Chapter 10. After the Preparations

Meanwhile, in the northern part of the city, in the aristocratic district of Ildivua, where rows of elegant townhouses stood, the most imposing of all was the Admancanon Ducal Estate. Normally silent to the point of eeriness, today it was anything but quiet.

Crash—!

A vase, once beautifully adorning one corner of the Duchess’s bedroom, shattered into countless pieces.

The floor was instantly covered in a chaotic mess of flowers, shards of porcelain, and water.

Hearing the commotion, a maid rushed in, only to gasp at the scene before running to fetch a mop.

In the midst of the chaos stood Dalia Admancanon, grinding her teeth as she held a crumpled copy of the ‘extra edition’ in her fist.

“I swear, tearing them apart wouldn’t be enough…”

Her voice hissed through clenched teeth, her aimless fury spilling over onto the hapless maids.

“Do you have eyes, or are you blind? Can’t you see what I’m doing right now? Instead of cleaning that up, come help me get ready!”

“S-Sorry, my lady!”

As the trembling maids rushed to assist with her preparations, Dalia glared at them with contempt, finding a small measure of relief in her scorn.

“Where is His Grace the Duke right now?”

“I heard he was summoned to the royal palace early this morning, my lady,” replied the maid fixing her hair.

Dalia squeezed her eyes shut.

The reason Raskal had been summoned to the palace at such an hour was undoubtedly yesterday’s incident at the banquet.

He had caused such a scene, humiliating an unmarried lady, that he was likely being ordered to take responsibility and marry her.

‘Or perhaps he’s being advised to make a formal proposal to the Barishart family immediately.’

Anxious, Dalia began chewing her fingernails without realizing it.

Her worry wasn’t unfounded.

The royal family had always shown an inexplicable tendency to shield the Barishart family.

Fourteen years ago, Count Barishart had nearly caused a disastrous loss during the war with Argentum, yet the royal family had imposed no severe punishment.

Even further back, the former Queen Muriel Zigranto had personally arranged the marriage of a lowly knight, Sir Carlos, to one of her maids.

It was clear that the Barishart family had long enjoyed the quiet favor of the royal court.

Dalia understood that welcoming the daughter of a family subtly protected by the King into the Admancanon household might not be a bad political move.

But even so, Dalia had her reasons for refusing to accept Serenia Barishart as her daughter-in-law.

The fact that Serenia was the daughter of the man who caused her husband’s death didn’t matter to her.

The real issue was her lineage.

Before the Admancanon family became a ducal house, they had been mere counts.

Back then, the Count’s daughter Muriel had taken in an orphaned girl.

That girl had grown up to be Helen Barishart, a maid to the former Queen Muriel Zigranto and the wife of Sir Carlos.

In short, Serenia Barishart was the daughter of a woman who had once served as a mere maid to the Admancanon family’s young lady.

“I will not allow such a lowborn to take the seat of the Duchess of this house,” Dalia muttered to herself as if making a solemn vow.

By the time she finished speaking, the maids had completed her preparations and backed away.

Dalia admired the flawless noblewoman reflected in the mirror for a moment before rising.

Just as she was about to leave the room, she turned sharply to the assembled maids.

“What are you all standing around for? Clean up that mess on the floor!”

As soon as the words left her mouth, the maids scrambled into action, their hurried movements earning a look of disdain from Dalia.

She then headed straight for the study and summoned her secretary.

“Use whatever means necessary to ensure she never sets foot in this house. If you can find a weakness, exploit it. If not, set a trap—I don’t care.”

She tossed a heavy pouch of coins onto the desk as she spoke.

The secretary, well-versed in vague and morally ambiguous commands, pocketed the pouch and asked, “Would it be acceptable to harm her physically?”

“I want no fallout like what happened with my father-in-law. Ensure it can’t be traced back to us.”

Despite the strict conditions, the secretary smiled and replied, “Understood, my lady.”

* * *

Ain rented out the entire top-floor restaurant of the luxurious Neriad Hotel.

