Lady Felice’s Secret Class - Chapter 63

Bathed in warm midday sunlight, Queen Nelleys stood before her dressing room mirror. She glanced over her gown, gave a half-hearted nod, and dismissed her maids and attendants.

“Vanessa.”

Only one person remained: Duchess Vanessa, seated gracefully on a damask-patterned sofa, with a gentle smile.

“Yes, Your Majesty?”

Duchess Vanessa set down her teacup and met the Queen’s gaze as she was called.

“I’m worried. Do you really think this will help?”

Nelleys looked more at ease with the servants gone, but the concern she voiced had been weighing on her mind, and a shadow quickly crossed her face.

“Do you really think simply assigning someone to Claude will make him open up?”

With a frown, Nelleys paced restlessly from the mirror to the sofa.

“I think it was a good decision. She has a strangely comforting presence. Somehow, when she says something—even the same words as anyone else—it just seems all right.”

“…Even so. When I think of Baron Kelton, I can’t help but feel uneasy.”

“But if you think of Admiral Paul Mellon, doesn’t that give you some confidence?”

“Haa…”

Nelleys sighed, leaning back on the sofa and rubbing her forehead.

“You’re not wrong, but still…”

She trailed off reluctantly, her eyes clouded with worry beneath her lowered lids.

Duchess Vanessa glanced out the window, waiting patiently for the Queen to gather her thoughts.

Summer was approaching fast, bringing with it a certain vibrancy that filled the air—one that affected the hearts of young men and women just as much.

Vanessa couldn’t forget the look in Claude’s eyes that day in Count Legrand’s drawing room. It had been unmistakable—the gaze of a man falling in love.

Love is hard to hide, after all.

That must be why he had instantly recognized Felice, even in a wig and glasses.

Thinking of Felice, Duchess Vanessa turned her gaze softly back to the Queen.

“The Second Prince has never cared for politics, Your Majesty. Even if you tried to push him, he wouldn’t go along with it. Wouldn’t it be better to simply let him be?”

Still leaning with her hand on her brow, Nelleys opened one eye at Vanessa’s words.

“Politics isn’t the issue. He’s my son. That’s all that matters.”

Duchess Vanessa’s face took on a troubled look.

“If that’s so, why not just bring in a suitable young lady from a good family and make it official? Once he’s engaged, you could publicly declare him as a prince. Wouldn’t that be simpler?”

Nelleys sighed again, reaching for her teacup. She inhaled the aroma in silence, lost in thought. Finally, after what felt like a long time wandering through the past, she spoke.

“If I did that, it would only hurt Claude. I… I just want to announce to the world that he is my son. It hurts me that my own child can’t be called my son wherever he goes.”

Duchess Vanessa nodded quietly.

The answer wasn’t difficult; the challenge was in finding the right timing.

As she pondered, two young women flashed through her mind. One would be a perfect match politically, a fitting in-law for the royal family—a choice the Queen might not want, but would never refuse.

Yet, for all her personal logic, Duchess Vanessa still questioned if a political marriage would truly be a wound to the prince. She herself had struggled through life’s difficulties but never regretted her own choices.

But if she compared things to Felice…

By any measure, Elise was the superior match in terms of status and prospects.

And yet, she hesitated.

The image of Felice as a debutante was still vivid in her memory. The roses that year seemed to bloom just for her.

She’d been the recipient of the Queen’s blessing, her manners impeccable, her beauty striking, and her bond with the admiral clear for all to see. Had that debut season ended well, Felice would have married into a distinguished family by now.

But all of that was in the past.

When Baron Kelton was crushed under a mountain of debt and turned to gambling, the family’s bright future vanished, leaving only a pitiable girl behind.

And in the end, the path Felice chose was not a marriage with a grand dowry, but a job as a tutor. It was a far cry from the life she might have led five years ago.