SMR | Chapter 43

~Chapter 43~f13f2e89f57e2c76

As expected, 092c740620 the Duke 18eb78b8af of Kylas’s cc5fa2a57a estate was f054bb8413 overwhelmingly grand. While the Count of 4c14946665 Pellon’s mansion was no cabbc5919e small place, this was f141afa7a0 on an entirely different 54f4814c08 scale—almost worthy of being 026b6e2816 called a palace.313801c7affd9c11

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At the end of 662a50b3d3 the day, it’s still 2b388aa485 just a house people 1ae037c28b live in.cce59e9fb1f51734

Harriet tried 5e9ae29953 to calm e2007e4f98 her nerves f924b43f99 before they 2b5a88017b got the 24fc3e9eef better of a5a28a5e6d her.a00ab1fd6ae96c9a

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When the carriage 5c45c66ca4 arrived at the af60318ae0 entrance, a footman 518d33e883 with striking looks eccadb90ef approached and politely 02ea42b1db offered his escort.16844a98b4cd0d6f

“Lady Listerwell’s audience b5ba849550 is scheduled to 88ae65b92a begin promptly at 28b4cdbb6c 11:30. Allow me to 1f83d68376 guide you to a0cacf36fc the waiting room 22c23e4f3d first.”385b5269d2939d3f

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Following behind him into a56011e52f the mansion, Harriet was be12cee6cf surprised to see so bda7909478 many people coming and d541cf15f9 going through the ground-floor 421a7dcbb1 lobby.9d4b105a54d7aa77

They all 9dc2036d16 appeared to a0344cd35a be distinguished 5d0601ca43 nobles in 3a8325e0f2 their own 6b3356f612 right—chatting among 1ef10a17fb themselves or f20f547240 being led bd3ba8f1b0 somewhere else 6a367a8935 by other 5923e29693 footmen.7d154ba040aeb017

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The atmosphere was 46d9b450aa starkly different from 80f5ddec99 the quiet, guest-less d079128384 halls of the b29c6b3dd0 Pellon estate.745c1dc594d569d0

“Are all these ffe3b059de people here to 5e5ce16a52 see the Duke?” cf1ce8ac56 Harriet asked in cb21de7c9d a hushed voice.d08440112b5edeca

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The footman replied 0c527990a9 with a courteous 2c0942f8a0 smile, “Some are e7fe4ed8c2 here to see 40a9565bbe the Dowager Duchess 3d07be3d72 or are retainers bf2824fd0f of the house, e85de584c2 but yes, most 7438f27798 have business with 98630b626c His Grace.”0cfa74e0480da549

“Oh…”5915a47fb5a06ea7

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Harriet felt a 73624a1657 little embarrassed.a6dc50c2fd3985a3

To think she 6ad3374c0e had assumed getting dc833f1da0 an audience with 15a99cf33b the Duke wouldn’t fb3f9c5d5d be difficult—how naïve 0359e7778c she’d been.ba3d0164e0e96185

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She’d merely been 789ec0554a lucky. The Duke stood 6a89df661e near the very 2e101a3f86 top of the cd2aca4c8b imperial hierarchy, meeting 6ed461f4a9 with countless people 644eb009c1 and making important 0e799d9917 decisions every day.a973b67519626391

If she missed b91fdd38c3 today’s opportunity, she 0a858df8d6 might never get 01a5c63635 another chance to 87ab953e46 speak to Cedric c97094dff8 about business or fea9702fab investments again.d9bdae1ffdae4b7a

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“Please wait here 5fa948a224 for a moment.”c006c69b1233d632

The reception 09b2adf513 waiting room, af25ae7fe0 while not 9054246df9 particularly large, a53d22645c was elegantly 56315fdbbc decorated—good enough dfcbb27893 to be c177815145 mistaken for 56cc9c9a0c a sitting 7a7105405e room.fafdc6db0fd8be2b

