I’m In Trouble Because My Husband Is So Cute - Chapter 62
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Chapter 62
Iellie narrowed her brow. It was because, except for the Princess, she was the highest-ranking lady in the ballroom. However, she didn’t have anyone to make friends with enough to greet her first.
“….”
She retreated to the corner of the ballroom first to greet the Princess when she came.
But right then—
“Greetings Lady Hessenweitz.”
“…Oh, Lady Laurent.”
Why was she pretending to be close…? Thinking that, she narrowed her eyes. Meanwhile, striding with light steps, Elysee had a pleasant face at first, but she soon looked hurt. She was wearing a fancy dress that was newly tailored.
‘Why is that face… Ah, maybe.’
Iellie swallowed a sigh.
Apparently, with the incident at the opera house last time, it seemed that she wanted to flatten her nose by matching her gorgeous dress. But today, she also came out dressed up as much as possible. Elysee’s purpose was shattered in an instant.
“…It’s a blue dress.”
“Right. It was my first time attending a banquet, so it was a bit old-fashioned, but I kept the custom.”
As she replied in a soft voice, Elysee looked indignant. It was because no one other than Iellie could exercise such a right over Zachary.
‘Still, she put in a lot of effort. Well, could the County’s finances afford that expensive dress…?’
Iellie thought so with a sullen face. Countess Laurent and her husband couldn’t even show their noses, but it was annoying that only Lady Laurent was around her all the time.
Elysee opened her mouth, biting her lip.
“Are you alone today, Lady?”
This was probably a question about where Zachary was, to leave Iellie alone. Hearing that, she showed a bright smile and replied.
“Young Duke went to say hello with other nobles for a while.”
“Well then, excuse me.”
Elysee hastily turned her body. It was obvious, and Iellie burst out laughing.
‘My husband, what should I do because you are so popular?’
Apparently, many people have completely forgotten that Zachary was a married man. Not only the Emperor who wanted to attach the Princess to him, but also Elysee, who blushed when thinking of a married man.
“Oh, are you going already?”
So, Iellie opened her mouth loudly. At her words, Elysee was startled and looked back.
“Young Duke will be back soon.”
“Yes? that…”
“Because he promised me he would dance all the dances at today’s banquet.”
To be honest, he never made such a promise, though it wouldn’t matter if she lied like this. Most of all, he would gladly accept if she offered to ‘dance all the dances with her today.’
“Well, if your purpose is to ‘meet ‘Young Duke,’ it would be quickest for you to be by my side.”
It was a euphemism to say that if she tried to approach Zachary anyway, Zachary wouldn’t accept it.
“Isn’t it better than to waste strength by wandering around the large ballroom for nothing?”
Asking so, Iellie tilted her head obliquely.
As if she had been stabbed in the face, Elysee bit her lip and blushed.
“….”
Still, Elysee seemed to have a greater desire to meet Zachary, so she came leaning towards her. At that, Iellie turned her gaze grumpily.
Swallowing her breath, she tried to understand Elysee.
‘Honestly, why is Lady Laurent doing that… It’s not that I don’t understand.’
She recalled Countess Laurent’s words that she once boasted with pride. Did she say, ‘Actually, we wanted to send our daughter to the Young Duke’? A daughter acted on her mother’s teaching. However…
‘I don’t have to be lenient with someone who shows inappropriate interest in my husband.’
With that thought, her eyes darkened. It looked like a warning seemed necessary.
And so, she turned to Elysee.
“Lady Laurent.”
“What?”
“Lady is the Young Duke’s maternal relative and Young Duke’s cousin.”
At that, she stared at her in bewilderment.
Iellie continued her words to her in a smooth voice, “So, I trust you will know how to properly conduct yourself.”
“…What do you mean by that?”
“It means that you are definitely aware that my husband has a wife.”
In an instant, her face lit up. Although Iellie’s eyes were smiling, there was no warmth.
“Of, of course, I know…! Lady seems to be very worried.”
“I hope I’m worried about nothing.”
To Elysee, who was furious, she answered with ease. Then, she tilted her head at an angle and continues her words.
“It’s just that I see the Lady personally writing a letter to my husband.”
“Well, well, we’re cousins…!”
“I don’t think it was inappropriate to simply send a letter to promote friendship among relatives.”
In response to the knife-like answer, Elysee chewed her lips. The next moment, Iellie asked her back with calm eyes.
“If it’s for friendship between relatives… Wouldn’t it have been better to send that letter to me rather than Young Duke?”
That was true. The Empire had a culture that valued family. It was taboo for married people to keep in touch with others of the opposite sex, except in unavoidable circumstances. Moreover, since the Empire allowed cousins to marry, Elysee’s actions were even more inappropriate.
That was the reason why Zachary didn’t send her a reply.
“That is, I…”
“Well, it would be nice if Lady had no other intentions.”
Elysee spoke, pulling her lips. She seemed to realize that the more she talked, the more she got cornered.
“…I’ll just go away.”
“Yes.”
When Iellie only shook her head, Elysee turned around. She looked very much like Countess Laurent, even on her face.
“….”
‘…The people of County Laurent seemed to have a corner that strangely offends people.’
Suddenly, a voice was heard from somewhere.
“Greetings Lady Hessenweitz. I’m Riche Rondo.”
