Blackening the Affectionate Male Lead (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 52

Whitney doubted her own eyes. She had just finished her lessons and was taking a walk when she spotted the carriage of the Duchess of Orleans heading toward the palace.

‘Could Mother have come?’

It was clear someone had invited her. Seeing the ducal seal she hadn’t seen in a long time, Whitney’s eyes darkened.

By rights, she herself should have been at the Ducal Mansion rather than here. If her mother had indeed come to visit, the one summoning her was most likely the Queen.

Probably because of the scandal with Melissa, her mother had been called. Whitney narrowed her eyes as she stared after the carriage that had just passed.

‘Orleans.’

After her father’s death, that name had passed to her mother—Lady Orleans. And it hadn’t taken long at all before she became head of House Orleans. Cecilia, who had married her father as his second wife after his first marriage ended, had claimed that position in barely a few years.

‘But he’ll take it back again soon enough.’

Whitney intended to return to the Ducal Mansion once she resolved the incident that was about to unfold. During this peak of the social season, everyone was hosting balls without exception, and the Queen would certainly not miss this opportunity.

June in the Kingdom of Lewen was hot and breathtakingly beautiful. Lush greenery, clear skies with clouds drifting in the wind, and brilliant sunshine prompted ladies to take to the streets with parasols, basking in the sunlight. Though it rarely rained in this kingdom, brief summer showers were common between June and August—the height of the social season.

After August, the rainy season began, and skies were no longer so clear. People hurried to settle important matters before the rains came, resulting in an endless stream of balls. Even in the sweltering summer heat, romance between men and women flourished as ever.

The eyes of lovers meeting for the first time burned hotter than the blazing sun itself. Anxious parents, fearing they might miss this crucial season, hastily adorned their daughters and sent them out. In truth, aside from her engagement to Chester, Whitney too should have been seeking another match—but she simply had no time for it.

‘Besides, it would be impossible anyway.’

After all, Chester was a prince. No one would readily propose a match to someone already rumored to be engaged to him. If word spread that she was entertaining suitors behind his back, both their reputations would plummet immediately.

Whitney turned back along her walking path, intending to see who had alighted from the carriage. The elaborately dressed woman was not her mother but Melissa. Her hair was pinned up, revealing her slender neck, and she wore a dress design Whitney had never seen her in before.

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