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PHYSIENTS WILL ALWAYS OFFER BEST STORIES AND LIVE STREAMING ALL TIME
LUCIA
C66 [part 1]
< — The Capital’s High Society[2]– > (2)
After they alternated from the bathroom to the bedroom, they engaged in wild, messy sex. Lucia was completely worn out. She had washed clean and her body looked fresh but the tingling deep inside her legs did not disappear.
She had entangled with him countless time but his energy and size was still unmanageable. Lucia lay on his body, completely exhausted. Hugo had positioned her on top of him and enjoyed feeling her warmth all over his body.
His hand swept down to her back thigh, touching her plump behind and stroking the slender curve of her waist. It was a soft tough and at the same time, it was persistent. Lucia couldn’t even move her fingers so she just left his fondling alone.
“The coronation day has been chosen. It’s in about a month.” (Hugo)
“That’s…later than I thought. Does coronation usually have to be extended that long after a national funeral?”
Lucia didn’t remember exactly how it went in her dream. While the situation in the capital suddenly changed with the death of the king, the national funeral and the accession of the new king, her detached palace remained quiet, like it was in another world.
“There are some useless customs.” (Hugo)
It was not virtuous for the new king to unhesitatingly ascend to the throne after the passing of the previous king. The nobility goes through the ceremonial crowning of the king and then formally requests for the new king to ascend the throne.
The new king courteously refuses three times and accepts the fourth time, showing his acceptance of their sincere intentions. After the announcement of the rather obvious statement, the coronation ceremony was held. To Hugo, it was all very useless.
“If it’s in a month, then summer will be almost over. Then, the dress I bought…”
“There will be many occasions to wear it to. The fact that you are in the capital has already begun to spread. Invitations will start coming in soon.”
As his hand gently caressed her back, her eyelids began to grow heavy. She enjoyed listening to his deep reverberating voice.
Lucia blinked her eyes to chase away the sleep.
“What invitation? Aren’t parties not allowed?” (Lucia)
After the king’s death, it was forbidden to hold a party until the new king is crowned.
“Officially, yes, but in the first place, parties are more informal. Even now, parties are held here and there, every day. The tea party ones are almost unrestricted.” (Hugo)
“Tea party…”
“If you don’t want to do external activities until the coronation, you don’t have to.”
“…Is that okay?”
“If you aren’t willing, yes.”
“If I stay at home for an entire month, don’t you think there will be rumors that I caught a deadly disease?” (Lucia)
Hugo gave a low laugh.
“It’ll give you trouble.” (Lucia)
“There is nothing in the world that can trouble me.”
Except you. Hugo added inwardly.
Lucia pondered over it in her mind. In any case, she couldn’t live hiding herself away. Even though being exposed to people’s gazes and attention was burdensome, she wasn’t afraid of it.
Adding her north experience onto her dream experience, she wasn’t a young lady that would tremble helplessly about what to do in her first social debut.
“For the first, it is better to go to a tea party and get a feel for the atmosphere, rather than to a big stage like the coronation.” (Lucia)
Lucia wondered how different a tea party atmosphere in the capital would be from that of the north. In the dream, her main stage was at balls. Because Count Matin urged Lucia to attend balls, it was difficult to attend a tea party in the day and a ball in the night and she was unable to assimilate the two schedules.
A tea party, especially a small tea party that had about 10 or so attendees, expected one to attend regularly if one has attended once. If she got an invitation and didn’t attend a few times, she did not receive another invitation.
So from time to time she would go to event-like tea parties (like Lucia’s garden party) that were thrown occasionally and invited a lot of people. And it was at these occasional tea parties that she was able to witness a party break.
And thanks to that, she was able to address the party break in the north without panicking.
“But still, the dress…” (Lucia)
“No more about that topic. Just as you say, rumors will spread everywhere if it is refunded. Something like the Duke of Taran will soon be bankrupt.”
Pfft. Lucia burst into laughter.
