28. Don’t Provoke Me

Madame Violetta was a figure who frequently appeared at tea parties of high-ranking noble ladies in society.

Her specialty was keenly observing the interests and habits of noble ladies at tea parties and presenting highly satisfactory clothing and accessories that reflected these observations.

That was one of the reasons her clothing commanded such high prices.

She was also popular among noble ladies because she entertained them with interesting stories, alleviating the boredom of noble ladies who had plenty of time on their hands.

Violetta looked at the clock and began to hurriedly prepare to leave.

It was time for the tea party of Marchioness Ingrid, her most important client.

Marchioness Ingrid was a woman who had entered as the second wife of Marquis Ingrid when she was a young lady from a declining baronial family.

Having become the wife of a much older marquis, the always lonely marchioness particularly enjoyed the love stories Madame Violetta told.

Usually, when Violetta shared interesting stories, the marchioness would generously order clothing, making her a valuable client.

“I greet you, Marchioness.”

Upon arriving at the marquis’s residence, she respectfully bowed to the marchioness.

“Madame, let’s skip the formalities and please come sit down.”

Before Violetta could sit and before the maid could pour tea, the marchioness urged her impatiently, as if she had been waiting for this moment.

“Tell me quickly. Why did you visit the duke’s residence yesterday?”

The marchioness already knew that Violetta had visited the duke’s residence. Violetta pretended to be surprised and led the conversation.

“My goodness, your sources are truly quick, Marchioness.”

“There are no ladies at the duke’s residence who would need Violetta’s dresses, are there?”

In the empire, Duke Torpeo was the only duke.

For Madame Violetta to be frequenting the residence of such a unique duke. In public knowledge, Casis didn’t even have a fiancée. Perhaps because of this, the marchioness’s eyes sparkled with curiosity.

“Yes. Well, Duke Torpeo……”

When the marchioness and the ladies invited to the tea party looked at the madame with curious eyes, she excitedly began to elaborate in detail on what she had seen and heard.

“He has taken a mistress. A commoner woman at that.”

“That Duke Torpeo?”

“Please tell us more, Madame.”

The noble ladies focused on Violetta with wide eyes, as if they couldn’t believe what had come from her mouth. Violetta was extremely satisfied with the ladies’ attention.

“Ah, the duke had an accident, lost his memory, and nearly died. She nursed him with utmost devotion. They fell in love without her knowing he was a duke, and they had already promised to marry, I hear.”

Violetta continued chattering, further encouraged by the ladies’ interest.

“But there’s a class difference, isn’t there? Currently, that lady is serving as the duke’s mistress.”

“Does the cold duke treat that commoner differently?”

The noble ladies, forgetting all decorum in the face of the duke’s unexpected love story, began to shower the madame with questions.

“Oh my, don’t even mention it. I could hardly believe my own eyes!”

“Madame. Tell us more details.”

“He’s completely besotted with his mistress. Even during the dress fitting, the duke’s gaze was so hot that I thought I would melt. He’s so deeply in love with his mistress that he doesn’t care about time or place.”

The madame spoke passionately as if the scene was unfolding before her eyes.

“Even during the fitting, he said he couldn’t bear other men getting excited looking at his mistress, and he finally created a reason to avoid exposure.”

“Reason? What was it, Madame?”

“He told us to turn around, and even now thinking about it makes me flush.”

“Madame. Tell us quickly!”

As if knowing the perfect timing to make the noble ladies anxious, Violetta paused before continuing in a whisper.

“Well. Red marks appeared on the lady’s body…… Because the duke couldn’t control himself even during the fitting, we had to change the design to cover her entire body.”

“Oh my. How scandalous.”

“My goodness. I never knew that cold duke could be so passionate with a woman.”

The noble ladies’ faces flushed hot at Violetta’s vivid story, as if the scene was unfolding before them.

As if trying to cool their heated faces, they all busily fanned themselves.

“I’m curious about what kind of woman she is. For the Iron Duke to be so besotted with his mistress.”

“Indeed. Lady Larie’s expression would be worth seeing if she heard this. Hohoho.”

Since high noble marriages were commonly alliances between families rather than love, such topics were always popular gossip at noble ladies’ tea parties.

The ladies attending the tea party were so engrossed in the story of the duke’s passionate affair that they lost track of time, as if vicariously satisfied by it.

“Oh my, can I be the only one to know this story? I must meet Lady Larie as soon as possible.”

Starting with the tea party, the story of the duke’s passionate love for his mistress began to spread quickly throughout the capital.

Through the mouths of noble ladies.

⁕⁕⁕

After the fitting ended and the maids left, Adeline felt as if the tears she had been holding back would burst forth.

