I’m Not the One Who Seduced the Grand Duke – Chapter 19

Author: isuzuuy

‘Still, this is a little too blatant.’

Dozens of eyes around the table were all fixed on me.

And not exactly kindly, either. Every single one of them was glaring at me.

I smiled as naturally as I could, pretending I wasn’t bothered, pretending I wasn’t shaken, and opened my mouth.

“If by the ‘rumors’ you mean the rumors concerning my relationship with His Grace……”

“…….”

“Yes, some of them are true.”

I admitted it without resistance.

The women surrounding the table immediately erupted into an uproar.

To be honest, I had already prepared myself for this.

‘If I deny everything here and now, they’ll only get more worked up for no reason. Better to acknowledge only what’s already public knowledge.’

Besides, it wasn’t even a lie.

“Wait a moment. You admit that ‘some’ of them are true? What does that mean? Please be more specific.”

“I’ve seen a few rather excessive newsletters going around. Apparently, I’m already carrying a child and whatnot. Haha. Of course, I’m sure no one here actually believes such ridiculous rumors.”

I laughed as though it would be absurdly foolish to believe such rumors, and several noblewomen and young ladies gave awkward smiles.

“Then your relationship with His Grace is true?”

“That’s right. I don’t know how this matter became so exaggerated, but it isn’t false.”

I answered confidently.

The women sitting around the table exchanged silent glances.

Confusion appeared on their faces.

As though they hadn’t expected me to admit it so readily.

‘Sorry, but this was all within my calculations.’

Hoo.

I quietly swallowed a small sigh and observed the atmosphere.

I had already laid the groundwork, after all.

“It’s rather bewildering. We were simply continuing to see each other quietly. Just like any ordinary couple.”

There was nothing wrong with privately gossiping among themselves about who was seeing whom.

But openly talking about it when we weren’t even engaged yet was poor etiquette.

They could easily be branded as loose-lipped fools.

At my pointed remark, the noblewomen who had been encouraging the young ladies until just moments ago cleared their throats and lowered their gazes.

As though they had realized they had been a little too obvious about their curiosity.

But then—

“It makes no sense. But the Marquess and His Grace…… You had absolutely no connection whatsoever. So how could this suddenly…… How could things have suddenly turned out like this……!”

Right.

The problem wasn’t the noblewomen.

It was the young ladies who charged ahead without thinking things through.

“As for our connection, His Grace and I were senior and junior students at the academy. We were both scholarship students, so we had opportunities to meet from time to time.”

“The academy?”

“Yes.”

The young ladies looked flustered at the revelation that the academy had been where we met.

Because the academy was a closed institution where students of all grades lived in dormitories, outsiders had no way of knowing what happened there.

Furthermore, although the academies of the Orden Empire were coeducational, noble young ladies generally weren’t sent there unless necessary.

Even among women my age, I could count on one hand the number who had graduated from the academy.

Just as expected.

When unfamiliar information came up, one by one, the young ladies fell silent.

“Th-Then that means you knew His Grace even before he became a priest?”

“That’s right. And, for your information, His Majesty the Emperor was also enrolled there, two years above me. He remembered me as well.”

What could they possibly say after I mentioned that the Emperor remembered me?

About half of the remaining young ladies fell silent again.

Now, the next situation I expected was……

“Even so. No matter what kind of connection you had, I don’t think seducing a priest is quite right.”

There it was.

The part of this conversation that put me at the greatest disadvantage.

‘The fact that I seduced a priest.’

Clink.

I set down the teacup I had briefly lifted and gave an awkward smile.

“As for that……”

“…….”

“To be honest, I don’t really have anything to say.”

When I fell silent for a moment, the excited young ladies gained momentum.

“I believe that a respectable lady of high society should never do such a thing. Do you even realize how disgraceful an act you’ve committed?”

“That’s right. Because of the Marquess, we could even end up suffering some consequences……”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t agree with that opinion. As you all know, I’m not a lady of high society. You and I cannot be considered the same, so please rest assured.”

“……What?”

At my words, the people who had been silently watching the situation froze.