“I heard from the designer that you went all the way to the boutique?” (Lucia)
That was the biggest reason for Lucia giving in to Antoine. Hearing that he went to a place like the boutique that didn’t suit him at all, only to request for a dress for her, made her feel touched.
She was swayed by Antoine continuous remarks of being envious of the Duchess that would grow old with an affectionate husband.
“Why did you do that?”
“Do I need a reason for what I do?”
“If you don’t tell me, I’ll think whatever I like.”
“…Which is?”
“That you did it because you were worried I would disgrace the ducal name with my shabby appearance.”
“No. I don’t care about that sort of thing.”
Hugo realized that her idea of ‘whatever I like’ was definitely not advantageous to him.
“Then what?”
“Does there have to be a reason? I wanted to buy it for you. Can’t that be it?”
Lucia smilingly replied with, ‘It can.’ After a moment, he gave a sigh.
“Sometimes when I talk to you, I feel like I need an interpreter in the middle. What could be the problem?”
“I’m not sure. I don’t feel that way but what could be the problem?”
“…”
He went silent, making a sour face and Lucia giggled.
“Don’t do it too much.” (Lucia)
“What?”
‘Because…I could misunderstand and think that you might like me more than I thought…’
Lucia didn’t reply so maybe he thought that she had fallen asleep because he didn’t say another word. And after a while, Lucia really fell asleep.
***
Just as Hugo said, invitations began to fly in and after a few days, it was a bit of a stretch but, enough invitations to fill a sack poured in.
Lucia had not yet made her official debut in the Capital’s high society. Since an official party could not be held until after the coronation, no matter which party she attended, it was not an official debut.
Her debut would be at the coronation celebration. But this would be the first place to start off her social activities. Lucia carefully looked through the invitations to choose a place. She excluded locations with a lot of people and mainly looked through small tea parties.
She scoured through her memories from the dream, selecting places hosted by people whose name she had heard before. Even then, she was still left with dozens to filter through. Finally, she was helped by Jerome.
The tea party hosted by Countess Jordan was chosen. The Countess was a famous figure in the Capital that liked small scale intimate activities. So, Lucia had never been to the Countess’ tea party in her dream.
“Countess Jordan often arranges small scale activities because she prefers having conversation with people she is close to. The noblewomen around her also prefer quieter activities.”
Jerome simply conveyed the information about the Countess. To put it bluntly, he was saying that it was not a place where the so-called, ‘wild women’ gathered.
“I believe there is no risk for Milady’s first occassion to be one for getting acquainted with noblewomen of the Capital.”
The date of the party was in a week. Lucia sent a letter to the Countess, indicating that she had accepted the invitation.
____________
LUCIA
C66 [part 2]
Chapter 66 [part 2]
< — The Capital’s High Society[2]– > (2)
TN: Gong is a title.
Kwiz was overflowing with enthusiasm for the upcoming coronation. From the crack of dawn till late at night, he was continuously working on something, painting the image of himself governing the kingdom.
He called his noble supporters, discussed with them, and gathered the opinion of officials. He also did not forget to hold a small banquet to benefit his relationship with the nobles and to strengthen the loyalty of the knights.
Even when he was alone, he was engrossed in thought and unaware of the passage of time. There were a few influential figures that Kwiz payed particular attention to but the representative figure was the Duke of Taran. He held onto Hugo tenaciously and didn’t let him go, both publicly and privately.
Hugo had lunch with Kwiz if he had nothing special to do. Within this, it was also included to discuss for a while after the meal.
“I heard the Duchess is in the Capital, when did one arrive?” (Kwiz)
“It has been a while.” (Hugo)
“Hoh. Why do I keep hearing news about Gong from someone else’s mouth? Don’t we see often?”
“Do I need to inform Your Majesty with news about my wife?”
Kwiz was currently at the stage of receiving the nobility’s request to ascend the throne but refusing according to customs. So, he was not crowned yet, but was treated as a king.