“Hello. Then, Marquis Rondo’s…?”
“He’s my father.”
There was a person who gave a greeting to Iellie. She was a pretty girl, with a soft smile. She was probably the daughter of the Marquis, who greeted Zachary when he was coronated.
Iellie also smiled back.
“Nice to meet you.”
“I wanted to give the greetings to the Lady and was waiting for Lady Laurent to step down.”
Waiting for Elysee to step down…? Puzzled at her words, she opened her eyes and spoke, “Oh, geez… You could have come right away.”
“No. Actually, Lady Laurent is a little uncomfortable…”
However, Lady Rondo shook her head with a straight face. Hearing her remarks, Iellie fully understood her heart.
“By the way, I heard that Lady Rondo had a relationship with His Majesty the Emperor…”
“No, nothing like that has happened yet.”
As Iellie asked, Lady Rondo answered in a light tone. Her eyes sank deeply.
“It’s just a bunch of gossip. It is because His Majesty is of marriageable age.”
In fact, there are few women who match the Emperor as much as Lady Rondo. Because in the only Duchy of the Empire and the Hessenweitz, there was no other daughter. Lady Rondo was the only unmarried woman among the two Marquisates.
“…Honestly, I don’t really want to be in the position of His Majesty’s companion.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. The Empress of the Empire should be the mother of all people, and I don’t deserve a place like that.”
The Lady smiled brightly.
The current Emperor, frankly, was not very suitable for a husband.
‘…Also, His Majesty seems to be clearly interested in Lady Hessenweitz.’
What would she do if she had to marry a man who had a crush on another woman as her husband? It would only hurt her heart. Moreover, her status as Empress was a position with which responsibilities and duties followed as well as her rights. The hard road was clearly visible.
“By the way, I heard that the Duke is participating in the jousting contest.”
“Oh, right.”
“Are you going to give him a handkerchief?”
With twinkling eyes, the Lady asked. Iellie immediately remembered the handkerchief in her bag.
“I thought I would, but…”
She unknowingly blurred her words. She did her best to embroider, finished the ironing, and sprayed it with a few drops of perfume. Nevertheless, compared to her efforts, the appearance was horrendous, so she didn’t have the courage to give him the handkerchief.
“The Lady must have embroidered it herself, right? I am very much looking forward to it!”
“No, don’t expect anything like that…”
Iellie let out a sigh of relief. However, Lady Rondo treated her as if she was bluffing.
“Ah, you will be fine. Whatever you give, the Duke is sure to like it!”
Of course, that was right. Still, it was a matter of her pride, so she couldn’t dare to protest like that. In the end, Iellie smiled awkwardly. At that moment, Lady Rondo thought of something. She glanced back at her.
“Rather than that, His Majesty is sending out Sir Kyle as a substitute knight for this jousting event.”
“Sir Kyle… Is he the knights of the bodyguard?”
“Right.”
Saying that, Lady Rondo nodded her head while Iellie thought with a sour face.
‘I feel sorry for Sir Kyle, too.’
What was the point of winning the contest as he would give His Majesty the right to offer Asha flower branches? Iellie, who was grumbling like that, suddenly recalled the Emperor’s words. Come to think of it, the flower’s owner was not the Princess…
“….”
Feeling bad, she narrowed her brow.
At that time, a certain man spoke to her.
“Greetings Lady Hessenweitz. I am Viscount Colin Milan.”
“Nice to meet you. I am Iellie Hessenweitz.”
Iellie glanced at the man with a gregarious smile.
The man, with a smile, spoke kindly to her, “If it’s okay with you, could you give me a little time to chat with the Lady?”
Apparently, that interest was also included in the next duke, Zachary. Still, she had no reason to refuse because there was no harm in increasing the relationship between Zachary and the capital nobles.
But then.
“Viscount Milan. Can’t you give me that time?”
No, what about this voice…? She frowned for a moment. While Lady Rondo was startled, the Viscount, who had the courage to speak up, was nervous enough to look pitiful.
Iellie, who looked behind her, uttered with a sigh.
“…Greetings, Your Majesty the Emperor.”
“I see you again, Lady Hessenweitz.”
The red-haired young man was something she was well acquainted with. No, why did he keep pretending to be close? Didn’t she say she hated him…?
As the Viscount slowly retreated, the Emperor smiled softly.
“Where is the Young Duke, are you alone?”
“He’s greeting other nobles. What do you want with me, Your Majesty?”
Iellie asked, barely hiding the disgusted expression on her face. The Emperor gently tilted his head and opened his mouth.
“It’s sad. Can’t we talk if we don’t have a business?”
“…Of course, I don’t mean that.”
She couldn’t afford to be indifferent, so she took a step back. At that, the Emperor squinted his eyes and spoke.
“I’ve been watching you since you were with Lady Laurent.”
…Was he a stalker to watch her from the beginning like that?! Unlike Iellie, who was terrified, the Emperor was calm.
“It was a great move. After all, you are the lady I decided to offer Asha flower branches to.”
“I do not know. Even if you are willing to dedicate the flower branches, whether you can actually offer them is another matter.”
Iellie answered with a soft voice. In response to the euphemistic question of whether he would win or not, the Emperor’s expression hardened for a moment. Nonetheless, she still faced him with a bright smile.
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