Things she had forgotten began to resurface.
Scarlett Dumpert, the daughter of great watchmakers and the de facto mistress of the Dumpert family, was recalling the events of last night during an investigation by the police.
Last night, a party was held at the Dumpert family mansion.
This was because as soon as the investigation she was currently undergoing was over, her husband, the hero Viktor Dumpert, would be recognized as a member of the royal family.
The only time in her life that Scarlett had been to a police station was when she was twelve and had been in a carriage accident.
Her parents, who had been with her in the carriage, had died, and her brother, Isaac, who was a year older than her and had rolled down the hill with her, had lost his sight.
The police had repeatedly questioned twelve-year-old Scarlett, the only person who could give a statement about the situation, and it remained a trauma for her even now, at twenty years old.
While excessively worrying about the police investigation the next day, she had prepared for the party, paying attention to every detail as the mistress of the Dumpert family.
The Dumpert family’s estate welcomed guests after a long time.
The Dumpert estate, which used to be called the “Hill of the Banished Princess,” had become known as the most beautiful estate in Sallantie over the time equivalent to the age of the princess’s son, Viktor Dumpert.
The gentle hills were always neatly maintained, and roads were laid for carriages to travel on.
To the east of the hill, the capital of Sallantie was visible, and to the west, the sea.
It did not have fertile land like other estates in Sallantie, but it had a terrifyingly beautiful cedar forest to its north.
The Dumpert family had accumulated wealth through Viktor Dumpert’s success. They had three telephones, a luxury for any wealthy noble family, and a vast hunting ground.
And they had also newly built the beautiful hall with a view of the sea, where the party was being held.
The attendees of the party, held in that beautifully decorated hall with a fireplace, had prepared smiles that would neither offend nor be seen as foolish by anyone.
This was also true for Scarlett Dumpert, who was moistening her throat with a sip of champagne.
In Sallantie’s capital society, being kind was the same as saying, “You can look down on me.”
She was talking at a table full of influential people when she briefly looked toward her husband.
He was holding a wine glass with his gloved hand. With the gloves hiding the veins and a suit tailored to his firm body, Viktor looked simply elegant.
He had not hesitated to do any cruel act to restore the honor of his mother, who had been banished from the royal family for being pregnant with him, and who was now called the Duchess Dumpert, but was once Princess Marina Iren. His goal-oriented attitude had been directed at the pirates who were disturbing the Sallantie western coast.
Scarlett had read in the newspaper about how cruel her husband had been from the perspective of the pirates who had been wiped out.
Throughout Sallantie, there was an underlying fear along with admiration for Viktor Dumpert. People were grateful to him, and at the same time, they used his name to make crying children stop.
Scarlett had always considered her husband to be an honorable man. And she loved him.
For him, her life was truly, not a waste at all. Viktor had lived his whole life with only his goal in sight, and Scarlett had loved even that part of him.
Two years had passed since they had married on her eighteenth birthday, the year she came of age. In the meantime, her one-sided love had left small, unnoticed scars in her heart.
Scarlett still felt a sting from her husband’s indifference, as he didn’t even give her a glance while she was anxious about going to the police station tomorrow.
At that moment, a gentleman at the table said.
“By the way, Mrs. Dumpert, Bestina isn’t really going to start a war, is it?”
As the topic changed, Scarlett’s attention shifted to the table she was at.
These days, when nobles gathered, all they talked about was war.
From Sallantie’s perspective, as the first country established on the continent and the one called the suzerain state, Bestina was always an insignificant entity.
However, if a war started, a country with a lot to lose would have a lot to lose, and for that reason, the nobles were afraid of a war.
Scarlett gave her prepared answer.
“I wouldn’t know. My husband is a man who protects the territorial waters, so he doesn’t know much about things on land.”
“If all wars were naval battles, we wouldn’t have anything to worry about. We have Lord Dumpert.”
Another gentleman said.
“Anyway, Sallantie is surrounded by mountain ranges, so as long as we protect the south, the central and northern parts won’t have any problems, will they? All the fools who have tried to cross those high and rugged mountain ranges and invade us have become weak, starved, or frozen to death before even reaching Sallantie.”
The nobles of Sallantie were only afraid that the things they had would be ruined; no one thought that Bestina could be their opponent.
Scarlett couldn’t concentrate on the conversation, even though it was so serious.
The thought of having to go to the police station the next day made her particularly anxious and afraid.
Sometimes, she would feel that way. A feeling of anxiety even when everything around her was perfect. That was Scarlett’s state today.
As if he had felt her longing gaze, Viktor’s dark blue eyes briefly turned toward Scarlett.
The blue eyes, which were common in Sallantie, looked noble in him. She thought it was because of the royal blood that made up half of his body, or his dazzling appearance.
Viktor turned his attention back to his group.
At her gaze, an old lady next to her said in a low voice.
