Duke, Please Stop Because it Hurts

“Oh, that shawl… Isn’t it too early to be wearing it in this kind of weather?”

“It’s fine since it looks quite light. That dress goes much better with that shawl than I’ve thought before. It even seems like a good cover for a dress.”

“That unique pattern… I’m pretty sure I know of it. Isn’t it the one from that recently most popular—Valleen Parlor? But then, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a shawl especially like that.”

Molitia eventually stopped her tracks, amidst all those buzzing people. She drew a soft smile around her mouth after looking through the list of people who had already arrived.

“Thank you all for being here today. I’d also like to especially thank the Marchioness of Nibeia for lending me a hand today.”

As soon as Molitia had winked at Nibeia, she gave Molitia a gentle bow.

“I’ve already prepared as much as I could in order for everyone to enjoy my very first tea party. I sincerely hope that all of you will have a good time before taking your leave later.”

The quiet atmosphere appeared to soften yet again soon after the host had ended her greetings. Molitia then settled down on her own prearranged seat.

Some of them had been waiting all this while for Molitia to arrive. And thus, they immediately fought for her attention right after.

“Congratulations, Duchess Linerio.”

“On what occasion might you be talking about?”

Molitia instantly wondered at the sudden news of a celebration.

“I heard that Arjan Clemence’s wedding has already been arranged. It has also reached my ears that her partner will be the heir of Marquis Werner.”

“Oh, really?”

When Molitia’s eyes were widened, albeit a little, Arjan quickly continued.

“I’m so sorry, sister. I just couldn’t inform you since it was decided all of a sudden. In fact, it had been going rather quickly to see if he truly fancied me.”

“Do you mean Ferdinand Werner, when it comes to Marquis Werner?”

“He is the only son—so, who else?”

Amidst the bustling crowd, Arjan peeked at Molitia with such gleaming eyes. She was said to have disguised herself with an innocent smile, but she just couldn’t get rid of the arrogance that was embedded deep inside of her. Still, Molitia drew her eyes away.

“I see. Congratulations.”

It wasn’t that she had no knowledge of it. When Arjan had sent a letter of consent, Raven eventually decided to give a little bit of help. This information was actually one of the things that she, herself, had asked him to do.

In the first place, the information of Marquis Werner, which she was frequently exposed to, had never been that secretive at all. As Count Clemence had often done, his flaunting personality made it possible to deduce with just a little bit more of digging.

It was then Arjan’s turn to be embarrassed by Molitia’s calm expression.

It was just a medley of facts that were obtained by her father. Although rumor had it that her husband was quite deplorable, she believed that it was just a bad joke during the time he was being immature. That was why she still pushed ahead with the marriage herself.

At one point, she had thought that she would lay a hold on Young Lady Barlow’s fiancé and live as a Marchioness. However, when her sister had become the Duchess, things changed immensely. She simply didn’t want to bow down to Molitia with such curtsy. In fact, she couldn’t find herself to admit that Molitia’s position was even higher than her own.

“The distance will get a little further, but we’ll surely be fine in the future, sister.”

Molitia smiled softly at Arjan’s words.

“I don’t really think it’s going to be that easy, though.”

Molitia’s firm words had silenced the whole table. Then, it was only natural that Arjan’s clear smile had eventually hardened.

“The lands of both the Duke of Linerio and Marquis Werner, are quite distant to one another. Therefore, if they were to interact frequently, all of the land’s work would eventually be neglected.”

Molitia then calmly continued her own words. In fact, the residence of Marquis Werner was located far within the continental border from the capital, close to the sea itself.

“We must carry out our duty as a hostess for the development of those two territories. So, please, do understand if I were to be a little bit negligent.”

“Oh—yes, of course.”