TGLWM 17

Chapter 17

“Even if Lady Mariann were to return, I still held the wedding ceremony with you before the altar of the Lord, did I not? Nothing would have changed. You must take responsibility for taking my chastity.”

At the words “chastity” and “responsibility,” Viscount Raoul lifted his tear-streaked face and stared at Florence. Her uncle’s gaze seemed to ask, “Did you two consummate the marriage last night?” and she suddenly felt wronged.

“No, that ‘responsibility’ is—!”

Just as she was about to protest in indignation, Viscount Raoul prostrated himself at her feet and began banging his head on the floor.

“Thank you, Florence! Hic… You’ve saved our entire family. Talia was so shocked she collapsed and can’t even move! Our Mariann, and the child in her womb—they’re alive because of you!”

“Please, Uncle! Get up!”

With her elder bowing and weeping, Florence was at a loss, but the Grand Duke, seizing the moment, drove the nail in.

“Viscount Sinclair, now that she is the Grand Duchess, mind your words.”

“Ah, forgive me! Your Highness the Grand Duchess.”

How could this be. How could things have turned out like this. It really looked like she was going to become the Grand Duchess in Mariann’s place.

Above all, the Grand Duke showed not a speck of interest in finding Mariann, and seemed to have no intention of annulling or divorcing the marriage. That’s why he was throwing around the title “Grand Duchess” in front of her uncle.

*This can’t be… Mariann, how could you do this to me…*

Florence felt like screaming, but with her weeping uncle clinging to her, she could neither do this nor that, and with her face stiff, she barely managed to speak.

“…Please tell Aunt that I would like to see her when she recovers, and that she must come visit me.”

“I will, Your Highness the Grand Duchess!”

*Please stop calling me Grand Duchess!* As Florence’s face twisted in silent fury, Edelston quickly ushered out the still-teary viscount.

“Now that everything is settled, you may go.”

“Thank you, Grand Duke, Grand Duchess!”

In the end, Florence had no choice but to turn away emptily, receiving her uncle’s formal farewell. Even in the midst of her confused mind, she had asked him to tell her aunt to visit because she suspected that Aunt Talia might have known about Mariann’s plan to run away—or even helped her.

After being so badly deceived, everything seemed suspicious, down to the smallest details. Florence sat in the bathtub last night and painstakingly reviewed the events from her arrival at the viscount’s household up to the end of the wedding. And she arrived at a hypothesis.

*Could Mariann have had an accomplice?*

Actually, she had first suspected her uncle, but seeing him today with his face half-ruined from heartache, sobbing so openly, he truly seemed to have known nothing. That left Aunt Talia as the next most suspicious.

*For now, since I’m the Grand Duchess, if I send a formal letter requesting a visit, she’ll have to come, even unwillingly. I can’t hold this position forever.*

Anyway, the conclusion was: “For now, I must maintain the position of Grand Duchess.” Dealing with the imperial family was such a hassle.

As Florence, having vaguely seen her uncle off, wore a dejected expression, Edelston approached her cautiously and took her hand, stopping her.

“Am I that inadequate as a husband?”

“What do you mean by that…”

His eyes were full of discouragement. The handsome man wore a sorrowful expression as if about to burst into tears at any moment, and Florence felt an odd sense of guilt rising within her.

“It seems you find this marriage utterly dreadful.”

“That’s, that’s not it. The problem isn’t with you, Your Highness—it’s with me.”

She blurted out the kind of cliché line one might use when parting ways, then began rambling on about how she had just been broken off not long ago, how he might become gossip in the capital, how there were many beautiful women besides her in the capital, and so on—painstakingly arguing that she was unworthy of being Grand Duchess.

She loathed belittling herself like this, but his grief-stricken expression stirred something in her chest that was alarmingly unsettling.

As Florence rattled on with self-deprecation, Edelston raised his hand and lightly brushed her lips to stop her. She looked adorable with her eyes wide in surprise, and he wanted to hug her right then, but this was the time for his sad act.

“Please don’t say such things. You are perfect to me without doing anything at all. So tell me—what kind of person do you like? I will try my best.”

“…Excuse me?”

“I can’t change my height or build, but if you tell me about personality or your preferred style, I’ll do my utmost to match it. So please, I hope you’ll give me a chance.”

Looking up at his earnest face, Florence found herself swallowing involuntarily. The Grand Duke was hardly inadequate—far from it. Above all, with looks that earned him the title “face fit for an emperor” and an excellent physique, he was a man who was a feast for the eyes.

But marriage wasn’t something one did just for looks. Hmm… while that wouldn’t hurt, Florence was clearly aware that this marriage was an accident born of Mariann’s scheme.

“That’s not the issue. This marriage is something I never consented to, so I simply cannot accept it. It’s all my cousin’s fault for deceiving everyone and running away. For now, I think I need to meet my parents. Marriage is, after all, a union between families.”

She tried to convey that the problem wasn’t the Grand Duke himself. Since this wasn’t a marriage born of passionate love between them, the best card to play was the family. At the mention of her parents, he finally smiled brightly.

“Then it would be settled if your parents give their permission, wouldn’t it?”

Uh-oh, why did those words sound so ominous? Florence, feeling a surge of unease, hastily changed tack.

“But ultimately, the opinions of those getting married are the most important…”

“Then tell me. What kind of man do you like?”

In the end, it came back to this question again. This man was like a magician of words. Before she knew it, she found herself in a situation where she had to give the answer he wanted.

For the first time in her life, she faced the question: “What kind of man do I like?” She had been engaged so young and had always assumed she would marry Clark, so she had never considered other possibilities.

After a moment of thought, Florence carefully chose her words, taking care to appear as if she meant nothing by them.

“To be honest, I’m not sure. I was engaged so young, and for so long, that I’ve never really thought about it. That doesn’t mean Clark—I mean, Young Master Idyart—is my type, though. In fact, our personalities clashed and we had many conflicts.”

“Then you can take your time to think it over. It would be even better if you kept me in mind. And since you said I’m not dreadful, would you allow me to escort you at least? You look tired—let me take you to the Grand Duchess’s chambers.”

With Edelston’s words leaving no room for refusal, she had no choice but to nod. Taking her outstretched small hand, he briefly pressed it to his cheek, then lightly took her hand and led her to the Grand Duchess’s chambers.

*I’m not a dog or anything.*

Florence, exasperated by his roguish movements, quickly began walking alongside him, but she was inwardly flustered, afraid that he might hear her heart beating so fast.

—

* * *

—

“Milady, I’ve packed all the luggage—*eek!* Greetings to His Highness the Grand Duke!”

Danya, who had been waiting nervously with her luggage in the Grand Duchess’s chambers, saw her mistress entering with the Grand Duke and scrambled to offer a flustered greeting. Apparently greatly flustered at meeting the Grand Duke for the first time, she stumbled backwards and tripped over the stacked luggage.

“Ah! So-sorry!”

The square luggage cases, reinforced with metal on every corner, tumbled noisily across the floor, and Florence had to strain her face to keep her expression in check.

“…”

“It seems you were on your way out of the Grand Ducal castle. I suppose you came to pay your final respects to the one you serve.”