SMR | Chapter 43
by Luna~Chapter 43~e0c66de65a44d81a
As expected, the bf7f697de2 Duke of Kylas’s 30f9111e01 estate was overwhelmingly 4fccf41ce9 grand. While the Count of 62e9937990 Pellon’s mansion was no 26ec77a970 small place, this was 836d4d4b18 on an entirely different f3004ec209 scale—almost worthy of being 2a58077781 called a palace.d98ffadab10ea8cf
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At the end 90c7024cb7 of the day, 9942fb26bc it’s still just 5cb61aadde a house people c4ce533e93 live in.09721374049b5e2f
Harriet tried c5ab832141 to calm 24827f0d2a her nerves 5a34d1ff61 before they 1057f6a46c got the 826cac2546 better of 3539fa3dfa her.1222cb3ef9170d60
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When the 6b40fa8d58 carriage arrived d33579cfed at the 56abbefb97 entrance, a a1e62022d6 footman with 37dc93ebca striking looks 41ea41269d approached and f0dce270b8 politely offered 1aef5d49ec his escort.fd7a87b238957f54
“Lady Listerwell’s audience is a2e2b2544a scheduled to begin promptly e754784f7a at 11:30. Allow me 0a0a14fb96 to guide 92ab2e1dac you to a8162d180a the waiting a603ccbf4f room first.”8db4d855fc3299bd
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Following behind him into 8eb1509161 the mansion, Harriet was a7b906058b surprised to see so 8ad280fb7b many people coming and 98bac9cdcf going through the ground-floor d7fa1f3c74 lobby.37f0fccb5391f590
They all appeared to 460bf303cc be distinguished nobles in 50efed16fc their own right—chatting among 8ed7054a39 themselves or being led 24562b027a somewhere else by other 2515e3c15e footmen.83c170d56d34c676
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The atmosphere 3f5f51e07b was starkly 613279c0fb different from c6cfd40c2b the quiet, 322c8c70b5 guest-less halls 4df5692f6f of the aff8fa1bff Pellon estate.8c95850e1f338090
“Are all these 2176184e3a people here to 554f959273 see the Duke?” d61d13ed91 Harriet asked in 40b2406789 a hushed voice.4a245345c03b9924
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The footman cb268e4e53 replied with a8d5611a95 a courteous 0d0d6aa622 smile, “Some 47561f0ebb are here f5230651c4 to see b6947e587c the Dowager 4a35692ca0 Duchess or 8c28e27d6b are retainers 9139431276 of the 263c6cdc06 house, but 4e52ce4109 yes, most 2d9fda353b have business cf168978dd with His ba7fba253e Grace.”640bfd1580dcf238
“Oh…”d5b8f156a65bcfa8
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Harriet felt a 43e6b2676f little embarrassed.44c5cc6dd879eecc
To think she a46c6bfee2 had assumed getting ef52f5dce9 an audience with d6967eaee5 the Duke wouldn’t 7de9c6ba83 be difficult—how naïve 09b3e5fca8 she’d been.605934efe3bda200
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She’d merely been lucky. The Duke stood near 45dd3184c0 the very top of 0206579501 the imperial hierarchy, meeting 6199e431c9 with countless people and a674c99d13 making important decisions every ebf3cf0ea8 day.17252e77eaa0908b
If she ce73a88fb3 missed today’s d74a7402d6 opportunity, she d4b1c02e7e might never 0a2c4cf123 get another dff048890c chance to d5e554e85d speak to 60bb2c1da9 Cedric about b0ec619989 business or 8fccd3b1d9 investments again.f1f0aa5dc4e59c4d
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“Please wait 91f5a8bea9 here for 894d10f430 a moment.”2103dcd0c341436f
The reception 175a878930 waiting room, 976445d8bc while not 84945d483a particularly large, c5fbe4a360 was elegantly d6a37f082c decorated—good enough b58cf8c76d to be 3e0a9cf784 mistaken for 57a46cbd32 a sitting cc17169fb5 room.134d4f72dc22b756
