Chapter 34

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Translator: Harry Potta
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: An Unexpected Gesture
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Struggling to breathe through the cigarette smoke, Aileen, her eyes watering from constant coughing, managed to reply.
“Th-thank you…”
Many of the soldiers and the Grand Duke’s knights smoked. But Aileen had never smelled tobacco on them.
It was because they refrained from smoking for hours before meeting her. The few times she had seen them smoking were purely by chance.
She knew Cesare also smoked occasionally, but she had never caught even the faintest whiff of it on him. Everyone was careful because they knew Aileen disliked it.
This was the first time in her life she’d had smoke blown directly in her face. Even while clearly seeing Aileen’s distress, Ornella did not stop smoking.
The smoke was suffocating, and Ornella was terrifying. Aileen wanted to get away as quickly as possible. She hurried to speak.
“Well then…”
“Ah, wait a moment.”
Just as she was about to say her goodbyes, Ornella raised a hand. It was a gesture one might use to command a dog. Aileen and her attendant had no choice but to wait right where they stood.
After leisurely finishing her cigarette, Ornella tossed the butt onto the corridor floor and crushed it under her heel to extinguish it. Her attendant quietly took out a handkerchief and picked up the butt. Only after dusting off her clothes with a sharp pat did Ornella look at Aileen.
Trapped in a cloud of smoke, Aileen was struggling to breathe. Ornella smiled sweetly at her. It was a smile that seemed to make flowers bloom all around.
Despite the harsh treatment she had just endured, Aileen still thought Ornella’s smile was beautiful.
‘A person like this deserves to be called a Lily.’
She, who perfectly suited her moniker, the Lily of Traon, brought her face right up to Aileen’s.
“Can you even see anything with this…?”
Aileen flinched and took a step back as Ornella tried to touch her bangs.
“Sorry if I startled you.”
A faint sneer touched Ornella’s lips. Her lovely pink lips uttered thorny words.
“I was just curious. As you know, Lady Aileen, it’s hard to understand. Why His Excellency would choose you. I knew he was kind to you because you’re the daughter of his late nanny, but he wouldn’t decide on a marriage out of pity, would he?”
“Objectively speaking,” she added, pausing to look Aileen up and down. Her neatly groomed eyebrows furrowed slightly.
Aileen suddenly became conscious of her attire. The dress Cesare had given her was for a banquet and not suitable for today, so she had chosen the cleanest one she owned.
She had thought it was neat enough, but compared to Ornella, she might as well have been wearing rags. Aileen’s dress, made with a minimal amount of cheap fabric, was adorned with nothing more than a few ribbons.
In contrast, anyone could tell at a glance that Ornella’s dress was a precious garment. It was made with a generous amount of fabric and had a voluminous feel, with frills made of embroidered lace.
Ornella even smelled wonderful, thanks to the fresh flowers adorning her hair. The sweet floral scent, which quickly pushed away the cigarette smoke, was enchanting.
Aileen remembered the moment she had placed the watch box on the sofa in the grand ducal residence. The miserably plain watch box that was so terribly out of place.
“It must be difficult for you, Lady Aileen. One should know their limits when marrying so far above their station. Have you prepared a dowry?”
“Ah…”
Aileen was at a loss for words. It was a problem she hadn't even considered. Unless she was being sold off, a bride was generally expected to prepare a dowry.
Of course, her marriage was semi-forced, but she was still marrying the Grand Duke himself. She couldn’t possibly show up completely empty-handed.
Seeing Aileen’s face turn pale, Ornella clicked her tongue in pity.
“Your mother has passed, and you don’t have any noble ladies to associate with. I suppose there’s no one to tell you about these basic things.”
Her words were absolutely right. There was no one to teach Aileen about the realities of marriage. Aileen had only vaguely thought about getting married; she hadn't yet considered that she needed to actively prepare for it. The most she had done was worry about how to control her father.
“This is a problem. Oh, my. I see you haven’t received a ring yet. It seems nothing is proceeding as it should.”
