Chapter 8

I got changed into the wedding dress in the changing room.

She said that wearing a wedding dress is quite complicated. Yet, ordinary dresses of the Empire were way more tough to wear.

They were quite exhausting because of the undergarments, dress, corset, and additional skirts.

“It’s been mended to fit you perfectly, would you like to look in the mirror?”

She turned me towards a full body mirror on my left. I slightly frowned at the blinding reflection on the mirror. It was blinding not because of how pretty it was but because of the reflection of the gems on the dress.

The diamonds embedded on the soft silk sparkled like white sands on a beach. I turned around and looked at myself in the mirror.

“If you think it’s too revealing, we can attach a bolero.”

Since I’ve never worn such revealing clothing before, I didn’t realize that I was grabbing my neck. With Madam’s words an employee brought a lace bolero.

“The design of it only covers the shoulders slightly unlike the usual ones that cover from shoulders to wrists, which makes it comfortable.”

Madam spoke excitedly as she placed the bolero on my shoulders.

It was pretty but… wouldn’t it be troublesome to wear it…? I had to be careful in order to not rip the material…

I thought it would be better to not wear it in the first place.

Well, I probably won’t use it. When else would I get the chance to wear such revealing clothes?

“Since it’s summer, I think it’s better to not wear things that’ll keep me warm.”

“Right? My lady has a great shoulder line to cover as well.”

Madam said as she neatly tied my hair and attached the wedding veil.

She put on a pair of lace gloves on me along with a headband. The headband was decorated with small, purple gems just like Apollyon’s eyes.

When I saw the beautiful lady in the mirror, I was stunned for a moment.

When Madam pulled open the curtain of the dressing room Serena’s widened eyes came into my sight. Even among the staff a short exclamation took place.

“Oh my! My lady, you look beautiful!”

Serena said, making a fuss.

“Really? Thank you.”

“Are you an angel? You look like you’re going to fly into the sky!”

“Stop it, you’re embarrassing me.”

I couldn’t help but grin while Serena said that, her silly comments made me blush. I thought of giving her a bonus for this month’s salary.

It can be seen as a pay for working overtime.

After spending the whole day in a wedding dress, as soon as I arrived at the mansion I crumpled just like a seaweed that had gotten out of water.

***

Heavy footsteps echoed in the hallway of the mansion. The footsteps were quite loud to the point that it was disturbing.

“Young Master.”

Sonot turned towards the person with the familiar voice. The Butler of the Duke’s Household was the one that called him.

The fact that he came to Sonot even though he always remains next to the Duke proved that the Duke was in a bad mood.

“What is it?”

“His Grace is waiting for you.”

“…I see.”

Sonot said as he fixed his loosened tie roughly. Then he headed to Duke Quinton’s study with Butler in the lead.

“Your Grace, Young Master is here.”

“Come in.”

The door opened after his words.

Lexion Quinton, the former Duke Quinton, was focused on his work without taking a glance at Sonot who entered his study. It was an obvious act of disregarding.

“I’ll get the carriage ready.”

“Alright, get out now.”

“Yes, your Grace.”

The Butler politely bowed to the Duke and Sonot before taking his leave.

The sound of the fountain pen’s creaking was the only noise inside the study where only the two left. Sonot was the first to speak, breaking the suffocating atmosphere.

“…You’ve called me.”

With his words, the Duke put down his pen and stared at Sonot.

“I’ve heard that you’ve gone to meet Lady Inkledov.”

“…”

“So, what happened?”

The Duke’s cold eyes were fixed on Sonot. No trace of affection towards his child was found in his eyes.

“…I apologize.”

As soon as Sonot bowed his head in fear, the Duke picked up the candlestick and threw it. The candlestick brushed off Sonot before crashing into the wall with a loud noise.

“Do you think I called you here to hear your apologies?”

The Duke gritted his teeth. Sonot felt an enormous weight on his shoulders.

“As if the failure of the plan wasn’t enough, your fiancée too was taken away by the Grand Duke. What the hell have you been doing!”

It was clear that if he gave an answer it would only make the Duke angrier. All Sonot could do was to shut his mouth and bow his head deeper.

“You were so confident too. How ridiculous.”

“…I am ashamed.”

Sonot clenched his hands hard enough to the point they turned them white.

Petunia’s protests would take two weeks at most. Then she’d get entangled with Sonot again.

But this time it was different.

He sent a letter, even visited in person yet she refused him. And after a few days, she announced that she’ll be marrying the Grand Duke Theavritte.

“You fool. The government said you can only be hired after marrying. I can’t believe you’ve met with another woman before that.”

The Duke clicked his tongue as if he was pitying him.

The fights were all because of Sonot’s habit of flirting with other women. They weren’t low quality women he was playing with. He had his own standards.

This time was no different than usual. The woman he was exchanging letters with was another Count’s daughter.

He wasn’t even thinking seriously about her in the first place, so he didn’t feel bad at all about exchanging letters.

Rather, it was Petunia that acted strange.

The lady, who was exchanging letters with Sonot, had been in great sorrow because of her mother’s recent passing away. Sonot used the girl’s sorrow as an excuse for his scheme. He claimed that his impure deeds were to comfort her sorrow.

It was usual for Petunia to appear after his explanation, this time too Petunia clinged to him apologizing for misunderstanding. Until then it wasn’t different from usual.

Sonot wasn’t interested in Petunia anyway. She was only a good tool to use for destroying the Grand Duchy, nothing more.

If their plan was successful, they could cut ties with Count Inkledov who Quintons forced them to join hands because of the engagement.

If the plan were to fail, it was then to go back to her as he always did. Petunia was only an insurance to him.

But things didn’t go as he expected. She refused to get back together with Sonot, and announced her marriage with the Grand Duke Theavritte.

It was Sonot’s fault, so it was only natural for him to not be able to say anything. He was the one that sent the annulment letter in the first place.

The reason he shamelessly looked for Petunia was because over the years that he was sure of how blinded she was with her love for him. He was confident in that.

So what Petunia said was quite unexpected for him.

’I apologize but I no longer have feelings for you. No feelings, no regret and most importantly no sense of revenge which you’re severely mistaken for.’

It was all his misunderstanding that her actions were just cheeky acts to provoke him.

He didn’t know what she was thinking but her changing her mind made him happy.

“When did you say the wedding was?”

“A week later, it will be held at the outdoor Banquet Hall of the Imperial Palace.”

The Duke rubbed his chin with his hand. It was a habit of his when he was lost in thoughts.

“Did you receive an invitation?”

“…I didn’t receive any.”

“Well, I am not someone to get invited to such nice days as well.”

“…”

“I can’t get in without an invitation. Even if I had the wedding invitation it would be hard for me to enter the Imperial Palace…”

The Duke smirked.

“You’ve lost such an important tool.”

“…”

“Well, there are lots of families who can help us if not Inkledovs.”

“…”

“However, it bothers me that I can only watch as the enemy takes away what was once mine. I am sure Inkledov was going to make a great ally.”

“…I apologize.”

“That’s enough. What’s done is done.”

“…”

“We can’t fix the situation, but we can find a replacement.”

“…I will take care of it properly this time.”

“I will trust you.”

“Thank you.”

The Duke didn’t say anything else after Sonot’s words. He once again picked up the fountain pen which had been put down earlier.

With the usual scene, Sonot respectfully greeted him and left the study. There was a sense of betrayal in his heart which was left by Petunia.