A black-haired woman stood with a smug expression in front of the office door.
“I came to see the Duke.”
When she said this, Randon, the butler of Duke Brant's house, sighed inwardly.
'Are you starting over?'
The woman's name is Cornelia Odile Brant.
She had a large family and was the mistress of this palace.
Of innocent and pitiful beauty,
But there was not a single person in the Duke's palace who loved her.
Contrary to her noble appearance, she did not have an extremely extreme condescension,
So she often abused not only the maids
But also for aristocratic women who came as guests, and she often followed her husband.
Even this was not enough,
She decorated herself lavishly and enjoyed luxury
As if she didn't care about the financial condition of the Duke's residence.
'Today too, I'm nervous...'
Rendon, who was examining the Duchess's clothes, rose up.
He widened his eyes with a surprised look on his face.
'Why does she dress so frugally?'
The Duchess's clothes he saw were always very bright.
Even inside the palace,
She wore expensive, puffy dresses with several layers and decorated her body with jewels and flowers.
It got to the point where many referred to the Duchess's outfit and mocked her as "a crow decorated with all kinds of feathers."
But now the Duchess was wearing a silk underdress with little decoration.
Besides, the only jewelry she was wearing was her wedding ring.
Uncharacteristically for her, it was very simple.
'What kind of wind is blowing?'
Randon was puzzled by the sudden change in the Duchess.
“Butler, why didn’t you tell the Duke? Have your ears been eaten?”
At that sarcasm, Randon came to his senses and laughed.
'That's right, this evil woman can't come to her senses.'
The purpose of coming into the room is also clear.
She must have come to see the Duke without a doubt.
“Excuse me, but there is a guest arriving shortly.”
“Guest? Who is he?”
“This...”
Then someone called the Duchess's name in a clear voice.
“Oh, Cornelia!”
The Duchess laughed after she recognized the person who suddenly called her name.
“It was you, Madeleine.”
Madeleine Arguin, only daughter of the Marquis of Arguin,
The Empress's younger brother, and Cornelia's cousin.
“So you're Eric's guest?”
He was Cornelia's uncle and Madeleine's mother, the Marchioness d'Argens.
Good friends frequented the mother-in-law of Cornelia, Brant's grande dame.
Her mother-in-law always said that Madeleine was dear to her;
She used to announce that she would make her her daughter-in-law in the social world previously.
But this did not happen, and in any case,
Mrs. Brant was looking for this sweet girl more than for her daughter-in-law, Cornelia.
It's not different today either.
“Yes, today the eldest lady called me and I went to the annex-”
“You must have been trying to see Eric as usual.”
Madeleine flinched at Cornelia's rudeness in cutting off her words so suddenly.
Then she laughed innocently.
“Kor, are you sad that Eric summoned me?”
“What's so sad? You and I aren't that close.”
“We are cousins, how can you say that? Isn’t it true?”
Madeleine, as always, came to Duchess Cornelia and tried to embrace her.
But at that moment –
“Sorry!”
Cornelia swatted her hand with a sharp look.
“Don't touch me carelessly.”
Madeline put on a dumbfounded expression,
But then she took Cornelia's hand, and tears welled up.
"Why are you so afraid? Have I done anything wrong?"
“Leave me.”
She tried to free her hand, but it was very difficult to get it out.
The moment Cornelia frowned, a low and loud voice broke the silence.
“There is a lot of noise in front of my office.”
The man walking gracefully on his long legs was fierce like an angry beast.
However, even he looked adorable due to his unique appearance,
Which was honed and aristocratic.
The man kept his eyes on the two women and called out to Randon.
“Randon, I thought I told you not to make a fuss.”
Cornelia smiled bitterly.
It seemed like he was talking to the butler, but in the end he was pointing at her.
He seemed to be saying, 'Did you have another accident today?'
“Are my words funny to you?”
The moment their eyes met,
Cornelia's legs collapsed involuntarily, but she forced herself to stand.
“Cornelia!”
The man who called her name anxiously tried to approach Cornelia.
At that time, someone put their arms around his arm and stopped him.