Ornella feigned surprise as she looked at Aileen’s bare left hand. Aileen quickly covered it with her right. Her cheeks burned with shame.
“Well, as it happens, I’m in need of a new lady-in-waiting.”
Ornella took hold of a ribbon on Aileen’s dress. As she tugged it with her silk-gloved hand, the loosely tied ribbon came undone at once.
Aileen looked at the ribbon she had pulled. The frayed end was messy. Ornella dropped the ribbon as if she had touched something dirty and recoiled.
“I’ll make sure you’re well compensated.”
“…”
Aileen bit her lip. She could feel her attendant watching anxiously from the side.
A lady-in-waiting to the Empress was an honorable position. An ordinary noble lady would have been overjoyed and honored. But Aileen was to become the Grand Duchess of Erzet. To her, the offer to become a lady-in-waiting was a clear insult.
To be honest, she was embarrassed and ashamed. She was ashamed of the Elorde barony’s poverty. She hated her own appearance and attire, which were so starkly compared to the lily-like beauty beside her.
But this sort of thing would happen often from now on. It was something she had braced herself for the moment she decided to become the Grand Duchess of Erzet.
Facing it in reality was more painful than she had expected, but she could endure it. Aileen wrinkled her stinging nose to hold back tears. Then, mustering what little courage she had, she timidly retorted.
“Thank you for your consideration. But… I’m fine.”
“There’s no shame in accepting help when you’re in need, Aileen.”
But being lectured like a child made her clamp her lips shut again.
‘What am I going to do about the dowry…?’
Even if she sold the brick house and all the medicine in the laboratory, she would never be able to come up with a dowry befitting the Grand Duke’s family. Besides, she hadn’t even been granted access to the lab yet.
As Aileen’s shoulders slumped lower and lower, Ornella’s voice suddenly became incredibly gentle.
“Lady Elorde. If anything happens from now on, please tell me. I’ll help in any way I can. We’re part of the imperial family now, aren’t we?”
Startled by the abrupt change, Aileen soon understood why. The sound of dress shoes approached from behind her. She could tell who it was just from the leisurely footsteps.
“His Excellency, the Grand Duke of Erzet!”
Cesare was walking down the corridor. He was merely walking through a colonnade, but with the tails of his coat fluttering in the wind, it was impossible to look away. His uniform was the most handsome, but she thought a coat suited him very well, too.
While Aileen stared blankly, Ornella hurried over to Cesare with small steps. Her face was filled with emotion.
“It’s been three years. Have you been well?”
“It’s been a while, Lady Parvellini.”
When Cesare offered a simple greeting, a faint pink hue colored Ornella’s cheeks. She looked lovely. Aileen watched her from behind. Her excited gaze, her high-pitched voice, and her shy gestures were all brimming with affection for Cesare.
It was perhaps natural, as she had originally wanted Cesare as her marriage partner. Aileen could somewhat understand Ornella’s feelings. She must have been furious that someone so plain was about to take the place beside the man she had hoped to marry.
Aileen thought she would have been very displeased, too, if she had heard that Cesare was marrying someone like her.
Ornella and Cesare made a picturesque pair just by standing together. Both were, after all, a stunningly beautiful man and woman.
Aileen watched the two of them, feeling like a blot splattered on a perfect painting. Ornella took out a handkerchief and covered her mouth. She turned her head, coughed delicately, and apologized.
“I’m sorry. Perhaps I dressed a bit too lightly. The weather is chillier than I thought today…”
Her frail whisper trailed off. It was because Cesare immediately began to unbutton his frock coat. However, her eyes, once filled with expectation, soon colored with bewilderment.
“Aileen.”
Having taken off his coat, he called to her. He waited until she hesitantly approached him, then draped the coat over her shoulders.
The large coat enveloped her. Aileen clutched the coat reflexively and looked up at him. Cesare adjusted his slightly askew cuffs and said.
“Keep it on. She said it’s cold.”