I Didn’t Know I Had Two Husbands - Chapter 24

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As things like this accumulated one by one, it seemed that the anxiety she felt from not fully understanding his sincerity was gradually easing. After a moment of thought, Elaria gave instructions to Amanda, who was waiting.

“Please have her guided to the drawing room on the first floor.”

“Yes, Madam.”

No matter how unreasonable Elisa could be, if she had come in person, it seemed she must have something urgent to say. Even though Elaria had been used and taken advantage of by her family since childhood, it was difficult for her to simply turn away her older sister.

Before leaving her room, Elaria stood before the full-length mirror and straightened her clothes. The dress, a blend of light brown and olive tones, had delicate details charming enough to feel wasted if worn only indoors.

Even when spending all her time within the ducal manor, she always maintained a proper appearance. After a brief check, she left the room. After giving instructions to another maid and returning, Amanda hurried to her side.

“I’ve told them to prepare refreshments right away. Is there a tea or dessert you would like to specify?”

“No, anything’s fine.”

“Yes, understood.”

When they arrived in front of the drawing room, Amanda opened the door. As she stepped inside, Elisa, whom she hadn’t seen in a long time, spoke immediately, her face full of displeasure.

“It’s hard to even see your face these days.”

“…Did you come all this way just to see my face?”

At Elaria’s response, Elisa snapped sharply, clearly irritated.

“What, aren’t you even curious how Mother, Father, and I have been?”

Before the exchange could escalate further, Amanda stepped forward and spoke in warning.

“Miss Silvaris, please show proper respect to the Duchess!”

It was a firm tone she had never used in front of Elaria before. Not only Amanda, but also the other maid who had been waiting in the drawing room after escorting Elisa looked at her with warning in her eyes.

Startled, Elisa bit her lip, then answered in a voice quieter than before.

“I only came to see my sister. Isn’t this a bit too formal?”

At home, nothing had ever failed to go her way, and Elisa couldn’t hide her displeasure. Even so, she kept glancing at Elaria, as if expecting that, just like always, Elaria would give in first.

At that moment, the head maid entered the drawing room, pushing a trolley. Since the door had been open the whole time, she seemed to have already heard the commotion.

“Your sister, you say.”

After handing the trolley to another maid, the head maid stood neatly beside Amanda and continued.

“Miss Silvaris, do you not know who this lady is?”

“…Elaria, did you bring all these people on purpose just to do this to me?”

Now at a disadvantage in numbers, Elisa quickly became teary as she spoke. If this had been at home, their parents would have rushed over and forced Elaria to apologize. It was a familiar situation.

Elaria let out a small sigh. Whenever Elisa found herself at a disadvantage, she always acted like the victim, leaving out her own faults.

It was a tactic she had endured since childhood, so it didn’t affect her much, but with even the head maid stepping in, she felt embarrassed in front of the household staff. After a brief hesitation, she spoke quietly.

“I’ll talk with her separately, so please step out.”

“…Understood.”

At her words, the head maid, Amanda, and the other maid bowed and began to leave. Elisa immediately looked triumphant and leaned back comfortably against the sofa.

At that moment, another voice cut in.

“That won’t do.”

“…Lucian?”

Startled by his sudden appearance, Elaria’s lips parted. He strode into the drawing room and looked down at her openly, his expression clearly displeased.

“You shouldn’t do that.”

“……”

Elaria couldn’t respond to his words. She didn’t understand what exactly he meant by that. And the sight of him openly frowning made her heart drop.

He was usually expressionless. She had always distinguished between cold Lucian and gentle Lucian by his expression. The one with more visible emotion was the gentle Lucian. The one with a calm face who only occasionally showed a faint smile was the cold Lucian.

Most of the time, he was the ‘cold Lucian’, but in the mornings he was usually in a better mood and always gentle, which made his current coldness feel even more unfamiliar.

Flustered, Elaria clasped her hands together as her lips moved without sound. He reached out and took one of her hands. Feeling the warmth and size of his hand eased her anxiety somewhat, and only then was she able to meet his eyes properly.

“…Can you explain what you mean more clearly?”

At her question, he gave a quiet smile. But the voice that came from between his lips was extremely cold.

“Elaria de Asiel, I can’t teach you any more plainly than this, can I?”

At the sudden use of her full name, Elaria felt as if the back of her head had been struck. She had been urging herself to properly carry out her duties as the Duchess.

But his words pointed out that she was forgetting something even more important than her duties, and her face flushed hot.