Chapter 52

 Clementina listened to the speech, which was only a few lines, and looked for his young son and woman. Surely he hadn’t brought them? While she was examining his surroundings for quite some time, the woman she had been longing to see walked from across the duke.

 “Ah……”

It certainly wasn’t an exclamation that flowed from her lips. Clementina looked at Bella standing beside her who opened her mouth and let out an exclamation, then raised her head again. The woman was walking on the carpet. Her hair tied up like a married noblewoman and her pure wax-colored neck. The choker wrapped around that fluttering and delicate neck was entirely made of diamonds.

 Clementina stared with enchanted eyes at the woman’s evenly spread dress hem. The woman was always beyond imagination. The rumors floating outside the castle didn’t even express half of the reality. She was just miserably beautiful to the beholder and so perfect that one couldn’t harbor even a single line of jealousy. A creature that seemed to be born not from a human’s womb but from the fingertips of a god…… Clementina clutched her heart that was beating like a drum. The woman was wearing a dress with a light pink tint. She looked beautiful as if painted, with her bodice decorated with silver thread and small pearls, the skirt hem layered to puff out the lower part, and the center balanced with a crinoline.

 Suddenly, she recalled when she first learned of the woman’s existence.

 Clementina hadn’t heard about the duke having a very beautiful woman from her father. Even her father had heard it as a song from a minstrel wandering the island. She couldn’t understand why someone would praise the beauty of a woman who wasn’t a dead legendary beauty but actually alive.

 In fact, it made her stomach hurt a little. This was because even when she was occasionally invited to court social gatherings, young servants would imitate songs that boys outside the court sang in a line. Though the melody differed, the lyrics were similar. The duke, as fierce as the north wind, holds a taxidermied angel, and the angel is hurting in a rose vine……

 Until she met her, she thought it was an exaggeration. To inflate or perhaps slander the duke’s power…… She hadn’t thought then that it was a memorandum written by someone who couldn’t forget a woman they had seen even once.

 “My chest aches.”

 “What?”

 “I said my chest aches.”

 Bella whispered softly. Clementina asked back while unable to take her eyes off the woman who was lightly descending the stairs. Bella kept repeating that her chest ached. Rather than repeating it with some thought in mind, it seemed to be just a sigh. Well, what more words would be needed for a woman who overwhelmed the audience solely with her beauty?

 “Lady. It’s nice to see you. Did you like the guest room? It’s a special room that His Highness prepared thinking of you.”

 The woman who had been greeting visitors one by one with the baby’s nurse approached her. Clementina received her greeting with a tense face.

 “Ah……”

 The woman smiled brightly. It was a slightly brighter and clearer smile than her smile during the day. Clementina smiled back while suppressing her pounding pulse.

 “Yes. I should thank His Highness.”

 It was an awkward response. The woman just smiled slightly. After spending some time getting to know each other, the band began to play. The woman disappeared behind the duke again. The audience carefully followed her with their eyes and then danced to the band’s performance.

 Clementina wondered if the woman would dance with the duke. Since it was a good occasion, she could dance to the music. Perhaps she lacked talent in that area? If so, she could teach her while they lived together……

 She looked towards where the duke was with regretful eyes. The woman was just blankly looking at the child. Clementina followed her gaze to look at the son who was grinning in the nurse’s arms. He was a cute child. She had thought there wouldn’t be any cuteness since he resembled the duke, but although no trace of his birth mother was felt, his features were clear, making for a very handsome face.

 “Lady. His Highness has prepared a formal dinner. Let’s move together.”

 While she was observing the child and the woman, a servant approached Clementina. Although this was a situation she had been informed of in advance upon arrival, her mouth still burned with anxiety. She nodded and moved with the servant.

 *** 

 The formal dinner was excellent. Sea bream and whale that were difficult to obtain inland. The table, which came out with abalone and crab dishes that were considered precious even on an island surrounded by sea on all sides, prepared in a northern cooking style to remove the fishy taste and served in an appetizing way, was visibly splendid and luxurious.