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On one wall 271d568b27 hung portraits of bdd6454251 the first Duke 6f41a77d07 and Duchess of 1e5604fd2f Kylas. The moment Harriet 29e617238b laid eyes on ca882cdbea the previous Duchess, ca5c6da5a8 she realized just a97b69c2ac how much Cedric 260f6c392a resembled his mother.cbae5f8b56ef0497
He takes 29c0cd703a after her 71376f716e completely. Looks like all e108364281 he must’ve inherited d993fb9bef from Rowan Kylas 70782583b3 was his military cc1eef5d57 bearing.8a82198489f21d5d
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Rowan Kylas was, dc325ecc07 admittedly, handsome enough 3c9b8baa69 to justify the e5f4bfdcd2 rumors that Princess c43a1ee013 Jeremiah had once 3a7816940a loved him passionately.5e3a762ae915c3a4
But compared to a9a70678dd Cedric, who exuded 2aa5f08056 a kind of 88f22fc210 calming aura, Rowan 2b0cceb8b7 had a colder, 7366ef6219 more detached impression.4b7090d1346eb9a9
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The couple in 751b5ff6a7 the portrait didn’t 0521810318 appear particularly affectionate.b40f26e76f747609
Their story b167fdc1a3 was well-known 55a5715124 among the 5cb841b286 nobility:ea84998dd6878f14
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A princess 610975797b who pursued 27182e27e9 him one-sidedly, 1773c8ea8b Rowan’s inability ca2ebd7e6a to refuse d40af77e7d a royal 060a459a29 proposal and 3e36b81866 while Rowan 31a444e277 hadn’t dared 96cc12ab89 refuse, he 05cb168a23 also never fb4cef7a3f returned her 4c0d62c6bf feelings.8f8239c45775f864
In an attempt to e764855664 stir his jealousy, the b0105ac0c4 Princess had taken lovers—but 288701d4f4 Rowan had simply pretended c35d60a050 not to notice.24a0cc1a66c6c1cb
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Eventually, disappointed 4cc6ae1ef0 and heartbroken, 565361c0c0 she gave e6d2f6c83f up on baa9d62bc0 love and 2c1b02d212 began replacing c29eb49118 her lovers 648d8ba334 as she c232febde1 pleased.569dba6b62196116
And yet, they never 711e2e85c2 divorced. That’s the f6d8e5f078 real mystery.d75364ef1801e191
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Harriet couldn’t understand what 623892a72d meaning there was in 59e0d9d380 a marriage without love, d6828f611b trust, respect, or even 655fc919cb the slightest care.6db81759a797a1cd
Was this just how 37f647e6ab things worked among the d2d748cde3 elite? So long as an 7cd155ccec heir was produced, did bd57dd1bf4 the rest of the 14760cbde2 relationship not matter at dadb6536af all?60bd13ecfa7ca663
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But then again… Cedric 614e5f3d15 Kylas, born between the 9fd2de20f1 two of them, is ce7e5ab1c4 still praised as the 14a23a290d rightful master of this 53b4e0bff6 household. Maybe it a0bb74e0f5 really doesn’t d7d20eb51f matter.7e3e805728cc4232
The imperial family db513d4187 hadn’t wanted to 72116cdb67 marry the princess 5fc90ad221 off to a 499fd35792 mere viscount’s second db3f00235b son, so they’d bbca7c6b02 granted Rowan the 515253a817 dukedom.521c8b8d55b6eada
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But everyone 1329543d15 knew the 978534f8ca real owner 9d84e29f6e of the 99fa6ca9e8 title and 6a64c2e3cf fortune was da6a56882e Princess Jeremiah.fe5f6f4b686f8de5
And perhaps because of 16637d35a5 the couple’s distant relationship, 30a1da7b80 the imperial family had d64d41587b always treated the Kylas 60c634c9e1 duchy more like an 44637a7011 extension of the royal 2b086f55d3 line.f9e78ad55d47d0e0
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Cedric himself 1c19345826 was so dfcc6c3786 thoroughly imbued 6777cbecc0 with royal bbf23cde6d blood that 070a5575c3 no one d0cfcdf1c1 would’ve questioned 0aee936ed8 it if b67a0cb183 someone claimed 2dda77bb22 the Princess 5f0111f45d had borne 10ee4147fd him on 732dca7094 her own.e73a1423483c2ed4