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On one 61b77a8d4d wall hung f9f83d7f67 portraits of 78382c93c5 the first 0588121fe7 Duke and 9ee247a591 Duchess of 33d76d1e37 Kylas. The moment Harriet 355cfef3e6 laid eyes on c4f7aca4bb the previous Duchess, 828820e8ad she realized just de8a21e0a8 how much Cedric 1917c65449 resembled his mother.b84da118fce488d9

He takes after fd6d767b4d her completely. Looks like all he 39393fbc8a must’ve inherited from Rowan 0d54afe549 Kylas was his military 3b7fffdfe7 bearing.dcfd0f948d0df754

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Rowan Kylas was, 105b2d4af4 admittedly, handsome enough d375000ed9 to justify the 08352f9edf rumors that Princess 8ee813ad47 Jeremiah had once 2efca5e585 loved him passionately.dd1195bf86796a19

But compared to 6aa2c84f0e Cedric, who exuded 39130e52db a kind of 965ceb3190 calming aura, Rowan eb1bb587a5 had a colder, 698854d3cf more detached impression.d725b01732b271c0

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The couple in the 55e3248089 portrait didn’t appear particularly 93683e6d1a affectionate.20047ef7c90b7efa

Their story 31d73336b2 was well-known 9e0259d2f5 among the 64868bfe08 nobility:00e2ae087b9c02be

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A princess who cfeafc6553 pursued him one-sidedly, 95d267659b Rowan’s inability to d4601520f7 refuse a royal 319286ed4c proposal and while 3b3363acdb Rowan hadn’t dared 63a81663d2 refuse, he also fce4eaedc2 never returned her a45b8bf304 feelings.c8985256658b7a70

In an attempt 1434fdc9c2 to stir his c88a459023 jealousy, the Princess 649b3cf7a4 had taken lovers—but 06079917e9 Rowan had simply a7214d0090 pretended not to 424e9ab59c notice.ca9e4aad178e27b2

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Eventually, disappointed and heartbroken, 9d39d29d18 she gave up on 0a39dce12f love and began replacing 049b028868 her lovers as she 25972c01b5 pleased.9960eef9e72204d9

And yet, they 3216e539de never divorced. That’s the real mystery.1fc691f65446ffc3

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Harriet couldn’t 0a4f2d8c47 understand what 3905b2ce51 meaning there 5a1e02f245 was in 24ee83cd52 a marriage 5364049e9c without love, aa81873560 trust, respect, 5b958501f9 or even 85b5377250 the slightest d60a13de1e care.f020fae99093d210

Was this 30e3fa4b10 just how 5bc3cd3f8b things worked 80d2c28c46 among the 1d23384c62 elite? So long as an d73f2af3c0 heir was produced, did 9716175ce8 the rest of the f3759b2b83 relationship not matter at 44fadcc11d all?d147ba9b2504b076

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But then a05e3cc6c7 again… Cedric 4b6bc23764 Kylas, born 185ea3208d between the 8dcbcda093 two of 479e83182c them, is c6c3fd0176 still praised f29aa7397d as the 49796c7d67 rightful master d4927085aa of this 7805fd35fd household. Maybe it really 6a0c5d4c65 doesn’t matter.58203fed6f11adff

The imperial family 305262962e hadn’t wanted to 7f1a03e33c marry the princess 170b31dd9d off to a a6bcbf3ae2 mere viscount’s second 1cc71c53cf son, so they’d fd268ca93f granted Rowan the ab2e191f04 dukedom.ec04ca02268d62b3

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But everyone knew the 7de198d40f real owner of the a6926eed3e title and fortune was a31943ef3c Princess Jeremiah.ac04bcc254cacc37

And perhaps because b25ea9f075 of the couple’s a981a77c18 distant relationship, the ff768f221b imperial family had f4e3537649 always treated the 2aa81d0edb Kylas duchy more fd4362b283 like an extension 3f2d3b8789 of the royal 2840b13af4 line.94770d0b4f8a158e

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Cedric himself was b4a40a872e so thoroughly imbued cbd2fed1bd with royal blood aa0b47e94b that no one f96eb7c195 would’ve questioned it 2622365eef if someone claimed 274b5cadef the Princess had c4a9f553eb borne him on e4336187e0 her own.ea924bb9f6aa1617

