I’m Not the One Who Seduced the Grand Duke Chapter 18

“I sent an invitation because I wanted to invite her to our garden party this time, but I haven’t heard back for days.”

“What did you expect? The Marquess of Zaherette has always been like that. I even sent her an invitation because I was thinking of hosting a little banquet myself, but she hasn’t budged an inch.”

“It’s concerning. If the rumors are true, she’s going to become the Grand Duchess, yet she looks down on high society like this……. Tsk, tsk. She’s only serious about making money.”

The ladies spoke with concerned expressions, claiming they were worried.

Doresa suppressed a laugh.

‘You should be worrying about the people who actually need to worry about.’

They were all mistaken right now. Every single one of them was whining about how the Marquess had ignored them by refusing their invitations, but……

‘It isn’t even proper etiquette to invite a Marquess who holds a title in her own right to gatherings like theirs, rather than a married marchioness.’

The same applied to herself.

Strictly speaking, Doresa Evrel, a Viscount in her own right, had no business being included in this gathering either.

But no one here had noticed that.

That was how genuinely they looked down on the other person.

‘To them, a woman who inherits a title and handles her family’s affairs is still no different from them, no matter what.’

They were truly people she found impossible to like.

“Why on earth did His Grace fall for such a boring woman?”

“Maybe that rumor really is true. You know, the rumor that the Marquess deliberately seduced His Grace for the sake of her business.”

“Ah, you mean the story that she got pregnant with the Grand Duke’s child and threatened him into taking responsibility? My goodness, was that actually true? I heard it too.”

“You mean the article published in ? Was it that reporter, Reka Valexi? It’s best to believe only half of what that person writes. She says so many outrageous things.”

“Still! There’s no smoke without fire, you know? There must be something to it for a rumor like that to spread.”

“Exactly, exactly.”

The noblewomen responded sharply to Doresa’s sensible attempt to urge them to be more restrained.

As if telling her not to spoil the mood.

Doresa smiled awkwardly and changed the subject.

“Oh, right. Come to think of it, I’m planning to rent a venue and hold a party this weekend. It’ll be a simple tea gathering, and I’m also planning to include a small charity event, so I thought I’d keep it modest……”

“Oh my, I’m sorry. I already have plans for that day.”

“Me too. As it happens, I’ve been invited to another tea time on the same day. Ho ho.”

The ladies refused all at once, as though they had rehearsed their responses together.

‘Of course.’

What could she possibly expect from these people?

Doresa gave a bitter smile and was just about to fade back into the background when—

“Excuse me. It seems to be something urgent……”

Doresa’s secretary entered the lounge.

At the secretary’s appearance, all the ladies visibly looked displeased. As though they were offended that a working person had entered the space where they came to relax.

But that feeling did not last long.

“What is it?”

“We’ve received a reply from House Zaherette.”

“What?”

“Oh my, did you just say Zaherette? The Marquess of Zaherette?!”

At the familiar name, the noblewomen who had been glaring at the secretary suddenly became excited.

“Read it quickly, Viscount.”

“That’s right. Hurry!”

Doresa, caught off guard, opened the letter and read it.

“What did the Marquess say?”

“Well, she says she’ll be attending the party being held this week……”

“Oh my, Viscount. You knew the Marquess of Zaherette? Why would someone who has never accepted any invitation before agree to yours?”

“It’s not as though we’re particularly close. It’s just that the Marquess approached me previously regarding a business matter……”

“Then you should have told us! Maybe it’s because we’re both working women, but I suppose you two have some sort of understanding.”

“Exactly. Ho ho.”

The noblewomen all looked at Doresa with flushed, excited faces. Unlike before, their eyes were filled with affection.

“So it’s this weekend, then? I hope the weather is nice.”

“Didn’t you say you already had plans that day?”

“Now that I think about it, I believe I can make some time after all. It’s a charity event, right? I can’t possibly miss out on a good cause.”

“Me too. Good deeds are best done together.”

The noblewomen suddenly acted as though they were close friends, speaking sweetly to her.

Their obvious desire to be invited as well made Doresa let out a hollow laugh. Their intentions were practically transparent.

‘Well, I suppose it’s only natural.’

The Marquess, rumored to be the future Grand Duchess, had been avoiding contact with people and keeping herself shut away.

