. But we aren’t making excuses and take full responsibility for what happened. I sincerely apologize.”

Her hands, which were clasped together, looked delicate. The well-manicured nails and nearly wrinkle-free fingers indicated she had never done any work beyond holding a teapot. Cedric set the glass of champagne down on the table and repeated the words she had interrupted earlier.

“I distinctly said at the time that I hoped we would never meet again under such circumstances.”

His cold tone made Bella lift her head in shock.

She hadn’t misheard—Cedric was clearly displeased with her.

“Oh… I thought you meant you didn’t want to meet again under any unfortunate circumstances…”

“I decide what qualifies as unfortunate. And this conversation falls into that category.”

Without any hesitation, Cedric turned away from the speechless Bella and muttered,

“So that’s why Viscount Listerwell sent his niece to a convent.”