I’m Not the One Who Seduced the Grand Duke Chapter 51

Roar’s upscale tea salon was located in the heart of the capital.

Thanks to the pale pink marble floors and the glass-enclosed windows, soft sunlight streamed inside, bringing to mind a reception room on a spring day.

The fragrant scent of tea and the soft sound of a piano filled the space, occasionally accompanied by the laughter of nobles at each table.

Satisfied with the peaceful atmosphere, I looked at Isabelle sitting across from me.

“What? You two had a fight?”

“It wasn’t exactly a fight. More like a minor clash, I suppose.”

“A clash with the Grand Duke…….”

Isabelle stared at me in disbelief.

There was even a hint of admiration in those watery eyes.

How funny. She was admiring me for saying I had fought with him.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I was just so surprised. If it were me, I really couldn’t even imagine doing something like that.”

Isabelle’s face turned pale as though merely imagining it frightened her.

“But why did you fight?”

“I asked Leon a pointless question.”

“A pointless question?”

“Yes. It was something personal, so it’s a little awkward to explain in detail…… I asked if Isabelle was Leon’s first love.”

Just to make it clear, I hurriedly added that I had only asked out of pure curiosity and had no ulterior motive.

But then……

“……”

Huh? What was with the silence?

Wondering if I had somehow hit the nail on the head, I cautiously raised my head.

There was Isabelle, frozen in shock.

She seemed to have completely forgotten her dignity as a young lady of a ducal house. She still had tea in her mouth and looked utterly horrified, unable even to swallow it.

In that instant, I realized.

‘I messed up.’

“Absolutely not! Absolutely not!”

“Ah, I understand. I understand, so please calm down first……”

“It’s true. Leon—no, the Grand Duke of Bernstein being my first love? That is absolutely ridiculous!”

Goodness. I never knew Isabelle could raise her voice this loudly. How surprising.

Usually, she spoke in such a soft, gentle voice that it was almost as though she were mumbling to herself.

‘She must really mean it.’

At this point, it seemed she genuinely hated even being associated with the rumor.

Sip.

I took a quiet sip of tea and reflected on my mistake.

“I’m sorry. I misunderstood.”

“No, it’s okay. And…… I understand.”

Isabelle gave me an awkward smile.

“I actually know. I know there are quite a few bad rumors going around about me. But none of them are true…….”

“I think so, too.”

When I nodded, Isabelle raised her head and quietly looked at me.

There was a faint glimmer of expectation in her blue eyes.

I smiled warmly.

“To be honest, I had heard some rather unpleasant rumors about you, too. When I first heard them, I wondered if they might actually be true.”

Yes. I had thought so.

“But after meeting you in person, I started to think that perhaps all those rumors could have been lies.”

“……”

“So I believe you, Isabelle.”

I apologized for misunderstanding her and for doubting the rumors, even if only for a brief moment.

Isabelle blinked her large eyes in surprise, then frantically waved both hands.

She insisted that it was understandable, that I had every reason to misunderstand, that she understood, and so on.

Her cheeks had turned slightly red with excitement, and somehow, it was so adorable that I let out a small laugh.

If I had a younger sister, I wonder if this is what it would feel like.

Just as that thought made my sense of closeness with her skyrocket—

“Oh my, who do we have here?”

Ah.

Greetings like that, coming at exactly this kind of moment, had a high probability of being trouble.

I raised my head.

And sure enough.

A group of women in colorful, extravagant dresses came scurrying toward us.

“Isabelle, it’s been a while. How have you been?”

“Ah…… yes.”

Isabelle stared at the woman with a slightly dazed expression.

I, too, quietly looked at the woman standing at the front of the group of dresses.

‘Bianca Lowell? Why is she here when she’s supposed to be in another country?’

The only daughter of Duke Blanche, and a woman who had married the second prince of the Roman Kingdom.

Just like Isabelle, I had never met Bianca before.

Even so, there was a simple reason I knew who she was.

‘Her latest news used to show up in the newspapers whenever you almost forgot about her.’

A certain newspaper company regularly inserted articles about her activities and recent news.

Judging solely from those articles, one might think she played some important role as a bridge connecting the Roman Kingdom and the Orden Empire.