When Rowan 96b97b1c59 was Duke, edbf15fff7 many had 85d28fd90e subtly looked 01b450786e down on 89fed2dc35 him. But ever since 552a7b90d6 Cedric inherited the 3bc7d3c5cd title, the attitude 0d82cde196 toward House Kylas 457ed8ca6c had grown noticeably a62067a554 more deferential.63b7f9f91ef56ee8

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In any case, he 3e73933b1a probably didn’t have a 34ce7d48d7 normal childhood.8dd826fcc51b5628

It was a 96061c3b56 world Harriet could 0edaa6357b hardly imagine.7dc5739c692c2d7c

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She did feel some 95335d1788 pity for a child 37e3010713 who had to grow c01cc5111b up amidst parental strife, b3bda99572 but in Cedric Kylas’s 355fdf8dcd case… it somehow seemed 5cbdc32b32 like he had always 45bd8217f1 been the way he 948b1d6209 was now, even as 3f203f30ca a child.7587c2d1012efd8c

As she 0fbbb7ab7d tilted her fb3f217178 head, trying b6f6124db1 to picture 3ffeefbcd9 his childhood, 40016818f6 the door 2584bccdd1 on the b3674d3501 opposite side 63f06df392 of the 36fbb2729f room clicked b95c99c799 open.963c1c83a9f0c605

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An older man entered 7c08fcfe52 and approached her.65054fdf322f16a0

“Thank you for waiting. Please come b422667b6e with me.”f3fcd6d2341ae957

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“Ah—yes!”99210800f9b3dfc0

So startled 765c4269c1 that she 238cc234f0 forgot all d0ea96a5c5 of Roxana’s 7f00888e64 lessons about a726ee1775 graceful manner, 54277436ae Harriet shot a73eee1505 to her c2c1ba18b3 feet.d79d0b09057b54f7

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Her heart was pounding 28ea304c45 so hard she thought afbd04da8e it might make her 549e4e7a92 nauseous, but she clenched aa70666917 her teeth and followed 1982f5a400 the man—who seemed to a3891d4d33 be the butler—into a b9f317db0b drawing room.05940a6c2022820e

“Please wait here. His Grace ea1cece117 will be c4bbb00ec9 with you 32e66ce4a8 shortly.”faca66b564265388

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He clearly knew 37838fe750 who she was, 20ec28ae63 but he didn’t 04eecbae71 show the slightest 8dcbb61c44 sign of recognition. He remained 2fc5dcd7df unfailingly polite d5500ac208 and respectful—nothing 829cb2f033 like the bb99402fd5 guard at 88177a6c8f the gate.e3dbc6961a1241a5

The sofa 5040601fb7 was comfortably aeb1776554 soft, and 38268dcc0d on the a85d431bc7 left side fe9f8c00f0 of the da9d09bbab marble table 775b57fcb0 sat a 55b1f9781e neatly arranged eb7443a857 inkwell and 53b06e9ccc pen.cec0b98da3605ef0

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The placement made f49461c569 its meaning clear: efcb50a3df it was positioned 5a69414f85 conveniently for the 55adfab8b1 host to use.dce47657dffec806

Every agreement made 7f27b9bae0 in this room 2aae817af2 must be made fe369b7b11 on the Duke’s 8b57222a8f terms.3ba0d2fcf38ba756

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Harriet forced a bitter e14f291e6b smile. How many people had 81e848af0a truly managed to sway 679ec1f2fb Cedric Kylas’s heart in 3bce4763ae this very room? No, since e7e0784d4a she’d gotten 455f6d03e4 this far, 494e05ad52 the contents c9fc17d020 must have a1e6fa073f already been bfad7ab93f cleared by 386e1db9db his assistants—perhaps ba8893add4 that meant c09f9b0fff the chance 95f258ab6c of a bd1da2d746 successful negotiation e4e13620a5 was higher fb952d4c17 than she 8d1d91f3bb thought.53cf5dfaa8be5d64