‘An entire restaurant big enough to accommodate hundreds, just for the two of us?’

Serenia clung to her wavering sanity, overwhelmed by the extravagance she had never experienced before. She nervously turned to him and asked, “So, what do I do now?”

Having grown up under a father who epitomized restraint, discipline, and austerity, Serenia had never so much as read a romantic novel. She had no clue how a date was supposed to unfold.

Still, since they were here to create evidence of a ‘passionate love affair,’ she was determined to give it her best effort if only someone would tell her what to do. After all, doing well was always better than doing poorly.

While she braced herself, a waiter placed an appetizer on the table and quietly retreated.

Ain, clearly amused by her enthusiasm, smiled warmly and spoke. “In that case…”

Picking up a fork with practiced grace, he skewered a piece of melon wrapped in salty ham and held it out to her.

“Say, ‘Ah.'”

Serenia stared at the melon being shoved in front of her face, her expression one of pure revulsion. Glaring daggers at Ain, who looked like he was having the time of his life, she snapped, “What exactly is this supposed to be?”

“Obviously, playing the role of a doting couple,” Ain replied with a grin, wiggling the fork for emphasis.

“This kind of sugary display is the sort of thing that convinces people we’re genuinely in love, don’t you think?”

As much as she hated to admit it, he had a point, leaving Serenia with no grounds for argument.

Caught between the dignity she had preserved for 25 years and the 600, no, 3 million krovats riding on this contract, she wrestled with her pride.

While she agonized, Ain feigned exaggerated pain. “Ow, ow. My arm might fall off at this rate.”

Serenia shot him a sharp glare before reluctantly opening her mouth.

Not missing his chance, Ain quickly popped the melon into her mouth.

As her cheeks and ears turned a fiery red from embarrassment, Ain calmly retrieved the fork and savored the sight of her reaction.

Serenia, on the other hand, chewed the melon with a sense of defeat. The sweet juice and salty ham blended perfectly in her mouth, creating an unexpectedly delightful flavor.

‘If only it tasted bad, this would have been less humiliating.’

A pang of guilt settled in as Serenia felt as though she had just sold her dignity for the sake of her taste buds.

Whether he noticed or not, Ain continued feeding her various dishes like a mother bird tending to her chick.

Realizing that stalling out of embarrassment only prolonged her suffering, Serenia decided to resign herself to her fate.

It wasn’t until she had been obediently accepting his offerings for quite some time that she noticed something odd—he wasn’t eating anything himself.

She glanced between the fork in her hand and Ain, her expression puzzled.

‘Is this how dates work? Am I supposed to feed him too?’

It didn’t seem right, but the guilt of eating alone overpowered her reasoning.

Tentatively, she picked up her fork, speared the last piece of melon, and held it out to him.

Ain, who had been meticulously deboning a piece of fish, froze at the sight of the green morsel suddenly thrust in his face. His own fork clattered to the table.

Clink.

He stared blankly at her, making no move to retrieve his fork.

Confused, Serenia awkwardly prompted, “Ah…?”

“Excuse me?”

He blinked, his expression incredulous, as though he had misheard her.

Irritated by his reaction, she snapped, “I said, ‘Ah.’ Open up!”

“Ah…?”

Still dazed, Ain looked as though someone had just hit him over the head. Taking advantage of his hesitation, Serenia pushed the piece of melon into his slightly parted mouth.

For once, Ain seemed genuinely flustered.

He covered his mouth with both hands, his eyes darting around in panic. Serenia, watching this strange reaction, muttered in annoyance, “What’s your problem? It’s not like I did anything terrible.”

“Well, it’s just…”

Still chewing awkwardly, Ain finally managed to swallow the melon and returned to his usual calm demeanor, though his words were anything but ordinary.

“The truth is, I’m on a strict regimen.”

“…What?”

“Thank you for offering, but I really shouldn’t eat more. I’m fine with just a glass of cold water.”

Serenia stared at him, dumbfounded.

She had heard of noblewomen who drank only water to maintain their figures, but she had never met a man who did the same.