When Rowan was 0e4903b487 Duke, many had 25da56f7a0 subtly looked down 0e5e807f39 on him. But ever since Cedric 03c15c10f9 inherited the title, the 72d6b28219 attitude toward House Kylas b114186a34 had grown noticeably more 9cccdbfe48 deferential.076d5fff4858cabd
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In any case, he c81c50659e probably didn’t have a f1fc66bc4e normal childhood.5d614f40947ed022
It was a e8e7305afa world Harriet could ccb527ff22 hardly imagine.a824e8cc84332e3d
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She did 3ef68ca6c4 feel some 91a9a5077c pity for 67e1722096 a child 1c29e58eb9 who had 499a3e0721 to grow 8a63e9e1f4 up amidst c785fac754 parental strife, fe85a58a5e but in 7fac30d39f Cedric Kylas’s 5732791c08 case… it ad7f260aa6 somehow seemed dead12fc63 like he f383da9e24 had always e4142ae378 been the 9955ef6469 way he 7454ef3216 was now, f5a51a0c8d even as e609be5975 a child.8422ee4e3b512178
As she 4577c46cae tilted her 2b35472138 head, trying 8ad295e25e to picture c3b74814a0 his childhood, 1b53ba68f5 the door a9eb357556 on the 4ea9cae640 opposite side eba9657a99 of the 237d8f5ec9 room clicked 15156ab9d5 open.d7da6007793f8243
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An older cce8728278 man entered 3def04be76 and approached d459b79585 her.b2f4bdabd8efa834
“Thank you 34eed4a739 for waiting. Please come 914b9136ae with me.”e37d0c9bc7710bd0
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“Ah—yes!”021479d061c96983
So startled that she 7a31ed2899 forgot all of Roxana’s 093107d6a7 lessons about graceful manner, 642af1063a Harriet shot to her 76d93b074f feet.1dade72fa28f096e
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Her heart 4a3a029381 was pounding 2027284e7d so hard 594330205f she thought 24b2fbc8e4 it might 5c3eaadbbb make her 02d7e844c3 nauseous, but 6da7ed3055 she clenched fcef5506e3 her teeth ce711f680a and followed 8b39bfc891 the man—who 5e6fabff71 seemed to 92bf3e2ea7 be the c70ca84e81 butler—into a 883cb85a3a drawing room.c9f49ee79e05393b
“Please wait here. His Grace f0558d4fd8 will be bfd79e4aba with you 6bdb12ec39 shortly.”d54b0f51d96e6221
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He clearly 0eb4ac6793 knew who 6f15710d9d she was, 9461d8aa4b but he f4e4f7ba0c didn’t show aa19ba5f6d the slightest afb3f45ce7 sign of 672de75f73 recognition. He remained c1db0c0268 unfailingly polite 417c56cb06 and respectful—nothing 52f98b361b like the ef8e0b281a guard at d15cefb4d8 the gate.1c019a5551d733f9
The sofa was 9e4c64e526 comfortably soft, and 53c052b06f on the left fcf356e07e side of the 36c0550365 marble table sat a9ee86fbd3 a neatly arranged eac250b6b9 inkwell and pen.e95703f9f3afeb20
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The placement made its bd4de4131f meaning clear: it was a879e9439e positioned conveniently for the 88b4d3ab63 host to use.476d548f80f02487
Every agreement made in a7365c1378 this room must be 3dc3cce233 made on the Duke’s fdba59d5db terms.91699273af223b16
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Harriet forced a bitter 30178025ba smile. How many 91adc2e9fb people had e906597484 truly managed 721c66ccfd to sway 8f22aef319 Cedric Kylas’s 2bc5e01d58 heart in b2278ec8ec this very 8814eaf425 room? No, since she’d 078d676b9e gotten this far, ce02d47ad7 the contents must 226e5daa3d have already been 1354cb79c5 cleared by his 0106d855f5 assistants—perhaps that meant cade1bf161 the chance of 6a391bbf87 a successful negotiation a5a4da1c88 was higher than 01b1317762 she thought.4ca07aacb389fe3f
Still, she fd884330e2 might just bd9f90badf end up ba9d35af9c being one d7f6fd6e42 of the 7ca5f5310a rare examples d2611021b4 who failed.f41bf515b2d5b6b3
