“The two of them haven’t been on good terms since their big argument at the banquet.”
I only expected they wouldn’t get along, but to have actually had a major quarrel.
“Argued?”
“Yes. The Marchioness Stemun’s background was brought up first by the Duchess Yekert, and then, well… one might say the Marchioness Stemun turned the entire banquet hall upside down.”
“Pfft. What an interesting lady.”
I couldn’t help but laugh.
But the butler’s expression turned serious as he spoke.
“This isn’t something to laugh about. The servants who were present at that banquet still panic whenever anyone even mentions the two of them. After that incident, rumors began spreading about the Marchioness Stemun—bad ones. It’s suspected that the Duchess Yekert was behind them.”
“Of course. The other party doesn’t seem like someone who’d stay quiet and take it.”
“Therefore, I’d advise that accepting the Marchioness Stemun’s tea invitation first might not sit well with the Duchess Yekert.”
Understanding the dynamics, I smiled brightly.
“In other words, conversely, if I accept the Duchess Yekert’s tea invitation first, the Marchioness Stemun probably won’t be too pleased either.”
Then, it meant I had to win over one of them. Clearly, accepting the invitation from the Duchess Yekert—who held real influence in high society—would be more practically beneficial. But strangely, the name “Stemun” felt familiar. Had that family appeared in the novel before?
“By the way, what’s the Marchioness Stemun’s full name?”
“Sarsina Stemun.”
I asked half in disbelief—but I knew that name well. Too well.
I gripped the invitation sent by the Marchioness Stemun.
“To be honest, it’d probably make more sense to accept the Duchess Yekert’s invitation… but I’ve suddenly grown curious about the Marchioness Stemun. I’m thinking of accepting the Stemun family’s tea invitation. What do you think, Butler?”
Somehow, I had the feeling I might even gain a rather solid backing.
The butler looked at me with a thoughtful expression before composing himself.
“I respect my lady’s decision. Still, just in case, perhaps after accepting the Marchioness Stemun’s invitation, you could soon accept the Duchess Yekert’s as well?”
After all, the two ladies didn’t get along. Accepting only one side’s invitation would clearly invite backlash.
‘She’ll probably think—here’s someone who’s never participated in high society, suddenly becoming a duchess and ignoring her invitation…’
Yeah. A hundred percent, bad rumors would spread like wildfire.
“Alright. I’ll go with that plan.”
“Thank you, my lady.”
For now, the matter of which event to attend was settled, and the schedule set. I stretched my body fully and stepped out of the study with a refreshed pace. The butler smiled as he saw me off.
“Is today the day you’ll spar with the master?”
“Yes. How did you know?”
“You’ve seemed particularly energetic today, my lady.”
No wonder he was a veteran butler.
“Well then, I’m off.”
“Yes, and if the master happens to hurt you in any way, please tell me. I’ll give him a proper scolding.”
That was a reassuring thing to hear. Even as a contracted lady, was I really allowed to receive this much affection from the staff?
[This is the timeline separator]One afternoon. Her silver hair, catching the sunlight, fluttered gently in the breeze. The bright sun made Bertisha blink. Immediately, Emperor Camileo, standing beside her, carefully shielded her from the glare.
Perhaps because they were enjoying a private moment alone in the imperial garden, the royal servants had quietly withdrawn.
“Is something troubling you?”
At his gentle question, Bertisha made a sad face as she answered.
“…Yezar hasn’t replied to my letters.”
Camileo comforted the dejected Bertisha.
“He’s probably just busy.”
“But he didn’t even attend the royal wedding. And we only found out about Yezar’s marriage long after it happened.”
Camileo, who had always been close with the three of them, understood Bertisha’s disappointment and replied bitterly.
“That’s right. He used to be someone who kept nothing from us.”
He recalled the brief moment he’d spoken to Yezar on the day of the wedding.
‘Yezar, congratulations on your marriage. It would’ve been nice if you’d told us beforehand.’
Even though he’d spoken casually, as they always did in private,
‘…I’m busy, so I’ll have to go first.’
Yezar had simply turned his back and vanished after that single sentence. Why had he suddenly started avoiding them? Camileo couldn’t understand the reason at all. Then, Bertisha asked, her voice full of worry.
“Could it be… that Yezar married some strange woman? Otherwise, why wouldn’t he tell us about his marriage? Or why wouldn’t he reply to my letters?”
“Calm down, Bertisha.”
“But, Camileo… what if the Marchioness Ferhaem is jealous of me and prevented my letters from reaching Yezar?”
“That’s impossible. The person Yezar chose couldn’t possibly be someone strange.”
Bertisha stared into Camileo’s eyes for a few seconds. Tears welled up in her clear, shimmering eyes.
“Then… why is Yezar avoiding us?”
He gently wiped the tears rolling down her cheeks and pulled her tightly into his arms.
“Bertisha, don’t cry… You know it hurts me when you do.”
