A lot of things have already happened so far. If she lowered her tail now and told the Duchess that she did something wrong, she might forgive her.

Still, Iellie’s words were not over yet.

“But.”

…But? What on earth was she trying to say?

As the Countess’s face was slightly distorted at the thought, Iellie smiled.

“From now on, people from the County Laurent will be prohibited from entering my salon.”

“Wh, what…?!”

The Countess raised her voice without realizing it. It was because Iellie’s words meant blocking the very path for Countess Laurent and her daughter to be incorporated into northern social circles.

She bit her lip.

‘No, even if I do, my daughter—!’

The Countess’ daughter was not yet married and did not have a fiancé. In order for her daughter to find a good marriage partner, she must maintain strong relationships with noble women. Usually, noble marriages took place in places like that.

“And you will have to pay compensation for this incident.”

“…Com, compensation?”

“Of course. Did you plan on wiping your mouth like this and moving on?”

However, Iellie spoke sternly. Light green eyes, with not a trace of warmth left in them, stared at the Countess.

“I set the amount at five hundred ledem.”

“Five, five hundred ledem… The amount is too much!”

“Well. Isn’t it a cheap price to pay in return for seemingly being treated with respect by the Duke’s maternal relatives?”

When she said that, the Countess had nothing to say.

Despite the fact that five hundred ledems was certainly a lot of money, it was definitely less than the courtesy of the Duke’s maternal relatives.

Nonetheless, it was five hundred ledems. That amount was difficult for most noble families to afford—even more so, taking into account that it was almost ten years’ worth of living expenses for a commoner’s family.

“And you should know very well that you’re in a position to stretch yourself like that.”

With the troubled Countess in front of her, Iellie calmly drew a line.

The Countess flinched.

“The reason Zachary and I are leaving the County as is was because we’re considering the previous Duchess’ face.”

At those words, the Countess stiffened her shoulders. Beautiful Adelaide. Even though she was already dead, she still influenced their lives. Her dead influence was stronger than that of the entire County Laurent, who was alive.

“If you pay that compensation and continue to show self-reflection…”

Iellie raised the corners of her mouth slantingly. It was a blatant ridicule. She persisted in a sonorous voice.

“…Well, I’ll let you attend the Duchy’s official events.”

“Du, Duchess…”

“You should be grateful to the former Duchess. I know full well how much the former Duke loved her.”

She cut off Countess Laurent. Sitting with her back straight, she speaks calmly.

“Also, since she is my husband’s mother, I’m just trying to maintain the minimum level of respect for the family she was in.”

“We…”

“I think you have to pay for your arrogant behavior so far, don’t you think so?”

There was absolutely no way to refute Iellie’s words.

The Countess dropped her head heavily.

* * *

That evening. As Iellie was held in her husband’s arms, she was in deep anguish over what she had done.

“Was I too harsh?”

“No, it was rather lenient treatment.”

He whispered, kissing her cheek briefly. The end of his voice was soaked with subtle anger.

“Actually, I wouldn’t have minded destroying the County, but…”

“No, it’s better to leave it like this.”

Still, as Iellie shook her head, she continued her words as she rested her head in her husband’s arms.

“It’s because if you root out the county… the Imperial Family will try to recruit other northern families.”

Zachary also agreed with that statement. Rather than seeing the Imperial Family try to interfere further in the North, it was better to keep County Laurent in check.

After a moment of hesitation, she added her words.

“Besides, anyway, this is the family your mother was born into.”

“….”

At those words, he was silent for a moment and gazed at her. After a while, he spoke in a subdued tone.

“Len, you are so kind.”

“You’re probably the only one who says that to me.”

Iellie smiled brightly. Instead of answering, Zachary hugged his precious wife tightly.

15. Duchy’s Summer

Summer was in full swing, and the greenery was lush. It was a time when people could enjoy rare hot temperatures even in the cool northern region when a piece of unwelcome news arrived in the North. It was news sent directly from the Emperor.

“What?”

Iellie, who was admiring the summer roses blooming gorgeously in the garden, glanced back at Zachary with a grim face.

“The Emperor is coming to the North?”

“…It said so.”

His expression wasn’t very good either. He strode over to her side and narrowed his eyes on her.

“I heard they are visiting the Hessenweitz territory while inspecting the entire North.”

“Why are they suddenly calling for an inspection of the northern part of the country? It’s out of the blue.”

As Iellie was disgusted when she heard those words, Zachary spoke to her in a clearly dissatisfied tone.

“Well, he said he was sorry for not being able to attend our wedding.”

“…What?”

She looked stunned. There was no telling how far the Emperor’s shamelessness goes.

“He congratulated the newly established Duke and Duchess and said they wanted to foster friendship with the North.”

Congratulating the Duke and Duchess and fostering friendship with the North… How could he even put those words on his lips?

“Something bad might have happened in the past, but he said we should settle it at this level…”

“No, not anybody else but the Emperor himself who said that?”

“That’s what it is.”

Saying so, a sneer crossed Zachary’s lips. He naturally stretched out his hand and hugged her shoulder.

“And he said he wanted to apologize to you, too.”

Seeing his wife pause for a moment, Zachary looked down at her as she did so before he asked cautiously.

“Has something happened between you and the Emperor?”

Red roses bloomed in groups inside the garden.

Iellie, looking at the rose, narrowed her brows as she thought of the bouquet of roses the Emperor had given her.

…A gorgeous bouquet of roses given by the Emperor instead of Asha flower branches.

“….”

She was silent. Even though he didn’t ask any more questions, the arms as he hugged Iellie grew tenser.

“It’s okay, Len.”

“…Zachary.”

“If you don’t want it, I will refuse the Emperor’s offer.”

He uttered that in a soft voice.

But…

She held her breath. The Emperor asked for reconciliation first, but she refused due to personal feelings.

She gazed at him for a moment and shook her head.

“No, I would like to accept the visit.”

“…Len.”

“Before I… come back to you.”

Her voice sank low.

After a moment of hesitation, she raised her head. Light green gaze staring at him. The color was like a bud, and his face, reflected inside, was trembling slightly.

“The Emperor once asked me to be his woman.”

“….”

After hearing those words, Zachary was silent for a moment. Iellie bit her lip.

Biting her lip, she tried to subdue her voice.

“Of course, I refused… Nevertheless, it was inevitable that the rumors would come out to the Capital.”

“Len.”

“…I hate the Emperor so much.”

She continued spitting out her words as Zachary stared at her in confusion. Her voice was somewhat rough.

“But… Rather, it would be better to meet the Emperor in order to get rid of the affair with him.”

Every time she thought of the Emperor, she got goosebumps all over her body. She hated the way he looked at her.

“If I act proudly when dealing with the Emperor, the scandal that has spread throughout the Capital will subside.”

She couldn’t just avoid it forever.

__