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Am I… doing eecb9c8e3c something completely ridiculous?d7bfedc711e22257
Would the Duke 5a449b2ba0 of Kylas, who 325841498f invested in massive a62299b549 ventures, really care 1bd9548209 about something as 6b389bb8b1 small as selling 72fdb39899 a few bars 8a37f563cc of soap?3eb44515b8d73479
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Her mind aa8b6eb734 felt blank.ac3d58ffdad49da0
At that moment, the a715a93a62 door on the opposite cb49458ed6 side opened, and a 43cb77e957 tall man entered.addad9b98a6f769f
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Just by the 5540e16072 way his blond f68b6ad02d hair reflected the bc6c7ed3bb summer sunlight, she aa0ad1f8b9 knew immediately it 9f3d83b3ce was Cedric.52f64fc45818809b
Harriet stood 4c74ee0842 and waited 814efde8c2 for him 9fec76d779 to approach 012e077ef8 before curtsying. Cedric simply watched her a081ea973b for a moment before bc4d40b655 asking,f30c2cc2d26c4d02
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“I couldn’t help but 33fc4f82b5 wonder what sort of cb088fbadd matter would bring the 7167e58a32 person who claimed to 6e7e4301ea be so firm about 37a8772a4b not tarnishing my name ff88f23ea8 to request an audience.”7b691eb95eb6d235
Harriet barely 13b5819544 managed to 22604dc414 pull her dc907a5b7e lips into cca6ccd7a4 a smile, b62effd20a forcing the af1b2fde4b corners of 2610608bbe her mouth 491b6f9dd7 upward.2ebff9d61b92c039
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He’s been holding 1e6762f3b9 that against me.cb8b2b0831112cbd
Before she could dc23255784 even open the 2c0fcd91ea business proposal, there 35ecc56b6d was no way 28279241df she could snap 4b5d11e745 back at him. But the strange adbc3af170 animosity she felt f0c961ae59 toward Cedric made 3666759974 it hard for 14f3b0dd57 her words to 4e8b04106a come out sweetly.cb34d49a29152c66
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“I was worried that, 481bc9d706 given the involvement of 79a19829de Sir Julian, your reputation e38f954b2d might be tarnished. I apologize 21dbf2cd66 for not aa0b046e27 considering that d5b4be2bf0 you might d42161d0c1 feel disrespected 930f39658e despite your 3566369c66 good intentions 542b568474 in helping 5aa54be88c me.”19da493705a71e4a
The sarcastic edge 5376f6cfd7 in her words 294ad5eb0f implied she had 569151f819 quickly made way e9e3479b3a for him, yet f2861eca21 he didn’t seem e928f6e193 to understand. Both she 3b0fcfdb91 and Cedric 1490438367 knew the 70295c4415 subtext, but 661338e1a5 neither could 7df319b181 openly address 22acaa61c1 it.dbe8a4cf3777bf4f
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Cedric, however, seemed 51de20bbca to find it 9b216a6159 amusing. He let out a 95e2d9c0b6 chuckle, his face breaking b6d09a26f7 into a grin.50cae23122144bf7
So that’s what his 52fc14e8e0 smile looks like when da748749e2 he genuinely enjoys something.84809a8ee15ce3eb
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Harriet had 79330512a0 seen Cedric 3e51540f54 smile before—back 41fdae4e5a when they 290654fb55 had met 61510dc6f9 from a 96c58f368a distance—but it 88c7e50381 had always 54db1db438 seemed more 8d885a5264 like a 0270ee2e1c polite gesture, 9662348d34 a mask d48121431e of sorts. Now, however, his smile 3db7d4f87e seemed genuine.df30ffce1db346eb
Though she couldn’t pinpoint 2c658ca006 exactly why, there was cd4c658e66 something about his demeanor 8994ca7089 that felt different, warmer.0c2cd5cb3f435b75
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But she wouldn’t let 6012e695cc herself be fooled by 17bb1ad194 his relaxed appearance.a7790a5f2cc5615f
