* * *
After the reception ended, Helene was immediately summoned by the Dowager Duchess and reprimanded.
Madam Verace and Madam Hills, the Dowager Duchess’s sisters who were staying at the Ducal Estate, had taken to mocking Helene, and now they were piling on again, their words biting as ever.
“How could you steal your sister’s dress? The dignity of the royal family is in tatters.”
“To think she’s the type to envy and steal from someone with one thing, when she herself has ten.”
In response, Helene narrowed her eyes and began to calmly refute them point by point.
“I’m not yet the lady of the house, so I don’t have the authority to spend a fortune on a dress. And I’m not on bad enough terms with my sister to fight over something like that, nor am I the kind of person who’d snatch what isn’t mine.”
“Then are you saying Duke Rukanosa stole your sister’s dress and had you wear it instead? How utterly shameless.”
That’s exactly what happened.
But even if she provided evidence, they wouldn’t believe her. These women had never been on Helene’s side anyway.
Just then, the Duke stepped in to mediate.
“There was a mistake at the atelier. It seems the dress I commissioned was switched with another. It wasn’t her fault, so please don’t be too harsh.”
Helene bit her lip.
‘Then you should’ve explained that in front of everyone…’
“You mean you couldn’t even recognize the dress you wore? You must have received it the day before the ceremony—surely you had plenty of time to check.”
Madam Hills pressed on with relentless persistence.
‘Right. That’s why he clammed up and ran off instead.’
Helene sighed.
The Medea nobles were known for being sharp and picky.
As they were from a prestigious collateral line of royalty, they didn’t sugarcoat anything for the sake of saving face. However, they were overwhelmingly exhaustingly formal.
As Helene’s silence dragged on, the Duke offered another excuse.
“She must have been overwhelmed with the wedding preparations. Wife, let’s get some rest.”
Helene offered a curtsy and followed after him.
“Duke, was the dress really switched?”
“Yes.”
“Then I’ll contact Maryseiren and have them deliver my dress.”
The Duke abruptly halted. He turned back toward her with a frosty glare.
“You’re being tiresome. Are you saying you want to hold another wedding?”
“No. It’s just… it was made for me, after all.”
“I’ll instruct the butler to take care of it, so just be patient.”
Once again, Helene felt her anger bubble up.
“So every time something inconvenient happens, you’re just going to pin the blame on me and walk away?”
“Blame? I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“You humiliated me—made it look like I was the one who did something shameful, when really, you were the one acting out because of Brigadier General Vicente.”
The moment she said it, the Duke grabbed her shoulders tightly. His eyes glinted with a dangerous edge.
“Watch your mouth. Who exactly are you accusing me of being jealous of?”
But Helene was not the type to be cowed.
“Then are you saying I was jealous of my sister? I don’t live my life stewing in inferiority. I only compete against others. I really don’t get why you’re so fixated on some war orphan. I doubt he even thinks about you, much less sees you as a rival. So why are you acting like you’re the commoner and he’s the noble?”
“And what makes you think someone like you, descended from a disgraced royal bloodline, even deserves to be treated like a princess?”
The Duke glared at her, his fury now boiling over.
“And yet you—so high and mighty—have no problem tearing your wife down in front of everyone?”
“Isn’t it a wife’s duty to boost her husband’s pride?”
“Weren’t we supposed to get married for mutual benefit? If you were looking for a self-sacrificing wife who’d just prop you up, you’ve picked the wrong woman.”
“Did your bridal training only teach you to argue and defy your husband?”
Helene looked at him with cold, cutting eyes, as he resorted to illogical insults.
“Duke. You seem to be mistaken about something. You didn’t choose me—I chose you. Because your terms were the most favorable.”
“What?”
“What I’m saying is, I have no shortage of suitors who’d treat me like a proper princess. If you look down on me one more time, I’ll make sure you regret it. We’re dropping formalities now, right? Sounds good to me.”
She realized that now that she was married and officially the Duchess, she really didn’t need him anymore.
Helene turned her back on him, cold and composed.
As he stared at her retreating figure, the Duke scowled viciously.
“Tch. Just like those domineering women on my mother’s side.”
