Meanwhile, at the time when Karina was slapping Gennon Young Sik’s cheek in the study.

“Your Highness, the shipping business we’re planning to invest in this time……”

“If you entrust us with the supply of fur used for making coats……”

“It’s good to look for new businesses, but rather than that, renewing contracts with existing business partners……”

The nobles in front of Jeremiah spoke passionately about business, but Jeremiah barely listened.

It was because he was thinking about Karina who would be at the event venue.

‘I’ll just listen to this for a while and then go back.’

She had said she wanted to oversee the large-scale charity event all by herself.

When he first told her to do so, he hadn’t thought that she might be overwhelmed with other things on her mind.

When he informed the situation and instructed to follow her orders, his aide and Janssen were surprised.

From managing the ingredients for the formal dinner to be served at the event, to preparing alcohol, beverages, finger food and desserts, as well as flower decorations for the event hall, candle decorations, designating the chamber orchestra and musical pieces, setting the order of the event proceedings, and preparing the guest list and seating arrangements, and so on.

There were countless things to pay attention to and prepare.

But he just left her to it.

He thought if there were difficult parts she didn’t know well, she would ask for help on her own.

But contrary to expectations, Karina showed no signs of struggling at all.

She finished preparing for the charity event quite skillfully.

‘Surely this must be her first time overseeing such a large-scale banquet……’

Jeremiah was secretly surprised by this new side of her.

After the event started, Karina’s face, which had been constantly receiving greetings from many people beside him, showed signs of fatigue.

She already had a lot to worry about as the event organizer.

He thought he could take over greeting the guests for her.

He wanted to give Karina some time to catch her breath alone.

‘I don’t like that she’s not wearing the necklace, but……’

Jeremiah’s eyes darkened.

After some time, Caroline came looking for Jeremiah.

“Excuse me. Your Grace, do you have a moment?”

Caroline spoke formally to Jeremiah as it was a public place with other nobles present.

And saying she had something important to tell him, she called him out separately.

Jeremiah, who had stepped out for a moment because of this, said with an annoyed expression.

“What is it? The conversation isn’t over yet. If it’s not urgent, let’s do this later.”

He was already annoyed enough just dealing with the other nobles.

“That’s not it. Karina says she has something to tell you. She asked you to come to the study for a moment.”

“You mean the Duchess?”

“Yes. I received the request around when the invited orchestra started playing, but I forgot about it. Can you go now even though it’s late?”

“Sigh, alright.”

If it was around when the performance started, it had already been quite some time.

Why was she only telling him now? Jeremiah slightly frowned.

Jeremiah left his seat and made his way to the study.

Caroline said with a satisfied smile.

“Karina must have waited quite a long time because of me. Let’s hurry.”

She urged Jeremiah to hurry from beside him.

As they entered the corridor leading to the study, they could see that the study door was closed.

“Oh my, why is the study door closed?”

Caroline said in a puzzled tone.

“……”

Hearing that, Jeremiah became a little concerned about the closed study door.

Finally arriving in front of the study door, Jeremiah turned the doorknob.

As the door opened and Jeremiah witnessed the situation inside the study, his expression hardened.

The sight of Karina lying on top of another man in the study was seared into his eyes.

A vein popped on Jeremiah’s forehead.

The image of Karina being held in his guard’s arms last time overlapped with this scene.

Jeremiah gritted his teeth.

“So. What kind of situation is it this time?”

Gennon, who had flashed a vile look in his eyes at Jeremiah’s appearance, smiled with satisfaction.

He smiled, imagining the Duchess in distress, pleading that it was all a misunderstanding.

His cheek that had just been slapped, his thigh, and his instep that had been stepped on by her heel all throbbed.

‘I was planning to do just enough and then back out.’

A few days before the tea party.

‘Sir Gennon, you just need to say that the Duchess tried to seduce you. We’ll prepare everything else on our side.’

When Gennon heard the plan from Caroline’s maid, he gladly accepted her proposal.

It was an easier plan than he had expected, and since he would be proven innocent anyway, there was no risk of harm to himself.

Since the Grand Duchess Caroline had assured that she would take his side and protect him, there was no chance of the plan going wrong and being caught by the Duke.

The Duchess would be put in a difficult position, but Gennon wasn’t a good enough person to care about such things.

And if he just finished this simple task well, an enormous amount of wealth was set to fall into his hands.

He had no reason to refuse.

‘She dared to hit me. Well, now you’re really going to get it.’

Gennon, thoroughly agitated, cried out in a voice full of feigned indignation.

“Your Grace! I’ve been wronged! I only followed because the Duchess said she would guide me to the study herself.”

Gennon pushed Karina, who had fallen on top of him, to the side.

Seeing this, Jeremiah’s eyebrow twitched.

Gennon continued to assert his innocence without stopping.

“The Duchess suddenly threw herself at me while I was just standing still. I’m the victim here!”

He acted as if Karina had deliberately brought him here and forcibly embraced him.

“……”

But despite Gennon’s claims, Jeremiah stood in place without any reaction.

Before Karina could say anything, this time Caroline made a fuss.

“My goodness, Karina! What on earth are you doing? A secret meeting with another man alone inside the Duke’s residence!”