“Although one is Gong’s wife, one is also my sister. One should come to the palace sometime. I should at least know the face of my sister.”
“Since one became my wife before being known by Your Majesty as a sister, one should be treated as the Duchess.”
It was a roundabout refusal. Hugo had no intention of letting his wife meet the King in a private unofficial meeting. Kwiz was a very experienced politician. He was especially excellent in acting like a honest person that didn’t hide their feelings. Rather than being proficient in telling lies, his was a talent that hid little things under a majority of truths. His innocent wife could not deal with a jaded politician.
Hugo was yet to trust Kwiz. He did not believe Kwiz completely. He had taken a step back but he had also made it clear that he would not turn away unless he was stabbed in the back first.
The clever Kwiz could understand Hugo’s meaning. Their relationship wasn’t that of one-sided obedience but that of an alliance. But Kwiz wanted to draw closer to the distancing mentality of the other. Kwiz was checking to see if he could tackle the Duchess rather than the Duke of Taran that had no gap in his defenses. But Hugo had easily seen through Kwiz’s intentions.
When Hugo was asking his wife one thing or the other in order to get her to say her childhood name, he became aware of her loneliness. Her expression when she recollected the memories about her mother was vague as if she was dreaming. Not long ago, she was shocked to hear about her father’s death and fell very ill.
She was missing her family. If Kwiz were to assert family affection and claim that he would become a reliable brother, her heart would be swayed. If his wife were to form affection towards her brother, she couldn’t help but to be exploited. Just like Hugo was used by the late Duke.
There was no sincere relationship between those that had power in the royal family and even between those outside the royal family. Hugo wished for her not to know anything rather than wake up to the cold reality.
“Gong is too heartless. What does one have planned for the afternoon? There are some issues I would like to exchange views on with Gong.”
Hugo knew that Kwiz would cleanly withdraw on the matter.
“If it is not urgent, I will hear it next time. I already informed you several times that I will be returning early in the afternoon today.”
There was a mountain of work that Hugo was unable to finish from the territory. He couldn’t ignore other things and stick to matters concerning the throne.
“Is that so.”
Kwiz smacked his lips, feigning ignorance.
“Then, how about a drink tomorrow night?”
Kwiz first made a proposal that Hugo couldn’t help but refuse then finally, he brought out what he really wanted. Although Hugo knew Kwiz’s clever trick, he acted like he couldn’t resist and gave in. In any case, if one holds hands with the king, it was better to get along.
“Day after tomorrow is okay.”
“Day after tomorrow, huh. That is good too. But, does Gong have days set for drinking? One doesn’t know why one day is good and the other isn’t.”
Well, that was because tomorrow night was the fifth day and next tomorrow was day after the fifth. It was Hugo’s standard for setting up his evening schedules, although no one knew.
On the way back, Hugo came across the Queen, Beth. David was together with the Queen. Beth was on the way to send off her visiting brother after a pleasant chat.
Hugo gave his greetings and tried to pass by but Beth spoke to him.
“It has been a long time, Gong. Are you returning from seeing His Majesty?”
“Yes. It has been a long time since I offered my greetings. Your Royal Highness.” (1)
“I have often heard much about the Duchess. News of the Duchess is talked about more than the Coronation.”
“It is just an insignificant rumor.”
“Rumors are not necessarily fruitless. I would like to meet and talk with the Duchess before one starts activities in the social circles. I want to prepare a casual luncheon. I will send an invitation before the day is over, I hope one does not refuse.”
Although the invitation of the King could be rejected, the invitation of the Queen was difficult to reject. The King’s indication to meet her was as a sister but the Queen was asking for her to show her face as the Duchess.
Hugo could not get involved with matters concerning female social activities unless the circumstances were special. For a refusal, his wife had to do it. But, there was no reason to refuse the invitation of the Queen.
