Chapter 264 (2/2)

Was it because I was dumbfounded? I couldn’t be upset with the duke even when I saw him mentioning ‘vulgar blood.’ Distant relative? Who is his relative? Of course, as he is my grandmother’s brother, it’s true that he is my distant relative. But I didn’t want to be entangled with the duke by kinship at all. It was terrible for me to imagine it.

I was so embarrassed that I forgot what Marquis Mirwa just told me. What did he say to me a moment ago? Is the emperor looking for me?

“… Did you say the emperor was looking for me now?”

“Yes, that’s right. So, please hurry up. You should not keep him waiting for you too long.”

Really? He had no reason to look for me. He stayed cold to me after I parted with him in an awkward situation the other day.

When I tilted my head, Marquis Mirwa winked at me with a smile.

What the heck is this? Did he lie to me?

I made a hollow smile. How could he dare to use the emperor to diffuse the tense atmosphere surrounding me and the duke?

I didn’t feel so good because I thought I played into his hand, but as I thought I didn’t need to get any more attention, I slipped out of the place, with my head down.

‘But why is Duke Jena acting like that all of a sudden?’

As I passed among the people who looked at me, I suddenly suspected him. Was he careless enough to show his domestic quarrel to outsiders? I didn’t think he was. Of course, he and I had a quarrel at the conference meetings a couple of times, but when the foreign princesses were invited, he refrained from getting angry with me or arguing with me.

“By the way, don’t you think Duke Jena is acting strangely these days? He looks impatient and even nervous.”

“You bet. He seems to be upset more often…”

Really? Why was he often angry and nervous these days? Was it because of that?

A few days ago, my father brought me “it” which I asked for the other day, namely the duke’s seal engraved with a sword, a shield, and a rose. My father made an awkward expression when I praised the amazing skills of the blessed criminal who stole the seal from the duke’s house. My father didn’t say anything after handing over the seal to me silently.

Had the blessed criminal been caught? Or did Duke Jena notice that we took it?

No matter how hard I thought, I couldn’t find any other reason than that when the duke was so nervous. In fact, he succeeded in pushing me out, a good riddance, through the decision of the nobles’ council. Besides, he got popular support thanks to Jiun’s display as the sacred woman in the afternoon. In this situation, he had no reason to be impatient and nervous. Nonetheless, he was on pins and needles for some reason.

I clicked my tongue. I was not sure if he smelled a rat, but I felt I had to hurry up.

‘Well, let me take care of it later. Now, let me focus on the banquet first.’

Shaking my head out of the complicated thoughts in my mind, I headed to the lounge.

When I tried to step inside, I heard a man removing a curtain quickly and disappearing somewhere without even apologizing to me. Actually he was the prince of a foreign kingdom who came to the banquet, whose whereabouts I was curious about. Given his status as a foreign prince, he was very rude.

‘Oh, what the heck? Why are they all rude like this?’

The moment I removed the curtain in annoyance, I smelled something wet, smelly and fishy.

“What kind of smell is this…”

I was astonished by the scene before me.

A woman fell down, holding her belly in distress. She was none other than Beatrice moaning there, with her dress stained with blood.

“Oh my God! Is anybody there? Help!”

I heard somebody screaming from behind.

My head was muddled as if I was hit by something, but I instinctively turned and lowered the curtain. When I looked around, hiding my trembling hands under my skirt, I saw the blonde man standing among people.

“Marquis Enesil!”

“Yes, Lady Monique. How can I help you?”

“Please let them walk off to another place, first.”

“Sure.”