And now, she was finally going to appear in public.

‘And not only did she refuse the invitations from all those other ladies, she accepted mine.’

Doresa’s gaze swept around the excited noblewomen, their shoulders practically bouncing with anticipation.

Soon, the corners of her lips twitched.

‘This might actually be fun.’

 

***

 

‘I really can’t get used to this.’

If there were a few things I disliked in this world, parties were definitely one of them.

From extravagant balls to little tea parties like this one.

To be precise, I didn’t dislike drinking tea. I simply disliked social events where everyone sat around like this, engaging in meaningless psychological warfare.

‘Still, I make a living selling tea leaves, so I can’t skip every single one. There’s nowhere more sensitive to the latest trends than high-society tables.’

That was why, even though I disliked them, I made a point of attending gatherings like this a couple of times a year.

It wasn’t simply because nobles were my main customers.

Noble culture was, by its very nature, something commoners admired.

Luxury goods and jewelry with hefty price tags were difficult to imitate, but things like eating habits could easily be copied.

Yes. So what I’m trying to say is—

‘Think of this as work and endure it. Erna Zaherette. You’re working right now.’

Having reached that conclusion, I quickly composed my expression and lifted my teacup.

I could feel everyone’s eyes following my every movement.

Looks that seemed to be evaluating me. Looks brimming with curiosity. And even looks filled with jealousy and envy……

This was driving me crazy.

“So, Marquess?”

“…….”

“May I ask what exactly your relationship with His Grace is?”

A young lady sitting at the very end of the long table asked in a bold voice.

I paused at her question and set my teacup back down.

‘Sigh.’

‘Why is there always someone like that who has absolutely no sense of tact wherever I go?’

No, more importantly……

‘Why are there so many people here? I’m pretty sure they said this was supposed to be a small charity event.’

I frowned slightly and looked around at the hundreds of eyes fixed on me.

‘Some “small event.” I should have known something was up when the venue was changed.’

The event, which had originally been scheduled to be hosted somewhere else, had been moved just a few days ago to the rooftop sky garden of .

They called it a tea party, but the gathering was so large that it wouldn’t have been an exaggeration to say that nearly every noblewoman and young lady in the capital had gathered here.

“I’m sorry. Perhaps word spread that the Marquess would be attending our event, and everyone went wild wanting to attend……”

The host of today’s gathering, Viscount Doresa Evrel, spoke with an apologetic expression.

‘I can clearly see the corners of your lips twitching.’

According to the rumors I had overheard, Viscount had cited the “limit on the number of people who could be invited” and prioritized sending invitations to those who had purchased annual memberships at the hotel.

As a result, the noblewomen had apparently had no choice but to purchase annual memberships just to receive an invitation.

“Viscount Evrel is just as much of a businesswoman as the Marquess. She’ll definitely try to take advantage of this situation. And you’re really going?”

Laura’s worried words from the moment I left the estate had been completely accurate.

And I had thought the same thing.

‘Maybe she and I will get along better than I expected.’

There was about a ten-year age gap between us, but considering our circumstances and positions, I thought she could become a fairly useful ally.

In fact, the exclusive tea contract mentioned in the letter had also been concluded smoothly before the party, so I had already gained something from coming.

Now, back to the main point.

“Marquess? Why aren’t you saying anything? I asked what exactly your relationship with His Grace is.”

“That’s right. Are all those rumors true? How on earth did you seduce His Grace?”

The young ladies sitting at the end of the table pressed me for an answer.

“Oh my, Young Lady. Seduce? You shouldn’t use such an improper and vulgar expression. She is the Marquess, after all.”

Right.

At least she knew that I was a Marquess.

However, the young lady who had been reprimanded merely glanced at me, only four or five years younger than I was, and behaved defiantly as though it had nothing to do with her.

The woman who had corrected her was also smiling sweetly, seemingly enjoying the situation.

“Ugh, she seduced a priest.”

The young lady, her eyes reddening, spat out the words in a resentful voice.

She had omitted quite a lot, seemingly in an attempt to preserve some semblance of decorum, but I could still tell.

What she had really wanted to say was, ‘How could she seduce a priest so vulgarly?’

“Of course, you’ll become the public enemy of the ladies of Orden. In other words, the enemy of all women.”

Ah.

So this was what Laura had meant back then.