I’m Not the One Who Seduced the Grand Duke Chapter 27

“That’s strange. I thought you didn’t have any outside appointments today.”

“W-Why are you suddenly saying that?”

“Well, you’ve been checking the time over and over.”

As expected of Laura. Her instincts were frighteningly sharp.

“It’s not a date, is it……?”

“It is.”

“Ah, yes. I knew it wou…… What?!”

Ah.

Maybe I shouldn’t have told her.

I was bound to get caught when I left anyway, so I figured it would be better to just tell her honestly.

Laura’s eyes grew as big as fists.

But that lasted only a moment.

Soon, her face filled with confusion.

“Um…… I’m only asking just in case, but who is the person you’re meeting……?”

“Who else could it be? It’s obvious.”

When I implied that there was only one possible person, Laura breathed a sigh of relief.

Wait.

Surely she hadn’t thought I was meeting another man in this situation?

‘Things are already noisy enough because of the Young Master Valentine. If I were seen with another man, it would be like rekindling a fire that had only just died down.’

In that sense, today’s date might actually be a good thing.

‘Besides, I need to hear what actually happened.’

“Anyway, keep that in mind. I even moved up my afternoon schedule and finished everything early.”

“Oh, come on. You’re spending some quality time with your fiancé. Do you really think work is more important? You should postpone whatever’s left~”

Laura giggled like an overly excited middle-aged woman.

Well, well.

She was even more excited after finding out I was going on a date with Leon Obsidian.

“Then I should tell the chef that you’ll be having lunch outside…… Oh! Wait a minute! You’re not planning to go dressed like that, are you?”

At that, I glanced down at my clothes.

As always, I was wearing a simple dress.

It was an outdoor dress I usually wore when I had to go out for work.

The only potential problem was that the color was a little dull, and there were no elaborate decorations hanging all over it.

It was an extremely basic, simple design.

“No, this won’t do. Come with me! A date with His Grace the Grand Duke dressed like this? As the head maid, I cannot allow it!”

“No, but I’m perfectly fine with it, so why are you—”

“No! This is a matter of House Zaherette’s honor.”

What kind of honor was at stake over a single dress?

“The dresses you bought in bulk back then will finally come in handy!”

Oh, no.

One of the things that an outsider had done during the week I’d been unconscious was raiding an entire dress shop.

I hadn’t even been able to bring myself to look around the dressing room properly.

Ever since that day, I had kept the door firmly shut and refused to even glance inside.

“All right, Marquess. Today, you’re going to open that door with me!”

Wow.

I really didn’t want to take even a single step inside.

 

***

 

“Good heavens. So it was all a lie? How could they tell such an outrageous lie?! Then what the Marquess said about losing the ring was true after all?”

“Exactly! Apparently, someone found it and pawned it, and then Young Master Valentine bought it. And then he shamelessly committed fraud by claiming the Marquess had proposed to him!”

“Oh, my, my.”

Everyone gathered in the tea salon whispered with grave expressions.

Today’s topic was undoubtedly Young Master Valentine’s fraud.

“Wait, then what about Countess Oscar? Didn’t she show up at the charity party and say that they were supposed to become family, and that the Marquess had betrayed her brother?”

“That’s right. Doesn’t that mean the Countess was in on it, too?”

“Apparently, she’s being investigated for aiding and abetting the fraud as well……”

Of course.

As always, people’s attention shifted toward the more sensational target.

Young Master Valentine already had a bad reputation, so his downfall wasn’t nearly as interesting as the fall of Countess Oscar, who had been regarded as a model for noblewomen and the very embodiment of a proper lady.

People couldn’t believe that someone with such a respectable face could commit such a fraud.

The gossip spread rapidly.

“I heard the Countess had quite a complex about the Marquess. Revelations are already coming out.”

“I saw that, too. Apparently, back at the academy, Countess Oscar incited the other students to bully the Marquess. How could someone with that face do such a thing……?”

Before long, the rumors had traveled all the way back into the past, digging up old incidents.

‘And they have no idea the person involved is sitting right nearby.’

I took a sip of tea with a bitter feeling.