In reality, she was simply using a small newspaper owned by House Blanche to stubbornly maintain her standing within the Empire.

I had wondered why she was so reluctant to let go of the Empire despite no longer being an Imperial citizen……

‘After hearing what Isabelle said, I think I understand now.’

More importantly, why was she here when she was supposed to be in the neighboring kingdom?

I looked at Isabelle questioningly, but she shook her head.

As expected, Isabelle didn’t know either.

We were silently exchanging questions in that peculiar sort of social tension unique to high society when—

“You’re Marquess Zaherette, aren’t you? It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’ve always wanted to introduce myself properly. How fortunate.”

“Huh?”

“Would you mind if we joined you?”

She hadn’t even waited for permission.

Bianca smiled sweetly and spoke in a gentle voice before gracefully sitting down beside me.

Then, as though they were her followers, the other young ladies and several noblewomen who had come with her also took seats wherever they could find them.

As a result, Isabelle and I ended up surrounded by several uninvited guests.

‘Hmm. Something about this makes me uneasy…….’

“I’ve always thought it was such a shame that we never had a chance to properly introduce ourselves. If you had been part of high society rather than the academy, Marquess, I think we could have become the best of friends.”

“With me?”

“Yes. You, a young lady of a ducal house, and you, the former young lady of a marquessate. It’s an obvious match, isn’t it? Friends need to be of similar standing and on the same level for conversation to flow.”

Bianca covered her mouth with a fan as she laughed softly, then smiled sweetly with her eyes.

And in that instant, I saw it.

Her gaze briefly shifted toward Isabelle before returning to me.

The other uninvited guests were doing the same.

They giggled openly and gave Isabelle pointed looks, yet deliberately avoided making proper eye contact with her.

Some of them even turned their backs completely toward her.

Perfect isolation.

Ignoring and ostracizing her.

‘Now that I put both pieces of information together, I can finally see what’s going on.’

My grip tightened around the teacup in my hand.

“Come to think of it, Lady Bianca, I heard you’re currently staying in the Roman Kingdom. What brings you to Orden?”

“I missed my family, so I came to see them. Hehe. My husband absolutely dotes on me. He grants almost anything I ask for.”

Bianca spoke boastfully, saying that thanks to that, even after marrying into another country, she could freely travel back and forth to her family home.

“And soon, there will be the engagement celebration for His Grace and the Marquess, won’t there? I’m planning to attend that as well while I’m here.”

Bianca said she genuinely wanted to bless the two of us and our future together.

She really did look like an angel.

Not only was her doll-like appearance striking, but she also wore such a pure smile.

If this had been the first impression I had of her, I might have fallen for her words completely……

“But you must be quite worried. I heard Isabelle is in charge of hosting the engagement celebration? Bell, do you really think you can handle it all by yourself?”

Her face, which had been smiling just moments ago, seemed to twist strangely, and a coquettish voice covered it.

On the surface, it sounded like concern.

But if you looked just a little closer, there was blatant contempt underneath.

“Ah, I……”

“That’s right, Duchess’s daughter. No matter how much you are His Majesty’s fiancée, I do wonder whether you’ll be able to host such a large event. Are you really going to be all right?”

As Isabelle tried to respond, her followers quickly added their own words.

Isabelle pressed her lips tightly together and lowered her head.

Dark smiles spread across Bianca and her followers’ faces.

“Ahh, it would be so reassuring if only Lady Bianca were here for something like this.”

“Exactly. Lady Bianca has been receiving thorough Empress training since she was a child, after all.”

“I heard she’s doing an excellent job as the second prince’s wife in the Roman Kingdom, too. Her Majesty the Queen must feel very reassured.”

“Compared to that, our Roselyn is really…….”

Several noblewomen sighed deeply as they muttered that Roselyn’s future looked terribly bleak.

‘Wow. This is really serious.’

I had expected there to be a reason Isabelle was being ostracized, but seeing it firsthand was something else entirely.

They were jealous of the woman who would eventually become Empress, and were already taking jabs at her while she was still only a fiancée.

Suddenly, I understood very well why Isabelle had been unable to fit into high society in the capital and had instead retreated to her territory all this time.

Ah.

I really didn’t like this.