 Clementina glanced at the woman sitting across from her. The duke also seemed to notice her slightly pale complexion, as he busily served food to her. Though this situation wasn’t unpleasant, it was inevitable to feel concerned.

 “Eat a little more.”

 “……I am eating.”

 “Are you feeling unwell somewhere?”

 “I’m perfectly fine. Don’t worry about me.”

 Though it seemed like a cold attitude, the duke’s expression didn’t change. Unlike her father’s servant girl who always watched his mood to please him, the duke and the woman didn’t seem to have the typical master-slave relationship.

 Clementina looked at the woman while cutting and putting the pheasant dish that came as her portion into her mouth. It would be natural for their glances to meet while looking, but whenever those pink eyes touched her, it was beyond her control that her heart sank.

 “Ella.”

 The duke called softly to the woman who was putting down her knife. Ella. So that was her name. Short but fitting. A very pretty name. Thinking this, Clementina observed the duke. From the moment he sat down until now, the only person drawing around the man was Ella alone. As if all his senses were bound to her, perhaps all his sensory organs were being used only to feel and monitor her.

 “Don’t mind me. You two must have things to discuss……”

 Ella trailed off. Her complexion, which had seemed uncomfortable since before the meal, became clearer as time passed. Whenever this happened, the duke would touch her cheek or pretend to whisper something in her ear while putting his lips on her earlobe and nape to appease her. It wasn’t something a duke should do with a guest present, but Clementina didn’t want to be cynical. The two looked like perfect lovers. Rather than master and slave, they were like that. Like an intimate couple. They were an extremely well-matched pair.

Thus, another woman might have found it unpleasant that a knight, reputed to be more arrogant and cruel than the king, and the actual ruler of the north, would coax a servant girl during a guest’s visit to celebrate his heir’s special day. It might have seemed absurd for a moment, but the impression that he was not easy-going persisted. The sentiment about the cold-hearted man she had heard about in rumors remained unchanged. Only her thoughts about the duke and his woman had shifted slightly.

 It was a widely known rumor that the duke cherished his servant girl. Also that his bedchamber maid was praised as one of the most outstanding beauties in the kingdom. However, even if she was an outstanding beauty, she was a slave. Coaxing, soothing, and carefully watching to please her mood and accommodate her.

 Such things were what slaves did for their masters. Even looking at the servant girl kept by his father Terzo, it was so. But were the customs in the north a little different from the south? Or were they living in a different world of their own? Clementina moved her lips, searching for something to say.

 “You seem to be feeling unwell somewhere.”

 “No. I’m fine, Miss. You must find it unpleasant to see me like this at the dinner table…… I’m only sorry.”

 “I……”

 “And you don’t need to speak formally to me. Feel free to address me casually. Despite this appearance, I am His Highness’s slave.”

 The woman smiled faintly. Clementina stared at the duke. His face was twisted again. Though no one at the table had committed any rudeness, he was greatly twisted with anger. He was an unpredictable man. What exactly was he angry about…… Ella hadn’t done anything wrong, so was she the one making a mistake?

 “I’ll get up now.”

 “Sit.”

 “Your Highness. I should……”

 “I said sit. It’s an order.”

 The woman who had risen from her seat hesitated with a hardened face. Clementina, without realizing it, stood up and looked at her with an anxious face. What should she do here? She needed to maintain her center, but she kept getting swept away. When leaving the island, she had clearly thought she needed to find out what kind of person the duke was and what views he had about the capital. That she should act intelligently even without her father telling her to. For her family, for herself……

 But it was the opposite. Suddenly, her eyes met the duke’s. He was glaring at her with an icy gaze. Was he angry just from looking and exchanging words? Why, why…… There’s no need to go this far.

 “Sit down, Ella. Finish your portion of the meal and then leave.”