“Loving a man who only cares about honor will only make you lonely, my dear.”
“…Is that so?”
“You’d be better off having a lover on the side, like I did when I was young.”
At her blunt words, Scarlett looked at the old lady. The old lady continued nonchalantly.
“A husband and a lover are different. You can break up with a lover at any time, which makes the moments you spend together even sweeter.”
At those words, Scarlett let out a small laugh.
She thought it was a very romantic way to say she should have a lover besides her husband.
Having a mistress was certainly a bad thing, but in society, it was something people subtly bragged about when they had one.
Perhaps the party was particularly lonely for her, as she kept thinking about the old lady’s words.
Late at night after the party, Scarlett, unable to sleep, got up.
She put on a gown over her nightgown, left her bedroom, and walked down the hallway to her husband’s bedroom. After being anxious all day, seeing her husband’s face made her feel suddenly upset.
She tried to hide her feelings and said.
“I’m so anxious just thinking about going to the police station.”
Viktor was a person who wouldn’t understand why that was making her anxious, but he also thought his wife was quite weak, so he didn’t immediately question her.
Scarlett continued.
“Don’t look at me so pitifully. I’m just… feeling uneasy for no reason.”
At that, Viktor got up and walked toward her.
Viktor looked down at her wine-colored eyes and said.
“Don’t be anxious and go to sleep.”
“It’s not that easy.”
“Just tell them you won’t answer any questions. If someone is being intimidating, refuse to answer and leave immediately.”
When he cut her off so bluntly, Scarlett’s pent-up frustration burst out like a balloon that had been forcibly pressed down.
“It’s all for your honor. Can’t you say something kind?”
She was scared, and they had gone through the party without a moment to talk about it.
Looking at his decisiveness, she felt like she was a person who got scared and sad over nothing.
She took a trembling breath and said.
“They say that loving a man who loves honor will only make you lonely. What on earth are you…”
“Are you going to get a mistress?”
Viktor asked with a laugh, as if he found it absurd.
Scarlett glared at him and said.
“Yes. Should I?”
This time, Viktor let out a low laugh. And he took her hand, kissed the back of it, and said.
“Don’t betray me.”
“What kind of betrayal?”
Scarlett asked with a tired face.
“You mean I shouldn’t say anything stupid in the investigation tomorrow, right? What about me having a lover? Is that okay?”
“Why are you so angry all of a sudden?”
Viktor said and gently pulled Scarlett into his arms.
“Don’t be angry. It will all be over after tomorrow.”
“…”
“Just bear with it for one day.”
Scarlett, for the sake of her pride, nodded after a long time.
Scarlett thought that maybe after tomorrow, Viktor might be the one to find another lover. Because his wife’s usefulness would end tomorrow.
Viktor let go of Scarlett from his embrace and said.
“Scarlett, you love me, right?”
“Yes.”
Scarlett answered and immediately turned away.
Her heart ached. After talking to him, the emotions that had welled up inside her didn’t get resolved at all and only piled up.
“Ma’am.”
“…”
“Mrs. Scarlett Dumpert.”
When the Royal Police officer called her once more, Scarlett finally snapped out of her recollection of last night.
She belatedly smiled and apologized with a calm face.
“I’m sorry. I was lost in thought for a moment.”
When she came to her senses, she was still at the Royal Police Headquarters.
The one who had called her was a man named Hughan Hunter.
The Royal Police, known for being mostly composed of the second sons of prestigious families, were so overly polite that it made Scarlett even more nervous.
The Hunter family of this man was also a very powerful family, and his younger sister, Nina Hunter, was the center of society as the Crown Prince’s lover. At one time, she had been Viktor’s lover.
Living in the Dumpert family, she sometimes forgot that she was just twenty years old. If she were to act like she knew nothing just because she was twenty, she would easily be labeled as a person with no sense.
Scarlett put on an adult face and asked.
“What was your question?”
Then Hughan said with a smile that felt sharp.
“Oh, I was asking if you feel the effect of the medicine.”
“…Medicine?”
“Yes, I put medicine in the tea you just drank.”
Scarlett tilted her head. It was a statement that she felt she wasn’t understanding correctly.
Hughan opened his mouth.
“You remember I asked you questions about Lord Viktor’s weaknesses, right?”
“Yes.”
In fact, Scarlett had not expected the Royal Police to ask such detailed questions. They were digging up even the smallest mistakes of him and the people around him. It was clear that they didn’t want to let her husband return to the royal family.
The moment she realized that, Scarlett felt a sense of danger and got up. She was unusually dizzy but held it in and said in a rather elegant manner.
“I’ll be leaving for a moment.”
“You can’t.”
“My husband said I could leave immediately if the police acted intimidatingly.”
“Oh, you don’t have to worry about that. By the time you leave this place, you won’t remember what happened here.”
Hughan Hunter said leisurely.