“I believe my wife will be willing to answer the invitation.” (Hugo)
After several exchanges of courteous greetings, the brief meeting was over. Watching the departing back of the Duke of Taran, Beth thought, ‘Still as blunt as ever.’
In her days as the Crown Princess, nobles approached Beth without any inhibitions about male and female distance. They wanted to get closer to the Crown Prince with whatever means possible. However, the Duke of Taran had never once spoken privately.
Rather, it was her husband who fretted about getting acquainted with the Duke. The Duke was a very confident and arrogant man.
[Does it not hurt Your Highness’s pride? Your Highness will be the future master of this country.]
Beth was curious so one day, she had said this to Kwiz. She could not understand the arrogance of the Duke of Taran. She thought that no matter what, he was still a lord of a fiefdom that was part of the Kingdom.
[It is not pride that can be brought up at any time. It is reckless bravado. Looking at the future, what is the big deal about lowering one’s head now? There is no spite towards Taran Gong. Any man will feel envious of a man like Taran Gong who lives without minding others. Pass this onto father-in-law as well. There is nothing gain from provoking him.]
After realizing that her husband’s will was firm, Beth recognized the Duke of Taran as a strong ally of her husband. Beth did not know about the complicated political battles. Not because she was foolish but because there was no reason to give it her attention.
She was born as an honored lady, grew up without lacking anything and became the Crown Princess. On her maternal side was the authoritative Ducal family, and her father, Duke Ramis was a strong backing. She already had three sons and the seat of heir was firmly in her hands. To Beth, her husband wasn’t noble and pure but she respected him.
As a woman married into the royal family, one had to put up with a few matters in the rear palace. As a female of the royal family, Beth lived a smooth life and was successful to this extent.
She didn’t have to worry about fighting for a share of her husband and only needed to wait for the day to receive the crown of the Queen smoothly. So for Beth, there was no part that twisted her insides. She didn’t have to rack her brains about being caught in a trap nor was she worried.
Nevertheless, her only worry was her younger brother David.
“Why did you behave so impolitely to Taran Gong?”
Beth criticized David. Because of David who didn’t say anything after greeting Taran Gong with a nod, Beth’s complexion was flushed as she spoke with the Duke.
“That man.”
“Watch what you say. Taran Gong is a man in the same position as father. Why do you act thoughtlessly?”
Listening to his sister’s scolding, David’s expression was full of dissatisfaction.
Beth sighed. He was held up too much as the young lord who would inherit the name of the Duke in the future. It was a big fault of their late mother who sided with the eldest son unconditionally. Learning a lesson from her younger brother, Beth was strict with her sons.
“I have tried to get along well in my own away. However, Taran Gong has been rude.”
“David. Expressing it as rude is not appropriate. Taran Gong can be rude to you as he pleases.”
“Sister!”
“I do not want to give a lengthy speech. I have repeatedly said to be careful in one’s actions and words. You are not a child. I will only see you off to here so be careful on the way.”
Beth turned around indifferently as he watching Beth’s receding figure, David clenched his fists tightly. All over the place, once they opened their mouths, it was ‘Taran Gong’, ‘Taran Gong’. He couldn’t understand.
David’s father was the closest advisor of the King and his sister was the Queen. His nephew would become King someday.
Naturally, the King should trust David and keep him closer than anyone else. However, Kwiz was irresponsive to David, and when Kwiz was with the Duke of Taran, he treated David like leftovers.
‘What is so great about him?’
David felt twisted inside.
Translator’s Corner:
If any of you have ever watched Korean historical dramas, he calls her ‘Mama’.
__________
LUCIA
C67 [part 1]
< — The Capital’s High Society[2]– > (3)
Hugo was in a good mood because he was going home early.
‘Today, we can have dinner and take a walk together.’
When they were in Roam, they regularly ate dinner together but nowadays, it was difficult to do even that. He was needlessly busy with something.
When he got home, there was a lot of work to do. At that thought, his mood darkened slightly but still, he liked the fact that he was going home so his mood quickly lightened up.