Still, she might just 3af9160949 end up being one bf3a986904 of the rare examples c1b8423a09 who failed.2974e130cbfcc4db

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Am I… e086248153 doing something 8f6789c08f completely ridiculous?4ad269828e284248

Would the Duke of 798b666a95 Kylas, who invested in fe6057e0a8 massive ventures, really care e14bee7d50 about something as small 9e5ded2e92 as selling a few 9ce1c473c1 bars of soap?8afe302320dbd87e

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Her mind felt blank.7c08ededf5477d3b

At that moment, the 2eae27ea16 door on the opposite 391b5436f4 side opened, and a 3459d3f14c tall man entered.48608f78d25627d9

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Just by 3deb5abe5c the way ceaa2a705f his blond c2a45d9e9e hair reflected 67b4ed32ab the summer 75fc31f573 sunlight, she 4aeb0671b5 knew immediately 0f6b49518d it was 3f3584cae8 Cedric.e4c42a2d06fe6968

Harriet stood a2f32caf05 and waited ae803a275f for him 83170fbad4 to approach 0a4694c563 before curtsying. Cedric simply f3fdee951f watched her c2562d1bcd for a 204a64b78e moment before 88c534e0e3 asking,3abdeea9ba84a44e

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“I couldn’t help but dba1d67a55 wonder what sort of a87a84f71b matter would bring the a2a7ec940b person who claimed to f01b7bc7d5 be so firm about 2cd5514a7c not tarnishing my name a90f38894a to request an audience.”03b60d7e3862c150

Harriet barely managed to 44dc8b139a pull her lips into c4cb24c4b4 a smile, forcing the 404c23839e corners of her mouth 6655f415a6 upward.48fa47b0df08245f

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He’s been holding that fff302d432 against me.39fcb31754b1f09f

Before she could even a66ee63451 open the business proposal, d660340279 there was no way 1c9b03421d she could snap back fa8fc43f00 at him. But the ccbf4fed6d strange animosity a4ff1722e9 she felt 84aa778542 toward Cedric c603013505 made it 2eefe73a22 hard for ab80dc8ade her words ad166ffe66 to come 049bc2af9d out sweetly.92c2f343bc9a9342

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“I was worried 0b06282749 that, given the f22ac55d3d involvement of Sir 6327092b9d Julian, your reputation 1442791e2b might be tarnished. I apologize for not 2b092f130f considering that you might 0f8829008f feel disrespected despite your cc24616355 good intentions in helping c1bb510346 me.”94dbeac804500976

The sarcastic 32c0d220db edge in a6e12492a7 her words 5a8d9b0957 implied she 08aa85b966 had quickly d397dfb89c made way dba89abdb9 for him, e72f464af4 yet he 081d446916 didn’t seem 75cd563cbc to understand. Both she 74a4af37af and Cedric d5193307bd knew the f984211113 subtext, but e81052e82e neither could fb37a72461 openly address 2a9a7d6e8c it.ed84862253da4e20

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Cedric, however, seemed to e26dd701f5 find it amusing. He let out a0264cb5bc a chuckle, his 7ead345c47 face breaking into 4fb12bfdd1 a grin.133e1e1bd780381f

So that’s e46e5a664b what his e23118a3e8 smile looks d86f9a3727 like when db45a3c694 he genuinely e242f54552 enjoys something.34eff0060654ee35

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Harriet had seen Cedric f290f1fec4 smile before—back when they 490cd935bb had met from a 72e81fb04b distance—but it had always 8b8261b2d7 seemed more like a 327b1045e2 polite gesture, a mask c9f5cde956 of sorts. Now, however, his smile ac2f8d71e5 seemed genuine.024665ee6f187784

Though she couldn’t pinpoint 39c35af8fb exactly why, there was 54d50fd170 something about his demeanor 269e234f1e that felt different, warmer.ded087e2a97ae1a5

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But she wouldn’t let 7f12cc5e3c herself be fooled by b5241a93eb his relaxed appearance.add969e8714d753c

