Chapter 42
She heard Duke Drexton let out a deep sigh.
“I told you I would handle it myself, Aunt.”
“Handle what, exactly? You’re always like this. You resolve every other matter more cleverly and wisely than anyone, yet when it comes to marriage, you never manage it properly.”
“……”
“It seems you’re clumsy because you’re an inexperienced fool who hasn’t even dated. I understand that. That’s why this aunt is stepping in, isn’t it? Do you have any idea how worried I am that you might grow old and die a bachelor, Duke?”
“You’ve crossed the line, Aunt.”
The sound of the Marchioness Alleguleur’s snort reached them.
Immediately after, Duke Drexton’s sharp and rough voice followed.
“A party? As early as tomorrow? And in my house, without my consent? You know very well that I dislike outsiders entering my home.”
The Marchioness Alleguleur did not back down.
“How long do you plan to live clinging to such useless fastidiousness? What matters now is finding a bride. You should hurry and get married, and have a pretty baby, so that my sister in heaven will be pleased. Haven’t you thought about that?”
Julia felt she understood why Duke Drexton was angry.
The Marchioness Alleguleur had decided on her own to hold a party at the ducal manor. And she had invited every prominent lady in high society. Anyone could see it was a ball to choose a bride.
She had decided to hold such a party at Duke Drexton’s manor, and knowing full well that if she sought consent in advance he would refuse, she had simply prepared the invitations beforehand and sent them all out. Then she had said nothing to the Duke, the very centerpiece of the party, and come today only to inform him.
“I will cancel the party.”
“Do as you please.”
Despite his curt words, the Marchioness Alleguleur merely smiled leisurely.
“I hear Her Highness the Princess is coming as well. You know very well how many days it takes to travel here from the capital, don’t you, Duke?”
At the word princess, Julia’s chest tightened. Come to think of it, Duke Drexton was more than qualified to become a prince consort.
But the princess herself was coming?
That was not something she would do unless she herself was growing anxious.
“Are you planning to send Her Highness back?”
The Marchioness Alleguleur brought up the princess’s name in a threatening tone.
For some reason, Julia’s insides grew restless. She did not even make a sound as she continued to eavesdrop on the conversation between Duke Drexton and the Marchioness Alleguleur.
Duke Drexton let out a deep sigh. It carried a mixture of fatigue and irritation.
As if her nephew’s frustration was none of her concern, the Marchioness Alleguleur continued saying whatever she pleased.
“Get a grip, Duke. When you rejected the marriage proposal from the royal family, this aunt thought you had gone mad.”
“The princess is too young.”
“She’s nineteen! A perfectly respectable adult.”
“I don’t want a life where I become a royal consort and get interfered with at every turn. The duchy alone is more than enough for me.”
“It would greatly advance your position in the line of succession. And that’s not all. The benefits of marrying the princess are beyond counting.”
So that was it.
The princess had proposed once before.
And Duke Drexton had continued to refuse. And in that state, he had brought Julia in as a private tutor.
Julia also knew the name of the nineteen-year-old princess. She was named Diane, and she had brunette hair and green eyes, just like Julia.
She resembled Julia, but was far superior.
A beautiful and innocent young lady, with not a single lacking quality as a bride for Duke Drexton.
‘Why did he refuse?’
Even to Julia, the Marchioness Alleguleur’s words sounded right.
Duke Drexton claimed he didn’t want interference, that the princess was too young, but even to Julia’s ears they sounded like excuses. Any interference from the royal family would come with rights worth enduring, and a young bride was something all men admired without end.
If it sounded like that even to her, how must it have sounded to the Marchioness Alleguleur, his blood relative?
After snorting, the Marchioness delivered her ultimatum.
“In any case, if you cause trouble for Her Highness the Princess, you’ll answer for it yourself.”
Duke Drexton sighed. Then the Marchioness Alleguleur softened her tone and gently soothed her nephew.
“I’ll take care of all the party preparations. They’re almost finished anyway. We just need to move things here. You don’t need to worry about anything at all.”
“But the official host is still me.”
“Just think of it as enjoying yourself. I’ve invited many other young ladies besides the princess. They all know exactly what kind of party this is, and they’re interested in you, Duke. So…”
That was as far as Julia listened before she slipped out of the room next to the reception room, as quietly and carefully as a mouse.
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