He would have felt even better if he didn’t meet a certain person when he turned at the corner of the hallway.
‘Somehow, today is a bit annoying.’
Hugo thought as he looked at the woman, Sofia, who was looking at him with wide eyes. He didn’t want his return to be disturbed twice.
Sofia called out to stop Hugo as he was simply going to pass by.
“Your Grace. I hope you have been well. It has been a long time.”
Hugo was forced to stop as he could not outrightly ignore her in a public.
“It is late, but congratulations on your marriage.” (Sofia)
“Congratulations from me as well. I heard you have become a Countess.”
Count Alvin, the man Sofia married, was a rich merchant. In the economic field, he was ranked quite high in terms of importance. Since Hugo steadily got information about influential nobles in politics, economy and so on, he had already heard that Count Alvin had gotten married to the daughter of Baron Lawrence.
“…Yes. Thank you…for the congratulations. I am in the palace today to meet Her Highness the Queen.”
Hugo was not interested in whatever business Sofia was visiting the palace for. His mind was focused on rushing home.
Sofia was still as beautiful as ever. Those passing by could not take their eyes off her. Sofia’s beauty drew the attention of both men and women. After experiencing the pain of heart-break, a sense of melancholy was added onto that beauty, shaking up the hearts of men. Even though she was married, Sofia still received the love letters of many men when she attended balls.
Sofia’s beauty did not enter Hugo’s eyes. His eyes could see Sofia but his head was filled with the thoughts of his wife. On the contrary, the more he talked with the woman, the more he missed his wife. He did not see Sofia looking at him with a sad look in her eyes.
Seeing his cold red eyes, Sofia was shocked. She was yet to abandon her lingering affection, always thinking ‘maybe…’. She harbored expectations that maybe if they met again after a long time, he would also be slightly shaken by memories of the past.
However, his attitude as he offered his congratulations on her marriage was clean without a doubt. She was only one that spent long sleepless nights, and was unable to let go even after marriage.
“Then, I’ll be on my way now.” (Hugo)
Sofia felt desperate when she saw him walk by her without any hesitation. She had a feeling that this was really the end. There was no space to squeeze into his heart. Even knowing that, her hand grabbed onto him on its own.
When he stopped and looked at Sofia’s hand holding his sleeve, his face showed undisguised annoyance. Sofia was startled and released her hand.
“Are you…happy?” (Sofia)
He knit his brows, not giving an answer. Was her question that unpleasant?, Sophia thought and felt something flowing down her cheeks. She was crying in spite of herself.
By the time she dabbed her tears with her handkerchief and looked up, he was already walking away. The man who walked away without saying a single word of comfort to a crying woman was just as cruel as ever.
‘Why is it not me?’
When Sofia heard of his marriage, she experienced pain like the world was caving in. She wanted to run to him and ask. If he didn’t immediately go to his territory, she would have really done so.
Sofia, who had fallen into despair, accepted the proposal of Count Alvin. She had felt like giving up. She wanted to forget everything. But she could not find happiness in a marriage chosen as an escape.
In the midst of the abundance that could be enjoyed thanks to her husband’s wealth, Sofia’s heart was always empty. She could not let go off her persisting lingering affections at all.
***
Antoine was visiting to carry out a partial interim check on the finished dress and she was excited to hear of Lucia visiting the palace.
“Your first palace visit! I have to help.” (Antoine)
“You don’t have to go through that trouble.” (Lucia)
The Duke of Taran had revisited and proposed a double contract. Antoine was full of motivation for the profit that was guaranteed to be huge. Gold was the catalyst that ignited her soul. Although Antoine couldn’t do anything about the already reserved customers, she turned away all the customers that came to find her lately.
Antoine was aiming to be the exclusive designer of the Duchess of Taran.
“The first visit to the palace is a once-in-a-lifetime event! It ought to be special!”
