Chapter 10

It was true that Mother was a ‘maverick’ who stirred up society.

It was also evident that she was driving hot topics without being restricted by her status as she paid for the penalty of her fame.

However, becoming a partner of a high-rank noble was another kind of problem.

Let alone if it was a Duke from the Ducal family that is one of the only three dukedoms in the empire.

Among them all, the position of Duke Miller in the social circle was smaller compared with the other families.

There were not many exchanges with other aristocrats because he advocated neutrality, and it was uncommon for him to hold a banquet first.

The guy gave me a side glance, remaining silent for a moment before trying to guess, “An artist? A musician?”

Instead of talking about her partner’s identity, I told him about my first impression of him as a person.

“He is a good person. I was a bit shocked.”

“….”

“Seems like my mother has a far wider connection than what I have thought.”

She was someone who found something to love from anyone.

She never had cared about whatever kind of reputation her partner, whom she was loving passionately, had.

If I thought about it, there were not many common points of Mother’s ‘lovers’ whether the ones that she introduced to me or the ones I got to know by chance.

“Ah, also that person has a child who is a bit older than me.”

“Is that so? What kind of person is he?”

“Erm….” I was hesitating.

It was true that I was introduced to him because they were going to marry, but it was a bit difficult for me to frankly talk about him since he was not an ordinary person.

Of course this was a rare occasion, but even if they had already promised to marry, it didn’t mean they would be able to hold the wedding ceremony, right?

‘If I think about Mother’s personality, even after spreading out the wedding invitations, there is a possibility that she will break off the engagement.’

Especially for someone like Mother, it was only after all the ceremonies were over, and the family register had been taken care of that I could be sure that she was really married.

In any case, if I recklessly spread word out about my mother uniting with the Ducal family, but then they suddenly broke up, that also would be a problem.

‘For now, I’ll just vaguely tell him about his identity.’

He asked in a low voice as he saw me contemplating. “A carpenter who was visiting the mansion?”

“No. Far from that.” I quickly denied his conclusion that had wandered far in the direction.

The guy who was examining me through his narrowed eyes, drew another conclusion. “A nouveau riche from a merchant guild or auctioning jewels like the last time?”

“It’s not that side either.”

“….”

When his conclusions, in the row, were wrong, he finally moved from his propped chin pose.

Then he asked another question as he massaged his temporal. “Don’t tell me he is a noble?”

“….”

“Are you saying she is going to marry a noble despite the situation where she is being talked about because of her status problem?”

The guy’s voice was fogged with chills.

I had prepared my heart in case profanities were going to be blurted, but unlike what I had expected, the one that came out from his mouth was sigh.

“Forget it. Who knows? Maybe a low ranking noble would be better than a carpenter or empty head actor from the theatre.”

But he was a high-ranking noble?

“I also think this is fortunate. While she is enjoying her newly-wed days, I’ll be safe from getting pushed everywhere by Mother.”

Without any words, he gulped down the cold water in the cup then took the remaining skewer from my hand.

After that, he raised his hand and ordered another plate of skewers.

“What kind of person is the son of her remarriage partner who was a bit older than you?”

“Erm.”

“Showing off his aristocracy and being spiteful?”

“No, he isn’t like that. Rather than that, it is more…”

For a while I was hesitating over the best way to describe that person.

The ‘new brother’ which I met for the first time today, looked like a person whose heart was easy to guess but hard to understand.

“A peculiar person?” I was reminded of sparkling blue pupils like a jewel.

There was an odd expectation filling in the eyes that kept meeting mine every time I raised or turned my head.

It was a gaze that I had never seen until now.

The feeling of having someone looking at me with expectation was new for me.