When everyone had withdrawn and only the two of them remained, Adeline gave the duke a resentful look.

“What exactly do you want?”

Adeline asked the duke, forcefully swallowing her tears.

She couldn’t understand what the duke gained from going this far.

Adeline found the hot red mark on her collarbone very unpleasant and scratched at it roughly.

Seeing the scratches forming around the red mark, the duke swiftly grabbed Adeline’s wrist.

As Adeline twisted her body this way and that, trying to free her hand from the duke’s grasp, he bound her other hand as well.

“What exactly is the problem?”

Sparks flew in the duke’s eyes as he met Adeline’s gaze.

“You said the dress was humiliating, so I even went so far as to personally change the design.”

Adeline momentarily flared up at the duke’s words claiming he changed the dress for her sake.

This man was desperate to torment her.

She knew that changing dress designs constantly and giving her shameful kisses anywhere in front of the servants were all actions meant to torment her.

‘You’re saying you changed it for my sake?’

Adeline felt all the emotions she had been suppressing rise up and mix together.

“I said I would wear it as is! Wearing that dress would be a hundred times better than displaying this kind of behavior in front of the servants!”

Adeline thrust forward her body where red marks had bloomed, as if to show him.

“So you’re saying wearing that dress would be better. Are you trying to tell me I was wrong to change the dress for your sake?”

“……”

“I’m the benefactor who even saved your life.”

The duke pressed close to Adeline and looked down at her.

His arrogantly shining red eyes seemed to say: What are you going to do about being upset, you insignificant thing?

“I’ve treated you as the mistress of the ducal household. That means you should fulfill your role as my mistress, shouldn’t you?”

Mel and Duke Torpeo after a season were so different.

Despite being the same person, Adeline couldn’t possibly bridge the gap between the two.

“Do you no longer have any feelings as Mel? Why are you going this far!”

Adeline pushed him away with all her might. Despite using all her strength to push him away, the duke didn’t budge.

“How ridiculous. I am Duke Torpeo. Not that Mel you tried to use.”

The duke felt extremely wronged by Adeline rejecting him as if all the situations were the duke’s fault. He released his grip on Adeline’s shoulders and grabbed her neck.

“Shouldn’t I be the one to wring this delicate neck and vent my anger, not you?”

His face moved closer to Adeline. The duke wanted nothing more than to devour Adeline before him.

“Don’t provoke me. Del.”

Unlike the duke’s voice speaking through gritted teeth in anger, the hand gripping Adeline’s neck was completely devoid of strength. The duke barely held Adeline’s neck as he explored her lips.

However, due to Adeline’s continued rejection, the duke firmly gripped her chin.

“Do you want to be treated like a noble lady even now?”

Adeline, whose eyes directly met the duke’s, read complex emotions in his gaze.

Resentment, sadness, affection

But unlike his gaze, the duke only spat out thorny words.

“If you want to reveal yourself as a Credion and go to the crown prince, keep refusing.”

Adeline couldn’t refuse the duke’s threat. She tightly closed her eyes.

Looking back, it was all Adeline’s doing. She had stayed at his villa without permission. She had pretended to be his lover and deceived him. She had also lied to him after his memory returned.

As Adeline resigned herself, their exchanged breaths began to grow more intense.

Heat enveloped them both, and the duke unknowingly began to push Adeline roughly.

— Thud.

Adeline soon dropped her arm that had been holding the duke’s wrist, as if giving up everything. Tears began to flow down Adeline’s cheeks.

Soon, tears fell onto the duke’s hand that was gripping Adeline’s neck.

When her cold tears touched his hand, the duke began to regain his senses.

“Go to bed now. I have urgent work to attend to today, so I won’t be coming in.”

In truth, the duke had no work to handle tonight. He simply didn’t trust himself to control himself if they shared the bedroom tonight.

The duke strode away from Adeline.

“Escort the lady.”

The duke opened the door of the toilette room, entrusted Adeline to the servants, and disappeared.

As soon as Adeline entered the bedroom, her entire body lost its strength.

Sitting slumped by the door, Adeline kept recalling what had happened today.

‘Is this really the best course of action?’

She simply couldn’t shake it off.

It was a wrong relationship from the beginning. One that could only deepen in conflict.

Adeline found this situation endlessly sad. She felt utterly miserable that in the midst of all this, she was relieved by the fact that she wouldn’t have to sleep with him tonight.

‘The Mel I knew is truly gone.’

Adeline realized that she had unconsciously equated the amnesiac Mel with the duke.

If she had truly been the commoner Del and not the young lady of a marquis family, would they have been at odds like this?

Adeline’s eyes seemed to fall into a deep abyss as she immersed herself in impossible imaginings.