No matter what one does, the first time was, of course, only once. Moreover, technically, it wasn’t Lucia’s first visit to the palace. Lucia lived as a princess in the palace until marriage. However, Lucia lost to Antoine’s passionate sophistry.
Early in the morning of the palace visit, Antoine was heavily armed like a soldier heading to battle.
“Since it is one’s first time meeting Her Highness the Queen, a refined and elegant style would be best. Because Duchess looks young, I will have to supplement that. It is elegant but it should express a freshness that is unlike a married Lady.”
Upon receiving inspiration, Antoine finally decided on a light violet dress adorned with tiny sparkling beads.
It gave the effect of a band fastened on the waist, emphasizing the slender waist and it spread abundantly below the waist, conservatively revealing the beautiful curves of the body.
The upper part clung to the shape of the body and the sleeves were made of see-through lace that ran from the shoulder to the under arm. Unlike fashion of late that revealed the cleavage, the neckline was just below the neck but it didn’t look trite or stifling.
Her hair was tied up in a bun, showing her slender and long neckline. Her reddish brown hair was pinned with a small white diamond pin. The finishing touch was Antoine’s magic-like make-up.
The reason Antoine was so popular among noblewomen was thanks to her exceptional make-up that was just as good as her skill with dresses.
Purple pearl was applied to her eyes and eyeliner was drawn on the corner of her eyes to make it rise slightly. Her white skin was emphasized and blush was applied on her cheeks to reveal her freshness.
The Lucia in the mirror gave off both elegance and vigor as Antoine had said.
‘How fascinating. Why doesn’t it work when I do it?’
Lucia did not consider herself a beauty. In her dream, she did not stand out at all, buried underneath gorgeous beauties. But, looking at herself in the mirror, Lucia thought:
‘It looks good. It looks…a little pretty.’
It wasn’t just because of the makeup or the dressing style. Lucia’s look had fundamentally changed.
The Lucia from the dream was passive and intimidated; rather than enjoying a ball, she was fed up with it.
The current Lucia was bright and confident. Her refreshing aura made her stand out.
__________________
LUCIA
C67 [part 2]
< — The Capital’s High Society[2]– > (3)
TN: Gong is a title. This chapter is a test in regards to a comment last chapter. I am checking if the conversational brackets are really needed for you to tell who is speaking.
The carriage heading to the palace was escorted by knight Dean. The carriage stopped at the palace gates. An outsider holding a sword could not enter the palace.
In front of the palace, a royal carriage was waiting to fetch Lucia. The carriage that brought Luciawas to go on stand-by and wait for their Madam to re-emerge. Lucia transferred carriages and went into the palace.
“Welcome, Duchess.”
“Thank you for the invitation, Your Royal Highness.”
Lucia felt strange upon seeing Beth receive her warmly. In the dream, Lucia was unable to have a proper conversation with Beth. She had greeted Beth together with the crowd but it was unlikely that Beth had remembered her.
To be at the side of the Queen, one had to be at a similar level or be brazen enough to cling to her openly. Both of these didn’t apply to Lucia who simply went around in circles.
‘Oh my…’
Beth could hardly believe the rumors surrounding the Duchess. She had seen many princesses of the late king and there wasn’t much likelihood that an incomparable beauty would arise from the royal bloodline.
Nevertheless, Princess Katherine ranked as a beauty but in the first place, Katherine’s mother was a stunner. When she was young, Beth’s late mother-in-law was famous as the most beautiful woman in the kingdom and as concubine of the late king, she received his favor the longest.
Compared to her mother-in-law’s beauty, Katherine’s was a little lacking. Moreover, the other princesses were not that beautiful. It wasn’t that the appearances of the late King’s concubines were bad but the princesses mostly took after their father. So Beth laughed off the rumor that the Duchess was a stunning beauty.
However, the Duchess in reality was considerably different from the princesses that Beth had seen. It was not the typical beauty that Beth was familiar with. There was a somewhat fascinating allure that caught the eyes and a charming freshness. The two visages didn’t suit each other at all but they were harmonious on the Duchess without any awkwardness.
