Chapter 35: Chapter 35 - Should I Make a Move On The Duke?

Chapter 35 – Should I Make a Move On The Duke?

1. Fake Friend

I looked at Dorothea running towards me with dismay. Why was she here?

“…Dorothea?”

“Marie!”

She seemed to have forgotten that I was a patient and she dashed towards me at full speed.

“Long time no see! How long has it been?” she squealed.

Three months by my count, but that didn’t matter. I stared at her and tried to adjust to seeing her once again. Was she this brazen, confident, thoughtless, or amnesiac? She seemed to have completely forgotten how we parted last time.

“Three months,” I answered.

“It’s been so long! That’s a quarter of a year, isn’t it? Do you know how much I missed you?” she said.

I couldn’t help but feel a flicker of annoyance. “…Why didn’t you come to visit me if you wanted to see me so badly?”

“I’ve been too busy! I’ve been going to tea parties and boutiques. Plus, I heard you were unwell. Patients need unconditional rest, isn’t that right?”

“….”

Even after all this time, Dorothea was her usual insensitive and annoying self, but I still found myself speechless. Even as a self-proclaimed “best friend”, she was too caught up attending every tea party and boutique in the world. Of course, sarcasm aside, I didn’t want to see her anyway. Unfortunately, she was already here.

“So what is it?” I asked in an astringent tone, and Dorothea replied as if what happened between us last time didn’t happen at all.

“My best friend is here,” she said in a tone as if it were obvious.

“…”

Dorothea’s eyes slid away from me. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it, Martina?” Dorothea said. Now it seemed that her interest shifted to Martina, who didn’t like Dorothea.

Martina made a face like she was forced to follow shit, but then decided that she should at least act with some etiquette.

“It’s been a while, Lady Dorothea,” Martina said in a mechanical tone.

Open disappointment crossed Dorothea’s face at Martina’s intentionally distant greeting. “Oh, you don’t have to do that kind of greeting between us, Martina. I’m your sister’s best friend.”

“…”

Martina’s expression seemed to say ‘Sure you are’, which made my chest shiver for some reason. Father would be angry again if he saw it. Worried, I hurriedly intervened between the two.

“Anyway, I’m fine now, Dorothea,” I cut in, and Dorothea’s attention was averted again.

“I’m so glad! You said you were in a carriage accident, right?” she said in awe.

“Yes.”

“I heard that Duke Escliffe was in the accident as well.”

“Technically it’s not his fault. The horse that pulled the carriage ate hallucinogenic grass and caused the accident,” I explained.

“Good thing nothing worse happened, Marie. I was so worried,” she said, relieved.

“Yeah,” I answered dryly, nodding as I listened to Dorothea. Then, yet another voice called to me.

“Marie!”

It was the Countess Bellafleur, Maristella’s mother. I raised my hand to respond to her, but hesitated when I saw a strange woman next to her. She had sunny blonde hair and blue eyes that resembled a coral sea. I tried to guess who she was, but no one came to mind.

“Ah, Mother!”

I was startled at the voice that came from my right. Mother?

“Countess Cornohen?” Martina’s voice said from the left.

I couldn’t believe it. That woman was Dorothea’s mother and the wife of Count Cornohen, Countess Cornohen.

Taken aback, I looked alternately between Countess Cornohen and Countess Bellafleur. A few moments later, the two women reached us.

“It’s been a while, Lady Maristella,” Countess Cornohen, the gorgeous blonde woman, said in greeting. “You’ve become even more beautiful since the last time we met. I heard that you were in an accident. Are you alright?”

I went for a customary answer. “Thank you for worrying. I am well now.” Then I added, “Thank you for your concern.”

Countess Cornohen smiled sympathetically at me. “Lady Maristella is like a real daughter to me. Of course I was worried.”

“…”

How could that be? Just like Dorothea, that woman didn’t even show her face while I was in bed. I inwardly burst into crude laughter, but feigned a smile on my face.

Countess Bellafleur spoke this time. “I’m so happy to see you again. It’s been so long since you stopped by.”

“Ah, yes,” Countess Cornohen said with a nod. “Actually, I came to answer the travel question you mentioned last time. I also have something to say to Lady Maristella.”

I blinked. “…Me?”