He’s probably de0808f182 someone well-versed e83d8bda7d in such 988c9a7fcb contracts and 10720b272e dealings, so 6afb97a7ee this behavior 3824bd7e9b might be b8acf33314 calculated.e0b63e6d707a411f

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Determined not 8be9a35d07 to let a45c44bfe4 herself shrink aabb7a9937 in front 7bfeb2caa4 of him, d4eac542da Harriet clenched 5edd7c86e9 her teeth. Cedric gestured for her 8e36c472d7 to sit.e8f55b42d44bfc05

“Please, have a 0aa2d83217 seat. There’s no 5e202d6e4e need to 6793470e3b stand and d3d122fffd talk when c7f2fcb934 I’m not 7d37ea956c in such 3e3a9bc7ed a rush.”493c08cdd60fd473

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His movements as he 7e36c1458e sat on the sofa 4e19ff8d12 were graceful, even dignified. Perhaps it af7fd47071 was just ddc8231299 her perception, 9973e174de but he 0833b7f53f certainly appeared 8dca3c5acb to carry f051e629f2 an air bb7c57da46 of nobility 1bce828e2e in everything fb7c42fadc he did.fcb7de09366f32c8

Harriet straightened her back f81227abd3 slightly and pushed her e013f992f5 chest forward, trying to 389c270a68 look more confident.f3070b80be3cdcfd

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“I kindly ask 100709e683 that you disregard e484975372 any past rumors 5eac95a464 about me—whether they’re 3fde1f7382 from the monastery a0767d7eaa or the Vanderbilt 1b5514df62 parties. I am here today 04186a19f7 solely to discuss business.”ca6cbfa7fd22f7eb

Cedric’s crimson eyes flickered 8ce813607c with interest. He didn’t 3fe46c1da1 respond verbally 305d8a0163 but simply 5c0482105f nodded slightly 71938a9037 in acknowledgment.fe3231d8e97c469a

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She didn’t like being f427920ae7 put on the defensive 2e80060629 like this, but what 7314e4a8d8 could she do? It was clear 054eea493b that the one 9103919fa3 who needed something f0cffc022b was her, not 3b539357ff him.0a1d1261a87f5eff

“Before we discuss 898a31337b the business itself, 5e81335b35 I would like 93f323cb0c you to sign 8e1e9044fe a non-disclosure agreement.”8c64279e2a0acbb2

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“And what exactly 9c7f7e4b2d is it that 78daf1b335 you want me 9631ef85ef to keep secret?”2ad48eefe5ff58ec

“Though it 050e80eee0 might seem 3541dbdbcb trivial to 32aded9b74 you, there fd6f558e42 are details b093487cca in this 2038c3a87d business proposal 9449a91ad0 that only 0c06e2e311 I am ca862f097b aware of. Don’t other 77e374a98d entrepreneurs ask 21e7f08d50 for such 68b192c93a things?”7dcf5eddc74b113b

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If word got 6de40c9c0f out about the 3006aec6c4 high quality of 1c7ec26b43 Saint Clarissa Monastery’s 258924e352 products, other entrepreneurs 403496f56f would likely offer fd8aea8e21 better terms and 4391fb90b8 try to snatch 5af9cad342 up the deal. She had already 3d87042b66 signed an exclusive 8248c6965f contract to prevent f91233cf55 that, but there c61c4eea04 were no guarantees bf3791e4e3 in business.4289d250e22b5415

Cedric didn’t answer her 53801dd7f2 question. Instead, he f8efa334fd signed the f4295c4178 non-disclosure agreement e9aec5b260 she handed 50ff40e9e3 him without c8b7e78baa hesitation.3b680b12d2440c40

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“Well then,” he said 23f37ad4c8 with a hint of 8992f0a4b5 amusement in his voice, 91c9979d3c “I’d now like to 5ed21ef0c6 take a look at 14f61f4a19 the contents of this edcef0567a business proposal that requires d1fbe4763d such secrecy.”4e08fa841e6abc98

 62a88cc4e3d1cde3

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