The thought occurred to Beth that even though the Duchess wasn’t that short, because of her slender build, she would fit right into a man’s embrace. Although the Duchess wasn’t the beauty of the century like the rumors depicted, Beth couldn’t bring herself to laugh at the rumor and call it completely absurd.
While the meal was being prepared, the two of them sat across each other on the sofa and grasped each other’s personality through short conversation.
“I am glad to have you here. I have been wanting to meet Duchess.”
“I am also honored to meet Your Royal Highness.”
Lucia’s face flushed slightly when she thought that Beth must have heard that rumor.
“Duchess is very calm. When I was around Duchess’ age, I was trembling all over, unable to say a word.”
Beth was surprised that the Duchess was only nineteen years of age. The Beth back then enjoyed her status as an honored lady, chasing after parties senselessly.
After getting married, she was careful to behave befitting of her status as Crown Princess and she became mature after giving birth and raising a child, but when she was a young maiden, Beth was the regular, playful young lady.
“I am flattered.”
“And you are also of few words. You are just like your husband. Taran Gong is a man of few words as well.”
“I apologize. I am not good at speaking.”
“I am not blaming you. After seeing so many people with so much to say, it is truly relaxing.”
Rather than saying Lucia was invited to a prepared luncheon, a luncheon was prepared to invite Lucia. Lucia was the only guest. The atmosphere was good. The food was excellent and the conversation was adequately light.
“According to rumors of recent, Taran Gong bought an enormous amount of jewelry for his wife.”
In order to promote their goods, Sepia Jewelry publicized that the Duke of Taran was pleased and purchased large quantities of their merchandise. The adverting impact was so great that there was a rapid increase in Sepia Jewelry’s sales and it was said that the parties concerned were grinning from ear to ear.
“Rumors are normally exaggerated, Your Royal Highness.”
Lucia blushed in embarrassment.
“Nonetheless, baseless rumors do not make rounds. When will you invite me to your mansion? I would like to see the rumored jewels.”
“Your praise is overwhelming. I will gladly oblige, Your Royal Highness.”
‘Truly, a pure individual.’
Most of the people around Beth would only say words that were pleasant to hear and honey drooled from their lips. It was an inevitable thing when one was at the center of power. So, the pure atmosphere of the Duchess deeply appealed to her.
‘The scary Taran Gong has a wife like this beside him. Is the Duchess even able to have a proper conversation with Taran Gong? It can’t be that one trembles in fear before Taran Gong, right?’
Beth was little more curious about their private life.
‘Do they have a proper marital relationship?’
Could the Duke with his splendid track record be able to be satisfied with his pure wife?
“If you have the time, may I trouble you to see me often like this? At times, being cooped up in the palace is lonely.”
“If I am invited, I will visit anytime, Your Royal Highness.”
‘They’re really different…’
Beth was reminded of her sister-in-law, Katherine. Katherine was like a red rose that gave off very thick aroma. Beth had seen Kwiz troubled a few times because Katherine used the royal budget to buy dresses and jewelry.
[When I ascends the throne, I should cut off that brat’s spending. Or else, this circle will never end. If only I can marry her off quickly.]
Beth was skeptical of her husband’s pledge. Kwiz was very caring to his only blood sister. She was probably the only princess that was treated properly among the late king’s daughters and grew up without lacking anything. So, she was extremely prideful, hated to lose, and was selfish.
She wasn’t malicious but her personality was one that said was on her mind to feel relieved. Her words were rough without taking the other’s feelings into consideration so, Beth was been hurt quite a few times by Katherine’s words.
However, Katherine had gotten a little better as she grew older. When she was a child, she was an untouchable daredevil. Compared to Katherine, the Duchess was gentle and modest. She appeared to choose her words carefully every time she spoke.