"Eric, don't be angry! Core didn't do anything wrong! She was surprised by me hugging her…"
Soon after, Eric saw Madeleine crying, and his face broke terribly.
Before he knew it, he turned into an elegant and friendly man as usual.
"It's not. Madeleine, go to the hall..."
At that moment, Cornelia stumbled and opened her mouth.
“I'm sorry. I fell because I didn't feel well...”
"Are you feeling unwell? Where?"
Then Cornelia stared at Eric and said,
“I'm pregnant.”
Word of Madeleine's pregnancy froze.
Her face turned white.
As if she heard something she shouldn't have heard.
"pregnant?"
At that time, Eric called out to Madeline.
“Madeleine, I want you to come back today.”
“I don't like this sir, we were supposed to talk about something important today!”
“If that’s the case, I will be visiting Marquis Arjen soon so...”
Then someone interrupted the conversation between the two,
“It seems like something important, so go, okay?”
Eric's brow furrowed disapprovingly at the sight of Cornelia crossing her arms and saying something annoying.
“No, our conversation together comes first.”
"Since when have you been giving me priority? I'm fine, let's talk. Haven't you always been like this?"
After these words, Cornelia entered her room.
Then Eric's face contorted to the extreme.
Madeleine spoke without warning.
“Kor is fine with this so-”
Although Eric was always courteous to noble ladies,
However, an annoyed voice appeared as if he was tired of his perfect behavior.
“Anna, bid farewell to the guest at once.”
He was talking to the maid who accompanied Madeleine to the office,
This was a clear expulsion order.
Madeleine's eyes narrowed.
“Okay I'll go”
Madeleine cried, turned her back, and went down the stairs.
Although the guest disappeared,
But Randon is still nervous.
The Duke was mostly on the generous side, and he was a perfectionist.
But it was clear that he would be upset with the out of control situation.
“I will take care of Mrs. Arjen, so I will make sure to keep Anna's mouth shut especially so that this does not fall into my mother's ears.”
Randon lowered his head when he heard the duke's harsh voice.
“Yes, Your Excellency.”
Eric went straight to Cornelia's room and frowned when he saw Cornelia, who was lying with a relaxed face.
Cornelia also resented her husband's attitude, which was so different from when he was dealing with anyone.
If that was the case, he would choose Madeleine in the future.
“Why did you come?”
Eric's face contorted as much as possible at Cornelia's question, and he sat down in front of Cornelia.
“Did you have to mention such a thing in the presence of Miss Argen?”
Cornelia tried to open her lips, then closed them.
‘Why? Are you uncomfortable with throwing away the girl you love because of me?'
“Look, Madeleine was here to talk about something important today.”
But he offended Cornelia again.
“Cornelia, if you're trying to get my attention with a lie...”
Of course, Cornelia often lied to get his attention.
It was because she knew that if she was sick or injured,
He will come to see her.
But there was a reason I couldn't lie about my pregnancy.
“Do you think it's possible to lie? You should have naturally thought about the implications of that night.”
He was such a straightforward man that she could tell what he was thinking the whole time, but it was difficult to make out his expression now.
If I had to compare it, it was like someone who had an unexpected accident.
“Of course because I slept with you...”
"Yes, it was just one night. When you drank too much on the anniversary of your father's death. Exactly six weeks ago."
Cornelia, who was still looking at that beautiful face, whose intentions were still unknown, smiled crookedly.
“From the reaction, it seems like you don't want a child from me.”
“Why do you think that? I just...”
That was before he finished speaking.. Cornelia put something on the table.
It was the wedding ring that Cornelia received from him.
“I'll give it back to you”
Cornelia said quietly to those who stared at her instead of responding.
“I will pay alimony without an ounce of remorse, so let's get a divorce.”
His face, which had been stiff the whole time, slowly contorted.
“Do you realize what you're talking about?”
Of course in the first place, this marriage took place under pressure from the imperial family.
However, it was natural for him to be angry with her because you were asking for a divorce so confidently.
But Cornelia, not intimidated, looked at her husband again.
“Yes I know”
The dark purple eyes were filled with murderous intent and hatred.
'I know very well that you will kill me and my child later.'