Caroline said, not hiding her disgust as she covered her mouth with her hand.

“How could someone in the position of Duchess do such a vulgar thing!”

“……”

Tap tap.

Despite Caroline’s commotion, Karina got up as if nothing had happened and dusted off her clothes.

Caroline made an incredulous expression at her attitude.

“Karina! What’s with that attitude? You’re unworthy of being the Duchess! How filthy and indecent!”

Although Karina hadn’t said a word yet, Caroline was already treating it as if she had certainly committed an immoral act.

Jeremiah raised his hand to stop Caroline, who was speaking excitedly.

He asked Karina.

“Are you not going to deny it?”

“……”

Karina gave no answer to his question.

Jeremiah’s brow furrowed, but Karina didn’t seem to care.

Rather, with a smile on her lips, Karina asked Gennon.

“Gennon Young Sik. Go on. Surely that’s not all, is it?”

[This is the timeline separator]

In the past, before the regression, the same thing had happened.

The past Karina was very flustered when she was left alone with Gennon Young Sik in the study.

‘Ah! Wh… Why did the door suddenly……’

She panicked, unable to gather her thoughts, turning pale.

She tried to leave quickly, but the man in front of her suddenly changed and blocked her way.

‘Don’t come near me! I’ll scream if you do!’

As Karina panicked, Gennon Young Sik approached her, unbuttoning his clothes.

‘Go ahead and scream. If people come and see the current situation with just the two of us here, who do you think will be in trouble?’

‘……!’

At his threat, Karina trembled, unable to even scream.

Gennon Young Sik pulled the frozen Karina into his arms.

Then he fell backwards just like that.

It created a situation that looked as if Karina had pushed Gennon Young Sik down, trying to pounce on him.

At that very moment.

Caroline and Jeremiah entered the study together.

‘What are you two doing right now?’

‘My goodness, Karina. What on earth are you doing with another man! How could you commit such infidelity as the Duchess?’

‘I’m the victim! The Duchess suddenly ran to me and embraced me. I’ve been wronged!’

Gennon Young Sik, who was slandering Karina while insisting with a straight face that he had done nothing wrong.

The angry Jeremiah and Caroline beside him, who was making a fuss and unfairly accusing Karina.

‘It really was a perfect trio.’

After that incident, Karina became an immoral and vulgar adulterer who had betrayed her husband and tried to seduce another man.

Moreover, because her husband was Jeremiah, the Duke of the North, the level of criticism and condemnation directed at her was beyond imagination.

A cunning woman who coveted the position of Duchess without knowing her place, a lustful adulteress who couldn’t control herself around men, a dirty deceiver who had played around with many men even before marriage, and so on.

Her pleas of innocence were thoroughly ignored, and the Duchess’s reputation was dragged through the mud.

Wherever she went, she was followed by piercing glares and whispers, and everyone pointed fingers at her.

Needless to say, anger and disgust were added to Jeremiah’s attitude towards Karina afterwards.

Karina had to fight a lonely battle alone in her room at the Duke’s residence for quite a long period, not going out at all.

Finally, Jeremiah, unable to bear the greatly damaged prestige of the ducal family, declared that he would not tolerate anyone who mentioned that incident.

Only then did the openly whispered words disappear from the front.

But behind her back, dirty words still followed her persistently and tenaciously.

Even until Karina, no longer able to endure, exploded and started committing real evil deeds, being called a ‘cruel and violent crazy b****’ instead, the rumors did not die down.

It was truly an infuriating memory even thinking about it again.

Karina pushed aside the memories of the past and returned to reality.

“Pardon? That……”

When told to continue, Gennon stammered.

“The… The Duchess seduced me first.”

“And?”

“You also asked me to become your lover!”

Gennon angrily turned the tables.

“Isn’t it that you deliberately set up this situation because I refused your offer to become your lover!”

“Ah, even becoming a lover? I see. And then?”

Karina calmly asked again.

Gennon was flustered by Karina’s attitude, which was different from what he expected.

“Keep talking.”

“And……”

“Enough! I don’t know what you’re trying to do now.”

Jeremiah cut in with an expression that he couldn’t bear to watch anymore.

“I was curious to hear what more he would say.”

Karina summarized Gennon’s words with an expressionless face.

“According to this fellow’s words, I’m a shameless person who suggested to another man to become my lover, and when that suggestion was rejected, I harbored a grudge and deliberately brought that person here to forcibly embrace him? Is that right?”

Karina recited the explicit words calmly.

The content was completely at odds with her gentle tone.

“Th… That’s right.”

Gennon swallowed hard, feeling an inexplicable anxiety.

“Everything you’ve said just now is the truth without a single lie, right?”

At Karina’s question, Gennon glanced once at Caroline.

Caroline was looking at Karina with a frown.

‘Right. The Grand Duchess will take my side, so what can the Duchess do in this situation?’

Gennon raised his head shamelessly.

“Yes. It’s the truth!”

Karina smiled coldly at Gennon’s brazen answer.

“Alright. Then it’s my turn now.”

Karina called for her guard.

“Mikhail.”

“Yes.”

Mikhail, who responded to her call, calmly walked out from between the bookshelves in the study.