The seat was tucked away in a corner, so unless someone deliberately paid attention, it was difficult to see me from here.

Still, they should have at least noticed that someone was sitting here.

Perhaps it was because of my clothes.

No one seemed to have any idea that I was Erna.

‘Well, I do look different from usual.’

I let out a quiet groan and looked down at myself again.

Until I had stood up from my desk, I had been wearing a light and comfortable outfit.

But now, I looked exactly like a typical noble young lady going out for an afternoon of leisure.

For starters, I was no longer wearing my usual structured outdoor clothes.

Instead, I had on a voluminous white chemise dress and a wide-brimmed hat.

A large wave of lace running from my shoulders to my chest tickled my skin, while red ribbons were tied around my narrow waist and elbows.

Even the sleeves hung so loosely.

If I picked up a quill like this, I was certain I’d end up with ink stains all over them.

In short, it was an extremely impractical outfit.

And I was enduring it right now.

For the sake of meeting Leon Obsidian.

“I feel like I’m doing something pointless…….”

Sitting here dressed like this somehow made the whole situation feel ridiculous.

It was then, while I was wallowing in a little self-loathing—

Ding.

The clear sound of the doorbell rang out, and the entire shop immediately began to buzz.

I could tell who had arrived without even looking.

I took a deep breath.

And, just as expected—

“Gasp! I’m not hallucinating, am I? Isn’t that the Grand Duke?”

“Oh my goodness! It really is Grand Duke Bernstein. What could possibly bring His Grace here?”

“Ahhh. I don’t care anymore. I can’t believe I get to see him this close……!”

The guests in the salon began showering him with praise in hushed voices.

Some were even struggling to breathe, apparently overwhelmed to the point of shortness of breath.

But Leon paid no attention.

As though he were completely accustomed to people’s gazes, he strode inside and quickly looked around.

Then his gaze stopped exactly where I was sitting in the corner.

A bright smile immediately spread across his face.

Like a huge dog happily wagging its tail, he bounded straight toward me and came to a sudden stop in front of my table.

His lake-blue eyes even grew wider.

“Erna.”

“…….”

“Are you feeling sick?”

“I’m starting to get a headache, so sit down and don’t say anything unnecessary.”

And wipe that strangely amused smile off your face first.

 

***

 

“What’s the occasion today? Why did you have so much trouble?”

“Be quiet. It’s all Laura’s doing. The moment I told her I was going out to meet you, she suddenly got excited.”

Leon’s smile grew even brighter when I said she had acted as if she were the one going on a date.

Even without doing anything, the man’s face seemed to glow.

Add that refreshing smile to it, and he was even more dazzling.

What is it? He seems even happier than usual today.

“Is this your type?”

“No. Not exactly. But I’m happy knowing that you’re willingly enduring something this ‘uncomfortable’ because of me.”

So he was happy because I was suffering.

“But you don’t have to go this far next time. Frankly, I’d be happy even if you wore a frock coat or a poet shirt.”

He offered what was, in his own way, the model answer: clothes didn’t matter to him.

Good.

My slightly foul mood from wearing this uncomfortable outfit seemed to improve a little.

All right, then.

“Let’s get to the point.”

“You’re really going straight to business? You do know we’re on a date today, right?”

“I know. Look around. Everyone’s already making a fuss because of it.”

I gestured to the side, pointing out that the salon had become heated thanks to someone’s spectacular entrance.

And just as I said, at the sudden appearance of Leon Obsidian, hearts seemed to appear in the eyes of the ladies gathered around.

Some were even surprised to see me, whom they hadn’t realized was here.

‘Oh my, that’s Marquess Zaherette? I didn’t know.’

‘Me neither. But dressed like that, she’s actually quite…….’

I will politely decline the rest of that assessment.

Compared to the man sitting in front of me, any woman would look merely average anyway.

I lowered my voice and asked,

“How exactly did you get the ring back? Ah, I already read the article, so skip everything everyone already knows.”

The ring that had supposedly been proof of a proposal had actually been a lost item.

And it had been confirmed that the missing-item report had been filed with the city guard quite some time ago.

But there was one problem.

“But I never filed such a report.”

Yes.

That was exactly it.