The maid who handed a glass of water to Eriel chattered away with a happy expression, talking about the food she had eaten. Eriel just smiled and consciously nodded at the maid’s story.

Why did Gerald give me these gloves? No. Gerald isn’t with the aristocratic faction or the imperial faction. Count Scala is with the imperial faction. Wait. Can we be sure the other side is the imperial faction? Actually, the aristocratic faction seems more likely.

Eriel’s mind became instantly muddled.

“I’ll have to ask him directly.”

“Pardon? Ma’am, what did you just say?”

The maid tilted her head at Eriel’s words.

“No, it’s just that my feet are swollen and I can’t get my shoes on…..”

“Oh dear, they’re swollen? I’ll tie your feet with ribbon laces. Then you’ll be able to get them on much more easily.”

The maid quickly bent down and put her hands between the folds of Eriel’s dress. The maid holding Eriel’s feet let out a sympathetic sigh.

“Oh my, ma’am….. Your heels are all scraped. I’ll tie up your heels with ribbons for now too.”

The maid skillfully pulled out soft silk ribbon laces from inside her apron.

She then grabbed Eriel’s swollen feet and tied them up. As they were compressed from all sides, Eriel’s feet quickly went into the shoes.

“Ma’am, you shouldn’t walk around too much. I didn’t tie them tightly, but you know you need to rest in between, right?”

“Yes. I know.”

Eriel quickly got up from her seat. Then she turned her head slightly towards the maid.

“Did you not have cookies in addition to the cake?”

“……Pardon?”

“No. The cookies were really delicious earlier. I’ll be walking around for a bit, so go have some cookies too.”

“But, but ma’am, aren’t you about to get up now?”

“Yes. And it would be great if you could bring me another glass of water while you’re at it. Maybe it’s because I’ve been talking for a long time. I really want to drink water, not wine or champagne.”

“Ah, then I’ll quickly go get you a glass of water.”

“No. Take your time and have some cookies too.”

“Ma’am……”

The maid clasped her hands together. She looked at Eriel with an expression that seemed ready to bow down to show loyalty to her generous mistress at any moment. Eriel smiled brightly and dismissed the maid.

“Go and come back.”

“Yes. Then, I’ll be back. I’ll… bring two glasses of water!”

“Alright.”

After sending the maid away, Eriel quickly checked where Damian was.

If she told Damian about this right away, he would surely dislike Gerald even more.

He was already someone Damian was likely suspicious of, and now he had handed such evidence to Eriel.

Eriel resolved to ask Gerald about the origin of these gloves before telling Damian about them.

*

“But I think that rumor is true.”

One of the group following Gerald parted her lips slightly, glancing around. The young ladies who had been checking each other when standing next to Gerald were now huddled together in a tight bunch.

“The fact that the Duchess’s second is Baron Shannon?”

“Yes…… At the crown prince’s birthday banquet, only a few children and aristocrats gathered. I think what my aunt said then was true.”

“I also heard that Baron Shannon some… what helped Duke Genova.”

“Ah, I heard that was for political reasons?”

The young ladies continued their conversation in whispers amongst themselves.

“But… we just saw it, didn’t we?”

The three young ladies who had seen Gerald and Eriel exchanged subtle glances. The other ladies who had only been listening gathered closer to them, curious about what they were talking about.

“What is it?”

“What happened?”

“What did you see?”

They all leaned in, attaching question marks.

The three young ladies deliberately lowered their eyes and dragged out the story with a “hmm”.

“But we only saw it briefly. If this story reaches the Duchess’s ears, we’ll be the only ones in big trouble.”

As the three young ladies each tried to back out, the listening ladies quickly urged them to tell the story. Some offered to share secrets only they knew in exchange.

All the young ladies gathered there were hoping for Baron Shannon’s remarriage.

Baron Shannon was handsome and wealthy, but his late wife’s child was also a daughter, so he was a very good prospect for a groom.

Moreover, wasn’t he a very kind and warm person? The fact that he spent 3 years at the manor with his late wife’s daughter until she regained stability showed that.