Conceited, always spewing scathing remarks while pretending to be elegant, crushing a man’s dignity while still demanding to be revered.
Having such a woman as his wife, he was beginning to understand why his father, the late Duke, had died young.
‘If I want to avoid an early grave, I’ll just have to keep my distance.’
This was just a political marriage, a means to an end. He had absolutely no intention of ever having any affection for her.
With a sharp click of his tongue, the Duke turned away from her, with both their backs facing each other.
And just like that, the rift between them was fully, irrevocably drawn.
* * *
Masera and I maintained our silence for quite some time after entering the room.
But that only made the awkwardness worse, so I broke the silence first.
“We’re supposed to sleep in the same room, right?”
“That’s how it turned out.”
He spoke like someone recalling a traffic accident he hadn’t expected.
It weirdly reminded me of how our marriage had come together—also very unexpected.
I rubbed my gloved hands together and looked out the window.
“Just like the butler said, it really is snowing a lot.”
From the darkening sky, heavy snow was pouring down.
Since he insisted we stay the night, I’d suspected the butler of being the mastermind behind something—but I guess it was just a thoughtful gesture in case we got stranded.
I wrapped a blanket around myself and sat down in front of the fireplace, where the flames crackled softly.
“Why are you sitting on the floor? I thought you said you were going to rest.”
“This is how I rest. It’s the warmest spot too.”
It was my favorite fire-gazing zone, but Masera must have assumed I was trying to avoid him.
He picked up the coat he had neatly hung and slipped it back on.
“I’ll step outside for a bit.”
“No, don’t.”
Maybe it was because the room was too big or because it wasn’t my house, but even the painting of some old guy on the wall looked creepy—I didn’t want to be alone.
I jumped up and grabbed Masera’s sleeve.
“I have some business to take care of outside. I’ll be back soon, so…”
“What is it? I want to come too.”
“It’s just a thing.”
“I can’t stand being curious.”
At this point, it wasn’t even about not wanting to be alone—I was just too curious.
In the middle of our tug-of-war, I lost my footing and tilted backward.
Masera quickly grabbed my arm and pulled me toward him.
“Eek!“
Thankfully, I didn’t crack my head open, and we also managed to land one of the ‘Top 10 Essential Rom-Com Tropes: Accidental Embrace’.
So I ended up fully wrapped in his arms.
Masera let out a strained breath and pushed me away with an irritated expression.
Well, his face looked annoyed, but his movements were careful—probably so I wouldn’t trip again and trigger another accidental embrace.
“Seriously…”
Muttering under his breath in a tone that oddly sounded angry, he turned and stormed out of the room.
Whatever he said after that got lost in the memory of my first time ever being in the arms of a hot guy.
Left alone, I shrugged and sighed.
“Welp, time to go find that grumpy cheese cat.”
I had to find out what he was up to—at this point, it was just out of spite.
I headed out and peered down the hallway.
“Did he make a run for it or something?”
He was already gone. I blinked in surprise.
Just then, I heard someone approaching from behind and a warm, gentle voice called out.
“Princess, what are you doing here?”
I shuddered at the unfamiliar title and turned around.
Duke Henry Rukanosa was looking at me.
“Hello, I was going to look for the Brigadier General. He said he’d be back soon, but he hasn’t come back for a while, so I’m worried. Have you seen him by any chance?”
One minute was apparently ‘a while.’
He tilted his head slightly and smiled at me.
“Well, he might have gone to smoke a cigar.”
“A cigar? He’s never smoked in front of me, so I wouldn’t know.”
“Worried he might be off meeting a secret lover?”
“No?”
He was absolutely not the type capable of juggling multiple relationships.
The Duke continued, half in jest.
“Can’t blame you for worrying. My dear friend sure does draw a lot of female attention with that face of his.”
“I’m sure you’ve stolen your fair share of hearts too, Duke. But I feel like you’re the type to stay faithful to one woman for life, for better or worse.”
I gave him a compliment in return and glanced toward the window in the hallway.
But when he didn’t say anything back, I turned to look at him again.
Was my read on him off? He definitely had a face that screamed ‘tragic second male lead turns to the dark side after an unrequited love’ vibes.
But the way he was looking at me was… odd.
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