I Didn’t Know I Had Two Husbands - Chapter 59

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“…I, I apologize.”

Baron Silvaris came to his senses belatedly. At the thought that the duke might have opened and read the letters, cold sweat ran down his back. Most of the letters he had sent to Elaria had been demands for investment money or pressure to contribute to the family.

He wanted to leave this place as quickly as possible. He did not even have the composure to question the withdrawal of the investment anymore.

“Th-Then, please excuse me.”

Unlike his earlier confidence, the baron left in a pitiful manner, and the nobles who had been watching eagerly tore into him with their words. The reason they felt no hesitation in criticizing him, despite the fact that he was the duke’s father-in-law, was because the duke had openly drawn a line.

They had also realized that his affection ran deeper than expected, enough to personally manage the letters sent to his wife.

Or perhaps it went beyond affection… into obsession.

In any case, there was no need to deliberately offend someone who was practically the true power of the Karserion Empire.

Lucian leisurely sipped his champagne as he watched the entrance. He wished Elaria would return to his side soon. The banquet was far too dull to endure without her.

* * *

Having finally calmed down, she finished the remaining cold tea and stood up.

“I should go back now.”

“Yes, just a moment.”

Amanda quickly knelt and smoothed the wrinkled hem of the skirt, then adjusted her makeup and the hair she had pinned up.

“Thank you, Amanda.”

“It’s my duty, Madam.”

“You’re so skilled, you always help me.”

“…Thank you.”

Amanda clasped her calloused hands, unable to hide her happiness. Feeling rewarded for her hard work, she opened the door with a smile.

Elaria hurried to return before the emperor arrived at the banquet hall. She seemed to have taken longer than expected. The corridor had been full of people earlier, but now only a few palace attendants were moving about busily.

“I should hurry.”

“Even so, please be careful, Madam.”

“Yes.”

From the area where the powder room had been prepared to the banquet hall, one had to turn two corners. As she turned the first corner, someone shouted harshly, as if they had been waiting.

“Hey, Elaria.”

She recognized the owner of the voice immediately. She had grown up hearing it all her life. Elaria looked coldly at Elisa, who stood alone in the corridor as if she had been waiting for her.

“……”

“When your older sister calls you, you should answer.”

“……”

“Even after becoming a duchess, you’re still slow. I feel sorry for Lucian.”

The way she scolded her without warning was both familiar and exhausting. The moment she heard the name ‘Lucian’ come from Elisa’s mouth, Elaria’s eyes glinted harshly.

The jealousy she had been suppressing surged up again as if it were about to burst.

“So you do know that I’m a duchess?”

“…What?”

“I’m wondering what I should do about Baron Silvaris’s daughter who still wouldn’t even give a proper greeting.”

“…You’ve lost your mind!”

Elisa shouted sharply, her expression turning fierce. Her voice was so high it rang in the ears, and Elaria almost wondered if Elisa was the one who had lost her mind. It would have been improper even in another family’s residence, and this was the imperial palace.

“The one who’s lost her mind seems to be you, Baron’s daughter.”

“Wh-What…!”

Elisa was so flustered that she could not speak properly. The unfamiliar sight of her younger sister, who had never once talked back to her, filled her with irritation.

She looked around, then noticed a palace attendant watching from a distance and immediately began to tear up. Elaria realized at once what Elisa was trying to do.

“How can you be so cruel to your own sister? You weren’t like this before.”

Elisa’s voice carried down the corridor and reached the attendants’ ears. After glancing once at them as their interest focused more strongly in this direction, Elaria let out a sigh and replied.

“What was I like before?”

“You were kind, and…”

Perhaps she had not expected the question, because Elisa’s voice grew smaller. Elaria remembered the day Elisa had come to the residence and how Noctis had scolded her, making her firmly understand her place.

What he had impressed upon her was, ‘They are no longer your family.’

Noctis wanted her family to be only him. More precisely, he had emphasized that there were only Lucian and Noctis.

Once Elaria accepted that her parents and older sister were no longer her family, she felt relieved. There was no longer any need to endure such unfairness simply because they were ‘family’.