The aristocratic faction regretted losing someone with Baron Shannon’s history, but as a father, he was very well respected.

In aristocratic political marriages where affairs were rampant, Baron Shannon somehow seemed like he would only have eyes for his wife.

If he remarried, the young ladies dreamed of giving birth to a son and enjoying a stable married life filled with the love of a caring husband.

There was no issue with succession either, so there likely wouldn’t be any trouble with the late wife’s daughter.

But what if the Duchess’s second was Baron Shannon?

Then the story would be a little different. The remarried wife would clearly become a borrowed scarecrow.

She might have children, but it would feel humiliating as a woman, so they all wanted to know the truth behind the rumor.

“You said they were old childhood friends… But he was still calling her by name.”

“And didn’t it seem like the Duchess was subtly ignoring us?”

“That’s right. She told us it was okay and that she wanted to rest alone, but it seemed like she subtly wanted to be with Baron Shannon.”

The three young ladies began making their highly speculative remarks.

The eyes of the other ladies went wide.

“With such a beautiful face… to be a second. If this turns out to be true, she won’t be able to hold her head high as a Duchess.”

“Hey, lady. Watch your words. It’s not certain yet whether he’s her second or not.”

“That’s right. Let’s keep this a secret just between us here.”

But within minutes, the story about Eriel had completely spread among the noble ladies and maidens at the launch ceremony.

*

Eriel began looking for Gerald.

Before telling Damian about the gloves, she first wanted to hear what Gerald had to say.

She thought that if she heard Gerald’s story, it might provide a clue to finding out who was behind Count Scala.

Maybe this could actually be helpful…

“…Ugh.”

That’s when it happened.

A burly nobleman hit Eriel’s shoulder with tremendous force. Eriel was pushed by the sudden force and fell completely to the floor. At the same time, the glove on her sleeve flew off.

“Oh my! Duchess!”

“Eek! What do we do.”

“Goodness!… My apologies. Madam.”

Eriel looked at the glove in dismay, but it wasn’t a big problem. The people here wouldn’t know that Gerald gave her this glove, and Gerald wouldn’t go out of his way to say he gave it to her.

“Are you alright? Duchess?”

Her shoulder hurt, but Eriel quickly picked up the glove, trying to resolve the situation swiftly.

Looking at the face of the nobleman who offered her his hand, he was completely drunk. His flushed face and the smell of alcohol were intense. Eriel didn’t want to get into an argument.

It was Duke Genova’s launch ceremony as it was. She didn’t want to raise her voice over something like this at a ceremony wishing for the ship’s safe return.

But then…

“But… why do you have this glove, Duchess?”

The gloved nobleman picked up Eriel’s fallen glove and asked in a surprised voice.

He opened his eyes wide and looked at Eriel, who had fallen in front of him. Eriel blinked. There was someone who knew about the glove’s existence?

That’s when it happened.

Like a round of song, some of the surrounding nobles looked at Eriel’s glove and had surprised expressions. Eriel blinked at the inexplicable reaction. The response around her didn’t seem good.

“This glove is…..”

The nobleman who couldn’t open his mouth alternately looked at the glove and Eriel. Their eyes looking at Eriel were filled with an unpleasant light. As some had unfavorable reactions, nobles who couldn’t resist that brief curiosity began whispering to the nobles beside them.

Nobles nearby began surrounding Eriel.

Eriel looked at the faces of the nobles coming and going between the fans from where she had fallen. As soon as they heard the other person’s story, they furrowed their brows and looked at Eriel. It was a look bordering on contempt.

Eriel’s breathing quickened.

“Gasp, I guess it’s true.”

“Ah, the fact that Baron Shannon is her second?”

“Well… it overlaps with the period when His Grace left the ducal residence, in a way.”

“That’s right. They may have enjoyed a secret love affair during the time he was widowed.”

The noble ladies who were usually jealous of Eriel immediately began tearing into her.

The gloves Gerald had given her seemed to hold some meaning, but Eriel was flustered that it wasn’t the meaning she knew.

She felt like her relationship with Gerald was being defined as something very dirty.

“Eriel?”