[Taran Gong precisely declared that one shouldn’t think of meeting the Duchess as a sister.] (1)
This was what Kwiz told Beth when she informed him that she had invited the Duchess over for a meal. Whether it was the Duchess or her sister-in-law, it would be fine anyhow. It seemed they would be able to get along well.
Occasionally, Beth liked to invite close acquaintances to eat and talk. The person she invited most frequently was the Countess of Alvin.
‘I think the two of them would get along well…’
As she thought about it, she felt it was a pity. Although Beth did not know all the women involved with the Duke of Taran in the past, she knew that the Countess of Alvin was a past lover of the Duke. Since Sofia’s beauty stood out so much, there were many people paying attention to her and Beth heard of it while the noblewomen were gossiping.
‘It would be better for them not to meet if possible.’
Beth wondered how much the Duchess knew of the Duke’s past women.
“How about heading to the Rose Palace for some tea?”
Beth suggested.
“Lately, the flowers in Rose Palace are in full bloom. I heard that Duchess stayed there for a while. So one knows the beauty of the Rose Palace very well.”
“The flowers did not blossom during my stay hence one was unable to experience it. Thanks to Your Royal Highness today, one has obtained the chance to see it.”
“Oh my. Really? This is great then.”
The two of them rose up from their seats. Refreshments would be taken at the Rose Palace.
***
As always, the King and the Duke of Taran were busy discussing over a light topic after having their lunch. The Grand Chamberlain came in.
“Your Majesty. One would like to inform the Duke of Taran of a matter that one was asked to look into.”
Kwiz remembered seeing Hugo calling the Grand Chamberlain before they started their meal and saying something to him.
“You may speak.”
“Yes. After having lunch with Her Highness the Queen, the Duchess of Taran moved to the Rose Palace.”
“Ah. I did hear from the Queen that the Duchess would be visiting the palace today. Did you want to check if she is in the palace? How peculiar. She has certainly arrived.”
Hugo placed his teacup down and stood up from his seat.
“I will excuse myself for a moment.”
“To where?”
“I am going to see my wife since she is around and we happen to be in the same area.”
Since when did the huge expanse called the palace began to get described by narrow words such as ‘same area.’ While holding his teacup, Kwiz fell into deep thought, wondering what this was all about.
“I need an explanation. Is there something you urgently have to relay to the Duchess? If so, ordering the chamberlain should suffice.”
“There is nothing I have to relay by all means but even if I do, why would I order the chamberlain? A conversation should be done face-to-face.”
“…”
The Duke of Taran was certainly speaking in their native tongue but it sounded like a foreign language to Kwiz. Kwiz understood the outline of what was being said but he couldn’t understand the intention of the speaker.
‘Is he teaching me the definition of conversation?’, Kwiz thought.
Hugo didn’t want to delay any longer. There was a meeting in the afternoon. He only had time to see her for a short moment.
“I will come to the meeting on time.”
Hugo abruptly walked out and couldn’t be held back. Kwiz thought hard about it for a while then he questioned his aide.
“What do you think? If you don’t think about it complexly and simply interpret this situation?”
“…It seems to me that the Duke of Taran missed the Duchess and went to see her.”
“I mean, it also seems that way to me.”
Kwiz knew the situation but he couldn’t comprehend it at all. Why would the Duke miss the face that he saw every day at home? They have been married for more than a year now, reaching the peak of passion as a couple, moreover it was not a likely thing for the Duke of Taran.
Perhaps there was a deeper meaning and something profound to it. Kwiz fell into deep thought.
Translator’s Corner:
It doesn’t say Duchess in the raw but I had to give context.
*Reminder: Katherine is Kwiz’s sister.
*Just as a note, Beth’s title can be translated as Your Majesty or Your Highness but I wanted an obvious [English] distinction between Kwiz’s title and Beth’s. In Korean, they are very different but as always, English doesn’t keep that distinction.
*So, how was it without (speaker) brackets?
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