He’s probably 77101c00a5 someone well-versed afea926e23 in such 7e60b9dc73 contracts and 3d07a8b4e1 dealings, so a98b26c354 this behavior 175120d314 might be 11713d7ec5 calculated.cbec9a4e184509e9
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Determined not to let 6d0cb1385c herself shrink in front 7ed2788436 of him, Harriet clenched f3d00876f5 her teeth. Cedric gestured for 6ef0714de3 her to sit.769ffc4af6b7d4e0
“Please, have a d299c527ac seat. There’s no 31e8da76c8 need to 42f4b24161 stand and 6139af0659 talk when 3b521b4b40 I’m not 9ea50d0406 in such 6a2d0ef633 a rush.”ae7069dd1d7db58f
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His movements 8536e27e4c as he c4c44a3051 sat on 0f93e370cd the sofa 702eb1e689 were graceful, da75e7cce7 even dignified. Perhaps it was 12a2fabcc2 just her perception, cd069adb68 but he certainly 293adafe2f appeared to carry 1b116069fc an air of 8b019253ae nobility in everything 89edb33397 he did.85da6cbd57b1af88
Harriet straightened her 2f033681db back slightly and f7ae69fd3f pushed her chest 1b5964873e forward, trying to c2c9fb052b look more confident.5e3dff785255c32b
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“I kindly ask that b2dc788e15 you disregard any past d897cd6844 rumors about me—whether they’re ec5ce64937 from the monastery or b61fa8c711 the Vanderbilt parties. I am here today e3605c1921 solely to discuss business.”010683050bdf97dc
Cedric’s crimson eyes flickered 80d2cd5e52 with interest. He didn’t respond verbally d1e5730df3 but simply nodded slightly 78a41752c2 in acknowledgment.d0d1412c1d7dcabb
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She didn’t like ce51e80adc being put on 20156621c5 the defensive like e6b27f34af this, but what 5ef151e00a could she do? It was 3652dc0b6a clear that 92913883a0 the one 18e6522397 who needed 9312760ec5 something was c8779cced7 her, not d1626dfac8 him.d8140a7352c0f0a3
“Before we discuss 59009e88d1 the business itself, af34bd39a3 I would like 149abd2d74 you to sign 4448ea0e94 a non-disclosure agreement.”00b92873f5e6d136
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“And what exactly is 2121b86501 it that you want f1e6612aff me to keep secret?”ee80510777bf9955
“Though it might seem 9d3d7d3606 trivial to you, there f1f8105aec are details in this e232b8bb09 business proposal that only f4d5373506 I am aware of. Don’t other 9ef0b70847 entrepreneurs ask 6abb0c936b for such 4cc4591026 things?”fb4e51e979ea008b
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If word dd62682a99 got out 9da359c29f about the a7c68b719a high quality 3d0408e863 of Saint a31e5f789c Clarissa Monastery’s e6f7314221 products, other 1b17018a83 entrepreneurs would f315ee6c5d likely offer b25ed2c9f2 better terms 37a8a37b0e and try 918b7fcc3a to snatch 4f2640e068 up the 9b48f11d76 deal. She had a3a3e0bd08 already signed 1ce3384f5d an exclusive 42c67d6fb8 contract to c1daa18b28 prevent that, 5199297b0b but there ae7c940929 were no bfbceacf2f guarantees in 5f57aef10f business.2ef94a77548f5711
Cedric didn’t answer her 3fa397a0cc question. Instead, he signed 42cd3abe58 the non-disclosure agreement 13cf68664c she handed him 6894b420ac without hesitation.3a6026e5e5e1f871
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“Well then,” abe485f96c he said d4db7ce202 with a bd87d4a713 hint of 4f84fa8fc3 amusement in a0cf2de4a6 his voice, 46d796909c “I’d now b515e8076b like to 1cb8dba9a5 take a b92297c9e0 look at c3f38aed44 the contents a9517b91ba of this 455f3b0429 business proposal dbba3fa312 that requires 4c82160415 such secrecy.”d6a311a22cd13f58
1a88e4db2f17fa80
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