“Sob… I’m sorry, Camileo. It just feels like a friend who’s always been by my side suddenly pushed me away…”
“I’ll bring him back, even if I have to issue an imperial order. Don’t cry. Once we talk, everything will go back to how it was. Yezar must have his reasons.”
After comforting Bertisha for a long while, Camileo reluctantly decided he’d have to arrange a meeting with Yezar, no matter how unwilling he was. Seeing that she had calmed down, Bertisha gently kissed his cheek and whispered.
“…Thank you, Camileo. Then… could you also bring the Orbetian young lady Yezar married?”
Something about it felt oddly off, so he asked.
“Why?”
“I just want to check for myself. To see if she’s truly a good person.”
Meeting her pure, shining eyes, Camileo dismissed it as mere mood and nodded. Then he held out his hand.
“The sun’s getting harsh. Let’s go inside now.”
“Alright, Camileo.”
Bertisha’s smiling face, holding his hand, was as radiant as a fully bloomed flower.
[This is the timeline separator]
I confidently stepped into the training ground, and the knights greeted me.
“Welcome, my lady!”
“We’ve been waiting!”
I’d told them they didn’t need to be so enthusiastic, but judging by their unusually warm reaction today, they must’ve heard I was going to spar with Yezar. I glanced sideways at Yezar—he looked particularly sharp-eyed.
“I told everyone to focus on their own sparring. Was my order a joke?”
“No, my lady!”
“We’re sorry!”
Seeing the knights immediately refocus with renewed discipline, I laughed cheerfully.
“You don’t need to scold them so harshly.”
“No, my lady. When they heard I was sparring with you, they became so noisy they weren’t even concentrating on their own training. I had to reprimand them.”
“I see. But I’m not a formal knight, and I can’t perform at a level worth expecting much. Besides, Yezar is giving himself a handicap.”
I wasn’t a proper knight, so Yezar had promised to spar gently to avoid injuring me. Moreover, he insisted on using his unfamiliar left hand as a handicap.
Yezar shook his head in response.
“They just want to tease me for being so careful with you.”
“In that case, I think I understand why Yezar frowned so deeply.”
“I’m sorry… for showing such an unpleasant expression in front of you, my lady.”
His flustered attempt to soften his expression made the sparring knights seem suddenly stiff. Probably due to the dissonance. To them, he was the merciless commander of the knights. To me, he was a soft, gentle man.
“It’s alright. Before that, though, I’d like to warm up a bit. May I swing my wooden sword at that wooden dummy a few times?”
“Please, my lady, as you please. You may swing as many times as you like.”
“Hmm… Does the ducal household have many wooden dummies?”
“We have several prepared.”
“Then that should be fine.”
Smiling cheerfully, I approached the firmly secured wooden dummy and swung the sword a few satisfying times. But before the dummy could even become damaged, the wooden sword snapped cleanly at the handle.
“Hmm. Sorry, but this wooden sword seems poorly made. It broke…”
I turned around with a smile to ask for a new one. But the surroundings were so silent, not even a breath could be heard. The knights had all stopped moving and were staring at me.
“Um… Did I do something wrong?”
Why were they all acting like this?
Standing there bewildered, Yezar approached.
“My lady… Do you often break wooden swords like this during practice?”
“Occasionally?”
“When you say ‘occasionally,’ what exactly do you mean?”
“Well, normally, I’d break about three or four wooden dummies before the sword snaps.”
Along with several other training tools. The count’s knights had nearly cried over the damage. That’s how I earned my reputation as a walking disaster among the count’s knights.
“Did the count’s knights ever say anything when they saw you practicing?”
“What kind of things? Oh. They used to complain that I’d mess up the surroundings whenever I picked up a sword. So I tried my best to control it…”
I did try to control it. But apparently, a defective wooden sword had slipped into the ducal household’s stock. Whoever supplied it—perhaps as the duchess, I should look into the trading house distributing these swords and inform the butler.
But somehow, that didn’t seem to be the important thing right now. I glanced cautiously at the knights and caught snippets of their murmurs.
“Such monstrous strength from such a delicate frame…”
“The lady’s been hiding her strength…”
Monstrous strength? Hiding strength? Who?
Clearly, everyone had misunderstood something completely.
“Um, I hate to interrupt, but the atmosphere feels strange. The sword was faulty, that’s all.”
One of the silently observing knights then replied.
“We believe the wooden sword simply couldn’t withstand the lady’s strength and broke.”
“Yes, there’s nothing wrong with the sword.”
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Why She Is Still Unmoved (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: He uses various methods to seek her affection, but she remains unmoved.
Synopsis:
Si Qingyu is a doctor who has saved countless lives and enjoys tranquility.
Luo Shaoxuan is ruthless, deeply scheming, and the top young master in the capital. He admires Si Qingyu.
Luo Shaoxuan: I want to be the only one in your eyes and heart.
Features a cold and calm female lead vs A noble and scheming male lead.
There will be both sweetness and torture towards the male after their marriage.
