MHYFMAMD Ch 19

Dietrich was in quite a bad mood.

 

The imperial command to meet had come this morning, saying there was something urgent to discuss. Was something wrong? Rushing to the imperial palace, he was met with a ridiculous demand.

 

“How long do you plan to leave the position of the mistress of Haberfeld vacant? Stop being so stubborn and meet someone else.”

 

The Emperor was relentless. He insisted on scheduling a meeting and waved Dietrich off with a satisfied expression.

 

Even during the second princess’s marriageable age, Dietrich had been dragged into matchmaking arrangements and had to decline multiple times. Now, the Emperor was even pushing for him to meet the fourth princess, suggesting once again a marriage between Haberfeld and the imperial family.

 

“They say people become sly and nasty as they get older.”

 

The Emperor was someone who would never act unless there was a clear benefit to him. Dietrich couldn’t help but recall the Emperor’s smooth, calculating expression and felt his insides churn.

 

His irritated footsteps echoed down the hall. The palace attendants, recognizing him, quickly stepped aside or turned away.

 

“Please wait here for a moment. I’ll bring your horse.”

 

Dietrich wanted nothing more than to leave the palace as soon as possible. While he was waiting by the wall for his horse, he overheard a conversation.

 

“…Do you know?”

 

A voice came from beyond an arched window.

 

“There’s a rumor that the Blanchette family borrowed money from the Weigelin family again.”

 

Blanchette. The woman who had started to bother him recently suddenly came to mind. It seemed that this was a conversation that shouldn’t be overheard, as the voices continued, growing clearer.

 

“That’s been the case for a while, right? What started under the guise of ‘support’ gradually spread, and now it’s even reached the point of involvement in Count Weigelin’s usury business.”

 

Usury? This was new information for Dietrich. Moving closer to the window, the voices grew louder.

 

“That’s right. But did you hear? Count Weigelin is taking a new wife!”

 

“What? No way.”

 

“It’s true. The woman he’s planning to marry is none other than the daughter of Baron Blanchette.”

 

“Buying a wife with money… Baron Blanchette is bad enough, but does the Count still have the energy for women after swallowing women all these time?”

 

“I know, right.”

 

Dietrich frowned. He remembered Tenesia’s words saying that there was no need to worry since they spent the night together at the mansion. The image of her flashed in his mind, and his frustration grew.

 

“By the way, doesn’t the Blanchette family only have one daughter? The one who’s been weak since birth.”

 

“That’s right. It’s her who’s going to marry.”

 

“Oh my, under that nasty old man, she won’t last a month.”

 

“It seems that since they can’t repay the money, they’re planning to sell their daughter instead.”

 

“Well, no matter how bad her health is, I’m sure she can at least show him a dream for one night.”

 

“Oh, you!”

 

After a couple of crude jokes, the voices faded.

 

“Sorry for keeping you waiting so long.”

 

With the sound of horse hooves, the stable keeper brought Dietrich’s horse. He took the reins but stood still, unable to move.

 

It was a matter that didn’t concern him directly. If Tenesia ended up marrying Count Weigelin, his verbal agreement would be nullified.

 

“But what about the information about Grace?”

 

He thought of Tenesia, who had acted so similarly to Grace. Although she had scratched at his nerves, she still had value.

 

He hadn’t even received the letter she had promised. To obtain the information he needed, he would have to play along for a while.

 

“It might still be useful, even if just for a short time.”

 

He couldn’t let her go now.

 

Even if it was all lies, it didn’t matter. He could keep her close and carefully pick apart the truth from the lies.

 

“At least the letter seems real.”

 

He tightened his grip on the reins and turned towards the Blanchette family, in the opposite direction from his territory.

 

 “Now I see why you were so desperate to leave the house.”

 

Tenesia couldn’t say a word. Though they were not a real family, the shame on her cheek didn’t fade easily as if they were real.

 

Dietrich glanced at her.

 

He couldn’t figure out what about her body was being subdued as threatening. She had been made to kneel on the floor by the servants, and had suffered the humiliation of having her mouth shut.

 

Even an adult man would find it hard to recover from such a shock. The feeling of her hand tightly gripping his arm was something he couldn’t forget.

 

“Thank you. I never expected you to rescue me yourself.”

 

“No need to thank me. You’ll have to pay the price as well.”

 

“What?”

 

“In a month.”

 

Dietrich stretched out his hand.

 

“The princess will arrive at Haberfeld territory. I would like you to receive her then.”

 

“Why would the princess…?”

 

“It’s the same old matchmaking talk. I told them we were going to marry, and they seemed quite interested. Then, without missing a beat, they set a date to meet the princess and suggested we could marry later, even going so far as to set a wedding date.”