Their faces seemed to say:

‘Huh? Now that you mention it, she has a point.’

Seeing that, I smiled faintly to myself.

Everyone here was making a certain mistake.

If I had been an ordinary ‘young lady of a marquess,’ then regardless of whether the rumors were true, simply becoming the subject of gossip over such a disgraceful incident before marriage would have had a major impact on my prospects.

But my position was ‘Marquess.’

To put it bluntly, even if I really had seduced the Grand Duke on purpose and deliberately caused him to lose his priestly position, I might receive some criticism, but that didn’t mean my value would decrease.

My value wasn’t in presenting myself on the marriage market.

It was in the Zaherette estate that was already in my hands.

Fortunately, some of them seemed to have finally recognized that difference and were beginning to back off.

“How shameless!”

Of course, not all of them.

“I can’t stand this any longer. I kept quiet out of courtesy and for the sake of the Marquess’s honor, but there are some things that simply must be said!”

The young lady who had volunteered to take the lead slammed her hands against the table and shot to her feet, snapping at me sharply.

“You used underhanded means to ruin one person’s life! His Grace is…… His Grace is such a kind man. He must have fallen victim to your schemes! And after committing such a terrible act, how can you sit there and act so shamelessly……!”

The young lady trembled as she glared at me.

Anyone listening would think I had deliberately set out to destroy Leon’s life and was some utterly despicable villain.

And what was that about him being kind?

‘He didn’t exactly seem that way to me.’

I suddenly remembered what had happened when I was summoned by His Majesty the Emperor.

Back then, Leon had openly defied the Emperor with an absolutely terrifying expression.

He wasn’t simply patient.

He could get angry like anyone else.

……And threaten people.

And then enjoy watching the other person’s reaction……

‘Wait. Now that I think about it, he actually seems pretty terrible.’

One thing was certain: he wasn’t simply the benevolent, angelic figure they were making him out to be.

“His Grace is such an upright and responsible person by nature!”

Wow.

She was still going on.

“Whenever I think of His Grace being manipulated by someone like you, I suffer such terrible pain in my heart that I’ve been losing sleep at night……”

Yeah.

I couldn’t listen to this anymore.

“The Young Lady’s words are rather strange.”

“What did you say?”

“Do you really think His Grace is that foolish a man? Foolish enough to be manipulated by someone like me, who is blinded by ambition?”

“When did I ever say that?! You’re twisting my words simply because you have nothing else to say!”

“That’s exactly what you’re saying. That His Grace is being deceived by me. That he is some poor, pitiful man.”

“Ugh……!”

At my reminder that those were the very words she had just spoken, the young lady bit her lip.

“My goodness. Haa……”

At last, silence descended.

I deliberately let out a long breath, making my displeasure obvious.

The people who had been watching the scene in bated silence all froze at once.

“I wasn’t going to say this, but I suppose I have no choice. Young Lady, you’re making a very serious mistake.”

“A mistake? What do you mean?!”

“Even if I am around the same age as you, wearing a dress, and sitting here with you right now……”

“…….”

“You and I are not in the same position at all.”

There was a difference between us.

The moment I made that distinction clear, the noblewomen immediately reacted.

It was something they all knew in their heads but had deliberately avoided acknowledging.

“Things are not always what they appear to be. Do you understand what I mean, Young Lady?”

“What does that even mean……! Ah, Mother!”

The young lady, apparently still unable to read the atmosphere, was about to argue boldly when the noblewoman sitting beside her hurriedly stopped her.

“I apologize, Your Excellency. My daughter isn’t accustomed to gatherings like this yet, so she……”

“It’s all right.”

I relaxed my expression and smiled sweetly.

“If anything, I’m still rather awkward at gatherings like this myself. As everyone knows, I’m much less experienced in high society than all of you.”

“…….”

“Haha. I only know how to calculate money and plan businesses. I’m really not accustomed to gatherings like this. It’s quite a problem.”

“E-Eh…… Why would you put it that way……. Haha.”

I could see it.

I could see everything.

The awkwardly raised corners of their lips.

The foreheads were covered in cold sweat.

You thought I was an easy target, didn’t you?