“Yes.” Countess Cornohen smiled brightly then turned to Countess Bellafleur next to her. “Countess Bellafleur, if it’s alright with you, may I speak to your daughter?”

“That’s fine, but…please also consider her doctor’s opinion.” Countess Bellafleur turned towards me with a serious expression. “Is that alright with you, Marie? I’m worried about your physical condition.”

“…”

Really, my mental state was worse than my physical one. In any case, it would be undignified to refuse Countess Cornohen, so I smiled awkwardly and nodded.

“I think I’ll be fine, Mother. I’m much better now.”

Countess Cornohen smiled. “I’m glad to hear that, Lady Maristella. Then, shall we go to the parlor room?”

“Of course, Countess,” Countess Bellafleur said, then she addressed Florinda. “Florinda, take the two to the parlor room. The Young Lady Cornohen can come into the house with me. Just in time too—we have some rare tea.”

“Rare tea?” Dorothea said, her eyes suddenly sparking with interest, and Countess Bellafleur answered with a slightly happier tone.

“Yes. His Highness the Crown Prince sent it in hopes of Marie’s recovery.”

“…”

Dorothea’s face visibly stiffened. That was to be expected, so I wasn’t surprised. This time, however, I glanced at Countess Cornohen as well, and saw that her face was equally as hard. Like mother, like daughter I supposed. Was Countess Cornohen just as displeased that Maristella was close to Xavier?

‘The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.’

There were some exceptions to the rule, but in my experience, the saying largely held true. In the novel, Countess Cornohen wasn’t described as a bad character; Rather, she was introduced as a good mother who cared deeply about her daughter’s comfort and safety. However, I didn’t trust the original novel all that much, and it turned out that she didn’t seem that much different from Dorothea after all.

I decided to poke the two a little further. “His Highness the Crown Prince is such a benevolent man. I didn’t know that he’d be so kind to me.”

Their faces simultaneously hardened further.

‘This is really worth seeing.’

Let’s do it one more time.

“The Duke dropped by three days ago, and said the tea was delicious too,” I continued.

“The Duke, Lady Maristella?”

“Duke Escliffe,” I replied in a slightly pompous voice. “He often visits.”

“Often?”

“He visits every day!” Martina piped up helpfully from my side. It watched in real time as faces of the mother and daughter became even more rotten, and I uttered just a few more words.

“But he’s not visiting today. He’ll come tomorrow.”

“R-really?” Countess Cornohen stammered.

“Why does the Duke visit so often?” Dorothea asked with an unhappy voice.

My smile was bright and broad across my face. “No reason.”

“He comes every day even though you don’t have any business?”

“What’s wrong with that?” I said casually. “We’re friends.”

“Friends?” she repeated.

“Mm. Friends.” As I smiled at Dorothea, I could see that her face was growing harder. At this point, I wondered how she could control her expressions beneath that mask.

“He said yesterday that he wanted to be friends,” I said.

“…The Duke?”

“He said it first.”

The words ‘To you?’ remained unspoken, but I couldn’t help but laugh in my mind.

In the original novel, Dorothea didn’t care much about Claude, and he naturally remained on the sidelines as a supporting character. However, one would have to be a fool now to ignore someone with the title as high as a duke. Countess Cornohen seemed to think the same.

“I was surprised,” I added lightly.

“So am I. Friends with the Duke?” Dorothea pressed her lips in a disagreeable manner. “Is it possible for a man and woman to be friends?”

“…Then do you think should I take the opportunity to make a move on Duke?” I said with a savage smile, and Dorothea suddenly became mute. After a moment, I slightly lifted an eyelid. “Well, you automatically came to that conclusion because you don’t have experience with interactions.”

“What?”

“Even if it’s not for the purpose of dating, there are plenty of people to interact with.”

“Now, you’re taking up a lot of time with that story, Marie,” Countess Bellafleur suddenly interrupted. She must have noticed that the mood was gradually turning foul. “It’s not polite to keep a guest standing for too long. Florinda, please take those two to the parlor room.”

“Yes, My Lady,” Florinda said with a bow, and then turned to me. “Miss, do you need help?”

“Thank you, Florinda. I’m fine.” I turned to Countess Cornohen with a thin smile around my mouth. “Shall we go, Countess?”